Chapter 34: The Frightening Prospect

Chapter 34

The Frightening Prospect

If it weren’t for Aman’s concern about wasting the Setter family’s time, this expedition to the tower would be a major harvest for them. If they could capture about 20 Masqueraded Steeds, it would significantly bolster the power of the Setter family.

Masqueraded Steeds were such formidable beasts that, despite all the money in the world, they couldn’t be simply bought. Even the royal families possessed only a few hundred of these creatures. The Setters currently had just over 80. Capturing more than 20 this time would bring their total to over 100.

With such a force, their military ranking could rise from 5th to 4th, while the royals were ranked 1st in military strength.

Of course, if their brother could be cured, then the Setter family’s military power would increase even more rapidly, possibly even reaching the 2nd or 3rd rank, not counting the additional strength from these Masqueraded Steeds!

The equipment used by the Setter family was rare, and they also needed more than 3 people to channel magic powers to make the device work. Knowing that they couldn’t afford to waste even a second, Ellie stood within a large circle of the device along with Aman and Koross. Only the 3 of them would initially transport to the Setter family’s residence in Erel City, while the others would have to travel there by conventional means.

The magic circle worked swiftly, creating a 7-layered ring that enveloped the trio. After they had channeled enough magic powers, this impressively crafted circle safely transported them to the grand hall of a large residence!

Having previously experienced magical transport through the city’s device, Ellie felt that the circle used by the Setters was somewhat rougher, possibly due to it being a portable version, thus lacking in stability.

Once the disorientation faded, she saw that the key members of the Setter family were all present, not just the family head or his son but also various unit leaders. Everyone knew that what was to follow was a significant foray into the tower to capture a crucial beast that could change the family’s circumstance, hence their gathering there early.

The entrances to the Tower of Eternity were few, and the city of Set lacked one. That’s why they often used transport services in the city of Set, and the neutral city of Erel was chosen for their venture into the tower.

“Welcome, Lady Ellie,” Steven greeted warmly upon seeing a key individual like her arrive.

Many in the Setter family did not know this secret but understood that their lord had been waiting for this scholarship student to hunt down a herd of fine horses, so he acted like this.

Steven did not divulge the details of his eldest son’s treatment to everyone. He only mentioned that Owen’s condition had improved after frequently taking medicines containing ingredients derived from the royal palace. Thus, no one suspected the actual nature of Owen’s treatment.

"I am truly grateful to you for deciding to help the Setter family. For today, please rest in the guest room we have prepared for you. Tomorrow morning, we will set out early to ambush the Masqueraded Steeds together."

"I understand, Lord of the House," Ellie responded politely. Steven allowed Ellie to rest first to ensure smooth proceedings, while he started the planning meeting for the next day’s battle.

"My Lord, are you really that confident in that girl? If we spend the resources to travel to the tower and she ultimately fails to locate the lair of the Masqueraded Steeds, won’t we have incurred losses? I wonder why you wouldn’t just send her to scout the area first and use her own powers. If the location still isn’t found, at least we wouldn’t need to commit everyone to going in."

One of the unit leaders raised this concern, a sentiment many agreed with. However, how could Steven agree...For today, there was something far more crucial that the Esteemed Mage needed to undertake.

He had heard that Lady Ellie would deliver the Tezetrons flowers, which meant they needed to urgently prepare the medicine for Owen’s treatment. Truly, healing Owen was more crucial than any other matter right now. If it wasn’t for the need to use the hunt for the Masqueraded Steeds as an excuse to bring Ellie into the mission to keep the secret...It didn’t matter if they had to delay this expedition for several months, not to mention if they risked failing to find those fine horses’ habitat.

"Do you have a problem with my decision?" Steven didn’t explain but responded coolly, his face set in a firm expression, indicating that he didn’t want to say anything further. The hunting unit leader paused; his displeasure apparent. However, the feelings of these people were not as important as Ellie’s.

"And don’t let me see anyone disrespecting her. The Setter family will support that girl as much as possible. She will definitely become a key strength for our house in the future."

Hearing this, many exchanged glances. While tracking location skills were rare, they weren’t impossible to find. With the Setter family’s reputation, they could attract more talent if they had the time. They already had 2-3 capable trackers, so why did the family head need to treat her so specially?!

"Lord of the House, I’ve never seen you value anyone like this. Does she have other talents we should be aware of?" one leader asked, but all he saw was the family head shaking his head.

"You will all see her abilities for yourselves soon enough." With that, eyebrows furrowed all around, but Steven’s decisiveness and clear decision-making had always been known, and while some did not understand, they ultimately followed his orders.

Meanwhile, Ellie was escorted to a very large guest room, far bigger than her luxurious condo, comparable to a small house.

