"Since earlier, have you felt unwell in any way?" The head of the family asked his eldest son with concern. This long journey was not without risks for his son, but they had decided they needed to make their intentions clear. Since the sage had mentioned traveling to the city of Erel, how could they remain in the city of Set?

    The gaunt young man thought for a moment, his eyes slightly downcast.

    "The old man...is a girl." Previously, Owen would not have been able to speak at all, but thanks to the multiple Tezetrons plants he had consumed recently, his body had recovered significantly. Although he was still very ill, speaking a few words was now quite effortless.

    "Hmm? What do you mean?" Steven looked at his son, puzzled.

    Owen recalled the girl with freckles, her eyes were deep and familiar. But it wasn't just for this reason that he decided she was the old sage who was his benefactor. Previously, he had given her a Lightning Shield, and his power was still present on the girl's forehead.

    Of all people, Owen remembered that he had never given it to anyone else due to his frail body, which worsened with the use of power. Apart from his family—his father, younger sister, and another younger sister—he never entrusted it to anyone else. There was only one person outside his family to whom he truly felt grateful, and that was the old sage.

    "The girl with freckles...she possesses my Lightning Shield power." Just with that statement, his father understood immediately. His eyes sparkled with a flicker of realization. As a high-ranking noble, if the other party was merely a lowly person, perhaps…

    No!

    Steven shook his head at himself. Even if the other party had not yet accumulated vast prestige to become a renown mage as they initially thought, her potential was enough to shake the nation in the future. Therefore, instead of forcing and turning a friend into an enemy, wasn't it better to maintain such a relationship?

    Moreover, it seemed she did not want others to know this secret. If they acted strangely or disclosed this secret, it might not only be them who would lose out, but it could also bring trouble upon themselves.

    The palace might even call her to betroth her to one of their princes, and then monopolize her abilities solely for the benefit of the royal family.

    Steven was no fool. He knew very well how much the palace feared Owen, his son. Otherwise, instead of helping to their fullest ability, they merely provided bits of Tezetrons plant to them—as if they just wanted to keep the Setter family under their feet forever!

    "This will be kept a secret, and we will continue as if he is the same old sage. But from now on, the Setter family will assist him as much as needed, no matter if it means becoming enemies with anyone."

    The resolute command from the head of the family made everyone following him nod in unison. Only one person was still confused by the situation and didn't even recognize the face of the girl there. Because of this...Aman then went to inquire about the identity of this newly arrived magic user from the city of Set, who turned out to be a rural girl named "Nara"!

    After being brought to the magical institution, the two girls were first taken to a place to measure their power. This was to confirm whether their magic powers had been self-awakened. If so, their initial power level would be higher than level 2, while those who consume power-awakening potions start at level 1.

    Ellie knew she could enter the institute because her power had awakened naturally, and it had even caused the original body owner unbearable suffering leading to death. Furthermore, she was confident that her power had significantly increased. She had been exhausting her power daily for nearly 2 months, practicing intensively by herself.

    Initially, she could use all her power to make a Tezetrons plant grow 1 palm length. Now, if she used all her power, it could grow an additional 2 finger-lengths. Unsure how to officially measure her power level, she used the leaves of the Tezetrons as a personal gauge.

    Fearing that after measuring her power, Nara would no longer be the center of attention, she preferred that Nara demonstrate her capabilities first. If Nara failed, it would prove that this world was not like the novels Ellie knew, and she would return to her village to survive day by day.

    Indeed! Frankly, Ellie was afraid of being in the institute because, according to the novels, studying here was akin to committing suicide!

    Every year, students were sent into the magic forest for training where some would die, some would return crippled, and others would disappear without a trace if they didn’t escape in time. No one survived after staying in the forest for 1 year. Not only were there annual tests in the magic forest, but other challenging missions to enhance academic scores.

    Such challenging tasks were definitely not something the heroine's friend, without the heroine herself, would willingly undertake.

    "Who will test first?" The calm voice of the young male instructor rang out. Nara looked towards Ellie, who was visibly shaking with fear. Steeling herself, Nara stepped forward.

    Knowing Ellie’s power had naturally awakened, she thought that there would be a comparison if Ellie demonstrated her power first. Thus, Nara decided to go first, thinking it better for herself to test, or else she could possibly fail to secure a place in the institution.

