Rita could not make sense of it. Why did every floor feel like enemy territory? She circled behind a student and struck from the blind spot. This time things felt normal again. Before the Librarians could arrive, the Orchid Mantis had finished the kill. That was more like her baseline. She was not arrogant, but she never sold herself short. Yes, she had lost two years of memories and time, but an entire year of one on one master level training should have filled that gap. Rita began avoiding Maple Syrup. It was not time to fight her yet. She focused on other students. As everyone suspected, killing competitors yielded gains. And beyond kills, Rita had a better method. I Just Want to Improve So Badly. She had tested it with little hope when she had no other options, and to her surprise it could steal numbers. That not only pushed her number growth far beyond her peers, it also skimmed attribute points. The only hitch was that whenever she and Maple Syrup crossed paths, Maple Syrup attacked her on sight. At minute eighteen on the third floor, Riot Time began. Maple Syrup stopped holding back and gave chase. A pale pink Orchid Mantis and the afterimages of a long spear flashed through every corner of the library. One after another, beer mugs forged from golden lightning appeared in the air. Each mug held a compressed golden thunderball, and the thunder rolled through the entire building. They spun and clinked together, handle to handle, as if toasting. Paired with the library’s occasional musical notes, it felt like a roaring party. Maple Syrup’s red hair whipped in the wind of the storm she was calling. It no longer curled like when she was little. The gloom and cold lodged between her brows during school days were gone. She was drifting farther and farther from the image in Rita’s memory. The owlbear cub who had sat by the jewel shop’s door clutching a bottle and smiling at her was nowhere to be found. Students scattered. Even the ever lingering Librarians seemed to go blind for a moment, purposefully avoiding this battlefield. Rita’s expression turned grave. "You want a divine relic?" It was the only explanation she could think of. On Maple Syrup’s face was a look Rita could not read, something wistful and complicated. For an instant, Rita had the illusion Maple Syrup was patting her head with pity and regret. At last Maple Syrup spoke. Her voice was so soft it sounded like a sigh. "I want too many things." She wanted BlueStar to shatter so the Forest Sea could be remade. She wanted to return Maple Burn’s Orange Red Light Wings. She wanted two divine relics. She wanted to win the Divine Game. And to get all of that, there was one thing she absolutely had to do. Kill BS-Rita. If Divine Game could not make a player die for good, then kill her again and again, blocking her growth each time. They had underestimated BS-Rita’s pace of growth. That was why they had allowed her to rise so far so fast. Could BS-Rita really protect BlueStar? The odds were vanishingly small. Through the BS-Rita of today, she saw the Maple Syrup of the Forest Sea from years ago. They were both liked by the same lunatic. He had decided on his own to temper them. Read full story at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱 The early invasion of BlueStar had been Captain’s gift. The reward she drew after Chaotic Blocks that let her regain her memories early could only have been Captain’s back room manipulation. Such a convenient plan. Two birds with one stone. Cultivate and observe two favored players at the same time. It felt like a new cycle. Or some ridiculous kind of inheritance. There had always been a thread binding her to BS-Rita in ways she could not name. She had memories of the Tower as well. A pity. They were destined to be enemies. She needed BlueStar’s gravestone. The humming golden mugs of thunder rushed the Orchid Mantis, circling her and beginning their toast. Rita was not about to stand there and take it. Nebula Bubble or Shadow of the Moon would both work. A second later, the bubble vanished on contact. That was Pine Bloom’s skill, which absorbed and strips other players’ defensive skills. Out of the corner of her eye, Rita caught a flash of forest green wings. So they were working together. No time to dwell. She manifested Wrathful Moon and slipped into the shadow world. Leaves whispered. A forest rose in silhouette, trees of shadow thrusting up to blanket the library, blocking out the light. Maple Syrup and the golden mugs entered the shadow world with her. That was not a normal skill effect. Maple Syrup had a divine relic as well. And it was tied to shadows. Rita left the shadow world at once. The deep blue helm flared and the roar of surf filled her ears as she vanished from the third floor and reappeared on the second. The Orchid Mantis perched on the stair rail, shaken, heart still pounding in her chest. Something furry drifted up behind her. A killing intent heavy as a tide slammed into her back, and Rita froze. A massive rabbit head leaned in close and whispered, voice low and ghostly. "Back already?" Rita turned as if nothing were wrong, looking at the rabbit head that dwarfed her several times over. She replied like an old friend complaining. "You have no idea how scary it is upstairs." "Is that so?" Deceitful Bloom nodded with elaborate seriousness and said, full of self blame, "My fault. I gave you a sense of safety you should not have." They stared at each other for two quiet seconds. Then the Orchid Mantis sprang, dodging the golden lightning whip that snapped through the air. She hit the floor running for her life, the rabbit bared its teeth and charged after her. So her presence was less frightening than Lania Kaia Maple Syrup. He was going to whip BS-Rita to death today. Above, Maple Syrup frowned down at them. She really could run. Across the rotunda, another Librarian frowned down as well. Foolishness thought, Why does it make me this mad to watch my form get chased and whipped by Deceitful Bloom. For the next few hours, Rita played it safe and greedy. Hide from the rabbit in the shadow world. Once she had some space, pop out to use I Just Want to Improve So Badly to steal numbers and attributes. Heal up and slip back into shadows. Whenever the vending machine price rotated, she bought if it was not a negative. Numbers could be found anytime, but strange tools could change outcomes. She never pulled another Temp Worker, but she stockpiled two erasers that modified numbers, one pencil that randomized a number, and one megaphone debuff that made a player blare noise wherever they went. She sent that last one up to the third floor and slapped it on Maple Syrup. Maple Syrup did come down once. Rita marked her instantly and used I Just Want to Improve So Badly to steal five attributes and three numbers before Maple Syrup retreated upstairs again. Once Rita found her rhythm on the second floor, she stopped switching levels. Those numbers were better spent at the vending machines. As long as the second floor population did not drop below one thousand, she could keep stealing for a long time. As for the rabbit, after dealing with Maple Syrup who could enter the shadow world, the rabbit felt almost cute. Once she adjusted, she started using the rabbit like a portable auto attack turret. Wherever students were thickest, she lured the rabbit there. It even disrupted their number hunting. Deceitful Bloom stood in the corridor with arms folded, tapping one toe in irritation, long ears drooping with frustration. Slippery little thing. Barista said, "Are you going easy on her?" Deceitful Bloom answered, "I landed three hits at least. You?" Barista paused. "If Maple Syrup’s divine relic were in my hands, I could hang her up and whip her too."