Chapter 261 Two Conditions, Waiting for an Answer

'What is my goal? And what should I do?'

Verol never shied away from asking herself these kinds of questions.

Her father was a manor steward for a destitute noble family.

Though he was often so busy he wouldn't be seen all day, the generous wages he earned working for a noble "lord" allowed their family to live a respectable life in their quiet, modest town.

As a young girl, Verol had been incredibly curious about her father's work. She couldn't understand how he seemed to just sit in a study, yet earned far more than the farmers and laborers who weathered the wind and sun.

Her father—barely in his early forties at the time, yet already graying at the temples—naturally wouldn't complain to his favorite youngest daughter. He never explained what he, his father, his father's father, and their entire bloodline had sacrificed for this position.

Instead, he described his daily work in a humorous and engaging way.

It was a management plan for the manor's vital assets: land, forests, livestock, farm tools, and grain. Through detailed records and forward-thinking planning, he organized the entire year's agricultural activities.

When to plow, what crops to sow, harvest times, storage locations, contingency plans for various weather conditions, and even the food supply for the lord and the hired hands...

Growing up, the young girl watched her father manage the manor like a precise machine, continuously and purposefully organizing the detailed operations of a massive tract of land and a workforce of over a hundred people.

Under this constant influence, she naturally developed a profound understanding of the necessity and power of a "plan."

At every stage of her life, Verol was passionate about setting practical, achievable goals for herself and working hard to reach them step by step.

Before coming of age, she diligently studied the basics of Common and simple arithmetic, copied down anything with words on it, and took the initiative to help her father organize parchment rolls and calculate harvests and inventory. Her goal was to ease her father's burden, at least enough to let him sleep a few more hours a night.

As she grew older and learned more about the world and society, she used her literacy to gradually participate in Church activities. She fought for access to the Church library and deeply studied basic astronomy, geometry, history, and theology. Her goal was to become a nun, reduce her family's financial burden, and plan for her own future.

Later, when a passing mentor discovered her talent and took her in to study magical knowledge, Verol's goals became even clearer.

Memorizing her first spell model, completing her first magic experiment, obtaining a Class Level, casting Fireball for the first time, acquiring her very own mage tower...

Among these, some had already been accomplished, while others remained out of reach.

But the habit of "making a plan and achieving the goal" permeated her life from beginning to end.

After her rebirth, her once-abundant mana vanished into nothingness, and countless pieces of Magic Equipment she used for self-defense disappeared.

She had, of course, felt panic and unease.

The immense pressure of "saving the world" left her breathless.

She even began to doubt whether she truly had the ability to complete this Epic-tier, monumental task.

Fortunately, this habit—cultivated since childhood, consistently carried out, and never forgotten even upon advancing to the Transcendent Tier—gradually calmed her down.

Just like countless times before, at the cramped vanity in her bedroom, in a freezing corner of the library, or at the cluttered desk in her laboratory...

The quill left lines of elegant handwriting amid a "scratching" sound, and her thoughts gradually cleared through meticulous planning and summarizing.

As a Spellcaster of the Academy Faction, she wasn't necessarily exceptional at combat, but crafting practical plans and seeing them through was something she knew better than anything.

Why had she joined Hai'an's escort party?

The purpose was to kill the dragonborn Sava and to find the opportunity that had altered Sava's life path in her previous life.

For what reason?

The former was because Sava became a traitor to the Alliance in the future, directly leading to the fall of Nym and the collapse of the Alliance's frontlines. The latter was because Verol wanted to use it to accelerate her own growth and restore her strength as quickly as possible.

And the underlying reason?

In short, it all came down to a single phrase:

—Deviation Rate!

Killing Sava, increasing her strength, and even her "rebirth" itself—Verol's ultimate goal was always to increase the World Line Deviation Rate to prevent, or at least delay as much as possible, the fall of the Aifala Continent.

Right now, had Verol achieved her goal?

Though Sava hadn't died by her hands, the dragonborn was undeniably dead.

However, the "opportunity" she sought—the one Sava was supposed to obtain during this mission—had not fallen into her grasp.

It seemed as though she had only accomplished half of her plan.

But judging by the fundamental metric of the "Deviation Rate," this had been a flawless and completely successful plan.

She had perfectly achieved, even exceeded, the goals she had set.

She had dragged the expected deviation value from a mere 0.05% straight up to its current 0.3%!

It was a success beyond all measure.

As for why she had managed to achieve such a result...

The young girl's amber eyes suddenly looked a bit dazed.

The reasons behind the change in the "Deviation Rate" might have been impossible for anyone else to detect.

