A few minutes later, Rita finally retrieved the books Apache wanted from the potion and handed them over.
Apache imdiately stopped pacing and took a seat, grabbing a book to start flipping through it. Once all the books had been soaked, Rita handed over the upper volu of *The Four Seasons of Moon and Potions* as well. "Do you want this one?"
Apache glanced through the book for a few minutes before saying, "It's an intricate and interesting book, but it's too advanced for you right now."
Rita replied, "Oh, the Mistblade Moon Emperor said the sa thing. She even recomnded this one." With that, she pulled out *Brewing Potions? Isn't That Just a Tail's Job?*
Apache took the book, spent even more ti reading it, and nearly got through half before handing it back to Rita. "This one's perfect for you. Study it carefully. When you're done, let have a look."
After stashing away all the books, Apache turned on her heel and left without looking back. "Co back in a week for your next lesson. I'm busy!"
Rita: "…"
Before assigning the task: *"I promise to impart all my alchemical knowledge until one of us reaches the end of our life's journey."*
After the job was done: *"I'm busy!"*
Hmph! Who would've thought you were this kind of undead, Apache!
…
On the morning of August 30th, at 2 AM, after making sure she had completely rid herself of any lingering scent, Rita finally returned to Earth.
The mont she appeared under the bed, she noticed sothing that made her hair stand on end—sothing lying right next to her. She was so startled she almost used **Phantom Shift** to escape, but then she realized it was just Nivalis. With a sigh of relief, she collapsed onto the carpet, exhausted. "You nearly scared to death."
Nivalis, mimicking her exact posture, spread her wings and kicked her legs out. "I've been waiting for you for ages. Can I co with you next ti you go on an adventure?"
Rita raised an eyebrow. "You're bored?"
Nivalis hesitated for a mont before explaining, "Not really bored, just curious about what you're doing every day."
Rita chuckled. "Of course, if you want to co along, you can. The day after tomorrow, I'm going to help soone take down a dragon. Want to co watch? But you'll have to stay hands-off the entire ti, okay?"
Nivalis chirped, "Sure! Whatever you say."
Rita, still holding the small dragon, crawled out from under the bed, took a shower, and imdiately crashed into bed for so much-needed sleep.
But her peaceful rest was short-lived as she was woken up early in the morning by the ga's announcent sound.
**[Ding—We've detected a player making significant contributions to the war between Lania Kaia and Earth, recognized by their nation. The Honorary Player ranking is officially open!]**
**[Ding—Player Rita has entered the Honorary Player rankings. Would you like to conceal your information?]**
Rita, still groggy, instinctively selected **Yes** to remain anonymous.
Was this ranking opening this early in this life?
Rita opened the **National** channel, curious to see what was going on.
**National Channel**
"Seriously, does she think we wouldn't know who she is just because she chose to stay anonymous?"
"Lol, right? I got the text ssage seconds before the Honorary Player rankings opened…"
"She's on three leaderboards now—Pets, Levels, and now Honorary Player! So strong!"
"But how exactly is the 1000 Honor Points calculated?"
"Is it based on the ga system?"
"Maybe it has to be recognized by the country to count?"
"Not necessarily. That might just be a condition to open the Honorary Player ranking. It doesn't have to be that rigid."
"Could it be calculated based on official rewards? Maybe she got 1000 gold coins as a reward?"
"No way, is no one curious about what exactly she did to make such a huge contribution? I'm dying to know!"
"That announcent SMS they sent out was super awkward, though."
Rita: ???
Text ssage? What text ssage?
As Rita was about to reach for her phone, her ga interface chid with a flood of private ssages. She opened her chat window and saw a wall of unread notifications, with every friend she had ssaging her.
She decided to check **Shadow.Q's** ssage first.
**[Shadow.Q]: The rewards are in! Aside from the text ssage you'll receive when you wake up, the Special Affairs Bureau will reward you with 1000 dragon-shaped coins, an A-Rank skill book, and 30 uses of a Divine Gift that gives you a chance to increase your attributes.**
Rita fished her phone out from under Nivalis' belly and opened her texts.
**[Public Service SMS]: The Special Affairs Bureau has awarded Rita the title of "Honorary Player," recognizing her for providing crucial intelligence to the Bureau and making significant contributions to the country. She is praised as 'an arrow shot towards Lania Kaia,' and the Bureau encourages the public to follow her example. [Special Affairs Bureau]**
Rita groaned, burying her head in her pillow: *Aaaahhh!!!*
She was going to kill whoever wrote that announcent!
Help! This was even more cringe than "Like Lania Kaia losing its sun!"
She pulled her blanket over her head, covering herself completely.
—Wait a minute!
She quickly threw the blanket off and opened the Honorary Player rankings. Sure enough, there was a single line at the top:
**Na | Country | Honor Points**
**[Anonymous] | Dostic | 1000**
Rita quietly removed her anonymity.
**National Channel**
"Oh? She dropped the anonymity, huh?"
"Wow, if she hadn't revealed herself, we totally wouldn't have guessed who she was~"
"So it was her! The famous arrow of our country!"
"She probably just woke up and didn't realize what was happening, hahaha!"
"Lol, how embarrassing."
"As embarrassing as that line about 'an arrow shot towards Lania Kaia'? Can it get worse than that?"
"Who wrote that script? When it's my turn to get a reward, I don't want that person anywhere near my announcent!"
"Sa."
"Sa!"
"Sa…"
Rita: "…"
She closed the **National** channel and began responding to the private ssages in both her ga and on her phone.
Her family group chat was buzzing with activity.
**[Samuel: So proud of you, @Rita! You've made your dad proud! I'm so proud of you.]**
**[Scarlett: @Rita, That's my baby! I knew you were special from the mont I was pregnant with you. I had so many dreams about it back then.]**
**[Scarlett: I dread of dragons, of phones... and look, it all ca true!]**
**[Samuel: You dread of ice cream cones, Scarlett. You woke up in the middle of the night demanding I go out and buy you one!]**
**[Rita: What's the story with the phone?]**
**[Samuel: She just wanted an excuse to upgrade her phone.]**
**[Scarlett: Well, did I or did I not give birth to a legend? Look at how amazing you turned out!]**
**[Rick: The sibling in her belly must be so proud of big sister right now.**]
Rick's ssage imdiately cast an awkward silence over the group chat.
Why wasn't anyone responding? What happened to family warmth?
**[Rita: Haha, absolutely!**]
**[Rita: By the way, did you know? Mom and Dad said the baby will be nad Riley.**]
**[Rick: I think "Ricky" sounds better. Don't you agree, @Samuel @Scarlett? Also, why aren't you guys ho? Where did you go?**
Rick would've made a great horror movie villain. The guy was creepy.
Of course, Rita wasn't surprised Rick hadn't chased after their parents. With the dragon hunt set for the day after tomorrow, Rick couldn't leave now. He'd probably wait until after the hunt on the 1st to deal with it.
Satisfied with how she had expertly maintained family harmony, Rita happily closed her phone.
With all the major business out of the way, it was ti to focus on Sanchez.
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