Mistake Answer: "Why didn’t she throw any this way?" Berrento: "...Is that really what you’re worried about right now? They’re about to start fighting again!" Wail: "Relax. Lightchaser’s been through this before. In public she always leaves the audience some breathing room..." GodDraw77: "..." Somehow it felt like some horrible incident had happened when she wasn’t around. By the time the chaos wound down, it was already 10 at night. Golden Hills had prepared a grand feast in the plaza. Rumor was that every dish came from Epic-tier chefs. Dinner would start in half an hour, giving the students some time to wash up and change after a full day of matches. Rita’s uniform was already dry from the night wind, her hair a tangled mess she’d lazily tied back, her bag dangling from one hand as she hummed a tune on her way back to her room. But the moment she shut the door, a voice rang out. "Winning by such a close call—feeling proud of yourself, are you?" Who? Who had to ruin the mood? Fine. She’d smile at that. Rita flew across the room and beamed. "Good evening, Teacher! Did you watch my match?" So obedient? Lightchaser sat cross-legged on a chair, rocking back and forth. A dulled dagger spun between her fingers, her lips curling in a cold smile. "Mm. I saw you threatening to use chopsticks to snap my head off." "..." Rita hurriedly changed the subject. "Teacher, I get it now! That night you and GodDraw77 sat in front of me scratching cards nonstop—it was actually to help me test my skill, wasn’t it? Thank you, Teacher!" Lightchaser’s expression turned solemn as she sank into thought. Lightchaser: "...Yes. Since you figured it out..." Rita: "...Forget I said anything." Lightchaser tossed the dulled dagger back to her student—it had gone unreturned after being used on Scratch Cards. "Bring me the War-tier fishing rod. And your dagger." Rita carefully stowed away her first dagger and handed over [Sunset and Tsunami]. "Can I wash up first?" Lightchaser waved. "Go." When Rita came out bathed and changed, she found GodDraw77 had arrived too. The two of them were studying the War-tier rod together. She was shooed off to dinner. Rita ate with Mistblade and the others, even getting dragged into a brawl with a few players who had grudges against Mistblade, and only made it back past midnight—yet the two teachers were still there. Who knew how long they planned to study that rod? Rita leaned on her window ledge, hand reaching out to poke at the Kimbori floating outside. They looked like shiny candy drops, cool and springy to the touch. She was nearly asleep when GodDraw77’s voice came from behind. "So. How much are you planning to sell your Scratch Cards for?" Rita wasn’t surprised they had seen through her plan. "Twenty gold per card?" "Not a bad price." GodDraw77 even praised her. "At least you know your limits." Scratch Cards were in demand, but their entertainment value outweighed their true worth. If the weapons were permanent, the price could easily run into the thousands. But the stronger the weapon, the shorter its duration, and with odds that were decent but not amazing, twenty gold was an affordable gamble for most. GodDraw77 asked, "And how will you sell them?" Rita: "After the Divine Game ends, I’ll work with Burrowbug Tavern. I’m sure they’d love an extra attraction for their bar." She paused, then added, "But not yet. I plan to ask Teacher Reyhana to use her restoration skill on a used Scratch Card, to see if repairing it resets the outcome or changes it. I also need to test time-based tricks..." She almost wished she’d chosen [Dragon Thief] as her reward from the team match. But Lightchaser’s story had haunted her, so she’d picked [Sin of Arrogance] instead. GodDraw77’s smile deepened. What a self-reliant child. "Seems I should put a little more trust in you." She was nothing like Lightchaser. In battle she was merciless, but in daily life she was warm and thoughtful. Rita’s eyes softened. "I know you’re looking out for me. I’m really happy." Lightchaser glanced between her student and GodDraw77. "Funny, I don’t remember using stealth. You can both see me, right?" GodDraw77: "..." Childish. She gestured politely for Lightchaser to continue. Lightchaser looked at her wide-eyed, expectant student. She cleared her throat. "The debt you owe me—you can pay it off with Scratch Cards." The next morning, Rita was still sulking over breakfast. "Lightchaser has no heart!" Not far away, GodDraw77 couldn’t stop laughing. Reyhana overheard and frowned. "Lightchaser bullied you again? I didn’t expect she’d even bully her own student." GodDraw77 said casually, "That’s just how she is." She waited for Reyhana to reply, but nothing came. Instead she felt Reyhana’s gaze on her. When she looked back, Reyhana was studying her thoughtfully. Then Reyhana shifted her eyes across a few long tables to Rita, staring for a while before nodding to herself. "I understand. I’ll take care of her." What had she even said? ... Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel(ꜰ)ire.net Though the Fun Match looked easier than the Team Match, Rita found it more exhausting. After breakfast she went back to her room to rest and review. She dumped all 100 reward points into Agility. As for the three chances to modify magical item skills, she left them unused. After using [No Logic] once in both the team match and the fun match, her Luck had dropped to 6. Since the reward had no time limit, she decided to save it until her Luck was fully restored. During her two days of rest, Scratch Cards outside had already inflated to 1,000 gold each. One of the cards she’d thrown into the crowd had revealed a War-tier greatsword. She only heard about it over meals, though her mind was already on the upcoming solo match. Fat Goose grumbled that she’d missed her chance to make a fortune if she sold now. Motor: "Yeah, you really did." Rita raised her knife and fork, slashing them through the air. "Gold doesn’t interest me." Motor turned to Fat Goose. "So do you believe I love Cinnabar to death, or do you believe she really doesn’t care about gold?" Fat Goose: "Then I believe you love Cinnabar to death." Maple Syrup: "What? You love Cinnabar enough to die for her?" Mistblade: "What? You love Cinnabar enough to die for her?" Rita: "What? You love Cinnabar enough to die for her?"