This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

In addition to her current plans, Rita purchased a few more crucial skills:

- **[Portal] (A-Rank)**: Allows the user to set an anchor point at a specific location. The user can open a portal to that anchor point, but only two portals can exist at any given time. Cost: 1526 gold coins. A steep price, but far more convenient than paying the official transport fees repeatedly. Plus, it doubled as an emergency escape option.

- **[Hunter's Eye] (A-Rank)**: Activates a 50-meter radius in which all living entities are revealed to the user's perception. It drains 100 mana per minute while active. Cost: 817 gold coins. This skill far outshined invisibility potions. Though it didn't reveal names, its accuracy and detection range made it worth every coin, especially for spotting players who might shapeshift, just as she could.

- **[Rain of Hatred] (A-Rank)**: Fires a barrage of energy arrows over a designated area, raining destruction from above for five seconds. Costs 250 mana per use with a three-minute cooldown. Cost: 1279 gold coins. This area-of-effect skill would be useful for her future monster hunting expeditions.

- **[Beast Tongue] (B-Rank)**: Enables the user to understand 27 of the most common animal languages. Cost: 388 gold coins. She had always wanted to know what the cats in her backyard were gossiping about. Plus, it might prove useful for gathering intelligence in the future.

- **[Spider Silk Trap] (F-Rank)**: Deploys a trap that paralyzes and immobilizes targets. Each use consumes three bundles of spider silk. Cost: 17 gold coins. She planned to install this in her villa. While easy to escape from, a little poison mixed in would make it more effective. Spider silk was cheap—only a few copper coins per bundle.

She also spent 3000 gold coins on advanced alchemy materials, 3639 gold coins on new skills, 1000 gold coins on belts, and another 388 on more personal purchases. In the blink of an eye, she had spent 8027 gold coins. If she hadn't made such a big profit recently, she'd never have been able to afford this kind of expenditure.

It became clearer than ever that the high-level players from her past life must have had significant backing from the government. There was no other way to reach this level without institutional support.

She also tried searching the auction house for a book on crafting skill stones but found none. It was likely that creating skill stones was a **Divine Gift** itself. However, there was no need for her to pursue that knowledge now. Her contract with the government provided her with the blank stones she needed, and for her personal use, she could simply exchange stones through internal channels.

Before leaving, Rita found the **[The Witch of Pleasure's Bed]** had dropped in price—down to 19 gold coins. But she couldn't justify buying it. Sure, she had bought it as a wedding gift for Zoey and Rick, but spending that much on Scarlett and Samuel? Absolutely not.

Instead, she found a cheaper alternative: **[The Devil of Delight's Handcuffs] (D-Rank)**, with similar effects for only 2 gold coins. Perfect.

She grabbed some bait for Rick, left the auction house, and swung by a general store to sell off the gear she'd stolen from Levi's group, netting herself 90 silver coins. Afterward, she transformed into a cat, winding her way through the sewer system until she reached the basement of a restaurant.

There, she set her anchor point on the ceiling, reasoning that the ceiling was a blind spot for most people.

With that done, she headed back into the sewers, dispelled her **Disguise**, changed into modern clothing, and crushed the teleportation stone the government had given her.

Upon returning to Blue Star (Earth), her first task was to test her new teleportation anchor. Satisfied that it worked as intended, she set the second anchor point in her villa's rooftop safe room, giving her another quick escape route.

---

Rita was back, and Zoey was caught off guard. After a brief pause, she immediately instructed Rick to find an excuse to invite Rita for dinner. After a moment's thought, she added, "Bring your parents too, if you want."

Rick responded agreeably, "How about a family dinner? I can cook."

Zoey shook her head. "You're the host, why would you cook?"

She was still quite satisfied with Rick. He was good-looking, knew how to please her, and his family was tactful. Aside from the odd habit of always insisting on turning off the lights during intimate moments, he had no real flaws. She had grown quite fond of him, especially after hearing rumors about how valuable luck was in the game.

Rick had a rare full luck stat, which made her even more patient with him.

Rick maintained his pleasant expression, offering a polite "Sure." But once he was alone, his smile faded, and he sat in silence for a while, lost in thought, before sending Rita a message.

- **[Rick]:** *Sis~ I've missed you so much!! How about a family dinner?*

It wasn't just politeness; it was one of the few things Rick genuinely meant. Despite Zoey treating him fairly well recently, she still kept him in the dark about the Lopez family's plans, especially anything related to the game. He didn't even know the exact function of Zoey's **Divine Gift**, much less its rank.

Even after all this time, Rick felt he knew less than the Lopez family's driver or housekeeper.

The more he reflected on this, the more he realized how much Rita had helped him in the past, especially when she'd introduced him to the game.

- **[Rita]:** *Sure! When? I got gifts for everyone too.*

- **[Happy Scarlett]:** *Hehe, darling! I love my gift!*

- **[Sullen Samuel]:** *It's alright, I guess.*

- **[Rita]:** *[Embarrassed Face.jpg]* *You don't need to share *everything* with the kids.*

- **[Happy Scarlett]:** *30 gold coins! Why can't I share my experience with your thoughtful gift? My daughter's got great taste!*

- **[Sullen Samuel]:** *Alright, alright...*

- **[Rita]:** *[Causing Trouble for Society.jpg]*

Rick found himself smiling for the first time in a while as the family chat bustled with activity.

Meanwhile, Rita was busy making food for the cats in her backyard. She had left in mid-December, and it was now nearly mid-January. The cats' loud meowing was a clear sign they were hungry. In the past, she could never understand their incessant cries, but now, thanks to **[Beast Tongue]**, she knew they were cursing her out.

*Maybe I shouldn't have learned this after all...* she mused.

With a blank expression, she prepared **[Roasted Spider Legs]** and a large bowl of **[Fresh Meat Lamb Soup]**, also baking plenty of fish and chicken jerky. She filled every dish in the backyard. She even used **[Fountain of Light]** to create a small well, whose waters had healing properties.

It was great for monsters, and while she wasn't sure if it would benefit the cats, the water tasted great, and she had used it during battles before.

Sure enough, a few cats eagerly ran over to lap up the water, drinking so much they momentarily forgot about eating.

Listening to the cats purr as they ate and drank, Rita lay back on the grass, hands behind her head, enjoying the peace.

Zoey's dinner invite probably came with an agenda. While the players couldn't openly discuss the ability to travel to **Lania Kaiya** due to the contracts, there were always loopholes. The usefulness of **[Another Happy Day]** had likely already spread. Rita doubted no one from the Lopez family had infiltrated the government ranks.

But it was too late. She had already been "forcibly" conscripted by the authorities.