[{"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-772":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},1532629,1991,"Chapter 772: Divine Game: Card Swap 21","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-772",772,"\u003Cp>[Calm Down a Second].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yep. That was the skill Rita had just used to light the fishman’s cigarette.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its only real quirk was that it didn’t cost mana—just a bit of emotional energy. And for a few seconds after using it, Rita would feel unusually calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which was probably why she didn’t laugh just now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, no matter how you spun it, it was basically... a magical lighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of concept was this?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>800 gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And she got... a lighter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When she complained about it, Lightchaser told her she didn’t know a good deal when she saw one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita disagreed. Every time she remembered that class, she lost her appetite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, she got smarter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She figured it out. Lightchaser wasn’t shelling out this kind of money so she could learn flashy skills. If Lightchaser wanted to teach her those, she could’ve done it herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What she really wanted was for Rita to pick up experience—the kind only true survivors had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in Garbage Street, every one of those \"evil\" divine talents who’d lived long enough to earn a spot in Asaein, had one hell of a life behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser wanted Rita to take in their stories and draw her own lessons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why Lightchaser never shared her own stories—Rita had the sense not to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like Lightchaser never asked why Rita, a kid who clearly came from a loving home, had ended up wandering Gilane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like Lightchaser never asked what those two magical artifacts on her hand were, or what they could do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It definitely wasn’t because Rita was scared to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A puff of cigarette smoke drifted toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s teacher had been quiet for a long while before finally saying, \"Alright, kid. I’ll teach you how to lie.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clarified, \"I mean the kind of lies that can fool even S-rank lie-detection skills.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the fishman curled his thick lips into a grin. \"Well? You in?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita raised her hand and shouted, \"I want to learn the art of lying!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The catfish-headed man leaned back and laughed the rich man’s laugh. \"Good. Then your first lesson: whenever you want to lie, you need to craft a story—**in your own head—**that makes the lie true.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was always how it was. The moment Rita stopped asking for skills and just wanted to hear about life, these powerhouses would talk for hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes Lightchaser would disappear for a day or two. Rita would wait for her at the tavern after her shift until 3:30, and if she didn’t show, Rita would fly a few blocks to the West District library to read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worth noting: Burrowbug Tavern was in the West District. When she and Lightchaser had entered Asaein, it had also been through the west gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So in over half a month... she hadn’t even finished exploring a single district.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Asaein public library offered free access to anyone under 15. A soul-age detection array sat at the entrance, and no ID was needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though at the moment, Rita was still learning to read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back on Earth, she’d only been a grade-schooler. Her vocabulary wasn’t that deep. Here, in this new world, her entire education level was basically her Earth knowledge, converted into another system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So aside from reading the occasional comic book, she spent most of her library time learning how to read and write properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trying to connect her speaking and listening skills with reading and writing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day, she was hunched over her notebook, writing bad things about Lightchaser one stroke at a time, when a mini white kiddie motorcycle rolled up beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It stopped with a soft click and spoke in a childish mechanical voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is this seat taken?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita blinked for a full three seconds before stammering, \"Uh... n-no. Please sit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world was too free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To her astonishment, the mini motorcycle transformed just like a Transformer—becoming a child-sized humanoid made of countless little mechanical parts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked about her height. Probably also a kid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the brief interruption, Rita went back to her studies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 8:00 PM, she would pack up and head home. On the way, she’d grab some takeout from a food stall or diner—something for Lightchaser.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That glutton of an elf could eat enough in one meal to feed Rita for three days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She only did this because Lightchaser had promised to send her to Moonlight Marsh for school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Though she’d been forced to sign a massive IOU.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tuition for a single term at Moonlight Marsh, the cost of living, all the tutoring in Garbage Street, plus past \"travel lesson\" fees, and more and more and more...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Add in inflation, magical interest, Lightchaser’s \"emotional investment\"—Rita had interrupted with an \"Ah?!\" at that part and earned a kick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All things considered, the total came out to one conclusion:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Rita graduated, she’d owe Lightchaser 50,000 gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And according to Lightchaser, that was just the starting point. First-term tuition was \"cheap\" because young kids didn’t need expensive learning resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words: the bill was only going to grow from here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita curled into a ball on the couch and wailed, \"I should’ve just let Mistblade adopt me! She said she’d pay my school fees!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser, waving her meter-long itemized bill, snorted coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Too late. You’ve accepted my investment. There’s no turning back now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Rita sprawled on the couch like she’d lost the will to live, Lightchaser gave her a kick to the foot and tried to be \"encouraging.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chin up, kid. When you grow up, you can take on your own apprentice to pay off your debts!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita: ?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She panicked. Really panicked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all this time with Lightchaser, she knew exactly how fast her teacher could make money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I mean, you’re already rich!\" she grumbled. \"Why are you charging me interest like a loan shark?! Give me a deadline and I’ll double it! Why does the amount just keep growing?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser’s reply:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...It’s tradition.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait, what?! That sounded important!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And... did she just say also?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dead-eyed, Rita lifted her head from the couch and asked, \"Wait... you too? Did you go to school thanks to your teacher’s ’support’ and end up with a mountain of student debt?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser stared out the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, she looked... almost sorrowful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah,\" she said. \"I still owe 500,000.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita inhaled sharply. \"How long since you graduated?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser: \"Thirty-five years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita: ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Rita could recover from her shock, Lightchaser flashed a bright, utterly insincere smile and delivered what she claimed was \"good news\":\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t be so down. There’s one great benefit to being my apprentice.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita raised her head again, hopeful. \"What is it? Connections? Magical tools?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I die, my debt passes to you. My teacher will come find you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita’s expression went blank as she tried not to look like a future supervillain. She asked cautiously, \"How old is your teacher now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightchaser was far more honest. \"She’s got about 700 years left.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita grabbed the nearest pillow and shoved it over her head, trying to smother herself.\u003C\u002Fp>",1178,"2026-06-06T06:15:17.348Z",1,"novelbin.me","e657a26e98bd6218b1c576c736808f5cb541f71c5d66caf79be4878add8fe842","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-773","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-771",1404,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthis-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-cover.jpg"]