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Nekotrans

The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 37: The Mushroom-Picking Girl

The continuous drizzle that lasted for two days finally ended.

A new day dawned, with the morning light piercing through the forest, and clear birdsong echoing through the mountains.

Pushing open the window, Sylutia looked towards the distant fields and sky, feeling a rare sense of clarity and refreshment.

She wanted to go out for a walk today and didn't feel like staying indoors reading books.

Compared to her, some students were even more impatient, rushing into the wild fields, excitedly running and breathing deeply.

After breakfast, Scholar Hyde finally managed to gather everyone together.

"None of you are probably in the mood for lessons today, so I'll let you go out for some activities instead. However, it's best if you move around in small groups to avoid any accidents." After giving further instructions, he waved his hand to dismiss everyone.

With permission granted, many students sprang into action. Some noble students led out their horses and galloped straight out of the village, likely going for a joyride.

As for the remaining commoner students, quite a few also arranged to go walking in the mountains, attempting to hunt.

At this moment, a group of commoner students followed behind him, including Sylutia and her companions.

"The teacher said we shouldn't stray too far apart, so let's just move around in this area ahead. If anything unexpected happens, shout loudly - we'll be able to hear each other since we're not far away."

"No problem." Ray responded in his deep, resonant voice. Today he carried a thick wooden club, the front part of which was even thicker than Sylutia's thigh.

Besides him, many other students also carried weapons - some had iron swords, some had longbows, and at the very least, they carried simple wooden spears.

Having trained in swordsmanship and combat techniques for so long, everyone was itching to test how strong they really were. Although they had sparred a few days ago, sparring was still just sparring - no blood was drawn, and they couldn't directly attack vital points, which felt somewhat restrictive.

With this rare day of relaxation, many wanted to find some prey to practice on. If they could encounter Tili Wolves running through the mountains, that would be even better - not only could they test their strength, but they could also obtain nice pelts as trophies.

At this moment, Sylutia and her two companions were also walking through the mountains after the rain, occasionally holding onto branches while going up and down slopes, making their way through damp, not-yet-dried leaf-covered ground.

"Komea, do you see the mushrooms over there?" Sylutia raised her hand, pointing toward the grassy area under a large tree.

"There, mushrooms?" Komea and Karen turned their gaze in that direction.

Sylutia carefully stepped on moss-covered stones, arriving under the large tree on the slope. She parted the damp grass to reveal mushrooms inside with a light blue gradient coloration.

She continued using her fingers to brush aside the soft soil, carefully picking the mushroom with the pale blue cap.

[Blue Rain Mushroom] (Quality - Excellent): A rare mushroom found after rain, somewhat toxic. Direct consumption can slightly dissolve the effects brought by the 'Blazing Sun' Aspect. Can be used for refining potions.

She had seen such plants in books, but never expected to actually find one in the forest today. She recalled the book's description - a single one could apparently sell for 1 silver coin.

"Wow, is this poisonous? The color is so unique." Komea and Karen gathered around.

"Yes, it's poisonous, but also very useful." Sylutia nodded.

"If we take it to the Apothecary Guild, they'll buy it."

"Doesn't that mean we can earn a lot?" Komea grew excited.

"Mmm, let me look around some more - there might be others nearby." Sylutia thought about her nearly depleted savings - she really needed to find ways to build up her funds now.

Afterward, she circled around the area again. Although she didn't find a second 'Blue Rain Mushroom,' she did discover other useful herbs.

"This is Crushed Stone Grass, this is Rooster Neck Flower, and this is Sickle Thorn Vine." Although these herbs hadn't reached First-Tier Aspect level, they were still essential supplementary ingredients for many potion preparations.

"I don't understand all that, Tia. Why don't you just tell us how much they can sell for~" Komea carefully stored them in the basket she carried.

"These three can probably sell for about 30 copper." The girl held up three fingers.

"That's more than my dad earns in a day at work." Komea's enthusiasm was completely fired up now.

"Let's search together, then split the harvest three ways." Sylutia suggested, as she alone couldn't carry much anyway.

"Okay~" Komea raised her hand.

Although Karen felt somewhat embarrassed, her family circumstances weren't great either, and her eyes now shone with anticipation.

Then the three completely forgot about hunting, instead following Sylutia as she moved through the rain-soaked forest, stopping and going, searching all around for useful herbs and mushrooms.

Under bushes between large trees, in hidden rock crevices, within sunken small pits, in places covered by tree branches - this girl could always easily discover those hidden things.

Once again, Sylutia crouched among fallen leaves on a slope, carefully digging up a small tender seedling, cradling it in both hands as she brought it out.

"What's this, Tia?" The two looked at it curiously.

