Cornflower Witch

Chapter 153 Invitation to the Adventure Team

After listening to the staff's description, Hilti took the booklet handed to her and looked through it. It listed several resource points near the 'Fir Black Forest' and three secret realms.

The first hidden area, "Stone River Beach," is located south of the stream. Along the way, you'll occasionally encounter "Fruit Rats," "Astringent Beehives," and "Green and Red Berries" in the bushes.

Among them, the 'fruit rat' is somewhat aggressive. Its incisors can bite hard 1-3 times, each time crushing steel, but after three bites, they will become ineffective and will take about a week to recover.

The 'Astringent Beehive' breeds astringent bees, whose stingers can easily kill ordinary creatures, but are less effective against superhumans. As long as they are handled properly, they are not dangerous.

'Green-Red Berries' are special berries with properties similar to Emerald Honey. If given to the locals, they can be combined with other ingredients to create a 'Secret Recipe Jam' of 'Tier 1 Emerald Honey'.

The second secret realm, "Deep Forest Road," starts from the west of the town. After walking 20 kilometers, you gradually enter a gray and shadowy world, then traverse a dense, dark forest. It is more dangerous there, where you will encounter creatures such as "Night Crying Raven," "Shadow Owl," "Twisted Dead Tree," "Blood Serpent," and "Ash Fruit."

The third secret realm, "Gate of the Distant Mountains," is located 50 kilometers north of the town, deep within a range of mountains. It is shrouded in thick fog and is dangerous. If you can find the right direction, you can travel 100 kilometers to reach a natural stone gate between two mountains. Behind the gate, you can find a clear spring pool. The "Stone Mist Spring Water" there is very precious and is a special resource for learning the "Petrification" secret technique. It can also be used to refine potions with the "Mist Shadow" attribute.

……

The first secret realm, "Stone River Beach," is the safest, but it's also the most popular. Sometimes, a trip there might yield little to no reward. "Deep Forest Road" is the choice of many second-tier students. As for the third secret realm, "Gate of the Distant Mountains," very few students go there. It's said that a team once set out to explore there, but the entire team never returned.

“Are there any teams going to ‘Deepwood Road’? I’d like to find a team to go with,” Hilti asked.

"No problem, just register here. A team will be heading there later, and I'll ask around for you."

"Okay." The girl then took the form handed to her, on which she needed to fill in her information.

Job title, personality, strengths, abilities, skills, and any information you think will make you stand out can be included.

A few minutes later, Hiltiya filled out the form and handed it to the other party.

"There are sleeping areas upstairs in the tavern. As a second-tier student, you can enjoy a certain discount. Would you like to rest here tonight?"

“Of course.” Hiltiya nodded.

"Okay, and by the way, write down your room number. If any teams are setting off, I'll have the tavern staff notify you."

"Thank you."

Afterwards, Hilti took the key and went up to the third floor. There were nearly sixteen rooms on both sides of the corridor, half of which were currently empty.

She arrived at a room, opened the door, and went inside.

Two neat wooden beds were placed by the window, and there was also a small table and chairs in the room, creating a simple yet cozy atmosphere.

Setting down the composite bow she was carrying and temporarily unfastening her longsword, placing them beside the bed, Hilti took off her boots, her feet, encased in black stockings, resting directly on the floor, relaxing in a soothing manner.

After lying down for a while, she got up and went to the bathroom on the other side of the room. There was a brass shower and a stone pool underneath, where she could shower or take a bath.

The hot water was probably heated by the boiler unit behind the tavern. The technology in this world is not as backward as imagined; it's just that ordinary households cannot afford expensive steam equipment.

After taking a shower, Hilti changed into a lighter purple dress, leaned against the headboard, and flipped through the books she had brought with her. The sky outside the window slowly turned from sunset to night.

That night, she wrapped herself in her blanket and slept soundly.

The next morning, Hilti woke up early, washed up, put on her light armor, and set off again. Today she planned to walk around the town and see some of the local specialties.

