Cornflower Witch

Chapter 150 Overgrown with Vines
After finishing the assessment, Hiltiya had some free time, as it would take some time to wait for the review results.

In the past few days, she first submitted 5000 catties of high-quality wheat, which was purchased at 2.1 silver coins per catty (70% of the market price) according to the association, and received 105 gold coins in return.

As for the 'rare' and 'perfect' quality wheat, she will wait and see, and is not in a hurry to make a move.

That day, she stayed in Whitestone Fortress, asking the association members about learning combat skills.

"Hello." A rather intellectual-looking woman greeted her.

"My name is Angela, and I'm the librarian for this branch." This Miss Angela is a rare 'Secret Word' type, with strength around the third tier.

"Hello, I'm Siltia." The girl introduced herself simply, but judging from the other person's expression, they must have recognized her long ago.

After talking for a while, Angelina understood the girl's needs and then helped her analyze them.

"Generally speaking, gardeners do not participate in combat, because most of the skills they learn are unrelated to combat."

"However, things are not absolute. There are quite a few factions of gardeners who have developed the ability to apply their skills to combat."

“Currently, exploration and defense within the forest are conducted in small groups, and many gardeners specifically learn a skill called ‘vine growth’ before forming a team.”

"Its function is to instantly stimulate the vitality of vine seeds or plants, causing them to grow rapidly, which can be used to trap or defeat enemies."

"Compared to the blooming method, this skill is relatively easy to learn, and most gardeners can master it with diligent practice."

"In addition, the most popular one right now is the 'Bloodthorn Garden' developed 'Bloodthirsty Vine'. Gardeners only need to buy a bunch of 'Bloodthirsty Vine' seeds, embed them in the enemy's wounds during battle, and they can burrow into the opponent's body, absorb blood and grow, with excellent results."

Hearing this, Hiltiya roughly understood the principle and method of using this ability.

"In addition, 'Overgrown Vines' is also the foundation of 'Natural Growth'. If you learn 'Overgrown Vines', 'Wild Growth', and 'Sprouting Trees' separately, you can try to merge the three abilities into 'Natural Growth' at the third level," the other party continued.

Hearing this, Hilti became curious and asked, "Does the 'Blooming Technique' have any advanced paths?"

"The 'Blooming Method,' 'Pollination Method,' and 'Bearing Fruit Method' can be combined into the 'Flower and Fruit Ritual' at the fifth level. However, this ability requires a high level of skill, and even among fifth-level gardeners, few can master it."

Then, Hiltiya learned about the origin and uses of 'aromatherapy'.

"Aromatherapy isn't popular on our continent; I only know about it from some books," the other person replied after a brief recollection.

"Actually, aromatherapy is a variation of pollination, or rather, it only uses the part of pollination that stimulates the fragrance of flowers and amplifies its effect."

"While a complete pollination process has effects similar to aromatherapy, it is not strong. Its main function is to select and improve plant traits for breeding and improvement."

"In addition, the 'pollination method' is quite difficult and generally requires level four to learn, while the 'fruit method' requires level three to master."

Having learned so much about gardeners, Hilti became interested in the uses and advancements of her other breathing technique.

"Basic breathing techniques and meditation are similar, both being of the 'blood rhythm' nature, but with practice, they can be combined with other abilities to transform."

"For example, the 'Castle' path can be fused with 'Iron Armor Protection' to transform into 'Steel Body', the 'Golden Steam' path can be fused with 'Heat Breath' to transform into 'Iron Lung Breath', and the 'Mist Shadow' path can be fused with 'Sound Concealment Technique' to transform into 'Silent Body', and so on. This way, the ability to enhance oneself through breathing techniques is preserved, and other effects can also be added. Furthermore, subsequent advancements and enhancements will not interfere with the main attribute."

After listening to Jaina's story, Sylvanas was somewhat satisfied, and then they began to discuss the choice of combat abilities.

"If you know how to use a bow and arrow, combining it with 'Overgrown Vines' or 'Wild Grass' will have a good effect," the other party suggested again.