But as a Reincarnator possessing memories of her past life and knowing the historical course of the world line, she only needed to compare the current events to the differences in her past life to easily trace the source of the changes.

Whether Lawson and Trevelyan had died in this mission during her past life, she didn't know.

But considering she had never even heard their names before, they clearly weren't important figures who could influence the world line. Their lives and deaths were inconsequential.

The real changes lay in the red dragon she had banished to another dimension using her trump card, and...

The "Death Omen," Xia Nan.

Even now, Verol still couldn't figure out why this existence, who had left such a profound shadow in her heart, would cross paths with the Half-Elf Hai'an.

And why he would join a party he had no business being in, at a completely wrong point in time—when he should have still been in the Misty Forest dealing with bottom-tier monsters like Goblins—while possessing the completely wrong level of strength, having already obtained a Class Level and a rather impressive one at that.

The red dragon "Kraugbari" was tremendously powerful, but its impact on the timeline was definitely inferior to the dragonborn Sava's. Whether it was banished or killed made little difference.

With that established, and ruling out some low-probability factors...

The source of that extra 0.25% in the world line became incredibly clear.

Verol stood beneath the shade of a tree, lost in deep thought.

Although she already had some theories, she tried her best to recall the differences in Xia Nan during their return journey after the battle.

His aura was more condensed, his physique had undergone a slight change, and his everyday movements had initially seemed slightly uncoordinated before quickly returning to normal...

This was obviously the sign of him gradually adapting to his enhanced physical attributes following an increase in his Class Level.

Without a doubt, the battle against Lawson and Trevelyan had pushed him to achieve a breakthrough, elevating a combat technique that was nearing the threshold to the "Mastery" tier.

But could something like that alone bring about a 0.25% Deviation Rate?

Naturally, it had to be more than just that.

Verol's eyes flickered, her thoughts racing.

But right at that moment, a gaze that made her body instinctively stiffen and tense up landed on her from behind.

"Why pick such an isolated place? That tavern looked average from the outside, but the private rooms inside were actually quite clean."

The familiar male voice sounded right by her ear, causing a wave of goosebumps to involuntarily prickle across the delicate skin of her nape.

Without replying directly, Verol just stood there, her chest heaving as she took a few deep breaths.

Only then did she muster her courage. With incomparable determination, she slowly turned around to face the black-haired young man behind her.

Xia Nan stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Reflected in his pitch-black eyes was the awkward, rigid turning motion of the mage girl, looking like a robot from a technology expo in his past life.

Already used to it, he merely looked at her with a helpless expression.

Yet the moment their eyes met, Verol instantly averted her gaze like she'd been electrocuted, not daring to maintain eye contact.

Sighing silently, Xia Nan decided to skip the useless pleasantries that would likely waste a tremendous amount of both their time under these circumstances, cutting straight to the point.

"If there's something you want to ask, just say it."

The escort mission had ended. The party was only ever formed temporarily, and the time had come for it to disband.

As for the payment Hai'an owed him, it had been settled in full.

But when it came to dividing the spoils, Xia Nan and Verol clearly still had matters to discuss.

From his perspective, even though the mage girl hadn't participated in the final battle against Lawson and Trevelyan, her contributions were just as vast—if not more so.

Judging by her performance at the time, banishing that adult red dragon to another plane must have cost her a massive price.

"For Sava's armor and weapons, Hai'an gave me a total of one hundred and thirty gold."

"Lawson's rapier and Trevelyan's heavy sword are both in my inn room. The former is fine, but if we want to sell the latter, we might have to wait a while until the heat dies down on the Morton Family's end."

"Also..."

As he spoke, Xia Nan raised his right hand toward Verol. He spread his fingers slightly, allowing the Silver Ring worn across his index and ring fingers to reflect a glimmer in the sunlight.

"Regarding that Metal Block Luca found in Molten Scale Town, you've probably already guessed by now that it's highly likely the heirloom treasure the Morton Family lost. During the battle seven days ago..."

He was barely halfway through his sentence when Verol interrupted.

"I know all of this."

Those few pieces of equipment loot only added up to a few hundred gold. While she couldn't exactly call it "pocket change,"

For a Reincarnator with clear goals and a precise vision for the future, Verol had no urgent need for money in the short term.

It simply didn't matter much to her.

As for the Metal Block's true identity as the Morton Family's lost treasure, she'd had her suspicions the moment the red dragon specifically landed for it.

Furthermore, Verol had already deduced what transpired on the battlefield before she returned.

