Veronica groaned, shooing away some woodland critter that was playing near her face.

  A sharp gasp tore from her lips as her eyes flew open a moment later; her chest heaved as if she had just resurfaced from a long, deep swim.

  Her eyes went wide, despite the haze still in them. She became highly alert, scanning around her. Enemies? Demons?

  But it was none of that.

  Conscious again, she was greeted by a dense canopy of green; the sunlight peeked through in fractured beams through branches and leaves. She caught a glimpse of a squirrel scurrying away and climbing up a nearby tree.

  The next thing Veronica felt was the chill. A biting, invasive cold that prickled at her skin and sent a shiver down her spine. She stirred, groaning softly, the damp forest floor beneath her, digging into her arms and legs.

  Her head throbbed as fragments of memory surged forward: the device, the crackling energy, and the last surge of mana as she activated it. She remembered the demon’s laughter, her own blood pooling at her feet, and then—nothing.

  Her fingers clawed into the soft, cool dirt beneath her. Every movement felt strange and unfamiliar, but at the same time… it didn’t. Her hands trembled as she stared at them, smaller and softer than they should have been, free of any calluses, scars, and wrinkles. Panic continued to rise as her gaze swept downward at herself, taking in the strangely youthful and bare, unmarred skin of her body.

  Something is wrong, she thought, echoing in her mind.

  At only 34, the burden of her twin mana cores had aged her drastically; her body, frail and aching, mirrored that of a woman thirty to forty years her senior. But right now? This wasn’t the case at all.

  Her breath quickened as she ran her fingertips up along her arms. Her hands then smoothly traced down from her shoulders, her sides, down her thighs, and reached her feet. She didn’t feel the hardness of stone. Only the softness of flesh. Finally, she placed her hand cautiously, but delicately, on her chest, feeling for the wound left by the demon Xertal.

  It was gone.

  Her chest was whole and complete, skin unbothered, like she had never been impaled in the first place. Her skin was the light tan that she had always recognized, but she still had to make sure of one thing. Slowly, her fingers drifted up, brushing against her cheeks, before finally touching the pointed tips of her ears.

  That had confirmed it. The device had worked, but it had done more than send her back in time; it had stripped her of her body, leaving her in her younger past self.

  She leaned back. A smile formed on her face. A small chuckle came, before turning into a series of laughs.

  It was ridiculous. It had actually worked. All of the hope she placed into the device. All the hope she placed into Martin. It all came true.

  Xertal's ugly, demonic form came to her mind. She grinned. "Serves you right, bastard."

  She expected coming back in her older body, not regressing down to a younger one. But, it didn't really matter. It was only a small detail that could be ignored. All that mattered, was that she was back and alive.

  And then the cold hit her again, sharper this time. As her mind cleared up the confusion and disorientation, she took one final look at herself and realized something.

  Her clothes were missing. No robes, no undergarments, nothing. The device had sent her hurtling back in time, and placed her naked, sitting in a forest.

  She covered her chest, swinging one arm over herself. Her gaze darted between the trees for any sign of movement. No one seemed to be nearby; there was no rustling, no voices, no wandering eyes. Still, it felt wrong to stand naked in the open.

  She stood up in a crouch, slipping over to a nearby bush large enough to cover herself. At least, from the front. Her eyes scanned the forest floor, trying to find if her clothes had been scattered anywhere.

  There were nothing but twigs and leaves.

  She sighed.

  A question begged at her mind: where were her clothes?

  “Great,” she muttered, her voice trembling with a mix of frustration and disbelief. “What the hell is going on…? I’m younger now, but where are my robes? And…” She looked around where she had just woken up. Her staff was also missing. She scowled. The absurdity of it all was almost too much to bear.

  Why am I in the forest and not in the middle of Annesheim?

  “Though, I should be glad I didn’t wake up in the middle of the city square…” she chimed in on her own thoughts.

  Seeing that no one was around, she stood up. How long had she been out? It couldn't have only been a few minutes. Maybe hours, no more than days if she judged correctly. The fact she was alive meant there wasn't anything around immediately hostile to her.

  She was safe, for now. But still, she kept her guard up. The splitting headache hurting her however, made it slightly difficult to think straight.

  Her eyes trailed down her body again and noticed something odd.

  There were no scars or calluses on her arms. The stone was gone; that much was obvious. But even when she was younger, the curse had already spread. But now? Her skin? Her flawless skin?

  She let go of her chest and began to probe around her body again. Pressing her thumbs to the top of her thighs.

  “No… not here,” she murmured.

  For a whole minute, she pressed down hard on her skin—her neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, hips, thighs, calves, even her feet.

  “Where...?”

  There was no stone. No patches of hardness. She couldn’t remember exactly when the curse had begun to appear. Growing up, it had started as small spots, like pebbles buried beneath her veins. Maybe that was where it was now, and she had simply forgotten when the gray first began to break through.

