This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Rita, now transformed into White Boat, couldn't see anything outside of her current form. She could only observe her own stats. Though she no longer had any cooldowns to track or anything to reference time by, she no longer needed any of that.

The "Combat Rhythm" course she had completed taught her to manage time precisely, even in the middle of dense combat. She had learned to keep track of every skill's cooldown and use time, all without a reference point, with her heart and mind acting as the clock and stopwatch.

Today was a bold experiment. She had never tested how things would work if she used "Survive Until the End" and turned into an item, to be placed in another player's bag. The possibilities were vast.

The best case scenario was that she could stay in the bag until the end of the game, which would be a huge win. The second possibility was that she would be reset to her initial state as a Sandstorm Fox when the third round began. The worst case was that the player who took her bag would die midway through the round, and she would die with them.

In any case, even the worst outcome wasn't much different from her usual experience of dying and getting back into the game. She prepared herself mentally for whatever might happen.

03:00—Rita's mind remained clear and precise. The third round of the game began.

For a moment, Rita noticed the darkness fade. She found herself back on the battlefield. It seemed like the second scenario had occurred: she was still in the form of the Sandstorm Fox, with only 17 HP left.

Quickly, she used "Mango Pomelo Sago" to heal herself back to 50% health.

The players around her moved slightly, ensuring they weren't affected by the Match-3 mechanics, but no one was making any major moves yet. Everyone was waiting for the next game prompt.

Rita scanned the battlefield. The number of different beast species had dwindled to only 9.

Two minutes later, a new prompt echoed through the battlefield:

[Hint: Skills can also link together to complete Match-3 effects. The skill user will be exempt from death penalties and will randomly receive a kill reward from one of the eliminated players.]

Linking skills! Unfortunately, Rita didn't have any of those.

She immediately began to move, her eyes scanning for anyone using a link or control-based skill. As soon as she saw one, she'd use Repay to copy it.

If she had brought "Family Bucket", she could've linked a control skill, followed by a massive Family Bucket attack, hitting up to 100 targets at once. But sadly, she didn't have it with her.

The prompt also stated that the kill rewards were to avoid players with skill advantages farming points, so she couldn't rely solely on skill.

While maneuvering, Rita locked onto a player who was using a fire whip—a skill that could snake through and hit only the desired targets. Perfect. She could copy it with Repay!

She ran up a large beast, pushing off its back to launch herself into the air. As she twisted her body mid-air, the ice ribbon trailing behind her failed to adjust in time and struck the beast below her.

Landing gracefully, Rita rushed forward and immediately used the newly copied skill, the fire snake attacking the Sandstorm Fox in front of her. The enemy's chain locked around her front paw, tripping her up but quickly extending to catch a third Sandstorm Fox.

Rolling on the ground, Rita didn't focus on the battle around her but instead kept her attention on her target.

Her fire snake flew across the ground, narrowly avoiding the feet of other beasts. She made sure to strike the tail of the third Sandstorm Fox just before it disappeared from view.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

She found herself back in the initial room. Cold and impassive, Rita waited for a few seconds before hearing the announcement.

[Congratulations, player BS-Rita, for completing the elimination.]

[You will receive the death penalty of player Jianqi Hu Wen.]

[Player Hu Wen chose to exchange an SSS-level skill for a revival chance. You will receive that skill as your loot.]

[Ding—Loot extracted. You have received Hu Wen's SSS-level skill: "The Old Blacksmith."]

"The Old Blacksmith" (SSS): Allows you to summon a mysterious old blacksmith, who will create a top-level workshop based on your desires. Every use requires the blacksmith to be compensated with fine wine and gourmet food; otherwise, he will refuse to work. Cooldown: 180 Starsea days.

This skill wasn't as rare as a control or escape skill, but it was certainly special!

Rita loved unique abilities like this. While it wasn't an attack skill, it had great potential. Wine and food could be easily provided, and she could leave the old blacksmith's work to Eclipse Vanguard. As for what she'd give Eclipse Vanguard? She could rent the blacksmith out!

An SSS-level blacksmith was no ordinary craftsman. Once the blacksmith completed a workshop for her, she could use her skills to shorten the cooldown, then pass the workshop onto Eclipse Vanguard.

If Eclipse Vanguard needed more, they'd need to pay in gold or items that increase attributes.

Once the revival timer ended, Rita was back in the game. She immediately began moving, searching for her next target.

Though dying didn't reset her cooldowns, Repay was already back, and as soon as she spotted a target, she would strike again.

She wasn't willing to use Survive Until the End to leave the game just yet.

Hu Wen, a level 15 player, had been eliminated due to the Match-3 mechanic, and she had obtained an SSS-level skill from him!

If she could score a tenth kill reward from any high-level player, she might end up with even more incredible loot!

Reluctantly, Rita stayed in the game, knowing that the big rewards were still within reach.

Her mind raced with excitement about what might happen next.

B8017913: "So Rabbit 3 was wrong, you don't lack blood—just needed some excitement. When the temptation and reward are enough, you charge ahead fearlessly."

Rita: "Exactly! Rabbit 3 never understood me."

Rita: "Remember that BS announcement from a previous Divine Game? They praised me and Nivalis for our sharp, steady strategies, fearlessness, and flexible combat tactics. Even though it's all true, I felt embarrassed! Don't believe me? Ask Nivalis."

Rita: "Why aren't you responding? This silence is awkward."

B8017913: "…"

The sudden mention of Rabbit 3 caused a ripple in the system's alert. Something had shifted in the divine game...