This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 230: "Must Have," "This is Non-Negotiable," "Might as Well Die"

In Rita’s mind, the image of Scarlett’s [Law of the Jungle] immediately flashed by.

Mistblade explained, "Many curses and skills can be transmitted through bloodline chains. As long as you find the family members of your enemy, you can harm them as a way of hurting your true target."

Rita looked down at [Spring Not Late], reading its description. Like [Heart of the Undying], it was an advanced alchemical creation. Both the gemstone and potion had instructions similar to what Mistblade described, and the bloodline chain’s severance had a deadline of only 100 natural days.

Before Rita could process this information fully, Mistblade added, "And don’t even think about buying this gemstone elsewhere. I developed it myself. No one else in Lania Kaia can make it, and I absolutely, absolutely won’t put anything I create up for auction to make money!"

For some reason, Rita felt like there was a hint of gritted teeth in Mistblade’s last words.

Upon seeing [Spring Not Late], Rita made up her mind. She said, "I can sell you the bone tile."

Mistblade didn’t waste time. "Your terms."

Rita replied, "I want to know what this tile really is, I want an S-rank skill, and, along with [Spring Not Late] and [I Really Don’t Have Time to Shower], I also want to learn how to make them."

Mistblade nodded, reaching out as if to choke Rita by the neck. "Then maybe I should just kill you."

Startled, Rita quickly ducked to avoid Mistblade’s hand. "If you kill me, you won’t get it! And besides, my master left a safeguard on me!"

Mistblade shrugged. "So what? Even if you die, it won’t disappear. It will simply respawn somewhere else, and I can find it eventually. As for your ’master’? Let them come!"

Mistblade said this boldly, but she didn’t go all out—she was merely toying with Rita, like a cat playing with a mouse. If she were serious, Rita would have been dead already. Clearly, "random respawn" and "taking some time to find it" weren’t as easy as Mistblade made them sound.

Rita rolled on the ground to dodge Mistblade’s tail. Now was her chance! The moment Mistblade had started attacking, she had begun using [I Want This, This, and This] on her, and each time her health dropped, she’d heal herself with [Emerald Feast]. In just a few exchanges, Rita had increased her own health by 300%, and after spending 80% of her health on four failed attempts, she had now tried a total of 19 times—all unsuccessful.

She hadn’t even managed to steal an attribute, and her passive skill [You’re Too Weak] hadn’t detected any weaknesses on Mistblade, either.

Ducking and dodging, Rita tried to buy time. "You could negotiate a bit, you know. What’s the rush?"

Mistblade responded sternly, "I’m not telling you what this tile is, and I’m not giving you an S-rank skill."

At this point, Rita’s [Emerald Feast] was almost depleted, and her health was down to 40%. She took a risk, using a skill that wasn’t tied to her Divine Gift to change Mistblade’s luck to 1, then tried to steal one last time.

Success!

Quickly glancing into her inventory, Rita spotted a new mahjong tile in the bottom-right corner, covered with acorns.

Another tile like this? Was there some kind of attraction between these tiles, or was her desire for them so strong that her maxed-out luck had kicked in?

She didn’t have time to think it over. "Then I want the recipes for [Spring Not Late] and [I Really Don’t Have Time to Shower]—these are non-negotiable! I also need an A-rank defensive or recovery skill, and you must tell me how you first discovered this tile. That’s my bottom line. If you don’t agree, then kill me. And I also need an escape gem. If not, then just let me die here."

"Must have," "This is non-negotiable," "Might as well die"...

Mistblade couldn’t stand being threatened like this. She sneered, preparing to immobilize the little goblin and break her limbs.

But before Mistblade could act, Rita immediately drew her blade and slashed at her own neck. With only 20% of her health remaining, this attack caused her HP to drop by 5% instantly, and it continued to decrease at a rate of 2% per second.

This was a gamble of who was more ruthless. What shook Mistblade even more was that Rita held up a nose ring in her palm and, after a second, closed her hand around it. "My master just sent this over in response to my message that I’m bidding against an Oak Owl." Stay connected via novelbuddy.com

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Mistblade, being a royal of the Moon Fox clan, immediately recognized the item. The nose ring, in both quality and size, was definitely something only royals would have. Was it a token or a warning? Had Rita’s fluctuating health been the result of secret communication with her master?

Did this goblin, known as Kabi, serve a dragon or a minotaur?

Rita’s information was vague, but both the dragon’s aura and the nose ring were undeniably real.

Who exactly was this goblin working for?

And based on what Rita had said, she still intended to negotiate. She’d even hinted that she was framing the Oak Owl to curry favor with Mistblade…

Mistblade couldn’t help but laugh. She threw a light orb at Rita, sending her flying. Rita spun twice in the air, and when she finally steadied herself, her health had been fully restored. Mistblade was essentially healing her with her strongest skill.

Mistblade responded to Rita’s demands. "I could sense your tile because I already had other tiles in my possession. If a tile appears near me, I can detect it. The A-rank skill and the recipe for [Spring Not Late] are acceptable, and I’ll give you an escape gem. But [I Really Don’t Have Time to Shower] is non-negotiable. Even as the Moon Emperor, I am not permitted to share the Windtail Clan’s formula with outsiders."

[Spring Not Late] was Mistblade’s own creation, so even if Rita obtained the recipe, she couldn’t pass it on.

Rita discreetly wiped away the blood on herself and the floor, relieved that she had won the gamble. She knew such an omnipotent ability to detect tiles couldn’t be real; otherwise, why had a tile been buried in the depths of the ocean, undiscovered for so long? "Alright then. 50 bottles of [I Really Don’t Have Time to Shower]."

Mistblade countered, "10 bottles. No more than that."

Rita replied, "Deal!"

On the surface, it might seem like she’d negotiated a low price. After all, Mistblade had previously given PhantomDancer’s mother five epic potions, five legendary gems, and a favor in exchange for a tile.

But Rita was getting a recipe, not just the finished product. She didn’t feel shortchanged—in fact, she felt like what she had received was far more valuable than what Mistblade had offered before. Besides, who was she to demand "fairness" in a deal with someone so powerful?

Today’s exchange between Mistblade and herself was like her own encounter with PhantomDancer back then.

Even if she had to hand over [Four Circles] today, she had still managed to obtain two tiles from Mistblade overall… which meant she hadn’t really lost out.

Of course, Rita wanted to conclude the deal quickly and leave.

While her theft attempts had repeatedly failed, now that she’d succeeded, she felt a pang of fear.

Though the theft skill from the god of thieves would prevent the owner from realizing what was stolen until the next day, if Mistblade glanced at her tile collection and noticed anything missing, she could still catch on in an instant.

If she got caught, Rita was pretty sure Mistblade would turn her into a preserved goblin, bound to Mistblade’s tail, dragged along wherever she went.