This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Rick didn't lack resources. Thanks to his innate luck, even though he had spent most of his energy scheming for the magic eye, he still managed to accumulate plenty of valuable items. Not only did he have a full set of equipment, but he had also crafted rings and necklaces for himself using **Jewelry Crafting**. On top of that, he had stockpiled over a hundred potions.

Unlike Zoey, who had nearly a thousand people under her, Rick only had a few employees in his studio.

However, Rita's words reminded him of something—he was also an **Alchemy** specialist! There were so many alchemical recipes, and even though he had only learned the basics, there might be one that could cure his curse.

He immediately opened up his list of recipes and began searching. Soon enough, he found a recipe for something called **Basic Vitality Potion**, which claimed to cure minor negative statuses. He asked, "Sis, do you have any Basic Vitality Potions?"

Rita did, of course, but she wasn't sure if such a potion would work on Rick's unknown curse. "No," she replied. "I've been focusing all my energy on collecting materials for healing potions."

Rick pleaded, "Sis, can you help me find the materials for the Vitality Potion?"

Rita agreed without hesitation. "Sure, no problem." She even pretended to check the recipe in front of Rick. "So, we need **Vitalroot Grass**, **Soothing Flower**, **Lionbone Fish**, and **Squid Heart**, right? I'll help you look for them."

Continue your adventure with empire

Rick breathed a sigh of relief, unaware of how much he now trusted Rita—not just her ability but also her promise to help him. He took out a **Blue Jay Tail Ring** that he had crafted using **Jewelry Crafting** and handed it to her. "Sis, this is for you—a belated New Year's gift. I made it myself." He didn't play favorites, either.

He also gave one of his expertly crafted rings to both Samuel and Scarlett.

The items were impressive, each granting four additional attribute points. The ring Rita received boosted her **Constitution** by two points and her **Agility** by another two. She immediately slipped it on, pleased with the unexpected gain. She wondered if Rick realized how their relationship had shifted—Rita always seemed to give a little but receive much more in return.

The family dinner was warm and harmonious.

After they left, Rita turned invisible and used **Phantom Shift** to visit the patient from whom she had previously extracted infected blood. With a quick **Sleep Spell** and **Insight**, she saw two bright red blood drops next to the man's in-game name.

**[Unknown Curse II]: All healing effects reduced by 10%. Maximum HP reduced by 5% permanently. Cannot regenerate health naturally. Contagious.**

She drew another vial of the man's blood, planning to take it to **Lania Kaia** the next day to let her teacher, **Apachi**, analyze it. She was sure her mentor would be thrilled. Not leaving the man empty-handed, she healed his HP with a basic healing potion and even left him a piece of green equipment she'd looted from a troll—her way of thanking him for the blood sample.

On the 25th, the fourth day after the game's invasion, Rita woke up early for a change. She headed to **Lania Kaia** to deliver the blood sample to Apachi, explaining the curse, especially emphasizing its contagious nature. Apachi looked as if she had just discovered a new world and eagerly took the blood to her lab.

Before disappearing into her work, she tossed Rita a small notebook filled with alchemical insights.

Realizing she probably wouldn't have a lesson today, Rita returned to **Blue Star** and spent the entire morning grinding in the dungeon, successfully leveling up to **Level 1**.

As soon as she leveled up, she received a notification.

**[Player has entered the Top 100 in the level rankings. Would you like to conceal your name?]**

She chose **No**.

Her name appeared at the bottom of the leaderboard.

**[Rita: Level 1 (0.016%)]**

The top-ranked player was also Level 1 but had progressed over 80% of the way to Level 2. Based on the emblem—a small golden dragon next to the player's name—Rita suspected this player belonged to **Special Affairs Bureau**. It was hard to miss the bureau's trademark flair.

She saw no reason to hide her level. Eventually, she would need to work with the Lopez family in dungeons, so concealing her level made no sense. Plus, she didn't fear Rick or the Lopez family discovering her rapid leveling speed. To maintain her position as an equal, she needed more than just the bureau's deterrence—she needed her own strength.

If anyone asked why she leveled so fast, she'd just say it was thanks to the bureau. After all, last time Rick and the others leveled quickly, they hadn't told her anything, either.

Just as she was thinking about the Lopez family, she received a private message from Zoey—they wanted to buy more **Basic Healing Potions**.

**[Rita]: That's going to be hard to get. I used up all my favors last time.**

**[Zoey]: We can negotiate the price.**

**[Rita]: I heard some hospitals are offering pills and injections that can restore HP, and the prices are pretty reasonable.**

**[Zoey]: Those are limited in supply.**

Even though Rita had already lived through this once, she couldn't help but admire how the Special Affairs Bureau handled things so thoroughly. They had restricted these life-saving supplies to prevent the wealthy and powerful from hoarding them and leaving the average citizen with nothing. During the toughest times of the previous timeline, Rita had survived thanks to these items.

Although the injections didn't heal as much as a Basic Healing Potion and you had to administer them yourself, even restoring 50 HP was half a lifeline.

Still, Rita had no intention of selling anything else to the Lopez family. She had already sold them 3,000 potions and 1,000 belts. Though she had made a tidy profit, stripped the Lopez family of their gold, and deepened the disguise of her animosity toward them, selling more would be arming the enemy.

By next month, she planned to "collect some parts" from Zoey or Rick to heal her own emotional trauma.

**[Rita]: I really don't have any more. There are some things I'm under contract not to discuss, but you can try reaching out to the Special Affairs Bureau.**

**[Zoey]: Rick mentioned you can make potions yourself?**

**[Rita]: Yep. If you have the materials, I can brew them for you. For every 11 materials, I'll give you 10 potions.**

**[Zoey]: What about equipment? Any left?**

**[Rita]: I have some, but they're not much cheaper than what you'll find at the auction house. I might be able to get you three or four pieces.**

Zoey fell silent.

The auction house did indeed have items, but prices were erratic, and transactions were conducted using **Lania Kaia's** gold, silver, and copper coins. Just like the intel Samuel had gathered during the beta tests, it now cost $1 million to buy a single gold coin. People were throwing out random prices, hoping some rich fool would bite.

A piece of green gear with a few extra stat points had a price tag of 50 gold coins.

Anyone with a brain wouldn't buy it, and anyone without a brain couldn't afford it.

Thinking about it, Rick decided to list an **F-ranked Mars Spell** he had looted earlier that day for 199 gold coins.

Suddenly, she understood why people were listing things for ridiculous prices. Who knew, maybe there really was a fool out there willing to pay?

After listing the spell, Rita was immediately flooded with private messages from strangers.

Not only that, but her phone also began buzzing with messages from people she knew—from former colleagues in the entertainment industry, actors she had worked with, and even entertainment companies.

Rita slapped her forehead. How could she have forgotten about Amelia?

She had been untouchable before, but now? Now Amelia could be dealt with. Everyone was dying left and right these days—what difference would one more make?

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