  Surely… surely it’s…

  She couldn’t form complete thoughts; a numbing headache was still pounding in her head.

  Her body looked like it was in its late teens or early twenties. By then, the curse should have already progressed significantly. But that wasn’t the case.

  Had she forgotten?

  Little by little, did the realization creep in.

  Medusa’s Curse—it was gone. There was no stone left in her body.

  “No… there’s no…” she whispered, scarcely able to speak.

  She ran her fingers across her arms one last time, pressing gently into flesh that was soft and alive. This feeling—she had missed it since she was young. She could actually feel again. Warm, responsive skin. Not the lifeless cold of hardened stone. Her eyes watered, but she refused to let a tear fall.

  The curse that had tormented her for her entire life was gone. Completely.

  She remembered how, by the 8th-tier, magic had pushed her body so far that her right arm had hardened entirely. But now?

  Now she felt normal.

  Her body could move freely. Her sensations had come back. She could feel like everyone else again.

  A wide, genuine smile spread across her face. She laughed. A long, real laugh. Her mind reeled with the absurdity of it all. The curse that had ruined her life—gone. All the suffering, all the effort she’d endured just to survive, erased in an instant.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Then something abruptly pulled her from her thoughts.

  A voice.

  [Welcome back, Veronica Everwells.]

  She jolted, her heart leaping up in her chest. Eyes wide, she spun around instinctively, scanning the trees, the underbrush, the canopy above. But the forest remained quiet and empty.

  Then, she remembered that she was still naked.

  Veronica crouched back down, pressing herself closer to the leaves of the bush. She folded her arms tight across her chest and lowered her head until only her eyes peeked through.

  Her vision was still hazy.

  This damn headache...

  Too many things had happened in the last ten minutes. From being impaled, to realizing that a lifelong curse was gone. Now, on top of all of that, she had to deal with a peeping tom? Or perhaps it was an enemy. Tensing, she focused as hard as she could to reel her mind back into reality.

  “Who’s there?!” she called out, voice filled less with panic, but moreso irritation. Her eyes darted between the trees, scanning for enemies. She stayed completely silent, mind reeling but still attentive.

  Was it a demon? No, that couldn't be. She was about to pull on her mana, prepared to incinerate the entire clearing; she couldn't take chances and hesitate. That was until the voice came again. But this time, a semblance of clarity found its way to her thoughts before she unleashed her magic.

  [Do not be alarmed, Veronica.]

  The voice was calm, precise, but, more importantly, mechanical. It seemed unbothered by her flustered state. The voice was also strangely reminiscent. It reminded her of someone. Of something. Resonating deep within her head.

  “W-what? You’re…” she muttered, slowly raising her head again.

  She recognized the voice. But it sounded different. It wasn’t spoken aloud, but directly in her mind.

  [Your assumption is correct. I am a Sentient Arcane Guidance Engine. You may refer to me as SAGE.]

  “Why… why are you in my head?” And actually—where’s the device you were in?”

  [Following synchronization during temporal displacement, my core matrix was integrated directly into your mana lattice. Physical housing is no longer required.]

  She blinked. It took her a second to even begin unpacking that.

  “You’re in me?” she asked slowly. “Like… part of me now?”

  [Affirmative. I now operate as a fused magical-intelligence entity.]

  [Current status: passive support mode.]

  [Awaiting directives.]

  Veronica’s breath stopped.

  So, the device had activated. Not only that, but the process had bound it to her.

  Of course. Of course it had.

  Because surviving a spear to the chest and waking up in the past with a restored body wasn’t complicated enough. She let out a long, slow breath and leaned back into the bush, her hands still firmly clasped over her chest.

  “... You couldn’t have at least kept my clothes intact?”

  [Temporal reversion did not preserve non-biological materials. Clothing, accessories, and external possessions were not deemed essential for continuity. This includes the previous housing unit.]

  “Not deemed essential?” she muttered. “Tell that to the bush I’m hiding in.” There was a pause. The forest rustled slightly with the passing wind.

  Veronica shuddered.

  “What... what happened while I was out? I’m assuming the device worked and I got sent back in time,” she asked.

  [That is correct. Before your body died due to Xertal’s fatal blow, your soul and consciousness were able to successfully travel back in time and integrate with your past self.]

  “That’s good,” Veronica said, standing up slowly. She was back. In a world that wasn't ruined by demons and devastation.

  First things first, was to assess where she was, and the time. Surveying the area was never her strong suit, but she still had to do it.

  She focused hard, past the thrumming headache, and moved her hands, waving them down her body. She waited.

  And waited.

  Nothing happened.

  Veronica panicked. What?

  “Sage, what happened to my mana? Why… why is it all gone?!”

  Was her mind still in disarray?

  She felt inside herself. Her mana reserves were pitifully small. She probably couldn’t even cast a tier-2 spell correctly.

  [Magical attributes seem to have been reset to match with this timeline's current body. Further analysis will be needed to confirm.]

