"Let's talk about the reward for completing the quest."
Something appeared in Adrian's hand, a white flower with three delicate petals. It radiated a faint glow, as if it held something beyond its fragile form.
"This is something I acquired two years ago," he said, rolling the stem between his fingers. "They only grow in one place on this entire continent, Pale Mountain, deep in the Stonehelm Territory. I ran into many obstacles and dealt with all kinds of troublesome individuals to get this. But the price was worth it."
I narrowed my eyes. "What is it?"
Adrian smirked. "A Frost Fairy Flower. According to folklore, it can purify mana, but in reality, it does much more than that."
He held up a single petal between his fingers. "Brew this with the right ingredients, and it can heal a mana core and its connected nerves."
That alone would have been an incredible discovery, but Adrian wasn't done. His smirk widened as he continued, "A few years from now, this flower will be discovered by Elara Walpulgris, the daughter of the Golden Tower's master. She'll unlock its true potential. But here's the interesting part, if all three petals are processed into a potion and consumed under the light of a full moon, it doesn't just restore mana."
His eyes gleamed with a dangerous edge.
"It restructures the mana core itself. Removing its natural limiters. Allowing complete resonance with all elements."
I felt my breath hitch for a moment. That—
That would be a game-changer.
Adrian's smug grin faded as he studied my face. "Heh, from the look you're giving me, I can tell you don't believe me."
I stayed silent. It wasn't that I didn't believe him, it was just too much to process.
Adrian chuckled. "Well, I thought the same when I first heard about it. My plan was to use it for myself, to unlock limitless potential and wield all elemental affinities."
Something about his tone made me hesitate. "Then… why didn't you?"
His smirk faded slightly. "Because I couldn't find Elara in time. She was missing back then. No one knew where she was."
Elara… I frowned, the gears turning in my head. If I thought about it, there was no way she could be ordinary.
Adrian gave me a weird look before his smirk returned, this time laced with amusement. "Wow. You're simping hard right now."
I rolled my eyes. "If you have time to spout nonsense, finish the damn lecture."
"Fine, fine," Adrian laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Long story short, this flower can be used to either restore your mana core or remove its growth limit. But here's the twist."
He paused for emphasis.
"To remove the growth limit, you need an intact mana core. But yours is already broken."
My fingers curled into a fist.
"That means you can only use it to restore what's left of your original strength. But even so, with your Legendary-rank potential, you'll still be incredibly powerful in the future."
He leaned back slightly, arms crossed. "Not as strong as the Avatars in their prime, but stronger than any normal human, eventually."
A heavy silence settled between us. The realization sank in.
Even with this power boost, I was still behind.
Adrian's voice turned serious. "The soul fragment has already grown enough to compensate for the damage we took. Through every life-threatening experience you've faced, it has nourished itself. Your lost battle instincts have returned."
A notification flickered in the corner of my vision.
[System Update: Analyzing Seal – Complete]
Status: Bloodline Seal Can Be Removed.
Adrian smiled. "The system has been analyzing the seal placed on our bloodline. We can remove it now."
The reward for completing the quest… was the return of my lost strength.
I exhaled slowly. It was a huge step forward, but—
"But while you've been restarting from scratch," Adrian continued, "everyone else has already grown stronger. Things won't be as easy as before."
I clenched my jaw. I knew that. I knew that.
And then he dropped the bombshell.
"Right now, according to my calculations…" He paused, watching my reaction.
"Thalia is already stronger than our strongest version in the past."
My body tensed, but I forced myself to stay calm.
Thalia.
She had already surpassed what I once was?
A bitter taste filled my mouth, but I swallowed it down. I refused to let it break me.
Adrian's expression grew unreadable. "And that brings us to my proposal."
I looked at him. "Proposal?"
He nodded. "I'm offering you two choices."
He held up one finger. "The first, restore everything we lost. Go back to the strength we once had and continue from there."
Then he held up a second finger.
"The second… is something much riskier." His voice dropped slightly. "Truth be told, it has a low chance of success. And if you fail, you might as well be dead."
I stayed silent, waiting.
"But if you succeed…" His lips curled into a dangerous grin.
"We can turn the entire script upside down."
My heart pounded in my chest.
I exhaled. "…What's the second option?"
Adrian's eyes gleamed.
"Let me tell you about a method to kill something that cannot be killed.