This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 45

Enemy

"Why do you look so displeased?" Aman furrowed his brows after seeing the girl’s expression. To him, his elder brother was perfect in every way, and if he recovered from his illness...surely many would offer themselves as his wife.

His brother’s power was immense, evident even in his childhood when various families offered their kin for alliances, though they abandoned him during his times of struggle. Aman believed many would shamelessly approach his brother once he recovered.

For Aman, Ellie seemed a suitable match for his brother, given her significant abilities, especially since she could halt the deadly disease that had plagued his brother for years. This made her an ideal companion to have by his brother’s side, in case the illness reoccurred.

It wasn’t just her ability to heal his brother; her powers would undoubtedly keep his brother safe. His brother was a role model and the person Aman always respected. He had sworn to protect him and their family from the moment he knew that his brother was suffering from an incurable disease. Even though he found the girl intriguing himself, he preferred to offer her to his brother.

Of course, these were Aman’s thoughts. Ellie knew she wasn’t an object to be passed around at someone’s whim. Her view of love differed greatly from the people of this world—it wasn’t about mutual benefits, but about feeling comfortable together. Therefore, the daunting Eldest Young Lord Owen wasn’t the right match for her. That’s what she thought.

"Your brother is too intimidating. I couldn’t possibly be his partner."

"Intimidating? That’s because you don’t know just how kind my brother can be." Hearing Aman praise his brother so highly only made Owen’s stern gaze seem clearer in Ellie’s mind.

Aman, the vicious hero, praised a man so outright, then that man must be many times more vicious than him.

"He may be kind to you," but not with other people...

A devil praising another devil seemed about right. Thinking about Aman in the novel, if it wasn’t for the heroine’s numerous romantic interests that sometimes distracted her from this malevolent devil, perhaps Nara would have been driven insane by his selfishness and wickedness.

"That might be true." However, when hearing Ellie expressed this, Aman didn’t deny it; instead, he felt even prouder. The more he thought that maybe his elder brother was only truly kind to him, the happier he was.

Seeing Aman’s obsessive brotherly love, Ellie shook her head softly to herself. It seemed she should try to keep her distance from the Setter siblings a bit more.

For Ellie, the appeal of approaching the Setter family, besides from their power to protect her in dire situations, there was also the financial and resource benefits they could offer. Anything else...Ellie had no interest in getting involved with them.

The head of the Setter family moved quickly along with his protectors. The fierce battle between the two giant beasts meant no small creatures were around to interfere. The movements of the family head were unimpeded. Moreover, it seemed both beasts were nearing their end, significantly weakened. The young giant ape had died, and its mother had entered a state of frenzy.

Unfortunately, it had already sustained substantial injuries. Moreover, the giant tortoise’s armor, despite having numerous cracks, was still largely intact. Even in a frenzied state, the attacks from King Kong couldn’t significantly damage the soft flesh of the giant tortoise.

Toot!!

A signal horn sounded from a wooden shell, bringing smiles of relief to everyone hiding in the cave. A scout burst in with good news.

"The Lord of the House has conquered the city. Proceed with the next steps immediately," he declared. Several hunters of the Setter family hurried to carry the injured on stretchers, whose faces brightening with hope upon hearing they had a chance to survive.

Amidst the orderly chaos, Ellie received assistance from Aman. She lacked the skills to move as quickly as other elemental users and had no device that enhanced her speed. After this event, Ellie planned to enter the city to buy necessary items before continuing to fight, ensuring she wouldn’t slow others down.

Using his speed, along with Ellie’s slight frame clinging to his back, Aman managed to navigate through the dust storm created by the battle and successfully went into the new city of the Setter family. As soon as they passed through the protective barrier, the sensation of safety allowed them to collapse to the ground, relieved.

Steven laughed heartily, grateful for the unexpected fortune in this crisis. Certainly, he knew he wouldn’t have this luck if not for Ellie joining them.

The head of the Setter family looked for the girl, who now seemed to be sleeping against a tree stump. Initially, he wanted to approach her and express his gratitude, but seeing her rest, he decided to leave her be and focus on the injured, organizing their transfer to other floors for treatment.

Once Ellie had reached the safe zone, her primary goal was to control her own powers. If it weren’t for the presence of many people before and the risk that sleeping in such a dangerous situation would make her more suspicious, she would have let herself plop down much earlier.

After getting herself to safety, Ellie believed others would assume that the relief from stress had caused her to fall asleep. However, in reality, Ellie wasn’t asleep at all.

When the young giant ape was near death, as its power diminished to a certain level, the action panel of the purple mushroom that Ellie had planted in its body suddenly popped up. The previously inoperable option like digesting had worked again, proving that the ape’s initial power was too high. Ellie couldn’t compete with its overwhelming power until it was weakened near death. That allowed her purple mushroom to decompose it.

