This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The moment the knowledge transfer began, Rita felt an overwhelming torrent of noise flood her mind. The side effects of her Absolute Clarity skill became glaringly apparent at that moment. She had no choice but to confront the deafening cacophony and the sheer volume of incoming information. Words like "splitting headache" didn't even come close to describing the pain—she felt as though her brain was being stretched to the breaking point, ready to burst under the pressure of it all.

Thankfully, an Expert-Level skill in its Arcane Form washed over her, dramatically reducing her agony. Taking advantage of the brief window of clarity, Rita quickly applied several buffs to herself using her remaining Arcane Points.

Remarkably, her health wasn't dropping, which meant the Expert-Level skill wasn't just dulling her pain but enhancing her attributes as well. Rita downed 50ml of Daughter's Whiskey, and thanks to the clarity-enhancing effects of Absolute Clarity, the usual drunken side effects of the whiskey were completely nullified.

Under the combined effects of Expert-Level, Daughter's Whiskey, and her buffs, Rita's state began to stabilize. Gradually, she started making sense of the chaotic streams of information filling her mind.

Words began to organize themselves into distinct languages: Fluorish, Otterian, Desertborn, Centaurian, Sharkwood, Tombwalker, Wind Bear, Candlebeast…

Each language carried its own unique structure, rules, and beauty. It wasn't just about words—it was a window into the civilizations that birthed them. Through the languages, Rita felt as though she could glimpse the races themselves, as if their cultures and histories were unfolding before her eyes.

And it wasn't just her imagination—she was sure of it. The more she focused, the clearer the outlines of those races became.

Wind Bear? She paused. Wind Bear?! The creature resembled none other than the Bear Cookies she had baked for Maple Cang in High Tower.

Could it be? Were Bear Cookies actually based on a sentient, intelligent race?

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The knowledge transfer encompassed 666 languages. Oddly enough, though, only Candlebeast represented a Lania Kaia race. None of the 11 other species indigenous to the region appeared in the database. Surely they couldn't all have been included in the 333 languages Maple Syrup had received earlier… Could they?

Rita pressed on, her focus sharpening as she methodically processed the linguistic knowledge. The overwhelming jumble of words and concepts gradually untangled into neat, coherent structures. The more she worked through the knowledge, the more clarity she gained, and the easier the process became.

When she finally broke out of her hyper-focused trance, she realized that it was already December 21st in Blue Star time. Nivalis had stood guard over her the entire time. She didn't know how many Arcane Skills Nivalis had burned through, but she could sense that every few minutes, a fresh Expert-Level skill had been cast to stabilize her attributes, amplifying them tenfold. It was, without a doubt, the key reason she had managed to endure the transfer so smoothly.

As Rita's consciousness fully returned, Nivalis let out a gasp of relief, her voice a mixture of worry and joy. "You're okay now, right?"

Rita saw her own reflection in the crystal-clear eyes of the little jellyfish-like dragon. She pulled Nivalis into a tight hug. "I'm okay now."@@novelbin@@

Nivalis finally relaxed, her tense body melting into Rita's embrace.

Holding her close, Rita gave Nivalis an affectionate squeeze. "I'll make it up to you," she whispered. She'd already done a rough calculation: over the course of five days, Nivalis must have burned at least 700 Arcane Points. Rita didn't say more—she just quietly committed the debt to memory.

Nivalis beamed, tapping her claws against her snout as if to say, I know, I know. Keep it between us—don't let Maple Burn find out.

From the orange-red wings came Maple Burn's weary voice, tinged with frustration and regret. "Happy now?" she muttered, sounding as if she'd just been swindled.

Rita nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. "More or less."

Just the 666 languages alone made it worth the trouble. Maybe it was because she'd stayed fully conscious throughout the transfer, but each language felt deeply imprinted in her memory. She could recall them with ease—reading, writing, speaking, and listening all felt as natural as breathing.

Over the next few days, Rita avoided causing trouble. Between the annihilation of The Lopez Family in S City and The Taylor Family in B City, rumors about the light wings were dominating player discussions. Everyone had something to say about the wings—some positive, some negative—but Rita didn't involve herself. If there were any issues, Eclipse Vanguard would bear the brunt of it.

Instead, she focused on processing the materials for Spring Not Late and experimenting with the Owlcrow fruits she'd gathered. She briefly considered using her Time Manipulation skill to go back and speed up the production of the potion, but the ingredients were all things she carried on her person. She wouldn't have had access to them in an earlier timeline anyway.

As a solution to her growing need for privacy, she used her Cut-Paste skill to relocate a 15-level underwater dungeon with ideal environmental conditions into the second-floor guest room of her villa. It became her personal lab. She could clear it out whenever she wanted, gaining experience and materials while conducting experiments in peace. The only downside was that anything left inside would reset when the dungeon refreshed.

By December 25th, she was ready. Rita transformed into a Wind Scythe for her disguise and doused herself in No Time for Showers spray for extra precaution before heading to Moonlake City.

MoonFox City's architecture was a dazzling display of creativity and artistry. Every building seemed to scream indulgence, as if restraint and moderation were foreign concepts. The vibrant colors and bold designs made the city one of Rita's favorite places to explore, second only to the three main cities of the Moonfox Clan.

Seated by her room's window in a modest inn, Rita watched as little Moonfoxes giggled and ran down the streets below. On the table in front of her, Nivalis—now disguised as a small mongoose—nibbled on a plate of cookies. Rita placed two Bear Cookies on the table to recharge them.

Her mind drifted back to the vision she'd had during the knowledge transfer. She looked at the Bear Cookies thoughtfully and asked, "You said Bear Cookies were something you imagined, right? Then why did I see a species identical to them during the transfer? The Wind Bears?"

Maple Burn sounded confused. "Wind Bears? What's that?"

"They're one of the 666 races, the Wind Bear Clan."

From outside the room, Maple Cang's voice cut in. "Open the door. It's me—your sister."

The door was enchanted with a protective mechanism that would trigger an alarm if forced open. Given that this was a Moonfox city and Maple Cang was already a sensitive figure, she wasn't keen on causing unnecessary misunderstandings. Rita sighed and opened the door to let her in.

Once inside, Maple Cang shut the door and locked it behind her before setting a large wooden crate on the floor.

Rita wasn't about to let the earlier topic slide. She picked up one of the Bear Cookies and asked, "Are these based on the Wind Bears?"

Maple Cang gave the cookie a cursory glance and answered in an offhand manner, "Nope. These are made from real Wind Bears. About a third of the Wind Bears in the universe were turned into Bear Cookies by Mother. She wanted them to be a tribute to Maple Burn. But recently, with all the young Owlcrows running around, the Bear Cookies have been running low."

Rita froze, her fingers tightening around the Bear Cookie. She wasn't sure what she felt—shock at Maple Syrup's ruthlessness, pity for the Wind Bears, or envy for the devotion Maple Burn inspired. Perhaps it was all three.

As Maple Cang began dragging an unconscious Owlcrow out of the crate, she called over to Maple Burn. "When you wake up, you'll have to see the Bear Cookies for yourself. They look exactly like the ones you drew. Mother saw the Wind Bears and immediately decided to turn them into real Bear Cookies to protect all the little Owlcrows. She even prayed for you, hoping you'd be resurrected from High Tower soon."

Maple Burn's voice was soft and tearful. "Mm~."

Rita's gaze fell back to the Bear Cookie in her hand. She could swear that the little bear was crying.

"Can we proceed with the transaction now?" Maple Cang asked, breaking the silence.

Rita calmly pocketed the Bear Cookie. "We can, but step outside first. Come back in an hour. I need enough time to prepare my escape route."