Dolores’s body trembled for a moment, and Grin only took it as her excitement.
He knew Dolores was very smart, so she could derive conjectures and clues from the information he revealed. Although she wouldn’t necessarily tell him — he didn’t care.
Right then, Viseliane, who had been lying there all this time, suddenly let out a coughing sound, drawing his attention. Dolores also took the opportunity to notice their current posture and spoke up.
“You can put me down now…”
Although the posture couldn’t quite be called a full embrace, putting her down was an appropriate way to phrase it.
Grin nodded and then picked up the small half-cup of blood that Saintess Hilberu had left behind before she departed, gently feeding it to Viseliane. His expression gradually became solemn as he seemed to realize something.
Relying on Hilberu’s blood to maintain Viseliane’s life was not a long-term solution. Furthermore, although Hilberu didn’t say it, anyone could see that she was reaching her limit. Her blood being able to make the Blood Cup of Mercy effective was a desperate, clever trick. But if someone truly could use the Blood Cup of Mercy on Viseliane, they might actually be able to use blood to sustain her until she reached home.
But that was impossible. The conditions for the Blood Cup of Mercy were too harsh, and there was only one Saintess Hilberu.
Grin stared at Viseliane’s face for a while, lost in thought. The return to reality forced him to notice this unavoidable, desperate situation.
This gave Dolores some time to think. She leaned against the bedside alone, unsure of what she was thinking. Her heart had been surprised over and over again by unexpected events. At this moment, she actually felt a sense of extreme mental exhaustion.
Instinct told her not to look in Grin’s direction, but she still saw Viseliane’s terrible condition. Her chest felt tight and uncomfortable.
If it were any other time, and Grin had been this honest, Dolores might have had many thoughts to share with him. After all, this situation was like a swimmer tied to a stone who was about to drown when the rope suddenly snapped, allowing them to break free.
From Grin’s mouth, Dolores knew that no matter who the “Dolores” in his memories was, she must have truly loved him. Knowing the game plot and going to such great lengths to set up so many plans and actions in this life — whether the Dolores in those memories was herself, potentially Xiao Huayu, or another Transmigrator.
None of that mattered anymore. She had no means to confirm who the Dolores of the previous life actually was, nor could she guess the other party’s purpose, or even whether that purpose was good or bad for her.
She was entitled to blame all of this on Grin; he was the one who had disrupted all her plans since she transmigrated. But if she calculated it that way, she could actually blame the world for why she wasn’t allowed to transmigrate earlier, so she wouldn’t have been in such a pathetic state.
Or rather, how wonderful it would have been if she had transmigrated as the Dolores of the first life. All the power of choice would have been in her own hands. Like the current tragedy of Viseliane… she would have definitely stopped it, she wouldn’t have let it happen.
Viseliane…
Images of her experiences with Viseliane flashed through Dolores’s mind. It was inevitable, really… after all, the other girl had been by her side ever since she transmigrated.
As her thoughts wandered, her head involuntarily lowered.
“So, Dolores, do you know what the System on me is? Is it a power that comes with a price?” Grin suddenly asked.
“You can understand it as a mechanism similar to a trial. Completing tasks grants a Reward. It will help you achieve Revenge, increase your strength, and make up for regrets… as for the price, I guess it shouldn’t have one,” Dolores replied.
Regarding the existence of the System, she recalled some memories of past discussions with Xiao Huayu and was a bit vague about the price.
In a game, the system was just a system, something that was taken for granted. But in reality… perhaps only Xiao Huayu would know its true nature. If she had considered it and set the System as a hidden card for some God, then it was such an existence. If no such setting was added, then the System was just a system, to be used well.
There were very, very few things in this world related to the System. Most were produced and consumed through System tasks; only a small portion were exceptions.
For example, items that could lower Affection Level. A tiny portion of those could be forged by a Native without going through the System, but that would cause the target to see fragmented memories or awaken something special. Moreover, those materials were incredibly precious.
In the game, obtaining these items through non-System means was an unconventional method; it wasn’t as good as simply exchanging them through the System.
Dolores’s thoughts became a bit more active. It was probably because she never thought that, under the circumstances of transmigrating, she would actually be talking to the protagonist of the game about the “System.” It was quite strange, wasn’t it?
“Revenge…” Grin murmured, his voice clearly heard by Dolores.
“Yes… Revenge. Seeking Revenge in this life against me, against Hilberu, and against all the girls who betrayed you in the previous life. That seems to be the reason for the System’s existence, doesn’t it?” Dolores said with a self-deprecating tone.
“So, you knew from the beginning that everyone we met on our journey in the last life would betray me, including you, right? Why, Dolores?” Grin’s hands were shaking slightly, and so was his voice.
