Chapter 261: You... Seem to be Very Afraid of Me?
Vierul's two conditions.
For Xia Nan, "generous" was no longer a sufficient word to describe them.
It was practically the same as giving it away for free.
He was unaware of the concept of "Worldline Deviation Rate," nor did he know that the mage girl had already exceeded the goals of her plan.
From his perspective, Vierul had paid a considerable price to banish an adult red dragon for the sake of the escort squad.
It seemed almost unbelievable in hindsight, but she had actually done it.
And with that as a premise, she had proactively waived her share of the spoils, instead proposing two ambiguous conditions to him.
To be honest, on the way here, Xia Nan had considered countless times what method and how much price he would have to pay to keep the [Dreamweave Corridor] by his side.
The current development had far exceeded his expectations.
Of course, even so, given his personality, he would not blindly agree due to a surge of emotion, nor would he pretend to be generous by offering extra payment.
Instead, he began to carefully consider the feasibility of the two conditions Vierul had proposed.
First, explaining the general effects of the [Dreamweave Corridor] to her.
Without a doubt, the special ability of the [Dreamweave Corridor] to increase combat skill proficiency was a precious device that could be called a "divine artifact" for any professional in this world.
Under normal circumstances, for the sake of his own safety, he would never reveal the function of his equipment to others.
But the current situation was different.
The person standing before Xia Nan, asking him to explain the effects of the [Dreamweave Corridor], was a mysterious mage whose professional level had clearly not exceeded level five, yet who was capable of permanently banishing an adult red dragon with a Challenge Rating as high as "17."
Her background and strength were mysteries.
Given that it was reasonable, the other party had shown no hostility, and had even explicitly expressed goodwill as a teammate.
Xia Nan felt that he should not hide this information.
Or rather, facing her question, if he deliberately concealed it or fabricated information, it might instead push a situation that should have progressed smoothly in a bad direction.
It could even evolve into an irreconcilable conflict between the two parties.
Thus, the only concern was the information that might expose the existence of his "Attribute Panel" cheat.
Considering that Vierul had specifically mentioned in her words that he could reserve parts involving his own privacy.
Then there wasn't much of a problem.
The first condition was acceptable.
Xia Nan weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
As for the second condition—a favor to be used at least three years from now to clear out a dragon's nest.
That was also fine; it was within an acceptable range.
At his current growth rate, in three years, he would be at least level 5, and higher was not impossible.
In that case, with the few trump cards he held and his special "Gravity" type abilities, facing a dragon's nest without its master, while success wasn't absolute, surviving should be no problem.
Furthermore, Vierul's combat power was mysterious. Based on the personality he had observed, the fact that she made this proposal meant she had sufficient confidence. Since she could already banish a giant dragon now, she would likely become even more reliable after preparing for three years.
Acceptable.
Xia Nan nodded inwardly, unable to help but recall Vierul's wording just now, feeling a bit puzzled.
A favor... was his favor actually this valuable?
The air was silent.
Since Vierul proposed those two conditions, no one had spoken.
Her amber eyes were almost forcibly locked onto the black-haired figure in front of her.
Even the chestnut high ponytail, usually so lively, had stopped bouncing.
The tension on the girl's face was so thick it almost overflowed; one could faintly see her teeth clenched tightly between lips that had lost some of their color.
If someone possessed a mind-reading ability at this moment, they could easily detect the chaotic and cluttered thoughts in Vierul's mind
"Why isn't he speaking? Are my conditions too harsh?"
"They shouldn't be; I clearly thought about this all night yesterday!"
"Why is he frowning!? It's over, it's over, maybe I should just forget it?"
"But if I suggest putting the conditions on hold now, will it instead produce a negative effect?"
"Agreeing is fine, refusing is fine, just hurry up, hurry up!"
"Just say something already..."
Finally, under Vierul's concentrated gaze, Xia Nan finished his thinking.
His eyes regained focus as he looked at the mage girl.
He gave a slight nod.
"I can do that."
*Phew—*
It was hard to imagine Vierul's mood at this moment; it was as if the heavy pressure that had been building up in her heart was released in an instant, and her entire body suddenly relaxed.
