Cornflower Witch

Chapter 125 Association Contract
The camel set sail again, but this time its destination was the final stop.

About ten days later, Hiltiya and her classmates saw the sunlight again after a long time and stepped out of the closed, towering building.

They came down to a hillside, where a camel about 300 meters tall stood at the foot of the hill.

Then, guided by a group of cavalrymen dressed in dark green robes, the group crossed the road on the hillside and arrived at the valley below, where several hidden lakes were located.

The lake's surface is as clear as a mirror, reflecting the mountains and sky in a dark silver hue. Rows of moonboats are moored along the lake shore.

Not far from the lake, a group of wizards dressed in black robes, their faces obscured, stood. Their nature was one of the three natures of the lunar element, and their rank was between 2 and 3. There were approximately 5 third-rank wizards and 17 second-rank wizard apprentices.

"Please board the boat in order of the numbers and names I call out and head to the lake," a black-robed wizard announced to the group of students from a rocky outcrop below.

Upon arriving here, Hilti had to part ways with Florella because they were heading to different lake passages.

Under the shade of tall trees on the shore, Hiltiya sat on a two-meter-high black wooden box, waiting. Beneath her black silk skirt, her shapely calves and ankles, encased in long stockings, swayed slightly, back and forth like a swing.

The other trainees, each with their own luggage, waited in the open space by the lake, some even chatting in small groups.

Are we going to the woods soon?

"They actually did it this way." Someone looked at the scene on the lake, surprised and astonished.

On the lake, several crescent-shaped boats carrying students and their luggage sailed to the center of the lake. Then, the lake surface lit up, and the students and their luggage on the boats disappeared instantly, leaving only empty crescent-shaped boats, which were then pulled back by ropes.

"The shadow beneath the continent and the world above it have a strange connection, just like the inside and outside of a mirror are symmetrical. We can use certain abilities of the lunar element to swap them and then reach the world in the shadow," a knowledgeable student explained.

"The people who went to Huishi Town have finally all left. Now it's our turn."

"Students heading to 'White Falcon Cliff', begin preparations," the wizard on the cliff announced.

"Okay, let's go." The trainees got up, dragged their luggage, and boarded the ship one by one.

Under the shade of the tree, Hilti watched as the other trainees boarded the ship one by one, but her name was never called. This continued until dusk, when the sun slowly set in the distance, and finally only about ten people remained.

"Trainees heading to the 'Golden Plains,' begin preparations." Finally, the 'Golden Plains' were mentioned.

Hilti leaped lightly from the tall wooden crate, and several boatmen on the lake helped her drag and lift the large crate onto the boat. The last batch of students also came over one by one.

"Hiltiya, Tier 1, Emerald Honey, proceed to the Radiant Gold Plains." The black-robed wizard checked her identity with the booklet, nodded slightly to the girl, and then let her pass.

"Passed, next."

Hilti thanked her briefly, then picked up her luggage, walked to the side of the ship, and carefully stepped onto the slightly swaying crescent-shaped boat.

Come to think of it, she doesn't seem to be able to swim. Sitting in the boat, the silver-haired girl gently dipped her fingers into the water, feeling the icy coolness of the current.

After playing in the water for a while, Hilti sat down again. At this time, the other students also boarded the boat one after another. There were about 1-2 people on each boat. Hilti's boat had herself and her luggage.

After they were ready, to Hilti's surprise, several wizard apprentices by the lake also boarded the remaining small boats and followed them, slowly moving towards the center of the lake.

The lake water rippled, and the small boat glided across its surface at dusk, as if sailing on a black mirror. The mountains and trees in sight gradually disappeared, and everything became exceptionally empty, with only the vast twilight sky above and the black lake water below.

Upon arriving at the center of the lake, Hilti leaned against her suitcase, feeling slightly nervous. However, she quickly realized that she could change her 'alien' nature and shouldn't be afraid of this kind of space travel, so she gradually calmed down.

A faint silver light shone from the lake's surface, and for a moment, Hiltiya could see her own reflection in the water.

Other trainees nearby gasped in surprise, and then the surrounding environment blurred and became indistinct.

A few seconds later, everything became clear again, and she and the other students landed on the white stone floor, with a clear blue sky overhead.

A fortress protected by white walls sits on a golden plain. Outside the high walls, neat rows of wheat fields stretch out, forming shimmering golden waves when the wind blows.

