This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 54: Attribute Surge

A burly man asked, "So, how did it go?"

The tall, thin man from their five-player team shook his head, "She didn't agree."

The burly man chuckled, "Figures. Levi Lopez wanted to talk it out first, though. What a joke, huh?"

The leader of the five-player team, Levi Lopez, responded, "Gotta give people a chance."

The burly man snorted, "You're so fake. You're the cruelest out of all of us, yet you always want to talk first. Like that makes you some kind of good guy."

The other players were clearly used to their bickering and continued with their own tasks.

Levi said, "Alright then, let's move. She'll be back before dark. Everything ready?"

The burly man nodded, "Yeah, don't worry. She won't die. But what if the officials catch us?"

Levi gave a refined smile. "So what? You think they'll kill ten players over one washed-up has-been?"

The burly man laughed and added, "Hey, could we keep her legs for a bit? I wanna have some fun with her before we cut them off. Never played with a celebrity before."

Levi shrugged, "Go ahead."

Another player eagerly chimed in, "Boss, I want in too!"

"Me too!"

Levi, still patient, replied, "Sure, have your fun. We'll cut them off afterward."

Overhearing their conversation, Rita lay silently on the cave wall, her emotions calm. She already had a clear picture of their plans—to cripple her, heal her afterward, and keep her like a pet. A "lucky charm" they could parade around.

No, they probably wouldn't even leave her hands intact. After all, with hands, she could still cast spells.

Keeping her breathing steady, Rita quietly crawled out of the cave. She removed all her equipment, reducing her max HP to 250. Then, she ate a high-grade dish that would triple her critical hits and regenerate 600 HP per minute. Turning into a spider, she quickly crawled back into the cave, positioning herself on the rocky ceiling above the group, just within range of her skill.

——**I Want This, This, and This**!

The satisfaction she felt was like a caffeine addict finally getting their fix. It was exhilarating.

Although using the skill repeatedly cost 20% of her HP each time, the 50 HP loss was easily compensated by her regeneration of 10 HP per second. In just 25 seconds, her health would be back to full.

Meanwhile, the group continued their conversation, completely unaware of the fate about to befall them. They were busy preparing a large iron cage to trap her.

"Hey, you think her luck stat is 10? Maybe she has a Divine Gift?"

"No one knows. That group keeps their mouths shut tight."

"That's fine, though. If they don't reveal her Divine Gift, it means they won't spill ours either, right?"

"True. But if we get caught, will we really not be punished?"

"Worst case, we'll lock her up here."

"Too bad. It'd be nice to play with her a bit longer."

"Yeah, even with no legs, you can still have fun with her, hahaha!"

Unlike Rita, not everyone had her relentless work ethic. The game might have been exciting, but now that it was real, with pain from injuries and the threat of death, fear started creeping in. Even though these players were no longer ordinary people, they still hesitated, relying more on their Divine Gifts than any real skill.

Rita spent a full hour stealing from them while they chatted and delayed their departure. That hour was incredibly productive. The last time she had stolen from Zoey and Sanchez, she had to keep stopping to drink healing potions and eat food to keep her HP up. Healing potions had cooldowns, and even though she was willing to spend as much as necessary, the skill activation rate wasn't as high.

But today, with her **God of the Culinary Arts** talent and better cooking...

Her regeneration rate of 10 HP per second meant she could steal continuously, without having to stop and heal up. It felt effortless. By the end of the hour, she had accumulated five items, and her attributes had surged by 17 points in total. Even though the odds of stealing items were twice as high as stealing attribute points, most players didn't have much of value on them.

Now, Rita's stats looked like this:

- **HP**: 350/350

- **MP**: 650/650

- **Strength**: 10+7

- **Constitution**: 13+2

- **Intelligence**: 15+6

- **Agility**: 21+4

- **Luck**: 10

- **Charm**: 10

She had gained 17 attribute points, making her stats comparable to a level 9 player. These weren't enemies—they were walking goldmines.

But Rita wasn't done yet. She wasn't the type to settle for just stealing a few points as payback. Even though the players' disgusting words didn't get under her skin, she was still furious. She had no doubt they would have carried out their threats.

Turning into a bird, Rita followed the last group as they left the cave, tracking them until she found them using silenced guns to hunt a venomous spider. While she couldn't use any of her abilities except for her **Divine Gifts** in her **Animagus** form, she didn't need to rush.

Using her **Chávez Pocket Watch**, she **Insight** the man holding a shield in the front line:

- **Strength**: 7

- **Constitution**: 4

- **Intelligence**: 5

- **Agility**: 5

- **Luck**: 5

- **Charm**: 3

Rita waited for the perfect moment. Just as the spider was about to charge the shield-bearer, she activated her **Wheel of Fate** skill, **Your Outfit Doesn't Suit You, I Don't Like It**, swapping the man's highest attribute with his lowest.

She felt a slight flicker in her vision as **Strength** and **Agility** shifted. His strength dropped to 4, while his agility rose to 7.

She was slightly disappointed to find that **Charm**, the unalterable stat, couldn't be swapped. But if it could, her **Wheel of Fate** would be rated much higher than just B-tier—probably an A-tier skill.

As players leveled up and gained more attributes, many would focus on specific stats. However, to meet the requirements for gear, they still had to spread points around. By the time they hit double-digit levels, only **Luck** and **Charm** capped at 10.

With his strength suddenly cut, the shield-bearer failed to block the spider's charge and was thrown into the air.

He cursed, having no idea why he was struggling so much today. It had felt off since the beginning, and now he was flat-out sent flying.

With their formation broken, the rest of the group quickly descended into chaos.