If the other party weren't standing right beside her, she feared she would have collapsed directly onto the ground.
Sweat had soaked the shirt beneath the girl's outer robe at some unknown point, and even her breathing frequency became a bit hurried.
At the same time, accompanying the sudden relaxation after extreme pressure was an unparalleled sense of achievement.
She did it!
Relying on her own tenacious and stubborn will, she had briefly overcome the shadow of fear that originated from her previous life and had been further deepened a few days ago.
Calm, composed, and maintaining her boundaries, she had completed a fair transaction between adventurers with the man known as "Death Omen."
At this moment, Vierul even began to lament in her heart that the experience of rebirth and the heavy burden of "saving the world" on her shoulders had indeed allowed her to grow.
Perhaps her strength was much worse than before her rebirth, but her mental will was gradually improving and becoming firmer.
With a subtle look in his eyes, Xia Nan glanced at the girl standing before him, who looked somewhat dazed.
Having grown accustomed to her performance of pretending to be calm while trembling, he rubbed the silver ring on the ring finger of his right hand, organized his words, omitted the information that might expose the attribute panel, and spoke slowly
"The effect of this item is actually quite simple. It allows the user to experience a nearly realistic, complete 'dream' in a very short amount of time, and the specific content of the 'dream' may relate to the combat skills mastered by the user."
"After the 'dream' ends, the user can obtain a large amount of combat skill proficiency related to the content of the 'dream'."
"It was under the effect of this device that I broke through the bottleneck of a combat skill that was already close to the 'Proficient' level and achieved a professional level increase."
"But the use of the device is not without cost. Its usage conditions... can be said to be very harsh. At the time, I only managed to activate it by a stroke of luck; it cannot be replicated, and I do not possess the ability to use it again in the short term."
Hearing this, Vierul, whose emotions were gradually calming down, subconsciously began to think.
"It can increase combat skill proficiency?"
"No wonder in my previous life, after Sava finished this mission, it was as if he encountered some turning point in his life, and everything began to skyrocket."
"Looking at it this way, the rumors about the Morton family have a bit more credibility. Their ancestor probably relied on this device to complete the leap from a commoner to a founding duke."
"And the usage restrictions mentioned by 'Death Omen' are precisely the reason why no one in the Morton family could restore their ancestor's glory afterward."
"However..."
Now Sava was dead, and the device had fallen into Xia Nan's hands.
This existence, who also came from an ordinary background but possessed extraordinary talent and established a formidable notoriety in the future, had already shown an abnormal development speed in this current timeline.
Now he had this legacy treasure of the Morton family.
His speed of improvement would only be faster than in the previous life.
And the achievements he would attain in the future...
Vierul couldn't help but shudder again.
Regardless, it was better for the item to be with him than for it to be obtained by that great traitor of the Alliance, Sava.
The girl comforted herself this way in her heart.
At the same time, she took a small, nail-sized, dark purple diamond-shaped crystal from her waist pouch.
She reached out and handed it to Xia Nan, placing it in his palm.
"This is a specially modified communication crystal. When I am ready, I will use this to contact you."
"Don't worry, the crystal material is fragile and the number of uses is limited. I won't disturb you normally; I will only use it once the plan regarding the red dragon's nest is perfected."
Xia Nan nodded, glanced at the surface of the dark purple crystal a couple of times, and then put it away. Along with the wolf fang left by the barbarian Fogan, he placed it in the deepest part of his waist pouch.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Vierul's expression became hesitant.
After hesitating for a moment, she spoke softly with some caution
"Do you... plan to return to River Valley Town later?"
"What's wrong?" Noticing the implication in the girl's words, Xia Nan frowned slightly.
"From Yuansha Province to Panyun Province, starting from this small town, the most convenient way is naturally to return by the original route."
"But the Mortons might have already noticed the matter with Trewilliam. The entrances and exits near the mountain canyons will likely be closed soon, and things are a mess over at Molten Scale Town. Going back that way might be a bit troublesome."
Hearing this, Xia Nan's frown deepened.
He definitely had to return to River Valley Town; that went without saying.
