[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist":3,"chapter-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-764":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1532621,1991,"Chapter 764: 764: Divine Game: Card Swap 13","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-764",764,"\u003Cp>Before Rita could ask anything else, Lightchaser cut in first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My turn. Why are you so sure I'm strong? Weren't you worried you were following a fraud?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fighting style and the decisions made in combat revealed much about a creature's nature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A child like that wouldn't pick a teacher lightly just because she hadn't seen better options.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser frowned when Rita didn't answer right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"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.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita immediately answered honestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You said there were others in Gilane watching us. But you intercepted us first, and no one else tried to interfere after that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant, in a hub town like Gilane—where bounty hunters and traveling traders passed through constantly—Lightchaser couldn't possibly be some nobody.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her presence alone had been enough to deter everyone else from making a move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like in the wild—when a top predator claimed its prey, no one dared to challenge it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita gave another reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And when you found the bound magic items on us, you weren't frustrated or angry. You gave up on them immediately.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant those magic tools weren't even valuable to Lightchaser. She wasn't here for profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita didn't say all of that out loud. She trusted Lightchaser would understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser did. She burst into laughter, entirely pleased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good. You're definitely not an idiot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her mood visibly lifted, she jerked her chin toward the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eat. After that, your second lesson starts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What kind of lesson?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Etiquette. Acting. Disguise. Observation. Infiltration.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's one class?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It can be.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita had expected a formal class, maybe something like the programs Scarlett once enrolled her in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pace was dizzying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the fourth afternoon, they arrived in Zanga.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was just starting to marvel at the size of it when Lightchaser yanked her over to a nearby three-story building. Reader support at NovelBin made this translation possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was refined, elegant. Through the windows, she could see well-dressed people coming and going—nobles, from the look of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she was getting distracted by the different species she'd never seen before, Lightchaser said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're going to infiltrate this building for the next 21 days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is a minor administration office. Fifty-one staff inside. Mostly noble-born or fallen noble houses. No one particularly dangerous.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser set Rita down and handed her back her shabby space backpack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There's food for three days in here. After that, you'll have to figure it out yourself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She tossed her a blue diamond earring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"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.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita took the earring and sensed the magic within it—just as Lightchaser described.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only… it didn't drain stamina. It consumed 1% of her life force every time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn't flinch. She pierced her ear, wiped away the blood, and slipped it in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lastly, Lightchaser pulled out a mask, showed it to Rita briefly, and then put it away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This magical item will transform you into someone inside this building. But I won't tell you who—yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"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.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"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.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"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.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She leaned down and tapped Rita's forehead twice, smiling as she admired her student's stiff, serious little face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita already understood how difficult this was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now she knew why etiquette was part of the lesson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the minotaurs inside that building moved with grace and poise. These were nobles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While she observed and imitated them, she was also learning etiquette.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with only three days of food, she'd also have to solve basic needs without alerting a single soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita's face grew darker by the second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser now understood why that old woman enjoyed tormenting her back in the day. It was genuinely entertaining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't say I never help you. I'll sneak you in after dark.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wow. That's... really helpful.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's that tone?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing! I swear, nothing at all!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Rita once again dangled over a meter above ground, Lightchaser flying through the air with her in tow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can actually fly on my own, you know,\" she muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser clicked her tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm using a concealment skill. You need to be in contact with me to benefit from it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita shut up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the chimney on the roof of the building, Rita leaned over to peek inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, if I get caught and they ask if I have accomplices, what should I say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser looked at her with an unreadable smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you want to say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I could give them a name—someone you hate. Want me to pin it on a nemesis of yours?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of an answer, Rita got a hard boot to the rear. She dropped straight down the chimney.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stabilized herself mid-fall and hovered inside the shaft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking up, she stared at the square opening above her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She waited. And waited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moon moved into position in the slice of sky above—but the elf's face never reappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That damn elf had left. Again. Without a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita pressed her lips together, exhaled through her nose, and dropped down into the building.\u003C\u002Fp>",1054,"2026-06-06T06:15:17.348Z",1,"novelbin.me","11181a0d476aa30097e60e7f4ad9339397801a8ce2b08383504e03c67e7aed01","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-765","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-763",1404,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthis-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-cover.jpg"]