The petite figure gazed at the small pendant resting in her hand; it was strung into a simple necklace, but in fact, its value was greater than anybody could have guessed. Indeed, it was a treasure of the Setter family that Ellie had coveted from the beginning.

    Unexpectedly, this big fish recognized her worth enough to offer this priceless item even before she had healed their son completely. It seemed that the identity of a botanic elemental user, who did the research and had managed to cultivate the Tezetrons plant, was more valuable than these treasures.

    "This is a treasure of our Setter family, an elemental dimension obtained from an ancient tomb in the training tower. The Setter family has preserved it well for hundreds of years. However, it hasn't really been useful to us. I think it would be better if it were given to the Esteemed Mage to support his research in cultivating Tezetrons in the future.”

    The family head spoke thus, and Ellie nodded in understanding. Although Ellie felt an overwhelming excitement, her demeanor as a corporate employee, who always kept her composure, had kept her delight from breaking through.

    "Understood. Then, I will give this Tezetrons plant to you all. I will continue to study them, and if one day I can make them bloom, I will surely come to thank the Setters personally."

    Ellie continued to speak with the voice of an elder, and as the Setters received the valuable Tezetrons plant, their expressions brightened with excitement. This single Tezetrons plant could at least extend the life of the eldest young lord of the Setters for at least 1 more year, and combined with the help of the royal palace, the young lord should be able to wait longer for the Tezetrons flowers.

    Now holding the precious treasure in her hands, Ellie felt she had successfully completed her task. Although she felt a bit sorry for the eldest young lord of the Setters, not long after the heroine entered the academy, she would go on a quest to find the Tezetrons flowers anyway, meaning Ellie didn't need to make the Tezetrons bloom. The story would still progress as it should, and this eldest young lord of the Setters would survive the life-consuming disease but ultimately die of another cause.

    This poor supporting character made Ellie felt quite fortunate to still be in the body of the heroine's friend. Although she harbored some resentments about this friendship, at least she didn't have to wake up to torture and die not long after recovering because of a monster that escaped out of the arena.

    She was determined to try harder as well. Originally, she thought the Setters would bargain with her by saying if she could find a Tezetrons flower, they would give her another treasure. Unexpectedly, they were willing to take such a risk with a stranger. But well...having received such generosity, she would also try to give her part in return.

    Every day, Ellie promised to use her magical powers on the Tezetrons plant to accelerate its growth, but this didn't mean she only focused on the Tezetrons. She intended to cultivate and sell vegetables just as the parents of her current body had planned, ultimately becoming rich enough to afford luxurious meals at the institute.

    "I will try again, but it will still take a considerable amount of time. In the meantime, if I manage to grow a mature Tezetrons plant, I will sell it to you first. At least they can help extend your son's life."

    "It would be a great honor for us. We hope you will show us mercy."

    "Understood," the raspy voice of the old man fell silent. The Setters were still filled with concern. They needed to appease this person in front of them as much as possible. Wasn't this person knowledgeable in cultivating Tezetronss? After giving them one plant, did he still have another Tezetrons plant in hand? This mysterious and important figure, if not allied, would indeed be a wasted opportunity.

    "Do you…have anything else you would like our Setter family to assist with?" The family head asked straightforwardly. Ellie raised her eyebrows slightly beneath her cloak, unseen, before slowly shaking her head.

    "Nothing else, I shall take my leave then," said the old man. Everyone in the Setter family promptly saw him out with great deference.

    As a result, those around who witnessed the scene spread the word that the Setters had found an important doctor. Many villagers spread the news about this matter, so those who were suffering from various ailments that really need help flocked to the Setter family's doorstep in droves, but in the end, they grasped only thin air, as Ellie, in the guise of the old man, had long since departed.

    The young woman who had returned from her disguise reached home in the evening. It was fortunate that her friend Nara usually visited her only in the early morning, the best time for harvesting the crops. This meant she didn't have to worry about the heroine discovering that she had not been home and had just returned from a long journey.

    Ellie tossed the seeds into the dimension immediately. She wore the important necklace around her neck and hid it under her shirt collar, ensuring no one else could see it at all costs.

    She watched the Tezetrons plant, now rooting into the soil. Ellie had just enough power left after using most of it during the day. Thus, the revitalized power was used with the remaining leaves of the Tezetrons until roots appeared. From this point forward, it meant that the plant had enough life force to grow on its own gradually.

    She looked at the pile of seeds her body's original parents had planned to plant with a sense of fulfillment. These were not used because everyone from her family had gone, but she vowed to make good use of them.

    Regrettably, her magic power was truly exhausted. Using more could cause injury, as it would convert life force into magic powers, and if such events occurred frequently, a body depleted of life force would become weak and ultimately perish.

