Chapter 154: A Low-Level Potion That Isn’t Low-Level

Chapter 154

A Low-Level Potion That Isn’t Low-Level

"Mother, you must have heard about the wild boar I hunted, right? Otherwise...there wouldn’t be anything else to make you so happy." Jay-ar released the elderly woman, causing her small frame to stagger slightly and almost fall. If it hadn’t been for the laughter of the other villagers, she might have collapsed onto the ground.

The old woman forced herself to smile, pretending not to understand what her son had just said. She raised her hand to her chest with a satisfied smile.

"I prayed to God to take care of you, to give my son another chance, and today that prayer has been answered. Just seeing you happy makes your mother very happy. Who would have thought that my son, whom I gave birth to with such difficulty and raised from a tiny baby, would have to face so much hardship? But in the end, God saw your filial piety. May God bless you with happiness from now on, my dear."

Hearing his mother’s words, Jay-ar’s expression dimmed slightly. The words "filial piety," as well as the fact that she "gave birth" to and "raised" him since he was a child, were ingrained deeply in his mind. In this world, people were raised to "repay" their parents, not to take care of themselves and return love to everyone. Therefore, it’s not surprising that words meant to pressure people’s thoughts have led to issues where children sacrifice everything to please their parents; it’s also not surprising that someone would be unable to handle the pressure, and even choose death to escape.

The lack of knowledge about child-rearing, the lack of recognition of individual human rights, and the outdated mindset were a thorn in the side of many people. Those who managed to overcome these pressures felt relieved, but initially, they had to bear the labels of "ungrateful" and "unfilial," face social hatred, ostracism, and condemnation. It’s not easy to get through this. Fortunately, the mindset in the village of Set City was better than in many other places.

Their fundamental mindset was modeled after the Setter family. Just as the Setter family had always done, what was right was right, and anyone causing harm to the family, even a family member, must be punished. The village chief adopted this way of thinking as well. When it came to any form of judgment, the village chief would handle it first. If the decision was not acceptable, the case would be escalated to the Set City’s overseer, but by then, there would be a decisive punishment.

If the village chief made an unreasonable decision, he too would be punished if the villagers filed a complaint. It’s no wonder that when Jay-ar’s family was separated, the village chief recorded it properly, including the annual obligation for Jay-ar’s family to show filial piety with just a handful of rice. This was because Jay-ar’s family gave nothing to him except for a place to live. If it weren’t for Lana’s dowry, they might not have had any land to cultivate.

The village chief considered the annual tribute with Jay-ar’s limited assets—insufficient land and an old house—thus, a handful of rice was deemed enough.

Originally, the old woman didn’t think Jay-ar’s house would be able to continue living. She had decided that this son was as good as dead, and soon Lana would have to return to her natal family. Therefore, she didn’t expect any repayment and considered the small house as good as discarded. Who would have thought that her decision to force them out would lead to her current regret!?

"In that case, you don’t need to bother praying to God anymore. This son doesn’t need God. Having Ellie is enough," Jay-ar laughed bitterly. He looked at his mother, who had given birth to him and spoke of filial piety. If this had been before, he might have felt some lingering obligation towards her, but not anymore.

Jay-ar felt that he had repaid his debt to his parents. When he was still healthy, he did everything a man could do to repay them. When his parents asked him to separate from the household, he willingly gave up what he was entitled to. He didn’t receive any farmland; only his wife’s dowry sustained them. So...from the moment he separated from his parents and took nothing with him, he considered that his complete repayment.

From now on, his only debt of gratitude was to Ellie’s family. If Ellie’s father hadn’t passed away and her mother weren’t around anymore, he would have regarded them as his parents.

It’s true that his birth mother gave him his first life, but that son had died. Ellie’s parents gave him a second life, and Ellie herself gave him a third. Therefore, he still owed two lives that he had yet to repay.

"Jay-ar..." the elderly woman seemed to want to say something, but the others weren’t there to listen to a mother and son reminiscing. So, before she could continue, a village woman interrupted, drowning out the old woman’s voice.

"Jay-ar, what exactly are you saying about Ellie? Why are you talking as if Ellie had saved you?"

"That’s exactly what happened. If it weren’t for Ellie’s potions, I’d still be in the same condition. Ellie saved my life, so I said that having Ellie alone is enough," Jay-ar replied clearly. He had nothing to hide. Ellie had made the potions, and his wife had seen it with her own eyes. As for the effectiveness of the potions, he had proven it himself...

"Ellie’s potions? Is it something she got from the institute?"

"Haha, no, it’s not that. Are you still thinking this way? This morning was the same; no one believed me. Everyone just assumed Ellie couldn’t possibly do it, right? Well, you don’t have to believe me. Go on thinking that way. But the truth...I have proven it," Jay-ar said with a hint of mystery, his manner only increasing the villagers’ curiosity.

"I saw Ellie concoct the potions with my own eyes. At that time, Ellie even had me help light the fire. She used utensils from our house, not something from the institute. The only thing she didn’t grow herself were the herbs," Lana added, causing those who heard to look at each other in surprise.

Someone recalled what they had heard earlier and glanced at Nara before speaking up.

"It’s not that I don’t want to believe it, but the potions that could heal Jay-ar must be the miraculous ones, right? How could Ellie, who can only make low-level potions, manage that...?"

