This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

"In team battles, the kind of teammate who makes you fight without a single worry, in solo and fun matches, will always turn into the opponent who gives you the biggest headache."

What did she say back then?

"Are Orpha and Meltrange really that good at teaching apprentices?"

"Orpha… let's just say every once in a while, she produces a prodigy. Mistake Answer, Berrento, Wail, Meltrange. As for Meltrange… the only thing I'm sure of is, with his power and character, if he ever announced he wanted to teach at an academy, all nine major magic academies would scramble to get him. The smaller ones would even make him headmaster."

"Oh, and what about you?"

"What?"

"If you announced you wanted to teach, would the nine major academies scramble for you too?"

"…Yeah, of course. Definitely."

"They wouldn't dare not to, right?"

"If life feels too hard, you can just say so."

…

Every apprentice considered a championship contender had their own top-tier skill… and item.

This had been summarized in intelligence reports since last year.

It seemed that starting from the Class of Kasilanar 169, third-years were overflowing with broken skills and rare items.

Time manipulation, theft, invincibility, crowd control, copying, deprivation, damage reflection, damage transfer…

Talents sprouted like weeds.

The Class of 170 and 171 third-years were the same.

JE might be a first-timer in the Divine Game, but he was already the betting favorite in the underground casinos even before entering. That was all because of one skill: \\[Early Retirement].

The terrifying part about this skill was that once you were marked, every skill you had used in the past six hours was temporarily locked and unusable.

Rita and Maple Syrup had bought crucial intel before entering the Divine Game. They had prepared themselves for JE.

The moment they saw him, they had already reviewed their own most-used skills, and even accounted for possible errors in the intel.

But the reality was far worse than they imagined.

\\[Early Retirement] didn't just lock skills from the past six hours. It locked every non-item skill used in the past six Starsea days.

And JE could mark three targets at once!

With just one glance, 95 percent of Rita's and Maple Syrup's skill sets went gray.

Both of them gasped out loud.

Rita: "…Where the hell did you buy this cheat?!"

Maple Syrup: "How is this even scummier than your Mystic Force?!"

Rita: ?

And that wasn't even the scariest part.

At that moment, a squirrel no bigger than a palm scurried onto JE's head. It crouched low, one paw pressing on his crown, the other pointing toward Mistblade, Fat Goose, and Motor on the other side of the ship.

A red beam shot out, linking JE to Mistblade, Fat Goose, and Motor.

"\\[Early Retirement] is hitting us too?!"

"…You've got to be kidding."

"Fat Goose, did you pull aggro again?"

"I didn't!"

Their shock didn't slow JE's squad in the slightest.

This skill combo had been tailor-made to dismantle Rita's team.

The squirrel let out a short, sharp laugh, then leapt toward Rita.

Small-bodied races were born assassins. With equal stats and technique, Wail had always held a racial edge over Lightchaser.

And this sea squirrel named Lulumi was no exception.

It grinned. "Buy one, get three free. Like the deal?"

In its hand was a dagger shaped like a white fang. No one could tell what creature it came from, but in just a few rounds it had already launched over a dozen strikes at Rita.

Thankfully, her bubble was still intact. This was \\[Wrathful Moon], and since it wasn't on the ban list, she was safe for now.

But \\[Early Retirement] lasted a full half hour…

All they could rely on were item skills.

While \\[Nebula Bubble] was still in its absorption phase, Rita held off both Lulumi and JE at once.

But they weren't stupid. Knowing full well she was in absorption mode, they didn't waste strength attacking her head-on. Instead, they broke past her guard and went straight for the control deck.

Rita grabbed JE's tail and unleashed a skill she had never once used in the Divine Game or Moonlight Marsh before—\\[Dark Side of the Moon]!

It cost 2 percent of her mana to teleport one target to the place they feared most.

The only risk—would the skill break through the Divine Game?

Would it send him to the thing he feared most in all of Kasilanar, or just within this sea?

The massive whale that nearly filled the cockpit vanished in an instant.

JE was nowhere to be seen on the water's surface. Had she actually thrown him out of the game?!

The pressure lifted off Rita's shoulders. She pushed Lulumi back toward their own ship, trying to relieve Maple Syrup, who was already down to half health.

As she closed in, Rita called, "Switch defense!"

Without hesitation, Maple Syrup swapped places with her. Her item skills were all offensive, perfect for dueling Lulumi. Rita would hold back the other three apprentices.

Each of them had their own mysterious artifacts. It wouldn't be over quickly.

But whether it was meddling spectators wanting more chaos, or forces pushing the match forward, fate didn't give them much breathing room.

When the next swing round began, the cue that had lined up against Ship No. 5 shifted… and pointed straight at them.

As Ship No. 5 barreled toward their side, Rita scanned the field and cast \\[Nebula Bubble] over all four of her teammates.

Fat Goose roared with laughter. "I knew it, I knew it, that bubble of yours was never just three charges!"

Mistblade grinned. "Hiding it all this time, huh?"

Motor: "I'm touched. She didn't even use it that one time she dropped to Class B."

Maple Syrup: "I thought you'd save it for an even bigger moment."

Their reactions made Rita laugh.

Over the years, she had changed.

Lightchaser was too dazzling. So dazzling that those who admired her couldn't help but chase after her, imitate her.

She was a blade that never sheathed. Her apprentices had to be the same.

She had only used the bubble three times before because she had never faced a situation that required multiple summons in a single day.

She wouldn't hide her treasure away out of fear of being coveted or stolen.

If she dared be that timid, Lightchaser would surely be disappointed in her.

Ship No. 5 slammed into their vessel and JE's, shoving them both forward hundreds of meters, closer and closer to the goal hole!

It was an incredibly precise strike. If her ship weren't the one about to be pocketed, Rita would have applauded it as a perfect shot.

She gripped the rail, pulling against the momentum, trying to slow the ship, anything to keep it from sliding into the hole.

"Well, my teacher also said true geniuses never need to hold back."

With that, Maple Syrup hurled her spear toward the waters away from the goal.

"Thunder God's Blessing!"