Night fell, and after settling into their accommodations, the group of students gathered once more.

"The living quarters were specially built by Viscount Xuefeng. He occasionally brings his family here for outings," Komea said in good spirits.

"Although still quite ordinary, they're relatively clean, much better than those houses full of straw and the smell of livestock."

"The three of us share one room, and across from us are Iona and Valeny." Among the students of this term, there were only five girls in total, while the remaining ten or so were all boys.

Returning to the village square, Scholar Hyde was still conversing with the village chief. Seeing Solyn and Baren approaching with the students, he waved them over.

"Today, you can walk around the village surroundings to get familiar with the environment, but don't venture deep into the forest to avoid getting lost."

"When it gets dark tonight, gather back here. We'll have dinner together followed by activities."

"Oh~"

Hearing they could move freely and play around, the students became excited.

Soon, the boys began wandering and running around the village in small groups. Some planned to go swimming in the river, some wanted to explore the woods, and others wanted to go horseback riding.

"Lady Iona, where shall we go now?" Valeny followed beside the golden-haired young noblewoman.

Iona seemed somewhat impatient with this, casually waving her hand to indicate Valeny shouldn't keep following her.

"I'll walk by myself. You don't need to come with me."

"Uh, yes, Lady Iona." Valeny felt a bit dejected but still watched Iona depart with eager eyes.

Walking along the country path, Iona felt bored. Looking at the ordinary village around her, she didn't share the excitement and anticipation of the other students.

There were countless villages like this along the journey from the royal capital White Cliff City to the remote southern Scorchstone City. To put it nicely, the villagers lived simple, peaceful lives; to put it bluntly, they spent their entire lives in mediocre toil, wasting most of their lives on barren land.

She felt an inexplicable disgust and panic toward such a life and existence.

Many noble students envied her, but only she herself knew that her current situation wasn't good.

Not only had His Majesty stripped her father of his title, but he had also confiscated her father's territory, wealth, properties, and residences. A year ago, she still had many servants and knights following her, but now almost all had left.

She had lost her important territorial income and couldn't afford to maintain a large entourage. Now she could only lodge with her distant uncle, Viscount Xuefeng.

Although Viscount Xuefeng treated her well, she didn't believe this kindness would last forever.

If she couldn't unlock her potential within these few years and quickly step onto the true path of transcendence, her final outcome might be having Viscount Xuefeng arrange a marriage for her to some local minor noble, spending an ordinary lifetime in Scorchstone City.

But who was she? Once the cherished lotus flower of White Cliff City, the highly anticipated young lady of a prominent family.

The number of young nobles and ladies who once followed her could fill an entire hall; she was the object of countless people's admiration and pursuit.

The thought of willingly staying here for the rest of her life was utterly unacceptable to her. Just imagining such a dim, unremarkable life felt like being entangled by something sticky and disgusting.

Her gloomy mood was like the overcast sky, with layers of clouds that refused to disperse.

Lost in her own world, Iona walked slowly along the small river until a burst of clear, cheerful laughter interrupted her thoughts.

Looking up, she saw the three commoner girls who had come with them.

That short-haired, laughing girl was called Komea, right? She recalled the scene from yesterday's competition where Komea used special eye techniques.

The 'Mist Shadow' Aspect? Quite rare in a place like this.

The 'Mist Shadow' Aspect was most countered by 'Luminous Moon', followed by the 'Blazing Sun' that she herself practiced. So regarding Komea, she only felt slightly surprised, not particularly astonished.

White Cliff City had countless geniuses, with young talents practicing various Aspects. She had even seen a fifteen-year-old boy who performed magic tricks for His Majesty—a prodigy who mastered the 'Mist Shadow' Aspect.

Across the way, by the small bridge, Sylutia was trying to fish with Komea and Karen.

"Tia, look what I caught." Komea stood up, excitedly showing the wriggling earthworm in her hand to the young woman.

"Yes, that's it." Sylutia nodded.

"Cut it into small segments and put them on the fishhook—that's how you fish." This was actually experience she'd learned in her previous life, during childhood.

"Okay~" Komea carefully hopped across the stones by the riverbank and walked to Sylutia's side.

On the other side, after searching around, Karen also found several earthworms, picked them up, and came over.

"That's enough, no need to look for more, Karen," Sylutia reminded.

Then the three found a suitable spot, sat on the rocks, and patiently watched as the fishing line was cast into the water.

"What kind of fish will we catch? I'm going to have a grilled fish feast tonight~" Komea cheerfully declared today's goal.

...

The interaction between the three was observed by Iona from a distance. She stood quietly under a tree, watching the three laughing and chatting by the river, fishing for who-knows-if-they-exist fish, remaining happy even after quite some time without any catch.

Envious? No, she didn't envy such simple happiness.

These commoner children were like wild grass by the roadside, becoming happy with just a little sprinkling of dew.

Those who had truly experienced prosperity and seen a broader world wouldn't be numbed by such crude pleasures.

How long could their happiness last? She placed her hand on the tree trunk beside her, the hard, rough bark scraping against her palm, leaving some fragments.

The best outcome for commoner girls was probably marrying some city clerk and spending a stable, boring life.

Iona shifted her gaze to the still-overcast sky that refused to clear.

Would that be her fate too?

No. Her fingers dug in tightly, nails embedding into her palm...

A long time later, Iona released her fingers, glanced once more at the three by the river, then turned and left, walking alone along the village path in the direction back to the village square.

...

Evening arrived. Sylutia stood up from the rock she'd been sitting on and looked up at the nearly darkened sky.

"Time to head back," she reminded the other two.

"Ah, we have to go already?" Komea held the fishing rod, reluctant to leave.

"Yes, if we don't go back now, it'll be completely dark."

"Alright, let's go." Saying this, Komea placed one hand on Karen's shoulder and struggled to stand up.

Then Karen also packed up the fishing rod and stretched her legs. "Whew, the afternoon passed so quickly."

After gathering their things, the group walked up the riverbank.

"We caught five fish in total today~" Komea counted the five silver-scaled fish placed on the grassy riverbank.

"Tia, do you know what species they are?"

"I don't know either." She didn't know much about this world's fish species. These five fish were slightly longer than her palm, not particularly large.

"Okay, we'll have to ask Teacher Hyde when we get back."

Karen found small wooden branches and strung the five fish together, then she and Komea carried them back.

"Actually, I could help too," Sylutia offered, reaching out to assist, but the branch only had two ends, making it unsuitable for three people to carry.

"It's fine, it's not heavy anyway," Komea waved her hand.

Despite saying that, she switched hands halfway, and then Sylutia smilingly took over the rotation.

The three walked unhurriedly toward the village square as the sky gradually darkened. At this moment, they began to hear rhythmic drumbeats coming from the square.

At first, they were sporadic taps, not continuous, but then the drumbeats gradually developed rhythm and tempo.

As they drew closer, the distant blazing bonfire became visible in the night, and then ancient, distant communal singing voices spread through the flames and drumbeats.

Around the massive bonfire, villagers held hands in a circle. Their footsteps matched the drumbeats, their expressions radiant and carefree. Accompanied by the collective humming, the flames seemed to sway with the drumbeats, growing larger and smaller as if possessing some kind of life.