Yize felt that he had never been this cool in his entire life.
At this moment, Yize believed he was incredibly impressive in everyone’s eyes, facing down a Magic Species without fear and bravely saving his companions.
He didn’t even need to look to know that the gazes of the children around him were definitely filled with admiration.
Naively, he truly thought the options the System gave him made sense.
In the game’s story, although the protagonist was imprisoned by a Magic Species, he survived against all odds, was eventually rescued by Liyue Academy, and ultimately became the Empire’s strongest and only Magic Dual Cultivator.
So he believed that if he chose the protagonist behavior option provided by the System, he too could receive the protagonist’s treatment and wait for the Magic Academy of the Empire’s rescue.
That way, not only would he earn a good reputation, but even the protagonist would owe him a huge favor—what a sweet deal.
Lian was clearly shocked by Yize’s actions, her pupils wide, her face full of disbelief.
“Don’t worry, buddy. With me here, nothing will happen to you.” Yize curled up the corners of his mouth. At this moment, he was the protagonist.
Looking back now, Yize realized that the ‘protagonist’s’ look of disbelief at the time was actually being stunned by his own stupidity.
So, what exactly did Yize experience back then?
He didn’t get rescued by the Magic Academy of the Empire, but was instead whipped by that Pighead with a strange fetish, screaming and crying.
What made it even more humiliating was that he was whipped in front of the protagonist and a crowd of children, tears and snot streaming down his face from the pain.
You have to know, growing up in a harmonious modern society, he had never suffered such torment.
So he couldn’t endure this torture at all—it was simply too painful.
At that moment, he clearly felt the way the surrounding children looked at him changed.
From initial respect to later disdain.
For good reason—most of the poor in the Empire had suffered a lot. Just being whipped was nothing to them; they would never cry like this.
From that moment, Yize realized his own condition—his body was too weak, covered in dirt, with a sallow, thin face, and completely unable to take a beating.
He had no strength at all; forget about Magic Species, he couldn’t even take on a normal adult.
That was reality—he was just an utterly ordinary, average person.
Looking at the barely breathing Yize, that Pighead looked at him with disgust before leaving, “I thought you human children had some extraordinary ability, but it turns out you’re just mentally defective. If I ate you, I’d be afraid I’d turn as dumb as a pig.”
Yize lay on the ground, dead inside, while ‘protagonist’ Lian looked at him, wanting to speak but holding back.
At that moment, the entire dungeon was eerily quiet. Even the children’s previous fear seemed to have dissipated somewhat because of Yize’s foolish actions.
[Mission complete. Protagonist Value +10]
Yize lay on the ground thinking seriously—it took a hundred points of Protagonist Value to draw a prize. With his current physical condition, he simply couldn’t complete ten options with such high difficulty. Maybe he should start from the easier ones and gradually work his way up.
Soon, just a few days later, the System started offering new options.
Those Pighead Magic Species seemed to have gotten into a fight with other Magic Species. For several days, no food was brought, and they only had water to drink.
Seeing himself and the other children growing weaker by the day, a System notification sounded in Yize’s mind.
[God-level Choice System at your service. Host, please make a suitable choice as soon as possible.]
[Option 1: Devise an escape plan and lead the children to break out together, returning to Human Territory. Difficulty: B. Completion reward: Protagonist Value +10]
[Option 2: Use the children as cover to escape on your own. Difficulty: B. Completion reward: Villain Value +10]
[Option 3: You’re just a bystander with no options. Sit and wait for death. Difficulty: E. Completion reward: NPC Value +10]
The first time, the System gave an S-level difficulty option. This time, the difficulty dropped to B-level—several grades lower. He should be able to handle it.
Yize thought about it all night and finally came up with a decent plan, which he told the children.
He chose to actively act as bait and lure the gatekeeping Magic Species away, allowing the other children to escape safely.
He failed. He had underestimated the darkness of human nature.
Among the children, there were traitors. They didn’t have the courage to escape, and in the end, they turned Yize in for a day’s worth of food.
Yize also got food—he ate Fire Dragon Fruit, but was beaten until his mouth was full of blood.
After Yize’s two reckless acts, the protagonist Lian’s gaze toward him grew ever more incredulous.
Having suffered two painful lessons, Yize decided he no longer wanted to be the protagonist.
He thought it would be easier to be the villain. Wouldn’t living selfishly for himself be just fine?
After several more days, he got his third chance to choose.
That night, the Magic Academy of the Empire finally sent people.
Outside, the night sky blazed with starlight, and all kinds of dazzling magic left people dazed.
All the children followed the mages from Liyue Academy as they fled outside.
The protagonist Lian wasn’t running very fast and stayed at the back of the group.
Other than her, Yize, who had been harshly disciplined by the Magic Species before, was extremely weak and couldn’t run fast either.
As they ran, a group of Pigheads chased after them. Just then, the System prompt sounded in his mind.
[Option 1: Stay behind alone and cover the retreat, ensuring those ahead can escape safely. Difficulty: A. Completion reward: Protagonist Value +10]
[Option 2: Intentionally fall into the arms of the person behind you, using a deeply emotional tone to elicit sympathy, then push them behind you to buy yourself time to escape. Difficulty: B. Completion reward: Villain Value +10]
[Option 3: Silently follow at the end of the group. Difficulty: E. Completion reward: NPC Value +10]
This time, the difficulty of the villain option was still B, but Yize felt that his previous failures stemmed from always trying to compete with the protagonist for destiny.
Besides, with such generous System rewards, how could he be content with being a mere background NPC?
This villainous move did feel a bit melodramatic—he was a grown man, acting this coy—but after all, he was the villain, so it fit the role.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Yize deliberately tripped his left foot over his right, intending to fall into protagonist Lian’s arms. Unfortunately, his position was off and he could only hug the protagonist’s leg, saying, “Buddy, don’t worry about me. If you all make it out, I can die without regret.”
‘Protagonist’ Lian was stunned. In the next moment, Yize was shocked by what happened.
He saw ‘protagonist’ Lian hold him in her arms, conjure a magic circle with one hand in midair, and send a giant fire dragon roaring into the crowd of Pigheads behind them.
Immediately after, a somewhat cold voice said, “You won’t die.”
Yize was stunned. Why did the protagonist sound so commanding?
Wasn’t the protagonist supposed to be mute???
And at this stage, how could the protagonist be so skilled at magic???
Yize’s mind was full of question marks. He racked his brain wondering if he had misremembered the story, or if maybe those review bloggers had made a mistake.
“Buddy, did you damage your vocal cords? Why does your voice sound so much like a girl’s…” Yize still couldn’t help but ask his question.
“Protagonist” Lian’s face instantly twitched. “I’m a woman. I was never your ‘buddy.'”
What the— the protagonist turned out to be a heroine?
Does this game have a BUG, or maybe this isn’t the protagonist at all?
“Then who are you?”
“Airsade Rhea.”
Hearing this name, Yize’s whole mind went ‘boom’ with a loud bang.
He remembered clearly—wasn’t Rhea the hardest heroine to court in the game?
And she was the only one who, depending on the protagonist’s choices, could go from heroine to villain.
Yize was speechless. He had actually mistaken the heroine for the protagonist.
But you couldn’t really blame him. No one had told him that Rhea was this short-haired, super-dominant type.
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