Cornflower Witch

Chapter 172 Memories by the Campfire
Cool spring water poured over his head, chilling Bad Apple to the bone as he gradually regained consciousness. He didn't have time to think about who was doing this; he just wanted to escape this dangerous place as quickly as possible.

But before he could run a few steps, the changes in his surroundings and a host of strange questions made him turn around to check the situation, only to find Hilti standing not far away.

The girl took a water ladle and poured it on each of the standing, motionless human figures. The remaining two were, of course, Yann and Karl.

"What's going on?" He was a little confused for a moment.

However, he wasn't stupid. It didn't take long for him to figure it out. Then, he looked around and noticed the giant lizard carcass lying not far away by the pool.

"Is this a petrified lizard?" In an instant, he understood everything.

So he had been petrified? Then his other companions also suffered the same fate, probably because they came to rescue him. He felt a little ashamed and scratched his head.

But this petrified lizard must be at level three, right? Who killed it? Could it be Tiya?
He looked at the girl with some disbelief.

Soon the other two also gradually woke up and recovered, adapting to their somewhat stiff bodies.

"Cough cough, run!" As soon as Karl woke up, he was about to shout for everyone to run away. He had already realized that it was a Tier 3 petrified lizard, which was far beyond what the group of them could handle.

Seeing that the people were not moving, he became a little angry and was about to lose his temper, but then he sensed that something was wrong. After looking around, he saw the lizard's corpse by the pool.

"Dead?" The voice was full of surprise, but the person quickly ran over.

For wizards with the 'Death' attribute, the dead high-ranking creatures are treasures.

After checking, Carl confirmed that the lizard was completely dead, and he was slightly relieved. Many monsters play dead, and sometimes accidents can happen if you are careless.

At this moment, Yann slowly woke up, moved his body, looked around at the few people who were alright, and then asked what had happened.

The group's gazes turned to the girl on the steps, their eyes filled with curiosity and surprise. The girl, being stared at, seemed a little embarrassed.

"It's a bit hard to explain, but you can understand it as me being better and beating this guy." Answering in any other way would only make people think it's hypocritical and perfunctory.

"Really? I mean, we didn't pay any price?"

“There are many secret techniques that can unleash power, but the side effects afterward are also significant.” The others were quite worried.

"It's alright, just a little tired." She glanced at the motionless lizard beside her and recalled the fierce battle not long ago. She had probably killed the lizard seventeen times, and her accumulated injuries were also quite severe. However, she recovered while fighting and was not overwhelmed.

The three of them looked at each other, exchanged glances, and stopped asking questions.

Regardless, this girl is her savior, and there's really no need to pursue her relentlessly. Besides, everyone has secrets, and it would be impolite to keep asking about her.

"It's good that you're alright. It's all my fault. I almost caused everyone to be wiped out." Bad Apple was the first to step forward and apologize. The main reason he came to the Gate of Distant Mountains was for the 'Stone Mist Water' he needed.

Seeing him say that, the others went over to comfort him, telling him not to take the bad apple to heart, since it was everyone's choice.

At this point, we can no longer blame the bad apple. After all, no one wants accidents to happen, and continuing to blame it won't change the past or bring about any positive developments.

"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes; it just means we still need to improve our skills."

“No one can predict what will happen in advance,” Karl shook his head.

"Furthermore, this is the woodland. Every year, so many students set off on expeditions, and they are all well-prepared, but all sorts of things still happen. That's just the inevitable probability." "We already knew that before we came, didn't we?"

The death rate in the woodlands is well-known to the superhumans on the surface, yet countless people still come here for the opportunities it offers.

"Let's go check on the lizard carcass and ask Tia what to do next."

……

That night, the four of them spent the night in the open space behind the stone archway, which was probably the safest and most relaxing night of their adventure.

The campfire crackled and popped as everyone grilled meat skewers together, sprinkling spices on them, and then talked about their experiences over the years, with a strong desire to pour out their stories after surviving a near-death experience.

"The last time I felt like I almost died was when I was still at Tier 1, when I went to the grasslands with a few greenhorn friends to search for horned beasts." Bad Apple propped his head up with one hand, gently shook the bottle with the other, and took a small sip.

"The mission at the time only required us to find the trail and report it, but the perfume that one of the team members was wearing attracted wolverines along the way, which almost led to the team's annihilation."

"Fortunately, a high-ranking student who happened to be passing by noticed us and saved my team."

"Since then, I have hated the idea of ​​wearing perfume and even bought a special odor-eliminating solution."

After listening, the others around the campfire laughed, and then Yann spoke up, telling about his past experiences.

"The last time I faced death was a long time ago, during that assessment for forest land quotas."

"At that time, I and three other classmates went deep into the wilderness to hunt lions. The four of us worked together well and easily defeated a female lion of the same level in the early stages by relying on shields and armor."

"Then we continued on and were attacked by five other lionesses. It was a very tough fight, and we barely managed to win despite being injured. We killed two of them and drove away the remaining three."

"Sensing that things were going badly, we prepared to retreat, but we were still caught up by a lion. It was a second-tier lion, and it could smash my shield with one slap. It directly broke our squad apart."

"When I saw my companion being torn apart by the lion, I was terrified and swung my sword wildly."

"But going crazy was useless; my actions at the time only continued to provoke it and did nothing to harm it."

"So what happened next? How did you defeat that lion?" Karl couldn't help but ask curiously.

"We didn't win. Our fight attracted another enemy from the grassland. It was a pack of spotted hyenas. They were all first-tier and were extremely ferocious when they gathered together."

"Faced with a pack of hyenas, the lion was very cautious. The two sides faced off for a long time. I lay under the tree in the middle and watched them roar continuously."

"When the final test was about to end, the proctoring knight came over, drove away all the wild beasts, and saved me."

“I survived, but my three companions didn’t, so I became the sole recipient,” Yann said, his voice filled with a sigh.

"Karl, didn't you say you were going to tell us about the past?"

"My business..." Karl looked at the firelight, his tone distant.

"Let me tell you about it. It was about ten years ago. I had just started learning about superhumans. I was studying under an elderly wizard, along with several other students. She was my senior..."

(End of this chapter)