This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 350 The Wind Bear

The moment the knowledge transfer began, Rita felt an overwhelming torrent of noise flood her mind. The side effects of her Absolute Clarity skill became glaringly apparent at that moment. She had no choice but to confront the deafening cacophony and the sheer volume of incoming information. Words like "splitting headache" didn't even come close to describing the pain—she felt as though her brain was being stretched to the breaking point, ready to burst under the pressure of it all.

Thankfully, an Expert-Level skill in its Arcane Form washed over her, dramatically reducing her agony. Taking advantage of the brief window of clarity, Rita quickly applied several buffs to herself using her remaining Arcane Points.

Remarkably, her health wasn't dropping, which meant the Expert-Level skill wasn't just dulling her pain but enhancing her attributes as well. Rita downed 50ml of Daughter's Whiskey, and thanks to the clarity-enhancing effects of Absolute Clarity, the usual drunken side effects of the whiskey were completely nullified.

Under the combined effects of Expert-Level, Daughter's Whiskey, and her buffs, Rita's state began to stabilize. Gradually, she started making sense of the chaotic streams of information filling her mind.

Words began to organize themselves into distinct languages: Fluorish, Otterian, Desertborn, Centaurian, Sharkwood, Tombwalker, Wind Bear, Candlebeast...

Each language carried its own unique structure, rules, and beauty. It wasn't just about words—it was a window into the civilizations that birthed them. Through the languages, Rita felt as though she could glimpse the races themselves, as if their cultures and histories were unfolding before her eyes.

And it wasn't just her imagination—she was sure of it. The more she focused, the clearer the outlines of those races became.

Wind Bear? She paused. Wind Bear?! The creature resembled none other than the Bear Cookies she had baked for Maple Cang in High Tower.

Could it be? Were Bear Cookies actually based on a sentient, intelligent race?

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The knowledge transfer encompassed 666 languages. Oddly enough, though, only Candlebeast represented a Lania Kaia race. None of the 11 other species indigenous to the region appeared in the database. Surely they couldn't all have been included in the 333 languages Maple Syrup had received earlier... Could they?

Rita pressed on, her focus sharpening as she methodically processed the linguistic knowledge. The overwhelming jumble of words and concepts gradually untangled into neat, coherent structures. The more she worked through the knowledge, the more clarity she gained, and the easier the process became.

When she finally broke out of her hyper-focused trance, she realized that it was already December 21st in Blue Star time. Nivalis had stood guard over her the entire time. She didn't know how many Arcane Skills Nivalis had burned through, but she could sense that every few minutes, a fresh Expert-Level skill had been cast to stabilize her attributes, amplifying them tenfold. It was, without a doubt, the key reason she had managed to endure the transfer so smoothly.

Her mind drifted back to the vision she'd had during the knowledge transfer. She looked at the Bear Cookies thoughtfully and asked, "You said Bear Cookies were something you imagined, right? Then why did I see a species identical to them during the transfer? The Wind Bears?"

Maple Burn sounded confused. "Wind Bears? What's that?"

"They're one of the 666 races, the Wind Bear Clan."

From outside the room, Maple Cang's voice cut in. "Open the door. It's me—your sister."

The door was enchanted with a protective mechanism that would trigger an alarm if forced open. Given that this was a Moonfox city and Maple Cang was already a sensitive figure, she wasn't keen on causing unnecessary misunderstandings. Rita sighed and opened the door to let her in.

Once inside, Maple Cang shut the door and locked it behind her before setting a large wooden crate on the floor.

Rita wasn't about to let the earlier topic slide. She picked up one of the Bear Cookies and asked, "Are these based on the Wind Bears?"

Maple Cang gave the cookie a cursory glance and answered in an offhand manner, "Nope. These are made from real Wind Bears. About a third of the Wind Bears in the universe were turned into Bear Cookies by Mother. She wanted them to be a tribute to Maple Burn. But recently, with all the young Owlcrows running around, the Bear Cookies have been running low."

Rita froze, her fingers tightening around the Bear Cookie. She wasn't sure what she felt—shock at Maple Syrup's ruthlessness, pity for the Wind Bears, or envy for the devotion Maple Burn inspired. Perhaps it was all three.

As Maple Cang began dragging an unconscious Owlcrow out of the crate, she called over to Maple Burn. "When you wake up, you'll have to see the Bear Cookies for yourself. They look exactly like the ones you drew. Mother saw the Wind Bears and immediately decided to turn them into real Bear Cookies to protect all the little Owlcrows. She even prayed for you, hoping you'd be resurrected from High Tower soon."

Maple Burn's voice was soft and tearful. "Mm~."

Rita's gaze fell back to the Bear Cookie in her hand. She could swear that the little bear was crying.

"Can we proceed with the transaction now?" Maple Cang asked, breaking the silence.

Rita calmly pocketed the Bear Cookie. "We can, but step outside first. Come back in an hour. I need enough time to prepare my escape route."