The Setter family’s servants did not dare neglecting this young woman. They cared for Ellie excellently, offering her fine tea and an abundance of desserts. Ellie wasn’t much of a tea drinker, preferring juice or perhaps soda, but she didn’t decline the sweets offered to her.

She didn’t spend long alone before the head of the Setter family entered with his eldest son, his second son, his butler, Koross who was always close by, and only 2 trusted healers. As soon as Steven entered, he instructed all the other servants in the room to leave immediately, leaving only those he trusted.

"I apologize for making you wait, Esteemed Mage," Steven immediately greeted with great politeness. Meanwhile, the intense gaze of the man next to him fixed on Ellie, a look similar to the one he gave when he walked past her earlier, confirming to Ellie that “Owen,” the eldest son of the Setter family, was not someone to be overlooked.

"As I mentioned before, I have obtained...the Tezetrons flowers." Even though Koross had already informed them, Steven’s eyes sparkled anew upon hearing it from Ellie herself. Even the man with the piercing gaze beside him couldn’t help but tremble.

If there was anyone in the Setter family who had the greatest expectation for this, it was certainly “Owen,” who had suffered from a life-consuming disease since his youth. The more his power increased, the more Owen felt as if he had died once before. The first time he had truly seen the world was when he emerged from his mother’s womb, but the second was when he consumed the medicine made from the Tezetrons, and the woman before him was the one who had awakened him again!

From that moment, his hope for survival had been linked to Ellie. Every day he had waited for her arrival, and the words he most wanted to hear were these.

"Tezetrons flowers?" Aman expressed slight surprise.

Although he had guessed that this scholarship student had helped heal his brother, he didn’t know how she had done it. When he heard the name of a rare level 6 herb, which even the Setter family had to nearly sacrifice their lives to the palace to obtain just a few leaves for their medicine, who would have thought this seemingly unremarkable girl could bring such a treasure to the Setter family!

At this point, perhaps Aman was just beginning to understand the real reason behind keeping this secret.

If it were said that the scholarship student named Ellie could cure his brother, that might be all it was worth. With the power of the Setter family, they could ensure her safety anyway. Or in other words...many powerful groups felt it was not worth fighting the Setter family just for someone who could heal a life-consuming disease.

But...

On the other hand...if people knew that this girl had the power to find rare herbs like the Tezetrons plant, not just the plant but also a flower that hadn’t appeared in hundreds of years, then even the Setter family might be destroyed just for a single Tezetrons flower! Not to mention the girl who could be snatched away at any time!

The Setter family was indeed the number one formidable noble family, but even with all their power, how could they stand alone against many other families if they were to collaborate? Even as the top-ranked family, they could do nothing if the others joined forces!

"Aman, I think you should understand how important this is," Steven said sternly, to which Aman nodded seriously.

Previously, he could tease or play around with this girl, but after realizing her importance was greater than he had imagined, could Aman continue to play with her?

However, after that thought passed, and he saw her small freckles face with its calmness, Aman felt he might not be able to keep himself from teasing her after all...

"I will certainly not reveal this secret," Aman promised, while Ellie paid no attention to his words. She took out a pendant she had received from the Setter family, which Aman was already familiar with. He raised his eyebrows slightly and understood immediately.

The reason the scholarship student didn’t rent a space for experimenting with growing Sapphire Dragon Scales was not because she feared she could not grow them, but because she could experiment with various things in this secret dimension.

All eyes were on Ellie as she carefully took out the Tezetrons flowers without rushing. For 1 Tezetrons plant, no one knew how many flowers it would produce, but according to the records, the most anyone had ever found was 2 flowers on 1 plant. However, this Tezetrons plant was one that Ellie had nurtured with her own magic power.

She couldn’t remember how many thousands of bottles of magic restorative potion she had used to make this possible. Even though they were only low-level magic restorative potions, just 2 bottles were enough to fully replenish her magic power, which meant Ellie used her power until it was depleted and then restored it, over and over, hundreds of times.

If it weren’t for the cumulative fatigue, perhaps she could have grown a whole field of Tezetrons plants. Unfortunately, Ellie knew her time was limited, so she made sure the single Tezetrons plant flowered perfectly, while the others were still slightly smaller than the size of 1 palm.

Because the Tezetrons plant that Ellie cared for was not disturbed by insects, did not experience erratic weather, and fully received her magic power, the Tezetrons plant that appeared had as many as 4 flowers on it!Steven’s eyes widened in shock, the apothecary looked incredulously at the rare herb he had never seen before, his hands trembling uncontrollably. If fighters got excited upon seeing high-level weapons, apothecary reacted the same way upon seeing high-level herbs. The sight of such a rare herb brought them immense excitement!