[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-born-as-a-witch":3,"chapter-born-as-a-witch-born-as-a-witch-chapter-380":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Born as a Witch",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1702679,2172,"Chapter 380: Mission for Prism Crest Birds","born-as-a-witch-chapter-380",380,"\u003Cp>The morning mist still clung to the grove like silver threads when the Giant Tree Spirit summoned Lira again. His ancient branches creaked softly as she approached, carrying the gentle scent of lotus nectar and spirit springs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Child of balance,\" his voice rumbled, deep and warm like mountains shifting beneath the earth, \"the grove grows stronger... but there is one more thread missing from our tapestry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira bowed. Serelyth stood behind her, quiet and observant; Renkai leaned against a mossy stone, arms crossed; Thalanir held Fluffy in his arms because Fluffy refused to stay still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do we need now?\" Lira asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bark of the Giant Spirit flickered with faint light. \"The berry bushes you have planted— the Elemental Pulseberries... they flourish. Their berries glow with potential and can restore even the faintest spark of elemental power.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft hum drifted from the nearby bushes, their leaves shimmering with breath-like movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But,\" the Giant Spirit continued, \"they must be harvested correctly—only berries that have reached perfect ripeness. If picked too late, they lose potency. If picked too early, they sour the grove’s balance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can’t we do it by hand?\" Renkai asked, rubbing his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Giant Spirit shook his canopy gently. \"You... could. But the pulseberries respond to colors, sounds, and wing-flutter vibrations. Only one species in the world can pick them with perfect precision.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira blinked. \"Which species?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A warm breeze swept across the grove, carrying tiny motes of golden pollen that formed the outline of a bird—small, plump, and glowing with shifting rainbow feathers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Prism Crest Birds,\" the Giant Spirit said. \"Tiny as fists, but precise as master alchemists. Each feather holds a different resonance, allowing them to pluck ripe berries without harming the bush. They gather them into hollowed bottles woven from reed-fibers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira could already imagine them—bright, chirpy, darting around the bushes like flying jewels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will get them,\" Lira said, determination blooming in her voice. \"Where do they live?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Giant Spirit exhaled, a deep sigh that rustled the entire grove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the Sylph Vale. A valley woven with illusions and protective mirages. The Prism Crests hide among floating prism-lilies. Few travelers find them. Even fewer return with them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renkai groaned. \"Illusions again. Great.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thalanir placed Fluffy on the ground. The little creature immediately meowed—\"Mrrrew?\"—as if volunteering for adventure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Giant Spirit lowered one glowing branch. \"You must travel at dawn tomorrow. The Sylph Vale shifts its shape in daylight—only dawn colors reveal the true paths.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serelyth bowed slightly. \"We will guide her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Giant Spirit’s bark cracked open slightly—offering a nest-like satchel carved from living wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bring back at least six Prism Crest Birds. If they choose to follow you... the berry harvests will become the grove’s greatest strength. You may also bottle the pulseberries and bring them to the Academy’s marketplace. They will be sought by healers, mages, and exhausted students alike.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira accepted the wooden satchel, its interior lined with soft moss and faintly glowing runes to keep small creatures calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We leave at dawn,\" she said, stepping back to join her team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fluffy meowed again—this time louder—\"Mrrr-wow!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if saying, We are ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with that, the next mission began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dawn was only a shy pink glow behind the treetops when Lira and her companions set out. The grove was unusually quiet—almost reverent—as if it knew that this mission required harmony and delicate precision. Prism Crest birds were not creatures of strength or force; they were beings of subtlety, and the world seemed to shift into a softer rhythm in their honor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serelyth walked ahead, guiding them with steady steps. They had travelled many terrains together—mountains, deserts, emberfruit forests—but the path toward Sylph Vale felt different from the beginning. Even the foggy forest beyond the grove’s portal felt lighter, thinner, touched by shimmering glints of color that danced like hidden spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fluffy trotted ahead with his tail up, sending puffs of leaves into the air as he explored. Renkai stayed close to Lira, glancing at every shadow as if expecting the entire forest to turn inside out, as illusions often liked to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is it true,\" Renkai muttered, \"that Sylph Vale can make you walk in a circle for hours without realizing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serelyth nodded calmly. \"It can show you paths that don’t exist, or hide the ones that do. Smells, sounds... even gravity doesn’t always behave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thalanir sighed, adjusting the strap of his bag. \"Fantastic. A place that tries to confuse every one of my senses at once.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lira felt something else—an excitement pulsing deep in her chest. She had always been attuned to nature, to subtle patterns, to the whispering rhythms of living things. Illusions were just another kind of natural expression, in her eyes—like playful wind or mischievous water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they walked deeper, the light shifted gradually. Colors sharpened. The air tasted faintly sweet, as if infused with nectar. Dewdrops sparkled in rainbow hues, too bright to be natural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re close,\" Serelyth said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trees began to grow taller and thinner, their trunks pale like moonlit bone. Leaves shimmered as though dusted with crushed gemstones. The ground beneath their feet shifted from familiar earth to a silvery soft moss that gave off faint light with each step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they finally reached the ridge overlooking the valley, the others stopped in silent awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sylph Vale was not a normal valley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a bowl of drifting colors—soft blues and greens swirling like underwater currents, beams of pink mist rising from the ground, and floating lilies larger than pillows drifting lazily through the air. They glowed with pastel light, each one reflecting in the hazy air like mirrored illusions. The entire valley looked like a painting submerged in water and set shimmering beneath dawnlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Spirits...