First, Xia Nan had advanced during the fight and killed two powerful enemies; meanwhile, in her past life, the dragonborn Sava had obtained an opportunity during this exact mission that caused her strength to skyrocket at an abnormal rate.

She connected these two events to the Metal Block.

Perhaps the Sava of her previous life had acquired this very item, granting her the potential she displayed later on.

If this had been before everything happened, before Xia Nan realized the Metal Block's function, she would have stuck to their prior agreement: waiting until the mission ended to trade for the item from Luca through a higher bid or further resource exchange.

But right now, things had changed.

How could the sudden appearance of a ring on Xia Nan's right hand possibly escape the notice of the party members who had traveled with him for so many days?

It wasn't just her; Wood had likely noticed it too, but simply hadn't brought it up.

Coupled with the fact that the Metal Block had vanished right after the battle...

Clearly, that lost heirloom of the Morton Family had highly likely been activated through some method, successfully binding to Xia Nan in the form of a ring.

And Xia Nan himself must have witnessed the item's effects.

Under these circumstances, any normal person who wished to continue advancing would never hand the item over or sell it to anyone else.

Verol had thought this through very clearly. She had no desire to make an enemy of this future powerhouse.

That was not in her plans.

Besides, the fundamental goal of her plan—the Deviation Rate—had already been exceeded.

Therefore, to maximize her benefits and avoid giving him a negative impression, she didn't even attempt to test him.

Instead, she directly presented her own proposition.

"First, this item was originally discovered by Luca. With Hai'an and Wood voluntarily giving up their claim to it, the two of us agreed to discuss it in detail with Luca after the mission concluded."

Xia Nan nodded with a serious attitude, indicating his agreement.

"Now that Luca is dead, according to our pre-established loot distribution rules, this item has become our shared spoil from this mission. In the previous battle, you killed Lawson and Trevelyan who attacked the party—that was your contribution. But equally, I paid a considerable price to banish the red dragon."

In stark contrast to her fearful demeanor just moments prior, Verol spoke fluently, as if these words had been brewing in her heart for a long time.

"From the looks of it, this item has already bound itself to you, and you've experienced its abilities. Forcefully demanding you hand it over is unrealistic. Therefore, after careful consideration, I've decided to forfeit my claim to the item."

"But on two conditions."

"Speak," Xia Nan said, his face showing no distinct expression.

Hearing this, Verol took a deep breath, raised her right hand, and extended her index finger.

"One, while keeping back any private information you might find inconvenient to disclose, I need to know the general effects of this item."

"Two," the young girl extended a second finger, "a favor."

"This favor will be called in at least three years from now. At that time, I might launch an expedition targeting the red dragon's hoard in the Molten Scale Mountains. I will contact you in advance to prepare. Oh, and the hoard's spoils will be calculated separately—they are not part of the favor."

The red dragon "Kraugbari" had been permanently banished. The time it would take for it to return to the Material Plane would be measured in "decades" at the very least.

Under these circumstances, the Dragon Lair, piled high with countless treasures accumulated over the years, naturally became ownerless.

How could Verol possibly forget?

However, a Dragon Lair was typically guarded by massive amounts of magic traps and a horde of familiars.

And a Red Dragon Lair that had just experienced the theft of a treasure would only have even tighter defenses than before.

With her current strength, entering the Dragon Lair was practically impossible unless she spent an enormous amount of time preparing or used another trump card.

Regarding the former, time was the most crucial thing in the world to her right now. How could she waste it on something outside her plans, something that wouldn't even affect the World Line Deviation Rate?

As for the trump cards drawn from the river of time, they were single-use consumables capable of reversing dire situations—crucial lifesavers for critical emergencies.

She wasn't even Level 5 yet, and she was going to burn two of them? How was she supposed to execute her plans in the future?

Therefore, the safest bet...

...was to take advantage of the time before the banished red dragon's return. Exploiting the racial trait of long-lived dragons to slumber for years at a time, she would elevate her strength as much as possible before anyone else noticed its disappearance.

She would act only when she was fully prepared.

But it was impossible for her to reach the Transcendent Tier in a short period, so she absolutely needed help from others.

Given this situation, the "Death Omen," Xia Nan—someone she already had party experience with, whose strength and leveling speed she had assessed, and who was destined for greatness in the future—naturally became her most ideal candidate.

Her amber eyes stared intently at the black-haired figure in front of her.

Her expression seemed resolute, but her trembling lips and fluttering eyelashes betrayed the fear rapidly spreading within her heart, fueled by the shadows of her past.

Verol was waiting for Xia Nan's answer.