If Ellie could only concoct low-level potions, that would place her on the same level as a village healer. She might hold a high position in people’s minds, deserving of respect, but there was a significant difference between a village healer and an apothecary who could concoct miraculous potions! If she could indeed concoct miraculous potions, her status would be almost equivalent to a priest. If that’s the case, ignoring her last night would have been a grave mistake, wouldn’t it?

Those actions stemmed from what they had heard from Nara...If it weren’t for Nara, a fellow institute student, speaking out, how could others have misunderstood?

As many people thought this way, their gazes when they sneaked a glance at Nara began to change. However, given her status as a seemingly important light magician, the villagers still respected her to some extent. They didn’t dare to speak out directly, but their hearts were filled with doubt.

Nara understood everyone’s thoughts and had already prepared an excuse. Although it was frustrating, continuing to insist in the face of clear evidence could lead people to secretly devalue her, thinking she was jealous of Ellie and trying to discredit her.

"For minor injuries...low-level potions taught at the institute can certainly help." Nara pretended not to understand what everyone was questioning. Her demeanor made the villagers look at her.

"Uh, what do you mean, Nara?"

"Nara just wants to clarify for Ellie. For the low-level potions Ellie concocted, it should be able to heal Uncle Jay-ar’s injuries. But for more severe wounds, hunters use level 2 or level 3 potions, which are much more effective. However, neither Ellie nor Nara can concoct those yet. It’s a limitation of a student,"

Nara explained, as if it were no big deal. She implied that the potion that healed Jay-ar was just a "low-level potion,” the kind she had always referred to. This demeanor made some people realize that Nara really didn’t understand that the "low-level potions” the magicians referred to were different from what common people thought of as "low-level."

It’s like when wealthy ladies complain that the meat they’re eating was of poor quality, even though it’s considered excellent by village standards. Villagers considered themselves well-fed just eating rice and flour, while some had to subsist on rice water with a few grains. This situation was what they called poor-quality food.

This low-quality meat for the wealthy was akin to the "low-level potions" Ellie could concoct. Meanwhile, the villagers’ understanding of "low-level potions" was equivalent to rice water.

"S-So, are you saying...the low-level potion Ellie made is actually a miraculous potion?"

"A miraculous potion? What do you mean by that? At the institute, we call the potions Ellie concocts low-level because everyone has the chance to learn them. Even Nara will learn it after moving to the third year. If it weren’t for the fact that Ellie had nothing else to learn but potion concocting, she wouldn’t have gotten special lessons. I have small creatures to train and light magic to enhance, so I have to build other foundations first. Low-level potion-concocting is just a common supplementary course."

Nara feigned to be innocent. In reality, she knew Ellie’s level was far from ordinary. Otherwise, how could Ellie have won the potion-concocting competition? But just because she knew the truth didn’t mean the villagers would. Moreover...when truth was mixed with lies, the lies gained weight and seemed as credible as the truth. This time, Nara was speaking the truth about potion-concocting lessons that everyone would eventually learn.

"My goodness! So, does that mean that in the future Nara can also concoct these miraculous potions, and Ellie can already concoct them too?"

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Nara asked, tilting her head. Seeing the young girl act like that, many villagers felt like fainting.

It turned out that magic students were truly beyond imagination. Even their so-called low-level potions were equivalent to miraculous potions worth several silver coins!

"Oh, Nara, what you call low-level potions are actually miraculous potions for us villagers!! If you can really concoct them...they can be sold for several silver coins."

"Indeed, Nara might not understand because the institute’s training is so rigorous. But...for us villagers, such low-level potions aren’t easy to come by."

"Nara is so innocent. She’s right that they are low-level potions, but they are not low-level for us."

"Wait a minute... So does this mean Ellie can now concoct low-level potions? Then...then, will my husband’s injuries be healed with them?"

"Ah!! That’s right. Will my aching leg finally get better?"

"And my son, whose arm is useless, if he gets Ellie’s potion..." The more people talked, the more they realized how important this matter was for them. Some even ran back home to inform their families, while others rushed straight to Ellie’s house, not waiting for the village chief’s decision.

Nara watched the repulsive villagers with anger and resentment. In the end, she had to concede to Ellie because of this potion matter? It was so frustrating!!

"Everyone, please calm down. Regarding Ellie...I’ll try talk to her too. Let’s go together, so we don’t disturb her too much," the village chief announced. Everyone nodded in agreement.

No one in the village didn’t want a miraculous potion, the high-level potions they couldn’t afford. But if they had a high-level apothecary in their village, wouldn’t that be a lifeline for them all?

Jay-ar furrowed his brows tightly, watching these people about to cause a commotion at Ellie’s house. He initially just wanted to reveal her abilities to everyone, hoping that Ellie would receive some recognition. But who would have thought that these people would take it so lightly? Even though he understood their desperation, knowing that if Lana heard about this, she would rush to Ellie just like everyone else. Nevertheless...as the one who announced this, he felt as if he was creating a burden for Ellie.

"What should we do? Now everyone is heading to Ellie’s house," Lana said worriedly, and Jay-ar shared her concern.

"We should go too, in case something happens," he said, leading his wife.

While they were worried, Ellie was happily eating fruit on her porch. It wasn’t that she was unaware of the impending trouble, but rather she had known about these movements from the start.

Moreover, there was a reason Ellie hadn’t asked Aunt Lana and Uncle Jay-ar to keep the matter of the potion a secret...