In the distance, within the fortress, six white stone towers stand tall, their spires pointing to the sky like sharp swords. Above them, the heavy, oppressive clouds seem to be driven away by an invisible force field, creating a huge circular void. Through this void, sunlight slants into the shadowy world.

……

"You must be the new students this year." A tall, thin boy came up to the group. He was wearing a white hooded robe and holding a book in his hand.

"I am the senior student in charge of guiding you. Now, please follow me to the White Tower Fortress." He had a scholarly air about him and wore glasses with a gold chain attached to one corner of the frame, which was tucked into his chest pocket.

Upon hearing his introduction, everyone stepped forward out of curiosity, and he answered their questions one by one.

"The carriages are ready. You can coordinate the use of them according to how much luggage you have. First, move your things to the warehouse of the Woodland Association in the city, and then we will distribute them according to your specific destinations."

"Alright, there's no need to ask me so many questions. When you get to the Forestry Association, there will be teachers who will explain everything to you." After saying that, he adjusted his glasses and glanced at everyone.

When he saw Sylvia, his gaze lingered for a few seconds, probably because he noticed the badge the girl was wearing on her chest.

Half an hour later, the drivers loaded the luggage onto the cart and then drove the trainees toward the fortress, the journey along the hillside was somewhat bumpy and shaky.

"Why not just build the teleportation point in the city? That would save us all this trouble," someone couldn't help but ask.

"You haven't studied properly, have you? Fortresses are basically creations of the 'castle' path, which naturally suppress other attributes. If you move them into a city, they will hardly be effective."

"Oh, I remember now, that seems to be true."

“Yes, although living in the fortress is inconvenient, it is also very safe.” The tall, thin senior spoke again. He was currently a 'Tier 2 Castle' and seemed to be quite used to life here.

“If you happen to be practicing the ‘castle’ aspect, then living in a fortress has even fewer drawbacks.”

"It's safe this way, but it's also a bit boring. I still prefer the feeling of freedom in the wild."

As everyone chatted about their thoughts, occasionally someone would steal a glance at the silent girl sitting in the carriage, admiring the scenery. Although many admired the silver-haired girl's beautiful appearance and demeanor, no one dared to approach her or disturb her after seeing the badge she wore.

And so, a line of carriages slowly drove into the city fortress, and the hustle and bustle gradually flowed in from the air outside the carriages.

The streets here are exceptionally wide, with many strangely-looking alien races walking and moving about, though there are still many humans, but everyone is clearly more curious about the unfamiliar and unknown things.

Unlike the continent above the clouds, almost all the residents and pedestrians here possess solidified attributes, meaning that 90% of them are at least at the first level. The rest, who do not possess solidified attributes, are mostly slaves and laborers in the city.

Along the way, Hilti encountered all sorts of demi-humans, including lizardmen, elves, half-giants, moon rabbits, and so on. There were also cavalry guards training in the city in neat rows, all dressed in white armor and cloaks, and very disciplined.

Despite the large number of people of different races and appearances, the area is exceptionally safe, which explains why it ranks among the top ten most populous outposts in the forest.

The carriage arrived at the Forest Association. Hilti jumped off the carriage and saw the sign and tall buildings in front of her. She confirmed that this was the Forest Association's headquarters as reported, and went inside with a group of students.

People were moving around inside the association, and there were many people here to handle their affairs. The senior student in the white robe and glasses who was leading the group led them to a special window on the side and began to handle their affairs one by one.

About half an hour later, it was Siltia's turn.

The girl sat in the chair in front of the counter, her long silver hair falling to her waist, forming a few crescent-shaped gaps at her lower back. She first handed the referral letter she was carrying to the clerk, and then took out her badge and showed it to him.

"I see, it's Miss Siltia." Upon seeing the badge, the other party became slightly more attentive and checked the information.

Soon, the young woman with glasses and a low ponytail put down the letter and then took out a booklet from the side and flipped through it.

“There are many jobs suitable for freshmen here. Considering that you have a background in horticulture, the most suitable job would be to go to the wheat fields outside the city to manage crops.”

"There are currently three regions that are short of gardeners. The first one is near the city fortress. The main task is to take care of the improved wheat and supply high-quality grain. This task is not difficult. Of course, your subsidy will be much less, but the advantage is that the work is simple and you have a lot of free time to stay in the city."

"The second place is an area five kilometers away from the city fortress, where there is a relatively mature 'golden wheat field'. The golden wheat produced there can be processed to extract a small amount of precious golden wheat. Going there will bring a lot of subsidies, but taking care of the golden wheat will take a lot of effort, especially for gardeners who are not familiar with it."

