This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The impact of these words was immediate—cutting through most trash talk with an overwhelming sense of disdain and impatience.

If Winter Sea Frenzied Shark truly became angry now, it would only prove that he was being unreasonable.

After taking a few deep breaths, Winter Sea Frenzied Shark kicked the Hatred Thorns that was curled up at his feet.

It had been a long time since they'd last met, and now Hatred Thorns had transformed completely. The first time they encountered it, it was a massive, dense thicket of thorns—like a small forest in itself. Back in the desert, it had trapped Rita and Nivalis. Rita believed that, back then, it hadn't even shown its full potential.

Now, however, Hatred Thorns seemed to have become something even more dangerous.

The thorns gleamed brilliantly, like shiny metal, casting an almost artistic glow. Even though its form had shrunk to the size of a full-grown cat to facilitate movement, it still exuded an intimidating aura.

Nivalis, excited, jumped out of Rita's embrace and flew toward Hatred Thorns. "Give it here."

Hatred Thorns didn't speak. Instead, it extended one of its thorns toward Nivalis, who placed her dragon claw on it. Without knowing how they communicated, Rita watched as blood poured from the thorn into Nivalis' body.

Although this act would cause a significant loss of dragon blood—blood taken from both Winter Sea Frenzied Shark and Nivalis herself, as well as some acquired from a past trade with Lania Kaia Pine Bloom—it was necessary. If it wasn't done, every time Nivalis came into contact with another living being's blood, she would feel the excruciating pain of cramping, flaying, and boiling blood, leaving Hatred Thorns unable to fight.

The two stood by, watching patiently as the process unfolded.

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Finally, Winter Sea Frenzied Shark spoke up. "I'll let you off for one starsea year without cursing me or Hatred Thorns. Name your price."

Rita felt a shock. This was a very delicate moment. She looked up at Winter Sea Frenzied Shark and noticed his eyes were filled with a mix of anger and a touch of madness.

It was an unspoken warning between intelligent individuals. "Yes, I can reclaim my talent within one starsea year."

It was Winter Sea Frenzied Shark's declaration of war—his challenge. He was daring her: "Do you dare to not curse me in the next starsea year and instead, use the chance I gave you to secure my talent without resorting to destructive methods?"

Even after losing his talent to BS Rita, he still looked down on her—seeing her as a rookie who had only managed to steal it through her trickery and his own moment of carelessness.

Without that talent, she probably wouldn't even dare step foot in the world battlefield anymore.

Winter Sea Frenzied Shark didn't want to use such obvious provoking tactics, but the curses from BS Rita had caused him so much trouble that he could no longer endure them.

The curse had not only made him and Hatred Thorns' lives miserable, but it had also begun to strain their relationship.

"Every seven days, he will die from having his blood drained by his pet, unless Frenzied Shark feeds his own flesh and blood to a hundred strange beasts, letting them feast until they're full. Only then will the curse lift."

It was a wicked curse.

Even though Winter Sea Frenzied Shark had resurrection skills, they couldn't be used often.

Feeding a hundred strange beasts until they were full was no easy task. These creatures had enormous appetites, and even the smallest ones would require him to bleed and cut his flesh many times over just to satisfy their hunger.

If it weren't for the over one hundred healing skills he had, feeding a single beast would have meant dying at least once.

Even with his strong willpower, the process was agonizing and impossible to repeat too often.

This made breaking the curse a long and difficult journey.

Given these circumstances, the most cost-effective option was... to kill Hatred Thorns before the curse took effect! Then, when he needed Hatred Thorns' assistance again for the world battlefield, he could simply revive it.

After one or two deaths, Hatred Thorns would understand. Even though it would become weaker and lose some attributes after each death, Winter Sea Frenzied Shark would compensate.

But after the seventh or eighth time...

Winter Sea Frenzied Shark looked down at Hatred Thorns.

Hatred Thorns' power came from hatred, and to evolve, it needed sufficient hate.

Winter Sea Frenzied Shark had once worried about Hatred Thorns' inability to evolve, but after repeatedly killing it, something changed. Even though Hatred Thorns didn't show any obvious signs, it had started evolving.

This deep hatred... was it aimed at BS Rita, or was it directed at him, Winter Sea Frenzied Shark?

He didn't dare think too deeply about it, and he certainly didn't want to.

In fact, when BS Rita's second curse had prevented Hatred Thorns from evolving, he was secretly relieved.

Seeing that BS Rita had yet to answer, Winter Sea Frenzied Shark added, "What do you want?"

Rita frowned. She was torn between converting her resources into strength or continuing to weaken Winter Sea Frenzied Shark.

It wasn't until Nivalis stepped away from Hatred Thorns and spoke to her, "It's done."

Rita nodded. "Everything good?"

Nivalis replied, "All good."

At the same time, Rita felt another curse from the "Ancient Curse" lifted—it was the very first curse she had cast on Hatred Thorns.

She then tried to speak, "I curse Winter Sea Frenzied Shark, that he cannot reclaim his divine gift talent through any means until the world battlefield is forever closed."

Her attempt failed as the magic patterns in the air shattered.

Perhaps the curse formula she used was too far-fetched. She tried several more formulas, but each time, the patterns shattered without any success.

Winter Sea Frenzied Shark, watching her struggle, slowly pieced it together. "Stop! If you don't want me to place a bounty on your head in the world battlefield, don't curse me. Name your price, and we'll temporarily make peace!"

Rita shook her head. No resource or leverage could compare to the nearly perfect [Midnight Exile] Winter Sea Frenzied Shark had painstakingly nurtured!

She didn't care if he hunted her down. Not only could she hide and use [Survive Until the End], but even without Winter Sea Frenzied Shark, the world battlefield was a deathmatch anyway.

Moreover, dying a hundred times was a loss she could accept, but losing any of the [Midnight Exile] skills was far more costly.

Who needed to negotiate peace with him?

Instead, Rita altered the curse to a less severe condition. When Winter Sea Frenzied Shark eventually lifted the curse, she could simply curse him again.

"I curse Winter Sea Frenzied Shark, that he cannot reclaim his stolen divine gift talent through any means until he wins first place in Divine Game three times in a row, only then may he take back what no longer belongs to him."