This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 23: Silly But Cute (Maybe?)

In the game, making potions was as simple as waiting for a progress bar to complete, but in reality, Rita had to follow every step from the mental tutorial videos to the letter. Sometimes, brewing an advanced potion could take over an hour. She had to carefully process the ingredients, control the temperature, know when to stir, and when to add the next herb...

Even though she believed she was replicating every step perfectly, the result often showed as a failed brew. Occasionally, though, even a failure would give her 1 or 2 experience points.

She hadn't studied this hard even before her college entrance exams.

The situation was the same with engineering. The difference between advanced and beginner or intermediate levels was like night and day.

Beginner and intermediate levels were like Western medicine—everything was clear-cut. Once you learned the necessary knowledge, the correct answer was the correct answer. Once a diagnosis was made, even the most esteemed doctors couldn't change it.

Advanced levels, on the other hand, were more like traditional Chinese medicine—each practitioner might have a different approach, sometimes completely contradictory, yet all could still be effective. The connections between ingredients were often unclear, and sometimes the video tutorials would change.

One time the teacher would add 20 grams of spirit grass powder, the next time 18 grams, and then switch to another herb entirely because she had accidentally added a bit too much of something else. But it didn't matter—the results were still the same.

At first, Rita wanted to curse the lack of precision and professionalism. "What nonsense!" she thought. But later, she became so engrossed in the alchemy videos that she would sometimes forget to practice engineering altogether.

She felt like the undead tutor in the videos was like a maestro conducting an orchestra, skillfully balancing the properties of various ingredients, unbound by rigid formulas. Sometimes, minor mistakes would lead to unexpected surprises.

By July, Rita completely stopped trying to brew advanced potions. She decided to relearn and remake all the beginner and intermediate recipes.

She couldn't help but recall an interview she once saw where a player solemnly said, "The professional skills you learn during beta testing are the real treasure. I can craft blue and even purple gear, not because of any special talent, but because of the sewing knowledge I learned from a non-human teacher. Yes, he will always be my teacher.

Even if we meet on the battlefield and fight to the death, even if you all call me a traitor, I'll still say that non-human was my teacher."

However, on July 1st, Zoey suddenly announced that she wanted to treat the entire Wilson family to a meal. When the eldest daughter invited you, it wasn't really an invitation—it was more of an order. Rita prepared herself and went to the restaurant.

When she entered the private room, she realized she wasn't the last to arrive; Samuel and Scarlett were already seated inside.

Before coming, Rita had carefully checked her character panel, stashed all her equipment and items into her pouches, and hidden her two 36-slot bags inside her Magician's Fake Tooth. Now, she only had a small 4-slot pouch on her.

After another half hour, the bodyguards opened the door, and Zoey, wearing a monocle, walked in first.

Rita, Samuel, and Scarlett all greeted her with smiles.

Zoey had changed her hairstyle. It used to be long and straight, neatly tucked behind her ears, but now it was styled in a wavy 2:8 part—no doubt to cover the bare spot on the right side of her head. Perhaps due to recent frustrations, her usual elegance and composure had been replaced with a gloomy demeanor, matching the brooding look on Rick's face.

It was almost laughable—he was now a 9cm warrior, and she was missing an ear. Who could deny they were a perfect match?

Rita didn't bother to pay special attention to Zoey's new monocle. She could easily guess that it was probably some kind of item; otherwise, someone missing an ear would psychologically reject anything that needed to be hooked around the ear. Every time Zoey put on or took off the monocle, it would be a psychological torment, even if it was just a monocle.

Zoey's monocle was indeed a detection item. Although it wasn't as good as the **Chávez Mask** Rita had acquired earlier, it was still a B-grade item. Detection equipment was rare, so finding a B-grade one was a significant accomplishment, especially given that the Lopez family's three branches had pooled their resources and sent over ten people into the beta test.

In fact, getting an A-grade item in the first beta test was a true stroke of luck. Her two brothers... well, forget it. There was no point in thinking about the first beta test, especially since it just reminded her of her lost ear.

As soon as she entered, Zoey used her detection item on Rita, but all she saw was what Rita wanted her to see.

- **Character**: Rita (Level 0, 0.001%)

- **Divine Gift**: (Undetectable)

- **Race**: Human

- **Racial Talent**: Undetectable

- **HP**: 100/100

- **MP**: 100/100

- **Strength**: 5

- **Constitution**: 7

- **Intelligence**: 7

- **Agility**: 7

- **Luck**: ?

- **Charm**: ?

Rita had no idea that Zoey's monocle was so weak. All her smooth and slick maneuvers were, in the end, like performing for a blind audience.

Seeing the 0.001% experience, Zoey believed most of what Rick had told her.

Rita could practically see Zoey's expression soften, and Rick gave her a wink.

Rita: **Gross!**

Recently, Rick had been unable to get any useful information from Zoey, so yesterday, he just outright told her he knew about the game—Rita had told him.

He hadn't intended to explain why Rita didn't tell Zoey, but to his surprise, Zoey asked when Rita had told him. Rick said it was around the 9th or 10th.

Zoey's expression had softened immediately, as she recalled that Rita had indeed messaged her that day, asking her to come to the hotel because she had something important to tell both her and Rick. But she had been too preoccupied—losing an ear and half her family's gold didn't exactly leave her in the mood to meet with the sister of her future husband.

Rick quickly added, "Yes, she did invite you. She only trusts the family. Zoey, we are family, right?"

Because of this, Zoey had completely let go of any grievances against Rick. Although she still thought Rita was a bit foolish for telling someone who hadn't even married her brother yet, she also found it endearing. Rita must have considered them family, after all. Zoey couldn't help but find her charmingly naive.

Today, Zoey had just wanted to confirm the truth of Rita's story. Although she had tested Rita months ago, she hadn't had a detection item at that time.

Although she couldn't see the Divine Gift, Rita's experience was only 0.001%, so it seemed she really hadn't played much, just as she had claimed.

However, Zoey didn't tell Rick about her participation in the beta test. Such things were best left unsaid—if he heard it from someone else first, it could hurt their relationship. Although she didn't take Rick too seriously, there was no need to cause unnecessary strife.

As for whether Rick would eventually find out she had hidden something from him, Zoey didn't care. She truly liked Rick's face, but that was about it.