This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 322: High Tower·Sizzle Master

Every cycle they went through brought new pieces of fragmented information, like fitting together a puzzle. Shadow.Q had already decided that in the next cycle, she would stay within the Oak Owl faction.

As they flew towards the dungeon barrier, Rita asked, "Did you find out how they shut down the dungeon barriers?"

Shadow.Q replied, "No detailed intel, just that we’ll know once we get inside. The maximum number of people allowed to close a dungeon barrier is three."

The specific items Shadow.Q had gathered were all level 20. Rita and Sanchez sifted through them, piecing together a complete set of 20-level specific items from what Shadow.Q had collected.

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The three of them weren’t slacking off over the years. They were very familiar with the Forest Sea map and dungeon barriers. It didn’t take long before they found a 20-level dungeon barrier. Together with Nivalis, they rushed towards it, each of them handling two barriers, swiftly taking down the patrolling Oak Owl guards.

Though Shadow.Q hadn’t spent much time leveling, she had already reached level 50, making it easy for her to deal with the 30-level Oak Owls.

After clearing the guards, the three of them pulled out 11 level 20 specific items and, carrying a pile of goods, entered the dungeon barrier one by one.

And then…

Before even a second passed, they were kicked out.

The three of them stared at each other, with Nivalis landing on Rita’s head, just as confused.

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The 11 items in their hands hadn’t changed at all.

Sanchez asked, "Is it the wrong items?"

Shadow.Q shook her head. "No… if the items were wrong, we wouldn’t have been kicked out. They just wouldn’t have had any effect."

Rita, however, recalled her past gaming experiences and said, "Could it be that the map can’t load?"

After all, this was the world inside the High Tower, stitched together from the spirits of the heroic souls and their memories. They could only follow the course of history without actually changing it.

Even if they killed half of the Oak Owl’s foot soldiers, the wars that were supposed to be won would still be won, and the ones that were meant to lose would still lose. They couldn’t truly change the course of history.

Rita asked, "…Have you two entered dungeon barriers in the past?"

Both Shadow.Q and Sanchez nodded.

That was certain. When they were soldiers in the Oak Owl faction, they would need to go to the battlefield in the later stages, but in the early stages, they always attacked dungeon barriers.

Rita continued, "This means that the High Tower can not only accommodate the Forest Sea battlefield but also part of the Lania Kaia projection. Based on how we can’t alter the outcome of history, but we still have some freedom of action, even if we can’t close the dungeon barrier, theoretically, we should still be able to enter it and go through the process. Afterward, the dungeon barrier would still exist, right?"

"Many things inside the High Tower can be fabricated, like a highly flexible game world. Those heroic spirits are somewhat intelligent NPCs; they can create the skill books we need and give us tasks based on our requirements. Nivalis can even create toys, and those skill books and tasks are part of their consciousness and memories. We can’t take those out of the High Tower because they aren’t truly real."

Rita shifted the topic back to the dungeon barriers: "But now, when we try to enter the dungeon, it kicks us out immediately. The only explanation I can think of is that it can’t load the real thing. It can’t load the true reality."

Sanchez’s gaze began to grow distant, while Nivalis started fiddling with her nails.

Shadow.Q immediately understood what Rita meant: "You’re suspecting that if we enter the dungeon with these 11 items, we might actually enter the real Lania Kaia, not just its projection?"

Talking with smart people was easy, and Rita nodded. "Exactly!"

It was just a guess, but Shadow.Q thought that this was the closest to the truth.

The two of them continued discussing their thoughts and plans under a tree. Meanwhile, Nivalis and Sanchez somehow ended up locking eyes, and Sanchez pulled out her now-worn-out game console, asking Nivalis, "Wanna play a round?"

Nivalis mentally asked Rita: "Can I play a game with your sister Sanchez?"

Rita: "If I say no, you’re not playing."

Nivalis: "Of course! I’m your little one, even Holy Cup’s words don’t hold as much weight as yours!"

Rita: "…Just go ahead. But if you lose, don’t expect me to avenge you."

Nivalis: "Just wait, I’ll make sure to bully her for you!"

By the time Rita and Shadow.Q were still in deep conversation, when they turned around, they found that Sanchez and Nivalis had tossed aside their game consoles and were already engaged in a heated mock fight, both insulting each other for being bad at the game.

They watched for a few seconds, then quietly turned back, pretending they hadn’t seen anything.

Rita said, "Is everything really okay?"

Shadow.Q answered, "It’s fine. No one would be foolish enough to side with the exotic races."

But Shadow.Q’s furrowed brow clearly showed her concern.

It was obvious she had noticed something.

This made Rita curious. What kind of identity and promises had those from Eclipse Vanguard received that had caused them to start wavering after only twenty or so years?

They still had more than two hundred and seventy years of imprisonment ahead of them. How would they endure it? They also had to be cautious about keeping their own lives safe. No wonder so few exotic races made it to the top, and once they did, they forgot who they originally were.

Shadow.Q asked, "What are your plans for the next cycle?"

Rita already had an idea. "I’ll follow the Oak Owls for a cycle, then jump out to complete my own cycle."

That was the official story, but Rita wasn’t going to tell Shadow.Q her true plans. She intended to find an opportunity to pull off a big heist in each cycle and escape.

Sigh, doing missions to earn skills was too slow. Why not just take what she wanted?

After parting ways with Shadow.Q, Rita traveled with Nivalis for half a year, marking the end of this cycle.

However, during her fifth cycle, Rita found herself assigned as a kitchen assistant, specifically tasked with cooking for Pine Bloom and Lidian. Just as she realized what had happened, she heard someone call her name—[Cucumber].

Rita lazily got up and glanced at the Oak Owl’s skill—[Sizzle Master], S-rank!

Ignoring the cramped space, Rita spread her wings and flew low, shouting, "I’m here! What do you need, Uncle?!"

No matter what year it was, she was determined to live out this cycle in the kitchen!

The Sizzle Master wasn’t stingy. He let Rita watch and learn how he cooked but never allowed her to touch Pine Bloom’s food. Rita’s only job was to wash and chop vegetables. Since the kitchen only handled food for Pine Bloom and Lidian, the workload wasn’t too heavy. If it weren’t for the fact that she was the Sizzle Master’s niece, she wouldn’t even have this job.

Rita wasn’t upset. Being an apprentice was like that—if she could learn true skills, it would be worth it. Plus, she had free reign with the ingredients here.

By the third year, the Sizzle Master started to loosen his grip a little. Sometimes when the Sizzle Master took a break, someone would pass the message that Lidian was hungry. Too lazy to get up, the Sizzle Master would send Rita to cook for Lidian.