Chapter 637 Temporary Companions and Quest Selection

Xia Nan had formed a very good impression of Winter Wolf Fanny over the past few days.

She could be a bit clingy at times—especially when they were alone, constantly rubbing against him in stark contrast to her aloof, arrogant demeanor toward the rest of the world.

But in most situations, she was a trustworthy, intelligent, and courageous companion.

In combat, she took the initiative to draw the enemy's attention, creating openings for Xia Nan to strike. She never grew greedy for credit, knowing exactly when to advance, when to retreat, and when to hand the main battlefield back to him.

During his training, she sat obediently to the side. Even if she grew bored enough to doze off or chase bugs, she maintained perfect boundaries and never disturbed him. Only when he finished would she approach with a wagging tail.

Just like the inexplicable synergy they displayed in battle, they got along perfectly in daily life.

The Winter Wolf bloodline granted Fanny an intellect comparable to that of a sentient being, and her grasp of tactics was even sharper than that of many human soldiers.

Perhaps due to her background as a reincarnated wolf spirit, she couldn't speak the human tongue like other Winter Wolves. Her physical structure also severely restricted her from wearing equipment or using items; otherwise, she would have been entirely capable of striking out on her own as a true "lone wolf" adventurer.

Given the sheer intelligence Fanny displayed in everyday life, Xia Nan sometimes felt that if he tossed her into a school from his previous life for a few years, she might actually use her claws to scratch out the solutions to a few Math Olympiad problems.

Under these circumstances, if Winter Wolf Fanny wanted to become his temporary teammate and adventure alongside him, Xia Nan didn't mind at all. In fact, he was happy to accept.

This was exactly why Forgan had asked Xia Nan what he thought of her.

He had tracked the Swamp Druid Bartholomew across mountains and rivers all the way to Bloodcast Keep, only to find that Baron Blackcliff, an acquaintance of his, had disappeared. The matter was shrouded in mystery and required deep investigation.

Combining this with the clues found along the way, Forgan had a premonition that the Swamp Druid he was hunting wasn't far off.

If they ran into him during the investigation, a massive battle would likely break out on the spot.

Winter Wolf Fanny might be brimming with potential, but it had only been a little over a year since her reincarnation. Her combat abilities were still clearly immature.

If she were accidentally caught in the crossfire, she likely wouldn't survive, and all the effort she had put into her reincarnation over the past year would be wasted.

With this in mind, Forgan wanted Xia Nan to look after Fanny during his time in Bloodcast Keep.

The young, black-haired adventurer with the title of "Greysword" was trustworthy, and his strength was improving at a rate that far exceeded expectations.

By following him, even for just a few short months, Fanny should be able to grow.

And given her current combat level, she would definitely be of considerable help to Xia Nan.

The Barbarian had thought it through thoroughly, and having gained a reliable teammate out of nowhere, the modern man seemed to have no reason to refuse.

As for Winter Wolf Fanny's own wishes—

Suffice it to say, the moment Forgan proposed the idea to Xia Nan in the reception hall of Bloodcast Keep, Fanny's tail wagged furiously despite her slight restraint in front of strangers. That, combined with her human-like wolf eyes staring eagerly at Xia Nan, was more than enough to prove her thoughts on the matter.

When Xia Nan walked out of Bloodcast Keep with Fanny, her fluffy, icy-cold body was practically glued to his.

He rubbed her incredibly soft, furry head, causing the Winter Wolf to narrow her eyes in comfort.

Xia Nan thought back to what had just happened in the reception room.

The main reason Forgan had called him over was definitely to settle Fanny's arrangements and explain his plans for the next few months.

He hadn't revealed his target in detail, but given that he would likely be heading out frequently, he probably wouldn't have time to mentor Xia Nan often.

However, whenever he returned to Bloodcast Keep, Xia Nan could seek him out with any questions.

Naturally, Xia Nan found this acceptable.

He had already finalized his next course of action: he hoped to find inspiration for developing his own combat techniques through extensive live combat, while simultaneously accumulating War Merits to raise his contribution rank and redeem the [Endtime Reverse Scale].

Meeting with the Barbarian Forgan intermittently like this, tackling all the problems he encountered at once every now and then, was exactly the kind of dynamic he wanted.