"The third place is even further away, a valley plain 20 miles outside the city. Since it has just been developed from the Shadow World, not many people go there yet. There is a hunter's hut and a patrol post not far away, and people are often sent to clear out the monsters that appear in the area. There is a small amount of danger."

“Then let’s go to the third place.” Hilti quickly made a decision, not because it was the largest, but because she preferred a quiet environment where she could freely express herself.

“It’s quite far, but if you can cultivate a large area of ​​fertile land, the association will give you a reward.” The other person pushed up their glasses.

"Since you don't want to back out, then sign here." With that, she took out a piece of paper and handed it to the girl.

The note stated that the valley plain would be temporarily entrusted to Hiltiya for management, and that someone would be sent to inspect the situation after six months. If she could successfully cultivate 100 acres of land, she would pass; if she could reach 200 acres, she would receive an excellent rating; and if she could reach 300 acres and deliver 5000 catties of high-quality wheat, she would receive a perfect rating.

The evaluations you receive over the years in the forest will affect the difficulty of joining various organizations in the future, as they will review your performance over the past few years.

"What is high-quality wheat?" Hiltiya asked about the standards.

"The quality of wheat is generally classified into passable, good, excellent, outstanding, rare, and perfect. The so-called high quality generally refers to the two stages of excellent and outstanding."

"The 'high-quality' clause in the contract means you must deliver at least 5000 jin (2,500 catties) of unadulterated, high-quality wheat flour," the other party explained in detail, adding this line below.

"Let me show you some samples." She said, skillfully opening the drawer and taking out different wheat ears and grains.

The wheat that met the passing grade was the kind that used to be sold in ordinary shops in Jiaoshi City; most of these were grown by the farmers themselves.

High-quality wheat is probably what the nobles in the castle of Jiaoshi City use to make bread and pastries; these are mostly produced exclusively by the nobles' estates.

Hiltiya had never seen such high-quality wheat before. She took a tiny bit with her finger, licked it with her tongue, and savored it.

This grade of wheat provides significantly more nutrients and energy, and also tastes better.

The girl also tasted the wheat of exceptional quality. If good quality wheat provides 130% of the nutritional energy of ordinary wheat, then the superior quality wheat provides 180% of the nutritional energy.

As for the rare-quality wheat, she continued to taste it. It provided about 300% of the nutritional energy of ordinary wheat and also had a slightly sweet taste. If it were used to make pastries and bread, it would probably be an excellent delicacy.

Finally, there was the perfect quality wheat. The other party wouldn't let Hilti taste it, but only let her touch the wheat ears to look at them.

"You can't try it, okay? If someone comes to take a bite every day, the association will lose money." The woman in front of her smiled and waved her hand to stop her.

Hiltiya looked at the plump, golden ears of wheat; even by touching them, she could feel the faint vitality emanating from them.

This kind of wheat was probably military supplies provided to high-ranking knights, specifically for replenishment and consumption before major battles.

"Transporting supplies from the Floating Cloud Continent to the forest is very expensive. Even the most common wheat here costs 10 copper coins per pound, which is ten times the price on the ground," the woman at the counter explained to Xilutiya.

"Excellent wheat is about 1 silver coin per pound, superior quality wheat is 3 silver coins per pound, rare quality wheat is 10 silver coins per pound, and perfect quality wheat is about 1 gold coin per pound," she quoted the price list.

"Of course, these are the market retail prices. As you are currently a member of the association, the purchase price will be 20% lower than the market price. The advantage is that you don't have to worry about selling, and the association can send people to help you harvest, bundle, and process the crops during the busy farming season."

"This is already very reasonable. As for the purchase price from outsiders, it will probably be 40% lower than the market price, since the association also needs to make a profit."

Hiltia didn't object to this. If she insisted on taking all the profits, she would probably have to deal with a lot of trivial matters, such as processing the hulls, selling them in the city, paying taxes, negotiating business, and handling after-sales issues.

Instead of wasting her time and energy, she should focus on doing what she likes and is good at.

Division of labor and cooperation is indeed a great advancement in civilization, allowing people to focus more intently on one task without being disturbed.

Having made her decision, Siltia signed the contract, and her farming life would slowly begin.

Golden, perfect wheat? I wonder if I can cultivate it myself.

(End of this chapter)