Everyone rushed to gather at the village chief's house. Nara’s petite body was twisting in agony, and beside her, Ellie lay sleeping. Both girls, not at their own homes, were experiencing severe distress, so the villagers had no intention of searching for the culprit who stole the village chief’s money any longer.

    Or perhaps...the village chief already knew who might have taken the money, and thus, they pretended to forget to search for any remaining truths.

    The villagers were deeply concerned about Nara and Ellie’s conditions. Ellie's life was already known to be pitiful, and hearing from the herbalist that her body was chilling due to possibly being too long in cold water and exposed to the wind too much, only increased their sympathy. Nara, too, was of great concern. A regular villager herbalist couldn’t treat someone whose powers had erupted, so they could only make her body warm.

    Soon, the first to recover slowly awoke.

    Nara looked around at the people, trying not to beam delightedly as she gradually revealed her palms, now mysteriously glowing around all 5 fingers.

    The villagers gasped in awe, and the happiest of all was her mother.

    "My dear! Did your powers awaken all by themselves? I’m, I'm so thrilled!" She sobbed, and everyone around cheered as well, except for the village chief who seemed to feel something off. Yet, she was his daughter; he couldn’t expose this terrifying secret.

    Before the villagers could fully express their congratulations to Nara, Ellie suddenly started twitching like Nara had earlier. Of course, this was an acting skill; she had observed how Nara acted when her powers awakened and, since Ellie had to reveal that she could awaken powers too, mimicked Nara’s demeanor from the start.

    The crowd's awe made Nara turn her attention to Ellie. Her eyes, which had been bright, slowly darkened. That’s because she knew…knew why she had awakened her powers, but Ellie...Ellie hadn’t used the same method as her, proving that Ellie truly had a natural talent for self-awakening powers! Ellie was a real deal!

    “May she not survive,” Nara murmured under her breath, unheard by others who were watching Ellie's awakening. However, Ellie, who had been listening to Nara all along, heard every word clearly. Her body stiffened slightly, even her mood to perform waned.

    Why would she wish for her not to survive...?

    "She stopped, doctor! Quickly! Check if Ellie is alright,” the villagers called out differently from when Nara had shown powers in her hands. Ellie was different. She just froze in place, prompting many villagers to urge the herbalist to check on her.

    However, the voices of the people brought Ellie back to consciousness. She was acting and couldn't simply collapse due to Nara's soft words.

    Her eyes slowly opened, and seeing the people around her, she looked slightly confused. But unlike Nara, Ellie remembered that she had pretended to jump into the water to die. Therefore, she hugged herself to provide warmth, as if she was very cold at that moment.

    "Ellie, are you back with us? What about your power?"

    "P-power?" Ellie pretended not to understand. The villagers were as excited as if watching a boxing match, making the girl almost burst out laughing.

    "Just like Nara's. What power do you have?" When one of the villagers pointed to Nara's palms, Ellie seemed to realize something. She lifted her own hand.

    Previously, Ellie used her powers through a transparent screen, touching plants or plant components before she could use her own powers. This was because she really didn't know how others used their powers. After seeing Nara use magic power openly, Ellie mimicked her.

    A soft green light slowly appeared. Ellie had felt the magic power within her for a long time but had never released it. This was the first time she did so, and at that moment, small creatures flew around the soft green power as if they genuinely liked this color.

    "What kind of power is that?"

    "Green power? I've never heard of it."

    "If it were red, it would be the element of fire. Light blue would be the element of wind, dark blue would be the element of water, and brown would be the element of earth. Those are the basic elements, but there are other special powers like what Miss Nara just showed. It must be a rare light power, which many healers possess. Nara will surely become a sacred woman. However, I've never heard of green power in the city."

    "You fool! It’s right that you don't understand! Just wait for the top institution to come and take Ellie. Then we'll know what this power is."

    "That's right, Ellie will have to go to the top institution now, right?"

    "That's really good. Really great. If Ellie's parents were still around...they would be so happy."

    "Finally, this child has some good luck."

    "I'm happy for you, Ellie. Keep going, live on, become someone your parents would be proud of."

