This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 334 Maple Burn · Greedy Dragon · Doubts

When Rita regained consciousness, she realized that there were only 47 days left until she could exit the Tower. She had been unconscious for 10 whole days! She immediately checked which skill she had lost this time.

It was another B-grade skill—Break Time!

She felt lucky that it was a skill she could afford to lose. She had accumulated over 40 B-grade attack skills in the Tower over the years, so losing two of them wasn't much of a loss. Plus, with the Dandelion Blow skill that Maple Syrup had helped her acquire, the need for Break Time was already quite minimal.

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At the moment, due to her "foolishness," she was assigned to clean the battlefield of corpses. Rita continued to maintain this "foolish" persona, spending her days either cleaning up or sneaking stat points. Whenever she saw a Divine Gift that could save her life, she would try to acquire it, aiming to raise her strength so she could protect herself.

She couldn't afford to make another mistake. Not only did she not want to lose any more skills, but she also needed to ensure that she was in top condition when leaving the Tower.

After finding a secluded spot, she summoned Nivalis. She had placed a note in the pet space, asking Nivalis not to come out until it was safe. When Nivalis emerged, she looked worried. "What's happened? I've been so worried!"

Rita silently watched as Nivalis fidgeted with a phone in her claws. The screen was still showing a match of a puzzle game.

Nivalis noticed Rita's gaze and nonchalantly hid the phone, saying, "I've been feeling down, couldn't eat, so I decided to distract myself."@@@@

Rita didn't push it, but asked Nivalis to stay by her side and keep watch.

Nivalis knew Rita wouldn't really be upset. She had always admired Rita for this—she never asked much from anyone around her. Rita's happiness, safety, ideals, and pursuits were never dependent on others, even Nivalis, her contracted pet.

Even when training her for battles, it was more out of Snow Pile's request than Rita's own demand. Before entering the Tower, Nivalis had boasted to Holy Cup about how great Rita was. Holy Cup had replied, "If she never demands anything from you, it means she's prepared to lose you at any time."

Nivalis had been angered by this at the time but couldn't argue back effectively. She had even snapped, "But I'm never leaving her!"

Holy Cup had said with a teasing tone, "You want her to like you, to trust you completely, and not be able to live without you. But do you think she would ever abandon you?"

Nivalis, though irritated, had no response to that.

Nivalis' voice was filled with panic. "But Snow Pile never mentioned anything like this!"

Rita calmly reassured her, "Maybe he couldn't say anything. And don't forget how casually Wind Shear gave me Absolute Clarity. That was a warning of sorts."

Nivalis hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Rita nodded. "If I get wings of light when I leave the Tower and they're linked to Maple Burn... there's a good chance that's what's really happening."

Maple Burn might revive through the wings of light, within her.

The true purpose of the High Tower might not only be to memorialize the 12 heroic spirits of the alien races. It might also be preparing for the resurrection of the oak spirits. The thunderous battle songs echoed like a celebration of the heroes' return.

No wonder the other 11 races restricted their own people from entering the Tower. Perhaps their leaders knew something, but there were restrictions, like the pigeons, preventing them from speaking out. Strangely enough, they hadn't pursued the light oak spirits either.

Nivalis suddenly gasped. "But what about your own kind?"

Rita didn't respond immediately. This was the hardest part. The highest levels of the 11 alien races couldn't speak openly about this, and Rita herself might have been unknowingly cursed with a silencing spell.

But for now, it was a relief. Being unable to speak freely was probably the best outcome.

If she could tell everyone, it would complicate things once she left the Tower. Could she reveal this to Eclipse Vanguard? That would be like digging her own grave. Even if she said she wouldn't be taken over by the oak spirits, others wouldn't believe her.

If she kept quiet? She couldn't stand by and do nothing while an enemy took control of her people. But she couldn't expose herself either.

For now, she would go with the standard explanation: "Living as an oak spirit for 300 years in the Tower means even the strongest will be influenced and eventually assimilated."

That should be enough to keep Eclipse Vanguard on guard, without making them go as far as to wipe them out. They couldn't justify it yet.

In the end, Snow Pile's approach was probably the best conclusion.