He had heard terrifying things from the current Dolores. He didn’t understand how Dolores could have known everything that would happen in the previous life from the very start.
“I need to clarify first, I am not the true Dolores… my Soul doesn’t belong here. I only entered this body right when you arrived at the Capital,” Dolores paused, choosing to reveal the truth.
“An Otherworld Visitor… I can see your uniqueness through the System. Is that what you mean? A Soul from another world?” Grin’s answer made Dolores give a bitter smile.
In front of the System, she couldn’t seem to hide any secrets. But fortunately, she didn’t plan on hiding them anymore.
“Yes. I have read your story and knew what would happen to you in your previous life. So, the moment I saw you, I knew you wanted to take Revenge on me, and I knew it was because of betrayal.”
“I hoped I could use Hilberu to escape the System’s control, so I wanted to go to the Monastery to find her and pretend to be an Acquaintance. I hoped you would refrain from hurting her out of concern for her.”
“Because besides me, everyone else who betrayed you has some kind of ability or mechanism that can kill you while bypassing the System… this was the struggle for survival of a person who wanted to live. You can understand that, right?”
Dolores finished these words in a discouraged tone. After absorbing the information for a while, Grin also nodded. He could understand Dolores’s behavior. Having experienced death himself, he felt the desire to survive deeply. He wouldn’t blame her, though he wasn’t in a position to do so anyway.
However, Grin still sensed something was wrong. He felt like Dolores’s tone sounded like she was saying goodbye.
Dolores let out a long sigh and then said to Grin, “Even though I know many things, I don’t know why the Dolores of the previous life stabbed you in the back. I only know the outcome.”
“Because the Dolores you speak of seems to have the same identity as me, but I don’t think that could have been me.”
“Why?” Grin asked instantly.
Dolores gazed at Grin and realized that her heart, which had been aching for Viseliane, actually felt a bit of warmth just by seeing him.
‘It’s the System… yes, after all, my Affection Level is still sitting at 90.’
In this situation, she probably shouldn’t be able to say anything hateful to Grin. But after biting her lip until it bled, the pain bringing her back to clarity, Dolores continued.
“Because I can’t think of any reason why I would do that series of things. Whether it was ultimately betraying you or planning this scheme involving the System… if it were me, why would I want to kill myself?”
Dolores spoke slowly. Suddenly she paused for a long time and then asked Grin, “Grin, is there a way to cure Viseliane’s illness? Is it in the System, in my Affection Level tasks?”
As Dolores turned her head, Grin lowered his gaze as if to dodge her look, but he was too tall. Dolores only had to take two steps and look up to see his expression.
Panic, unease.
“I see… so, you have a way to raise my Affection Level right now, don’t you?”
Grin couldn’t deny it. Because there was indeed a special item in his tasks that could heal a Soul, but it required one strategy character from the Surand region to reach an Affection Level of **[Unswerving]**.
Grin had not completed that task yet. He was currently only short of that last **[Unswerving]** condition. He had obtained the **[Elf’s Last Wish]**, and the **[Side Leaf of Rand Ancestral Land]** was on him at this moment.
Grin thought Dolores could see his System’s Quest Board, just like in that memory, so she should be able to see…
**[Curse of the Former Kingdom (3): In Progress]**
Task Requirement: Within ten days, obtain the cursed item **[Elf’s Last Wish]** in the designated area. Reach the **[Unswerving]** stage of affection with any strategy target in the Surand region (Dolores, Saintess Hilberu, Alberke, or Iandeke), and submit the item **[Side Leaf of Rand Ancestral Land]**.
Task Reward: Unlock the **[Familiar]** stage of Alberke’s Affection Level task, increase Saintess Hilberu’s Affection Level to the **[Familiar]** stage, legendary consumable **[Spring of Soul Mending]** x 1, and growth weapon **[Life Covenant]**.
Special Reward Condition: Save Viseliane (Optional).
The legendary consumable **[Spring of Soul Mending]** perfectly corresponded to Viseliane’s current condition. Yes, if Dolores could see the System Panel, then she would have known long ago that this was the only way to save Viseliane.
It was something comparable to death. But he had already guessed from Dolores’s rebellious attitude that reaching the **[Unswerving]** Affection Level was definitely impossible for her.
Was Viseliane beyond saving? No, there was a way. There had always been a way, and the method to save her had appeared in his hands a long time ago.
After Dolores had sincerely rebuked him with words of “hate,” this option had always been with him. Even not long ago, the moment he entered the door and saw Dolores, the **[Regret Pill]** task he completed and the pill he received seemed to be laying the groundwork for this necessary moment.
“Grin, do you think I absolutely must die?”
The girl asked slowly, her voice carrying an indefinable emotion, as thin as a thread and as light as cotton.