This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Rita's mocking laughter drew Foolishness into silence, but the speed of the incoming skills noticeably increased—clearly, he was irritated.

Before the next barrage could land, Rita activated Teletubbie Camouflage and summoned Deep Blue Helm...

In front of the star pirate ship at the 16th Month Theme Park.

Rita landed, canceled her camouflage, and before she could even find a place to hide, she saw a familiar sight.

A Fat Duck was charging at her from the sky, dragging behind it dozens of skills stolen from other players.

Rita: ...Teacher, I wanna go full ult mode like that too.

She retreated at top speed. It wasn't time to use Dull Game yet—two minutes ago, her HP had been even lower than now.

It was only 18:09. Though she had transferred the cooldown of Waste Guide using an owl nine minutes ago, she still had one more owl left.

Should she transfer Phoenix Seat's cooldown and use it to clear both Unchanged Fate and Mysterious Power, continuing to tangle with Foolishness?

Or transfer Temporal Stroll's cooldown and use that to rewind time, dodging Foolishness's pursuit?

Her thoughts raced.

She made her decision quickly.

Temporal Stroll.

If she chose Phoenix Seat, she would have to endure it all head-on.

Escaping to another Month Theme Park wouldn't work either—she was certain that each Fat Duck she encountered in the different parks was a version of Foolishness. These gods and demons must have avatars in each Theme Park.

Phoenix Seat would only last so long. She was still relying mostly on Unchanged Fate + Mysterious Power, with Dull Game as a backup. Together, they gave her maybe ten minutes.

After that, she'd be completely out of options.

Temporal Stroll was still the best bet—rewind time and stall long enough for her second owl's Owl Got Lost to come off cooldown.

But just as she took out the gacha capsule containing Wrathful Moon, everything in the Theme Park froze—not true time-stop, but close.

Skills hung motionless in the air. Players and event bundles were frozen mid-action. But everyone's consciousness and senses were still active.

A cold voice rang out over the battlefield.

"I, Foolishness, hereby initiate a public vote. When a Divine Relic is used, its divine shadow and divine voice shall no longer be hidden."

It wasn't spoken in BS Language or any known tongue, yet every player understood it clearly.

Immediately, countless voices overlapped in near-perfect sync.

Innocent, solemn, deep, gentle, elegant, shrill, grim, muffled... their tones echoed across the battlefield, each one casting its vote.

"I agree."

"I agree."

"I oppose."

"I agree."

"I abstain."

"I oppose."

"I agree."

"I agree."

"I abstain."

"I agree."

The skills suspended above BS-Rita's head blocked out the moonlight. Even her streaming fire wings couldn't illuminate the darkness around her. Shadows fell across her face, obscuring her expression.

She felt like a criminal awaiting her sentence.

And then the verdict came.

[New Divine Game Rule Established: Within the global battlefield of the Divine Game, the divine shadow and divine voice of any Divine Relic can no longer be hidden.]

Rita wasn't going to let it end there. She activated her camouflage and summoned Deep Blue Helm again.

This time, unlike before, the moment Deep Blue Helm appeared, it came with the roar of waves crashing against rocks.

Nearby players turned. Event bundles turned. Their eyes locked on Deep Blue Helm. Even though Rita herself could hide, she couldn't conceal Cat's Ideal.

Her heart sank.

Everything she'd set up in the October Month Theme Park had been completely undone. Worse still, the risk of Wrathful Moon being exposed had just skyrocketed.

Foolishness gazed down from above, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. So? Are you still going to use Wrathful Moon?

Are you going to reveal your second Divine Relic?

The suspended skills resumed motion, crashing down like a final apocalyptic rainstorm.

Through the gaps between the raining skills, Rita glanced up one last time at Foolishness, then spun Deep Blue Helm and vanished.

The answer was clear. She was not going to expose her second Divine Relic.

...

July Theme Park.

Just after using the owl to transfer Phoenix Seat's cooldown, Rita faced the same scene again.

Foolishness always knew where she was.

Every time she switched Theme Parks, she had only 7 to 10 seconds to breathe.

She veered around the incoming skills and flew straight at Foolishness, trying to draw the attacks toward him.

As they brushed past each other, Rita and the Fat Duck locked eyes for a single second.

In Rita's gaze, there was fury... and also understanding.

The moment passed, and her voice rang through the air.

"You're just like Rabbit No.3. You hate how I hide and avoid things."

"No." Foolishness denied it. He sidestepped, letting the skills continue chasing BS-Rita. "I hate every choice you've made."

Rita laughed. "Well, I'm sorry for being such a disappointment."

Her indifference seemed to finally stir some deeper emotion in Foolishness. His words came faster, more freely now.

BS-Rita hadn't defended herself. Hadn't questioned or challenged him.

But now, Foolishness was explaining himself.

"You respect and admire Deceitful BloomDrummer only because they bring you strength or rewards. You know gods and demons are watching you, and you pander to that. You let yourself be a clown for their entertainment, just to earn their favor."

"You call alien invaders 'mother,' 'teacher.' You learn their skills, their trades. You analyze what your divine observers want to see... and then you give it to them."

"You could walk tall. You don't need to curry favor. You don't need to flee like this."

"You chose this. You chose power over dignity. You can't stand letting knowledge, skills, or loot slip by—you want it all."

Being treated as a toy by the gods—how could you not be furious? How could you welcome it?

Being invaded by Lania Kaia—how could you coexist with your enemy in peace?

Rita's expression suddenly twisted into something strange. Even her roiling anger paused for a beat.

Something didn't add up.

Since leaving the tower, she hadn't called Maple Syrup 'mother' even once. There were no teachers in the world battlefield. Mistblade had taught her a few gem recipes, sure—but those were trades. At best, Mistblade was an unlisted mentor.

Of all the alien invaders who entered BS, only Apache could genuinely be called a teacher. Lucia... maybe counted as half.

She gave Foolishness a long look from head to toe. "Did you seriously go digging through my past?"

Foolishness: "..."

The skills doubled in speed. Rita barely dodged them, dragging the topic back.

"Then tell me," she shouted, "what should I have done? Treat divine attention like an insult? Charge up and scream at every Lania Kaia player on sight?"

She rocketed into the sky, dodging between game zones and avoiding attacks.

Finally, the moment she had been waiting for arrived. Rita drew Dull Game, her thumb flicking the chamber. The golden butterfly spun and circled the barrel, gleaming.