This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The entire room fell silent.

Not a sound came from the Special Affairs Bureau members, Zoey, or even the near-death Rick. Everyone held their breath, completely stunned.

The only one still seething with both hatred and anger, yet with an undeniable glimmer of ambition and longing in his eyes, was Black Jade.

A dragon! A real dragon!

Despite Nivalis and Black Jade having similar sizes, Black Jade had never experienced such overwhelming pressure before.

In this moment, they were finally feeling the true weight of a dragon's might. It felt like they were facing their natural enemy. Even breathing had become difficult, as if an invisible force pressed down on them, their blood gradually draining away at an excruciatingly slow pace.

That single red arrow, which had taken away 7% of Black Jade's health, was a sight to behold. These one hundred players had spent nearly 15 hours battling the Flood Dragon. With all their strategies, talents, tools, and healing tactics combined, they had barely managed to lower its health to 9%.

But Rita's power, that insane boost in strength, the dragon illusion behind her, and Nivalis' attitude, all pointed to the fact that this was not just Rita alone. Nivalis was behind this.

Several players were whispering to themselves in disbelief: *Human Pillar Force?*

Nivalis, as if reading their thoughts, delivered the line Rita had scripted for her, with a tone dripping with disdain and power:

"Black Jade, I know what you want, but don't even think about challenging a dragon's bottom line. Even the Twelve Sacred Families can't handle the wrath of the dragon race."

Rita had just raised the flag, and from this point on, it was clear. Even if Black Jade continued to demand dragon blood, no one would dare offend an entire dragon race for the sake of a mere Flood Dragon.

As for Rick finding out later that Black Jade sought a contract with him just for dragon blood—Rita wasn't concerned.

What Rita wanted was trust, not some nauseating "love" value.

Let's not even discuss the fact that Rick had betrayed his wife to secure a contract with Black Jade. Even if Rick did find out, at most, he'd hate Rita. But he wouldn't stop trusting her just because she withheld dragon blood.

No one wanted to take the blame for angering the dragon race.

Rick would probably end up trying to persuade Black Jade not to openly go against the dragon, because if Black Jade were pursued by Blue Star, Rick—being Black Jade's pet—wouldn't be spared either.

As for Zoey, Rita was confident that with Zoey's intelligence, she wouldn't make an enemy of her unless Rita made a move first.

In her mind, Nivalis urged her: *"Hurry, hurry, think of a cooler line!"*

That earlier line, *"Do you know who my parents are? You dare to provoke me?!"*, after some high emotional intelligence, had felt so satisfying for Nivalis!

Rita groaned, holding her aching head: *"...think of your own lines!"*

Nivalis: *"Ahhhh! That line 'You dare? It's mine!' You have to let me say it, hurry!"*

Rita, in a burst of pain, muttered out: *"Born a dragon, I'm sorry?"*

Nivalis: *"That's way too savage! I feel like I've become a legend!!"*

The next moment...

Nivalis declared: *"Born a dragon, I'm sorry, Black Jade, please live on as a flood dragon."*

Rita: *"…"* Help!

The entire room was stunned, no one knew how to respond.

Black Jade: *"…!"*

What a venomous curse, what enraging words! Black Jade was so furious that his scales seemed ready to rise up.

Shadow.Q quietly glanced at Rita, his expression seemingly saying: *What in the world did Nivalis learn from you?*

Nivalis: *"Oh my god, I'm so cool right now! I feel like I'm on fire!"*

Nivalis: *"Why aren't you speaking?"*

Rita, who could no longer bear it, let herself collapse. The "daughter's red wine" had no effect on someone like her, who never made a fool of herself when drunk, only slept.

She let herself slip into unconsciousness—the drama had reached its climax. Being a "human pillar" was exhausting! There had to be consequences for borrowing a dragon's strength.

With her last thread of sanity, she reverted her attributes to their original stats, before passing out. Continue your adventure with empire

A soft frost gently enveloped Rita, and Nivalis, using her magic, secured Rita to her back so she wouldn't fall. Slowly, she soared into the air. Looking down at all the players, she spoke a line that Rita had never taught her:

"I really like my contractor. Her home is my dragon's nest. Every dragon vows to protect its nest with its life."

With that, she flew out of the dungeon.

Outside the dungeon, the waiting players had expected Black Jade to emerge, but were instead shocked to see Nivalis carrying Rita.

The leader of the players saw a private message on the holographic screen and signaled for everyone to stay quiet. They did nothing, allowing Nivalis to leave unhindered.

Nivalis ascended into the clouds, casting a protective bubble around Rita as she had done in the underwater dungeon. Then she continued to fly slowly in the sky, carrying her contractor.

Once Nivalis and Rita had departed, the dungeon remained eerily quiet for a while. It was only when Shadow.Q grew concerned that Rick might be dead, did he speak up to remind the healers to attend to Rick.

Despite Rita mentioning only Blue Star and not Rick during her outburst, everyone present—including Rick and Black Jade—understood that Rita cared deeply for her brother.

Otherwise, why would she have acted so recklessly when Rick was almost struck dead, confronting Black Jade head-on?

Everyone instinctively believed that Rita had intentionally refrained from mentioning Rick to prevent Black Jade from taking out its anger on him.

They all wondered just how much of a toll using Nivalis' power had taken on Rita... How had she fainted so quickly after such a brief burst of power?

As Black Jade's health dropped to 2%, the situation began to change dramatically.

The Special Affairs Bureau wanted Black Jade to stay in the dungeon, offering to provide food, but as soon as they made the suggestion, Black Jade opened its mouth wide toward Rick.

In the next instant, a red beam shot out from Rick's chest, hitting Black Jade. Rick's health began plummeting while Black Jade's health rapidly regenerated.

Within moments, Rick's health dropped to 1%.

The Special Affairs Bureau members couldn't hold back anymore, preparing to heal Rick. But to their shock, Rick's level began to drop!

Level 8 → Level 7!

Level 7 → Level 6!

With each level Rick lost, Black Jade's health skyrocketed.

Before long, Black Jade's health was restored to 52%.

At the same time, Rick's level had dropped to 3.

Everyone froze. Even Rick stood there in shock, his face expressing nothing but confusion.

Zoey, with her hands clasped together, muttered under her breath:

*"…*"

She had always hated people taking things from her, but at this moment, at least half of her hatred toward Rick turned into gratitude.

From now on, if anyone said Rick was a "wife killer," she'd defend him!

Could this be considered as killing his wife? Even raising a little ghost wouldn't have been this helpful in protecting others from disaster.

What was that? Did Zoey just say that? Never mind then...