Regeneration

Dawnguard Keep, the lord's hall on the second floor.

The curtains were drawn halfway, allowing sunlight to spill across the floor and casting a sharp line of light and shadow across the patterns on the carpet.

Rosie's gaze fell upon a figure standing in the center of the hall.

It was a woman.

A curvaceous, beautiful woman.

She wore a white robe with gold trim along the edges that gleamed softly in the light.

She held a long cruciform scepter in her hand, and a miter sat atop her head, framing her face with an air of dignity and solemnity.

Behind her stood four tall knights clad in golden armor, their hands clasped over the hilts of their swords like four gilded human statues.

Rosie had always assumed the High Priest of Light would be an old man; after all, almost all the clerics of Light she had met so far were male.

The sudden appearance of this well-endowed priestess was certainly a surprise.

“Vera, Rosie.”

The Duke stood by the table, nodding slightly to the two of them.

“Allow me to introduce you. This is High Priestess Sylvia.”

Vera bowed slightly in greeting. “Hello, High Priestess Sylvia.”

Rosie followed suit.

Sylvia nodded slightly in response. “Hello. I was delayed on the way, hence my late arrival.”

Her robes swayed with her slight nod, the heavy weight at her chest threatening to spill out.

The Duke walked over to Vera's side and faced Sylvia.

“Lady Sylvia, Vera is my niece. I hope you can help heal her right arm.”

Sylvia nodded, her gaze shifting from the Duke's face to Vera. “Your letter already explained the situation, but I still need to examine Miss Vera first.”

Hearing this, Vera stepped in front of Sylvia, using her left hand to roll up her empty right sleeve, revealing the stump of her severed arm.

Sylvia leaned forward slightly, tracing her index finger along the edge of the stump to examine it.

A moment later, she straightened up and nodded. “There are no signs of decay at the wound, and your body's life force is stable. It should heal completely.”

Vera let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks to Rosie's timely assistance.”

Sylvia's gaze lingered on Rosie's face for a moment before she looked back at the Duke. “Your Grace, are the materials ready?”

“They are ready.”

As he spoke, the Duke picked up a box from the table, opened the lid, and took out a crystal.

The crystal was about the size of a walnut, crystal clear, refracting the sunlight into thin beams of light. A faint blue halo shimmered across its faceted surfaces.

Sylvia took the crystal, held it up to her eyes, and turned it slightly, letting the light pass through its interior.

“The quality of this magic crystal is excellent. It will be more than enough.”

Clasping the crystal in her palm, she turned to Vera.

“Miss Vera, let us begin. The regeneration process will be somewhat painful, so please bear with it.”

Vera nodded. “Alright.”

Sylvia held the crystal in her right hand and raised her scepter with her left.

She took a deep breath, and then she spoke.

“O Great Lord of Light! Grant me your strength... and let me heal the pain of the person before me.”

“Regeneration!”

A golden light erupted from the tip of the cruciform scepter, illuminating her right hand as she held the crystal.

The crystal seemed to ignite in the golden light, its internal glow shifting from pale blue to a brilliant golden-yellow, flowing and overflowing along every facet of the crystal.

Then, a beam of light shot from the crystal's surface, striking Vera's severed right arm with perfect precision.

Vera's stump suddenly twitched, and the healed scar split open down the middle.

Then, starting from the center of the split wound, white bone and red tissue began to grow almost simultaneously.

Vera's expression was tense, beads of sweat rolling down her temples.

But she didn't make a sound, simply gritting her teeth and enduring it.

Bone and muscle slowly extended downward.

Once the elbow took shape, it was followed by the forearm, the wrist, the palm, and finally, the fingers...

The entire process lasted for about ten minutes.

By the time the light faded, Vera was drenched in sweat.

She lifted her newly grown right hand, balled it into a fist, released it, clenched it again, and then a smile spread across her face.

Having delivered its final thread of light, the crystal in Sylvia's hand let out a soft crackle and crumbled into a handful of fine powder, slipping through her fingers and scattering onto the floor.

Rosie watched the entire process clearly.

Her gaze shifted from Vera's newly grown arm to the pile of powder on the floor.

She had heard from Vera that a single magic crystal like this had a market value of over five hundred gold coins.

And that didn't even include the High Priestess's own fee.

This expensive Regeneration was truly not something just anyone could afford.

Sylvia brought her scepter back to her front and checked Vera's arm once more.

“It is done. It has fully recovered, but do not exert too much force with it over the next couple of days.”

“Thank you, High Priestess Sylvia,” Vera said gratefully.

Sylvia waved her hand. “You are welcome.”

She turned around, her gaze landing on the Duke's face. Her tone shifted from its previous warmth to a formal steadiness. “Your Grace, can we discuss official business now?”

The Duke nodded. “Of course. What do you wish to know?”

Sylvia sat back down, transferring her scepter to her other hand. “Is it true that the Kingdom of Norman has been using black magic?”

The Duke said in a low voice, “As soon as I received Vera's report, I immediately wrote to the Norman royal family to inquire about the werewolves and black magic, but I have yet to receive any reply.”

He paused, a hint of solemnity creeping into his voice.

“I had our outpost in Redian send people to investigate, but the Kingdom of Norman has sealed its borders, allowing no one to enter or leave. What is even stranger is that our informants in the Royal City of Norman have also vanished.”

