This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Before Rita could ask anything else, Lightchaser cut in first.

"My turn. Why are you so sure I'm strong? Weren't you worried you were following a fraud?"

Fighting style and the decisions made in combat revealed much about a creature's nature.

In the arena, Rita never gambled on her opponent's mistakes—not because she'd suffered for it before, but because she instinctively disliked risk.

A child like that wouldn't pick a teacher lightly just because she hadn't seen better options.

Lightchaser frowned when Rita didn't answer right away.

"Whether your goal is selfish or not, intelligence is never a flaw. I don't hate cunning—I only hate stupidity and people who think they're smart when they're not."

Rita immediately answered honestly.

"You said there were others in Gilane watching us. But you intercepted us first, and no one else tried to interfere after that."

Which meant, in a hub town like Gilane—where bounty hunters and traveling traders passed through constantly—Lightchaser couldn't possibly be some nobody.

Her presence alone had been enough to deter everyone else from making a move.

Just like in the wild—when a top predator claimed its prey, no one dared to challenge it.

Rita gave another reason.

"And when you found the bound magic items on us, you weren't frustrated or angry. You gave up on them immediately."

That meant those magic tools weren't even valuable to Lightchaser. She wasn't here for profit.

Rita didn't say all of that out loud. She trusted Lightchaser would understand.

Lightchaser did. She burst into laughter, entirely pleased.

"Good. You're definitely not an idiot."

With her mood visibly lifted, she jerked her chin toward the table.

"Eat. After that, your second lesson starts."

"What kind of lesson?"

"Etiquette. Acting. Disguise. Observation. Infiltration."

"That's one class?!"

"It can be."

Rita had expected a formal class, maybe something like the programs Scarlett once enrolled her in.

Instead, Lightchaser took her out of the city again. For several days, she trained her on how to sneak, observe, mimic, and erase her own presence.

The pace was dizzying.

On the fourth afternoon, they arrived in Zanga.

This was the first real city Rita had ever been to. It wasn't a major capital like Asaein, but compared to Gilane, it was enormous.

She was just starting to marvel at the size of it when Lightchaser yanked her over to a nearby three-story building.

It was refined, elegant. Through the windows, she could see well-dressed people coming and going—nobles, from the look of them.

Just as she was getting distracted by the different species she'd never seen before, Lightchaser said,

"You're going to infiltrate this building for the next 21 days."

Rita's feet weren't even touching the ground—she was being carried at least a meter off the pavement—and her eyes went wide.

"What?"

"This is a minor administration office. Fifty-one staff inside. Mostly noble-born or fallen noble houses. No one particularly dangerous."

Lightchaser set Rita down and handed her back her shabby space backpack.

"There's food for three days in here. After that, you'll have to figure it out yourself."

She tossed her a blue diamond earring.

"This magical accessory contains a skill called Stealth. You can turn invisible without using mana—each use lasts two minutes, with a ten-minute cooldown. It drains stamina."

Rita took the earring and sensed the magic within it—just as Lightchaser described.

Only… it didn't drain stamina. It consumed 1% of her life force every time.

She didn't flinch. She pierced her ear, wiped away the blood, and slipped it in.

Lastly, Lightchaser pulled out a mask, showed it to Rita briefly, and then put it away.

"This magical item will transform you into someone inside this building. But I won't tell you who—yet."

"After 21 days, I'll find you and give you the mask. You'll have to spend a full day inside the building as that person—living and working, without getting caught."

"If you're discovered, the best case scenario is immediate execution. Worse? You'll get sold off to the trash districts. Those are no better than the arena."

"If it's the former, I'll collect your body. If it's the latter, I'll visit… if I'm in a good mood."

She leaned down and tapped Rita's forehead twice, smiling as she admired her student's stiff, serious little face.

Rita already understood how difficult this was.

Lightchaser's mission was full of variables. It meant she had to study every single creature inside the building—learn their habits, speech, gestures, posture.

Now she knew why etiquette was part of the lesson.

Even the minotaurs inside that building moved with grace and poise. These were nobles.

While she observed and imitated them, she was also learning etiquette.

And with only three days of food, she'd also have to solve basic needs without alerting a single soul.

Rita's face grew darker by the second.

Lightchaser now understood why that old woman enjoyed tormenting her back in the day. It was genuinely entertaining.

"Don't say I never help you. I'll sneak you in after dark."

"Wow. That's... really helpful."

"What's that tone?"

"Nothing! I swear, nothing at all!"

...

That night, Rita once again dangled over a meter above ground, Lightchaser flying through the air with her in tow.

"I can actually fly on my own, you know," she muttered.

Lightchaser clicked her tongue.

"I'm using a concealment skill. You need to be in contact with me to benefit from it."

Rita shut up.

By the chimney on the roof of the building, Rita leaned over to peek inside.

"Hey, if I get caught and they ask if I have accomplices, what should I say?"

Lightchaser looked at her with an unreadable smile.

"What do you want to say?"

"I could give them a name—someone you hate. Want me to pin it on a nemesis of yours?"

Instead of an answer, Rita got a hard boot to the rear. She dropped straight down the chimney.

She stabilized herself mid-fall and hovered inside the shaft.

Looking up, she stared at the square opening above her.

She waited. And waited.

The moon moved into position in the slice of sky above—but the elf's face never reappeared.

That damn elf had left. Again. Without a word.

Rita pressed her lips together, exhaled through her nose, and dropped down into the building.