Chapter 45: Overflowing Dew Prayer Method
After the joyful dinner at Komiya’s home, Xilutiya returned home.
The Swan Orchid in the backyard was still quietly blooming, faint invisible ripples spreading throughout the courtyard, as if the air had become a bit purer.
“It’s already flowering, Tiya.” Talil carefully followed behind the maiden, observing the beautiful Swan Orchid blooming inside the glass cover.
“So pretty~” She naturally let out a sigh of admiration, and like Xilutiya, she couldn’t tear her feet away.
The two stayed in front of the Swan Orchid for a long time before finally going back to wash up and sleep.
……
Three days later, the end-of-month assessment that Scholar Heide mentioned began, and today Miss Iona also came to the scene.
“The questions are on the blackboard; I’ve already written them.” He hung up the blackboard.
“Time limit is 2 hours; I’ll collect all the papers at the end.”
“If you get one of the top three places, I’ll give you a bottle of Blood Wine. First place gets an extra Secret Arts knowledge taught.” He told everyone the rewards.
“Alright, begin answering now.”
In the quiet room came the rustling sounds of writing; some students looked at the questions on the blackboard, some pondered deeply, and some simply gave up, casually looking around.
Time passed slowly, and when Xilutiya finished all the questions, she saw there were still 50 minutes left.
Should she turn in her paper? She looked around; most people were still writing with their heads down, and even Miss Iona was stuck on a certain question, somewhat irritated.
Better check it again. She thought for a moment, then went through the questions and answers once more.
Another twenty minutes or so passed, and Xilutiya had already reviewed the questions and answers several times. She thought about it and decided not to wait any longer, standing up.
Seeing her turn in her paper, the other students were a bit surprised but not shocked; Xilutiya’s grades in Secret History Class had always been excellent, not just for a day or two. Their slowness didn’t mean this maiden couldn’t answer them.
At this point, Miss Iona saw Xilutiya finish early, and as if her mindset had been impacted, she stopped paying attention to those difficult questions and shifted her focus to the later ones.
Half an hour later, amid the sighs of many students, the exam ended.
“So hard this time.” As soon as it ended, someone sighed.
“The difficulty is completely different from the past.”
“Some things are very complex to calculate.” The exam involved quite a few math-related things.
“I saw Miss Iona answering very laboriously too.”
“Only Tiya finished early; I wonder how much she’ll score this time.”
While everyone was discussing the exam, Miss Iona leaned against a stone pillar by the door, quietly listening. She occasionally lifted her gaze to the maiden in the corner of the classroom, surrounded by several friends, a strange gleam flashing in her eyes.
Soon, Teacher Heide finished grading and announced the scores.
“Tiya first place 100 points, Miss Iona second place 84 points, Komiya third place 81 points… Mike 68 points, Karen 64 points, Lei 57 points.” This score gap surprised the students on site.
Everyone wasn’t surprised that Tiya took first, but they were surprised by how large the score gap was, because in the past, Tiya and Miss Iona were often both full marks, with only occasional times when Miss Iona scored a few points less, falling behind Tiya.
But after this exam got harder, everyone suddenly realized that the score gap between these two wasn’t as small as it seemed on the surface.
Also, Mike, Karen, and Lei’s scores had clearly improved, escaping the bottom ranks and reaching the middle of the class.
After hearing the rankings, Miss Iona didn’t stay any longer and directly left the room.
“Miss Iona.” Valenie followed behind, trying to remind her that she hadn’t claimed her prize yet.
“Just deliver the wine to my residence later.” Miss Iona tossed out the words and disappeared around the corridor corner.
“Uh, okay.” Hearing that she could go to Miss Iona’s residence, Valenie suddenly became happy, no longer caring that Miss Iona had left without saying goodbye.
Afterward, Scholar Heide had a servant bring out three large bottles of Blood Wine, each about 800 milliliters, much larger than the 500 milliliter bottles sold at the Adventurer’s Guild.
【Blood Wine】（First Order- Blood Law）: Medicinal Wine refined from extraordinary beast blood, which can enhance abilities related to the Blood Law nature, and is also very suitable for Breathing Technique training. （Brewed by Scholar Heide, excellent quality）
The dark brown wine bottles were sealed with corks, wrapped with fine string and grass paper covers on top, marked with brewing time and origin—personally brewed by Scholar Heide last month.
Compared to the quality sold at the Adventurer’s Guild, this was a cut above; one bottle probably cost 80-90 silver coins. After receiving it, Xilutiya observed it for a bit, thinking to herself.
“Thank you.”
Xilutiya and Komiya held the wine bottles and gave thanks; this scene made the other classmates on site envious and speechless—two girls who didn’t major in Breathing Technique had gotten the Blood Wine.
“(＾－＾)V~ Happy” Komiya made a hand gesture.
When leaving, Baron and several noble students came forward and directly inquired if the Blood Wine could be traded.
“One gold coin—that’s a huge favor.” Baron held up a finger; he knew his stuff and understood that Scholar Heide’s Blood Wine brewing ability was much stronger than the Adventurer’s Guild’s.
The other two noble students offered similar prices; even if they had money, they didn’t dare bid higher than Baron, since among them, the Baron’s heir had the highest status.
“Mm… alright, here you go.” Komiya thought for a moment and directly handed over the Blood Wine in exchange for money; she didn’t need it anyway.
Then it came to Xilutiya’s side; she thought about it and decided to keep hers.
“I won’t; planning to keep it for other uses.”
Though Baron was a bit annoyed, having one bottle in hand made him less concerned about the remaining one.
“Up to you; you won’t get this good a price outside.” He waved his hand and left directly.
After it ended, everyone left; since the exam was over today, Scholar Heide gave them half a day off, no training in the afternoon.
Putting the Blood Wine in her bag, Xilutiya carried it back home.
What’s this?
She returned home and had just put down her things when she suddenly felt the Emerald Honey aura overflowing in the courtyard had thickened a bit more.
The excited and joyful maiden walked briskly to the backyard, and as she hoped, she saw three blooming Swan Orchids, all now displaying the complete First Order- Emerald Honey nature.
Like three elegant swans slowly spreading their wings, the three Swan Orchids emitted faint halos; if in the wild, such flowers would definitely attract many special animals, but with the glass cover blocking and being in the city, only she knew.
Lifting the glass cover and slowly leaning down, Xilutiya lightly touched the blooming Swan Orchid with her hand; the invisible ripple aura connected, greatly strengthening the Dew Prayer Method in her Fate Plate. Originally not far from advancement, it directly stepped into the third segment.
【Dew Prayer Method Lv.3】（Emerald Honey）: Gather morning mist in the dawn, transform emerald dew into water, promote growth, heal withered plants. （Increased yield of Emerald Dew Water, higher purity, enhanced effect on healing withered plants）
It seems a gardener’s advancement path and nurturing extraordinary plants complement each other: various abilities used for nurturing, and then these nurtured plants feed back to oneself, accelerating personal growth.
After 【Dew Prayer Method】 reached Lv.3, Xilutiya felt like a bowl filled to the brim with water; the 【Dew Prayer Method Lv.3】 ability card contained 【Emerald Honey】 nature power that felt about to overflow.
If she directed this overflowing 【Emerald Honey】 nature power toward the central 【Sleeping Girl】 on her Fate Plate and nurtured it for a while longer, she could probably step into First Order · Emerald Honey, and the extra effect of the obtained Fate would also relate to Dew Prayer Method.
Advancement seemed imminent, but for now… she stood up and touched the black hair at her chest.
Since the Swan Orchid cultivation was complete, she should go see Madam Fran; perhaps as a senior gardener, she could offer better advice.