Now that the young giant ape had died, Ellie could still decompose it, but the energy she would obtain was far less than when it was alive. However, the dead ape was still far better than the Tree of Wishes.

The original mushroom spore was level 0, and after several accumulations, it had become a level 1 purple mushroom. Now, as it decomposed the young ape without sparing even a drop of blood, the mushroom spore upgraded to level 1 while the purple mushroom rapidly advanced to level 2 and was nearing level 3.

Because of the sheer number of spores that Ellie had left behind, along her journey she instructed the spores to root themselves and then gradually digest the grass and shrubs in the area, controlling them to disperse to prevent them from becoming purple mushrooms. By repeating this process, spores were everywhere. If all these were combined, she believed they would surely reach Level 3.

It was unfortunate that now was not the time they could digest a Level 3 Quaternary Giant Ape. Even though it was severely injured, its strength enhancement made it difficult for the spores to function. As for the Level 3 Fernandina, it was out of the question; it was completely indigestible. Its defense power was too strong, and its level was higher than the spores several times.

If she used the purple mushroom that combined all the spores to counter it, she might gradually break it down. Of course, this Level 3 Fernandina would not allow the purple mushroom to slowly digest it. As soon as it fought, her mushroom would disintegrate and become smaller mushrooms, ultimately unable to contend with the giant ape.

Although slightly disappointed, Ellie felt that the reward this time was more than enough. Slowly, she opened her eyes to observe the Setter family’s rescue operations, and it was then that her gaze met Sherrel’s.

The big man, despite his desire for more power, could not overlook the great gift Ellie had given to the Setter family. So, after seeing Ellie recovering from her rest, he immediately walked over to her.

"You must be very shocked, hearing that this is your first time entering the Tower of Eternity."

“..............” Ellie didn’t respond, just waiting to see his next move.

"You’re awake, that’s good. Then hurry back to the city. Today, there won’t be any more searches for the Masqueraded Steed. It seems this trip was really a waste for you. You won’t get the points you were supposed to earn, and it will take time before we encounter another Masqueraded Steed."

"But don’t worry too much. Even though you didn’t earn points this time, I’ve heard that most botanic elemental users manage to collect points in their first few years by cultivating herbs. With your tracking abilities, you might even take on additional missions."

"And...even though you didn’t graduate, the resources that the Setter family will gain from this city are not insignificant. It should be enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life."

Sherrel spoke thus, though in truth, he wanted more to apologize to her. When he had thrown the 30 gold coins at her, it really was an inappropriate act compared to the benefits this girl had provided. Yet, he felt too ashamed to apologize to this girl whom he had once looked down upon.

His words, intended to convey that he would support Ellie getting the resources she rightly deserved, were his way of apologizing. Moreover, he should start to change his views on the weakest power like botanic power.

Before this, Sherrel had a son who could awaken the power of botany, but he was utterly ineffective. This caused him great disappointment, and many people teased him about his son’s weak botanic powers. Some even harshly said that the son had inherited worthless powers from a father who was good for nothing. Therefore, Sherrel harbored a strong prejudice against children who used botanic powers, believing that no matter how much resources or support he provided, they would still face a dead end.

His son managed to cultivate rice and exchange them for points, completing his first year. However, in the second year, he encountered the dead-end Sherrel feared; he was weak and unable to participate in various missions. Ultimately, one day while school was in session, his son committed suicide in the city of Erel outside the institution.

It’s a pity that there’s no chance to make amends anymore...

"Thank you very much, sir." Ellie didn’t know what the man before her had gone through, but she sensed that he was trying to encourage her, as if to say that education wasn’t everything. The words telling her that she could live comfortably even without finishing her studies seemed like an assumption that she would definitely be disappointed after facing obstacles in the institution.

Although initially, Ellie didn’t like the man before her because he seemed to have a bias against her, when she saw his eyes, Ellie felt that this man could be friendly to her.

"Uncle, may I know what business you wish to discuss with Ellie?"

While the two were adjusting their understanding, suddenly an evil who couldn’t stand seeing his people being friendly with someone else interrupted immediately. His tone was filled with antagonism, and as soon as Aman intervened, Sherrel’s gaze turned as fierce as before.

"Why, Second Young Lord? Can I not speak with this scholarship student who has come to undertake a mission but failed to produce results?"

"Failed to produce results? How do you know she failed? After all, we haven’t encountered any Masqueraded Steed yet. Besides, they should also be on this 6th floor. With the two cities we now control, I don’t believe the Masqueraded Steeds could have escaped anywhere!"

"Ha! Really?! Then show me, I want to see how she will use her abilities."

"Of course, uncle, please continue watching," Aman chuckled, while Sherrel walked away agitatedly.Ellie watched the two who were always antagonistic towards each other and sighed.

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