Cornflower Witch

Chapter 394 The Late Student

After the competition ended, it took Siltia quite a while to finally walk out of the crowd surrounding her and arrive at the houseboat where she would be staying that night.

The so-called boat house is shaped like an overturned boat bottom, with a thick layer of grass as a roof. Between the roof and the mud brick walls, a layer of wood is used to separate the gaps for ventilation, so that even in damp places, the environment can be kept relatively dry. The bottom of the house is also supported by wooden stumps, which separates the floor from the ground and raises it to prevent moisture.

"During the storm season, these houses can better withstand strong winds, which is a local specialty," the teacher casually explained to the students, then invited everyone to have dinner around the campfire.

Dinner consisted of boiled taro, corn, and potatoes in plain water. No meat was prepared because there were many students, and preparing too much at the last minute would cause it to spoil easily. Besides, these students wouldn't be short of meat for one meal.

Around the campfire, many students were still discussing the competition that had just taken place. Many were amazed by Hilti's strength, but some who hadn't witnessed it were unconvinced.

"It's just weaving birds with silk threads, it doesn't sound that special, what's so surprising about it?"

"I have mastered the spell 'Chain Fireballs', but it's a bit slow to cast. If I have two companions with me, even if she's very powerful, she won't be able to stop me."

"The so-called 'genius' is at most the strength of three ordinary students. What's so surprising or unexpected about that?" The student explained his reasoning and thoughts, believing that he was only slightly inferior to that Hedra.

In his view, on the battlefield, a skilled soldier is at most on par with three ordinary soldiers. Even if the former is less common, it doesn't affect the overall situation.

"This is the idea when the difference isn't significant," a teacher sitting by the fire explained slowly.

"However, time will continue to pass, just like the two sides of an acute angle. At first they are very close, but later they get further and further apart, and the gap becomes bigger and bigger. In the end, it is not something that quantity can make up for."

"A sixth-tier mage can easily defeat three fifth-tier extraordinary beings. If it were a fourth-tier mage, the number would be several times greater. And if it were an ordinary third-tier mage, it would be meaningless to him."

"The reason you think this way now is because you are all still in the apprentice stage and have not yet officially entered the third level. As time goes by, ten years from now, I'm afraid I will have to rely on those geniuses I once taught." He slowly shook his head.

As a teacher at the school, he had experienced this feeling and experience many times, so he understood all too well that even though they were in the same classroom now and were both second-level apprentices, seemingly not much different and of equal status, if time were to be turned back a few years, the gap would widen to a lamentable degree.

After the teacher finished speaking, many students fell silent. Many began to think about the present from the perspective of the more distant future and found that it seemed to be true.

"So, how far can Hedra go, teacher? Will she advance to the sixth rank?" In the eyes of many students, becoming a sixth-rank professor is the pinnacle of the Mage Alliance.

"Probably. The reason I can't give a definite answer is because I haven't reached the sixth rank yet. It's a bit much for you to ask me to say." The teacher smiled and complained slightly.

"I don't know about the other students, but 'Xin Ke' should be very promising. Some time ago, she went to participate in the Silver Bell Festival of 'Vicia Academy' and received Professor Mellen's approval, saying that she has great talent and ability and has a high probability of reaching the sixth rank in the future."

Xin Ke, ranked first among the teachers in the Asura District, possesses the awakened 'Golden Honey Blood', excels in bees and music conducting, and can easily manipulate swarms of 'Second-Order' bees to perform and fight.

The students ate simple dinners from wooden bowls, listened to their teachers chat, and occasionally some walked past the campfire to rest and sleep in the boathouses, experiencing the unique local lifestyle.

On the other side of the campfire, Hilti was sitting on a horizontal log with Lowell and Aurora, enjoying a simple dinner.

"Although it's just stewed in water, the taste is surprisingly good." The stewed taro is very soft and glutinous, and the combination with the subtle sweetness of the corn makes the taste anything but monotonous.

While Hilti was eating, the two people next to her started talking about the competition they had just had.

"How did Hedra dodge the opponent's attack?" Aurora also analyzed it for a while, but couldn't figure out how Sylvia solved the problem.

