This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Shadow.Q nodded repeatedly. "I know, I know.

"But this is a level-12 dragon we're talking about. I'm sure with your ability, you've already seen the ice dragon's attributes, so you understand that a boss-level beast like this isn't comparable to an ordinary level-12 creature. We're offering 95 people to help you take down this dragon. You're smart enough to calculate the potential losses and casualties, right?"

Zoey shook her head. "200 rounds! Bring as many people as you want, as long as they can hear me and witness it, it'll work. If you bring 10,000 people each time, that's still 200 million attribute points across 200 rounds."

Shadow.Q laughed. "You're quite optimistic. Your skill doesn't always trigger, and each person can only benefit once every 30 days. Even if I bring 100,000 people to hear you sing, if the skill doesn't trigger, what's the point?"

"You might as well ask me to hold 500 concerts for 100,000 people each," Zoey scoffed.

"Great idea, very generous of you!" Shadow.Q quipped back.

The tension was rising.

This was Asher's moment. Time to use what he'd learned! He cleared his throat, straightened up, and tried to soften his voice, attempting what he thought was Rick's soothing tone. "Ladies, listen to me. Give me some face, don't argue, okay?"

Rick: ???

Shadow.Q: ???

Zoey: ???

All three faces slowly turned toward Asher, six eyes locking onto him. Zoey even glanced at her game interface to reread what Asher had just said, to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

At that moment, Asher regretted everything.

He immediately understood their expressions:

*Rick, Shadow.Q, and Zoey:* Who are you, exactly?

...

Asher did it. By making himself the most awkward person in the room, he successfully diffused the tension.

Sure, the dragon was strong, but it could only serve one person or team at a time. Its overall value was limited, and the Special Bureau prioritized boosting the collective strength of players.

Besides, if they ever needed a powerful individual to handle an emergency, they could always collaborate with someone like Rita.

But Zoey's "Hymn of Hope" was irreplaceable. The Special Bureau had even discussed recruiting her, offering privileges and incentives. This negotiation was a test of sorts, to see if she was worth it.

Zoey's earlier quip wasn't entirely off the mark. When the Bureau learned the full details of "Hymn of Hope," their first instinct was to prepare venues and get Zoey to hold 800 concerts for 100,000 people each.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Unfortunately, Zoey wasn't willing to settle for 500 performances.

And so, the first round of negotiations fell apart.

Standing outside the restaurant, watching Rick and Zoey leave, Shadow.Q folded her arms and turned to Asher. "Quick interview: what the hell was that back there?"

Asher, still feeling the sting of embarrassment, replied, "I just wanted to help lighten the mood, and I figured Rick's approach was working, so..."

He wasn't wrong in thinking that Rick's words had worked earlier—just not for the reasons he thought. Shadow.Q and Zoey weren't particularly swayed by Rick's words. They were both well aware of the situation but had no desire to let the talks collapse. Rick was simply providing an exit, and they took it.

Shadow.Q was baffled. "'Two lovely ladies, let's not argue,' versus 'Ladies, listen to me, give me some face.' Is that really what you took away?"

Asher nodded seriously. "If you look closely, they're pretty much the same sentence. The structure is identical, right?"

Shadow.Q: *He's an idiot...*

...

The Special Bureau had time and the resources to wait. But Zoey didn't. She wanted to get the dragon under her control as quickly as possible.

She *needed* that dragon.

By giving up a bit of time—fine, 500 songs—she could gain a pet that would put her above 99% of players.

Once she had that dragon, she could solo dungeons, drastically increasing her strength. With the dragon, she could secure more authority within the Lopez family, building a core team that was loyal to *her* alone.

Most importantly, with a dragon by her side, she might finally catch the little thief who had been stealing her attribute points and equipment.

All of these were like thorns in her heart.

Right now, she had her own team within the Lopez family, but she knew they only followed her for her Divine Gift and access to the family's resources. They would even obey Mateo's commands.

She never trusted their loyalty, so she didn't invest much in them, only singing "Hymn of Hope" for them once a week.

While other players with S-Class Divine Gifts were expanding their influence, she was stuck playing the role of an idol for the Lopez family.

Every time she sang her "Hymn of Hope" from a raised platform, while the others stood below and listened, she felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation.

Even though she sat high above them, the feeling of powerlessness never faded.

She hated being reduced to a support role, helping others grow stronger. No amount of grateful gazes could ever make her feel satisfied—it was laughable to think they would.

Quite the opposite! She was extremely anxious!

Every second, she feared these people growing too strong, surpassing her, and turning the tables.

And she knew that while they were grateful to her, they didn't truly respect her. They respected Mateo and Matthew, not her.

Because she wasn't strong enough to crush them.

And because they saw her as a mere support character.

It was disgusting.

To Zoey, if you wanted to build an unbreakable relationship, emotions were the weakest link. Only power and mutual interests could create something truly strong and perfect.

Look at Rick—wasn't he obedient, like a dog?

As for the rule that you could only have one contracted pet at a time? Not a problem. When she found a stronger pet in the future, she'd just kill the dragon and replace it with something better.

...

Meanwhile, Rita was unaware of how deeply Zoey resented the Lopez family. She was focused on preparing for an assessment from Apache.

After learning under Apache for half a year, it was time to prove her progress. As Apache had put it, her time was precious and she wouldn't waste it on a fool.

The test? Out of 252 basic potions, 47 intermediate potions, and 3 advanced potions, Rita could only fail 5%. Each potion could only be brewed once.

Rita hesitated. This wasn't something she could complete in just one hour using her Disguise skill.

Apache turned to Kayden. "Close the shop for three days."

Once the shop was locked, Apache looked at Rita.

Rita knew what this meant. Time to drop the disguise and stop pretending.

After Kayden secured the door, Rita headed upstairs to change into more comfortable clothes before undoing her Thief God Disguise. It wasn't that she trusted Apache or Kayden, but she had a backup plan.

Her portal ability allowed her to escape back to Earth at any moment.

And if that failed, "Wait for Me, I'll Be Back" would ensure her survival.

Rita was taking a risk, but one she had to take if she wanted to continue learning from Apache.

When she walked downstairs, no longer disguised, Apache nodded approvingly. Much better than the knee-high green goblin she had been pretending to be.

Kayden even let out a soft "wow."

Rita smiled, now wearing comfortable loungewear, ready to face the challenge head-on. She had to give it her all for this exam.