On the day of the solo tournament, blood elf and black cat arrived early, knowing the crowd would be massive. It wasn’t even dawn yet when they entered. Seated in the magically-expanded audience stands, blood elf glanced around and said, "Good thing we came early. Look at this crowd." black cat flicked its tail. "Of course. If she wins today, she’ll unlock GodDraw77. No way we’d miss it, right, Grandma?" A white cat sitting beside it smiled. "The weather is quite nice." She gave up on talking to cats and turned to her left instead. There sat a pink-haired dwarf, arms folded and expression cold. Her short legs stuck straight out, parallel with the bench, but still too short to block anyone walking by. A Moonlight Marsh badge gleamed on her chest. "You here for Rita?" blood elf asked. The dwarf shot her a sidelong look and gave a curt, "Mm." blood elf didn’t mind the frostiness. She had another reason to talk. "Do you know a dwarf with short black hair, a hooked nose, lead-gray eyes? A little taller than you." As she spoke, she gestured with her hands, adding details—the battered dagger with a rolled edge, the cloak worn like a scarf instead of properly draped. The pink-haired dwarf countered, "Why are you looking for her?" blood elf bristled. "She was the most aggressive dwarf I’ve ever seen—no manners whatsoever! After the fun match ended, she glared at me like I’d killed her parents. I even gave her a Scratch Card, but she still wouldn’t stop staring! She’s insane! Do you know her?" The dwarf shook her head. "Never met her." blood elf sighed, disappointed, but the conversation ended anyway—students were beginning to enter the arena. Rita stood before Moonlight Marsh’s windmill hut, gazing at the last card glowing in the sky. For two days she’d wondered what the solo match would be. Would it connect to the billiard-style team game? Or the fishing-style fun match? She had even asked GodDraw77 whether she could go to Mistake Answer to restore her Luck points. Skills that consumed Luck were too powerful. That cost couldn’t be undone—only natural recovery would work. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI-Fire.ɴet She knew she’d be targeted in this match. All she could hope was that her remaining 6 Luck wouldn’t betray her at the worst moment. At seven sharp, the crimson card fell. Students who had been chattering rushed forward. Moonlight Marsh’s hut wasn’t close to the gate, but Rita still made it into the top ten through the portal. The salty sea breeze, the endless horizon—it was all familiar. Just days ago she’d watched the sun set here. Now, it was rising. She stood on a cliff overlooking the ocean. At her two o’clock, the port city that had hosted both previous matches gleamed in the morning light. The rules appeared in her mind. [Solo Match Special Mechanic: At the start, all players will transform into the rarest fish they caught during the Fun Match. All skills and magical items will be turned into the lures of mysterious anglers. Only by finding and eating your own lure can you reclaim them.] [Players may attack one another. No skill can affect the anglers or the lures.] [Players cannot consume lures that belong to others.] [If you are hooked and reeled ashore, you will permanently lose the skill linked to that lure, then return to the sea.] [If you are hooked more than six times, you will be erased and cannot respawn.] [If you quit early or are killed by another player, half of the skills and items you have not yet reclaimed will vanish at random.] [Victory Condition: There is no time limit. Be the last fish remaining, with no lure left outside the sea.] [The moment you leap into the ocean, the mechanic activates.] Rita stood at the cliff’s edge, black uniform and hair whipped backward by the sea wind. More and more students entered the game, none moving. Fat Goose came in last, panting, only to freeze at the suffocating atmosphere. "Who died?!" Once he heard the rules, his face paled. Oh. It wasn’t a corpse—it was the game designers. Vicious. Utterly vicious! He counted his skills and groaned. For the first time in his life, he regretted having so many. In the stands, the rules were projected beside the crimson gate, sending the audience into uproar. The pink-haired dwarf barely reacted, but blood elf and black cat erupted, railing against the cruelty of the setup. Finally, perhaps tired of the noise, the dwarf said, "It’s not that bad. Prioritize reclaiming your key skills and items, then exit. Who cares if you lose a few low-level ones you barely use?" blood elf and black cat choked, speechless. After a long pause, they resumed chatting, deliberately ignoring her. "What do you mean just blah blah blah and it’s fine? That phrasing is begging for a punch." "Yeah, exactly. And by that logic, GodDraw77 isn’t even hard to unlock. Just win team, fun, and solo in a row. Easy, right?" "Easy. Goddess above, that’s so Lightchaser it makes my skin crawl." The countdown ticked away in the sky. Rita moved first. She dove from the cliff, arms spread, body flipping as she plunged toward the waves. In the air, her form shifted into the Blue-striped Bluru—the translucent azure fish with veins of glowing light coursing like rivers and constellations beneath its scales. One by one, others followed: Quex, Maple Syrup, Mistblade, NightFury, JE... The instant Rita hit the water, all her skills vanished. Her bag, her lantern, her compass—gone. She was just a fish. Swimming was as effortless as walking or breathing. And the situation wasn’t as bad as she feared. Though her active skills and items were gone, her permanent states remained. [Unicorn’s Blessing] (10 years): Immune to toxins below SSS-tier; +5% all stats; +20% effectiveness of healing skills; Luck cap +2. [I’m Just That Idle] (Permanent): Each successful combo increases attack speed by 0.01 (reset if over 3 seconds pass between hits or if an attack fails to connect). [Blue-striped Bluru] (Active until sunset): You will sense the instant an angler begins to reel. In moments of danger, you may merge with the sea for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.