Halfway through the novel, Xue would require this herb to cure the poison in his body after trying to save Hana. Due to his growing strength and presence, those from the heavenly realm would descend down to fight Xue, and Hana would be a terrible burden to Xue.

A healer would take pity on Xue, and travel to this particular sword mound to get the herb to cure the poison.

Rereading really has its benefits.

Cecil smiled to herself, she remembered the author stating that the healer travelled north from the gate, and once she reached the infamous sword mound, she would turn east and find a tree with a red ribbon around it.

The healer would look closer and find an arrow marked on it.

After which, the healer would follow the direction of the arrow, and there would be a downhill that had the herbs growing miraculously on it.

"This place is creepy..."

"A place where the shooting stars fall, I thought it'll be prettier."

"Hey, Cecil, what are you hoping for your weapon to be?"

Cecil looked at the student, her voice indifferent. "Useful."

With that answer, Cecil walked on ahead, paying no heed to the students. Some of them chuckled at her straightforward answer, and the others frowned.

It wouldn't be good if anyone caught onto her actions or even followed her. Hence, Cecil was at the very front.

She observed her surroundings, seeing a mound coming into view. The mist from the edge of the forest grew thicker as they traversed deeper into the woods, and there was the occasional hoot from the owls that startled some timid students.

The trees closer to mound were still as mangled and twisted as before. However, the trees started to sprout flowers, and the stigma of the flower were glowing yellowish-white, and along with the broad, white petals, it created a bewitching sight.

Cecil stared ahead, seeing a shadow of a jagged hill in the distance. She rubbed at her sleeves, feeling chilly and she was surprised to see a small part of her breath as she breathed out.

Closing the distance quickly, she discovered the jagged part of the hill were weapons of different types; mostly swords; impaled into the ground. Cecil proceeded to turn to the east, walking away from the sword mound.

All of a sudden, she felt something tugging at her entire body. She paused, frowning, unable to take a step further.

I feel something...strange.

Cecil felt uneasy.

Not wanting to lose sight of the east direction of the mound, she crouched down and pressed her right palm on the ground. A rock pillar shot up and Cecil stood on top of it, placing her own rock on the pillar. She proceeded to leap off, gracefully soaring through the air and landing smoothly on the ground.

At that moment, Cecil felt another tug again and she willingly turned, finding herself fixated on a certain spot on the mound.

She took a step closer, and she heard soft, incoherent whispers in her head. She frowned deeper, taking a few steps closer.

The whispers were growing louder, and she could feel something beckoning her.

My weapon?

How fast.

Cecil continued on, the whispers getting discordant now and it was unbearable. She placed her hand on her forehead, squeezing her eyes close as she neared the source of the whispers.

The whispers were exceedingly loud now.

She forced her eyes open, not knowing that she had actually ascended the mound as she looked down.

There was an eerie olive-coloured glow below her, and her hand instinctively reached out for the glow. Her face twisted in pain and she panted, clutching at the glow.

The whispers stopped abruptly.

The material around Cecil's hand was freezing, and it was hard, shaped in a rectangular manner.

....a sword handle?

She pulled it, hearing a shrill ringing sound and she held the object above her. It glinted in the mist and Cecil realised it was too small and short to be a sword.

It was a dagger.

Cecil blinked, looking down once again as she procured the sheath of the dagger, only to realise there was another sheath right beside it.

Twin daggers!

Cecil extricated the other dagger, and slotted the daggers into the dagger holders. The robes conveniently came along with these holders, and Cecil was grateful for the author for designing the clothes this way.

She then glanced in every direction, recalling her rock. Towards the left, she saw a shadow flying her way.

She smiled.

***

Cecil pursed her lips.

If she had a good estimation, it had almost an hour of walking around for her. Due to the mist, everywhere looked the same and Cecil had to waste even more time to check each tree, looking out for a ribbon.

Fortunately, there weren't any beasts present.

Cecil's hand dug around in her robes, and she clutched at the flare. If she was really lost, she would rather risk her reputation than risk being locked out.

She also dug around to ensure that the special glove was still in her robes.

It was, and she sighed in relief.

Her vision was poor in this environment, and along with how transculent and thin the gloves were, it was hard to tell if it was still there or not.

Just then, she saw another tree in the distance and picked up her pace. She immediately lit up upon seeing the red ribbon around the tree, searching for the arrow desperately.

Arrow, arrow, arrow...arrow!

Her steps were brisk, following the arrow like the healer did. Within another ten minutes of walking, she saw a glimpse of a downslope.

"Yes! Found it!"

Jogging her way to the steep slope, she reached the edge and instantly sat down on her knees. She leaned over, and finally, she saw the herb she has etched into her mind constantly.

Its shape was similar to a lavender. However, its flowers were rose-coloured...and it grew on a downslope that was extremely steep.

What kind of weird logic did the author apply into this world? Lavender growing only such dangerous downslope?

Cecil hastily wore the glove, stretching her arm out, and sadly, she couldn't reach it. It seems like she had no other choice but to dirty her clothes, and proceeded to lay down in a prone position.

Still can't reach it...

She shifted closer to the edge, biting on her lower lip as she stretched the furthest she could.

[ You feel a strange presence...
It is a random helpful stranger!
Optional mission #4 : The Nice Guy
Objective : Accept the stranger's helping hand
Reward : 1000 points. ]

Cecil dropped her hand when she saw the message, blinking her eyes rapidly, even after the message disappeared.

"AI500, how much points will I be rewarded with?"

[ 1000 points. ]

"1000 points?"

[ 1000 points~ ]

Cecil let out a choked cough.

1000 points for such a mission...I'll just pretend I didn't see it.

She put aside the unbelievable mission for now, stretching her hand again.

She was so close to getting the herb.

"You need some help?"

She stiffened.

It was a voice she didn't recognise at all.

***

《 start 》

Hana surprises me.

In her previous life, she never once touched anything related to weapons or fighting.

What caused her to change?

...I can only think of that annoying woman, who is at the sword mound right now.

It's the opportune time to absorb "my" soul, but everytime I make a move...something tells me not to.

《 stop 》