Cornflower Witch

Chapter 297 The Joyful Elf Girl
The cornflowers planted earlier have all been harvested. The next harvest will probably be another year away. Tier 3 plants are not as good as Tier 1 and Tier 2 plants. Even with a fairy-blessed talent like Hilti, it is impossible to cultivate a large number of 'Tier 3 Perfect' quality cornflowers in a few months.

Many of these were planted before she left the woodland and returned to Scorched Stone City. Now, a year has passed, and they have just reached 'perfect' quality. Then there are the cornflowers blooming in Siltiia's own Autumn Garden.

Although the cornflowers in the courtyard are of better quality and have better effects, she does not intend to pick them. Instead, she will keep them as a trump card for emergencies, just like when she faced the Hundred-Eyed Cult Leader's unavoidable attack, she activated the cornflowers to strengthen the environmental force field of the courtyard and block and weaken the opponent's rays.

Generally speaking, third-tier gardeners only cultivate a large number of second-tier plants. Although they can also cultivate third-tier plants, it consumes a lot of energy and may even delay the condensation and accumulation of their own nature. Therefore, they rarely do this. Only when they reach perfection or a bottleneck will gardeners consider cultivating a special plant for their own breakthrough.

New cornflower seeds have been planted. After being bred and carefully selected by Hilti, this batch of seeds is fuller and of better quality than before. Perhaps a year later, she can select a few of the best-performing cornflowers and try to break through to cultivate 'fourth-tier' cornflowers.

With little care or adjustment needed for the initial seed germination and growth, Hilti had the leisure to begin researching other plant cultivation methods.

She currently has no shortage of food crops; she has cultivated a lot of carrots and potatoes to the 'second tier' Emerald Honey phenotype. So this time, she plans to try other flowers and plants, such as the 'Black Rose' that has not yet been unlocked in the courtyard.

She took out a small amount of 'Black Rose' seeds, sprinkled them on the soil, and watered them. Hilti squatted to the side, patiently sensing their condition. Then, she covered the soil with her finger to activate the [Natural Growth] ability.

Visibly, the seeds in the soil slowly germinate and unfold, the stems and leaves gradually spread and grow taller, and then the leaves gradually turn green and larger. Afterward, the small flower buds hidden inside slowly open, revealing elegant pure black rose petals.

"It's really beautiful," Hiltiya thought of Musa for some reason. Musa also often wore a black dress with a black and gold rose pinned to the neckline of her off-the-shoulder gown.

According to botanical classification, roses and wild roses are very closely related; one could even say that a rose is a specialized wild rose variety that has been artificially bred.

When cultivating the 'Black Rose' for the first time, Hilti did not rush to upgrade its sex rank. Instead, she experimented with the growth and condition of the 'Black Rose' under different environments and methods.

After watching the 'Black Rose' grow from sprouting to flowering, and then to fruiting and withering away about a dozen times, Hiltiya mastered the basic cultivation rules of the 'Black Rose'.

Now we can begin formal training.

Behind her house, she tidied up a small experimental garden of four square meters, planted the seeds of 'black roses', sprinkled them with dew, began to adjust their condition, and then let them sprout, grow, and develop slowly.

Unlike the rapid catalysis used in combat, this catalysis, which relies on the ability of [natural growth] during cultivation, is much more precise and meticulous, allowing it to grow under the most suitable conditions so that it does not fall or dissipate the condensed elemental power.

Around this small experimental garden, Hilti began to use all the abilities she had mastered.

The three abilities of a gardener are Dewfall, Pruning, and Fertile Soil. Under their influence, the 'Black Rose' easily advances to the first tier and steadily approaches the second tier.

It will probably take another two months for them to condense into 'second-order' properties,' Hiltiya thought.

However, these 'black roses' are quite special, as they condense the nature of 'death'. If given to a wizard who follows the path of 'death', they would probably be extremely popular.

As the year draws to a close, the continents on the surface gradually enter winter. Although there is no obvious difference between winter and summer in the world of the shadow, it is still affected by the projection of the continents on the surface, resulting in snowfall and temperature drops.

While Hilti was leisurely tending to the 'Black Rose' and exploring the possibilities of new plants, Florella, far away at another camp in the woods, received a gift from the Dark Mist Mountains.

"Wow, was this a gift specifically for me?"

The blonde elf girl stood on the threshold of the cottage, accepting the wooden box carried by the staff member with a slightly puzzled expression.

Dressed in a gown of emerald gauze and gold thread, the beautiful and slightly plump elf carefully tore open the seal, opened the box, and saw a carefully sealed cardboard box inside. Her slender, jade-like fingers lifted the cardboard box, and Florella saw the horizontally placed blue cornflowers, instantly remembering that name.

"It must have been sent to me by Tiya." Her voice was slightly happy.

The maid inside the house was curious and, seeing that the young lady was still standing at the door, she came over.

"Lady Florella."

"Ah, I understand." Florella belatedly retreated into the house, where a maid closed the door. She then sat down at the table, put down the box, took out the cornflower that emitted a faint fragrance, and unfolded the letter underneath.

"Long time no see, Florella"
I'm sorry it's been so long since I last wrote to you. Have you been getting enough sleep and rest lately?

A year ago, I received cornflower seeds from you, and I was so happy that I could hardly sleep at night. I thought it was so nice to have Florella as a friend.

I was deeply moved to hear that you went to the trouble of having your friend mail these seeds across the clouds and sky. I was even a little overwhelmed, probably because it had been a long time since I had received such care. After all, I had only mentioned it casually and never thought that someone would remember it so carefully.

I'm very grateful to Florella; she helped me a lot.

During that year, I planted a lot of cornflowers in the town, and gained a lot of insights from growing them. Later, I even broke through and entered the third stage.

More than half a year ago, I returned to the surface continent, where I met many people and experienced a lot.

……

Before I knew it, more than half a year had passed by the time I finished dealing with everything and came back. I'm sorry for the late reply. These floral dews were extracted from the cornflowers I grew. I love their color, that clear and tranquil feeling. I hope Florella will like them too.

Thank you, Florella.

—Your friend, Hilti.

At the end of the letter, the familiar signature brought a smile to the face of the elven girl.

"Tiya has advanced! That's great."

"Hmm, no, I need to work hard too. I think I'm pretty much ready by now."

After putting down the letter, she saw rows of transparent glass tubes filled with floral water arranged under the cardboard box, and was surprised and captivated by the pale blue gradient colors inside.

"It's so beautiful, I love it!"

Holding the box, Florella wanted to jump for joy, but she held back, afraid of damaging the precious gift inside.

"I'll do my best too, Tia."

(End of this chapter)