This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Eclipse Vanguard’s methods were ever-changing, and it wasn’t something Rita needed to worry about, so she didn’t speak further.

Once the items were confirmed, Shadow.Q placed the gold coins on the table.

It wasn’t much, just a handful of various items—plus the umbrella type—amounting to only 5-character gold coins. Although they had joked that all of Eclipse Vanguard’s funds had flowed into Rita’s hands, everyone knew it was just a joke.

Given the uncertainty of whether items from another world would work in BS, Eclipse Vanguard couldn’t possibly spend too much money on them. And they certainly wouldn’t issue an open-ended check to Rita, allowing her to buy whatever she liked with the promise that Eclipse Vanguard would cover it all.

If the divination results hadn’t been so positive, they wouldn’t have bought even these 5-character gold coins worth of goods.

Rita took the coins and checked the wealth ranking—she had once again claimed the top spot. She glanced at it briefly, still under an anonymous alias, and decided to drop the anonymity.

After confirming the amount, she took a portion and tossed it to Nivalis as pocket money, noting that Nivalis had contributed to the startup funds for the items.

Shadow.Q, clearly keeping an eye on the wealth rankings, teased, "Oh, so you’re done hiding it now?"

On the rankings—wealth, level, pets, and honors—Rita was number one in all categories, with a huge lead over the second place in every one.

This had happened before, when Rita had briefly been on top of all the leaderboards, but back then, she’d quickly concealed it. But now, looking at her, it was clear she didn’t care anymore.

Shadow.Q’s teasing made Rita pause, and she chuckled inwardly. Hadn’t she already stopped hiding it long ago? Wasn’t that the moment in the Arena of All Races when she had revealed herself?

The difference now, though, was that this time, it wasn’t about strength alone—it was about leadership.

She was ready to embrace her role as BS’s leader. She was ready to bear the responsibility for its future.

It wasn’t so bad, really.

It was like shedding a heavy coat that she’d once worn—only to realize it didn’t keep her warm, and instead, it had become a burden.

There had been those moments—the moment when Maple Syrup, through the battlefield chat channel, said she would buy Rita’s curse slots. Every time a player backstabbed her, she’d buy one slot. If two thousand players backstabbed her, she’d buy two thousand slots.

All kinds of players—different races, different power levels, different personalities—had lined up behind Maple Syrup, following her lead. Even though their final choices were different, some leaving, others staying, at that moment, they had chosen to surrender to Maple Syrup.

And there was the moment Maple Syrup had stood before all players, charging towards the mechanical race’s peak combat strength.

Even during tense battles, she had smiled and said, "BS Rita, pay attention—this is Cheers."

The thunderous crackle of lightning shook the battlefield, but Maple Syrup wasn’t just trying to turn the tide—she was teaching Rita how to use Cheers.

Rita had learned much from the people in her life—some good, some bad. From Scarlett, she had learned a great deal, even though Scarlett had turned out to be a selfish person. After being reborn, Rita had realized this, but there were things she couldn’t change. She had become selfish like Scarlett, and didn’t even see it as a problem.

From Eleanor, she had learned how to conceal her skills, how to doubt everything, how to always leave something in reserve.

She didn’t know whether these lessons were good or bad, but she had stumbled through, getting to where she was today. She had parents, brothers, and elders—but no one had helped her along the way.

Later, she met Apache, Lucia, Mistblade…

Each of them had their own style, and their relationships with her varied. Apache was tolerant and understanding, Lucia carefree and free-spirited, and Mistblade… well, Mistblade was a month fox, just like Rita.

Then there was Jameson, who seemed to have no pride or dignity. He lacked any bloodthirstiness, but still managed to protect The White Family under Rita’s hand.

All these elders had their merits, but none of them had changed Rita—until she met Maple Syrup at High Tower.

That was when Rita had realized what a true leader was.

A real mother. A real leader.

Doing things with boldness… realizing that caution and flamboyance could coexist… that true strength meant standing high above others and having them look up to you with respect.

Rita sighed. "Spending too much energy on little things is just unnecessary."

Shadow.Q, amused by Rita’s expression, said, "So you’ve figured it out now? I thought you were only this carefree because you’ve grown stronger."

Rita didn’t deny it. "That’s part of it, yes."

But hadn’t she been strong for a long time already?

Strength and leadership, though, were two different things.

Every time Maple Syrup appeared, it felt like a lesson.

Being cautious, devious, and cold-blooded—these were all methods and styles. As long as you were strong enough, no one could say you were wrong.

But being a leader was different.

Leaders needed immense charisma. They needed to have the confidence that if they wanted something done, they would make sure it happened. They needed to stand before others, showing them the way and guiding them toward the direction they wanted them to go.

Most importantly, they had to step up and take responsibility. Read new chapters at Freewebnovel

People would respect and admire the strong, but only leaders could inspire people to live and die for them.

If Midnight Exile had given her the capital of strength, then Maple Syrup had been the mentor who led her down the path to leadership.

Shaking the image of Maple Syrup from her mind, Rita smiled and asked, "Is that really so bad?"

Shadow.Q grinned. "You should have done this long ago."

As they left the villa, Shadow.Q turned to Rita and said, "Eclipse Vanguard will always be behind you."

Rita slapped Shadow.Q on the shoulder a few times. "Sounds good. So, you’re gonna protect me, huh?"

Shadow.Q tried to keep a serious expression but nearly cracked. She forced a stern face and replied again, "I mean it. Not a joke."

Rita gave her a pointed look. "Okay, okay. I understand!"

Shadow.Q sighed dramatically. "No, you don’t."

Rita smirked. "So, the legion leader is going to handle it?"

Shadow.Q blinked. "Uh, well… not really."

Rita raised an eyebrow. "Haha."

Shadow.Q sighed again. "The legion leader said if you ask this question, then I should tell you that you should be the BS legion leader, not Eclipse Vanguard’s."