This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The 60 historical weapons Rita had collected at great expense in Vancouver had caused locals to laugh, calling her a fool. After all, even the best firearms didn't cost eight figures, but here she was, willing to spend a fortune collecting these items, comparable to buying antiques.

In the end, it paid off—31 of the 60 items had mutated.

Her multi-billion investment wasn't in vain.

Among them were 27 rare blue-grade weapons and 4 epic purple-grade ones, all ranging between levels 5 and 19. Whether she kept them for herself or sold them, it was a massive profit.

She picked through them and selected a longbow that required two attributes to equip.

**[Kill Them All] (Rare)**

- **Bonus Attributes**: +21 Agility | +9 Constitution

- **Magic Properties**: +7% Attack Speed | +5% Critical Damage

- **Equipment Requirements**: Agility > 30 | Strength > 25

Based on the attribute requirements, this was roughly an 8th-level piece of equipment. Without gear, Rita's Agility was 25 and her Strength was 17—not far off. She only needed to equip some items that boosted Agility and Strength to meet the requirements.

Your journey continues with empire

As for the 4 purple-grade items, three required the wearer to be above level 20 to equip. The most special of them, a shield, only had dual attribute requirements.

In a team, shields were often the most valuable equipment, far more so than weapons. A 20th-level purple weapon could fetch between 1,000 to 2,000 gold, depending on its quality. Jewelry could sell for over 2,000. But a shield's starting price was no less than 2,500 gold—that's the difference.

Just counting those 4 purple items, Rita had already made back her investment and then some!

Although she couldn't sell them immediately, Rita wasn't pressed for cash. As for the shield, a key piece of equipment that could influence a team's success in raids, she'd sell it to Rick's rivals.

She stored all the weapons in a custom display case and then placed it in her game inventory. The durian shell went into the fridge to grow its fruit at its own pace.

After organizing everything, Rita went upstairs and pulled out the costume that had accompanied her through the hardships of her previous life.

**[Did You Make Money Today?] (Rare)**

- **Bonus Attributes**: +32 Agility

- **Magic Properties**: +17% Movement Speed | +15% Concealment

- **Equipment Requirements**: Agility > 21 | Intelligence > 36

This was a highly specialized piece of gear. The 15% Concealment bonus was a rare and useful property, which reduced the sound she made while moving. In her past life, Rita had relied on this outfit to escape death multiple times.

Even though she was slightly disappointed that the costume hadn't mutated further in her hands, she was satisfied. Given how quickly her attributes were growing, she'd soon be able to wear it.

Rita paused, realizing that she was now incredibly wealthy, though most of her newly acquired treasures couldn't be used yet.

She made a quick trip to **Lania Kaia**, purchasing several pieces of rare gear under one gold each, raising her Agility to 30 and her Strength to 25. This allowed her to equip **[Kill Them All]**.

Her fully equipped stats were as follows:

- **Health**: 800/800

- **Mana**: 650/650

- **Strength**: 17 (+8)

- **Constitution**: 15 (+9)

- **Intelligence**: 21

- **Agility**: 25 (+27)

Her **[Emerald Feast]** skill had fully absorbed the life force of the trees in Lania Kaia, granting her a 500% health boost, and she had stocked up on potions and arrows.

Rita closed the door to her safehouse, took a deep breath, and stepped into the faint purple glow of the dungeon portal.

Dungeons were not simply armies invading—they followed rules, recreating fragments of their world's history as the framework. The monsters within had to reenact this history, and if they weren't defeated, they could break free and invade reality.

Earth had studied these rules and concluded that dungeons were a form of cultural invasion. Players entering dungeons were exposed to the lore, even if they weren't interested. They would still absorb knowledge about the other world's history.

Trolls, orcs, and goblins were manageable. But beautiful races like the Blood Elves, Undead, and Night Elves could easily attract admiration, and many people allowed their perceptions to be swayed by appearances. Coupled with these races' compelling, often tragic histories, the emotional pull could influence weaker minds.

Lania Kaia claimed they needed Earth's resources due to overpopulation. They had billions of inhabitants, some of whom were immortal, living for hundreds of years. Undead creatures were even worse—dying didn't mean the end for them. Magic in their world was running dry, and Earth, though small, was rich in magical energy.

The inhabitants of Lania Kaia proposed cooperation, offering Earthlings contracts to join them. And indeed, many players later betrayed Earth for their benefits.

The dungeon Rita had entered was based on a historical battle between the Trolls and the Undead—a Level 3 dungeon. The enemies ranged from Level 3 to 4, with the boss being the highest level at 4. The monsters needed to survive for 45 in-game days before they could break free into reality.

The dungeon in Rick's downtown apartment, in contrast, housed Level 10 enemies, requiring 150 days to break free.

Rita had carefully selected this dungeon to both level up and farm gear. It was also relatively safe: once a player began fighting, the entrance would close, preventing others from entering. If she left, the dungeon would reset, with any slain monsters being replaced.

She had visited this dungeon three or four times in her previous life. Each time, she'd been filled with bitterness, knowing that the mansion had been her gift to Rick. It pained her every time Rick brought her here for a dungeon run, and she still had to thank him.

Stepping through the portal, Rita found herself in a dense forest. She didn't know much about the specific history behind the dungeon—just that it was a small-scale skirmish. The Trolls' camp was to the south, while the Undead forces were to the north. Scattered throughout the forest were scouts from both sides.

Rita activated **[Hunter's Eye]**, followed by **Phantom Cloak**, and began scouting.

Within a few minutes, she found her target:

**[Troll Scout]** (Level 3)

- Health: 350/350

Rita drew her bow and aimed, using **[Push Shot]** before releasing the string. The arrow struck the back of the scout's head, knocking him out of the tree and stunning him for 3 seconds—long enough for her to fire a second shot.

With her 51 Agility, even a regular arrow could deal 180 damage.

If it weren't for the risk of the scout alerting others, she wouldn't have bothered using **Push Shot**.

As Rita progressed, she cleared the forest of troll grunts. She even encountered a troll patrol squad but wiped them out in less than 30 seconds with **[Explosive Arrow]** and **[Rain of Hatred]**.

However, the mana cost was high—**Explosive Arrow** used 100 mana, and **Rain of Hatred** used 250.

Rita adjusted her strategy, sending out her **[Shadow Control]** spell to summon a shadow that pulled aggro, allowing her to safely pick off enemies from a distance. Occasionally, she'd use **Explosive Arrow**, and with her Divine Gift guaranteeing a critical hit every seventh shot, her efficiency rivaled that of a full team from her past life.

This time, though, she didn't have to thank Rick.