Secret History Assessment

Autumn deepened, and withered yellow leaves drifted across the mountains, leaving the distant landscape a patchwork of green and gold.

Iona walked through the forest of dead leaves, the ground crunching rhythmically beneath her feet.

She arrived beneath a massive banyan tree outside Scorched Stone City; the giant tree stood out prominently against the surrounding mountain woods.

After a brief wait, another figure entered the woods, clad in a black cloak with a cloth mask covering his face.

Upon seeing Iona, the figure stopped, untied the mask, and revealed a face etched with age.

"Lady Iona." He pressed a hand to his shoulder and bowed.

"Mm." The blonde girl turned, nodding slightly, her expression unreadable.

"These are the items you requested in your letter." He placed the long wooden crate he had been carrying onto the carpet of fallen leaves.

He undid the latches and opened the box, revealing two custom-made black steel longswords, a small pouch of black stones, a velvet jewelry box, a row of blood-red vials, a yellowed book, and a small silk sachet filled with dried flowers and leaves.

"Everything is prepared." After speaking, his sunken eyes lingered on the girl for a long time.

"Is something wrong?" Iona looked up after finishing her inventory.

"My Lady, you must understand that there is very little left of what Lord Callen bequeathed."

Hearing this, Iona fell silent for a moment before nodding.

"This is the last time I will be able to bring you supplies. I hope you can forgive me."

"I served two generations of the Callen viscounts and once thought I would spend my entire life at the estate, but alas..." He shook his head slowly.

"Please forgive me for not being able to see you again. I wish you success in entering the Secret Forest; it holds extraordinary knowledge and power that ordinary nobles can never touch."

"If you can complete your transformation there and stand out, restoring the Callen estate will not be difficult. It is just that I likely will not be around to see it."

"I have two grandsons—one is currently in a legion at the Watchtower Fortress, and the other is studying in Grey Leaf City. If you ever need them, they will be your loyal support."

After saying this, the old man hesitated, but ultimately said nothing more, merely watching the blonde girl with weary, aged eyes.

"I understand." Iona closed the box and lifted it.

She turned and headed toward the foot of the mountain, walking further and further away, until she paused halfway and spoke.

"Thank you, Steward Ethan." With that, her figure vanished around a bend in the woods.

In the courtyard of Scholar Heide's residence.

Scholar Heide, with his long white beard, tapped his blackboard with a wooden rod as usual, pointing to the day's lesson.

"It is already November. In a normal year, the weather would have turned cold, but because we are in the Rising Wind Season, autumn and summer are exceptionally long. We will not enter the brief winter until December, and it will conclude in January of next year, leading into spring."

"Such differences also bring variations in agriculture and trade. The Rising Wind Season usually brings abundant grain and low prices, while the Season of Sinking Fog brings the exact opposite."

"That concludes today's lecture. Also, a reminder: next week we will hold the assessment on Secret History." The old man held up a finger.

"I will provide prizes for the top three scorers. They won't be as extravagant as those from Viscount Xuefeng, of course, but they will be quite helpful to you. Look forward to it."

"Yes, teacher." The students replied with a hint of excitement before dispersing.

As they left Scholar Heide's backyard in small groups, they discussed the upcoming assessment.

"It seems there's no combat portion this time, just a knowledge-based test."

"Sigh, then I'll have no chance to show my skills."

"Nothing to be done about it. Lord Xuefeng isn't always here, and the teacher is a scholar; naturally, he cares more about academic performance."

"For a Secret History assessment, doesn't that mean Iona and Sylutia will take the top spots?"

"Likely. The two of them are neck and neck, though Sylutia might be slightly stronger. I've seen her tutoring several struggling students lately."

"Can a wild kid like Mick or a blockhead like Ray really learn it?" someone speculated doubtfully.

"Who knows? But Sylutia teaches very earnestly. I've wanted to listen in a few times when I passed by."

"Hey, your Secret History grades aren't bad either, why would you need tutoring?"

"It's hard to explain to you. Let's just say there is always a higher mountain beyond the mountain." The other shrugged helplessly.

"Still, Lady Iona has been rarely seen lately. She often skips training and sometimes misses Scholar Heide's classes. I wonder what she's up to."

The group's voices faded as they walked away, planning to meet again at the afternoon training grounds.

"The assessment is almost here. Are you all ready?" Sylutia sat on a wooden chair, looking at the few students she was tutoring.

"Heh, I'm fine, of course." Mick feigned ease, scratching his head.

"I will do my best." Karen nodded.

"What about you, Ray?" The young girl tilted her head, looking up at the giant who stood a head taller than her.

"I... I will do my best on the test." Ray replied in a muffled, unconfident voice.

Despite being the most robust of the group, he was surprisingly the most bashful in Sylutia's small study sessions.

Sylutia couldn't help but shake her head and cover her face in response to this big oaf.

Although the foundations of all three were poor, Mick and Karen couldn't be called stupid; they simply lacked a proper education in the past. Only Ray made Sylutia feel somewhat discouraged, as he was truly difficult to teach.

There was no helping it; even she couldn't change a person's innate talent and intelligence. She could only do her best to help him keep up so he wouldn't fall too far behind.

Furthermore, Sylutia had summarized some experience in dealing with a dull student like Ray.

Unlike normal or gifted students, one could not use conventional knowledge frameworks when facing someone overly dim-witted. They couldn't comprehend such complex and vast systems, so the knowledge framework had to be further simplified to lower the difficulty of learning.

Such simplification would naturally sacrifice the original efficacy and make further advancement difficult, serving as a poor foundation for advanced courses. However, compared to fragmented knowledge frameworks that were impossible to understand, it was easier for a dull student to accept, utilize, and solve common problems.

Having a crude knowledge framework was better than having nothing at all; this was a choice made out of helplessness.

"Alright, I believe you all want to prove yourselves and won't take this assessment lightly." Sylutia stood up.

"Let's review today, and also... could you show me the results of your recent combat training?" Her words left the group quite surprised.

"Sylutia wants to see us spar?" Ray rubbed his fists, eager to try.

"Of course." Karen felt this was as simple as could be, not even worth mentioning.

"Sylutia, can you even understand it?" Although Mick felt that this young girl was far ahead in terms of knowledge and often felt he wasn't as clever as her, he doubted she could understand combat or swordsmanship. She had probably never even touched a sword.

"Is that what you think?"

The black-haired girl picked up her teacup and took a small sip, her indifferent expression making Mick instantly lose his confidence.

Spending time with this black-haired, blue-eyed girl had made him increasingly aware of the brilliant mind and insight hidden beneath her seemingly ordinary appearance.

He rarely admired anyone; one was his senior adventurer, Jero, and the other was this girl who appeared to be his age but possessed knowledge and thinking far beyond his own.

"I suppose so. But since you asked, Sylutia, I'll show you during our sparring session." He turned his head away, avoiding the face and eyes that were gradually making his heart waver.