“This…” Hiltiya thought about how to explain.

If she lies now, she might have to tell more lies later to cover it up, and besides, she doesn't want to deliberately hide this kind of thing.

"Actually, I know a little bit of 'breathing techniques,' which can slightly change the rhythm of my blood, so that spell didn't hurt me much." She tried to downplay the difficulty of the spell, making it seem like she was just using a trick.

"I see." Aurora had never practiced breathing techniques and was unaware of their difficulty. Her attention was quickly diverted to other things, so she didn't ask any further questions.

“This potato would taste much better if you sprinkled some salt on it.” Lowell carefully picked up a piece with her fork and slowly chewed it. “That’s easy.” Hilti thought for a moment, stood up, rummaged through her suitcase and found a small bottle, then added some to the potato on Lowell’s fork.

"Actually, you can bake it even crispier yourself," the girl suggested.

"Really? Then I'll give it a try." Luo Wei'er finally remembered that she seemed to be a transcendent with the 'Blazing Sun' attribute. She turned the potato on the fork, and a faint ring of fire magic surrounded the potato, baking it.

"Sure enough, it tastes much better, but it's a bit hot."

"Let me do this." Aurora took it, a slight chill swirling in her hand before turning into a small vortex that enveloped the potato, cooling it down.

"That's good enough, but it shouldn't be too cold." After that, Aurora handed it back to Lovell.

"Hibernation" and "Blazing Sun," both of her roommates are sun-attribute superhumans, Hilti suddenly thought.

In the future, when summer comes, she should be able to rely on Aurora's abilities to cool down the dormitory, so that even without air conditioning, she can live more comfortably. She thought of this for no reason. For example, when she takes a shower in the dormitory now, she often borrows Luo Weier's crystal ball to heat it up, and Luo Weier usually charges it.

As her thoughts drifted, Hiltiya suddenly realized how fortunate she was to have these two roommates.

After dinner, the students returned to their boathouses to sleep and rest. Hiltiya and the other two also slept together on the large wooden bed that night, and drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

As night deepened, the campfires at the rest area gradually died down, leaving only a few spots for night watch, which were kept in shifts by teachers and students.

As midnight approached, a hurried figure walked from the distance of the wilderness, approached the campfire, greeted the teacher on duty, and sat down by the fire.

"Sorry for being so late, but I finally finished the experiment before leaving." The speaker was a girl dressed in a neat green and white short skirt. She had golden hair and pure red eyes. If Sylvia were here, she would find that the girl's features were very similar to those of Iona, whom she had known before.

"It's good that you're here, Xin Ke. It's a rare opportunity for everyone to get together and have fun. If you miss it, you might not have another chance to make up for it later." The teacher comforted her with a smile, then heated up the dinner she had saved for her and brought it over.

"Have something to eat."

"Thank you, teacher." Xin Ke took the food and began to eat slowly. The teacher then told her about what had happened that day.

"On the evening before you arrived, 'Marlo' from school number 24 and 'Hedra' from school number 89 had a match."

"What was the result?" the girl asked, somewhat curious.

"Hedra won big! Marlow was hit by a bird and flew into the air, rolling around on the grass covered in mud," the teacher commented with a smile.

"Someone has finally curbed this guy's arrogance."

"Is that famous 'Hedra' really that strong?" Xin Ke was a little surprised. She actually knew about 'Kuras Blood Shock Technique' and knew that it was not easy to deal with. Even she might be defeated by accident.

"They are indeed very impressive, whether it's their reaction speed or the flexibility and precision of their manipulation of spells."

"During the Silver Bell Festival, she went to Rolik Academy and even won a place in the freshman competition, defeating several third-tier formal mages," the teacher recalled and commented.

"We only found out about this afterwards, and it's only now that the news is spreading."

“A third-tier opponent, that’s really strong.” Xin Ke put down the empty wooden bowl.

"I'm really looking forward to the day when I can compete against her."

"That day will come. You are all the best students in this class, and you will meet again sooner or later."

(End of this chapter)