    This was also something Ellie learned from reading the novel, which was crucially important.

    She spent the entire night sleeping, and when she woke up in the morning, it seemed her magic powers had fully recharged. Ellie used half of this power to accelerate the growth of the Tezetrons and the other half on pumpkin seeds she had selected from all the plants. Although her power was only enough to sprout the seeds, successful growth would yield a good harvest.

    The first plant Ellie chose was the pumpkin because of its tremendous benefits. She actually saw these appetizing yellow pumpkins as both a vegetable and a fruit. When she wanted to control her weight, she ate these pumpkins because they made her feel fuller for longer than other vegetables and were high in fiber which helped with digestion.

    She had also heard that these pumpkins were rich in various vitamins including different B vitamins, vitamins A, E, C, and others. The most decisive benefit that made Ellie choose these “pumpkin” was their ability to brighten the skin and prevent wrinkles, thanks to their high collagen content—something every woman would surely desire.

    Ellie spent her bedtime preparing a secret planting area. With the energy she had, she managed to prepare only 3 beds, each 100 meters long and 3 meters wide. Today, after the heroine's visit, Ellie planned to use the remaining time to prepare more vegetable beds, hoping her entire dimensional space would turn into a beautiful vegetable garden.

    And when the time came for an appointment she hadn't actually scheduled, a small sound made Ellie peek through the door. It turned out that the young girl, Nara, was walking towards the family's vegetable garden with expectation. Seeing that the plants, which had withered and not returned to their original state, the little heroine's face immediately filled with displeasure.

    "Why has this happened?! Ellie has been home all day but why didn’t she pay attention to anything around her, letting the plants become infected like this? Where am I supposed to get the money to buy the power-awakening potion now?!" Nara's muttering wasn't loud, but it wasn't soft either.

    Normally, she thought her friend, who was suffering from depression, wouldn’t come to listen to her, so she wasn’t being careful that Ellie was eavesdropping.

    But the person standing in shock behind this door is the one who is utterly astonished!

    It seemed that she now understood something. The reason Nara had not been able to awaken her own elemental power was that she had not yet used a power-awakening potion, right?

    In fact, Nara's family had enough money to buy her the potion. But as mentioned, many people could afford the potion. However, these people wouldn't be considered special enough for the institution to send a personal invitation and offer a scholarship.

    They knew that the results of those who naturally awakened their powers differed from those who used potions. Those who used potions were simply not potent enough to awaken their powers on their own. Using a potion was just to ensure that the person didn't start training too late. If left alone, these people might awaken their powers at the age of 20 or 30, which would be too late for proper training.

    Of course, once the body was at that stage, the powers that resided within would no longer burst forth. It could be said that the body took a long time to assimilate the small amount of power and had released it out already. As a result, many older individuals whose powers had not awakened end up without any magic powers in their bodies at all.

    For those whose powers awakened on their own, it signified that their power exceeded what their vessel could initially handle, marking them as particularly special individuals.

    The institution tended to disregard those who used magic power stimulants. But it’s a different story if they had enough wealth to afford the examination and tuition fees themselves. The institution was primarily interested in the individuals whose magic powers awakened naturally.

    Nara should be among the latter, but it seemed that might not be the case...

    Ellie understood why Nara had to do this, even though she might appear to be the wealthiest in the village because her father was the chief. However, when compared to the tuition fees at the institute, the few coins they possessed amount to nothing! This meant that even if her father was willing to pay for power-awakening potions, they couldn't afford her future education.

    People who awakened their powers but did not know how to control them soon lose these powers. Therefore, nobody would want to waste money on power-awakening potions when they know they couldn’t afford the follow-up education.

    Nara never wanted the life of a poor villager, so she planned to deceive everyone into believing she was a natural power awakener, when in reality she would secretly buy the stimulants.

    Ellie knew how Nara would disguise herself, as she had used the same method herself. It's no surprise Nara would think of it too—using poisonous mushrooms to her advantage.

    The only regret...Ellie, unaware that Nara needed those mushrooms this year, had already collected them for herself. She figured the heroine would have a chance to use them perhaps another year or two later. By then, any remaining spores would surely have resulted in more mushrooms. But…now, they were gone!

    "If Nara doesn't attend school, will the whole storyline change? …What would happen in the future if that were the case?" Ellie pondered, biting her lip. Could her presence here alter the course of the story?

    If the heroine wasn't in school, then when monsters attacked the village, she wouldn't be here with the other protagonists who might insisted on following to visit the village, would she? If such a scenario really occurred, wouldn't it mean the village was doomed to destruction?!