This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

—[Renovation]!

The materials in the display case began to glow in different colors under the influence of the skill.

Rita started by fusing two materials together, waited for them to restructure, then immediately split them apart to see if they could return to their original forms.

Unfortunately, they couldn't. Since the two items weren't originally a set, forcing them together and then separating them only resulted in two worthless scraps.

Scratch that plan.

She rearranged the two differently colored Blocks on her body and pulled out Dull Game.

She opened the cylinder—five of the six chambers were empty. The last one held a golden bullet, pulsing with energy. Just looking at it made her feel like it was alive.

She locked the cylinder, spun it, aimed the muzzle at her head, and pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

A blank.

The two Blocks she'd switched positions on reverted to their original configuration, her state rewinding exactly 120 seconds.

So, Dull Game worked. Good.

She picked out thirty solid materials and fused them all together, waiting for Renovation to complete.

If they couldn't be separated afterward, it would mean turning valuable resources into complete trash—a huge risk.

A huge gamble.

As soon as Renovation succeeded, Rita threw the result into her capsule machine.

She was kicked out of the crafting space.

Back in the game field, she pulled out the bizarre-looking object, placed it on the ground, and aimed her Dull Game at it.

Bang—!

Another blank!

The thirty materials disassembled instantly, scattering across the ground.

Seeing the result, Rita finally relaxed.

The item formed by Renovation had reverted to its form 120 seconds ago. No matter how much time passed inside the crafting space, outside it was only one second. The biggest uncertainty in her plan was what the materials' status had been 120 seconds ago.

But as long as they were independently existing materials then, the risk was manageable.

Her little stunt caught the attention of every player and activity pack nearby.

Maangmaang, just a few tiles ahead, widened her bean-sized black eyes. "How... how can you even play like that?!"

When Rita had previously been farming materials, no one reacted much in the god-devil group chats. After all, she could only walk away with one type of material per trip to the crafting space. You needed a blank tile to enter the space, and with 80 blank tiles and 50 players, the chances weren't bad, but not high either.

Rita had spent a lot of money buying extra dice rolls to chase Deceitful Bloom and Drummer, totaling 262 rolls and only managing to bring out around 60 materials—well within acceptable limits.

The entry fee for this event was steep anyway. It was always meant to be a kind of hidden reward area. They wanted players to respect crafting skills and not waste their talents.

All crafted products could be taken out of the space. Compared to that, Rita bringing out 60 materials wasn't anything crazy.

But now—she'd brought out thirty materials in a single run?!

No way!

Worried that players might interrupt her at any moment, Rita shoved the thirty materials into her capsule machine as fast as she could without even raising her head.

"Chill out. If the gods didn't allow it, it wouldn't have happened. The fact that it happened means they're supporting me."

Maangmaang: "What—no—how is that your logic?!"

She opened the main god-devil group chat and saw it already exploding.

[Gods & Devils Big Group Chat]

"Not okay! She can't keep doing that!"

"This is going too far!"

"What now?"

"Wait, why 'again'?"

"[image][gif][gif]"

"She has Dull Game?!"

"Still one fragment short… Wait, that's not the point. Look how she's using it!"

"She's fired two blanks already. She won't get many more shots."

"Yeah, once she uses the 'Stupidity' bullet, the gun becomes useless."

"Probably not easy to activate anyway. TingoAutumn Deer really struggled with it."

"Don't panic. It's manageable."

"Don't panic."

"Don't panic."

"Don't panic."

Behind her, a player tapped her shoulder and rattled something off: "#@$#…!!"

Rita pointed to her ear and waved him off. No clue what he said.

She tossed a Block into the air, generating a new die. She didn't even catch it—just kicked it across the board.

Rolled a 4.

The next tile was occupied. No problem—she'd duel.

A few minutes later, she was back in the crafting space.

After spending another half-hour making capsules, she didn't activate Renovation right away. Instead, she pulled out Dull Game, aimed it at herself…

Nothing happened.

No gunshot. Just a voice—warm, solemn, and absolute.

"The choice made by instinct defines your fate."

The "Stupidity" bullet?

A thought bloomed in her mind, clear as day: If I enter the crafting space, I can always use a blank to carry out tons of materials.

But this idea—it was wrong.

Painfully, obviously wrong.

She frowned and holstered the gun, resuming her material selection.

Renovation lasted 30 minutes. With time slowed inside the crafting space, it was still active.

She took the fifty rarest materials she had and fused them together.

As soon as they restructured, she dumped them into her capsule machine.

Exited the crafting space—pulled out the restructured object—aimed Dull Game—

Click.

The trigger failed.

What?

She'd tested this exact setup earlier—how could it fail now?

That was it. That was the "wrong idea" the "Stupidity" bullet had erased.

As she ran through the item's description in her head, it all clicked:

[Dull Game · Incomplete] (8/9): "Stupidity is not a sin."

Six chambers, each holding a bullet. Spin the cylinder, aim at your head, and fire.

The "Stupidity" bullet removes one flawed thought.

Blank bullets rewind the target's state by 120 seconds.

Each time the wielder fires at another target, the next shot must be at themselves.

If the player makes a decision that goes against instinct, a spent "Stupidity" bullet will reactivate…

In a flash, Rita pieced it all together.

The failed trigger pull—linked to the "Stupidity" bullet being spent.

She was missing the final fragment, and with it, the last piece of the gun's rules.

But even as she drew her conclusion, she'd already done three things:

Activated Teletubby Mode — Pulled out Cat's Ideal — Used Wasteland Manual.

The world paused.