    Everyone congratulated and blessed Ellie. It seemed Ellie now understood why Nara didn't want her to survive the awakening of her powers, as it would completely overshadow the heroine's radiance!

    Given the tragic background of the heroine's childhood best friend, everyone in the village cherished and loved her greatly. Even compared to Nara, who was the heroine and the daughter of the village chief, well cared for by her father—evident from her fair skin, unmarked by the sun, her unblemished face, and her soft hands because she didn't have to handle rough work. Nara’s good living condition made the villagers only congratulate her routinely, not as excited as when the unfortunate child Ellie received something wonderful for the first time.

    "Ellie, Nara is really happy for you. I was worried when I first found out about Nara's powers awakening, but seeing that Ellie can awaken her powers too, Nara is relieved. Soon, we might both be contacted by the top institution. Let’s take care of each other, okay?"

    Nara said that, and Ellie cracked a smile before biting her lip and then murmured,

    "Co-Cold..." A lazy breeze blew in, which felt refreshingly cool to others, but to Ellie, it chilled her to the bone.

    Because of her own foolish thoughts—to prove she hadn't gone anywhere—Ellie had pretended to be a troubled soul wanting to end her own life, which became all too believable after her frail body genuinely started to catch a cold.

    Why was this body so fragile anyway! Just running back and forth on land and in the stream had already worn out and sickened this body!

    Everyone was worried that Ellie would get sicker, especially after she said she was cold, so they took her to her home. Nara watched her close friend with a calm gaze.

    While she had desperately stolen money from her parents to buy a potion to awaken her powers, but this unlucky person everyone talked about could awaken powers on her own? Was this…what they called unlucky?!

    Time slowly passed, and Ellie was sick for 2 more days after that, which made her suicidal act seem even more real. Many villagers came to encourage her, and ultimately, Ellie gained a lesson from them, promising to become stronger and to become a magician proudly. From this event, the girl managed to escape from being seen as a sorrowful person.

    3 days after awakening her powers, Ellie walked around the village, saying she needed to exercise, which actually could be done within her dimensions by repeatedly digging up the vegetable plots, which was more beneficial. However, Ellie wanted to explore the village and understand what was happening. Another benefit of coming outside like this was that it let the villagers see that she was gradually getting brighter.

    "Ellie! Are you feeling better?"

    "Yes, much better," Ellie replied. The other party was like her brother in the village, who was 3 years older than her, and used to go hunting with Ellie's father, so they were quite close.

    "That's good. Why don't you rest a bit more? With your body still not fully recovered, you shouldn't overexert yourself," he said with concern, to which Ellie just gave a faint smile, not saying anything back.

    The young man watched the girl who was smiling again. Ellie's awakening of powers was a blessing for her, yet it made her even more distant from him...

    He watched the charming young girl who would soon become someone he couldn't reach. His heart was repeatedly sliced open, reminding himself that he had no right to dream any longer. Yet, his face was still filled with the warmth of a caring older brother.

    "Ellie, I heard that the institute has already sent a professor after hearing about you and Nara. They plan to take you both to study there."

    "Is that so? I don't want to leave here, but to further develop myself, I will do my best," she responded to the middle-aged woman who informed her.

    "That's good. You have to try harder, even more than anyone else. And when you come back, help revitalize our village too. Just like the magicians from the nearby village, they returned and created waterways using earth magic."

    "Okay, but I still don't know what my power is," she humbly replied, and the villagers nodded in understanding.

    "Don't rush. Just try to learn as much as you can. Whatever power it is, it's all good," they reassured Ellie, warming her heart.

    She smiled before excusing herself to leave. It seemed that in a few days, she would have to go to the top-ranked institute. It was a place far from the city, seemingly designed to keep students fully focused on learning and away from family disturbances. But that also meant she had a little time left to prepare some money for her needs!

    "Now, it's not just pumpkins, but other plants too. And shouldn't I send some more Tezetrons to the Setter family? Otherwise, they might wonder why the old man disappeared along with the green-powered girl from the countryside," Ellie planned for herself. With the few days she had left, she intended to use them fully and gather as much money as possible!