This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 474 - : Skill Library +27

A dagger that doesn't pierce directly into your flesh doesn't hurt as much.

Sure, the chain of cause and effect had eventually wounded her in some roundabout way.

But Rita was never the type to trace a thread of misfortune and blindly hate every person connected to it.

When young Avery "stole" young Samuel's golden finger?

That had nothing to do with her.

And if that artifact had landed in Samuel's hands instead…

Rita might never have been born.

Later, when Avery forced Samuel to take the entire family and leave B City—

That was probably the best outcome for everyone.

Avery got rid of a ticking time bomb.

Samuel might have been able to move on instead of sticking around to watch Avery reach the peak of success—a sight that would've warped him even further.

Even Eleanor was spared the heartbreak of watching her children destroy each other.

If there was any regret in this story…

It was that Rita never had the chance to grow up under Eleanor's care.

Eleanor was different from Scarlett.

Scarlett prioritized her own comfort first and foremost.

She wanted everything to benefit her.

But Eleanor…

She wasn't selfish in that way. She always put her own feelings first, but she never hesitated to care for those around her—

As long as it didn't cost her own happiness.

If Rita had grown up in B City…

Would Eleanor have protected her more?

Would she have stopped Samuel from twisting her into what she became?

Rita pinched the bridge of her nose.

This whole thing had gotten to her.

She wasn't the type to dwell on "what ifs."

She hated rewriting the past.

It was pointless.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she turned to something more immediate.

That so-called piece of 'ocean trash' that Avery had dismissed all those years ago…

Could it be connected to Miyaas?

She turned to her mechanical pet.

"That artifact—does it have anything to do with Miyaas?

Do you even know who Miyaas is?"

B80234615: "Yes. Miyaas was once a player in Divine Game.

There's no direct proof that artifact came from him.

But based on its characteristics, there's a 72% chance it originated from Lania Kaia's siren clan."

Rita clicked her tongue.

Damn it. Miyaas had ruined how many families?!

She'd been listening in silence the whole time, but now, Nivalis finally spoke.

"If I were Samuel… I think I'd hate Avery too."

Just imagining having her fate rewritten like that, losing an opportunity that could have changed her life forever—

It made her chest tighten.

Rita didn't argue.

But she corrected, "If I were Samuel, I would only hate Avery."

The sound of metal striking stone filled the room as she kept working on the mana ores, her voice echoing in the silence.

Nivalis and B80234615 both fell quiet.

For once, both of her pets had the same thought.

No matter what Rita said—

She was still shaken.

B80234615 occasionally spoke up, giving her tips on how to extract the skill stones from the ores.

Some had to be broken using fire magic.

Others needed ice.

Some had to be struck physically.

Even knowing the secret wasn't enough—extracting them required skill.

Outside, Dragon Island was as lively as ever.

In the distance, Emperor Umbrella and Wind Shear were duking it out again.

Drunken singing echoed from Lidian's direction.

But inside the quiet of the lair…

Rita spent the entire night extracting skill stones.

By dawn, she had opened 27 skill stones.

1 SS-rank skill 3 S-rank skills 15 A-rank skills 8 B-rank skills

As soon as she saw the numbers, she regretted everything.

Why the hell hadn't she stolen more?!

B80234615 picked up on her thoughts immediately.

"You're already incredibly lucky."

"Almost no one in Divine Game knows this secret."

"Even 99% of mechanical race don't know it."

Rita turned to her pet with narrowed eyes.

"But you do."

B80234615 wasn't special.

Not at first glance.

There was nothing unusual about its letter-number ID.

And yet—

B80234615 didn't deny it.

In fact, it seemed… pleased.

"Maybe I'm not special.

But you came back for me."

Rita was stumped.

This was too Lidian of it.

B80234615 continued.

"I was almost discarded.

We mechanical race were all created by a divine artifact—

A god-tier tool meant to mass-produce us.

But the success rate was only 95%.

And on the day I was created…

I was part of the 5% failure rate."

Rita and Nivalis watched as the tiny cube flickered with light, glowing like a lantern.

"But that day, the Moon God happened to pass by."

"They melted down a piece of scented metal and used it to repair my defects."

"It meant nothing to them.

But to me—

I, B80234615, became different."

"Smarter.

Stronger.

Sharper."

Nivalis: "So basically…

You got a cheat code too."

Rita added, "And you got really good at pretending."

B80234615 corrected, "I prefer 'simulation.'

I adapt to my surroundings."

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"But when I talk to you, Rita—"

"My emotions sometimes appear before I even simulate them."

Nivalis nodded sagely.

"Oh. I get it. You're saying she pisses you off."

B80234615: "That's not quite—"

"No, I totally get it."

Rita ignored them, turning her attention to the skill stones.

The SS-rank skill was a fire-based AoE attack.

[Infernal Fire]: Summon hellfire to obliterate your enemies. The flames can be shaped and controlled by the caster. Damage is affected by Intelligence and Crit Damage.

Consumes 1% Mana per second No cooldown

The S-rank skills were surprisingly useful.

[Rejuvenation] – A healing skill. [Solar Grace] – Another healing skill. [Gale Strike] – A wind-element attack.

More healing skills were always good.

Even if she didn't use them in battle, they'd at least be useful for reviving after death.

The A and B-rank skills were decent filler, so she learned them all.

One in particular caught her attention—

A skill to create magical food.

[Pacific Saury]: Absorb ambient mana to manifest a freshly cooked pacific saury.

Rita immediately made one.

She handed it to Nivalis.

Nivalis chewed thoughtfully.

"It's… alright. Not great, not terrible."

"Probably because I've been eating your cooking for too long."

Rita: "Oh, that's good."

Nivalis: "?!"

"Wait—why didn't you try it yourself?"

"I was afraid it'd taste bad."

"And I'm not afraid?!"

"."

"Nivalis."

"Never be like Pine Bloom."