This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Her only chance at survival was to leave—and not just leave, but take the initiative.

She remembered every beginner's tip clearly. The last one stated: "The Game of Gods balances fun with fairness." She didn't believe the game would weaken stronger players. If the rewards obtained through effort and risk couldn't be converted into strength, all the hardships players endured would lose their meaning.

However, the game also had to account for fairness when experienced players encountered rookies entering for the first time. Otherwise, the game would become monotonous, with early players eternally reigning at the top and newcomers relegated to the bottom.

The gods would never allow such a dull scenario.

She hadn't completely lost yet.

After leaving the hut, Rita saw many Blue Team players. However, they all seemed to have heard about Frenzied Shark being on the Red Team. Not a single one approached to escort her. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Some aliens looked like they wanted to gamble on a win, but after assessing her combat strength, their expressions turned disappointed.

Their reasoning was sound—Frenzied Shark, bound by tier protection, couldn't directly kill lower-tier players. But all it would take was a single under-10th-tier Red Team alien breaking through the line, and Rita wouldn't stand a chance.

Rita held back her anger. Logically, she knew their decision was correct, but as the sacrificial pawn, she couldn't help but feel furious.

Nivalis shared her indignation, muttering about how these aliens had no sense of worth. "Not even the courage to fight or take risks! So much for the so-called geniuses of the races. Pathetic!"

One woman, one dragon—unapologetically biased and equally stubborn. Truly a perfect match.

Rita turned to Nivalis. "Go back to the space for now."

After sending Nivalis away, Rita remained invisible and flew high into the sky, observing the oasis. On the other side, a red light pillar pierced the dome. Two overlapping red beams were visible, one already moving—clearly the Red Team's Flagbearer.

She memorized the location of the stationary red beam.

Pulling out her lantern, she rewound time by 16 minutes. Suddenly, she understood why the game helpfully provided time data—it was likely to encourage the use of time-related tools, making the game more dynamic and enjoyable.

Time reversed without a single second wasted. Rita flew directly toward the Red Team's throne as quickly as possible.

On her way, some aliens paused to watch her, but since it was still the Safe Zone, they couldn't attack. Besides, seeing her use a time tool to participate in the game confused them—were they even on the same team as her? After a moment of curiosity, they dispersed.

Rita reached the Red Team's throne without interference. It was empty, but the hardest part was just beginning.

When she left the current timeline and rewound time, the blue beam from her flag disappeared. Any Red Team alien seeing this would immediately suspect where it had gone. When she returned to the correct timeline, she'd likely face every Red Team alien waiting for her.

She summoned Nivalis. "Give me a shield—[Death Counterattack]."

Nivalis didn't hesitate. Pouring her energy into the skill, she encased them in [Death Counterattack], an A-rank ability similar to the Fire Spirit's [This Is Royalty (Passive)]. It blocked one fatal blow but offered no other benefits and disappeared after use. With all the aliens here capable of killing her instantly, it would at least buy her one second.

Prepared as much as possible, Rita took a deep breath. Her only option was to leverage her single advantage to its fullest.

She began writing in the sandy hut, using her fingers as pens to carve the same sentence in as many languages as possible:

"Let me win this round, and I'll translate one rule for everyone present."

At Level 16, she could only stay in the past for 16 minutes. Flying here had already cost her 2 minutes, leaving her 14 minutes to write. At a rate of three sentences per minute, she could write in over 40 languages—enough to be noticed.

Nivalis pitched in, adding the message in Maple Tongue and Dragon Tongue.

Time flew by. When Rita sensed her time running out, she stowed the lantern back into the [Magician's Wisdom Tooth] just in case.

As she finished the last sentence, a suffocating pressure surrounded her. Shadows fell over the hut as the previously empty room filled with aliens.

Rita and Nivalis felt a chill down their spines as they crouched on the ground.

Without missing a beat, Rita began broadcasting her message in an unwritten language while scanning the room. Nearly every Red Team alien seemed to be present, with even more outside.

At the forefront stood Frenzied Shark.

The Shark Abyss race didn't resemble actual sharks. Frenzied Shark was tall and strikingly handsome, standing at least two meters tall. He had gray eyes and hair, with thick, wild locks trailing nearly to his heels—more like a beast's fur than human hair.

From behind, Frenzied Shark might easily be mistaken for a massive, upright gray bear.

Rita had no time to be intimidated. Summoning all her courage, she pushed toward the throne while shouting her offer again in Shark Abyss Tongue. Of course, she wasn't a clueless rookie—she added honorifics this time.

Frenzied Shark: "…"

Finally, Rita plopped onto the Red Team's throne, which began to turn blue. The blue light climbed skyward, marking her territory.

Exhausted and hoarse, she could barely catch her breath.

Nivalis puffed out her chest proudly, standing tall on Rita's shoulder. But they were surrounded inside and out by aliens ranging from 7th-tier to Frenzied Shark himself at 19th-tier.

All eyes were on Rita and Nivalis, cold and predatory—like sizing up prey.

Rita switched to other languages she knew, trying to engage with the aliens present.

No one attacked. They all waited silently, clearly intrigued by her deal.

After all, the goal of this game was to decipher one rule. If they could gain that reward directly from this rookie, why bother attacking?

A scrawny, withered alien of the Graveyard Race broke the silence. "What if I order you to translate everything you understand for us?"@@novelbin@@

Rita stared at the alien and responded firmly, "I only promise that the first rule I translate for you will be honest—because that's my price for staying alive."

She had leverage and confidence. Even if these aliens could easily kill her, her bargaining chip was too valuable to give away freely. The rarer the commodity, the firmer she had to stand her ground. Even if it meant dying here, she wouldn't cave.

More importantly, translating just one rule was her safest option.

She had lost 4 Constitution points from a single rule violation. Here, rules were both constraints and vulnerabilities. Knowing too many of an opponent's rules would only hasten her demise.