On the other hand, Forgan calling Xia Nan to the Inner Keep was likely also an attempt to help him out. He wanted to give this young man—who had come from the bottom rungs of society and had no background—a connection of his own within the border fortress.

The enthusiastic demeanor of Swint—the fortress garrison captain and acting castellan who had also been in the room at the time—proved just how effective Forgan's move was.

To be honest, when Swint asked if he had encountered any trouble in the fortress and whether he needed help, Xia Nan really had been tempted.

He wondered if he could ask the man for a favor. Not necessarily to directly boost his contribution rank to Fortress Guard, but perhaps just to pull a few strings to let him redeem the [Chain of Conquest] early.

Just this one item would do. For whatever else he wanted to redeem, Xia Nan would raise his rank on his own.

Considering the strength of the Barbarian Forgan backing him and Swint's own personality, this wouldn't actually be an unreasonable request.

It would only take a single word.

After all, the necklace itself wasn't high-level enchanted equipment, and it required very few War Merits. It was only placed at the Fortress Guard tier due to its collection value and symbolic meaning; absolutely no adventurer would be interested in it.

In fact, even if this backroom deal were exposed and the soldiers and adventurers in the fortress found out, they would probably just wonder why Xia Nan had wasted a golden opportunity by exchanging for something like that.

And all Xia Nan would have to pay for it was a favor.

Well—strictly speaking, it would count as one and a half.

After all, Swint wasn't willing to help Xia Nan because he thought the young man had outstanding potential and wanted to invest early, nor was he rewarding him for any contributions to the fortress.

It was entirely because of his connection to the Barbarian Forgan.

If Xia Nan made such a request, he wouldn't just owe Swint a favor directly; he would also be spending some of the goodwill he had with Forgan. Even though the Barbarian likely wouldn't care much, it would still deplete a favor.

Xia Nan hated that feeling.

But if it was for equipment as important as the [Endtime Reverse Scale], he could grit his teeth and bear it.

However—

Xia Nan ultimately didn't do it.

Of course, this wasn't because he was particularly noble or had some sort of moral purity.

Just moments ago, when the thought of using the Barbarian Forgan's connections to get his hands on the [Endtime Reverse Scale] early had popped into his head and he was about to put it into action...

...an inexplicable intuition from deep within his heart had made him subconsciously swallow the words that had already reached his throat.

From a logical standpoint, this kind of networking maneuver was completely viable, and the price paid compared to the final result was well within acceptable limits.

Xia Nan seemed to have no reason not to do it.

But purely from intuition, a bizarre premonition genuinely stopped him from pushing further down that path. It didn't want him getting involved with Bloodcast Keep or the acting castellan Swint.

How should he choose?

Well, it had to be noted here:

Xia Nan's Intelligence attribute was a completely average "5".

But his Perception attribute had nearly reached the Transcendent Tier Grade at "14".

Having always been self-aware, he chose the latter between "logic" and "intuition" without a shred of hesitation.

And this was exactly why he had left the Inner Keep with the Winter Wolf and headed for the Military Merit Office.

Since relying on background and connections was off the table, he naturally had to take the initiative—hurry up and take quests, accumulate War Merits, and raise his contribution rank in the fortress.

He had to admit, the fortress's efficiency was truly high.

Or rather, the speed at which news spread was much faster than Xia Nan had imagined.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't tried to hide himself when following the two soldiers to the Inner Keep.

But after only a brief stay in the castle, the news that he had been personally received by the acting castellan was already circulating among the soldiers.

So much so that even though he walked through the entire Upper District dressed as an adventurer, he was barely stopped or questioned.

It was a smooth journey the whole way.

When he returned to the Military Merit Office, the young officer who had personally watched Xia Nan leave with the two soldiers from the Inner Keep actually took the initiative to come up and greet him.

He even patted his chest and guaranteed that if anyone else wanted to redeem the [Chain of Conquest], he would help stall them and immediately inform Xia Nan.

Hearing the man say this, Xia Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

That way, he at least didn't have to worry about being sniped by other adventurers. He could just focus on accumulating his contribution rank in peace.

