The Cornflower Witch

"What is your name?"

Under the tree shade, Sylutia sat down on the ground, while the beastman youth who had just escaped death was barely forcing himself upright.

"Azhelin."

"Can you tell me which direction that monster came from?" Sylutia actually already had a vague suspicion.

"From the southwest. I was hunting then, and it sniffed out my scent," the youth recalled.

"It was unusual. From the start it didn't feel like a Second Tier monster; then it advanced directly to Third Tier and changed its aspect."

"I see." Sylutia nodded.

Afterwards the girl helped the tribe members put out the large fire. To show their gratitude to this benefactor, the remaining tribe members prepared a lavish meal for her—this was the tribe's custom for entertaining honored guests.

The campfire drove away the night chill. Having just suffered disaster, many people were still sunk in sorrow over lost relatives. The tribe's shaman elder sat beside Sylutia and told her about the tribe's situation.

"About a hundred years ago, our ancestors led part of the people here and settled."

"There are many monsters here, but hunting yields are also plentiful, enough to feed many families. Some surplus can even be traded elsewhere."

"An ancestor in our tribe was once a Fourth Tier powerhouse; only he could lead the tribe to open a new settlement in the wilderness."

"But since then, no one in the tribe has reached Fourth Tier. Even our chieftain is only Third Tier." The chieftain had been severely wounded in the earlier battle and was still unconscious, but at least he had passed the immediate danger to his life.

"Have you ever seen a monster like today's before?"

"No. It's rare to see Third Tier monsters here. Generally, Third Tier monsters are local overlords; we avoid them unless absolutely necessary, only fighting if forced."

Although Third Tier seemed commonplace to Sylutia now, in truth when a creature reaches Third Tier, the crushing effect of aspect tiers makes its power terrifying for ordinary people and animals. Even a single Third Tier being can easily destroy a small town or tribe of hundreds, throwing a small city into panic.

If it retained intelligence—say, a Third Tier knight—if he wished, he could wield a greatsword and slaughter thousands of ordinary soldiers with ease.

Therefore most settlements in this world must rely on protection from higher organizations: human knights and nobles of the School of Royal Authority, beastman warlord champions and roaming riders, the Elf Garden's guardians and gardeners loyal to the elves, the Lizardmen's allegiance to True Dragon lords, and so on. Beyond these are numerous supernatural schools and organizations that shelter their subordinate cities and villages. In some remote forests without a powerful state, there are the Houses of Witches; those witches serve as local physicians, educators, and guardians.

"Our tribe is too far from other settlements, we do not currently pledge fealty to any overlord. The closest overlord should be Sothus the Crimson Fang in the Elyn Mountains to the east. He is a Fourth Tier powerhouse, currently overseeing four tribes and commanding nearly a thousand warriors under him."

"Fourth Tier..." Sylutia recalled what her instructor had told her before she came to the western region.

During the Mage Alliance's wars of the past two years, the focus had been on dismantling organizations and forces with Fifth Tier power. Scattered Fourth Tier groups were not heavily targeted.

Partly because there were so many small fragmented groups, and partly because if all these minor groups were purged, local residents would lose their protectors and safety and order could collapse.

No wonder they didn't even know the Mage Alliance existed, nor that the top leadership of the region had changed.

After learning the situation from the shaman elder, Sylutia again returned to examine the corpse of the dead ape-like monster, conducting a casual inspection.

The monster was ordinary in many ways. As the shaman had said, an anomalous Seventh Tier creature could possibly be weak, and it had advanced and shifted aspect before—something impossible for intelligent beings, but extremely rare among beasts and monsters. Unless the beast had lost its self or encountered some strange fortune that caused its original aspect to suddenly surge beyond its core aspect.

As a beast, a gorilla-type creature choosing to step down to the Beast Fang aspect would be an instinctive choice, but it did not possess the white steel trait, which made it special. White steel-related abilities are the result of human research; white steel is not a naturally occurring ore or metal in the world. It was first produced through alchemical processes.

Only after white steel was developed did white steel-related abilities or professions emerge—white steel blades, white steel armor, white steel knights, and so on.

Animals cannot naturally produce white steel traits, and when such an ability manifests, the combination with their physiology is usually poor. Before white-steeling, because bodies become denser, exceptionally large creatures cannot support the massive mass and would collapse under their own weight.

This creature later chose the Beast Fang aspect, which can slightly reinforce skeletal fragility so its body could support such abilities. It also used Bloodline aspect to strengthen the flesh and muscle, boosting its strength while keeping the body light, making it rapid and agile.

"That sensation... it’s like Bloodline boosted the body's power excessively, and when it downgraded, the main aspect shifted," Sylutia recorded in her notes and continued to deduce.

