**Chirp!**
Outside, the world was bustling with wildlife. The sun had finally appeared, and the clouds had scattered across the sky. The clear blue heavens made this day feel full of hope and new possibilities.
"Do you remember your new identity now?" I asked the ordinary-looking girl standing in front of me. She had black hair and healthy, wheat-colored skin that glowed softly in the morning light.
It was Elarae, but she had magically changed her appearance. Her light had faded, making her look completely ordinary and human-like. Now she appeared to be just a simple village girl that Zhang Wei had supposedly met in the woods. Due to many complicated reasons, they had become friends.
"Yes, Ela!" she replied with excitement, using the fake name I had given her earlier. "I really look like a human now!"
She smiled with a perfectly ordinary expression, pinching strands of her hair and examining her reflection in a small mirror she had created from light magic in the air.
"What about me? Oh, by the way, can I know your real name?" Mei Yan asked from beside us. She now had a calm expression like a seasoned hunter. She had already picked up her bow, which she had dropped while running away from the earlier danger.
The bow was broken, so she would need to make another one. Or maybe not, since she had already awakened her magic abilities.
"Didn't I already tell you? I'm Ethan," I replied, keeping up the false identity.
She didn't respond right away and just looked at me with searching eyes, as if trying to figure something out.
"What are you looking at? I know I'm attractive, but you don't need to stare that hard," I said with a grin.
"Hmph! Shameless! Look at your face... although it's not ugly, and you're more handsome than the boys in my village... you're still not at that level at all!" She blushed, her calm facade disappearing as she wondered how someone could be so shameless and confident. Although he might be a little right about being handsome.
Shaking her head, she put a smile on her face and continued, "Are you perhaps a businessman's son?"
She said this with a smirk, as if she had figured out his secret.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Zhang Wei decided not to reveal his true background and went along with her guess.
"Well, judging by the way you walk and your manners, you seem like someone of high status. It's something I've only seen at events in the city," she explained thoughtfully.
"Then are you honored to meet me?" I asked with mock pride.
"Yes," she nodded seriously. "But I will reach your status someday! And I'll be even better!"
Ah, so she just wanted to say that, Zhang Wei realized. Understanding her determination, he looked at her with encouraging eyes.
"I know you can do it! Keep working hard!"
"What are you two talking about?" Elarae interrupted their conversation.
"Oh, we're discussing how this guy Ethan comes from a wealthy family background," Mei Yan explained.
"Background...?" Elarae looked at Zhang Wei with confusion, but as if suddenly understanding, she nodded along.
"Then where are we going now?" she asked the question they hadn't answered yet.
"This..." Zhang Wei's mind raced, thinking of a solution. Who should Elarae follow? Him or Mei Yan?
Then, as if remembering something important, he put his hand to his chin, thinking carefully.
Mei Yan was also deep in thought. Her home wasn't exactly welcoming to strangers, so she felt embarrassed to suggest "come to my house."
"Mei Yan," Zhang Wei called out.
"Ah?" Mei Yan looked up and saw Ethan watching her with a serious expression.
"I have important news to tell you."
"What is it?" Both girls looked at him with curiosity.
"There's going to be an opportunity coming to our region. Someone from the Eastern Red Lands will come here. If you haven't heard of it before, just think of it as a place with far more resources than ours."
Zhang Wei paused and spoke slowly so that she would understand better.
"Someone from a top academy there will come to our area to hold a test. I don't know exactly what kind of test it will be, but if you pass, there might be a chance for you to get accepted into that academy."
"Red Lands? What is that place?" Elarae asked curiously.
"It's a region known for its magical resources that glow with red light," Zhang Wei described it simply, since even he wasn't an expert on the subject.
"Really?!" Mei Yan's eyes widened as she understood what this news meant for her future.
This meant a chance to fly straight to the top! Her original goal had been just to enroll in the local academy, but with this news, she felt like she could aim much higher.
"I've awakened my magic! I might actually have a chance," she thought to herself as she instinctively moved her finger, creating a small light at the tip like a tiny flame of hope that only she could control.
Elarae had taught her this little trick along the way, discovering that Mei Yan was a fast learner.
"But what does that have to do with Elarae's situation?" Mei Yan looked at both of them and asked.
"Simple! If you pass the test and I also pass, that means she can just follow us to the academy!" Zhang Wei said with a confident smile. Though it would be best if she followed Mei Yan instead of him, But looking at Mei yan simple outfit, he could tell her background might not be very wealthy.
If she followed them to the academy, then maybe she could even become a student there and wouldn't need to depend on them anymore!
"Wait.. if she joined and passed the test on her own won't it be better?" Zhang Wei thought.
"But won't I be in danger there?" Elarae asked the most important question. Since this was her first time in the human world, she didn't know how people would react to her. Although she could hide and blend in, there would be times when she might be discovered.
"No, to be honest, there are many magicians with different appearances and even other races studying at the academy, so you wouldn't look out of place at all. Anyway, since you look similar to us humans, you can just say you're a light mage."
Zhang Wei had read about this in books and heard stories from travelers. So in fact, it actually didn't matter even if she didn't follow them at all! There were stranger and more unusual people in this world than her. Her faint magical aura and slightly different presence weren't too much compared to others who had three eyes or four arms.
In fact, Zhang Wei was also curious about what kind of being she really was, but he held back his curiosity since it might lead to disaster. Anyway, the most important thing was that he had awakened his magic, and it was thanks to meeting them.
"Then should we go our separate ways now?" Mei Yan asked.
"Yeah, that sounds like the best plan," Zhang Wei agreed.
After discussing for a while longer, they decided that Elarae would follow Mei Yan instead of Zhang Wei. He had told them it wouldn't be convenient for him to bring strangers to his family home, which was understandable given his supposed wealthy background.
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