"This is a Bubble Flower seedling." Sylutia recalled the illustrated guide she'd seen before.

"Bubble Flowers are very fragile, especially when blooming. But after they blossom, the petals wrap around each other to form a spherical shape. When the wind blows, they float up lightly, flying to very high places."

"These kinds of flowers and plants possess the rare 'Vaulted Sky' Aspect. If cultivated properly, they can yield very valuable raw materials." Holding it in her hand, Sylutia examined it carefully.

There were no other Bubble Flowers around here - it was likely that seeds from somewhere else had drifted down from the sky.

As if suddenly landing in these mountains, she suddenly thought of when she first woke up in the forest.

Carefully wrapping it in cotton cloth from her pocket, Sylutia stored the Bubble Flower seedling away.

Seeing the rare flowers and plants being harvested, the other two also felt a wave of happiness.

"So Sylutia plans to take it back and cultivate it carefully?" Karen asked curiously.

"Mmm, but I don't know much about Bubble Flower cultivation conditions - I'll probably need to experiment for a while." Now that she had the Verdant Eye Potion, she could solve many problems.

Over the next two days, the three of them basically traveled through mountain wilds, riverbanks, and stream valleys, searching for useful herbs, then carefully preserving them and bringing them back to the village.

On the third day, Scholar Hyde resumed his lectures, ending their herb-gathering journey.

"You all must have had quite successful hunting these past few days." Scholar Hyde had heard students excitedly discussing their daily catches almost every day.

Compared to ordinary people, these students basically all knew Breathing Techniques, making them considerably stronger in physical strength, endurance, and combat ability. They went after many animals that villagers couldn't catch or didn't dare pursue.

"Of course, I hunted two Tili Wolves." Baren proudly displayed the orange-yellow wolf pelts in his hands.

"Solyn caught two as well." Someone muttered quietly.

"I hunted four Tili Wolves, plus three deer, twelve rabbits, and one night falcon." Mick spoke calmly, as if this were quite ordinary.

"Ah, that many? You couldn't have cheated, could you?"

"How could you cheat at something like that? Buy them now?" someone retorted.

Everyone was astonished by Mick's harvest, and only now did many truly notice this narrow-eyed youth. He looked somewhat fierce, but no one expected him to be such a skilled hunter.

"Mick, you grew up in the mountains, right?" Scholar Hyde stroked his beard as he inquired.

"Yes." He nodded, his slightly fierce gaze sweeping over those who had doubted him.

"Very good. Everyone has their own strengths - there's no need to compare yourselves in this regard." Scholar Hyde shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze toward the black-haired, bespectacled girl nearby.

"Tia, why don't you tell everyone about your harvest these past two days."

Sigh, do I have to? She had been thinking about continuing her low-profile development life. Sylutia felt somewhat surprised, but since Teacher Hyde had spoken, she couldn't keep hiding it.

"I didn't go hunting, but gathered herbs and mushrooms with my companions instead." She briefly explained before continuing her report.

"I gathered approximately 321 herbs, among which 181 were relatively rare, 58 rare mushrooms, and 17 vine-type medicinal plants." As she spoke, she took some from her pocket and laid them out in front of her.

"That many?" Many students felt shocked and surprised.

Even famous herb gatherers from the Apothecary Guild couldn't possibly have such harvests in just two days. Moreover, Goldenrain Tree Village wasn't some herb-rich, remote location - if there were really that many valuable herbs, they would have been gathered long ago.

Seeing many students' doubts, Scholar Hyde clapped his hands to quiet everyone down.

"I've examined the herbs Tia gathered - the numbers are correct, and some are even of exceptionally good quality." He nodded in approval.

"As I said before, everyone has their own strengths. Tia possesses extremely high talent and ability as a gardener."

"Not everyone needs to walk the same path, and what the masses advocate may not completely suit you. So I'm very pleased to see you truly finding what you love and firmly pursuing it."

Being held up as an example by the teacher made Sylutia inexplicably recall her middle school days in her previous life. She then slightly shook her head.

Actually, her swordsmanship and combat ability were quite good too - she wasn't as specialized as the teacher made her sound.

But since everyone misunderstood things this way, it seemed like a good outcome, at least avoiding much trouble. Otherwise, she'd have to find ways to explain why, without famous teachers' guidance or daily sword practice, her actual combat skills surpassed her peers.

Explaining those reasons would be too troublesome, and she was someone who disliked trouble.

Throughout the day, Teacher Hyde continued teaching everyone about various mountain matters - such as the habits of many animals, their activity cycles, common mountain herbs, and so on. However, due to limited time, he only covered the most practical parts for now.

"That concludes today's lesson. I'll give you one more day of activities tomorrow, and we'll return the day after."

"Oh~" The students cheered excitedly once again.