When night fell, Liliana grabbed her backpack and walked toward the living room.
"Mom Mega... I’m ready," said Liliana.
Mega nodded. "Cassian will be coming with us tonight to supervise you."
Liliana just nodded quietly. Although her face remained calm, she hadn’t expected Cassian to join her on this training mission.
Shortly afterward, Cassian emerged from his room dressed entirely in black. His hair was neatly styled, and a backpack hung from his shoulder.
"Get ready to die tonight, my dear little sister," said Cassian as he ruffled Liliana’s hair.
Liliana immediately looked up. She brushed Cassian’s hand away in annoyance.
"Don’t touch me! You’re messing up the hair I worked so hard to style."
Cassian just smiled mockingly, then walked over to Mega.
"Auntie, we can leave now. I’ve already told Mom, and she gave me permission to come along."
Mega nodded, then walked out with Liliana.
A jeep was neatly parked in front of the house.
Cassian sat in the front seat and immediately started the engine.
Meanwhile, Liliana and Mega sat in the back seat. The car drove quietly through the night without a single word spoken.
After half an hour’s drive, they finally arrived at their destination. A hill towered high before them.
Liliana immediately got out of the car as soon as Mega stepped out.
"Tonight is your first test. So don’t push yourself too hard. I won’t grade you harshly," said Mega as Liliana approached her.
"Okay, Ms. Mega."
Mega handed her a piece of paper. "These are the nine medicinal plants you need to find on this hill. Each one has its own guardian."
Liliana took the paper and looked at the pictures of the plants on it.
"You only need to bring three plants because you still can’t summon your werewolf."
Liliana nodded in understanding.
"You’ll have to rely on your physical abilities to complete this mission. I’ll be the one to judge whether the plants you bring are correct or not. Meanwhile, Cassian will be watching you from a hidden spot. He’ll only appear if your life is truly in danger."
"All right, Ms. Mega."
"Go on."
Liliana walked toward the hill that loomed so darkly ahead of her without the slightest hesitation. Her hands gripped the straps of her backpack tightly.
Liliana didn’t realize that a pair of dark eyes had already begun watching her from behind the dense foliage.
Once she had ventured deep enough into the forest, Liliana slowly unfolded the sheet of paper in her hand.
There were nine illustrations of medicinal plants on it.
Her gaze settled on the seventh illustration.
It was a yellowish-black medicinal plant used to heal minor wounds in werewolves.
"This plant... shouldn’t grow at the edge of the forest, but it shouldn’t be in the deepest part of the forest either," Liliana thought.
She nodded confidently, then slipped the piece of paper back into her pants pocket.
After walking for about half an hour, Liliana finally arrived at the spot she had anticipated.
The area felt damp, with knee-high grass growing everywhere.
Liliana closed her eyes for a moment.
"All right... let’s get started."
She pulled out the knife tucked into her boot, then began slowly parting the grass.
"Ssssss..."
Liliana frowned, quickly sharpening her hearing. Her gaze darted around, scanning her surroundings.
A yellow python was slithering toward her.
"Cwuak!"
The knife in her hand shot forward, striking the snake’s head squarely.
Liliana walked closer to retrieve her knife.
However, her body froze instantly when she heard another hiss coming from a different direction.
Not just one.
Two...
Three...
Four...
Or even more.
Liliana swallowed hard, then hurriedly quickened her pace forward.
"One-on-one would be easy for me," she thought. "But why are they all coming at once?"
"Ugh..." Liliana stumbled and fell as her foot struck a tree trunk. She looked around in despair.
"Was I wrong?" Her voice was faint.
"This... this isn’t where medicinal plants grow? Is this a snake’s nest?"
A cold sweat began to bead on her forehead. "It really does seem wrong," she said after a moment.
Behind her, dozens of venomous snakes had gathered, creating a terrifying sight.
Liliana shook her head slowly.
"Now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to face them."
She assumed the fighting stance Cassian had taught her a week earlier.
"Chuak!"
"Chuak!"
Her movements were lightning-fast.
One by one, the snakes’ heads were severed by the swing of her knife. In no time, she had managed to kill dozens of them.
However, that still wasn’t enough. Many more snakes kept appearing.
Liliana’s breathing began to quicken as the next swarm of snakes approached.
"I can’t keep this up."
Without a second thought, she quickly climbed the nearest tree. Once she was up, Liliana took a water bottle from her backpack and took a few gulps.
Meanwhile, the snakes beneath the tree remained waiting, as if certain their prey would come down.
"Ugh... how could Mrs. Mega give me a test this difficult?" Liliana complained in frustration.
After feeling she’d rested enough, she surveyed her surroundings once more.
It was impossible for her to climb down again and face those dozens of snakes. Her gaze then fell on a row of closely spaced trees.
Her eyes fluttered a few times. A small smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Moon Goddess... it seems You truly love me."
Liliana took a deep breath. Carefully, she made her way along the tree branches toward the next tree.
Slowly but surely, she managed to move from one tree to the next until she finally made it away from the snake’s nest.
As soon as she climbed down from the last tree, her eyes widened.
Right in front of her grew one of the medicinal plants on Mega’s list. With a careful motion, Liliana pulled the plant out of the ground and placed it in her backpack.
Four hours later, Liliana returned to Mega, carrying three types of medicinal plants.
"Ms. Mega... I did it."
She took the three plants out of her backpack and handed them to Mega.
Mega studied Liliana’s appearance for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.
Cassian, standing behind her, simply shrugged when he noticed Mega’s gaze.
"You’ve truly been outdone by Liliana, Cassian."
"Auntie, that doesn’t prove anything. Liliana only found the medicinal plants with the lowest difficulty level. I used to get ones that were much harder."
"Besides, that was just the first test. There are still five more tests before she can prove she’s better than me," Cassian continued.
He looked straight at Liliana.
"So, Liliana... are you really sure you can beat me?"