This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 303: [Who Will Cut the Moonlight] (SS-Rank)

It was over. When Rita checked the Wealth Leaderboard, sure enough, she was now at the top—not just in the Pet, Level, and Honor rankings, but also Wealth: Rita, 63,403 gold, 67 silver, 13 copper.

She herself had 44,000 gold; the rest was Nivalis’ share. Clearly, Nivalis’ funds were included in the total.

Previously, she had briefly entered the top 100 of the Wealth Leaderboard after spending all 80,000 gold she’d earned. Back then, it was just a couple of thousand gold at a time—she earned quickly but spent even faster. Trying to remain anonymous had only drawn more suspicion, so after her last notification, she’d chosen to stay public.

Even so, her name had lingered on the board, and now, with a sudden influx of 60,000 gold, she had catapulted straight to first place.

[Rita]: Living off Nivalis’ generosity.

[Rita]: Eclipse Vanguard, where’s your finance department? How do you still not have 60,000 gold?!

[Shadow.Q]: Is your mouth some kind of S-rank weapon? Why is your attack power this high?!

[Shadow.Q]: Our finances are divided across cities; we’ve been spread thin for a while.

Rita patted Nivalis. "Let’s go! Spend it before it’s too late!"

Instead of heading to a major city, they went straight to the auction house in Ton Ton Mountain. After all, the auction houses across the 36 cities were linked.

Nivalis, now in the form of a small bear, perched on Rita’s head and helped search.

Given the peculiar nature of [Fate Out of Sync], Rita immediately excluded anything below S-rank.

Rather than focusing on destruction-based skills, she prioritized theft-based ones. Stealing was often easier and more discreet than destroying—and in this area, she was an expert. Unfortunately, there were no theft skills on sale.

In fact, the auction house only listed 67 skills above S-rank. Finally, Rita’s eyes landed on a skill that might be extremely useful in their current situation. It wasn’t an attack, defense, or escape skill—it didn’t even seem practical at first glance. It had only a cryptic description, but it was an SS-rank skill.

[Who Will Cut the Moonlight] (SS-Rank): You may cut away the moonlight from an area, rendering it moonless.

The skill immediately reminded her of [Wrathful Moon]’s third effect, which was similarly vague yet matched this skill perfectly: one pacified the moon, while the other cut its light.

Moreover, [Who Will Cut the Moonlight] was one of the most expensive skills she’d ever seen in an auction house—though she hadn’t visited the high-end auction venues yet. Its starting bid was 10,000 gold, and its buyout price was a staggering 60,000 gold!

This pricing likely meant the seller wasn’t sure of its value but was unwilling to let it go cheaply. By setting a high buyout price and a lower starting bid, they left room for competition.

The item was depicted as a skill tablet, not a book or scroll, suggesting it wasn’t crafted from someone’s experiences or skill essence but rather excavated from some ancient civilization or relic. It could even be the condensed skill of a powerful being posthumously.

If the skill worked as described, allowing them to remove moonlight from an area, it might prove invaluable when they ascended the tower. What if they could cut away the moonlight over Eternal Night Fortress? Would it help their operations?

Rita tapped Nivalis. "Quick, lend me 16,000!"

Without hesitation, Nivalis handed over the money. Rita immediately purchased the skill outright. Even though the buyout price was 50,000 gold higher than the starting bid, she didn’t want to gamble. The item had been listed for less than two minutes, with 47 hours and 58 minutes remaining—there was no way she could wait, let alone risk someone else snatching it.

After paying, Rita and Nivalis ducked into a secluded corner. Once the skill tablet arrived via mail, she wasted no time smashing it to learn [Who Will Cut the Moonlight].

She then drank a [Melting Time] potion, changed her outfit and race, sprayed herself with [I Really Don’t Have Time to Shower], and told Nivalis to drop the bear disguise.

A few minutes later, a towering orc over two meters tall walked down Ton Ton Mountain’s streets, cradling a small cat in one arm.

Nivalis asked telepathically, "Is that skill really amazing?"

Rita replied, "I’m not entirely sure, but I have a hunch it’s incredible. If I didn’t buy it, I’d regret it for the rest of my life."

No sooner had she finished speaking than several squads of guards burst out of the auction house. Among them were a team of Moon Foxes, a team of Owls, a team of Dark Elves, and a team of Sirens.

A Dark Elf grabbed Rita’s arm and demanded, "Have you seen a Minotaur named ’Spicy’ with a bear about this big?"

Rita shook her head and replied in a gruff voice, "Nope, just got here."

The Dark Elf immediately released her and moved on to question another passerby.

Nivalis: "Wow, it must be good!"

Rita: "Come on, let’s buy toys."

Nivalis: "Aren’t we heading back?"

Rita: "Leaving now would only make us suspicious. Sometimes staying at the scene helps you blend in."

Nivalis: "If Holy Cup knew how much I’ve learned from you, she’d be so proud."

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Rita: "…Are you mocking me?!"

Nivalis: "Huh?"

Case closed. Nivalis is definitely getting revenge.

After a few steps, Rita suddenly froze. Wait a minute, I didn’t commit any crimes! All I did was buy something legally!

Nivalis seemed to realize this at the same moment. The pair exchanged a sheepish glance before silently pretending nothing had happened.

They strolled through a toy store, then stopped by a herb shop to buy ingredients and potion bottles Rita needed. Lastly, they visited the most luxurious restaurant in Ton Ton Mountain, booking a private room for a lavish meal.

By the time they left three hours later, Rita had dropped from first place on the Wealth Leaderboard to 69th, with only 2,937 gold and 19 silver left. As long as she avoided buying top-tier skills, her funds were surprisingly durable.

On the game forums:

36 hours ago: People said Rita and Nivalis were a "tycoon and her dragon CEO."

36 hours later: People suspected she was laundering money.

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Rita concluded that saving money required momentum. Once you spent it all at once, the motivation to save again disappeared.

By the time they returned to Blue Star, it was already the early hours of the 20th. Rita fed the cats in her backyard but refrained from checking the cat bed. She felt that the longer the interval, the better the items she retrieved—though it wasn’t like the cats would swap out her prizes mid-delivery.

She had asked them before if there was any pattern to what they brought back, but they always feigned ignorance. After enough attempts, Rita had given up.

Nivalis, however, was more persistent. She’d tried tracking the cats several times to find their "supply chain," only to be discovered and thwarted each time.

After entrusting the cats to Nivalis, Rita resumed her training.

[Fox Shadow] needed to be mastered—it would be invaluable if the tower turned out to be a battlefield.

[Who Will Cut the Moonlight] had to be tested in a secluded area.

She also needed to memorize the 300+ processes of [Gold-Class Assassin], as well as the notes Hecipah had given her, the recipe for [Spring Not Late], and the martial arts manuals she’d stolen from Moonfox City’s library long ago.

To an outsider, it might seem like she was preparing for an advanced exam in the tower.