Perhaps because the 'Orchid Secret Medicine' is stationed here, there are many herbal medicine shops here, and you can see quite a few first-level herbal medicine apprentices in the shops. They are all students who are not much different in age from the girl.

Drying herbs, grinding them into powder, refining them, preparing the base for medicinal solutions, boiling the liquid, filtering and purifying it – this is the daily routine for many students. While assisting professional pharmacists, they gradually learn the skills of preparing medicines and hone their various abilities until they reach the second level, where they can try to prepare some simple medicines on their own. These medicines can then be listed in the teacher's shop for sale, earning some extra income.

'Orchid Fragrance Healing Potion' can stop bleeding, heal wounds, and slowly regulate hidden injuries. It costs 2-4 gold coins per vial.

Compared to the common 'blood healing potion', its effect is much better, and the price is twice as high. The ordinary 'blood healing potion' costs 1-2 gold coins.

If you can sell 10 'Orchid Fragrance Healing Potions', you can earn nearly 30 gold coins, which is roughly the annual income of an average second-tier student. This shows how lucrative the pharmacist profession is. Of course, if you deduct the cost of raw materials and failed attempts, an average apprentice can only earn 8-10 gold coins by selling 10 potions.

After observing the daily lives of apprentices in these herbal medicine shops, Hilti turned her gaze to another area, where various furs and animal horns and tusks were sold. The apprentices who looked after and maintained the shops were mostly combat professionals.

"How much is this goat horn?" Hiltiya asked curiously.

【Threaded Goat Horn】(Tier 1 Beast Tooth): Taken from the curved horn of a peculiar goat monster, it is sturdy and densely knotted, and can be used to craft objects.

Upon hearing this, the man across from him, wearing a vest draped in animal skins, looked up from inside the shop and glanced briefly at the goat horns.

"You can take this ram's horn for 3 gold coins." The price isn't high; it's probably been sitting unsold for a while.

"May I pick it up and take a look?" Hiltiya asked again.

"Take it and look at it, but if you're planning to do something bad, I advise you to be careful." He glanced at the girl whose face was mostly hidden under the hood and answered casually.

"Thank you." Hiltiya picked up the goat horn, feeling the delicate texture of the horn inside. It was a little cool and felt exceptionally firm, even more solid than a stone.

(Sturdy texture, can withstand strong attacks, but has no other effects; overall quality rating: good)
Three gold coins is indeed its price, and it's hard to sell it for a higher price. However, if it were made into a small hoe for gardening, it would be very useful. It's lighter than iron and more durable and wear-resistant.

“I’ll buy it.” Hiltiya took out three gold coins and placed them on the stall.

"Oh." Hearing the clinking of the gold coins, the other party was quite surprised. He stood up, looked at the gold coins several times, and then handed the ram's horn to the girl.

"If you don't mind, I have some dried mutton here. I can give you a pack. It's a good choice as provisions when you go on an adventure." Perhaps feeling that he had gotten a good deal, the other party was very generous and gave the girl a pack of dried mutton directly.

【Dried Lamb】(Good): The meat of the goat monster, after being smoked, the contamination of the twisted phase slowly dissipates, and it can be eaten. It is very satisfying, but it is still not recommended to eat too much.

After that, the girl strolled around the shops along the street, looking at the fur armor, longbows and short blades, and various combat tools for sale.

Because the town is small, she basically walked around the whole town in one day to familiarize herself with the general situation.

Back at the tavern at night, just as Hilti was about to have something to eat, several members dressed as adventurers approached. The leader was short, wearing light leather armor, with two daggers tucked into his waistband.

"You are Siltia, right?"

"I'm the captain of the 'Shaking Gold Coins' team, nicknamed 'Bad Apple.' I wonder if you'd be interested in joining us on our next adventure."

The short captain sat down, revealing the other team members behind him: a blond greatswordsman in full armor, a cold-faced wizard in a black robe, and a girl with short chestnut hair wearing a leather apron and carrying an iron pot, who looked like a chef.

(End of this chapter)