"A gardener's combat ability is ultimately inferior to that of a superhuman who specializes in combat. If they were to engage in close combat, it would be extremely dangerous. Utilizing a bow and arrow, along with the effects of various plant seeds, would be a better way to fight."

"This is not our invention. On the second continent, the elves there are generally skilled archers and adept at using secret techniques to imbue arrows with various 'emerald honey' properties."

"I understand." Hilti nodded slightly. It seemed that 'Vine Growth' was an essential ability.

She then applied to the association to learn two abilities: 'Overgrown Vines' and 'Wild Growth'. Each ability required 40 points, for a total of 80 points. During these six months, based on the tasks she received as a first-level student, a 'pass' rating would earn her 10 points per month, a 'good' rating 20 points per month, a 'good' rating 40 points per month, and a 'superior' rating 80 points per month.

The gardener's task is to settle points every six months. She has just completed her first task and has earned 6 x 80 = 480 points. After deducting 80 points, she has 400 points left.

Shortly after it was confirmed, a third-tier gardener from the 'Four Seasons Alliance' began to teach Siltiia. The other party happened to be the shrewd old man, Yud, whom she had met before.

On this day, the two came to a practice garden of the association, where various plants grew and the ground was covered with fine sand.

"I never imagined you'd improve so much in just three months," the other person remarked upon their reunion.

Originally, the old man wanted to take Siltia as his apprentice, because he knew from the test that the girl had a solid foundation and excellent talent.

Unexpectedly, everything happened too fast. This silver-haired girl is now a rising star attracting the attention of many important figures in White Stone City. When it comes to taking on disciples, it's no longer his turn.

Hilti didn't know how to respond, so she just smiled and nodded.

"Thank you for the compliment, teacher." To be humble at this point would seem somewhat hypocritical.

"Hehe, fine, I'll teach you a new skill this time, so you can be my teacher for once." He stroked his short beard and then began to teach.

"First of all, gardeners are best at cultivating plants, so the key is to turn this strength into combat power, rather than spending extra time and energy learning other skills."

"Most plants do not have direct attack capabilities and are difficult to move. To overcome this, we need to carry seeds or other small plants with us to deal with combat scenarios."

"Among these, 'vines' and 'grass' are the easiest to utilize and control."

"Thus, the two basic abilities of 'growing vines' and 'growing vegetation' came into being."

"As the name suggests, these two abilities catalyze the rapid growth of vines and grasses for defense, a method that is completely different from the usual way of cultivating plants."

"The former grows rapidly regardless of the circumstances, binding the enemy, while the latter carefully takes care of all situations, striving to make the plant reach its perfect state."

"Therefore, the former two can be used roughly, and there is no need to worry about exerting too much effort. They can even be used in various ways to enhance their own sexuality in order to achieve a stronger effect."

"Now I'll demonstrate for you." He spread a seed in his palm and let it fall into the sand. Then, as if in fast-forward, the seed sprouted and grew branches, spreading everywhere, entwining around the stone pillar next to him, and covering it upwards until the entire stone pillar was bound by thick vines, leaving no gaps.

"This is the first time, Hilti," he told the girl, and then began the second demonstration. This time, he was also slow, and explained the key points in the process, such as how to guide the mind, how to control the direction, and how to adjust the expression of sexuality, etc.

"I understand."

After watching it a second time, Hilti felt that it was about time, but the old man did not stop and began a third demonstration.

This time, after the seed landed, it was as if it had exploded. Several branches twisted like living things and continued to extend in all directions, covering the entire surrounding environment of the two people with lush green vines and leaves. The vines that tightly bound the stone pillar finally snapped with a crack, crushing the stone into pieces.

“This…” Hiltiya was surprised and secretly alarmed.

“This is my ability driven by my third-order nature; you don’t need to deliberately pursue this state right now.”

"I understand, teacher."

For the next two days, Hilti followed Yod to learn these two abilities until she had fully mastered them.

【Vine Overgrowth Lv.1】(Emerald Honey); The ability to rapidly grow vines, which can bind enemies.

【Wild Growth Lv.1】(Emerald Honey); The ability to rapidly grow grass and plants, and to parasitize enemies.

(End of this chapter)