Ellie and Nara were the only two first-year students, so they could pick any of the fourth-floor dorm rooms. Ellie chose a room on the right wing, leaving the left wing corner room for Nara since it overlooked the upperclassmen’s dormitories. She didn't want to block a potential secret rendezvous between the story’s impoverished heroine and the hero who was the prince.

    After a bit of tidying up she had more time for studying the tiny spore, smaller than a pinkie, but Ellie could clearly see it through her own powers. The little creature seemed to float around her, as if awaiting her command to anchor itself somewhere. Touching the adorable entity, a command menu appeared:

    - Purple Mushroom Spore, Level 0: If fed sufficiently, it can transform into a mother mushroom.

    Properties: Root into the target to mark the location.

    : Root into the target to digest as food for the mother mushroom.

    Action Panel

    Option One: Root to mark the location.

    Option Two: Root to digest the target.

    Option Three: Cancel operation. –

    Seeing the displayed details, Ellie couldn’t help but feel excited. It seemed that her purple mushroom was surprisingly strong, with very useful properties. Just the ability to mark locations was incredible, not to mention rooting to digest a target.

    Feeling adventurous, she looked at the chair beside her bed with a strange idea, but she hesitated, fearing the institute might bill her if she damaged such an expensive item. So, she issued a new command, sending the little spore out the window toward a large green tree outside.

    "Root to mark the location.” Following the command, the spore joyfully floated to the large tree, seeping into the bark before vanishing from sight. However, a small screen appeared before Ellie like in a game she used to play, showing a purple dot and a green dot indicating her location.

    Ellie smiled contentedly and then pressed the remaining two commands.

    "Root to digest the target." With the new command, the adorable purple creature slowly moved, and a notification sounded for Ellie:

    - The target is large. Digestion time: 30 minutes –

    Of course, Ellie was not in a hurry. She wanted to witness the digestion process of her purple spore. Chin propped on her hand by the windowsill, she watched as the large green tree slowly sprouted tiny, fist-sized purple mushrooms all around.

    From 1 mushroom to 10, then 100, the large purple mushrooms eventually merged into one. The big tree was reduced to dry, withered wood!

    With just a gust of wind, the dry, withered wood turned to dust. If not for the large hole in the ground, one would never guess a giant tree had once stood there…

    After witnessing the incredible abilities of the purple mushroom spore, Ellie felt a surge of excitement. To her, this was an invaluable power—not only could it track objects, but it could also eliminate them thoroughly.

    Still, she realized more tests were needed; otherwise, it wouldn’t be suitable for real combat situations.

    Now, there were no small spores left; only a chubby, adorable purple mushroom remained. It seemed to look at Ellie as if it sought compliment. She examined the large purple mushroom again with her own eyes:

    - Small Purple Mushroom, Level 1: If fed sufficiently, it can transform into a mother mushroom.

    Properties: Can disperse into many small spores.

    : Attack targets with poisonous acid.

    : Digest the target and convert it into food.

    Action Panel

    Option One: Disperse into small spores.

    Option Two: Attack target with poisonous acid.

    Option Three: Digest the target and convert it into food.

    Option Four: Cancel operation. –

    After seeing the impressive results of the spore and the status window of the small purple mushroom, Ellie didn’t feel the need to test further. The size of this small mushroom wasn’t as small as described—it seemed larger than expected due to the life force it had absorbed from the tree in front of it, which would definitely cause a stir if others saw a walking mushroom like this.

    Ellie chose the “Cancel operation” option. The mushroom looked sadly at her but complied and departed. Seeing its pitiful face, she almost wanted to call it back but restrained herself.

    Her first task now was to clean up her dusty room; otherwise, she'd have a tough time sleeping tonight.

    She spent the afternoon preparing her bedding. As dusk set in, she sensed someone ascending to the fourth floor—it must be Nara, returning from her narrative-driven adventures…

    Ellie didn't go out to chat. The nameplate on her door had changed to her name after transferring her magic power into it. Since she finished measuring power, the female practice instructor had already collected her magic power for the registration, so when she used her magic power to reserve the room, it immediately connected.

