This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The apprentice was taken away. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The last words from the Vineborne were not a winner’s taunt but an objective statement of fact.

Lightchaser sat on the edge of the wooden house, one leg bent while the other dangled in mid-air. She held a dagger in her hand, absently toying with it, but her mind was clearly elsewhere.

After handling some matters, Ash Cinders hurried over, only to find Lightchaser in this state. She was concerned.

The black panther nimbly jumped up into the tree, and as it landed next to the elf, it transformed into moonbear. Ash Cinders first entered the house to inspect, then returned to sit by Lightchaser and asked, "Who took her away?"

It couldn’t have been a Quiet Mountain player, or else Lightchaser wouldn’t look so melancholic, almost as if she were a little shaken. This was rare.

Lightchaser pursed her lips, and the first thing she said was, "I can’t beat her anymore."

This was something that could have been anticipated. Once she knew that the other was using time-stop to frequently enter the Demon Game, it was clear where the apprentice would go—QM Rita. The apprentice had found herself a new teacher.

Not long ago, the apprentice was just a little one who relied on Lightchaser and worshipped her. Her dreams were intertwined with Lightchaser’s, and she wielded a dagger. But in the blink of an eye, she had become an Adjudicator, negotiating on behalf of BS and Isolated Isle.

Time passed, and Lightchaser found herself once again on the war cruise ship, witnessing her apprentice breaking free from fate, creating history in the Divine Game.

Before Lightchaser could even adapt to the idea that her apprentice was no longer just that—her apprentice—the dagger she once wielded could no longer block the sword in the apprentice’s hand.

Lightchaser couldn’t defeat her, and naturally, Ash Cinders, who was of a similar strength, couldn’t either.

Ash Cinders asked, "How long did you last?"

Lightchaser gave her a cold glance and refused to answer this unfriendly question.

Ash Cinders, sensing the tension, quickly changed the subject. "Alright, who took her away?"

This question wasn’t exactly friendly either. Lightchaser furrowed her brows in annoyance and replied, "A Vineborne who claims to be her cooking teacher."

Although they hadn’t gone to the so-called temple, the scattered bits of information in the battle chat group were enough to piece things together. It was just that they hadn’t connected the cooking teacher to the "DawnCicada’s network" until now.

But when the other person appeared and admitted to being the cooking teacher, all the scattered clues finally clicked together.

However, rather than questioning why a god would descend to Quiet Mountain, Ash Cinders was more interested in one thing, or rather, her own hypothesis. She asked, "Did she make a move on you?"

Lightchaser calmly responded, "Yes, she wanted to kill me."

"You’re not surprised or angry?"

"There’s nothing to be surprised about. I just guessed her Demon Game nightmare."

What was the most painful thing for BS Rita?

To be imprisoned, losing her freedom? No, that wouldn’t be meaningful. Because unless death occurs, her apprentice would never lose hope. Even if BS Rita was locked up from beginning to end in the Demon Game, she wouldn’t suffer. She would only think about how to break free and overcome the obstacles.

Would it be painful for someone close to her to betray her? It’s possible. But the apprentice had already learned to accept that everyone would part ways due to their own ideals. She guarded herself, including Ash Cinders.

Would trampling on her self-respect cause pain? No, it wouldn’t make her suffer—it would only ignite her fury and provoke a wild counterattack.

What else? What else could cause her pain? Probably only having to destroy the things she cared about with her own hands.

The apprentice was heartless and greedy—one teacher wasn’t enough, one pet wasn’t enough, one cat wasn’t enough. But she cared about everyone she kept by her side, in her heart. She scavenged for sincerity, unsatisfied.

Only something irreparable could make a being experience unbearable pain.

If the apprentice repeatedly entered the Demon Game after time-stop, and killed herself in the game again and again, the worst-case scenario might be that she had already killed herself tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of times.

In this case, she would have formed a conditioned reflex. Upon seeing Lightchaser, even without hearing the Demon Game task, she would act immediately.

And judging by the apprentice’s clearly abnormal state, it was hard to say if she still had the capacity for rational thought.

Thinking of this, Lightchaser nodded in satisfaction and said to Ash Cinders, "She only attacked me. She didn’t touch that Vineborne. That’s good."

It meant that the apprentice’s nightmare was only to kill herself.

Cooking teacher? Pfft, just an elective teacher.

Lightchaser: "Though I lost, I still won."

Ash Cinders: "...Mm, if she sees me, she’ll probably try to kill me too."

Although Ash Cinders became Rita’s formal teacher later, she had spent more time with the apprentice during their time at Moonlight Marsh. Most of the time on the little boat in the Time River, she was teaching the apprentice, who looked for sincerity, not time.

Perhaps she wasn’t as good as Lightchaser, but from the apprentice’s reaction the first time she left the Demon Game, Ash Cinders certainly held some position in the apprentice’s heart.

Lightchaser stood, dagger in hand, looking down at moonbear with a dismissive gaze. "Childish." With that, she vanished.

Ash Cinders: ?

[Isolated Isle Ash Cinders]: "Don’t leave! I need to play the Demon Game at 6 a.m. tomorrow."

[Isolated Isle Lightchaser]: "Follow the code and come find me."

[BS Mistblade]: "Did you find her?"

[Isolated Isle Lightchaser]: "No."

[Lania Kaia Fat Goose]: "She won’t be in danger, will she?"

[DawnCicada]: "I’m almost to Forest Sea! How dare she mess with me?"

[Isolated Isle Lightchaser]: "I’d advise you to stay a few more days, there might be a surprise."

[Isolated Isle Ash Cinders]: "As someone who taught you for two years, I suggest you leave quickly."

[DawnCicada]: "???"

Deceitful Bloom, now wearing her hood again, was walking down a path in Forest Sea with BS Rita.

She had initially grabbed BS Rita by the back of her shirt, dragging her along, but after just a few steps, Her Dragon appeared and started growling at her like an angry little dog.

A small Mechanoid peered out from behind the dragon’s horns, quietly saying, "You can’t do this."

This world really was hopeless...

So, the current situation was that Nivalis, now the size of a colt, was carrying BS Rita on her back, closely followed by B80.

After a few more steps, Nivalis and B80 would stop to check, "Is she going to break free from the restraints?"

Lightchaser could deduce things, and Deceitful Bloom wasn’t unaware either. She asked, "Is she trying to kill you?"

Nivalis nodded, a bit uncomfortable. "Yes, but it’s not her fault. She’s just gotten used to it."

Deceitful Bloom thought of Lightchaser’s expression and couldn’t help but laugh, sighing, "You’re not blaming her?"

Nivalis sighed too. "Sigh, there’s no helping it. That’s just who she is."

B80: "And how many beings can make her feel pain?"

Nivalis: "Only a few."

B80 repeated, "Only a few!"

Nivalis: "Just the two of us, plus Ash Cinders and Lightchaser, right?"

B80: "As of now, just the four of us. Not sure about Apache."

Nivalis: "Even if you count Apache, it’s still a handful."

B80: "Yeah, yeah."

Nivalis: "Sigh, are we just her... what’s the word? Weakness?"

B80: "Achilles’ heel."

Nivalis: "Her reverse scale!"

B80: "Taboo!"

Deceitful Bloom: "......Idiots."

All this talk, and still not realizing I’m about to cut you all down! And you’re still here laughing!