This is a sparsely populated area; most beastmen lack education. Cultivating such a monster requires vast knowledge and techniques. If the beastmen truly had such means, they wouldn't be so weak and hidden deep in the mountains. Moreover, black steel is clearly a human alchemist's invention; few beastmen understand it.

"This actually looks like some experiments done by certain Black Mages, except this creature escaped control and ran out," she concluded in her notes.

Since the Star-Gazing School's fall, forbidden knowledge about modifying bloodlines was largely sealed, and related war beast breeding systems were heavily damaged and banned. Currently no major school researches this.

If such experiments were carried out within the Mage Alliance, they would be quickly discovered and apprehended by the Review Hall. But this is the western wilderness, beyond the Alliance's past reach, and without unified large forces—an ideal place for some people to hide.

As her deductions progressed, Sylutia increasingly suspected that Black Mages had raised this monster, causing today's accident.

It seemed she needed to report this to her academy instructors and professors as soon as possible; otherwise, whoever was behind it might notice something's wrong and either flee or come to silence witnesses.

Rest well for one night.

The next day, Sylutia handed a magic orb to the tribe's shaman and told him that if any unknown powerful enemy invaded, he could activate the orb; she would sense it and come to investigate.

"Thank you, ma'am." The shaman elder accepted gratefully. Azhelin then bowed and knelt as well to express his thanks.

"Thank you for saving us."

Seeing the girl preparing to leave, Azhelin finally could not help but speak.

"Can you tell me your name?"

Hearing him, Sylutia paused as she prepared to take flight. After thinking, she raised her hand; a black feather gradually condensed and then dropped into her palm.

"I'm not comfortable with people calling me many formal titles. This is the Black Griffin feather that represents my identity. Keep this as a token." The feather was not natural; she had used alchemical methods to transmute a small piece of black steel into it, and it could be preserved for a long time.

"Yes." The youth raised both hands and accepted the somewhat heavy metallic feather, bowing deeply to show his gratitude.

If it weren't for Sylutia, he would likely have lost any chance at redemption.

Seeing the youth so solemn and looking at how desolate the tribe was, Sylutia sighed.

"All right, I'll help you more, but how much you learn depends on your talent." She recalled the secret method for inscribing rune totems she had acquired earlier.

"Coincidentally, the gorilla monster's blood is rich in Bloodline aspect material; it can be used to inscribe your totem."

Afterwards Sylutia stayed here for half a day, explaining the principles and uses of this secret method to the shaman and the youth.

"It's fine if you can't remember everything now. I'll leave a Memory Gem. Once you learn basic meditation, you can use it to review your lessons."

Then, using the ape's heart's vital blood to mix with other ingredients, she sketched and inscribed special runes on the youth's back. Considering he wouldn't grasp the complex theories of a mage school, Sylutia chose bionics-style runes that beastmen would find easier to understand.

Unfortunately, she had studied under Professor Nox, who specialized in avian runes, so most of what she learned were bird-related runes rather than beast runes.

In the end, a majestic blood-red griffin vividly manifested on the youth's spine. After the inscription was complete, he used the tribe's secret rite to attune with the totem, his bloodline linked, and gradually the totem integrated into his life force, ultimately completing his advancement into Third Tier.

Fate Card: [Azure Horn Tribe Warrior] [Eighth Tier·Bloodline]

"Seasoned warrior of the beastman tribe, familiar with hunting many monsters; combat is instinct."

Effect: [Horned-Body Lv.6], formerly weakened own body via Beast Fang aspect so the bones are horn-strong.

- Effect: [Beastman Instinct Lv.5], beastmen of the Azure Horn Tribe possess keen combat instincts, enabling slowed reaction during battle.

Core Card: [Griffin Totem] [Bloodline]

"Although not inscribed with griffin blood, the rune combination grants you powerful abilities like a griffin." (Grants runes: Bird "Wing", "Talon", "Sharp Feathers", "Eagle Eye", "Swift Dive", "Wind Wings" seven rune types)

Influence: [Rune Response], allows using the totem's rune combinations to manifest griffin-like innate abilities.

Influence: [Bloodline Coordination], can harness your Bloodline aspect to amplify rune power.

Ability Cards:

[Breathing Technique Lv.7] (Bloodline): Regulate blood flow speed via breathing, enhancing full-body strength and reaction speed. (As the body grows stronger, the Breathing Technique's side effects have been eliminated; as long as stamina suffices, it can be sustained.)

[Horned Charge Lv.6] (Beast Fang): Greatly increase the hardness of bones and horn-like structures, channeling full-body muscle power through the skeleton to the attack location. (This strike is devastating.)