The Cornflower Witch

After the sudden incident just now, everyone grew much more cautious. One member even dug out a scroll that detects invisible creatures. When unfurled, pale-blue runic brands appeared, then concentric ripples spread outward, tinting everything they touched with a faint silver mist halo.

Unfortunately, this detection method did not work. The hidden Hermit Spider did not reveal itself under that detection.

If it were that easy, it would no longer be a Fourth Tier monster.

A Third Tier knight could guard a small town. Within a fifty-kilometer radius, it would be hard to find a wild beast stronger than him. In the countryside, such a knight was nearly invincible: solid armor, warhorse and weapons could easily wipe out a band of hundreds like slaughtering chicks.

For some small cities, Fourth Tier monsters were simply unstoppable. Their danger could destroy cities of thousands or tens of thousands. If such creatures appeared on the surface, local guilds and official organizations would call for reinforcements.

“Let’s keep moving, but be more careful on the way,” Sylutia suggested.

“Yes, Chief Hedra.” When she spoke, the others visibly relaxed.

Although Fourth Tier monsters were terrifying, the chief’s strength was formidable. That sudden close-range strike had surprised everyone.

“I’ll go up front,” Moria offered.

The prince wore white cloth armor today, a deep-blue cloak draped over his shoulders, fastened by two large golden rivets. It gave him a somewhat lavish look.

As one of the only two Fourth Tier members of the team, his strength was sufficient. His physical conditioning was much better than the other mages, his reactions quick, so the Hermit Spider would not catch him easily.

They rearranged the formation. Moria walked in front, Sylutia at the rear, and they continued to explore the secret realm.

The air grew gradually colder, humidity rose, and temperature dropped. The grass along the path thickened until it often blocked their view of the deeper forest.

“We’re probably entering the depths of the second layer now. If we continue ahead, the next area should be the third layer.”

“The layers are determined by height difference relative to the starting beacon. The lower you go, the further from the beacon and the greater the erosion. The monsters grow more dangerous,” a team member explained while holding a torch.

“Of course, rarer resources tend to appear as danger increases.”

After walking further, the trail became overgrown with weeds; it seemed no one had come through here for a long time.

When the group reached a clearing, the road ended completely. They had to rely on themselves to determine direction and choose where to go.

“Look, there seems to be an apple tree over there,” one of the members pointed to a patch of dark red showing through the foliage.

On closer inspection, a dark-red apple hung there, its color as deep as coagulated blood.

Sylutia followed their line of sight and blinked lightly as she analyzed the apple.

[Parasitic Snake Apple] (Third Tier · Verdant Nectar)

‘An apple parasitized by a venomous snake. When a living being approaches, the snake inside will tunnel out and attack to kill the intruder. After digesting prey, the snake secretes a special venom that nourishes the apple, making it even more tempting and delicious.’

This was not a good apple, Sylutia thought, but that did not stop the group. The six of them cautiously approached the apple tree.

They stopped a short distance beneath the tree.

Although the other members did not possess Sylutia’s sharp observational skills, they were not fools. No one believed anything in the Shadow World could be risk-free. The more enticing the treasure, the greater the lurking danger.

“Can they tell what it is?” one member asked, looking back.

“You can sense a faint aura of safety around it,” a student waved his staff, and a translucent mirror about the size of a bowl floated into being, reflecting the snake shadow coiled inside the apple.

“So it’s an unpoisoned apple after all.”

“What now? Smash the apple directly?”

“Even though this apple is toxic, the Aspect level is real. If we detach it properly and take it back, many alchemists will buy it.”

“But if we attack it, the snake will surely awaken. If the apple gets damaged during the fight—”

“Then what do we do?” someone asked.

“I’ll do it.” A petite girl stepped forward, pulling back her hood to reveal ash-gray hair.

“I have an Orb attuned to the Slumbering Winter Aspect. It doesn’t match my main Aspect, but it can still activate certain spells.” She pulled a fist-sized, exquisite orb from the pack at her waist.