    Nara was probably too tired from her discussions, or perhaps there was no reason for her to engage with Ellie. Deciding against greeting her dear friend, they both spent the evening separately.

    Fortunately, Ellie had brought boiled potatoes with her, while Nara likely had her dinner with the Sage. Thus, neither had to go to bed hungry.

    Both scholarship students had arrived at the institute early, 1 week before other students were due to start arriving because the new semester would start in the next 10 days. Ellie had received her student ID card, left by the staff at her door, just like Nara's, which officially marked her as a first-year student.

    While she was spending her time in the secret space and sweating over watering and tilling the soil, today Nara was probably in the Sage's research room, unaware that she was accepting a priceless invitation. She spent time sipping tea with him and helping with some of his work, building a strong friendship before everyone else arrived. It wouldn't be surprising if the Sage announced immediately at the start of the semester that he already had a direct disciple.

    Ellie didn’t have any golden connections, so she had to learn as much as she could on her own. Thus, her daily goal was the vast library, and that valuable time made her acquainted with one of the school's legends that she had just destroyed!

    Who would have thought that the tree next to her dorm was one of the 5 wonders of the institute? It was known as the “Tree of Wishes.” Typically, it glowed golden at night. On festival days or special occasions, many students would gather to make wishes at this tree, and if it responded, it would grant 1 precious fruit to the wisher, making their desires come true the following days.

    However, this special Porst tree had been pulverized into dust by Ellie! It was hard to believe what everyone would feel when the semester started, and the Tree of Wishes was not there…

    It wasn’t fair to say Ellie was careless. She had checked the Porst tree but found that its properties were only shade and that its leaves could become fertilizer. The only good thing was that its wood could be used to strengthen buildings as it was resistant to termites and ants. Seeing that its properties weren’t that special, Ellie mistakenly thought it was just an ordinary large tree.

    Why was the backyard full of large trees anyway!? At that moment, she thought that if one missing wouldn’t be noticed!

    "Heh, heh...even this institute harbors some superstitions, huh?"

    Even though it was a magical institute, they still believed in things like the Tree of Wishes? Ellie decided to dismiss such bizarre thoughts and read general knowledge books again to ensure she wouldn’t make such mistakes in the future.

    Ther knowledge about magic was vast, yet Ellie chose to read general knowledge first. For her, using magic wasn’t hard, probably because a window would pop up to notify whenever she touched something. Moreover, her goal was simply to become a wealthy farmer and a good friend to the heroine. After saving this world, she planned to live comfortably, spending money lavishly in a way that even her past life would be jealous of.

    Ellie's simple goals allowed her to plan her life thoroughly. Every morning was busy with building the vegetable plots and infusing them with magic power, while her afternoons to evenings were spent reading general knowledge and the common sense of the locals to avoid further mistakes.

    What Ellie aimed to memorize most was the names of the prominent families and their relationships, all to ensure she could avoid displeasing anyone.

    Finally, the country's number one institute officially began classes!

    Knock, knock, knock.

    The sound of knocking at the door surprised Ellie, as she had not been in contact with anyone else for several days. Even Nara, her friend from the same village, had disappeared from her life.

    But then she realized—wasn't today the orientation day where she should be playing a role? And because of that, should the person knocking be "Nara," her best friend?

    "Ellie, are you ready? If so, let’s go to the new student orientation together." The girl with twin tail hair smiled sweetly at her best friend, Ellie, who smiled back just as expected.

    .

    .

    .

    "Get up, both of you, this instant!" A haughty voice rang out. Ellie looked up, startled by the commanding tone that seemed as if recited straight from a novel. The speaker was a woman with flaming red hair, seeming to have outspoken tendency and highly temperamental. Despite this, her face and complexion were enviably flawless.

    Behind the fiery-red-haired woman stood another, who crossed her arms and looked down at Ellie and Nara with utter disdain. She wrinkled her pronounced nose as if she smelled the stench of poverty.

