Cornflower Witch

Chapter 155 Preparations Before the Expedition
Dinner was very pleasant, and the group members got along quite well. Although everyone has different personalities, they all got along well.

After finishing their meal, the group sat in a corner of the tavern's main hall and continued discussing their expedition.

"So Tia hadn't participated before?" Bona asked curiously, tilting her head as she ate the potato chips in her arms.

"Yes, I've been busy with gardening-related tasks and learning new skills, so I haven't had time." The girl nodded.

"Sigh, no wonder you can advance to the next level at such a young age." Among the five, Hilti is probably the youngest, but she is not short, just the middle of the five.

"Then I'll have to give Tia a proper lesson, otherwise things could go wrong on the way." Rodriguez, also known as Bad Apple, deftly peeled an apple with a dagger in his hand, then cut it into several pieces and handed them to everyone.

"First of all, exploration should be done gradually. Don't rush into completely unfamiliar and extremely dangerous areas all at once."

"It's best to follow experienced people. It doesn't matter if you earn less along the way. Safety is the priority in the early stages."

"Then comes route planning, which is very important."

"We travel through the black and white world of shadows, just like a paintbrush smearing white paper, leaving traces, which also depletes our own spiritual power and brings with it the distortion and pollution of the world of shadows."

"Fortunately, the secret realms or borders we can access now are relatively shallow areas. As long as we are careful not to accumulate too much distortion and pollution, and return to our base in time to recuperate and purify, we can recover."

"The danger level for this is 30%. Generally, when it gets close to 20%, you should consider returning home as soon as possible."

"According to the association's long-standing empirical formula, for every 1% of contamination you accumulate, your strength will decrease by 2%, because the distortion phase will gradually interfere with the performance of your abilities."

“When pollution reaches 30%, it means that one’s own strength has decreased by 60%, which is why it is considered extremely dangerous.”

"To avoid this situation, we often choose the shortest and most direct route for our explorations. If it is safe, we generally do not backtrack, allowing the entire route to return to the starting point like a twisted loop."

"Over the years, the association has accumulated many methods to overcome pollution or extend the adventure route. The simplest way is to improve one's own rank. If a fourth-rank superhuman were to travel through the 'Deep Forest Road' that we are going to this time, he could easily cut through it by himself. However, the gains along the way would not be of much use to him."

"Secondly, you can bring some purification methods, such as specially made holy water, or professions with purification abilities. They can reduce the degree of pollution, greatly extend the adventure, and deal with enemies more easily."

"Finally, there are some serendipitous encounters that may be discovered during the expedition, which may help us restore our strength and purify the pollution, but such things are rare and cannot be sought after."

“I understand.” Hilti had read the Forest Society’s handbook before, but she hadn’t expected this matter to be so important.

"The pollution problem is something to be careful about. It's like a slow poison. Although it's troublesome, there are always traces to follow, so it's not too dangerous. What really causes a lot of deaths are the various strange creatures and anomalies in the movie world."

"The Twilight Sea is a product of the great war caused by alien invasion during the Seventh Era. Even now, the various celestial beings of the Heavenly Courtyard are struggling to resolve this strange sea. Its distorted nature has gradually polluted the Primordial Sea, and the source of all life rhythms, the 'Blood Rhythm,' has become connected with the 'Distortion.'"

"I've heard that if you clear out the powerful monsters in the secret realm, you'll receive a reward from the upper realm, the Heavenly Court. However, this usually involves beings of the 6th rank or higher, so we at this stage don't need to even consider it."

"Slaying such monsters is often a task of an era, requiring countless heroes to follow in their footsteps to complete."

Seeing that Hilti was listening intently, the short captain clapped his hands.

"Haha, don't you yearn for those legendary scenes? I used to be like that too. I heard many magnificent and epic stories from poets, and I was so excited that I often couldn't sleep all night."

"However, things must be done step by step. We must overcome the small hurdles we face today before we can appreciate the bigger picture."

"Alright, that's enough for tonight. Let's go back to sleep. Tomorrow, Siltia will come with us to buy some adventure supplies, and we'll set off the day after tomorrow."

