This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist Chapter 283 If It Were You, Where Would You Set the Trap?

Rita, now practically broke, started experinting with her new skill, [Mont of Reversal]. She asked Nivalis to attack her.

Imdiately, she sensed she could exchange any single attribute between herself and Nivalis—whether it was a Divine Gift skill, health points, or mana. However, she could only select one term at a ti.

For example, swapping the nas of their Divine Gifts wouldn't change the associated abilities. But she could exchange Skill 1 of her Divine Gift with Skill 1 of Nivalis's.

If Black Jade's original form was just a "lucky little snake," his current Divine Gift must have been ticulously cultivated through countless calculations and sches.

She also discovered a hidden condition within [Mont of Reversal], cleverly hinted at by its na. The skill required the user to be at a disadvantage before activation; otherwise, it wouldn't trigger the "reversal."

For instance, after being attacked by Nivalis, she could use the skill at any ti. However, if she drank a Daughter's Whiskey, causing her attributes to skyrocket far beyond Nivalis's, the skill would beco unusable unless her health dropped to a critical level, putting her in a disadvantaged state.

Looking back on the day Black Jade was cornered by a hundred-player team, she realized that the circumstances allowed him to reverse the contract with Rick. Black Jade's overall situation was at a disadvantage, enabling him to use the skill to exchange identities.

With this discovery, Rita felt a sense of relief. One more problem solved. She decided to reward herself by personally preparing a al for the backyard cats, sothing she hadn't done in ages.

anwhile, Nivalis gathered the cats in the backyard, even teaching them to wash their bowls using the sensor-activated faucet.

As Rita stirred the at soup, the laughter and play outside contrasted sharply with the quiet of her kitchen. The peace offered her a mont to reflect on her journey from encountering Jason to the present.

Jason had been truthful, but what he knew might not have been the whole truth.

The Whale's Secret

What exactly lies inside the whale?

If there was a trap in the whale's body, why didn't Miyaas set it in the ship's cabin instead?

Was the dragon scale disrupting his plans, or was the whale's body a deliberate part of the sche?

Jason's role couldn't be that simple. And why did Miyaas specifically need the dragon scale?

Rita retrieved the container holding Miyaas's remains and tried listing it on the in-ga auction house.

The auction house displayed the item as:

[A whale containing nurous treasures and artifacts]

What's more, an alert popped up indicating that, after the 48-hour listing period, the item could only remain in the auction house for 8 days and 17 hours.

Would it disappear after that? Or sothing else?

She frowned and tested listing Jason in his box.

This ti, no expiration ssage appeared. However, it was surprising that Jason could be sold at all.

She carefully put the two relics back in her inventory. She wanted to look for dungeons related to Miyaas, but considering he shared her [Thief God] abilities, he'd never leave a high-profile trail. Finding a dungeon tied to him among tens of thousands of options would be nearly impossible.

A Web of Doubt

Each step seed logical at first glance, yet under scrutiny, every stage felt like it could hide a trap.

Sensing Rita's unease, Nivalis left the backyard and flew to her side. "What's wrong?"

"It's all too smooth," Rita murmured. "Don't you think everything has gone suspiciously well?"

Nivalis looked genuinely shocked. "This is what you call smooth? Just finding the siren script on the fishing boat was a headache, not to ntion locating Soul Catcher. Then there was exposing Jason and Miyaas's traps, getting the dragon scale, and capturing Miyaas's remains."

Hearing it laid out like that, the journey did sound arduous.

There had been battles, rewards, and monts of triumph. And those victories filled her with a sense of accomplishnt.

But weren't those the very things that dulled vigilance?

It felt like a ga designed specifically for her—a trail where every step offered so benefit.

Just like how Jason's "flawlessness" beca his greatest flaw, Rita now began to doubt Miyaas.

The Perfect Trap

A royal sea creature. A thief capable of stealing a dragon's scale without being discovered.

Every twist and turn felt scripted. Jason's intricate sches, Miyaas's tid manipulations, the layers of connection between The White Family and herself—all of it seed too well-crafted. Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire

It was as though countless threads were weaving a net to entrap her completely.

Where would she set the trap if she were Miyaas?

Not at the obvious places where enemies might suspect it.

No, the most dangerous trap would be hidden in plain sight—sowhere unassuming, even comforting.

It would be concealed at the point where the prey didn't yet realize they were being hunted.

It would be in the beginning.

Soul Catcher

Rita's eyes snapped open.

Soul Catcher.

That was the first step—the first item she acquired without suspicion.

The process of obtaining it had been seamless.

At the ti, Miyaas's identity and intentions were still unknown to her. To Rita, it was just a "normal grave" with faint ties to sirens. It shouldn't have been overly tied to Lania Kaia.

Had it not been for Black Jade's unexpected arrival on Blue Star, she would have instinctively relied on Soul Catcher, believing it to be an infallible artifact.

After all, sothing without its own consciousness or agenda seed trustworthy—who would suspect a "neutral" item?

Even now, her first major decision had relied on Soul Catcher.

Rita finished cooking the at soup and set it out for the cats. Without hesitation, she and Nivalis activated their invisibility and returned to Jason's graveyard.

This ti, she ticulously searched every corner of the cetery, layer by layer.

It took nearly five hours, but she finally found it—hidden within the intricate carvings behind Jason's tombstone.

Breaking the relief revealed a cluster of tallic runes embedded inside.

The sound of the tal striking the stone floor felt like a weight falling onto her chest.

A Lingering Puzzle

Rita wasn't well-versed in magical runes; they were primarily used in enchanting and tailoring. She sketched the symbols and posted an anonymous inquiry on the ga's forums.

Before she even made it ho, her phone buzzed with responses.