The Cornflower Witch

Outside the Gloomy Forest, the garrison.

Gray stone walls piled up to form a protective barrier around the garrison, which resembled a small town, complete with necessary facilities and a Beacon Tower.

Because it was a garrison, the layers of clouds in the sky were pierced by the beacon, allowing a sliver of sunlight to spill through the gaps.

After finishing the last expedition, Sylutia returned to Tetis College to pick up some items, then teleported back here through the beacon's targeting.

Slanting sunlight pierced through the verdant canopy, falling onto the pool below. Sylutia emerged from it carrying a suitcase, walking toward the small town garrison not far away.

The environment here was nice. Thanks to the garrison's protection, there was no erosion from Distortion. She could see the green grass spreading at the foot of the stone walls, and her shoes sank slightly into the soft ground.

After entering the garrison, Sylutia once again arrived at the local Mage Guild. She sat at the counter, placing her suitcase beside her for the time being.

"Welcome, Miss Hedra." The receptionist remembered this young woman and greeted her.

"Are you here to retrieve the Shadow-Walking Beast that was boarded here?"

"That's right. I went back to the academy to grab some things." Sylutia had returned to the school to borrow a few books, bought some alchemical ingredients, and also brought over some instruments and equipment—though they were stored in her dimensional space.

"Alright, please follow me." With that, the receptionist led her out of the hall and toward the beast pen not far away.

This garrison didn't have many permanent staff—probably just over two hundred people. Nearly half of them were official personnel of the Mage Alliance. Maintaining such a garrison was somewhat of a loss, as each member required payment and resource supplies.

According to the Mage Alliance's classification of garrisons, this was a Second-Tier garrison, just one step above First-Tier.

The Hidden Grove Alliance didn't have such detailed classifications, but based on her memories, Sylutia estimated that the 'Glittergold Plains' she had stayed at before was roughly equivalent to the Mage Alliance's 'Fifth-Tier' garrison—the level of a large city.

First-Tier garrisons were often simple camps, without even teleportation facilities—just places for resupply and rest. Second-Tier garrisons were like small towns, with basic facilities of all kinds and a permanent population of at least a hundred.

Walking through the garrison's streets, Sylutia arrived at the beast pen. It housed many War Beasts and Pack Beasts. Many people would rent one or two Pack Beasts when exploring to carry heavy luggage and bring back their spoils. While War Beasts couldn't be fully relied upon for combat, their auxiliary roles were very valuable—whether for reconnaissance, sentry duty, or hunting, they could greatly assist in expeditions.

"Hey there, little miss, want to buy a War Beast? Guaranteed to come in handy, make your exploration worry-free." As they stepped into the noisy beast pen, a dark-skinned Beast Trainer walked over. He wore a cowhide hat, leather armor and trousers, and carried a whip and some trinkets on his belt.

"Hello, not for now, thank you." Sylutia waved her hand to decline.

"Hey, don't be nervous. You might not know this, but bringing a reliable partner on an adventure saves so much trouble." As he spoke, a big yellow dog trotted out from behind him, its tail wagging like a swinging fan, occasionally patting its owner's long legs. It stared at Sylutia and the receptionist with curious eyes.

"Alright, Uncle Muk, this student is here to pick up the Shadow-Walking Beast that was boarded here." The receptionist cut him off.

"Oh, so it was you who caught it? Unbelievable." He made an exaggerated expression, stopped his sales pitch, patted the dog beside him, and led the two inside the beast pen.

Along the way, Sylutia saw many types of beasts kept here, including First-Tier brown-maned horses, trained hunting hounds, dark-feathered parrots, and two Black Mighty Oxen with large curved horns. As for Third-Tier beasts, she only spotted a 'Thunder Wolf' chained up in a corner. When they passed by, it opened its eyes for a look, then continued sleeping.

"This wolf has already been tamed. If you want it, I can transfer it to you for 2000 gold coins. Guaranteed worth the price."

"Uh, thank you, but still no." Sylutia shook her head again.

"No problem. If any classmates ever want one, feel free to recommend me. I'll give you 200 gold coins as a referral fee." He went on earnestly.

As he spoke, he ducked into a pen, fiddled around, unlocked the gate, and opened it.

"Come on in. That Shadow-Walking Beast is locked up in here."

The two passed through the specially crafted fence and entered a sealed room. After opening two more doors, Sylutia finally saw the Shadow-Walking Beast confined in a special cage.

