This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 265: The Sea Demon Script:¤

After Nivalis answered Rita’s questions, Rita didn’t respond for a while, but Nivalis didn’t mind. Instead, she asked, "Why are we even looking into this? Why not just go find the Dragon Ancestor’s reverse scale? As long as we’re close, I can sense it."

Rita closed the game interface and replied, "I just want to gather more information before we go. Let’s go tonight and try sensing it nearby. How far can you sense it?"

She asked the question, but in reality, she didn’t have high hopes. Her villa was quite close to The White Family estate, but despite Nivalis being there for a while, she hadn’t sensed the Dragon Ancestor’s reverse scale. This could mean that The White Family had hidden it, or perhaps it wasn’t there at all. The worst-case scenario was that the reverse scale had already been taken and stored in someone’s game inventory before Nivalis arrived.

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Nivalis thought for a moment before answering, "It’s about the same distance as the place where we found the dragon whiskers to my small dragon tooth lair."

Rita sat quietly, deep in thought. That distance was enough for her to make multiple trips back and forth between her place and The White Family’s estate. "I’ll check again," she murmured.

The reverse scale had been stolen over a hundred years ago. That Wind Scythe must have taken it and inadvertently brought it into Blue Star. If he had still been fleeing within Lania Kaia at the time, the Snow Pile elder wouldn’t have been able to catch up...

This all pointed to a timeframe over a century ago, around the late 1970s. This lined up with when Jameson, the ancestor of The White Family, had made his fortune. But if it had been over a century—around 101 or 120 years ago—Rita had once asked Snow Pile about this, but as a dragon, Snow Pile had a hazy concept of time. A year for a dragon could be the same as a minute for humans. And the older dragons often slept for months at a time, even the elders like Snow Pile.

Though she didn’t have much hope, Rita still took Nivalis that evening to wander around the vicinity of The White Family estate, but naturally, they didn’t sense anything.

As they were returning home, Rita suddenly thought of Black Jade. Nivalis could sense the dragon’s aura, but could Black Jade do the same? She had this gut feeling that in her past life, Black Jade might have obtained the Dragon Ancestor’s reverse scale.

She couldn’t explain why, but it was a feeling she couldn’t shake. Black Jade’s S-class Divine Gift skill was a key to her thoughts. One of his Divine Gifts, "The Hungrier, The Luckier," was completely different from any other offensive or defensive skills. It almost felt like a skill that didn’t even match Black Jade’s usual traits.

The Hungrier, The Luckier: A lucky snake of hunger, the hungrier you are, the luckier you get.

Rita couldn’t forget those ten words, as the more succinct a description, the greater the possibilities it implied.

Thinking about Black Jade made Rita uneasy. She decided to act without delay, not even returning home, and instead followed the information she had found to locate The White Family’s fishing boat.

In the country, private ownership of beaches was prohibited, but for the elite, there were always ways around such rules. The White Family had bought up all the property in the area. It was difficult for ordinary people to get close, and even if they did, they were watched by the family’s bodyguards.

By the beach were several yachts and an old fishing boat, and a villa near the shore was brightly lit, with sounds of laughter and card games coming from inside.

Rita’s target was the old, dilapidated fishing boat.

From what she knew, The White Family valued their family, but they weren’t sentimental about old things. They didn’t cling to cold objects out of emotional attachment. For example, Rita’s old costume wasn’t something she treasured to the point of keeping it, but she wouldn’t sell it either; she would just put it away at home.

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However, when she thought of Sanchez, who had received a top-grade dagger after the game invasion, it was different. She had used it for months, slaying bosses and defeating top players. That blue dagger became her trademark for a long time. But once she got something better, she tossed the dagger aside without a second thought, selling it at an auction for a high price, with Josephine managing the promotion. Ariana knew about this, of course.

Why would such a family keep this old fishing boat?

Even though there were no other players nearby, Rita still used her disguise skill to alter her appearance, changed her clothes, and cast an illusion spell. To avoid Nivalis being detected by divination, she returned her to the pet space before heading toward the boat, which was patched up countless times.

The boat wasn’t big. Although The White Family had tried to "upgrade" it, it was originally a small wooden boat from a hundred years ago, and that was its limit. It took Rita less than five seconds to walk from the bow to the stern.

The boat wasn’t a magical item or a Curio, nor did it contain any old notes or relics. The only notable feature was an old fishing net tucked in a corner, but it was completely clean, with no clues hidden inside.

The more clean it seemed, the more suspicious Rita felt. It was like in a detective novel—sometimes the most innocent-looking thing was the most suspicious.

Rita didn’t give up. She searched every inch of the old fishing boat, even flipping it over to check the underside. Finally, in a very narrow gap between two wooden planks, she found a tiny symbol.

If it weren’t for her attributes being over 100 and the added bonus of her Sharpshooter talent skill, "You’re Too Weak," which helped her spot even the smallest differences and changes, she would have missed it.

The boat had many scratches, and this particular mark didn’t stand out at first, but after feeling it several times, Rita was certain it was a Sea Demon script.

When she pressed her finger against the symbol, she could hear the sound of waves in her ears.

If the Oak Owl script had the shape of an acorn, the Sea Demon script was like seaweed, free and flowing. To other races, Sea Demon script looked like a maze of symbols, like how Americans might see Thai script—it made no sense without the proper study.

Rita didn’t recognize it, but she had learned from Hecipah about an advanced aquatic herb, "The Devil’s Encounter."

—"This herb, known as ’Hope’ by alchemists, has no real effect. It lacks attributes or magical power. It’s born with the silent depths of the sea, representing pure peace. If your potion or gem essence has any issues, adding a bit of Devil’s Encounter can help calm the conflict."

—"Interestingly, the appearance of Devil’s Encounter resembles a Sea Demon script symbol. The symbol looks like transparent water rings with four small tentacles, and it’s the same as the Sea Demon symbol. But its meaning is the complete opposite—it represents attack, annihilation, and an unrelenting pursuit."

This symbol in the boat... It was definitely connected to something far darker than peaceful herbs.