This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Rita had a front-row seat to witness the oath sworn beneath the High Tower, a moment that would go down in the history of the Oak Owls.

In the ceremony, Maple Syrup stood with her left arm around Maple Mu—who was about her height—and her right hand holding Maple Cang. On her back was the eight-year-old Maple Burn.

This year, Rita had heard about many Oak Owls mysteriously defecting, forming three separate organizations. When Rita first heard the news, she couldn't believe it. After all, Eclipse Vanguard had only sent six small squads.

This year, the 11 foreign races had already occupied one-third of the dungeon holograms, with powerful foreign races guarding them. The Oak Owls were unable to clear these dungeons in time, and every seven days, new foreign soldiers would pour out of the holograms.

Maple Syrup began taking them to battle, clearing out the foreign invaders in the Forest Sea and gathering forces to reclaim the dungeon holograms.

As Maple Syrup became more familiar with Lania Kaia, Rita finally worked up the courage to ask a question she'd been curious about for some time. "Why do they have so many foot soldiers? It's like no matter how many we kill, more just keep coming. Do they breed like spores?"

Maple Syrup, having looked into the matter herself, explained to her daughter:

"The Sea Demons cultivate a kind of sea beast that can lay a million eggs every day. As long as the foreign races feed this creature with some of their flesh and blood, the eggs hatch into foreign soldiers. The longer the incubation, the higher the level of the soldier that emerges, and they might even inherit some of the abilities of their blood donor. The foreign soldiers you see below level 45? At least 80% of them were quick-hatched low-tier soldiers."

"Doesn't giving them blood harm the foreign races? Are they, like, their children?"

"Perhaps. I've heard that the soldiers born this way don't look like their blood donors. Each foreign race can only donate flesh once a month, but the major royal families of the foreign races reward those who donate, so they're generally happy to do so."

Maple Syrup always answered Rita's questions—except when it came to the World Battlefield. That one remained a mystery, which bothered Rita. Furthermore, collecting World Tombs was tough for Maple Syrup. It was all based on luck. Interestingly, Maple Cang seemed to have an inherent connection to them and managed to find one, which she gave to Maple Syrup.

Occasionally, Maple Syrup would give Rita a shooting skill book. These were rare, though, because she would only give them out once she had collected the necessary ones for all three daughters. More importantly, her standards were high—she wouldn't even consider anything below A-grade, thinking it unworthy for her daughters.

"Oh, really?" Rita thought, "A little proud, aren't we?"

One morning, after realizing this, Rita quietly pulled Maple Syrup aside and whispered, "Mother, I want to talk to you about my dream."

The bloodlust and fierce aura accumulated over years of battle instantly melted from Maple Syrup's face. Her expression became sweet and gentle. She crouched down, hugging Maple Burn, and asked softly, "Tell me, what's your dream?"

Rita raised her hand to gesture for privacy. "My dream is to have a long-distance movement skill that ignores all constraints, preferably an SSS-level one."

Maple Syrup's expression froze. "......…"

That was the first time Rita saw such a rich and varied expression on her mother's face, and she instantly understood what it meant: "You've never even seen an SSS-level skill, so why are you dreaming about one?"

Immediately, Rita backpedaled, saying, "An SS-level one would be fine, mother. I'm not picky."

Before she could finish, her wings were grabbed by Maple Cang, who then locked Rita's neck with her other arm and gently said to Maple Syrup, "Mother, she hasn't woken up yet. I'll take her to get some more sleep."

With that, Maple Cang tried to drag Rita away.

Rita reached out to Maple Syrup, pleading, "Mother! An S-level one would be fine! I'm scared!"

Maple Cang sighed, "…"

Maple Syrup sighed, too, clearly not sure what to say.

At that moment, Maple Mu, who had just stepped into the house, froze, feeling her grip tighten on her whip involuntarily.

After that day, Maple Mu took Maple Burn and Maple Cang with her to the battlefield for half a month, refusing to let them come back at night and only allowing them to sleep in trees.

Maple Cang asked, "What does this have to do with me?"

With a smile, Maple Mu replied, "To thank you for the hair growth potion you gave me last week."

Rita looked at Maple Cang, silently thinking, You've committed a serious crime.

The two sisters exchanged a glance, silently considering the situation. Even if the Forest Sea perished and High Tower collapsed, Maple Mu's hairline was still the highest in the family!

Maple Mu leaned back and joined the conversation. Coldly, she said, "I'm still alive."

In the year 7200, Maple Burn, at age 11, finally rose to special upper rank—no, she finally gained a reputation, becoming an extremely well-known support on the battlefield!

She used her skills sparingly. Her healing never overflowed or went to waste. But as long as she was in charge of a team, no one ever died. As long as you had even a breath left, she'd make sure to pull you back from the hands of death, every single time. In Maple Burn's team, you could always trust her.

It was also this year that Pine Bloom, who had always been beneath Maple Syrup and Peach Crown, obtained a dragon named Lidian. Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

When Maple Syrup heard that Pine Bloom had gotten a dragon, she sulked for several days at home.

"How could this happen?" she grumbled. "It's not that impressive…"

"The dragon's wings are ugly…"

"How did she get a dragon?…"

"It's a red dragon! The color matches our orange-red wings so well! Pine Bloom's green wings look terrible in comparison!"

"Is she even capable of taking care of a dragon?"

Rita watched in silence, barely able to hide her amusement, until Maple Mu threw a petal bun at her. If Rita hadn't caught it in time, it would've fallen to the ground.

"That's my special petal bun! Maple Syrup gave me a new recipe! It raises luck by 1 point temporarily!"

Rita squeezed the bun in her hand, glaring at Maple Mu. I'm seriously annoyed right now!

But, remembering that Maple Mu had just given her a C-grade skill the day before, one that changed the color of her eyes, hair, wings, and even teeth—she let it go.

It was just another day of eating soft food and enduring frustration at the hands of her older sister.

Maple Cang seemed to particularly enjoy watching Maple Mu "bully" Maple Burn. She smiled and observed the entire scene, reaching up to smooth Rita's hair. It always seemed that when Rita got angry, her feathers would ruffle slightly, both in her hair and wings.

Maple Mu was very good to Maple Cang as well, though Maple Cang had a more tolerant personality. Over time, Rita began to notice that, in terms of behavior, Maple Mu truly resembled an older sister. She took responsibility for caring for both her younger sisters, always ensuring they had skill books and equipment, and thoughtfully helping them match skills.