The Returner - Chapter 405: That’s why we’ve ended up in this state (5)

I used a cheat to devise a character in a game. Upon regaining consciousness after pressing the play button, I discovered myself embodying the character I had crafted, the ‘Priest of Corruption.’ This character was intentionally created with unfavourable statistics and is widely detested! The sole item in my inventory was the withered hand of a woman, yet could it possibly be the hand of a goddess?

The Red Dragon came from the vast wild wastes, coveting all the strength in the world. It once had countless titles: Mountain's Wrathful Flame, Infernal Calamity, Crimson Emperor, Ashen Dragon......The world trembled under the shadow of the giant dragons. He stirred up the craze of the magic industrial revolution; in the empire he established, Wyverns roared, artillery fired in unison, and steel beasts appeared in the sky and on the land, while disasters from another world rampaged everywhere.“Submit, or die.”Cassius spread his wings, blotting out the sun, and gazed down at the trembling humans, elves, and dwarves below, saying thus.......It is a story about a Red Dragon with a player template conquering, ruling, and transforming an alternate world.(Pseudo of DnD, The Fourth Calamity, Red Dragon)

“What does it feel like to be a shadow?”People say it's bondage — the absence of light, of freedom. But what is freedom, really?The ability to choose whatever you want?Or... just a beautiful illusion masking the void?Strange question, I know.But you'll understand soon enough.Because my lives?They've always been a little... enlightening.— Kaiser

After her rebirth, Rita vows not to repeat her past mistakes. This time, her first priority is to stop her brother, who is about to marry into the Lopez family, from participating in the initial game beta test. In her previous life, she was deceived by this scheming brother until her dying breath. It was only at the end that she realized she was merely a villain in a male-oriented novel about a live-in son-in-law, with all the malice and manipulation orchestrated by him behind the scenes. In this life, Rita decides to change the rules of the game. She will stay in the shadows and seize all the opportunities meant for the male and female leads. By participating in the beta test and re-selecting her abilities, she systematically dismantles the protagonists’ advantages, all while making them believe she’s on their side. Rita has no intention of harming innocent people, nor is she a selfless saint. In this game, she works with the authorities for mutual benefit, all to achieve her ultimate goal—becoming the true master of her fate.