Chapter 116: The Invitation

Chapter 116

The Invitation

"I don’t want you to reveal that you were the one who dealt with Professor Maxim, but that’s just my opinion. If you ask Professor Lucien, he will probably advise you to go ahead and reveal it. Regardless of which path you choose, both Lucien and I will still protect you."

Professor Medik smiled sincerely. Ellie understood what he meant. A first-year student defeating a professor at the number 1 institute would become a significant event. She understood this well...Even though Ellie’s personality differed from this botanic elemental professor in some ways, they surprisingly shared many similar thoughts.

"Thank you, Professor, for always thinking ahead for me. Regarding your advice, I agree with you. I shouldn’t be the one managing a professor. Otherwise, it would surely cause a lot of trouble."

Hearing Ellie’s response, Medik exhaled a breath of relief. His face was adorned with a slight smile that looked incredibly beautiful. Even Ellie, who was accustomed to his smile, felt her vision blur for a moment.

"You’ve made a good decision. Alright, then...go and rest. I’ll inform Lucien; he knows how to handle this." Medik patted the small back of his student. The situation now seemed to be under control, whether in the arena or outside. The competition in the arena continued as usual, so they had already determined who would represent the institution in the upcoming competition.

For the top three rankings, there was no need to wait until the last person stood. They had concealed themselves and spent their time dealing with beasts. The level 0 beasts posed no threat to them, so there was no reason to continue competing. They completed their tasks in almost an hour, and the institute could specially send 3 groups of students as representatives for such a competition. All the students needed to score more than 50 points, which were earned by killing beasts and eliminating other competitors. Another condition was that their time spent in the arena had to exceed 1 hour.

After meeting all the criteria, the 3 notable groups were: The first group...consisted of Aman and Koross, who easily passed by hunting down 62 level 0 beasts. Hence, they were the first group to be officially approved. The second group was led by Senior Ethan, a fourth-year student who was like a representative of Prince Joseph. Only that the prince did not participate because he had a duty to protect a beautiful lady, who was not his fiancée, in the spectator stands.

Senior Ethan’s group performed quite well, killing 38 beasts and eliminating 6 other groups, earning 18 points for a total of 56 points. Points for eliminating other groups were awarded at 3 points per group.

However, when comparing achievements, if the scores were tied, the group that defeated more beasts would be considered inferior. The judges’ scoring system viewed handling beasts as easier than dealing with competitors because the beasts were only at level 0 and they lacked intelligence, unlike human adversaries. This scoring system led most competitors to target members of other groups.

The two young men from the Setter family were fortunate. They hunted a large number of beasts with the most efficient methods, so it was not a surprise that they scored so high.

For the 3rd group that made it to become the representatives, no one expected the group led by the glowing girl to advance. They scored enough points by defeating over 18 other groups, accumulating a total of 54 points. However, their advancement caused significant anger among other competitors.

The group used traps to eliminate others, without even using their own abilities. They lured others like moths to a flame and scored points by sitting back and waiting. While effective, it was seen as a dirty tactic that didn’t even prove their strength.

Then again, it’s not entirely fair to say that, since those who were angry were the ones who fell into the traps foolishly. Perhaps they were just upset because they were defeated so embarrassingly.

"That scholarship student seems to be attracting more hatred again," Aman let out a breath after hearing about the girl who had become the hot topic now. Many people were talking about her, including the students in his own room.

"It’s true that they used dirty tactics, but if you weren’t foolish enough to run into the traps, you wouldn’t lose. Maybe it’s their own stupidity to blame," Koross analyzed the situation, and Ellie agreed.

"And nowadays, doesn’t that kid chase after you anymore?"

"Do you mean Wint?" Ellie asked Aman after he suddenly brought it up.

"Yes, I heard he’s gotten much stronger. When he was in the arena, if he hadn’t encountered a level 1 star beast that caused his team to falter, he would have almost made it to the finals," Aman observed Ellie’s reaction, his eyes expecting something, but he only received a look of displeasure in return.

"Are you finding fault from me?"

"Huh? What fault shall I find? I just noticed that he usually bothers you, but lately, you haven’t mentioned him at all."

"He’s probably training with Professor Regan. That training is very intense, so he wouldn’t have time to disturb me."

"Is that so? You must miss him a lot. But don’t forget, you already have my brother," Aman grinned as he said this, and his demeanor made Ellie want to roll her eyes.

It had been half a year since she last saw him. Aman mentioned that Owen was living in the Tower of Eternity to acclimate to his powers, so he hadn’t returned to the Setter family and hadn’t had time to visit her. Although she received many precious gifts in Owen’s name, it had been so long since they last met that Ellie almost couldn’t recall his face.

Even so...this demon from the Setter family kept reminding her about the man she could barely remember, causing her further annoyance!

