In the morning, Thilan and Annelie were decorating the activity room, arranging newly purchased furniture and items.
“This oven can go in the lower cabinet. You can just open the cabinet door when you need to use it,” the girl said, pointing to the black slate cabinet below.
“Alright, let’s place it here,” Annelie nodded, then seemed to remember something.
“Should we buy some potted plants or something? The activity room feels a bit plain.”
“That’s fine, but let’s get ones that are easy to care for.”
“Okay.” Annelie jotted it down on her notepad and then put it away.
The activity room was now mostly set up. Besides the necessary tables and chairs, it also had some commonly used equipment like computer terminals, a printer, kitchen appliances, a refrigerator, foldable mats, and cooling pads.
After arranging the items, the two sat at a black walnut table. Annelie picked up the glass teapot on the table and poured some clear iced tea for herself and Thilan, sipping it in small gulps.
“Even though there’s air conditioning, I still can’t give up the feeling of a fan blowing cool air,” she said, leaning back in her chair with her eyes half-closed. Her posture was relaxed, a stark contrast to the demeanor of a typical lady from a prominent family.
In fact, when Annelie first started interacting with Thilan, she presented herself as very professional and efficient. But over time, under Thilan’s “indulgence,” Annelie gradually revealed her more laid-back nature.
Thinking about it, Annelie did resemble her elder sister, Forneus. That maid-turned-sibling also chose to leave the life of a wealthy family behind to live in the remote Arpeggio City, likely to avoid socializing and the high-pressure world of corporate work.
The customer flow at Crystal Dream was never particularly high, and the work at the shop was relatively easy. The relationships between customers and the maids were more like those of friends or acquaintances, and the overall atmosphere was leisurely.
The two continued sitting across the table, chatting while sipping their tea, until a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
“Hello, is this the Twilight Ensemble?” asked a young elf with short, golden-blonde hair standing at the door.
“Yes, please wait a moment,” said Annelie as she and Thilan exchanged glances before walking over.
“You’re… Alen?” Annelie immediately recognized the elf boy.
With around 1,000 students in the first year at Edess Academy, it wasn’t uncommon to occasionally meet some well-known individuals.
“Yes, that’s me. But I don’t know your names yet,” he replied, adjusting his glasses, his scholarly demeanor apparent.
“I’m Annelie, and this is Thilan, our club president.”
“Hello,” Thilan, clad in a dark blue dress with her black hair neatly arranged, nodded politely, surprising him.
“Oh, I see! So, you’re Thilan. I missed the opening ceremony because I was accompanying my father on an expedition to the Windreed Meadow Star Region. But I’ve heard your name from other students.”
The boy, named Alen, was also a well-known figure at the academy. Both his parents were professors specializing in botany. If not for their limitation at Sequence 6, falling short of Sequence 7, they might already have been addressed as “Masters.” Despite looking no older than 17 due to the slower maturation of elves, Alen was actually several years older than his peers and had already advanced to Sequence 4 of the Nature pathway.
The three entered the activity room and sat down. Annelie brought out another cup and poured him some tea.
After some casual conversation to get acquainted, Alen brought up the topic of ancient secret arts with Thilan.
“Because of my parents’ influence, I have a deep understanding of botany and a strong interest in it. I heard you possess a lot of ancient secret knowledge, so I thought I’d try my luck.”
“Are you specifically interested in plant-related secret art?” Thilan asked.
“Yes, exactly.”
“Let me think…” Thilan began searching her mind for information about plant-related secret art.
Upon reviewing her memories, Thilan suddenly realized there seemed to be an abundance of secret arts related to plants.
First, the “Azure Lotus Sword Palace” itself was a direct lineage of Azure Bird, specializing in the Nature Sequence. Moreover, Azure Bird was deeply connected to the World Tree. Additionally, her ghostly teacher, who seemed to have been an Ice Elf in life, had also imparted many secret arts from the Ice Elf tradition during their lessons, some of which were related to plants.
After organizing her thoughts, Thilan chose a relatively simple secret art she could demonstrate immediately.
The black-haired girl in her dark blue dress stood up, retrieved an ice block from the refrigerator, and placed it on the table. Her pupils flickered, revealing tiny, mysterious symbols. She then pointed her finger at the ice block, and a small sprout emerged from it, rapidly growing. In no time, a slightly ornate ice flower tree appeared before the others.
This half-meter-tall “Silver Tree Ice Flower” was entirely made of ice, yet it grew like a plant, complete with branches, leaves, and even fruit.
“By the Federation’s current evaluation standards, this would be considered a Black Iron-Grade secret art called “Blossom on Ice.” It uses one’s magic to simulate a plant seed, allowing it to root in the ice block and absorb it as part of itself,” Thilan explained.
“This secret art is foundational and can later evolve into spells like ‘Ice Water Thorns’ or ‘Ice Tree Cage’ that restrict an opponent’s movements.”
She elaborated on the difference between secret arts and spells. Secret arts produce stronger, more direct effects and consume far less magic, but their usage comes with stricter requirements. They often necessitate a specific sequence, specialized magic, and a deep understanding of their underlying concepts.
After finishing her demonstration of the first secret art, Thilan pondered further.
“Do you have any plant seeds on you? I’ll need a medium to perform the next one,” she asked.
“No problem, I always carry a variety of seeds,” Alen replied without hesitation. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a row of different seeds.
“This one will do,” Thilan selected a single seed, tossing it lightly before catching it in her palm.
She closed her eyes, murmuring something under her breath. Then she opened her hand, and the seed began to sprout rapidly. First, a tender shoot emerged, growing continuously until it formed the shape of a straight wooden sword.
Grasping the wooden sword, faint glowing lines appeared along its surface before retracting entirely, leaving it looking ordinary.
This sword felt unusually light, as if there were no resistance when wielded. Thilan performed a simple swing, and it moved like a phantom.
“This is the ‘Swift Finch Sword,’ an Outstanding Gold-Grade secret art. It catalyzes any seed, causing its fiber patterns to form natural engraved textures during growth, resulting in a magical creation.”
“The sword created this way is not only as hard as steel but also comes with the ‘Air Slice’ effect, which eliminates air resistance, making it exceptionally swift and sharp.”
She glanced around the room and shook her head, lamenting the lack of anything suitable to test the sword’s power on.
Noticing this, Alen pulled out a dark wooden board from his belongings and placed it on the table for her to try.
With effortless ease, Thilan thrust the sword into the gap between the board and the table, twisted it, and flipped the board into the air. Two arcs of light flashed, and the dark wooden board landed on the table in eight perfectly cut pieces. The pieces bounced slightly before settling into stillness.
The cuts were incredibly smooth, without any splinters, leaving Alen astonished.
The dark wooden board he had brought was an experimental material far stronger than steel, comparable to Outstanding Gold-Grade alloys. Yet it had been effortlessly sliced apart.
Was this due to the secret art’s power, or was it the transcendent skill of the girl wielding the sword?
Shaking his head in disbelief, Alen admitted to himself that the club’s claims were indeed genuine.
“This is truly unexpected…” He had initially assumed the promotional claims were just gimmicks to attract new members, but now he had witnessed several ancient secret arts that were completely unrecorded. This left him hesitating.
Should he join?
While being in the club would offer some benefits, it would undoubtedly take up his time and energy. He was already accustomed to working independently, and joining a club would mean sacrificing some of his freedom.
What a dilemma.