This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Both Rita and Mistblade were clearly satisfied with their previous trade—neither side lost out, or else Mistblade wouldn’t be sitting next to her now, picking a fight.

And knowing Rita’s cleverness, if she had truly wronged Mistblade to the point where she couldn’t be forgiven, she wouldn’t have stuck around in the alchemy shop, letting Mistblade corner her.

So, either both of them had their own plans, or they were hoping to cooperate again.

Rita probably had something that Mistblade was interested in, something the latter couldn’t get through unconventional methods and had to resort to a trade.

Thinking back to the questions Rita had asked before, she even started to wonder if Mistblade had been the one who had brought it up herself.

Rita secretly stole a few glances at Mistblade, but saw no sign of hostility, which made her breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

Once they were done with their work, Apache and Kayden went off to count the gold coins, leaving the second-floor research room to Mistblade and Rita.

Mistblade didn’t want to argue about the loopholes in their previous transaction. She found it too embarrassing, so she decided to start a new trade instead to regain face. As soon as Rita and Nivalis sat down, she said, "I have information about other worlds, but it’s 100g of Moon Sand per piece."

"…" Rita cleared her throat. "Actually, I don’t have to buy it."

Mistblade sneered. "I traveled all this way and wasted an entire day of my time, and you’re telling me you don’t want to buy it?"

Nivalis, who had turned into a cat, lifted her head from her milk cup and said, "Why are you forcing a sale?"

Mistblade stared at Nivalis for a few seconds, then remembered the curse that had once echoed on the battlefield. She silently crossed out one of her trade options, took out her hamster Kabbalah, and placed it on the table, softly saying, "Go play."

For a moment, Rita had the strange feeling that she was at a single-mother’s support group.

But undeniably, she could feel a strong sense of humanity from Mistblade.

It was a contradiction—she would wage wars on entire worlds alongside the Holy Tribes for the sake of the World Graveyard, yet she wasn’t a bloodthirsty, cold-blooded person.

She would trade with PhantomDancer for the World Graveyard, seek revenge for PhantomDancer, and even worked as a school dean before.

Rita’s thoughts drifted. If BS became successful one day and needed more World Graveyards, what choice would she make?

What if one world’s World Graveyard was taken by players from another world, what would happen to that world?

Mistblade tapped the table. "Do you really think I won’t kill you?"

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Rita snapped back to reality and immediately apologized sincerely. "Sorry! I was just thinking about the future of Blue Star... I worry I won’t be able to do it as well as you."

Moon Emperor smiled.

Rita sighed in relief. The reason she chose Mistblade over Maple Syrup was because Mistblade was easy to deal with.

Well, no, Mistblade Moon Emperor wasn’t exactly easy to deceive. She wasn’t a fool. Rather than being easy to manipulate, Mistblade had a bit of innocence beneath her noble, dazzling exterior.

She would get angry if the potions she personally crafted were carelessly discarded at the auction house. She’d be happy to hear others praise the rare magical potion materials she got, and she’d invent something like [Moonlit Night Song] when she felt wronged by a few losses, just to see who owed her something.

On the other hand, after the incident with the Autumn Bear and Zoey, Rita was actually more afraid of Maple Syrup.

Rita placed 5g of Moon Sand in front of Mistblade. "Sorry, I genuinely want to trade with you, but I can’t afford your price. This is to make up for wasting your trip."

Oh my, Mistblade smiled again.

Nivalis had already run over to nuzzle Mistblade’s hand, which triggered Kabbalah the hamster to jump up and bite at Nivalis.

Mistblade waved the box of Moon Sand in her hand. "Help me curse a Candle Barbarian, and I’ll tell you how to get to other worlds."

There were three empty slots for curses. One was for emergencies, one was for Winter Sea’s Frenzied Shark, and Rita had one curse left to use.

But she really didn’t want to make enemies for herself.

Rita’s expression didn’t change much as she asked, "May I ask who this Candle Barbarian is?"

Mistblade replied, "One of the Candle Barbarian kings from Fragmented Color City, Fat Goose."

"…" For a moment, Rita thought her translation device had malfunctioned, but "Candle Barbarian king" was such an odd phrase that she didn’t have time to question if the name was a joke. She responded, "Well, if you really want to kill me, you can just do it now... I don’t currently have any plans to offend the Candle Barbarian king."

Mistblade: "Hmm, you don’t plan to offend Fat Goose, but you’ve been planning one offense after another against me."

Rita: "…" You see? You’re just being unreasonable again!

Mistblade: "You can blame the curse on me, say it was my request."

Rita still wore a face of reluctance.

Mistblade: "I’ll teach you how to travel to other worlds, how to make [Moonlit Night Song], and I’ll translate the rules of three games for you."

Rita didn’t need [Moonlit Night Song]. In fact, she wished that gemstone didn’t even exist.

Rita asked, "Could we trade for a different gemstone?"

Mistblade, visibly irritated, took a slow breath. "You’re being too audacious…"

Rita quickly added, "I’ve already learned how to make your invention, [Spring Not Late]. I want to learn a more advanced gem, something with even more alchemical beauty!"

Saying that, she took out a complete version of [Spring Not Late] that she had made herself and showed it to Mistblade.

She was betting that someone might feel offended if others learned their invention, but others would be pleased if their creations found a worthy successor.

She was betting that Mistblade, who had once taught [Spring Not Late] to a random goblin in exchange for a World Graveyard, would be the latter—someone who appreciated talent instead of jealousy.

Mistblade’s eyes flickered. She picked up the [Spring Not Late] and examined it for a moment before setting it down, her expression unreadable.

After a long silence, the Moon Emperor finally took out a small blue glowing orb, like a Poké Ball, and said, "A high-level gem, [Last Night’s Star]. When used, it can store time. The stored time can be used to offset the cooldown of any skill. The current maximum is 24 hours."

She paused for a moment and then looked directly into Rita’s eyes. "In terms of practicality, it doesn’t compare to Apache’s [Melted Time]. In terms of rank, it doesn’t compare to [Moonlit Night Song] or [Spring Not Late]."

"No... no no no!" Rita frowned at first, but the more she thought about it, the more intrigued she became. She sat up straighter, even leaning slightly forward, her excitement bubbling over.

"Time can be stored? At the advanced stage, you can store up to 24 hours, but what if you research it to the end? What if I can store a person’s entire life in it? This would be far more valuable than [Moonlit Night Song] or [Spring Not Late]!"

Mistblade suddenly laughed, a soft, almost imperceptible "hmph," but it was undeniably a smile.