“Don’t look so downcast. My brother is training hard, and I’ve heard that his powers are almost fully developed now. He plans to make his debut soon, and you will be surprised by this party for sure."

"............." Ellie ignored him as if she didn’t care to know. Her demeanor made Aman disappointed a bit, but he was used to her indifferent attitude.

"My brother plans to seize a city on the 6th floor by himself! Without relying on any luck from you. If he succeeds, his fame will skyrocket. If you don’t hurry and claim him...someone else might, and then you’ll regret it and cry your eyes out!"

Aman laughed joyfully, but Ellie ignored his nonsense. However, the significant part about Owen, the eldest son, planning to conquer a city on the 6th floor on his own was certainly big news. Who knew how other families and the royal family would react to it!

"Oh, and after he conquers the city, there will be a grand debut party for my brother in the city of Set. The event will be held during our school break, which means you’ll be invited to attend."

Aman shared another important piece of news, which made Ellie feel a headache coming on.

"Can I not attend?"

"That’s not possible. If you don’t attend, it will be too strange. The Setter family has made it clear that they consider you part of the family. If you don’t go, it will only raise more suspicion."

"Is there any particular reason you feel uncomfortable attending, Lady Ellie? If so, I can inform the family head to make special arrangements for you," Koross asked with concern.

"No, it’s not that. I’ve never attended such parties before. I don’t know how to act at a high-society event. I’m just a village girl; attending such a grand event would only embarrass me."

Ellie thought of the high-society parties that always caused trouble for the heroine, Nara. Those events gathered people from prominent families, meaning it was a collection of troublemakers.

Just like Vida and Aria at the institute, their roles and statuses were reduced to that of ordinary students from high-ranking families. But whenever they attended family gatherings, they transformed into noble ladies whom commoners couldn’t even look in the eye while speaking to them.

The social divide was not easily breached. Even the heroine, the prince’s lover, wasn’t an exception. Many times, the heroine was insulted with sophisticated words by those from high-ranking families, leaving her to bow her head in tears. In the institute, she could speak her mind, but at social events...she was just a poor girl from a lowly family.

If she dared to speak out of turn to the nobility, their rules allowed them to order her execution. This caused Nara great pain and became the reason she sought to break down the barriers between "nobility" and "commoners." Though it was a dream from start to finish, the only change was the heroine becoming one of the nobles herself...

Ellie felt that attending such an event was akin to walking into a fire of her own accord. It was like watching a moth flying into flames; if you felt that it acted foolishly, those who didn’t know their place were just as foolish.

As Ellie envisioned herself being bullied, Aman interrupted her thoughts with a sigh, shattering her bleak imagination.

"What are you worried about? The Setter family won’t let anyone bully you."

"How would someone from a noble family understand? A commoner like me, even a slight misstep in speech, could be executed."

"Then let them say it. Let them declare whose people they intend to punish! Let them identify who they consider commoners! If they dare say it, do you think my father or I would let them keep breathing?" Aman laughed derisively. It seemed this girl understood him far too little!

Or could it be that the image he projected these days wasn’t that scary? No, that’s not right! Everyone feared him and called him the Demon of the Setter family. So why did she still think he would let his own people be bullied?

Of course, Aman had no idea what happened in the novel. He didn’t know how the heroine got bullied despite having him as her supporter. So, it’s not strange that Ellie was worried. But after hearing Aman talked about this...Ellie thought of the face of Steven, the head of the family, and the gaze of someone who could make people shut up instantly just by looking at them.

If Aman wasn’t reliable, could Ellie still trust the head of the family and the eldest young lord?

"Alright, don’t think too much about it. Either way, you have to be at the party. You are the one who helped my brother continue to live well. If you don’t go to congratulate him, it would be too disrespectful to us."

"As for what you’re worried about, let Koross stay by your side during the event. And if I can sneak out to find you, I’ll try to walk with you. I guarantee you won’t be lonely, you’ll have company, and you definitely won’t be bullied by others."

Aman promised earnestly, and Ellie didn’t respond. She knew well that avoiding this party would raise a lot of suspicions. Her status with the Setter family was already widely known. Though she was a little worried, it wasn’t something she couldn’t get through.

Ellie and the two young men from the Setter family talked a bit more about the party before they left. Ellie also had to prepare for her own competition, which was to be held between the institutes.

Lately, she had been reading a lot more books, reducing her absorption of magic power a bit to read more. So, most of her time was spent borrowing books, returning books, and reading at the Botanical Building. And today was just like every other day; Ellie had to borrow more books. According to the basic potion concocting books she had been following, this next set would be the last of the basics she planned to read.

However, before she could enter the library, she was stopped by a woman.

“Lady Ellie,” a rather soft voice called from behind, filled with a significant amount of hesitation. When Ellie turned to see who it was, she was surprised.

“Lady Warfil?”