This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

As Rita considered how she would climb back up if she ever lost her God-Given Talent, she took stock of her resources and talents.

When one strength after another was crossed off, when the only things left were alchemy and cooking, she had nowhere left to retreat—she had to tear down the walls and carve out a new path for herself.

Why had she been so fixated on the idea that her cooking talent wasn't outstanding enough?

Why couldn't alchemy make up for that gap?

BS had medicinal cuisine, so why couldn't she create alchemy-infused dishes?

Both disciplines involved ingesting substances to gain buffs and effects—combining them made perfect sense.

She didn't bother thinking about whether innovative alchemists like Apache or Lucia had ever tried this approach before.

Everyone had their own path to walk.

Just like how Mistblade was obsessed with alchemy, yet specialized in magic gemstones, while Apache focused on potions—she could find her own way forward.

Three Hundred Days of Isolation

Rita stayed in this space for three hundred days.

Yes. Three whole centuries in isolation.

After her first three days were up, she requested an extension.

And once she learned that Octopus Boss's skill operated on a 1-second-to-1-day ratio, she immediately requested the full 300 days.

Did Octopus Boss regret not forcibly taking back Potted Fortune instead of choosing her?

Rita didn't know.

But she was having the time of her life.

Every ingredient she used was instantly replenished, eliminating any concern for scarcity or waste.

She never had to worry about hunger, thirst, or exhaustion, allowing her to experiment freely.

The only thing she had to manage was sleep—even though the game mechanics minimized exhaustion, her mind still needed rest.

Unlimited materials and the time she lacked the most—there was no better place for her to be.

In fact, she started wanting a skill like this for herself.

Stealing skills allowed players to grow quickly, but a time acceleration skill like this?

That would let her convert all her existing knowledge into power—at no cost.

Rita had plenty of resources, but what she lacked was time.

If she had this kind of ability, she could digest resources and talents at a much faster rate.

She asked B80234615 to check the market price for similar abilities—if there had been historical transactions for this kind of power.

Of course, since B80234615 had already hidden her skill panel, it knew exactly how valuable her core abilities were—and which ones were absolutely off-limits for trade.

The final evaluation?

Octopus Boss's time skill was worth as much as her combined abilities:

[Out of the House, Identity is Self-Given] [Refurbish] [One-Person Party]

…plus five additional skills.

Any five chosen from Food God or Immortal.

And even at that price, it still wasn't guaranteed that she could buy it.

Rita asked, "If I sold my [I Just Want to Improve So Badly], what could I get?"

B80234615: "You could trade it for Octopus Boss's time skill, plus any three SS-tier bonus abilities."

Rita finally understood the insane value of her 'effortless growth' skill.

Alchemy-Infused Cuisine: The Birth of a New Discipline

In those 300 days, she not only finalized TingoJE's 18-course meal but also mastered each dish, consistently achieving a 95+ rating.

Once she perfected the basics, she began integrating alchemy.

At first, her alchemy-infused dishes were barely edible.

Then, she struggled with balancing flavor, aroma, and appearance.

And even when she nailed those aspects, the buffs and effects were underwhelming.

After all, in dish ratings, taste wasn't everything—the effects were just as important.

She experimented with everything:

Directly incorporating alchemical ingredients as food components. Transforming potions into sauces. Modifying magical properties to enhance flavor.

Throughout it all, B80234615 remained by her side.

It had offered to record and analyze her results, but she refused outright.

During one of her rest breaks, B80234615 asked,

"Do you not trust me enough to rely on me for this?"

Rita paused, then replied,

"No, don't listen to Nivalis's nonsense. Back then, I just hadn't fully thought it through... Look, I contracted you specifically to use you, but for this? No. Alchemy is something I have to master myself."

Then, she returned to her experiments.

Unshakable Conviction

There was one sauce recipe that took her nine whole days to perfect.

She repeated the same process, using the same ingredients, at the same temperature, hundreds of times.

For nine straight days, she refused to change anything—even though she failed over a thousand times.

"It's this step. It's this formula. I know it is."

Stubborn. Obstinate.

So confident it was almost arrogance.

This wasn't the humble, cautious BS Rita that Nivalis always described.

And yet, on the tenth day—

She finally succeeded.

B80234615, who had been silently recording everything, asked, "What was different?"

Rita shook her head.

"I can't explain it. I really can't."

It was like Eleanor's cooking.

Back when she had trained in the courtyard, she had watched Eleanor add seasoning—

It was never precisely measured, but the dishes always tasted exactly the same.

Fools got hung up on the tiny inconsistencies.

Geniuses didn't.

Geniuses had one thing—

Instinct.

She poured the sauce over the final dish.

The moment it landed, the entire dish exploded with golden light.

B80234615's robotic voice rang in her mind.

"What?! You really are a Special Grade Chef?!"

Rita: "…"

She ignored it.

Her full focus was on the dish before her—

[Scorching Ember Fish Roll]

She had wrapped it in three alchemical ingredients:

Demon Leaf Blazing Tail Petal Autumn Fire Silk

The sauce she had perfected wasn't just a sauce—

It was a newly invented alchemical potion, designed to:

Neutralize the Demon Leaf's bitterness Suppress the Blazing Tail Petal's burning sensation Soften the Autumn Fire Silk's toughness

The moment a diner took a bite, every chew would unleash an evolving burst of flavors and effects.

New Rating System Unlocked

[Scorching Ember Fish Roll]

★ Rating: 1 Star Effect: +888 Intelligence All fire-based skills deal double damage. Each attack summons a flame tornado to fight alongside you. Tornado's power scales with Intelligence; speed scales with Agility. Duration: 5 minutes

Instead of a numerical rating, it had been evaluated by a star system—just like World's Grave Forest.

B80234615 explained, "This is already considered a delicacy. A simple rating wouldn't do it justice."

Rita asked, "What's the max rating?"

"Seven stars."

She exhaled slowly, suppressing her excitement.

Then, she fired up the stove again.

Ten minutes later, another 1-star [Scorching Ember Fish Roll] sat on the counter.

Rita grinned.

"God, I wish I could see Apache and Pasta Princess's faces when they taste this."