    The demeanor of these two caught the attention of many in the hall, leading to discussions not loud yet clearly audible.

    "Look there! Isn’t that the young lady from the Jarlon family?"

    "Indeed, the fiery-red-haired one must be from the Femon family, while the gorgeous lady behind with the piercing gaze and the family crest on her finger surely indicating that she is the young lady of the Jarlons."

    "And who are those two in front looking so destitute?"

    "Didn’t you hear? Our first year includes 2 scholarship students."

    "What! So, those two are scholarship students? Rural kids from poverty?"

    "Eww, I thought I smelled something—turns out it’s the smell of dirt and mud," chuckled the students behind. The front rows were usually reserved for higher-status students.

    In this class-based system, everyone knew their social standing. The wealthy would check if there were any nobles higher than themselves, if none…the front seats were theirs. If higher nobles were present, they’d respectfully leave seats for them and perhaps their entourage.

    Scholarship students, however, should seek the least conspicuous seats at the back to avoid undue attention, so they can stay in the institute peacefully.

    But if they were to really do that…would there be a heroine like Nara?

    The innocent and weak girl didn’t even realize she should be relegated to the back; she believed she arrived first and should be able to choose her seat first. Thus, she stubbornly refused to give up her seat for someone else!

    Ellie admired the odd strength in the other girl. Wasn’t the whole setting meant to highlight a heroine's weakness? Then why was this innocent and weak girl fighting so hard to keep a front-row seat? Well…those who come first should indeed have rights, she who came from another world agreed with this.

    "Why are you still staring? Why aren’t you getting up!? Don’t you know who we are?" The irate tone of the red-haired woman made Ellie wince.

    True to everyone's words, this hot-headed red-haired woman was indeed one of the supporting characters, a friend of the villainess in the story, known as "Aria Femon."

    The Femon family, which boasts 2 Level 7 knights, one a retired former head and the other the current head of the family, has become a major and well-respected household due to their formidable strength. However, compared to the villainess’s Jarlon family—a family ancient and long history—the Femons were but a minion of the Jarlons.

    The villainess of the story, who was engaged to the prince and fit the queenly demeanor with her status and temperament, was named “Vida Jarlon”. Her beauty was regal, contrasting with Nara's cheerful and innocent allure. The difference between them was like the night sky and the sky in the early morning, and it depended on personal preference which one might favor more.

    It appeared that the prince, having spent too much time admiring the night sky, found the morning's brightness beautiful and worthy, leading him to divorce the villainess later, attracting more disdain towards the story's heroine.

    "W-We really don’t know who you are, but we were here first, so this seat should be ours, right?" Nara countered timidly yet boldly, her face beginning to show tearful vulnerability, delicate and deserving of sympathy.

    Ellie slowly stood up beside her friend, knowing now was not the time for her to engage in senseless disputes in her friend’s stead. And to let the story unfold, Ellie waited for them to continue arguing.

    "What? Is this woman out of her mind? Not only does she not ask who we are, but she dares to argue with us like this! Such arrogance!" Finally, the red-haired woman could no longer contain her anger.

    Aria lunged at Nara and pushed her. Seeing her cue, Ellie stepped forward to shield Nara, who was sprawled on the ground.

    "No matter who you are, you can't touch my friend! Nara is right. We were here first, so we should get to choose our seats. There’s no name on these seats claiming them for anyone else. Why should we move!?" Seeing Ellie persist and argue back like this, Aria became furious and immediately summoned her fire magic. Ellie's eyes flickered slightly to assess the situation.

    Although the entire encounter unfolded just like in the novel, the presence of real fire magic in front of her was still genuinely frightening. If the story’s hero, a prospective great knight, didn’t appear to save them, it might be this meddling supporting character who would die!

    "How dare you resist us like this? Then die!!" As Aria finished speaking, she hurled her poorly controlled fire magic at Ellie. As the fire was about to hit Ellie's face, at that moment, a large shield was thrown in front of her, blocking the fireball.

    Clang!!