This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 20: Don’t Get Too Cocky

Rita focused and sensed several distinctive landmarks, estimating that her maximum teleportation range was 10 kilometers. Her intelligence stat was currently at 10, and since all magic-based skills were influenced by intelligence, she figured that as her intelligence increased, so would her teleportation distance. But no worries—she could simply cast the spell multiple times if needed.

She opened her eyes and raised her hand—*Phantom Shift*!

Rita appeared in Rick's hotel room, where he was still hunched over, his head buried in his suitcase. To be cautious, Rita attempted to use her theft skill on Rick.

—*Skill cannot be used!*

Rita sighed in relief and used *Phantom Shift* again to leave. She needed to pull off one more devious act; otherwise, it would feel like she hadn't fully taken advantage of this scumbag.

Still in her Phantom Cloak, Rita appeared outside the Aids Control Center, waiting for someone to arrive while checking her character panel. Upon seeing that *The Thief God's Theft, Which Can Also Be Robbery* was still available, she finally relaxed. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep abusing the skill in the game by stealing, dying, and stealing again.

Beneath her **Immortal** divine gift, a new divine gift had appeared.

**[Divine Gift] Master Archer (A)**

You were born to shoot; all ranged weapons feel like an extension of your arm. The moment you pick them up, you can slay gods. A true master archer doesn't need to try—they're just naturally strong.

**Skill 1**: *You're Too Weak (Passive)*: In combat, you can instinctively detect an enemy's weak points.

**Skill 2**: *Guaranteed Critical! (Passive)*: The number 7 has magical properties. Any shot connected to the number 7 will result in a critical hit.

**Skill 3**: *I'm Getting Serious (Passive)*: If you aim at an enemy for more than 3 seconds, the shot is guaranteed to hit, even if blocked. The projectile will persist until it either lands or is destroyed.

**Skill 4**: *Now I'm Scary Strong*: Activate this mode, and each arrow/bolt/bullet you fire will randomly be imbued with ice, fire, or lightning magic. Consumes 10 mana per second. After activation, this skill enters a 5-minute cooldown once deactivated.

Rita gasped. It really was a gift that required no effort to be strong—three out of four skills were passive. Not a single one was wasted. Skill 1 would enhance her combat abilities, regardless of whether she used a bow. Skill 2 meant that every seventh shot would be a guaranteed critical hit—a game-changer in battle. Skill 3?

Homing missiles, basically. And Skill 4 was a burst skill that made her even more formidable.

Rita didn't have a specific career path in mind yet, but this divine gift was too powerful to ignore. She had to train it. Considering the noise firearms made, she decided to get a bow or crossbow to practice with.

While mentally organizing her new skills and gear, Rita used her Chávez glasses to observe the passersby, hoping to spot any new players. She stood outside the center until around 3 PM before finally seeing someone enter. She followed them inside, and after confirming they were there to pick up medication, she swiped a syringe from a nurse and then tailed the patient home.

Once the patient returned home, Rita cast *Sleep Spell* on him and drew a vial of blood from his body.

Not feeling entirely secure, she decided to take additional precautions. What if, by some twist of fate, the protagonist wasn't affected by just one vial? She filled an empty vial with the tainted blood and drew two more vials before leaving. Before departing, she poured a bottle of basic healing potion into the patient's mouth.

She reasoned that the potion could at least replenish his blood, even if it couldn't cure his disease. In her past life, when the game had invaded, those who were critically ill found their ailments reflected in their stats—missing limbs meant lower health, and chronic illness resulted in constant health depletion.

The speed of the health drain depended on the severity of the illness, much like a continuous damage-over-time spell.

If they wanted to survive, they had to keep chugging healing potions or find someone who knew top-tier healing magic to cure them completely.

Rita was eager to see how Rick's status would change after being game-ified.

When she *Phantom Shifted* back to Rick's room, he was no longer there, but Rita wasn't disappointed. She returned to her villa, placed the cat toy in the **Meow Meow Inn**, took a good shower, and then went to bed.

She slept straight through until 2 AM.

Upon waking, she activated her disguise skill, cast *Phantom Cloak*, and with the syringe in hand, *Phantom Shifted* back to Rick's room.

Perfect—without the game beta, the protagonist apparently went to bed early and got up early.

First, Rita cast *Wheel of Fate* on Rick, setting his luck to 1. Then she approached him with the syringe, aiming to inject the tainted blood into his veins. But every time the needle was about to pierce his skin, Rick would scratch this or that part of his body.

After ten failed attempts, during which Rick scratched his ears, his hair, his butt, and even his toes, Rita was fed up. Was he pretending to be asleep?

Noticing Rick's eyelid twitch, Rita immediately cast *Sleep Spell* on him.

Rick slumped over, finally still.

Rita carefully inserted the needle into Rick's hand, injecting the tainted blood slowly. Three injections later, she felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Her mind was at peace once more!

Just for good measure, she tried to steal something again—*Skill cannot be used*.

Rick was still an ordinary person.

Even better.

"Don't get too cocky, Rick!"

Satisfied, Rita returned to her villa. After destroying the syringe, she considered how to dispose of the severed arm and ear in her inventory. She had planned to feed them to some monsters in the game, but she hadn't had a chance since she'd been so busy. Neither a crematorium nor a pig farm seemed suitable—she didn't want to involve innocent people.

In the end, she decided to burn them somewhere remote.

No time to waste—she was still under disguise.

Using *Phantom Shift*, Rita teleported to a beach she had visited during a previous film shoot. At this hour, the beach was deserted; it wasn't the right time for any late-night escapades. She placed the severed arm and ear on the ground, removed the ear stud from the ear, and buried them along with ten packs of explosives. Then she lit the fuse and *Phantom Shifted* a hundred meters away.

After the explosion, Rita returned to the blast site. She gathered up the remaining meat chunks and bones, piled them up, and blew them up again.

Finally, she scooped the ashes and debris into a metal bucket, walked to the shore, and dumped everything into the sea.

Relieved, she thought, *Killing someone only feels good for a moment, but revenge feels good every day.*

Playing with the ear stud by the sea, she felt utterly content. The ear stud was a token that could trigger a chain of quests, and completing them would grant the top-tier healing magic that could cure any ailment and restore 70% of health with a single use. She had even searched for that top-tier healing spell in the auction house but hadn't found it.

After reducing part of her enemies to ashes, Rita returned home to sleep. She was about to drift off when she realized, *Damn, why didn't I just use Magic Missile?!*

She had completely forgotten she was a mage now!