This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

A few minutes later, Rita finally retrieved the books Apache wanted from the potion and handed them over.

Apache immediately stopped pacing and took a seat, grabbing a book to start flipping through it. Once all the books had been soaked, Rita handed over the upper volume of *The Four Seasons of Moon and Potions* as well. "Do you want this one?"

Apache glanced through the book for a few minutes before saying, "It's an intricate and interesting book, but it's too advanced for you right now."

Rita replied, "Oh, the Mistblade Moon Emperor said the same thing. She even recommended this one." With that, she pulled out *Brewing Potions? Isn't That Just a Tail's Job?*

Apache took the book, spent even more time reading it, and nearly got through half before handing it back to Rita. "This one's perfect for you. Study it carefully. When you're done, let me have a look."

After stashing away all the books, Apache turned on her heel and left without looking back. "Come back in a week for your next lesson. I'm busy!"

Rita: "…"

Before assigning the task: *"I promise to impart all my alchemical knowledge until one of us reaches the end of our life's journey."*

After the job was done: *"I'm busy!"*

Hmph! Who would've thought you were this kind of undead, Apache!

…

On the morning of August 30th, at 2 AM, after making sure she had completely rid herself of any lingering scent, Rita finally returned to Earth.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The moment she appeared under the bed, she noticed something that made her hair stand on end—something lying right next to her. She was so startled she almost used **Phantom Shift** to escape, but then she realized it was just Nivalis. With a sigh of relief, she collapsed onto the carpet, exhausted. "You nearly scared me to death."

Nivalis, mimicking her exact posture, spread her wings and kicked her legs out. "I've been waiting for you for ages. Can I come with you next time you go on an adventure?"

Rita raised an eyebrow. "You're bored?"

Nivalis hesitated for a moment before explaining, "Not really bored, just curious about what you're doing every day."

Rita chuckled. "Of course, if you want to come along, you can. The day after tomorrow, I'm going to help someone take down a dragon. Want to come watch? But you'll have to stay hands-off the entire time, okay?"

Nivalis chirped, "Sure! Whatever you say."

Rita, still holding the small dragon, crawled out from under the bed, took a shower, and immediately crashed into bed for some much-needed sleep.

But her peaceful rest was short-lived as she was woken up early in the morning by the game's announcement sound.

**[Ding—We've detected a player making significant contributions to the war between Lania Kaia and Earth, recognized by their nation. The Honorary Player ranking is officially open!]**

**[Ding—Player Rita has entered the Honorary Player rankings. Would you like to conceal your information?]**

Rita, still groggy, instinctively selected **Yes** to remain anonymous.

Was this ranking opening this early in this life?

Rita opened the **National** channel, curious to see what was going on.

**National Channel**

"Seriously, does she think we wouldn't know who she is just because she chose to stay anonymous?"

"Lol, right? I got the text message seconds before the Honorary Player rankings opened…"

"She's on three leaderboards now—Pets, Levels, and now Honorary Player! So strong!"

"But how exactly is the 1000 Honor Points calculated?"

"Is it based on the game system?"

"Maybe it has to be recognized by the country to count?"

"Not necessarily. That might just be a condition to open the Honorary Player ranking. It doesn't have to be that rigid."

"Could it be calculated based on official rewards? Maybe she got 1000 gold coins as a reward?"

"No way, is no one curious about what exactly she did to make such a huge contribution? I'm dying to know!"

"That announcement SMS they sent out was super awkward, though."

Rita: ???

Text message? What text message?

As Rita was about to reach for her phone, her game interface chimed with a flood of private messages. She opened her chat window and saw a wall of unread notifications, with every friend she had messaging her.

She decided to check **Shadow.Q's** message first.

**[Shadow.Q]: The rewards are in! Aside from the text message you'll receive when you wake up, the Special Affairs Bureau will reward you with 1000 dragon-shaped coins, an A-Rank skill book, and 30 uses of a Divine Gift that gives you a chance to increase your attributes.**

Rita fished her phone out from under Nivalis' belly and opened her texts.

**[Public Service SMS]: The Special Affairs Bureau has awarded Rita the title of "Honorary Player," recognizing her for providing crucial intelligence to the Bureau and making significant contributions to the country. She is praised as 'an arrow shot towards Lania Kaia,' and the Bureau encourages the public to follow her example. [Special Affairs Bureau]**

Rita groaned, burying her head in her pillow: *Aaaahhh!!!*

She was going to kill whoever wrote that announcement!

Help! This was even more cringe than "Like Lania Kaia losing its sun!"

She pulled her blanket over her head, covering herself completely.

—Wait a minute!

She quickly threw the blanket off and opened the Honorary Player rankings. Sure enough, there was a single line at the top:

**Name | Country | Honor Points**

**[Anonymous] | Domestic | 1000**

Rita quietly removed her anonymity.

**National Channel**

"Oh? She dropped the anonymity, huh?"

"Wow, if she hadn't revealed herself, we totally wouldn't have guessed who she was~"

"So it was her! The famous arrow of our country!"

"She probably just woke up and didn't realize what was happening, hahaha!"

"Lol, how embarrassing."

"As embarrassing as that line about 'an arrow shot towards Lania Kaia'? Can it get worse than that?"

"Who wrote that script? When it's my turn to get a reward, I don't want that person anywhere near my announcement!"

"Same."

"Same!"

"Same…"

Rita: "…"

She closed the **National** channel and began responding to the private messages in both her game and on her phone.

Her family group chat was buzzing with activity.

**[Samuel: So proud of you, @Rita! You've made your dad proud! I'm so proud of you.]**

**[Scarlett: @Rita, That's my baby! I knew you were special from the moment I was pregnant with you. I had so many dreams about it back then.]**

**[Scarlett: I dreamed of dragons, of phones... and look, it all came true!]**

**[Samuel: You dreamed of ice cream cones, Scarlett. You woke me up in the middle of the night demanding I go out and buy you one!]**

**[Rita: What's the story with the phone?]**

**[Samuel: She just wanted an excuse to upgrade her phone.]**

**[Scarlett: Well, did I or did I not give birth to a legend? Look at how amazing you turned out!]**

**[Rick: The sibling in her belly must be so proud of big sister right now.**]

Rick's message immediately cast an awkward silence over the group chat.

Why wasn't anyone responding? What happened to family warmth?

**[Rita: Haha, absolutely!**]

**[Rita: By the way, did you know? Mom and Dad said the baby will be named Riley.**]

**[Rick: I think "Ricky" sounds better. Don't you agree, @Samuel @Scarlett? Also, why aren't you guys home? Where did you go?**

Rick would've made a great horror movie villain. The guy was creepy.

Of course, Rita wasn't surprised Rick hadn't chased after their parents. With the dragon hunt set for the day after tomorrow, Rick couldn't leave now. He'd probably wait until after the hunt on the 1st to deal with it.

Satisfied with how she had expertly maintained family harmony, Rita happily closed her phone.

With all the major business out of the way, it was time to focus on Sanchez.