Cornflower Witch

Chapter 120 Eyeball Fruit

Life in Scorched Stone City was good, but Hilti lacked friends with whom she could have deep conversations. She shared much of the gardening knowledge, insights, and hobbies she had learned with people like Komia, but they didn't understand. Lady Fran would certainly understand, but she was an elder and often away from home, so Hilti couldn't pester her to talk. She often tended to her flower fields alone.

She was used to loneliness, but having like-minded friends was even more fortunate.

The two walked among the trees and grass on the eighth floor. The hall on this floor had special spherical lights, like miniature suns, providing light for the planted flowers and grass.

"Tia, which flower do you like?" Florella squatted in front of a sunset chrysanthemum, her fingers carefully touching it. The small sunset chrysanthemum swayed slightly, then released a faint fragrance.

"I think I like them all," Hiltia recalled, noting that she hadn't encountered any flowers she particularly disliked yet.

"By the way, Florella, do you know what 'cornflower' is?"

“Cornflower, let me think… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.” Florella lightly pressed her fingers to her chin, her light pink eyes slightly closed.

“I remember now. An elder once brought back a pot of cornflowers from his travels on the First Continent. It was said to be a rather rare flower.” Florella then described the appearance of the cornflowers she had seen to Siltiah.

"It was a blue-purple flower, with slender, funnel-shaped petals radiating outwards from the center, the edges of which were soft and graceful like feathers." Florella had an excellent memory; she could describe in detail any flower she had seen many years ago.

Hearing Florella's description, Hilti felt a surge of joy. She had always thought that cornflowers didn't exist in this world, but thankfully someone had finally told her that such flowers did.

Although she doesn't know where she can see it yet, the fact that it exists somewhere in the world put her mind at ease.

"Does Florella know where we can find her now?" Hiltiya suppressed her anticipation and excitement.

"My elder in my hometown may have planted some, but that's on the second continent, which is very far away." It took Florella several years to get here on her own, but fortunately, elves have long lifespans and don't care about the time lost.

“Alright.” Hiltia suppressed her regret and then quickly made a decision.

Once you reach Tier 3 and have a certain level of self-protection, you can embark on a cross-sea journey to search for it on the second continent, or you can go to the place of origin on the first continent.

"Does Hilti really like cornflowers?" Florella asked curiously, noticing the girl's unusual emotional fluctuation.

"Yes, not only do I like it, but it's also related to my background, Florella." The girl bent one wrist, her fingers brushing through the silver hair in front of her, her voice filled with a hint of nostalgia and reverie.

"Oh, it's something so important." Florella decided to remember this and ask that elder to mail her some cornflower seeds next time she wrote home.

After walking through the botanical garden on the eighth floor, the two arrived at the ninth floor.

This place is noticeably more lively, with many temporary stalls and shops selling all sorts of things. Most of the business owners are freshmen from the college living in the camel-shaped building.

"A finely crafted steel scimitar from the Taoyan Mountains, incredibly sharp, only 1 gold coin~" A man wearing a long gold chain held two gold-plated longswords and waved them in the air. The gleaming blades reflected a cold light, attracting many passing students.

"Meditation incense, 5 silver coins per stick, 30 sticks for 1 gold coin."

"Healing ointment, 30 silver coins per bottle."

"Eastern heat-insulating essential oil, one gold coin per bottle."

"Crafted blood wine, an excellent item for practicing breathing techniques, 2 gold coins per bottle."

Hilti observed the items the students were selling; their prices and quality varied considerably. Some seemed very affordable, while others were rather expensive. For example, the bottle of blood wine was slightly inferior in quality to the one Maester Hyde had previously rewarded them with, yet it was twice as expensive. This was probably because many students here needed it, and the supply was limited, thus driving up the price.

"Eyeball Flower seeds, after cultivation, can form Eyeball Fruits, which will help you fight enemies. They are priced at 10 seeds for 1 gold coin." At this moment, a voice from the noisy stall caught Hilti's attention.

It was rare to encounter a plant that directly participated in the battle, and she couldn't help but feel tempted.

As she walked over with Florella, she discovered that a girl of similar age was selling the goods. The girl had tanned skin and wore simple, thick cloth clothes with several pockets for carrying things.

On the stall was a potted plant with a fully formed eyeball fruit inside. The lower half of the plant was similar to most flowers and plants, but the upper part contained a translucent fruit enclosed by petals. It looked like a peeled lychee with faint black dots inside, resembling an eyeball.

【Eyeball Fruit (Questionable)】(Tier 1, Emerald Honey): A plant that is said to be able to assist in battle.

This would attract not only Siltiia, but also other interested students who gathered around.

"Can it really fight the enemy? How strong is it? Or is it just a tickle?" Some people were skeptical.

"How much power can such small flowers and fruits exert? Will we have to focus on controlling them during battle?" Some students who knew about plant cultivation shook their heads.

"Could you demonstrate its power?" someone finally couldn't help but ask.

The girl first raised her hands to quiet everyone down.

"It's normal that people don't believe it, because this is a newly discovered plant in my hometown. It is said that it was first brought back from the depths of the swamp by an adventurer."

“The fully grown Eyeball Fruit is at the second stage. My plant is not yet at the fully grown stage, but I can show you its potential in advance.” After saying that, she took out a thick wooden board and placed it a few meters away, asking the other trainees to spread out.

The girl then activated the 'Emerald Honey' aspect within her body, interfering with the eyeball-shaped fruit in front of her. The translucent fruit within emitted light, like a small light bulb, and then a beam of orange light was emitted, striking a wooden board not far away and leaving a scorched dent half a centimeter deep.

"What you are seeing now is the light emitted by itself. If you learn the 'Blooming Flower Technique' passed down by the gardeners and activate it yourself, you can instantly increase its power tenfold, enough to instantly pierce through wooden boards and penetrate enemies of the same level."

After hearing her explanation, many students nodded slightly.

"Indeed, if the blooming method is used to stimulate it, the effect can be amplified tenfold, which would be very practical."

"Because it is light, the shooting speed is extremely fast, and the power is also more concentrated, making it several times stronger than other flame-type plants."

"However, the only problem is how to learn the 'Blooming Flower Technique' at the first level."

"I heard that most gardeners need to advance to the second level to master this ability. Less than one-tenth of them can learn it at the first level, and it takes a lot of time."

“My teacher said that he learned the Flower Blooming Technique when he was at the first level, but it took him a year to learn, which delayed his progress. He regretted it later.”

"For the first stage, just focus on cultivating plants, condense the basic apprentice rank, then use meditation to improve your mental strength, and with the right spiritual herbs, stepping into the second stage as soon as possible is the key."

"It's not useful at the first tier, but there will be more options at the second tier, so cultivating Eyeball Fruit is somewhat of a waste." As the onlookers discussed, most of them slowly walked away, losing interest.

(End of this chapter)