After all, the Snake-Scale Arm Shield he had spent a fortune to upgrade was still at the "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop; he couldn't just give up on it.
But at the same time, if it was as Vierul said, even if the Morton family didn't have evidence that he killed Trewilliam, returning by the original route and diving straight into an area heavily deployed by a hostile force was indeed dangerous.
Currently, he was far from being in a situation where he needed to force his way through Molten Scale Town based on the idea that "the most dangerous place is the safest."
"So..."
Xia Nan raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at the mage girl before him, signaling her to continue.
"There are two choices."
Feeling the gaze of the young man before her, Vierul felt her mouth go dry and subconsciously pursed her lips.
"The first is to stay in the town to recuperate and return by the original route after a few months when the matter has passed."
"The second is to take a long detour, bypassing the Molten Scale Mountains from the other side of Yuansha Province to return to River Valley Town."
"The time consumption for the two choices varies; it depends on how much importance the Morton family places on that deceased Knight Captain, as well as your travel speed."
Xia Nan did not reply, just quietly watching her.
In his view, given the girl's personality, it was impossible for her to bring this up for no reason.
There was more to follow.
Clearly, his guess was very accurate.
Facing the invisible pressure, Vierul could no longer hold out. She surrendered decisively and spoke her true purpose
"Here."
She took a blank piece of paper from her waist pouch, condensed magic at her fingertips, and drew a few times on the surface. Two lines of clear text appeared.
"At this place, there might be something that can help you."
Her amber eyes shifted slightly, her gaze sweeping over the silver ring on Xia Nan's right ring finger.
The location on the paper came from "Plan-B" of the plan targeting the dragon-born Sava. It was a backup plan in case she couldn't successfully join the escort squad in River Valley Town or couldn't find an opportunity to kill Sava.
From an ordinary low-level adventurer to a great figure whose betrayal could cause an entire front line to collapse in the future, the dragon-born's growth process had several key nodes.
The escort mission from River Valley Town to the Sticky Tree Territory was the first and most important one.
And what she gave Xia Nan on the paper was the second location of Sava's transformation, as clearly recorded in her memories.
Previously, Vierul knew nothing about what the dragon-born obtained there; the information was even blurrier than that of the previous escort mission.
But after learning from Xia Nan about the device that could increase proficiency in a short time but had strict usage conditions.
A vague suspicion had arisen in her heart.
Glancing at the paper, Xia Nan decisively tucked it into his clothes.
His face remained expressionless, but he said in a deep voice
"Thank you."
"Speak. What do you need me to do?"
It naturally couldn't be a gift for nothing. After such a long buildup, he had long since sensed her intention.
Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, an awkward smile appeared on Vierul's face.
"Actually, it's nothing much."
"Just one thing..."
"..."
A thoughtful expression appeared on Xia Nan's face.
He pondered her request in his mind.
After a moment of consideration, he gave a slight nod.
"Then I'll leave it to you!" Seeing this, Vierul couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief again.
With this, the distribution of spoils and the subsequent arrangements had been fully communicated between the two.
Seeing her expression—forcing herself to stay composed while her face grew paler—he knew there was no need for further pleasantries.
Xia Nan was thinking of bidding farewell and leaving.
But just as he had turned halfway, he suddenly seemed to remember something and abruptly turned back.
This caused Vierul's body, which had just relaxed, to snap instantly to attention.
"I don't mean anything by this, I'm purely curious."
"Actually, since the first time we met at the Adventurer's Guild, I've always had this doubt."
"The timing wasn't right before, but now is just right."
"You... seem to be very afraid of me?"
*Buzz—*
A frigid chill erupted from her heart, spreading through her entire body in an instant, causing her slender body, tense as a rock, to shudder violently twice.
Her lips trembled, her pupils contracted, and the blackness in front of her was reflected in her amber eyes. Panic and terror spread invisibly, as if they were about to swallow the girl's consciousness.
"I..."
She opened her mouth, but the countless excuses she had prepared beforehand seemed to be stuck in her throat; she couldn't speak a word.
At this moment, Vierul forgot to breathe.
(End of Chapter)