Its shell was wrapped in silvery stellar-orbit bands, and inside sat an ice-blue gem emitting waves of cold. It looked like a Third Tier weapon, likely loot from a previous expedition.

“Then it’s yours, Lena.” The other members nodded and stepped aside.

Sylutia watched Lena’s operation with interest. Lena first awakened the sleeping orb. As the light on the stellar-orbit bands flowed, the ice-blue gem within slowly lit up.

Deep purple runic imprints glowed on the stellar-orbit bands, activating the orb’s core power.

As that power stirred, the snake inside the apple grew alert. It began to lift itself from slumber, though it did not force its way out of the apple yet; it merely began moving.

Lena activated the orb. An icy beam streaked toward the apple.

[Frost Orb · Frost Ray] (Slumbering Winter)

Cold spread rapidly from the impact point, engulfing the entire apple. The dark-red fruit instantly froze; as temperature plunged, it became harder and harder until it cracked off the branch and fell to the ground.

The snake inside froze solid, its blood and life temporarily halted.

Two students picked up the basketball-sized apple. They took out Appraisal Lenses for a careful look and confirmed the snake had indeed been frozen and could not move.

“Let me handle it now.” Another team member stepped forward, put on a special monocle, and drew a sharp small knife. He precisely drove the blade into the apple, piercing the snake’s heart in one cut. With a twist, he scooped out the perfect section and extracted the snake, leaving the dark-red apple intact.

[Apple Grove] (Third Tier · Nightmare)

‘A snake hidden within a fruit. Its venom carries a faint sweet fragrance that lulls victims into comfort before knocking them unconscious.’

“This is a Third Tier snake, but it’s so small—rare,” someone commented curiously.

“I remember when I was a kid back home, a gigantic wild boar attacked the village. A stationed knight took care of it. That boar was only Second Tier but stood over four meters high and weighed thousands of jins. After it was killed, the meat fed the whole village for a long time.”

“Size varies. Generally, creatures with the Beast Fang or Bloodline Aspects grow quickly; their size is part of their strength. Other Aspects don’t necessarily grow large with higher tiers—like Fairies, for example.”

They put the dead snake into a pouch, and the apple was sealed in a specialized preservation box before being stowed in a pack.

Then the group passed through the second layer toward the third.

There was no longer a path. The grass reached above head height, the environment was damp and cold, and light dim.

In the first layer, they could still see the dark clouds piled above and the beacon’s distant glow. Here the sky had turned a muddy gray; cloud layers couldn’t be distinguished. The range of the guiding wind’s light had shrunk considerably.

“Keep going a bit, but don’t go into the fourth layer,” one member advised.

“Agreed.” The six continued onward.

Sylutia stayed at the rear, scanning the surroundings. Though some members were nervous, she felt oddly calm—she had been to darker, more dangerous regions while in the Hidden Grove. This area felt almost like child’s play by comparison.

After a while, Sylutia’s eyes shifted. She focused on something deep in the forest. She had detected something, though the ones in front hadn’t noticed.

“Wait a moment,” she called, stopping the group.

“I’ll go check it out. Stay where you are.”

Somewhat puzzled, but trusting the chief, everyone complied.

Sylutia raised her right hand. The silver ring circling her wrist unwound into flowing threads and quickly reassembled into a bird with expansive wings.

The bird circled Sylutia once, then flew into the forest, two silver threads fluttering from its wingtips.

Everyone watched curiously. As they wondered what would happen, the bird suddenly reversed, and the two threads attached to its wings tightened in an instant, wrapping and strangling something in midair. A black silhouette emerged from the bindings.

Its form looked like a cross between a wolf and a leopard: a small skull with sharp fangs, a sleek black body that, when still, was nearly invisible.

[Shadow-Walking Beast] (Third Tier? Mist Shadow)

Its fur absorbs light. Ordinary detection spells are also absorbed and rendered ineffective. It can only be confirmed by the naked eye.

Struggling, the beast let out hisses and growls, thrashing violently. Just as everyone thought it might break free from the threads, Sylutia approached it.

She examined the beast with curious eyes, then lightly patted her palm.

