This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 302: [Absolute Clarity] (SS-Rank)

After greeting Holy CupNorth YearSnow Pile at her lair, Nivalis flew Rita to the usual battleground of Wind Shear and Emperor Umbrella.

Wind Shear was a black divine dragon, and Emperor Umbrella a white yinglong. Rita had seen them fighting when she first visited Dragon Island. Both dragons were level 177, even higher than Holy CupNorth Year.

When Rita and Nivalis arrived, the two dragons had just finished a clash and were now locked in a standoff.

Nivalis took a deep breath, held up the black-and-white scale, and shouted, "Emperor Umbrella, Wind Shear~ Make peace, for my sake!"

The two massive dragons slowly turned their heads, peering down at the tiny Rita and Nivalis.

Nivalis felt her legs go weak and silently questioned the scriptwriter: "Will this really work? Are we even going to leave Dragon Island alive?"

Rita: "What, are they going to kill you?"

Nivalis: "That’s not what you said earlier! You said you were a pro at acting!"

Rita: "Huh?"

Nivalis: …

Before they could continue bickering, both dragons shrank their forms to match Rita and Nivalis in size and appeared before them.

The dragon scale held a faint but unique balance of opposing rules. While Rita and Nivalis couldn’t discern it, Emperor Umbrella and Wind Shear noticed immediately.

Though they had been fighting for centuries, there was no true blood feud between them—just the natural opposition of their Divine Gifts. Every time they saw each other, it was like meeting their nemesis, igniting an uncontrollable urge to fight. Yet this scale, a perfect blend of their essence, seemed to neutralize their clashing auras.

Emperor Umbrella spoke first. "Sell it to me."

Wind Shear countered instantly. "5,000 gold."

Emperor Umbrella: "10,000 gold."

Wind Shear: "15,000 gold!"

Emperor Umbrella: "30,000 gold."

Wind Shear: "…"

Rita subtly nudged Nivalis, who quickly chimed in, "Brother Wind Shear, let Sister Emperor Umbrella have this beautiful dragon scale. Even though half of it is your scale, I’m sure Sister Emperor Umbrella would never flaunt it to other dragons as proof of having defeated you. Sister Emperor Umbrella has such noble character; she’d never do something like that!"

As they spoke, Emperor Umbrella’s gemstone-like eyes suddenly lit up.

Wind Shear & Nivalis: "…"

Rita: "…" The line was supposed to provoke Wind Shear. How did it actually move Emperor Umbrella?

Wind Shear growled, "40,000 gold, plus an S-rank skill. We’re not lying—this scale isn’t ordinary. You can’t see it, but it’s powerful. You’ve seen my Thunderstorm skill, right? I’ve mastered it completely and can create an S-rank skill book for you."

Emperor Umbrella countered, "45,000 gold, plus two S-rank skills—one for each of you. You’ll find [Moon in Water] very useful.

"[Moon in Water] lets you create a shadow duplicate of yourself. The shadow is another you, capable of using all your skills and even duplicating your gear and items. However, the shadow only has half your HP and attributes. You can use it to take hits in your place."

Rita and Nivalis huddled closer together, silently glaring at Emperor Umbrella as if to say, "Threaten us again, and we won’t sell!"

Wind Shear offered, "50,000 gold, [Thunderstorm from All Sides], and [Absolute Clarity].

"You’ve seen Thunderstorm—it’s the one Emperor Umbrella always dodges. As for [Absolute Clarity], it’s a passive skill.

"It keeps you perpetually conscious. Unless you choose to sleep, no potion, item, skill, or even extreme physical or mental pain can make you lose consciousness. At my level, I don’t need it anymore, but it has saved me countless times over the millennia."

He paused as he saw Rita’s expression shift from calm to eager. Memories seemed to flash through his mind, and he fell silent. Emperor Umbrella didn’t interrupt.

After a long moment, Wind Shear continued, "But it has also brought me great pain. Sometimes, losing consciousness is a form of protection. Do you understand?"

Rita nodded. It was like how pain served as the body’s way of signaling danger. Still, she feared the vulnerability of unconsciousness more than the pain itself. "I’d rather suffer than die without knowing," she said. Then, turning to Nivalis, she asked, "You can take the gold and Thunderstorm. I just want [Absolute Clarity]. Is that okay?"

Nivalis shrugged. "We’ll split the gold as we agreed beforehand. Stop being so generous with me." Find your next read at novelbuddy

Wind Shear let out a rare laugh, circling Rita twice. The winds he stirred were so strong she had to shut her eyes. When they died down, her mind was flooded with thousands of magical runes, processing at lightning speed. When it was over, she had gained an SS-rank skill:

[Absolute Clarity] (SS-Rank) (Passive): For the strong, clarity is a blessing; for the weak, it is a curse. (If this skill is ever deactivated by any means, it will be permanently lost.)

Wind Shear said, "I like you, so it’s yours. But remember—you owe me a favor. If I need something, you must help."

Rita hated owing favors, but the skill was too vital to refuse. She nodded solemnly. "Understood, senior. I’ll remember."

Satisfied, Wind Shear nodded. "Nivalis, continue bidding. 50,000 gold plus [Thunderstorm from All Sides]."

After some thought, Emperor Umbrella raised the stakes. "60,000 gold plus a fusion skill, [Moment of Decision]. Once you’ve synchronized your minds, you can fuse for combat. There are two modes: one where you lead, and one where the human leads. It’s a relic from Lidian’s era. You may look like a pair of scoundrels now, but you’ll find it quite useful."

Rita’s heart sank. Great, I’ve officially become a human pillar.

In the end, Nivalis chose Emperor Umbrella’s offer. While [Thunderstorm from All Sides] was impressive, she was more interested in playing around with fusion mechanics. And Emperor Umbrella offered more money.

[Moment of Decision] was a skill book that required both Rita and Nivalis to hold its edges simultaneously to learn. They did so on the spot.

After receiving the scale, Emperor Umbrella turned to Wind Shear. "Want to rent it? 10,000 gold a month."

Wind Shear: "...Isn’t this extortion?"

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Emperor Umbrella held up the scale. "Wind Shear, today marks your defeat—"

Wind Shear roared, "Fine! I’ll rent it!"

Brutal. Simply brutal.

Despite the cost being trivial for dragons, Wind Shear realized too late how much he’d overpaid.

Nivalis quipped, "Brother, you panicked."

Rita quickly covered Nivalis’ mouth and smiled humbly at Wind Shear. "Senior, would you sell [Thunderstorm from All Sides] for 20,000 gold?"

Nivalis’ eyes lit up. Pulling Rita’s hand away, she exclaimed, "Yeah, Brother Wind Shear! Sell it! You’ll at least recoup something!"

The result? Rita and Nivalis were chased off Dragon Island by an enraged Wind Shear, leaving without even saying goodbye to Holy CupNorth Year.

Not that it mattered. The two elder dragons had merely extended their heads from their lairs to watch the drama unfold. Holy Cup was sipping on a gray coconut as the chaos ensued.

Nivalis wiped away the tears—blown out by Wind Shear’s wind skills. So this is the pain of growing up in a dragon’s world!

Once off the island, Rita and Nivalis split the money. Rita took her 42,000 gold and started planning what skills to buy next, while Nivalis contemplated renting out an entire toy store.

It was then that Rita finally opened her private message notifications, which had been beeping non-stop.

[Shadow.Q]: Congratulations, Rita, on ranking first in four leaderboards.