This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 297: Two Empty Eyes

Perched on Rita’s shoulder, Nivalis busily played a game on her phone. Between rounds, she snarked in Rita’s mind: "I’m embarrassed for you."

Rita sighed in relief. "Well, if you’re embarrassed on my behalf, then I’m off the hook."

Nivalis twisted her expression in mock frustration. "Last time we went back to Dragon Island, North Year told me privately that I’ve changed. He said I’ve become someone he doesn’t recognize. I defended you, told him it was because I’ve grown up and matured. Didn’t snitch on you."

"…Thanks," Rita muttered. Your journey continues on novelbuddy

Nivalis put down her phone, letting the little character on the screen bleed out in a pool of red. "Should’ve snitched. North Year beat me up anyway and said I was possessed by a demon."

Rita silently pulled out a bubble tea she’d picked up on the way, stuck a straw in it, and handed it to Nivalis. "Drink. For the love of God, stop talking."

Welcome Party, Awkward Seating

Not long after, people began trickling into the meeting room. Zoey arrived first and greeted Rita warmly, sitting to her right. Rita, ever the diplomat, returned the smile and nod.

Sanchez, with her signature cool demeanor, entered next. She was decked out in retractable claw blades strapped to her wrists, and her snowboards—now wielded with mastery—enabled her to glide across the floor with an elegance that bordered on arrogance. Barely moving her body, she practically slid into her seat, nodding at Zoey with what could almost be interpreted as civility.

Despite their history, it seemed Zoey and Sanchez had reached some sort of truce.

But the real shock came when Sanchez turned to Rita. She flashed her a blindingly cheerful smile and even waved with a casual "Hi!"

Who the hell arranged this divine comedy of seating arrangements?!

Rita sat frozen, staring ahead with blank, unseeing eyes.

"You’re staring straight ahead, but I don’t believe for a second your eyes are empty," Nivalis teased in her mind.

"I’m looking right ahead! There’s nothing in my eyes!" Rita snapped back internally.

North Year was right. This dragon was absolutely possessed.

Zoey’s Transformation

Zoey had always been a strong presence, cool and collected. That was why the next thing she did was so utterly bewildering. She summoned her koala pet, Sweetwine, cradled it in her arms, and began gently patting its bottom.

…Was she about to start singing lullabies next?

The disparity between Zoey’s usual demeanor and this behavior was so stark that Rita was stunned into a hard mental reset.

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Sweetwine, admittedly, was adorable. But this? Zoey, wake up! Who are you, and what have you done with yourself?!

Nivalis, too, was captivated by the fluffy koala snuggled against Zoey’s chest.

Curious, Rita used her pocket watch to scan Sweetwine’s Divine Gift, which only made her envy Zoey even more. Sweetwine was absurdly strong! Even with the species talent Nap, which seemed like a drawback, it was still an ideal pet.

After all, how much time in a day could a pet realistically spend fighting? Even Nivalis, as crucial as she was, rarely fought for more than three hours during Rita’s most intense days. The rest of the time, she was slacking off.

Rita quickly pieced together why Zoey was treating Sweetwine so tenderly. Its Divine Gift skills required active cooperation. If the bond between Zoey and Sweetwine wasn’t strong enough, the koala could very well refuse to obey commands, even under the constraints of a master-servant contract.

The punishment? Sweetwine could play possum all day, sleeping during critical moments. Contracts couldn’t penalize it for unwillingness to fight—after all, it wasn’t refusing; it was simply asleep.

Boss-level creatures were never dumb.

Jealous Dragon

Suddenly, Nivalis stretched her wing across Rita’s face. "Do you think it’s cute?"

Rita blinked and turned her head forward. "Not as cute as you."

Nivalis snorted coldly. You can lie to yourself, but not to me.

Zoey, catching Rita’s interest in Sweetwine, turned the koala to face her. "Want to pet it?"

Rita froze. This wasn’t right. This kind of camaraderie wasn’t appropriate. You’re my rival! My mortal enemy!

A few seconds later…

"Oh my God, its fur is so soft!" Rita gushed, marveling at the texture. So this is what a beast-class koala feels like.

It’s fine, Rita told herself. This is strategy. Enemies are enemies, but a koala is just a koala.

Still, as her hand stroked Sweetwine’s plush fur, her thoughts drifted. Having a pet like this would’ve been so much better for Nivalis in her last life. Zoey wouldn’t have let her suffer.

It wasn’t trust in Zoey’s morals, but in her pride. Zoey wouldn’t let something she owned be humiliated. If Nivalis had been her pet, Zoey wouldn’t have let her sell her blood for money. That would have been an embarrassment to Zoey herself.

Instead of sharing Nivalis with others, Zoey would’ve likely killed her and kept the benefits to herself.

If only Rita could make Rick experience what Nivalis had endured…

Nivalis’s patience snapped. She headbutted Rita out of her reverie with a fiery "bonk."

Mission Briefing

The rest of the team trickled in. Shadow.Q moved to the front of the room, while Rita clutched her aching head and sat up straighter.

Thankfully, Eclipse Vanguard’s meetings weren’t run by clueless higher-ups barking impractical orders. Only the mission team was present, and the focus was on practical planning.

The intelligence and logistics team had already compiled suggestions into handouts, leaving the final decisions to the team members who’d actually be executing the mission.

Shadow.Q’s briefing was concise, emphasizing pre-climb preparation and the post-climb retreat. The interior of the tower was still a mystery, so adaptability was key.

"Although this is an astral projection mission, we’ve confirmed that soul-bound equipment can be taken into the tower. Eclipse Vanguard will provide top-tier gear, five binding stones for each participant, and necessary tools like translation devices, escape skills, and extraction tools for the Moon Sand.

"The tower’s summit has a 50-meter safe zone where only climbers can enter. Within this area, each team is responsible for its own strategy. If you fail, retreat immediately. Survival is the priority. Don’t let adrenaline drive you to unnecessary sacrifices. We’ll keep trying until we succeed, while other members of Eclipse Vanguard search for alternative methods to unlock the instance."

Rita’s role as a solo team didn’t exempt her from memorizing the dark signal codes. If she needed help inside, these signals could identify allies.

Shadow.Q handed out forms for skill requests. Each member could choose three B-rank skills, which Eclipse Vanguard would provide before the mission.

Generous as hell, Rita thought. B-rank skills were incredibly valuable, even if Rita’s inventory mostly consisted of A- and S-rank ones. For current Blue Star players, though, B-rank skills were exceptional.

For this operation alone, with seven teams of roughly nine members each, Eclipse Vanguard would need to supply at least 163 B-rank skills.

No small feat.

Rita didn’t hold back. The mission was life-threatening. Even with survival as the primary goal, nothing was guaranteed.

She requested skills in three categories:

1. Escape skills (preferably ones that could counter most binding or imprisonment abilities),

2. Shielding skills,

3. Health-percentage-based damage skills for guaranteed hits.

Shadow.Q collected everyone’s forms but returned Rita’s with a loud "Change the first and third. There aren’t B-rank skills that strong!"

Rita: "…" No need to yell.