This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 263 Ding——elder dragon Issues a Quest

Rita silently screamed in her mind, "Nivalis, Nivalis, Nivalis——!"

Nivalis replied confidently, "Don't worry, babe! I promise I'll get it for you!"

Without hesitation, Nivalis flopped onto the ground and started kicking and flailing her limbs, "I want it! I want it, I don't care!"

The more she spoke, the more excited she became. Then, as if remembering something, she added, "And the secret of the Eternal Night Fortress tower, I want to know that too~ Babe, what else do you want? You tell me."

Rita choked back her words, barely able to say, "I want to live."

Rita thought, I will never come to your house again!!

She had never been this embarrassed in her life. Just thinking about the scene from today would keep her up all night, wide awake, even when she wasn't physically in the situation.

But she still rushed over, trying to pull Nivalis up, whispering desperately, "Nivalis—!"

What Rita didn't realize was that Holy Cup, North Year, and Snow Pile were all watching with amused smiles.

As the "group pet" (a term of endearment in the dragon world), Nivalis was allowed to do anything without limits or consequences. Moreover, Nivalis and Rita's playful interactions were thoroughly entertaining to the elder dragons. To them, it was a rare chance to see Nivalis act so carefree. Nivalis had never behaved this way before. Surrounded by dragons thousands of years older than her, she couldn't just play around with the elders like this.

Once Rita managed to drag Nivalis back to her seat by the neck, Snow Pile finally spoke. "I know what this is. In fact, I have one in my dragon lair. But since the dragon race is neutral, I won't tell you what it does. However... if you help us with a task, I'll give you the one from my lair."

A task?

Rita wasn't worried about the dragon race assigning her a task. She was more concerned about the debt she might owe them. However, she knew it was best not to turn down an opportunity.

She quickly responded, "Please tell me, elder."@@@@

[An Ancestor] (S-grade): "By touching the statue and praying devoutly, you can increase your maximum health by 10% and your maximum mana by 10%. Duration: 10 minutes. This effect can only be triggered once every 30 minutes. (Note: If the player's surname is White, an additional 10% damage is added, and the duration is extended to 15 minutes.)"

The face on the statue was that of an elderly member of the White family, while the face Snow Pile had shown her was of the man in his middle age. Though their features were the same, there was a clear difference between an older and middle-aged face, so Rita hadn't immediately made the connection.

Had the sculptor not omitted a few wrinkles, Rita might have never realized the connection.

Nivalis, who had flown over, also made the connection. She pointed at the face and exclaimed, "This is the person in the painting, right?"

Rita nodded slowly. She, too, now realized it was the same person.

They both turned to the base of the statue where there was a small inscription detailing his achievements. The inscription read: "Jameson White, 1922–2006, 'A life of no regrets, a half-life betrayed.'"

Nivalis pointed at the words and asked, "What does this mean?"

Rita didn't quite understand the depth of the message either.

However, having found the first real clue so quickly, Rita felt a great sense of progress. The task's progress had easily jumped forward by at least 30%.

Feeling much better, Rita decided to spend a few more days in the dragon lair. Since the most exciting part of the journey was over, she had nothing to fear anymore. Nivalis took her around the dragon island, shopping and collecting rare materials.

One day, they gathered dust from the dragons' claws as they sharpened them, another day they collected dragon scales that had fallen off in the corners of the island before Snow Pile could gather them. They even found half a dragon's whisker.

Though these items no longer had any magical power, they were still great materials. After inspecting them, Snow Pile had allowed Rita to keep them.

Every day, Rita and Nivalis would go to North Year and Holy Cup's lair for meals. Rita found Holy Cup's lair more aesthetically pleasing, so most of the time, they would go there, though North Year would still send the food to Holy Cup's lair.

Nivalis would always return to Holy Cup's lair with the same "Holy Cup, I brought back some trash" look, and Rita began to notice that Holy Cup's expression seemed to grow colder and colder every day...