\" Thalanir whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renkai blinked. \"Is the ground... moving?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not. But the illusions made it look as if the valley slowly breathed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft breeze blew past them, carrying faint chimes—yet no chimes existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stay close,\" Serelyth warned. \"Once we step inside, the vale will try to read our intentions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira clutched the wooden satchel the Giant Spirit had given her. Inside, the moss hummed softly, sensing the magic around them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What kind of intentions?\" she asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serelyth’s eyes glinted silver. \"If we come with greed or aggression, the vale will hide its true form. If we come with gentleness... it will guide us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira took a deep breath and stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment her foot touched the shimmering moss of the vale floor, the illusions reacted. A ripple of color spread outward like rings in water. The floating lilies swayed toward her, their petals opening as if greeting her by name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fluffy let out a surprised \"mrrr-ooow?\" as one lily drifted a bit too close, glowing around his whiskers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renkai muttered, \"I hate this place already,\" but followed closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the group walked deeper, the vale responded with soft, shifting illusions—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>gentle paths...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>phantom lights guiding them...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and playful trick-images that dissolved when looked at directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Lira, it felt like the vale was studying her, nudging her, urging her onward with threads of color that wove ahead of her steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re being guided,\" she said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serelyth nodded. \"Yes. It approves of you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira felt warmth bloom in her chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, far ahead, barely visible through drifting colors—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cluster of tiny rainbow lights flitted between floating lilies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like living pieces of stained glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira’s heart leapt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Prism Crest Birds...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their real quest had finally begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Illusions of the Sylph Vale\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Lira and her companions stepped deeper into the Sylph Vale, the air shifted. What had been a soft, playful shimmer near the entrance now thickened into dense currents of color—threads of turquoise, rose, and violet drifting like slow-moving smoke. The ground beneath their feet felt firm, yet their eyes saw it ripple like water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It began slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A distant chime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash of movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A drifting, too-perfect shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the illusions grew bolder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Illusions Begin\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira lifted her hand, and a small cluster of floating light gathered around her fingertips. They formed a delicate shape—perhaps a butterfly—before dissolving into shimmering dust. Serelyth watched carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t chase anything,\" she warned quietly. \"The vale tests perception first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renkai grumbled but stayed close to Lira’s side. Thalanir glanced in every direction, his discomfort obvious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fluffy trotted ahead, tail high, then suddenly stopped. His fur puffed out like static.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mrrr–row?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A confused little meow echoed twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And twice again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fluffy spun around, only to face... another Fluffy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Identical fur. Identical eyes. Identical puffed-up tail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The illusion mimicked the creature perfectly—except its paws made no sound on the moss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fluffy, stay by me,\" Lira whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real Fluffy, uncertain, ran to her leg and climbed up her cloak in an instant. The illusion dissolved like mist scattered by a breeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the first sign the Sylph Vale was escalating its tests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vale ahead of them opened into a fork—one path lined with glowing flowers, another with floating lily plates drifting above ground as if walking across water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thalanir frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There weren’t two paths a moment ago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serelyth stepped forward and squinted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Neither is real. The vale is seeing whether we trust our eyes over our instincts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renkai muttered, \"Fantastic.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lira closed her eyes for a moment. Her heart beat softly, steadily, in tune with the natural pulse within her. Veins of magic beneath the earth hummed like distant drums. The illusions were like ripples over that pulse. Beautiful, distracting... but shallow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The real path is right through the middle,\" she said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Through the floating lilies?\" Thalanir asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Lira answered with certainty. \"Through the empty space between them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stepped forward, ignoring the phantom petals drifting near her face. And as she did—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fake paths split like curtains, dissolving into clouds of color.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The true path, narrow and winding, revealed itself beneath her feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serelyth smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The vale likes you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1656,"2026-06-06T14:30:21.781Z",1,"novelbin.me","0df427750ba4429900447a7e35b73e93046ce24d35d5378e9a6f464d9cbc3e47","born-as-a-witch-chapter-142","born-as-a-witch-chapter-379",479,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fborn-as-a-witch-cover.jpg"]