Chapter 26 - 25: Little Sister Is the Strongest

At this moment, Rose felt her body acting very strangely. It was as if there were many tiny clusters of light inside her—some freezing cold, others burning hot.

Listening to her mother’s instructions, she imagined a faucet inside her body. The disobedient clusters of light darting around were like water droplets splashing from that faucet.

She desperately thought to herself, "Be good, be obedient, and stop running around. Gather together nicely and turn into a little stream to slowly flow through my body."

Gradually, the scattered clusters of light gathered. They collided and merged, eventually forming a little stream glowing with green light. Wherever the stream flowed, her body felt incredibly comfortable.

Sev Steele and the three boys watched nervously from the side. They saw the faint green glow lingering around Rose rapidly become thick and solid, visible to the naked eye. Like the very first new leaves of spring soaked in sunlight, it gently yet powerfully wrapped around her tiny body.

At this moment, Rose had her eyes closed, her entire consciousness immersed in the drastically changing world within her body. Her body resembled a baby silkworm encased in a green cocoon of light. Curling her limbs, she fell into a deep sleep.

In a daze, Sev almost thought she heard the sound of plants sprouting and growing. Her gaze swept over the wooden box.

To her amazement, she discovered that the Mutated Lemon Fruit sapling, which had originally been only a foot tall, had grown to over a meter high in just over an hour! Even more shockingly, the sapling had bloomed with twenty or thirty small, pale purple flowers!

A crisp, sweet floral fragrance filled the entire room, carrying a hint of warm, honey-like sweetness.

Rose was still deep in sleep. Suddenly, a dark green arrow condensed from the glowing green cocoon enveloping her. The arrow wriggled and shot straight toward the center of her forehead, trailing a long, green band of light behind it.

As the dark green arrow sank between her brows, the trailing band of light followed suit. However, this green light band seemed endless. Like silk being drawn from a cocoon, it slowly drained the green light cocoon until the cocoon completely vanished.

Sev looked again at Rose’s small palm. The Wood Element Crystal Core that had been there was now nothing more than a pile of grayish-white powder.

It seemed the little girl had completely absorbed the entire Wood Element Crystal Core. Sev could now be certain—Rose had successfully awakened her Wood Ability!

Sev was so thrilled she wanted to cry. She never expected that among the four children, the youngest, Rose, would be the first to awaken an Ability!

"There was no such plot in the original novel at all," Sev thought. "Could it be that because I came, gave her the mutant milk, and gave her a Wood Element Crystal Core, it triggered her Ability early?"

It was just a pity that Crystal Cores were so hard to come by. She had only gone to Virenswood on a whim, stumbled upon the great battle between the mother rat and the Mutant Coral Snake, and scored a massive windfall. Such good luck could only be stumbled upon, not sought out. In all likelihood, it wouldn’t happen again.

Therefore, it was better to simply focus on supplementing the children’s nutrition and wait patiently for them to awaken their Abilities naturally!

Sev carried the sleeping Rose to her own bed and placed the well-fed Silvy next to her.

Silvy was rather cunning. Relying on its instincts as a Mutant Beast, it sensed that the aura emanating from this human cub made its body feel very comfortable. It tried hard to snuggle closer, resting its little head in the crook of her neck.

Soon, Silvy also fell into a deep sleep. Even in its dreams, it subconsciously rubbed against her neck, making the three boys watch with deep envy. They also really liked Silvy and wished it would sleep leaning against them like that.

Seeing that Rose’s condition had completely stabilized and her forehead no longer felt so hot, Sev finally breathed a sigh of relief. She led the three boys back to the kitchen, leaving the bedroom door open so they could check on Rose at any time.

Only then did she remember that the second child had also finished his bowl of milk, just like Rose. However, after carefully observing him, she found that Firestone didn’t seem to have any reaction after drinking the milk.

Feeling uneasy, she reached out and touched his forehead, confirming he didn’t have a fever.

"Firestone, do you feel unwell anywhere?" she asked urgently, holding the child’s small hand.

"No, I just think the milk was super delicious," Firestone shook his head, a look of regret on his face as he licked his lips, still wanting more.

His little sister had awakened an Ability after drinking the milk, so why did he, as her older brother, have no reaction at all?

"Now, you two should drink your milk as well," Sev said to Rusty and Zephyr.

Because everything had happened so suddenly earlier, Rusty had only taken a few sips, and so had Zephyr. At the time, Zephyr had even thought about giving half his milk to his sister if she wanted more.

Since the milk in their bowls had gone cold, Sev replaced it with warm milk still left in the pot. She scooped about 100 milliliters into each bowl. For Firestone, she purposely scooped a bit more—around 150 milliliters.

Firestone was the fourth guinea pig she had selected.

Among the first three guinea pigs: after drinking 200 milliliters herself, her body had heated up and she felt slightly intoxicated. Silvy had no reaction at all after drinking the milk, while Rose drank 150 milliliters and directly awakened her Ability.

Now, among the three remaining boys, Firestone had drunk the most earlier—a full 100 milliliters—but showed zero reaction.

Stimulated by their sister’s awakening, the three boys didn’t hesitate to pick up their bowls and gulp down the milk.

After Firestone finished his bowl, his face flushed slightly. Sev asked eagerly, "Do you feel anything different?"

"Just that my whole body feels warm, like I’m basking in the sun," Firestone said gloomily, feeling deeply frustrated.

He had drunk more than his sister, so why didn’t he feel like he was awakening an Ability at all?

Sev placed her hand on his forehead. It was slightly warm, but nowhere near the level of a fever. It seemed he truly had a high tolerance for this milk; his body accepted it as naturally as pouring water into a vat.

The slight heat was probably just a minor conflict caused by the influx of so much Energy. Although this result seemed disappointing on the surface, thinking deeper, it might mean his body had a much higher capacity for storing Energy. Storing more Energy in the body was equivalent to having a stronger Ability.

In that case, once he awakened his Ability in the future, he might reach the state described in the novel—invincible among his peers.

"It’s okay. Not every child awakens an Ability as early as your sister. I believe you’ll be very powerful in the future. You’ll be able to protect your sister and our whole family," Sev comforted him, patting the back of his hand.

At this point, she no longer cared about maintaining her persona as a vicious adoptive mother. From the moment she gave the children milk, their impression of her must have started to change. Not to mention, she had even brought out a Wood Element Crystal Core to help Rose awaken her Ability.

They might not understand the value of a Wood Element Crystal Core right now, but once Rusty turned eight and could go out scavenging, he would be qualified to enter the trading hall. By then, he would realize just how precious a Wood Element Crystal Core truly was.

Sev was not the type of saintly mother who bestowed favors without expecting anything in return. Her kindness toward them had a purpose. She wanted them to slowly forget the abuse they had suffered from the original vicious adoptive mother. She didn’t expect them to be incredibly filial in the future, but she at least wanted to achieve a normal relationship between an adoptive mother and her children.

Of course, if they eventually listened to their conscience and willingly chose to honor and provide for her, that would be even more perfect!