This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

After expressing her gratitude to Holy Cup and North Year, Rita used her Cat Head Portal to return to Blue Star with Nivalis. Once Nivalis was settled, Rita's first priority was transforming into the form of an Oaken Owl, the guise she had used during her dealings with Black Jade. She flew to The Lopez Family Estate to find him.

Upon her arrival, Black Jade was asleep. Landing directly in front of him, she ignored the Eclipse Vanguard guards nearby. They glanced her way but didn't approach.

Rita wasted no time. "What are the side effects of using Moment of Reversal to exchange attributes with a stronger being?"

Black Jade, without even opening his eyes, smirked maliciously. "So, you've tried it already."

Rita pulled out several gold bricks she had taken from The Taylor Family, casually reshaping them into featureless golden orbs to erase their markings. Placing them on the ground, she said, "Buying information. I used the coins to purchase Moment of Reversal, so this is all I have."

Black Jade finally opened his eyes, clearly displeased with the offering but willing to accept it nonetheless. He relished the thought of seeing the owl suffer.

"All things come at a price," he began. "Equivalent exchange is the safest option. If you swap life force, even unevenly—like 1% for 100%—that's fine. Life force regenerates.

"Attribute points and divine talent skills can also be exchanged, but only to a certain extent. If the disparity is too great, fate will balance the scales elsewhere. For every unfair trade you make, you—or someone deeply connected to you—will lose an equivalent amount of core strength. Meanwhile, the other party will gain compensation from fate."

"How much did you exchange?"

Rita's voice was calm. "Ten times my original."

Black Jade laughed loudly. "Unlucky! That kind of trade guarantees that either you or someone tied to you will suffer an equivalent loss in essence. And the other party? They'll get a bonus from fate." Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

Rita frowned. The hidden rules behind high-tier skills and artifacts were rarely stated outright, but they always existed.

She recalled her experience in High Tower, where she had swapped for multiple S-tier divine talents without any immediate repercussions. Was it because those exchanges hadn't involved actual trades?

Noticing her heavy expression, Black Jade chuckled gleefully. "Regretting it already, huh? I've learned these lessons the hard way."

Rita crossed her arms, deep in thought. The revelation was sobering, like a slap to the face, but it wasn't without potential. There had to be a way to turn this around.

"What if I acted as a middleman?" she asked. "For example, I take 100 Intelligence points from you and trade them with an 8-Intelligence player. Then I swap their 8 points back to you. In the end, my stats remain unchanged, but you and the other player switch stats. Who gets punished—me or the other player?"

Black Jade paused. The question stumped him.

"I… don't know. I've never tried something like that."

Rita let the idea go. It wasn't worth pursuing. Frenzied Shark's stats were likely astronomical—too high to risk. A single step in the wrong direction could kill her outright.

Instead, she asked, "What if I use Moment of Reversal and kill the other party afterward?"

Black Jade fell silent, clearly trying to avoid confirming her suspicion.

But his reaction told Rita everything. Killing the other party could mitigate or even nullify the consequences.

Her mind flashed back to the Scorpion Monument incident, where she had swapped agility stats to escape. Even if she had returned to that moment, she wouldn't have been able to kill her opponent.

Each step she had taken since then—from borrowing Moment of Reversal from Black Jade to negotiating with Jameson for Miyaas's lair, to escaping Scorpion Monument—had felt like the only logical choice at the time.

Yet, the consequences had compounded, leaving her in this mess.

Having learned the hidden cost of Moment of Reversal, Rita didn't linger. She returned home and prepared to send a message to her past self, warning against carrying resurrection skills.

She then turned her attention to Wrathful Moon, which had completed its upgrade during her journey to Dragon Island. Until now, she hadn't had the time or energy to examine it.

[Wrathful Moon] (S-Tier) (Upgradeable)

Skill 1: Planet: Enables flight anywhere. Requires marking an object or being as your "star." The maximum distance (in meters) between you and the star cannot exceed the sum of your HP and mana, and the minimum distance cannot be less than your level. Marking a star takes 2 seconds. Mana consumption increases with speed, starting at 5 mana per second.

Skill 2: Temporal Stroll: Allows short-term travel to the past or future. The time span (in days) cannot exceed your age, and the duration (in minutes) cannot exceed your level. You must avoid being seen by your past or future self, or your HP will drop to zero. Pets can be brought along. Cooldown: 24 hours.

(Note: Objects left in the past will disappear after 48 hours.)

Skill 3: Bubble Nebula: Creates a nebula around a target, absorbing all damage dealt to it during its 5-minute "incubation." Afterward, the absorbed damage converts to a defensive value for the nebula. The shield lasts until depleted. Casting time: 1 second. Cooldown: none. Max active nebulae: 3.

Skill 4: Wrathful Moon (Passive): The lantern only glows when in a good mood. It enjoys fairy tales.

(Note: All skills require the artifact to be carried personally. Placing it in an inventory disables its effects.)

The changes were substantial. Planet's casting time had decreased, and the distance limits had increased. Meanwhile, Temporal Stroll now allowed travel to the future, making the upgrade more than worth the Moon Sand she had invested.

The addition of Bubble Nebula was the crown jewel—a perfect shield skill.

Moreover, Rita could now control Wrathful Moon more precisely, including manipulating the Moon Sand inside. Whether to extract it or convert it into ultimate energy was entirely up to her.

Calling Nivalis out, Rita used Wrathful Moon to convert Moon Sand into ultimate energy, channeling it directly to her companion.

She only stopped when Nivalis's ultimate energy had increased by 2,000 points.

Nivalis's crystalline eyes gazed at Rita. In a soft voice, she asked, "Is this your way of repaying me for what I endured in the World Battleground?"