Cornflower Witch

Chapter 42 Secret History Assessment
As autumn deepens, withered yellow leaves fall all over the mountains, and the distant mountain scenery turns half green and half yellow.

Iona walked through the forest of fallen leaves, her footsteps making a cracking sound as she stepped on them.

She arrived at a large banyan tree outside Jiaoshi City, a giant tree that stood out prominently in the forest.

After waiting for a while, another person entered the forest. This person was wearing a black cloak and had a cloth covering their face.

Upon seeing Iona, the figure stopped, removed the veil, and revealed a somewhat aged face.

"Lady Iona." He placed one hand on his shoulder and bowed.

"Hmm." The blonde girl turned around, nodded slightly, and her expression was unreadable.

"These are the things you mentioned in your previous letter that you wanted to prepare." The other person placed the long wooden box they were carrying on the grass covered with withered leaves.

He unlocked the box and opened it, revealing two custom-made black steel longswords, a small bag of black stones, a velvet jewelry box, a row of blood-red potions, a yellowed book, and a small bag of flowers and leaves sealed in a silk sachet.

"Everything is ready." After he finished speaking, he stared at the girl for a long time with his sunken eyes.

"What's wrong?" Iona looked up after finishing her inventory.

“Miss, you should know that Lord Karen has left very little behind.”

Upon hearing this, Iona remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"This is the last time I will deliver something to you. Please understand."

“I served two generations of Viscount Karen, and I even thought I would stay in the Viscount’s mansion for the rest of my life, but alas…” He slowly shook his head.

"Please forgive me for not being able to see you again, and I wish you a smooth journey into the Hidden Forest, where there is extraordinary knowledge and power that even ordinary nobles cannot access."

"If you can complete your transformation there and stand out from the crowd, restoring Viscount Carlen's mansion will not be difficult. However, I probably won't be able to see you there by then."

“I also have two grandsons, one currently serving in the watchtower legion and the other studying in Grayleaf City. If you need them, they will be your loyal help.”

After saying all this, the old man thought for a moment, but in the end he didn't speak. He just looked at the blonde girl with his old and tired eyes.

“I understand.” Iona closed the box and picked it up.

She turned and walked towards the foot of the mountain, gradually disappearing into the distance, but stopped halfway and said something.

"Thank you, Butler Ethan." Then he disappeared around the bend in the woods.

……

Hyde College, in the courtyard and on the lawn.

As usual, Maester Hyde, with his long white beard, tapped the blackboard lightly with his wooden stick, on which the day's knowledge was written.

“It’s already November. Normally, the weather would be cold, but because we are in the monsoon season, autumn and summer will be exceptionally long. So we will enter a short winter in December and then end winter in January next year to enter spring.”

"Such differences also lead to differences in agricultural and commercial activities. During the early morning wind season, food is often plentiful and cheap, while the opposite is true during the foggy season."

……

"That concludes today's lesson. Also, I'd like to remind you that there will be an assessment on secret history knowledge next week." The old man held up his finger.

"I will provide some prizes for the top three in the assessment. Of course, they won't be as luxurious as those for Viscount Xue Feng, but they will still be of great help to you. Please look forward to it."

"Yes, teacher," the group replied with a hint of anticipation, then dispersed.

They left Maester Hyde's backyard in twos and threes, discussing the upcoming assessment.

"It seems that this time the test won't be about combat skills, but only knowledge."

"Sigh, then I'm completely useless."

"There's nothing we can do. It's not like Lord Xue Feng will come every time. As a scholar, the teacher naturally cares more about academic performance."

"If it's a secret history-related assessment, then Iona and Tia will definitely get first place?" "They should be. They're about the same, but Tia might be a little stronger. I've seen her tutoring a few struggling students lately."

"Can that wild kid Mick and that big oaf Ray really learn it?" some people wondered.

"Who knows? But I think Tia teaches very seriously. Several times when I passed by, I wanted to listen in."

"Hey, your grades in Secret History weren't bad, so why are you taking extra classes?"

"I can't explain this to you. I can only say that there's another, even higher mountain behind this one." The other person shrugged helplessly.

"However, Miss Iona has been rarely seen lately. She often doesn't come to training, and she sometimes misses Hyde's classes. I don't know what she's doing."

As they talked, they walked away, and when they met again, it was already afternoon at the training ground.

……

"The assessment is coming up soon, are you all ready?" Hiltiya sat on a wooden chair, looking at the students in front of her who were taking extra classes.

"Heh, of course I have no problem." Mick casually scratched his head.

“I will do my best,” Karen nodded.

"Where's Lei?" The girl tilted her head and looked at the tall man who was much taller than her.

"I...I'll do my best on the exam," Lei replied in a hesitant voice, lacking confidence.

Despite being the most physically robust among them, she turned out to be the most shy in Siltia's little class.

Hilti couldn't help but shake her head and rub her forehead at this big, clumsy guy.

Although none of the three of them had a good foundation, Mick and Karen weren't exactly stupid; they just lacked a good education in the past. Only 'Ray' made Hilti feel somewhat discouraged; it was truly difficult to teach.

There's nothing she can do; even she can't change a person's talent and intelligence. She can only try her best to help him keep up so he doesn't fall too far behind.

In addition, Hilti also summarized some experience regarding students like Lei who are not very bright.

Unlike normal students and gifted students, those who are too slow to understand cannot be taught using conventional knowledge frameworks. They cannot comprehend such complex and vast concepts. Therefore, it is necessary to further simplify the knowledge framework and reduce the difficulty of learning.

Such simplification will certainly lose its original effectiveness and make it difficult to further improve it as the foundation of some advanced courses. However, compared to the original fragmented knowledge framework that is incomprehensible, it is easier for dull students to accept, operate, and solve common problems.

Having a rudimentary knowledge framework is better than having nothing at all; it's a choice made out of necessity.

“Alright, I believe you all want to prove yourselves and won’t take this assessment lightly.” Hiltiya stood up.

"Let's review today. Also... could you show me the success of your recent combat training?" Her words surprised the group.

"Tiya wants to watch us practice fighting?" Lei rubbed his fist, eager to try.

“Of course.” Karen thought it was a very simple matter, and there was no need to mention it.

"Tia, can you understand this?" Although Mick felt that this girl was far ahead in terms of knowledge, he often felt that he was not as intelligent as her.

But could she really understand combat and swordsmanship? She probably had never even touched a sword before.

Is that what you think?

The black-haired girl picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and her calm expression made Mick feel a little insecure.

Spending time with this black-haired, blue-eyed girl made him increasingly aware of the intelligence and insight she possessed beneath her seemingly ordinary appearance.

He rarely admired anyone. One was his senior adventurer, Brother Gerald, and the other was this girl who seemed to be the same age as him, but whose knowledge and thinking far surpassed his own.

"Probably, but since Tiya asked, I'll show you when we practice together." He turned his head away, refusing to look at the face and eyes that were gradually making his heart waver.

(End of this chapter)