This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The Star Pirate Ship returned to the vicinity of the maze, and from afar, Rita saw Verdant Whisper · Windrush, Mistblade, and Pine Bloom standing in a corner, huddled around another player, deep in discussion.

Five minutes later, the player at the center left holding a pile of Blocks.

The three remained, chatting for a while longer. At some point, Pine Bloom pressed a finger to her temple and laughed, gently shaking her head. Even in Block form, the gesture carried an effortlessly captivating grace.

Mid-laugh, Pine Bloom's gaze flicked over—and locked eyes with BS-Rita, who was hiding aboard the Star Pirate Ship, watching them.

Pine Bloom pointed toward her, and Mistblade and Windrush both turned.

Three Tier-15 Abyss players smiled at her in unison.

Rita: …This is nightmare fuel.

With a sigh, she said to B8017913, "Time for you to go take up a job. Leave the ship behind."

It was a tool that could expose her identity, sure, but it was also transportation—and if she had to run, flying the ship would burn less energy than going solo.

B8017913 handed her the last few pieces of grilled meat. "Top off your stamina to 100. I'll leave once you're inside."

Rita tucked the ship away and stood silently under a roadside tree, chewing on meat while mentally reviewing the maze rules and plotting strategy.

Without special mechanics in play, killing these Tier-15 players would be near impossible. Even with Midnight Exile, that wasn't something determination or effort alone could accomplish.

It was like asking a level-90 player to solo a level-150 boss. Zero chance.

Sure, she could try to snipe kills, but thirty successful ambushes in one hour?

There was only one path to victory here—survive until Verdant Whisper · Windrush gathered all 30 map pieces and left.

But Windrush wanted her to die repeatedly in this game. Why would she rush to finish it?

At 11:00 sharp, the wind swept in to collect the playtime fee, and the maze gates opened.

A new round had begun, and players could now queue to enter.

The line wasn't long, just over 70 people. Verdant Whisper · Windrush stood at the back, glanced toward her. Too many petals floated through the air between them, obscuring Rita's view. She couldn't read Windrush's expression.

B8017913 looked up at her. "What are you thinking about?"

Rita replied seriously, "That doing bad things always requires a solid cover identity. I forgot my roots. That was wrong."

The Ferris wheel had held her back. From now on, she had to return to her true self!

B8017913: I don't know what I was expecting…

…

The moment Verdant Whisper · Windrush disappeared into the mist, Rita got the notification—and was immediately teleported into the maze.

[Spring Labyrinth Game Rules]

– Each round, 300 map fragments will spawn randomly throughout the maze.

– Killing another player grants 2 Blocks and 1 random map fragment.

– Players must collect 30 fragments to form a full map in order to exit.

– Upon death, players are randomly teleported to one of 36 entrances and drop 2 Blocks and 1 map fragment. If no fragment is present, 3 Blocks are consumed to generate one.

– All skills affecting the maze layout are nullified.

– Standing still for more than 3 minutes triggers a 'highlight' penalty, lasting 10 minutes.

– Entry fee is doubled while in the maze.

– Every hour, the maze opens for 3 minutes for new entrants, and the map resets.

– Old fragments become invalid.

– If stamina drops to 0, the player is sent back to the starting room and reset.

– Spring Labyrinth rules override Month Theme Park rules.

Rita stood just behind a fog wall. On the other side, spring was in full bloom.

As soon as she steadied herself, a hand landed on her shoulder.

—"Ready to give it back yet?"

Verdant Whisper · Windrush didn't waste time with threats or negotiations. Rita had stolen the item. A few words weren't going to change anything.

In divine games, this sort of thing happened constantly. There was no such thing as fairness or justice—only competition.

Every player was just another rung on someone else's ladder.

The only way to reclaim Cat's Ideal was to kill BS-Rita and take it back. There was still time...

Rita didn't bother chatting with high-level enemies. She didn't even explain that she had already sent Cat's Ideal back.

She scanned left and right quickly. With no sign of Pine Bloom or Mistblade, it seemed players entered from separate, randomized entrances.

She mentally pinged Nivalis.

Rita: "You in a game right now?"

Nivalis: "Yeah, what's up?"

Rita: "Pull me out. Right now."

She wasn't sure how a forced teleport would behave in this kind of "no exit" game. Would it bring her back to the same entrance or treat it like a new entry?

If it was the latter, maybe she'd spawn at a different entrance, away from Windrush.

After all, the Shared Prosperity and Asset Transfer items didn't say Windrush couldn't attack her...

Even if it just booted her to February Theme Park for a moment, it'd be worth it—a chance to test how teleportation worked in emergency scenarios, which might justify using Romantic Tourist later.

A tugging sensation hit her—and in a blink, she landed inside a Ferris wheel cabin.

"Come on out, it's your turn! I choose you, BS-Rita!" Nivalis shouted.

Rita: "…"

Before she could even retort, she was yanked back into March Theme Park's maze.

As she opened her eyes, Windrush's dead-fish Block-face was still there.

Back to square one. No separation possible.

Time to call in the Teletubby.

The mist congealed into ten dense fog clusters, starting the countdown.

While waiting, Rita activated Owl Got Lost.

She didn't specify a skill to swap cooldowns with—she went with the random reset.

Most of her current skills had long cooldowns...

[Unchanged Fate] finished cooling down early!

Owl Got Lost really was SSS-tier. Technically random, but with good timing, she could easily aim it at her longest cooldowns.

And since she had a stockpile of SSS skills, she could rotate them—unload a big move, then dump the cooldown on something she rarely used.

With this tool, both Unchanged Fate and Phoenix Seat could become core abilities in her regular rotation.