    The petite, twin-tail-haired girl bravely walked up to the power-measuring pedestal, which had 7 levels. As someone whose power had awakened naturally would reach level 2, she hoped to reach that level.

    Not sure if the story was supposed to unfold this way, but when Nara closed her eyes briefly and then reopened them, the corners of her mouth involuntarily lifted.

    The display she saw showed her magic power level faintly reaching level 2. Although it was faint, it still meant she was at level 2!

    "Go ahead," the male practice instructor waved dismissively.

    Although he was somewhat surprised because the scholarship students he had encountered before usually started at a minimum of power level 2, which was not as faint as this one. However, the requirement was that the power level must reach level 2, which the other party met, so he had no right to critique anything.

    Ellie felt a bit relieved. In the end, everything was going according to the plot of the novel. The heroine, excited about her first power measurement, turned out to be a level 2 magic user. Her having the rare light elemental power made her even more intriguing to others. This was all described in the narrative.

    Nara cheerfully waved her fist to Ellie, a stark contrast to her previously tense demeanor. Finally, the beloved heroine had managed to restore her image.

    The freckled little girl walked up obediently, unlike Nara who appeared adorably nervous. This heroine's friend was filled with lethargy. She placed her hand on the power-measuring pedestal and waited to see the level displayed in front of her.

    The power-measuring pedestal worked quickly. It breezed past level 1 and gradually slowed down at level 2, eventually settling in the middle of power level 2, indicating that this girl's power was more than level two and was approaching level 3!

    The male practice instructor's thick eyebrows rose in surprise. For a child who still didn't know how to train her power, reaching this point was considered a strong power. However, after seeing that it was "botanic" power, he lost interest.

    Although this power was also special, it couldn't compare to the power of light. The power of botany would have to be examined again to determine which plant species she had formed a bond with, which usually turned out to be useless plants, meaning that even if the power level was high, it was just trash!

    "You have the power of light, so you may go rest. As for you...follow me." Hearing the young male practice instructor's words, Ellie nodded in agreement. She remembered that on Nara's first day at the academy, such an incident had occurred.

    After Nara had finished measuring her power, she was told to rest. However, since there was no one to guide her and she didn't know the layout of the academy, Nara wandered aimlessly until she met a very kind hero, though he didn’t talk much, he was attentive. He was "The Sage," a renowned figure of the academy.

    His status was that of a professor at the academy, but due to his expertise, this young man in his early 20s had become a senior-level professor while still young. He spent most of his time studying and researching, which meant he taught for very few hours.

    However, with the knowledge he had, many students in the academy regarded him as the best professor for imparting knowledge. Thus, it's no surprise that many students wanted him to take them on as direct disciples. They tried to approach him in various ways but failed to garner his interest until a poor student girl came along. On the very first day of classes, the young sage suddenly announced that he already had his first and only direct disciple, and yes! That person was none other than the heroine, Nara.

    The reason this smart hero was so fond of the heroine had its origins from the event of her first day at the academy.

    Since it wasn’t the start of the academic term, there were not many people around the institute. The Sage, after spending considerable time in his laboratory, took a walk to relax and happened upon Nara, who was wandering about, leading to a delightful conversation.

    Nara's vivacity was unlike the children of nobility; she was refreshingly naive, which made The Sage feel at ease. He even once mentioned that she was like a leisurely read for him. Her unique perspective and engaging company greatly amused him, and thus he wished to keep her by his side forever, simply turning him into one of the heroes in the heroine's harem without much effort.

    All this had nothing to involve the heroine’s friend. Right now, Ellie needed to follow the practice instructor to meet with the specialized magic professor because this professor would teach her how to correctly harness her powers as per societal expectations, which included identifying which specific type of plant Ellie’s botanic powers corresponded to.

    This building was specifically for botanic magicians. It was quite large, and one could immediately feel the lush atmosphere upon entering. It was said that botanic magicians spend time meditating through gardening, hence the institute provided each botanic elemental student with their own cultivation plot.

    As Ellie walked through, she saw the names of the plot owners displayed. Unfortunately, most of the plants were beginning to wither due to lack of care. Nevertheless, she was confident that once all the students returned, they would restore these plants to their vibrant and beautiful state.