Overflowing "Dew Prayer Technique"

After the cheerful dinner gathering at Comia's home, Sylutia returned home.

The "Swan Orchid" in the backyard was still blooming quietly, faint invisible ripples spreading through the entire courtyard, as if even the air had become a little cleaner.

"It's already bloomed, Tia." Talia carefully followed behind the girl, observing the beautiful Swan Orchid flourishing beneath its glass cover.

"So pretty~" she naturally exclaimed, and like Sylutia, found herself unable to move away.

The two lingered before the Swan Orchid for a long while before finally returning to bathe and sleep.

Three days later, the month-end assessment Scholar Heide had mentioned began. Iona had come as well today.

"The questions are on the blackboard. I've already written them out." He hung up the board.

"You will have two hours. Once time is up, I'll collect all the papers together."

"If you place in the top three, I'll give you a bottle of Blood Wine. First place will additionally receive instruction in a piece of secret art knowledge." He told them the rewards.

"Now, begin answering."

The quiet room filled with the soft rustle of writing. Some studied the questions on the blackboard, some racked their brains, while others simply gave up and casually looked around.

Time slowly passed. When Sylutia finished every question, there were still fifty minutes left.

Should she hand it in? She looked around. Most people were still bent over their papers, and even Iona was stuck on a question, looking somewhat irritated.

She should check it once more. After thinking it over, she went through the questions and answers again.

More than twenty minutes passed. Sylutia had already reviewed her answers several times. After considering it, she decided not to wait any longer and stood up.

Seeing her hand in her paper, the other students were somewhat surprised, but not overly so. Sylutia had always done well in Secret History Class. Just because they worked slowly did not mean the girl could not answer the questions.

When Iona saw Sylutia finish early, it was as though her mindset had been struck by an Impact. She stopped dwelling on the difficult questions and turned her attention to those further back.

Half an hour later, amid the lamentations of many students, the examination ended.

"That was so hard this time," someone sighed as soon as it was over.

"The difficulty was completely different from before."

"Some of the calculations were really complicated." The test had involved quite a few mathematical matters.

"I saw Miss Iona struggling with the questions too."

"Only Tia finished early. I wonder how much she scored this time."

As everyone discussed the examination, Iona leaned quietly against the stone pillar by the door and listened. Every now and then, she lifted her gaze toward the corner of the classroom, where that girl was surrounded by several friends. An indescribable glimmer flashed through her eyes.

Before long, Scholar Heide finished grading the papers and announced the results.

"Tia, first place, 100 points. Iona, second place, 84 points. Comia, third place, 81 points... Mick, 68 points. Karen, 64 points. Ray, 57 points." The gap in scores surprised the students present.

No one was surprised that Tia had taken first place, but they had not expected the difference in scores to be so great. In the past, Tia and Iona had often both received perfect marks. Only occasionally would Iona lose a few points and fall behind Tia.

But after this examination became harder, everyone suddenly realized that the gap between the two was far greater than it appeared on the surface.

Mick, Karen, and Ray's scores had also risen noticeably. They had shaken off their bottom-of-the-class status and reached the middle of the class.

After hearing the rankings, Iona did not linger and left the room directly.

"Lady Iona." Valenie followed after her, trying to remind her that she had not collected her prize yet.

"Send the wine to my residence later." Iona tossed out those words before disappearing around the corner of the corridor.

"Uh, all right." Hearing that she could go to Iona's residence, Valenie suddenly became happy, no longer caring that Iona had left without saying goodbye.

Afterward, Scholar Heide had servants bring out three large bottles of Blood Wine. Each held roughly 800 milliliters, considerably more than the 500-milliliter bottles sold by the Adventurers Guild.

[Blood Wine] (First Order - Blood Law): Medicinal wine brewed from the blood of extraordinary beasts. It can enhance abilities related to the "Blood Law" Aspect Power and is also highly suitable for Breathing Technique training. (Brewed by Scholar Heide; excellent quality)

The dark brown wine bottles were sealed with corks, their tops covered in paper wrapped with thin string. The brewing date and place of origin were written on them. They had indeed been brewed personally by Scholar Heide last month.

Its quality was a notch above what the Adventurers Guild sold. One bottle was probably worth eighty to ninety silver coins. Sylutia accepted it and examined it, silently thinking to herself.

"Thank you."

Sylutia and Comia hugged their wine bottles and offered their thanks. The sight left the other classmates both envious and speechless. Of all people, it was two girls who did not specialize in Breathing Techniques who had obtained Blood Wine.

"(＾-＾)V~ Happy." Comia made the gesture.

As they were leaving, Baron and several noble students came forward and directly asked whether the Blood Wine could be resold.

"One gold coin. That is an enormous gift." Baron raised a finger. He knew his goods, and knew that Scholar Heide's skill at brewing Blood Wine was far superior to that of the Adventurers Guild's brewers.

The other two noble students offered roughly the same price. Even if they had money, they did not dare offer more than Baron, for among them, Baron held the highest status as the heir of a baron.

"Mm... all right, take it." After thinking it over, Comia directly handed over her Blood Wine in exchange for money. She had no use for it anyway.

Then they came over to Sylutia. She thought it over and decided to keep hers.

"I won't sell it. I'm planning to keep it for another purpose."

Though Baron was somewhat displeased, he already had one bottle in hand and did not care so much about the remaining one.

"Suit yourself. You won't get such a good price outside." He waved a hand and left directly.

Once it was over, everyone departed. Since they had finished the examination today, Scholar Heide gave them half a day off. They did not need to train in the afternoon either.

Placing the Blood Wine in a bag, Sylutia carried it back to her home.

What was this?

After returning home and putting away her things, she suddenly sensed that the Emerald Nectar aura diffusing through the courtyard had grown a little denser.

Filled with anticipation and joy, the girl headed to the backyard with light steps. As she had wished, she saw three blooming Swan Orchids, each now displaying the complete First Order - Emerald Nectar Aspect Power.

Like three graceful swans slowly spreading their wings, the three Swan Orchids emitted faint halos. If they were growing in the wild, flowers like these would surely attract many unusual animals. But with the glass covers blocking them, and with this being the city, only she knew of them.

Lifting the glass cover and slowly bending down, Sylutia gently touched the blooming Swan Orchid. The invisible rippling aura connected with her, causing the Dew Prayer Technique within her Fate Disk to grow considerably stronger. It had not been far from advancing before, but now it directly entered the third stage.

[Dew Prayer Technique Lv.3] (Emerald Nectar): Gathers morning mist at dawn and transforms emerald dew into water, promoting growth and healing withered plants. (Increases the amount and purity of Emerald Dew Water refined, and adds the effect of healing withered plants.)

It seemed that the Gardener's path of advancement and the cultivation of extraordinary plants complemented each other. Her various abilities were used to nurture them, and in turn, those cultivated plants fed back into her, accelerating her own growth.

After [Dew Prayer Technique] rose to Lv.3, Sylutia felt as though she were a bowl filled to the brim with water. The Emerald Nectar Aspect Power within the [Dew Prayer Technique Lv.3] ability card felt as though it were about to overflow.

If she guided that nearly overflowing Emerald Nectar Aspect Power toward [Sleeping Maiden], the card at the center of her Fate Disk, and continued nourishing it for a while, she would probably enter "First Order - Emerald Nectar." The additional effect of the Fate trait she gained would also be related to the Dew Prayer Technique.

It seemed her advancement was imminent. But for now, she stood up and touched the black strands of hair hanging before her chest.

Since the Swan Orchids had finished growing, it was time to visit Lady Falan. Perhaps that senior Gardener could offer her better advice.