  “What? But I was a third-tier mage when I was 12. Yet I feel like I’m not even a Tier-1 mage right now. Why does it feel like this body is completely un-attuned?” She looked back at her hands, and then the rest of her body. It was obvious just looking at herself that she wasn’t that young. She should have been a fifth-tier by now, at least.

  [Apologies, but there is insufficient data for me to offer a precise explanation. Temporal reversion has caused various anomalies within your body. This includes the absence of Medusa’s curse. The exact application of how time-travel affected you is still unknown, but may be the result of several combined phenomena.]

  Her jaw clenched. “Inaccurate? I feel like you're just making things up,” she muttered. “And of course. Why wouldn’t that be the trade? Strip away the curse—fantastic. But while you’re at it, just erase over thirty years of growth and training, too.”

  [Due to the loss of my previous housing unit, I have also lost the primary power source sustaining me. I am currently being powered by your own mana system and operating in low-power mode. Many of my functions are currently limited. I can, however, display your current status and attributes, if you would like.]

  “Status?”

  At the mention of the word, something jumped out at her. A transparent panel, hovering with information right before her eyes.

  Name: Veronica Everwells

  Current Tier: Tier-0 Mage

  -

  Primary Path: Unattuned

  Secondary Path: Unattuned

  -

  Mana: 200/200 MU

  Mana Regeneration: 20 MU/hour

  -

  Quests:

  Attune to a path and achieve Tier-1

  Form a Tier-1 Mana Ring

  “Sage? What is this?” Veronica looked at the screen. It moved with her vision. Her hand even went through the projection without interrupting it.

  [These are your current stats that I have compiled, showing information I deem relevant for your knowledge.]

  Her eyes narrowed as she read each line. Her brows creased as she read the portion about her mana. “What is MU?”

  [MU stands for Mana Unit.]

  “That metric doesn’t tell me anything,” she said.

  [Apologies.]

  And that was it. Just a simple apology, and no further elaboration. An MU, was probably some fake metric that it had come up with.

  She continued reading. “What are these quests you have listed?”

  [These are what I suggest you work towards if your goal is to prevent the demon invasion.

  Martin designed my primary function to assist, and these quests, as outlined, will prove to be the best goals to strive towards so you can reach Tier-10 once more.]

  Martin… always doing unnecessary things, she thought.

  “Why are they called quests? Wouldn’t these just be goals?”

  [They are called quests because I have rewards available to you after their completion.]

  Veronica arched an eyebrow. “What kind of rewards?”

  [There are many quest rewards. These include new spell formulas, methods, or magical techniques. Such as double casting or buffering spells.]

  Veronica’s eyes went wide with shock. “Wait… you can help me double cast? That’s an advanced technique that even I never learned how to do. People who can double cast say it takes intense focus and abnormal mental strength. Martin was actually holding out on me? Why can’t you just give that stuff to me now?”

  [Affirmative. There are several rewards available that only I, as a Sentinel Arcane Guidance Engine, can assist you with. Many functions, however, require more energy than is currently available in low-power mode. Most quests will also require stress-testing your capabilities before they can be safely unlocked. Consider these not as quests, but more as prerequisites. I need sufficient data collection on your current growth state to perform the necessary upgrades.]

  “Alright… if you say so.”

  If what Sage was saying was true, then this would prove to be extremely useful. Double casting was something that required an immense amount of focus to generate two simultaneous spells at full efficiency. Just achieving the skill to double cast Tier-1 spells was a rare feat. And there were even more rewards aside from that?

  Maybe technology wasn’t that bad after all.

  She had several people who assisted her in the future. A personal chef who managed her meals. An assistant who reminded her of daily tasks and took care of finances. Most things, she didn’t really need to think about.

  And now—she even received a helper in magical achievement? It seemed almost too good to be true.

  “Alright. Then what kind of rewards can you give me once I reach the 10th tier again?”

  [The rewards are calculated as you progress and are not determined beforehand, except for a few select options. 10th Tier is too far for an accurate reward estimation at this stage.]

  -

  [However, with a 8% confidence, one such late-stage reward may include a new synthetic attunement path. One besides the main and secondary paths you choose. A tertiary path.]

  “What?!” she exclaimed, standing up reflexively. She immediately covered herself and crouched again. “You can just make up a third attunement path?!”

  [Hypothetically. Further growth and data is necessary to raise confidence coefficient.]

  Veronica’s mouth stayed wide open for a few moments longer, stunned at the statement. But it didn’t stay that way for long.

  [Veronica, there appears to be a group of humans being attacked by a monster 400 meters east.]

  “What? There is?” Her eyes scanned the area again. She was about to levitate and fly up, until she realized she couldn't.

  [Likelihood coefficient is at 62%. It appears they are losing and may require immediate assistance.]

  Veronica stood instead, feet on the ground. Her expression turned serious. Her clothes could wait until later.

  “Lead the way.”

  It had been so long since she'd seen survivors. She couldn't just let people die purposely if she could help it.