After it was over, it was already late. Hilti nodded, got up and went upstairs. She washed up briefly and then lay down on the bed to sleep.

The night passed peacefully.

The next morning, as birds chirped merrily outside her window, Hiltiya rubbed her eyes and woke up.

She was actually still a little sleepy, but she had made an appointment with everyone yesterday, so she slowly sat up, washed up, and went downstairs. There were already quite a few people having breakfast in the lobby.

"Tia~ come here." Bona stood up and waved to her warmly. Two other people were sitting next to her. When she walked over, Hiltia noticed that the black-haired wizard hadn't arrived yet, but Bad Apple and Yann had almost finished their breakfast.

"Karl probably stayed up late again last night, either refining his medicine powder in his room or reading or something."

Sure enough, not long after, the wizard with dark circles under his eyes slowly walked downstairs, looking like he hadn't fully woken up yet.

"Come here," the bad apple beside him beckoned, and then the black-haired wizard sat down in the chair and closed his eyes again.

"Eat something, Carl." Bonna placed the sliced ​​apple pie in front of him.

"Thank you." He said with his eyes closed, then dozed off for a while before reluctantly opening his eyes and slowly eating his food.

"Never mind him, Tia, how was your breakfast today?" Bona turned her gaze to the black-haired girl beside her.

"Mmm, it's delicious." The girl nodded slightly.

[Apple Pie] (Excellent): Even ordinary ingredients can be transformed into delicious flavors and provide a wealth of nutrients in the hands of a skilled chef.

Although the ingredients are very ordinary, the nutrition and taste are almost the same as those of ordinary 'excellent' quality food, no wonder Bona is so popular in the team.

Name: Bona

Race: Human (Mortal Body)

Status: Healthy (no abnormalities)

Talent: Ingredient Perception [Excellent], naturally sensitive to the attributes and characteristics of food, a genius prospect to become a chef.

Destiny Card: [Traveling Chef Apprentice] (Tier 2 - Golden Steam)

A chef apprentice who has mastered various cooking techniques can make good use of all sorts of unusual ingredients.
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Effect [Ingredient Activation Lv.4]: Precise control and mastery of ingredients allow you to effectively unleash their properties and nutrients, increasing the quality of the finished food by +2. (Ordinary ingredients can only increase quality by a maximum of +2)
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Job Rank [Chef Apprentice Lv.4]: A well-developed job rank, possessing a good grasp of various cooking techniques. (Ingredient Analysis & Dissection Lv.4)

Ability Cards: [Baking Method Lv.4 (Golden Steam)], [Ingredient Blending Lv.3 (Sweet Honey)], [High-Temperature Oven Fire Lv.2 (Golden Steam)]

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From this perspective, the chef that Bona chose is a higher-level profession than baker. Just like wizards and gardeners, one can only be considered a formal extraordinary 'chef' after reaching the third tier.

After finishing breakfast, the group headed towards the town's streets.

Along the way, the accompanying team members explained the uses of various items to the novice, Hilti, such as specially made windproof candles, the Ascending Wind Torch to dispel fog, the Dome Crystal Powder to purify water, the Crescent Moon Clock to determine direction, antidote potions, a sleeping tent, specially made holy water to purify pollution, signal arrows for calling for help, and burning powder, etc.

She talked non-stop the whole way, and fortunately, the girl had an amazing memory and didn't ask to stop, so she listened to everything.

"Did you understand and write it down, Tiya?"

"Don't worry if you don't remember it. Everyone is confused at first. After participating in a few expeditions, you'll naturally get used to it, haha."

After buying the items, the group discussed the procedures for encountering enemies and various hand signals before returning to rest.

At night, Hiltiya lay in bed, finding it difficult to fall asleep.

Perhaps it's because I'm finally about to embark on my first adventure into a secret realm, and it feels like fulfilling a childhood fantasy from playing games, making me especially excited.

She tossed and turned in bed, clutching her pillow, and after a long while, the girl slowly drifted off to sleep, her hair still disheveled.

(End of this chapter)