When it spotted the Beast Trainer, the creature bared its teeth and growled low. But when Sylutia appeared before it, it quickly retracted its fierce expression, tucked its tail, and lay down, not daring to move.

"Whoa, looks like you left quite a psychological scar on it." The Beast Trainer chuckled.

"That makes training a lot easier. How about it? Want to learn from me? The fee isn't high—only 200 gold coins."

"Ahem, Uncle Muk, didn't you say earlier it was only 100 gold coins?" The upright receptionist couldn't help but expose him.

"Sigh, how can you be so bad at business? If you'd just put in a good word for me, I'd definitely have given you a cut of the referral fee later." He had an expression of utter exasperation.

As she listened to their conversation, Sylutia walked over to the cage, crouched down, and studied the Shadow-Walking Beast with curiosity, noticing details she had overlooked before.

This creature's fur didn't reflect any light at all. If it didn't open its eyes, you couldn't even see where its eyes were or what their shape was. Only the white walls around it made it hard for it to hide.

After exchanging a few more jabs with the receptionist, Trainer Muk turned his attention back to the young woman in front of him.

"When it first arrived, this one had seventeen broken bones. I spent quite a few days realigning and healing them. Thankfully, this guy's recovery is good. After three days, the bones had basically healed. Then it tried to escape, but luckily, the War Beasts in the pen caught it and drove it back." He said with some pride.

"Is it easy to train?" Sylutia pointed at the Shadow-Walking Beast.

"I've never trained one of these before, but its temperament isn't much different from other wolves or dogs. It's not hard to train." He rubbed his chin as he replied.

"Generally speaking, to tame a War Beast, it needs at least some intelligence. Some things are just too stupid to be tamed at all."

"But sometimes, if they're too smart, they can get cunning, even resort to camouflage."

"Most Third-Tier beasts have intelligence. Fourth-Tier ones are very smart—comparable to a human child. By Fifth-Tier, they're not much different from humans." He summarized roughly.

After hearing that, Sylutia thought it over and decided to ask this man for advice on training the Shadow-Walking Beast. At least if it became more obedient, she could experiment with some secret arts.

"A wise choice. Don't worry, I'll teach you everything I know and make you a Beast Training master." He laughed heartily and agreed.

After discussing the schedule and arrangements for the lessons, Sylutia, with the help of the receptionist, rented a small house in this garrison as a temporary residence.

In the afternoon, Sylutia used the key to open the small house in a corner of the garrison. After cleaning it up, she laid out the new sheets and blanket she had brought, then sat down to rest.

The old wooden table in front of her looked quite aged. The dark brown wood grain felt like tiny scales under her touch. Because she had just wiped it down, the water was still evaporating, making it feel slightly cool.

Sylutia leaned on the table, resting her head on her arm, and looked sideways at the open window not far away. A gentle breeze passed through the room from there, lightly stirring the strands of hair on the young woman's shoulders, bringing a soft, comfortable sensation.

It felt like summer.

Resting against the table, Sylutia's eyelids gradually closed, and she had a very short dream.

It was also summer, during summer vacation. With no school, life had suddenly turned quiet after the usual hustle and bustle. Staying home for too long, she occasionally felt a faint loneliness—until one day, a familiar classmate came to her building and called her out to play.

Too bad she could no longer remember the names or faces of those classmates now. Those distant memories had become as blurry as dreams...

...

The next day, early morning.

Stepping onto a path paved with gravel, Sylutia, dressed in a simple Cloth Skirt, headed toward the place she had agreed upon yesterday. The skirt was primarily cream-white, with emerald-green fabric accents on the sides, sleeves, and hem, giving it a natural and approachable feel.

Dressed like this, Sylutia looked like the girl next door, with a hint of warmth and cuteness.

Arriving at the beast pen, Sylutia lightly knocked on the door knocker. Soon, the big yellow dog she had seen yesterday ran over quickly, wagging its tail. It jumped up, used its mouth to pull the bolt open, opened the door, and then happily circled around Sylutia.

"Did you open the door?" Sylutia bent down and patted its fluffy head.

Then, led by the big yellow dog, she stepped inside the beast pen and saw the man still yawning.

"Oh, it's Hedra. You're really early." He stretched his back, then perked up a bit.

"Come with me. It's feeding time in the morning, so you can get familiar with the training methods."

After that, the man led the young woman toward the building housing the Shadow-Walking Beast, imparting many experience and techniques along the way.

