This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Maple Cang sighed. "With that temper of yours... No wonder you managed to awaken Maple Burn. Are you sure about this, Maple Burn?"

Maple Burn replied confidently, "I'm sure, sister. You can leave now. My skill tells me this transaction is reliable. As long as we don't hurt her, she won't go back on her word. Please, don't touch her. Absolutely do not touch her."

Maple Cang couldn't help but laugh. She wanted to retort that she could crush this creature in an instant, but thinking about Maple Burn's peculiar skills, she swallowed her rebuttal and left the room without further delay.

Only then did Maple Burn continue. "Alright, let's proceed."

Maple Cang didn't make a move, which left Rita a bit disappointed. She had already decided to use her Reversal Moment skill on Maple Cang. If Maple Cang had tried anything, Rita could've swapped one of her divine gift skills from Archer with Maple Cang's Cream Cookie skill—one she had been eyeing for a while. Back when she fled after climbing the tower, there hadn't been time to steal it. Now, Maple Burn had ruined the perfect setup.

Rita lamented, "You were really worried about her making a move on me?"

Maple Burn admitted, "Yes. My Superior Sixth Sense tells me that if she attacks you, she'll take a huge loss."

Rita was speechless. She handed the Soul Catcher to Nivalis without further delay.

Half an hour later, Maple Cang, who was resting downstairs, abruptly opened her eyes. She sensed Maple Burn leave the second-floor room and appear in a fifth-floor room in the nine o'clock direction.

Ignoring the six-tailed Moonfox shopkeeper's warning, Maple Cang bolted upstairs, kicking down the door to the room where Maple Burn was supposed to be.

When she reached the window, she saw "Maple Yaa" lying on the floor with her health fully restored. Breathing a sigh of relief, Maple Cang rushed over and shook the unconscious Owlcrow awake. The girl groggily opened her eyes, her expression marked by exhaustion. Her aura was weak, her attributes reduced to only 20% of their original value—classic aftereffects of soul shock, which would take time to recover from.

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But Maple Cang could tell from the girl's eyes that this was Maple Burn, not Maple Cake. She pulled her sister into a hug, her voice full of concern. "No problems, right? How did you end up here?"

Maple Burn blinked in confusion. "Who… are you?"

Maple Cang gave a helpless but indulgent smile. "Don't play dumb."

The confused look on Maple Burn's face melted into laughter. She returned the hug, her voice weak but filled with elation. "I'm alive! Haha! Sister, I'm alive!! But I've lost part of my memory. Everything after I woke up in High Tower is gone."

Maple Cang sniffed the air and picked up several distinct scents of Owlcrow fruit. She had no idea these fruits could be combined to cause such a long-term memory loss. Or perhaps it wasn't just about time; maybe it specifically erased memories related to that mysterious creature.

Either way, she couldn't think of a solution. Beyond the Owlcrow fruits, there were traces of other ingredients she couldn't identify—some resembling fruits, others resembling potion materials.

Sooner or later, when Maple Mu returned home, she would uncover the identity of that strange being. Clearly, the individual intended to keep their activities and skills hidden from prying eyes.

Maple Cang also realized why the creature had moved Maple Burn to a different room. It was an attempt to confirm whether Maple Cang could track Maple Burn herself or just the orange-red wings. The realization made Maple Cang feel both annoyed and amused. Did they really think she needed to deceive such a low-level creature?

She turned to Maple Burn and asked, "Do you still have any records of the transaction? Is the deal still intact?"@@novelbin@@

Maple Burn opened her new game interface. "The transaction is completely finished. Even if Mother comes back, she won't be able to undo it. I don't know what skill they used to make that happen."

Of course, the skill was One-Person Party. The moment Rita revived Maple Burn, she kicked her out of the party. To ensure there had been no deception during their deal, she even used the skill to enforce a "tell-the-truth-or-die" game, confirming that Maple Burn hadn't lied before leaving.

Now disguised as a goblin, Rita strolled the main streets of Moonfox City. All her stats and attributes had temporarily decreased by 30%, leaving her mentally and physically fatigued—classic signs of soul damage.

Still, the deal had been worth it. After reviving Maple Burn, she had immediately used Renovation to check her body. The red glow that had been rooted in her heart from the wings was now gone. Better yet, she'd drawn the Cotton Candy skill she had most desired:

[The First Step to Making Cotton Candy]:

"The first step to making Cotton Candy is to turn sugar into fluff."

When activated, all your offensive skills are converted into healing skills. Damage dealt is transformed into an equivalent amount of healing, capable of restoring both HP and MP. If both HP and MP are full, the excess healing can be used to regenerate lost limbs. Cast time: 0.1 seconds. Mana cost: 500 per use. Duration: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour.

She casually flipped a few gold coins in her hand, thinking back to Maple Cang. For a moment, she had been tempted to use I Just Want to Improve So Badly on her. Maple Cang was clearly collecting World's Tomb fragments.

But the fact that all three Owlcrow Empresses had gone to the World Battlefield on December 15th suggested that this particular campaign was exceptional.

Given the stakes of such a pivotal battle, it was unlikely Maple Cang would still have the World's Tomb fragments on her. She probably had already handed them off to Maple Syrup. The odds of stealing anything useful were slim. Staying behind to gamble on the off-chance of success wasn't worth it—especially since risking her life wasn't part of the plan. Rita's escape during their first encounter had been sheer luck, a result of Maple Cang's underestimation of her. She wasn't about to push that luck.

Killing Maple Burn outright also hadn't been an option. Doing so under these conditions would've brought nothing but trouble.

Walking along the crowded street, Rita casually used her pickpocketing skills on a few unsuspecting Moonfoxes. She reached for the pocket watch hanging on her necklace, checking on her Wrathful Moon skill. It was still upgrading, with 19 days remaining. By January 15th, it would be complete.

Thankfully, the skill was still usable in its current form, so she wasn't in any hurry. While she didn't know what the next upgrade would require, even if it needed Moon Sand, she could afford to trade a little for some new recipes from Lucia.

She wasn't worried about exposing herself. The disappearance of Moon Sand coincided with her group of six climbing the tower, so the Owlcrows were bound to investigate all players involved. Whether she hoarded the Moon Sand or not, suspicion would fall on her either way. Better to use it to gain some resources now.

Just as she was debating what else to buy from Lucia, a chill ran down her spine. Her instincts screamed danger—a predator's gaze locked onto her like a hunter aiming a rifle at its prey.

In situations like this, wasting time looking for the source of the threat was pointless. The best course of action was to leave immediately.

She activated the Arcane Version of Phantom Shift, teleporting herself to a nearby street. The skill lagged briefly before taking effect, and just as she materialized, a deafening explosion erupted behind her. Rita turned to see Mistblade standing where she had been moments ago. The ground beneath Mistblade was cracked like a spider's web, radiating outward from the impact.

Mistblade's gaze lifted, locking onto Rita. Behind her, nine massive fox tails swayed in the air, one of them curling slightly at the tip as if observing her.

Her tight black battle robe was torn in places. The sleeve on her right arm was missing, exposing pale skin marred with jagged wounds. Blood dripped from her elegant fingers to the ground like crimson ink on fine porcelain. Far from appearing weak, the injuries only added to her haunting allure.

With only 3% of her health remaining, Mistblade's eyes still burned with fierce determination and bloodlust. She had clearly just emerged from a brutal battle.