[Forbidden Secret Art · Steel Shadow Magic Hand]

In the air, the shadowy silhouettes of a pair of hands instantly manifested and lightly tapped. The Shadow-Walking Beast yelped as if struck by a train; bones shattered, it passed out and went limp.

“That’s much better behaved now.” The girl nodded, then let the spectral hands lift the beast and bring it before the group.

“It’s still alive, just fractured a few bones. We can patch it up and take it back,” Sylutia said. She scavenged nearby and used threads to cut dried wood, fashioning a crude cage to hold it.

“Let’s keep it here. We’ll haul it back when we return.” She cast a shield to isolate its breath and shadow, a barrier ordinary low-tier creatures could not penetrate.

The others agreed, but they all found the chief’s expression suddenly complex.

Why did this gentle-looking chief resort to such violent, terrifying methods? The contrast with her appearance was startling.

They moved on without further incident, eventually encountering a nest of Hungry Eaters.

[Hungry Eater] (Third Tier · Distortion)

A ravenous monstrous bird with an odd form—possibly multiple eyes and wings. After devouring other supernatural creatures, it grows stronger. At its limit, the body can split and form new Hungry Eaters.

Eight Hungry Eaters attacked after discovering the group. Moria waved his staff and conjured a sturdy gate-like illusion to block their assault. The members unleashed their skills, quickly defeating and slaying the eight birds.

Two minutes later, Moria dispelled the defense and they stepped forward to inspect the corpses.

“Third Tier, but basically worthless,” one member complained.

“Distortion Aspect creatures are like that—rarely useful for rituals or secret techniques, so they have the lowest market value.”

“Normally, Third Tier materials might sell for around 100 gold coins, but materials from Third Tier Distortion Aspect creatures might not even fetch 20.”

“The main use is for making base poisons or smoke bombs to disorient opponents in battle.”

Distortion materials were that cheap, Sylutia thought.

It made sense: for many lives, the Distortion Aspect was like poison, contaminating and clouding the mind. People avoided it; hardly anyone wanted to use such Aspect-based tools or spiritual medicines unless desperate.

The girl remembered a figure from long ago and sighed inwardly.

After clearing out the Hungry Eater nest, they found a few Second Tier scrap gems, adding to their haul.

As they pressed on, the environment’s distortion deepened. The group decided it was time to head back and began their return.

On the way, Sylutia went back to the crude cage and removed the shield. The Shadow-Walking Beast inside had woken but still could not free itself due to broken bones and the thread bindings. It was panting and hissing.

“It’s still alive,” the companions gathered around to look.

“If we take it back alive, it could sell for a lot. Living value is often triple that of dead.”

“Some mages need them—to study the beast’s abilities, extract blood, or raise them as war beasts.”

Sylutia summoned the spectral magic hands again, lifted the cage, and carried the Shadow-Walking Beast back with them.

The trip back was calm. The Hermit Spider seemed wary of Sylutia and did not reappear.

They returned safely to their base and reported the expedition to the local Mage Guild, registering their findings and spoils.

“Oh, you even captured a live Shadow-Walking Beast?” the receptionist exclaimed as she looked at the black beast bound in the cage.

“How much is it worth?” the students asked curiously.

“It’s valuable. Many workshops and mages would want it. If you sell it to the guild directly, we’ll buy it for 800 gold coins and provide some points as a reward.”

“If you think that’s not profitable, you can find a buyer yourselves, but the price won’t be much higher.” She answered them.

The group looked at the dark-haired girl and asked her what she wanted to do.

Sylutia thought for a moment. Although she could get a good sum of gold, she didn’t actually need the money. Keeping the beast herself would be time-consuming and require effort she didn’t have.

“Can you keep it in temporary boarding here?” she inquired.

“Boarding? We have a dedicated Beast Trainer and can treat it, but there’s a fee. Treatment costs 100 gold coins, and boarding is 30 gold coins per month.”

“Then board it here for now.” Sylutia nodded. Many of the things she’d learned could finally be put into practice.