Sylvia nodded. “Understood. It seems something has indeed gone wrong in the Kingdom of Norman.”

The Duke glanced at her. “Do you have any news, High Priestess?”

Sylvia pondered for a moment, her phrasing becoming even more cautious than before.

“The Grand Temple's influence in the Kingdom of Norman is limited, so we cannot gather much intelligence. However, as far as I know...”

She paused here,

“The Kingdom of Norman is likely about to fall into chaos.”

“Chaos?” The Duke frowned.

“According to your previous letter, there are not only vampires causing trouble in the Kingdom of Norman, but also werewolf and black magic activity.”

Sylvia looked at the Duke. “All of these things happening together is no coincidence.”

“You mean...?”

“In recent years, a mysterious force has emerged on the continent. They have been conducting covert operations in remote regions.”

Sylvia hesitated slightly before finally voicing her thoughts.

“I suspect that what is happening in the Kingdom of Norman is related to them.”

The hall fell silent for a few moments.

“If that is the case, what is their goal?” the Duke asked.

“Testing weapons of war,” Rosie chimed in.

Both the Duke and the High Priestess turned to look at her.

“I have seen the werewolf,” Rosie continued. “Not only does it possess incredible combat strength, but even an ordinary person can control it... If they can mass-produce them...”

Rosie thought back to her previous life, where a certain beautiful superpower was exceptionally skilled at cultivating factions, supplying weapons, and sowing chaos in other nations' lands to test the real-world combat effectiveness of new weapons through proxies.

Vera picked up the thread. “Then on the battlefield, no nation will be able to withstand an army of werewolves!”

Sylvia sat in her chair, her gaze fixed on the floor, seemingly digesting what she had just heard.

A moment later, she looked up. “I have decided to dispatch Temple Knights to the Kingdom of Norman to investigate. If this is indeed the case, then the Grand Temple will forcibly intervene.”

Her gaze shifted to the Duke. “Your Grace, I hope you will agree to let Miss Vera and Miss Rosie accompany them.”

Vera nodded decisively. “I have no problem with that. However, Rosie is not a member of the Dawnguard. She has her own choice to make.”

The Duke glanced at Vera and nodded as well. “Just as Vera said, Rosie is not one of ours.”

At that moment, several lines of translucent text flashed at the edge of Rosie's vision:

【Optional Adventure Quest: True Lies】

【Quest Objective: Assist the investigation team in uncovering the truth】

【Quest Reward: Unknown】

Rosie did not immediately nod in agreement as she used to.

In the past, she would accept any quest because she was poor and desperate, with nothing to her name and no choice but to take risks.

While her strength had indeed improved significantly, the danger had also been dialed up to the maximum.

Especially for a quest with an unknown reward.

The last time she accepted a quest with an unknown reward was in the gnome ruins, which resulted in her encountering that terrifying War Golem.

If she hadn't had long legs and run fast enough, she might have been reduced to a pile of ashes.

Although that quest reward had transformed her from an illiterate into a linguistics expert, the problem was that she neither conducted academic research nor worked as a translator, making it essentially useless.

Well... it wasn't completely useless. At least it was quite handy when dealing with goblins.

But to have her risk her life again now for an unknown reward? She was rather unwilling.

After all, she could barely be considered wealthy now.

Besides, the waters of Norman were far too deep. While one could catch fish in muddy waters, one could also end up catching an alligator.

Rosie recalled the Third Prince of Norman saying that the Grand Temple had refused to send a High Priest because the King of Norman refused to accept the Temple as the state religion.

Yet now, they were taking the initiative to get involved?

It was the same old saying: an unsolicited offer of help always hides an ulterior motive.

She spoke up, her tone calm but resolute. “I am sorry, but please forgive me for declining. I do not wish to return to a place that has nothing but the cold!”

The Duke did not press further. Rosie had saved his niece and had healed many people with chronic ailments over the past few days.

They, the Dawnguard, owed Rosie a favor.

“I will send my best men to accompany your people,” the Duke said to the High Priestess.

Sylvia glanced at Rosie and nodded slightly. “So be it.”

Rosie said nothing more.

She bowed slightly to the Duke and the High Priestess, then turned and walked out of the hall.

The next morning.

Rosie stood at the keep's gates, watching the group prepare to depart.

The group consisted of Vera, the well-endowed priestess's golden-armored knights, and several skilled members of the Dawnguard.

Even the beastkin Balu was among them.

The beastkin had officially joined the Dawnguard.

He sought to avenge the deceased priest and his beastkin brothers whose fates remained unknown.

Before leaving, Vera and Balu walked over to Rosie to say goodbye.

Vera had changed into practical attire, carrying a new repeating crossbow on her back.

She stepped up to Rosie, looking at her, and said earnestly:

“Rosie, you'll probably be setting off soon as well. Take care on the road. The southern kingdoms are different from the North; watch out for strangers who are overly friendly for no reason.”

Rosie nodded. “You too. Stay safe.”

Balu raised his axe, his voice booming. “I will remember your kindness.”

“Take good care of Vera for me.”

Rosie patted the beastkin's shoulder.

“I will.”

Standing at the gates, Rosie watched as the group's figures moved further and further away along the stone bridge, eventually disappearing at the end of the road on the opposite bank.