This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The library contained at least a thousand books, and to make matters worse, the spines of all the books were blank.

This meant that if someone without the *Insight* skill came in, they would have to pull out each book to see the title. And here was the kicker: once a book was pulled from the shelf, it had to be read for 10 minutes before it could be put back. This was basically the equivalent of forced video ads on streaming websites!

Moreover, there was another hidden catch to this quest: all the book titles and texts were written in undead language. To understand them, players needed a translation tool. Without it, they would have to sign a basic contract with the undead, essentially "borrowing" the knowledge from them.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Rita used her *Insight* skill to scan the shelves. Most of the books were related to the undead, with titles like *History of the Undead*, *Making the Undead Great Again*, *The Blood and Tears of the Undead*, *Heart of the Undead*, *Undead: Makers of Miracles*, *Undead: Masters of Death*...

It was as if she had entered an undead marketing course. This library was practically forcing Earth players to learn undead history.

Rita planned to waste about half an hour casually browsing and then find the book about dragons to complete the task. However, just as she was walking past the bookshelves toward the nearby bar to make herself a cup of coffee, she spotted a very familiar name—*Apache, the Alchemy Madwoman*.

Without hesitation, she pulled out the book and brought it over to the bar. She deftly operated the coffee machine, which was the same model as the one in the Lania Kaia alchemy shop, and brewed herself a steaming cup of coffee. Sipping the hot brew, she opened the book.

It took less than ten minutes for her to feel like she had accidentally wandered into the women's fiction section of a tomato novel website.

Apache was born in a remote farm village, the daughter of a farmer.

Unfortunately, when she was 8 years old, her father, burdened with debt, sold her to a noble family as a maid. Luckily, the noble's daughter was studying alchemy, and Apache's job was to serve her.

Some people are just born with a natural talent for something. Apache, with her remarkable aptitude, started self-learning undead text and alchemy just by tidying up books for her young mistress or serving fruits and tea during lessons.

Apache carefully hid her talent. For nobles, having a servant who was more talented than the master was considered an insult.

From ages 8 to 16, Apache devoured all sorts of knowledge—literature, herbs, potions, gems… She spent more time learning alchemy than she did undead script.

Her mistress, lacking talent, often had to repeat lessons multiple times, which gave Apache ample opportunity to patch up her knowledge.

However, the truth was that the alchemy teacher had noticed Apache's secret learning long ago. When Apache turned 16, the alchemist bought her from the noble family for 20 gold coins.

She led Apache out of the castle and told her she was free.

The book recounted it like this:

*"To this day, I still don't understand why Lucia took me away. That noble family was actually quite decent. Although I was a maid, I wasn't bound by a lifetime contract. It was a good job. There were five maids older than me who shared the workload. I barely worked two hours a day."*

*"I had free food and lodging, could secretly read the noble girl's *Alchemy Notes*, and even used discarded alchemy materials to practice. But after Lucia took me away, I had to start working to support myself, slaving away eight hours a day at a herb shop just to earn enough to buy a single rootgrass..."*

—Excerpt from *Apache's Autobiography, Age 21 Edition*

Apache wasn't shy about revealing her origins as a maid or the fact that she had learned alchemy through underhanded means. On the contrary, she seemed to fondly reminisce about those carefree days when she had free room and board.

*"Damn it, can someone tell that brat to give me back my 20 gold coins?"*

—Excerpt from *Lucia's Memoir*

After leaving the noble family, Apache had to start earning her own way. She worked in a herb shop, identifying and processing plants, but lasted only six months before quitting. She had already memorized every herb in the shop and wanted to focus on alchemy. So, she quit and moved next door to an alchemy shop, starting from the bottom as an apprentice.

That was the beginning of her rise to greatness.

She didn't have a formal teacher, learning entirely through stealing knowledge and self-study, and an obsessive amount of practice.

By the age of 18, she had saved enough money by selling her potions to pay for tuition and decided to attend the prestigious Prinsen Academy of Alchemy.

The school had four houses.

Rita: ?

She closed the book, checked the title again to make sure she wasn't accidentally reading *Harry Potter*, then continued.

Apache was sorted into the *Elk House*, which valued talent above all.

Just like a protagonist in a typical "strong female lead" story, she was constantly ridiculed. Someone eventually discovered her past as a maid, and her classmates gave her a humiliating nickname: "20 Gold Coins."

Surrounded by mockery, she rose above it all.

In her first year, she beat second-year students.

In her second year, she defeated third-years.

In her third year, she started humiliating teachers from less popular subjects.

In her fourth year, she used alchemy to defeat the parents of her classmates who had come to challenge her.

In her fifth year, she stood toe-to-toe with the heads of the *Viper*, *Snow Leopard*, and *Manatee* houses.

By her sixth year, Apache had read every book in the school library. No longer learning anything new, she walked into the headmaster's office and filed for withdrawal from the school…

*"I'm not fit for alchemy? Ha, I was born for alchemy!"*

*"Without me, the world of alchemy is as lost as Lania Kaia without the sun."*

—Apache

—Excerpt from *Prinsen Academy Alchemy School: Untold Histories*

Rita, nearly digging a hole in her boots with her toes: …

Rita quietly closed the masterpiece she had barely read a third of and exited the library. Holding up the book with a serious expression, she asked the butler, "Can I take this book with me? Name your price. I'll buy it."

The butler glanced at the title, looking momentarily stunned, as if unsure why such a book would even be here. However, he quickly regained his composure and smiled:

"This book has been banned for certain… unspeakable reasons, and it has undergone a very violent purge. Only fewer than a hundred copies remain, making it extremely valuable. But since the brave warrior likes it, I'll make an exception and give it to you. We welcome every friend of the undead."

Satisfied, Rita stored *Apache, the Alchemy Madwoman* in her inventory and returned to browsing the library. She found that the place wasn't entirely useless after all. She even stumbled across the *Memoirs of Lucia*, which had been mentioned in *Apache, the Alchemy Madwoman*.

After consulting with the butler, she added that book to her inventory as well.