Cornflower Witch

Chapter 298 An Adventure into the Abyss

A light rain was falling outside the window, hitting the glass and causing wavy streaks of water to slide down.

In the room, Hiltiya flipped through the thick book in her hands, occasionally looking up at the gray, misty outside the window.

It's been raining for a long time, I thought to myself, but it's a peaceful day too, because there are far fewer travelers and groups coming and going in the town because of the rain.

After successfully cultivating the cornflowers, Siltia's life entered a stable phase. Her daily routine consisted mainly of handling routine matters, tending to the flowers and plants in the garden, reading, taking walks, and studying.

Although this kind of life was good, after several months, she felt it was time to go out and explore.

During this time, she learned a lot of new things, but unfortunately, since she stayed at home or in the small town, there weren't many opportunities to use them.

If a skill is not put into practical use, it will be difficult to improve after reaching a certain bottleneck. This is similar to forging swords. If you always work behind closed doors and never use the forged swords in actual combat, you will not know where the problems are, where you can continue to improve, or what is more important and crucial.

Standing up, Hilti put the book away and then walked briskly down the stairs to find an acquaintance in the town.

Dorothy, are you home?

She arrived at the closed, light-colored door, knocked, and waited for a response.

"Ha~ It's Tia." Yawning, Dorothy crawled out of bed, the thin blanket slipping off her body.

"Wait a moment, let me put on my clothes."

After a rustling sound, Dorothy, wearing a fiery red wavy dress, opened the door and appeared in front of Tia.

Seeing that she was about to hug her as soon as she opened the door, Hilti jumped away as if she had prepared in advance.

"Alright, I have something to discuss with you today," Siltia reminded her.

“Okay~(╯▽╰)” Dorothy pretended to be sad, then opened the door and let Sylvia in.

After the two entered the house and sat down, Dorothy casually brought over the wine that she hadn't finished drinking last night, intending to pour some for herself and Silti.

"I don't drink alcohol," the girl shook her head repeatedly.

"Oh, Tia is such a good child," Dorothy sighed, then gently shook her golden hair, took out a pot of elven nectar from the room, diluted it with water, and poured it for Tia.

"Speak, what is it that you came all this way to see me?" Dorothy picked up her glass, took a sip, then gently swirled it before setting it down.

"I'm going out for a while. It shouldn't be too long, but I'll still need to trouble you to look after the town."

Most of the members in the town are still at the second tier, with only a few having just broken through to the third tier. However, their strength is not yet stable and is not as good as the genius alchemist in front of them.

"Oh, I see. I thought it was something serious." Dorothy blinked, as if remembering something.

"Oh right, didn't I ask you to bring me magnetic sand and redstone last time? I said I'd make you an alchemy tool, and I finished it a few days ago, but I just forgot to give it to you."

After saying that, she got up again, went downstairs to the small alchemy workshop, and found a golden sphere that was larger than a basketball.

"This is a 'planetary instrument' that I made. It can determine the season and your own geographical location based on the position of the stars."

"It's not very useful in a small town, but if you venture into the secret realms of the Shadow World, it can guide you. If you embark on a long journey across the continent in the future, it can also help you locate yourself so you don't get lost in the thick fog."

【Aloes's Planetarium】(Tier 4, Excellent): A positioning planetarium invented by the famous sage Aloes. Its principle comes from the ancient 'astrologer' school. It can be used to determine the current season and location, unaffected by fog. "Don't underestimate it. This is different from those cheap, poorly made ones on the market. I put a lot of effort into making it. It's my masterpiece to date," Dorothy introduced, shaking her finger.

"General methods of determining location are easily disrupted by the special environment of the secret realm, as well as the thick fog in the sea of ​​clouds, which often spans nearly a hundred kilometers. The fog and shadows converge, and many perception methods will become ineffective in the process."

"Last time you said you wanted to find the knowledge records of the 'Star-Gazing School,' I found the design draft in an old book. Although the author was not the original author, but rather borrowed from the theory of the 'Star-Gazing School,' the effect was indeed very good."

After listening to Dorothy's description, Hilti was very interested and placed the golden planetarium in front of her to examine it closely.

The outlines of celestial bodies are drawn on the golden, hollow sphere, which contains many small holes corresponding to the positions of different stars. Inside are the moving orbits of the sun and moon, which can be freely flipped and rotated. At the very center is a completely enclosed metal sphere with a complex structure of parts, which is also the most important part of the entire planetarium.

It's clear that this thing was extremely complicated to make, requiring constant adjustments and calibration of the star positions. It's likely that many were made before one was successful, which explains why Dorothy was so proud.

"Thank you." Hilti carefully picked up the planetarium and put it away in her courtyard.

After discussing the town's affairs, Dorothy asked Siltiah where she wanted to go.

"Well, I'm planning to go deep into the Dark Mist Mountains."

Compared to the secret realms of other outposts, the depths of the Dark Mist Mountains contain more resources, but are also more dangerous. Only those at least at the third level of transcendental beings can venture there to explore.

In fact, such dangerous areas are usually explored by special teams organized by the front-line garrison. Only after the general situation is determined will other trainees and superhumans be allowed to enter.

"So that's where it is." Dorothy seemed to remember something.

"Speaking of which, you've been in the Dark Mist Mountains for two years now. It would be a shame if you didn't explore it. But are you going alone? Why don't you find a team?"

"No need, I'll take a look by myself first." The girl shook her head.

She has many secrets that are not suitable to be revealed. Teaming up with others would only make her feel constrained.

"Don't worry, I still have some ways to protect myself. I was worried that I might get lost inside, but with the planetarium that Dorothy just gave me, I don't have to be afraid of that."

“In that case, I won’t try to persuade you anymore.” Dorothy nodded.

"After you go inside, remember to wear the brooch I gave you. It will give you a warning when you are resting."

"Also, if you encounter a monster you can't beat, run away quickly. Don't linger in battle. If you don't come back, I can't hold out for long on my own."

Finally, if you find anything good, remember to share it with me first!

“Mmm,” Hiltiya replied with a smile.

"I'll remember Dorothy's share."

After leaving Dorothy's residence, Hilti met with the other core members of the town to discuss matters and then reminded everyone to pay attention to various issues during the Gale Season.

Finally, she mounted that familiar wind-measuring horse and once again ventured into the wilderness.

This time, however, she was heading towards a region where the land sloped even further downwards, a place like an abyss, beneath a sea of ​​clouds where the sun never shines, where many twilight monsters lurk, and where ancient ruins and remnants of the broken earth remain.

This time, Hiltiah will test the various abilities she has mastered and explore the direction and path of her future development. She has a premonition that the peace on this continent will not last long, and in the future, she will eventually embark on a journey back to the First Continent.

(End of this chapter)