Once inside, he brought over a feeding basin filled with bones and minced meat, then opened the inner door.

Then came the specific training process. He demonstrated once, then had Sylutia follow along and try it herself.

Two hours passed like that. After finishing the morning training session, he went to a room, took out an old, worn-looking book, and tossed it to Sylutia.

"Sit here and read this for a while. This book is pretty useful. I've taught you a lot, but there might be things I missed. This has everything covered."

Sylutia raised her feet to catch the somewhat heavy book, then opened it curiously.

"Taming Beasts and Riding Them" (Authored by 'Kreicha')

Sitting under a thatched gazebo, Sylutia spread the book open on the stone table in front of her and flipped through it page by page.

This book was written centuries ago. The author was a beastman born into a tribe, who had lived a nomadic life since childhood. Not only did he have to herd the family's livestock and train War Beasts, but he also had to defend against various wild beasts attacking the herds, accumulating a wealth of experience.

After reaching adulthood, he advanced to Third Tier. Because of his excellent beast-training skills, he was chosen by a local beastman warlord to join his team, responsible for training even more powerful War Beasts, including Second and Third-Tier ones.

Later, as his experience grew, he reached Fifth Tier at the age of fifty and became a new beastman warlord, commanding several tribes.

However, his strength wasn't invincible, as there were even stronger beastman warlords above him. That great figure was interested in his beast-training skills and ordered him to compile his experience into a book. Though his writing skills were poor, with the help of scholars sent by the beastman warlord, he gradually completed the book.

Reading this book grants the following Secret History Knowledge:

Contains progression path: Complete advancement process for the Third-Tier progression path [Beast Trainer]

Contains abilities: [Training Beast Flute] [Inspiration Horn] [Command of Dominion]

Contains knowledge: 'Transformation Ritual - Steel Fighting Hound' 'Contract Ritual - Pulse Sync', War Beast training techniques, livestock behavior basics, ingredient preparation insights

Though the man's teaching was average, this book was truly packed with essence. Sylutia was completely engrossed, and before she knew it, it was noon.

"You're still reading? Not hungry?" The man, having finished his rounds, walked over and was surprised to see Sylutia still sitting there reading.

"Is it noon already?" The young woman put down the book. It was probably time to eat.

Leaving the beast pen, Sylutia went to the only tavern in the garrison for a meal. Most of the diners were garrison personnel stationed here, with very few students who had actually come to explore or undertake missions.

After sitting down, Sylutia ordered her meal and waited, overhearing a few people talking.

"The Gloomy Forest is still too dangerous. I barely made it to the second layer before I almost got bitten by a venomous snake. Luckily, my teammate had antivenom."

"Then on the way back, we ran into a few bats. One of our teammates at the back got attacked before we even noticed."

"I heard there are even bigger giant spiders, but we just didn't run into any."

"A 4★ danger rating is still way too high." The group was discussing whether to switch locations.

Apart from these Third-Tier mages, Sylutia also spotted some Second-Tier Mage Apprentices. They probably weren't students from the advanced academy but rather adventurers here to collect herbs on the outskirts of the secret realm.

Although Distortion erosion brought danger, the depths of the Twilight Sea were also rich in resources. Some would spill over to the surface and be captured by the Shadow World. These herbs were mostly Tier 1-2, which official mages generally looked down on, but for them, it was different.

Since they couldn't get into the advanced academy, these wild mage apprentices either went to small schools or earned their own money to seek public secret arts teachings from larger schools.

Large schools would sell some lower-to-mid-tier secret arts or non-core knowledge to the public, requiring only expensive gold coins to learn. On one hand, this increased their income; on the other hand, if a truly exceptional talent suited for that school appeared, they could be discovered and recruited.

'Mithril Clock' didn't publicly teach many secret arts. Sylutia remembered only three spells: "Mithril Radiance," "Analysis," and "Shining Star." But if someone actually entered the school to learn, they would know that 'Mithril Radiance' was a Spell Model under the 'Quicksilver Rune' series of courses, and the other two were also small parts of knowledge application within series courses.

Two minutes later, the waiter brought Sylutia's crispy flatbread and roasted meat, along with a glass of cold pomegranate juice. She picked it up, feeling it slightly hot to the touch. Taking a bite, the aroma of crispy bread and meat slices filled her mouth.

The summer breeze was gentle. A little sunlight from the window fell on her skirt. In the light, a few strands of hair on the side of the young woman's ear became almost transparent.