This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Rita didn't stay long in the alchemy shop. The moment the minotaur clock started telling another bad joke, she took her leave.

Even though Maple Syrup and the others were probably far too busy to come after her, she couldn't risk being surrounded.

Besides, she wanted to check on Dawn's invasion instance—to see how their descent worked, how fast it was progressing, and whether it differed from Lania Kaia's invasion of BlueStar.

She had barely left when Mistblade appeared in the shop.

Apache had just lit one of the BlueStar-brand cigarettes her apprentice had given her, and Kayden had just cracked open a magically chilled bottle of cola.

Mist gathered in the air, and within it a dark silhouette took shape—nine tails fanning out behind her like a blooming shadow.

Teacher and apprentice froze on the spot.

Mistblade's voice carried no hint of emotion. As always, her tone was elegant and unhurried, every pause measured, her presence regal. "Were the dishes she brought any good?"

Apache choked on her smoke, coughed several times before she could manage, "They stank."

Kayden didn't dare joke the way her teacher did. Unless the Moon Emperor addressed her directly, she had no right to speak. She bowed quickly, cleared the table, prepared Mistblade's preferred drink, and slipped away in silence.

Mistblade didn't pursue the remark. "Dawn has begun its invasion," she said. "From now on, every potion you brew will be requisitioned for the army. Is that acceptable?"

Though phrased as a question, it wasn't one. When the Moon Emperor of Lania Kaia gave an order, refusal was not an option.

Still, for Mistblade to come in person—to ask instead of command—was already a kind of honor.

Apache inclined her head. "Of course. It would be my privilege."

Mistblade added, "Neither you nor your apprentice will be sent to BlueStar's front lines. None of your potions will be used in that campaign. That is my promise."

Apache, who had been staring out the window, turned her gaze back to Mistblade. "And what sort of plan is this? Could you show a little mercy and give me a hint, so I can brace myself?"

The mist began to dissipate. As Mistblade's form faded from sight, her answer lingered in the air. "No conspiracy. Merely keeping the bond strong between Lania Kaia and our future allies."

Apache's hand fell lazily over the armrest, the cigarette burning down between her fingers.

She stared out the window at the street where players hurried past.

BlueStar's Adjudicator… her apprentice really was something.

Kayden was always complaining about war, about how the powerful fought only for their own gain. Apache had once done the same—resented it, hated it. But when she finally stood high enough to see the full picture, she understood the helpless necessity beneath it all.

Because she had come to understand that war never truly ended, she could accept having a foreign-born apprentice without hesitation.

She herself had learned from a siren and a moon fox. So why shouldn't she teach a human?

Alchemy was only alchemy. It couldn't start a war, couldn't end one, couldn't alter its course—or anyone's fate.

...

After leaving the shop, Rita went to the auction house and spent over a hundred thousand gold coins, buying up every material and resource BlueStar was currently short on. She filled her entire Adjudicator's storage before departing.

The dark blue waves curled up around the shape of a ship's wheel, and then a calico vanished into the narrow alley at the edge of Dark City.

She had transferred all of This Cat Right Here's cooldown time onto an owl charm. For as long as she remained in Lania Kaia's capital, she would stay in this form.

If anything went wrong, she could meow once to hard-stun everyone around her, grab the helm, and escape instantly.

Lania Kaia, after the initial chaos, had regained its order. The capital and its surrounding dungeons were now under guard.

Rita teleported straight to the skies near Dragon Island, where players hadn't yet reached.

There, on a floating fragment of stone, she found a dungeon portal. Stepping through, she emerged in the middle of an abandoned town.

After running for several minutes through the instance, she encountered her first "enemy."

It was a humanoid being with silver hair, holding a staff. Around its waist coiled a living vine that shimmered faintly as it moved.

A Vineborne—one of the native races of Dawn.

Each Vineborne was born with a companion vine, and no two vines were ever the same. Every vine carried its own power, its own flower pattern and scent, its own magical signature.

It was said that the vine changed according to its owner's emotions—even its fragrance shifting with their mood.

Dawn-Cicada herself was a Vineborne.

From the shadows, using Hide-and-Seek, Rita examined the creature's stats.

[Greenlight | Level 50 | HP: 100% | MP: 100% | Emotion: Expectation · Excitement | Taboo: A Certain Friend | Weakness: Vine]

Level 50—on the very first day of the invasion.

Rita dropped her disguise. A flash of lightning danced across her palm as she opened her hand. A dagger made entirely of golden thunder materialized in her grip.

It wasn't as strong as Her Dragon, but it far outclassed any normal weapon.

In the next instant, she appeared behind Greenlight. Her dagger swept once, and golden thunder traced her movements through the air like a glowing afterimage.

When Greenlight fell, the golden arcs lingered, hanging like curved blades of light in the air—her attack path etched against the sky.

Only after the second enemy fell did the golden afterimages begin to fade.

She didn't stop until the entire area had been cleared, save for three surviving enemies. Those, she captured and interrogated.

Half an hour later, Rita returned to BlueStar, her face solemn.

The calico with the white-silver scarf had already claimed the backyard as her new kingdom, proudly reigning under B8017913's supervision.

When Rita appeared, B8017913 looked up from the training console. "Was it smooth?"

"The dungeons Dawn descended with start at level fifty," Rita said, explaining what she had found and why she looked troubled. "If Lania Kaia can't hold out and Dawn takes it over, can Dawn then descend into BlueStar?"

B8017913 processed for a few seconds. "I cannot be certain, since the invasion rules have been updated. But typically, when an invasion succeeds, the invading world inherits everything from the world it conquered."

Rita understood immediately. "Meaning Dawn could inherit Lania Kaia's current invasion sequence and continue straight toward BlueStar?"

B8017913's voice was calm. "That is what my calculations suggest."