Seeing that Xia Nan had come to accept quests, the young officer originally wanted to arrange a special channel for him to cut the line.

But considering he was a newcomer and didn't know anyone, Xia Nan didn't want to inexplicably offend the other adventurers.

He ultimately declined the young officer's arrangement. Under the wary and scrutinizing gazes of the other adventurers, he took Winter Wolf Fanny and joined the back of the queue.

After waiting patiently for quite a while, he finally stood before the counter.

"Hello, sir. How may I help you?" asked the receptionist, a new recruit who looked to be in his early twenties.

His words and actions were green and awkward; he had likely been dragged straight out of the recruit camp due to a manpower shortage.

However, his attitude was far more sincere and patient than that of the seasoned veterans.

Having just clumsily finished registering War Merits for a gruff and impatient dwarf, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. A polite smile bloomed on his face when Xia Nan approached.

Nodding in response, Xia Nan cut straight to the chase. "Please find me a few suitable bounty quests."

"Right away, please wait a moment!"

When he previously claimed the War Merits for the Armored Elephant, he had already registered his basic personal information at the Military Merit Office.

Hearing Xia Nan's request, the young receptionist immediately got to work.

Unlike the free selection at the Adventurers' Association, if one wanted to accept quests in Bloodcast Keep, the receptionist would typically follow relevant procedures and provide two to three quests for the adventurer to choose from based on their past combat record.

Although this was Xia Nan's first time going through the adventuring process at Bloodcast Keep, the War Merits from the Armored Elephant counted as an accumulated combat record, so he didn't need to start from the lowest-level task of clearing out Goblins.

After a bit of searching, the green receptionist gave Xia Nan three options.

[Quest Number]: A12

[Reward]: Depends on completion

[Quest Summary]:

Recently, a large number of soldiers and adventurers have gone missing near the border. Adventurers with relevant experience are needed to investigate.

[Quest Number]: B135

[Reward]: 45 War Merits

[Quest Summary]:

An Adventurer Squad with an average Class Level of Iv1 was attacked by an unknown monster in the southern part of Rime Hills, east of Bloodcast Keep. According to survivors, they encountered a banshee with a Challenge Rating of Iv4. Adventurers are needed to eliminate it.

[Quest Number]: C932

[Reward]: 10 War Merits

[Quest Summary]:

Recently, soldiers discovered traces of suspected ghouls on the outskirts of Rime Hills. Adventurers are needed to proceed to the designated coordinates and eliminate them.

Compared to the commissions at the Adventurers' Association, the quest details here at Bloodcast Keep were undoubtedly much more bare-bones. Not only did they lack time limits, but they also rarely included any additional supplementary information.

Fortunately, they were concise and clear enough.

The three letters "A", "B", and "C" following the "Quest Number" corresponded to the quest's difficulty and tier, while the "Reward" was settled entirely in War Merits.

However, after briefly browsing the three options, Xia Nan had already made his choice.

The information provided for the A-rank option was vague, only mentioning the recent high number of missing adventurers. It looked like a long-term quest with an unclear reward, making it hard to guarantee sufficient gains in a short period of time, so he shelved it for now.

The C-rank option was far too simple, and the reward was relatively small. The Challenge Rating of monsters like ghouls was only Iv1. Given Xia Nan's current level of strength, taking on a quest of this tier would be a waste of his talents, nor did it fit his plan to rapidly accumulate War Merits and raise his contribution rank.

Compared to those two, the middle option—targeting a banshee with a Challenge Rating of Iv4—was just right.

It wasn't overly dangerous, yet it still posed a certain level of difficulty, and the reward met his expectations.

Furthermore, according to the information Xia Nan had previously learned from Tal, a B-rank quest like this was the exact threshold required to raise his contribution rank in Bloodcast Keep from the initial "Conscript" to the second tier, "Border Patroller."

If he could complete it successfully, he would be one step closer to his goal.

"I'll take this one," Xia Nan said, pointing at the second quest.

"Right away!" The receptionist nodded hastily. He had barely scratched his quill across the registration form twice before he seemed to remember something.

He raised his head, glanced at Xia Nan and Winter Wolf Fanny beside him, and asked cautiously, "Uh, sir, is it—just you alone?"