This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 256 Two New Skills

Nivalis: "What happened?"

Rita: "Oh, I just got to know her a bit. We had a lovely chat and became friends."

Nivalis: "That's great. I was worried you'd managed to provoke Mistblade Moon Emperor, and now you've ticked off the next Oak Owl Emperor too. That would be so unlucky, haha."

Rita: ...

This time, it wasn't her fault—she had been as cautious as possible.

Nivalis: "Why aren't you laughing? Was it not funny?"

Nivalis: "..."

Nivalis: "...Okay, you don't need to say it. I get it."

Nivalis: "...Promise me, never mention my name out there."

Nivalis: "You can use my father's name instead. His name is Beisui."

Rita: "Will he save me?"

Nivalis: "He'll make sure you die... gracefully."

Rita: "..."

Life was hard. Rita sighed.

She flew tirelessly between nearby floating islands, taking breaks only to rest on the edges of the islands, transforming into a cat to nap and scout the area. This exploration would let her teleport directly in the future.

During her journey, she finally examined the two Skill Books she had risked her life to grab.

[Thunder Cage] (A-Rank): Create a six-sided cage of lightning to trap a target. When the cage forms, all A-Rank and below teleportation skills are disabled. Each time the target touches the lightning, they are briefly paralyzed. (No cooldown. Mana cost and cast time depend on the cage's size; minimum cost 800 MP.)

[100,000 Volts] (A-Rank): Release a massive surge of electricity, centered on yourself, dealing non-discriminatory electrical damage to all targets within 100 meters. Damage scales with Intelligence. Each strike has a 5% chance of paralyzing targets. (No cooldown. Cast time: 0.1 seconds. Duration: 2 seconds. Each use costs 1500 MP.)

Rita stared at the second skill for a long time before reluctantly deciding to learn both.

- "Has Eclipse Vanguard figured it out yet?"

Eclipse Vanguard had indeed not figured it out.

Shadow.Q had immediately messaged Rita to congratulate her, but it took hours to get a reply.

- Rita: "I was busy escaping. I won't lie—I don't fully understand the Honor Points system myself. You know me. I prioritize what matters."

Hearing that, neither Shadow.Q nor the Special Affairs Bureau pushed further. They trusted Rita's judgment on major issues.

Shortly after Rita's escape from Maple Cang, Nivalis emerged from her pet space to join her in Lania Kaia. She had already fed all the cats in the yard and brought plenty of food for Rita.

After hearing the full story of how Rita had offended Maple Cang and acquired a new Mahjong tile—[Nine Bamboos]—Nivalis immediately empathized.

Slapping her little legs, she cried, "Why Nine Bamboos?! How do you even play with that?"

Rita clapped her thighs in agreement. "Right?! Who designs this stuff?"

Neither of them understood the true purpose of the tiles, but that didn't stop them from analyzing strategies and theorizing gameplay.

Rita and Nivalis stayed on the floating islands near Everbright City for three days before the red glow on her skin finally faded. Rita then disguised herself as a goblin, collected her usual daily 3 Gold, and returned to Everbright City with an invisible Nivalis in tow.

She made a point to stroll past the 10-meter-long Wanted Board, scanning it with feigned casualness. Unsurprisingly, there was now a bounty for [Mistveil], the Fogtail Moonfox. The poster featured a slyly grinning Mistveil, with a bounty of 3000 Gold for capture—alive.

Beside it was another poster for [Cookie], the little Oak Owl, but the bounty was much lower at 100 Gold—likely because they assumed Mistveil's true identity was Cookie.

Rita stared in silence.

From her perch atop Rita's goblin head, Nivalis remarked, "Let me guess: those 'sisters' you mentioned before—the ones you said had no hope—were all 'like this,' weren't they?"

Rita sighed. "Yeah... pretty much."

Nivalis, already small, shrank herself further and whispered, "Can you come up with a stage name for me? I'm scared."

Rita retorted, "What good would a stage name do? You're the only little dragon in Lania Kaia. As soon as they post your photo, everyone will know it's you. You don't even have transformation skills. Just breathe deeply and try to unlock a shapeshifting ability. Then I can bring you on my adventures."

Nivalis puffed out her chest proudly. "I look a lot like my mom. She was an Ice Dragon too. If I dress up, I could pass for her! Oh, by the way, her name was Holy Grail—the most beautiful and powerful dragon in the lair."

Rita: ...