This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The Special Affairs Bureau had previously been sending players to Lania Kaia every week, trying to build good relationships with the instructors there and learn some new things. Despite spending a lot of resources, only three players had managed to succeed. The Bureau had even considered sending people to enroll in Lania Kaia's academy.

They had long suspected that Rita had an alchemy mentor in Lania Kaia. Two factions within the Bureau had even suggested paying Rita to teach their alchemists. However, they concluded that it was highly unlikely to succeed, and making such a request could potentially strain their relationship with her.
Your next chapter is on empire

Ever since the game's invasion, Rita had been focused on her growth. She didn't care for fame or updates on social media; she was clear-headed about her priorities—strength mattered most. Asking her to sacrifice her time to teach others would only hinder her development, resulting in a group of mediocre alchemists. It was better to let Rita grow freely and aim for her to become a master alchemist for Blue Star.

No one knew the full extent of Rita's abilities, but even what was publicly known was enough to earn respect. Based on the Special Affairs Bureau's psychological profile of Rita, as long as you treated her well, even if she couldn't fully trust you, she would not let you down. She was always eager to negotiate during collaborations, but she never let down anyone who was genuinely kind to her.

**Shadow.Q**: "Can we place an order for these two potions?"

**Rita**: "Sure, why don't you try them out first? If they're useful, I'll make more as soon as I can."

**Shadow.Q**: "Great!"

She didn't bring up the payment issue, knowing she'd report it later for the Bureau to record internally.

Rita was completely unaware that the Bureau had held so many meetings just about her. She only knew that working with the Bureau so far had been pleasant. She helped them on her own terms, without feeling resentful or pressured into service for her country. And of course, she never did any forced labor, like washing dirty laundry—no way, she never even washed it!

After seeing Shadow.Q off, Rita called out Nivalis, intending to wander the area and find a secure, concealed spot to place a teleportation array. Plus, she wanted to follow the direction of her **Compass** and look for a potential treasure.

Once Nivalis appeared, Rita asked, "Can you breathe underwater?"

**Nivalis**: "Of course I can, I'm a dragon."

**Rita**: "Can you carry me while swimming underwater?"

Nivalis made her body larger—about two and a half meters—before stopping. She turned her back to Rita, flapping her wings. "Hop on~"

Rita smiled, hopping onto Nivalis's back. "You've never flown with me before."

Nivalis grumbled, "I said I'd take you flying when we fought the dungeon, but you insisted on practicing your skills instead!"

Rita drank a mid-tier underwater breathing potion that would last for two hours, then patted Nivalis on the head. "You're so good, Nivalis. Do you have any skills that can protect me from the water pressure?" She wanted at least some assurance.

Nivalis waved her wings, and a bubble enveloped both herself and Rita. Once Rita was ready, they left the barrier, with Nivalis swimming away.

Behind them, several players stared longingly at the dragon's silhouette.

Even the dozens of beetles crawling around all turned their heads and antennae toward the dragon.

From the moment Nivalis appeared, their eyes were glued to her.

A dragon...

And one that's willing to carry someone...

**Player A**: "This is way cooler than a Rolls Royce..."

**Player B**: "I'm telling you, if I had a dragon, I wouldn't let her carry me. I'd be the one carrying her, even if it means swimming through the water!"

**Player C**: "I'd carry Nivalis on my back, even on land!"

**Avery**: "Same here!"

**Gun King**: "Me too."

Shadow.Q looked down to see even the beetles nodding solemnly, their long antennae swaying. She silently took out her phone and recorded the scene.

Nice. If these guys made it to the rankings, this video would be worth a lot.

...

Once they were out of the barrier, under the dim light of underwater magical creatures, Rita and Nivalis started exploring. Nivalis folded her wings to her sides, lightly swinging her tail, propelling them meters ahead with each movement.

They patrolled around the base a few times, then headed towards the volcano—a structure that seemed ominous, even from deep underwater.

Rita glanced at the volcano, which was currently dormant. She could sense fire elemental energy within, but it was dark, giving off an eerie, terrifying aura, as though a beast were waiting to devour its prey.

Circling around the volcano, they found a narrow crevice that could fit a goblin in. It was on the farthest side of the volcano, furthest from the Special Affairs Bureau's base.

Rita transformed into a goblin, squeezing through the crack and etching a teleportation array inside, setting it as one of the anchors for her **Portal**. She had removed the one she'd previously set in the alchemy shop's storeroom but needed to clean up any traces left there later.

Once she finished her main task, Rita took out her **Compass**. It was still glowing, its light flashing at a slow frequency. She and Nivalis headed in the direction the silver needle pointed. As they approached the treasure's location, the compass light started flashing faster. Nivalis grew excited, "Is this a treasure hunt?"

**Rita**: "It indicates a treasure, but I don't know exactly what it is."

Rita also understood why the compass was only ranked **E** and why it had never flashed before. The restrictions "within a kilometer" and "ownerless treasure" were very limiting. Finding something within a kilometer radius was pure luck.

"Ownerless treasure" was even more complicated—what made something "ownerless"? If an item was lost without the owner's knowledge, would that count? No, it wouldn't, as it still belonged to the owner until they passed away. Even if the owner declared on their deathbed that their treasure belonged to someone else, it still wouldn't count, as it would simply transfer to a new owner seamlessly.

Rita originally bought the compass because of the "ownerless treasure" specification, as she didn't want to get into trouble. But she didn't realize just how rare true ownerless treasures were.

A few minutes later, they stopped. The compass's flashing changed from a rhythm of **bright-dim-bright** to **brilliant-dim-brilliant**.