...Honestly, that distortion skill should’ve been banned." "You might as well just say we should ban BS-Rita from using divine relics altogether." "She didn’t twist the result itself, nor did she alter the numbers. Technically, that’s not a violation." "Violation or not, the real rulebreaker was Captain—giving Maple Syrup an item that lets her recover her memories inside the game? That’s crossing the line." "She’s already been punished. One hundred lashes from the Divine Game itself. When we first built this game, fairness was the foundation. No cheating possible." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝 "Like Bitter Cup once said—even if we’re on the same side, being admired by Captain is a curse. I still don’t understand what goes through her head." "Yet, every player Captain’s ever ’admired’ ended up reaching the top of the ladder rankings." "And the ones she didn’t torment have too." "I still can’t get over the fact that she paid a personal cost just to impersonate Mountfuse for a few years, all so she could hear Maple Syrup call her ’teacher.’ And the best part? Maple Syrup figured it out. The look on her face when she realized—it was priceless. If she hadn’t skipped breakfast that day, I swear she would’ve puked right on Captain’s shoes." "When you put it that way, what’s Deceitful Bloom even complaining about? BS-Rita practically adores her." "You can’t compare those two. Let Deceitful Bloom try shattering BlueStar and see how that turns out." "Deceitful Bloom would never bother with that. And tell me, do you really think BS-Rita will rebuild her world the way Lania Kaia, Maple Syrup, or Mistblade did?" "Probably not... BlueStar’s been forced to grow up overnight. That says it all." "Even if she’s hurting, she’ll probably just keep playing, keep getting stronger, maybe avenge BlueStar along the way. If there are still survivors, she’ll probably help them out." "Honestly, I agree. After Captain personally watched Lania Kaia invade BlueStar, she didn’t say a single word for days." The five-minute distortion window was pure chaos. Maple Syrup was busy, but Rita was busier. Not only did she have to dodge attacks from her own shadow, she also had to slip through the crowd to hunt other students for critical hits. Every kill wasn’t just for collecting numbers—it was to keep triggering Murder Time and shorten No Logic’s cooldown. Her eyes stayed locked on Maple Syrup’s face. No Logic fundamentally rewrote everyone’s understanding of the game. At this moment, every student in the library believed Rita’s version of the rules. Even if someone told them the truth, they’d dismiss it as nonsense. It was like trying to convince someone that the color blue wasn’t actually blue. Their first instinct would be to think you’re the crazy one. But the problem was... everyone’s memories of the previous hours still existed. Even as Maple Syrup continued lowering her own number count, confusion was creeping into her eyes. If fewer numbers meant victory, then why had she been collecting so many before? Why did the Librarian target the player with the most numbers? Even when the distortion forced her mind to rationalize everything—her instincts screamed that something didn’t add up. She wasn’t alone. Mistblade, Fat Goose, Pine Bloom, Frenzied Shark, Crab—nearly half the players wore that same unsettled expression. Rita could twist perception, but not intelligence. She couldn’t stop people from thinking. When the five minutes finally ran out, every Librarian turned eagerly toward the students. The rabbit that had been chasing Maple Syrup stared at her with wicked anticipation gleaming in its eyes. Then, once again, the low demonic whisper of the sea returned—exactly as it had five minutes before. The murmur washed through the players’ minds, clearing their thoughts for a heartbeat. Silence fell, and then—everyone got back to calculating. Students scrambled to balance their totals, climbing stairs to burn numbers, whispering frantic math as they went. Maple Syrup had it worse than anyone. She had to manage her attacks against BS-Rita, dodge the rabbit’s lightning whip, and command her living forest all at once. Both women were locked in a furious rhythm—fighting each other even while multitasking through chaos. And then the second distortion began. Rita sped up her kills, targeting only those with negative numbers. Her Lucky Number was still active, and every student who crossed her path fell fast. With the double backlash effect, the stronger they were, the faster they died. Under I’m Just That Idle’s passive, her attack speed kept climbing. Waste Guide’s cooldown had just finished resetting. Minute three... minute four... Maple Syrup suddenly stopped on the stairs. Her spear tilted toward the floor as she slowly turned her head. Her eyes locked onto Rita below—who was still slicing through one student after another, not giving anyone a chance to log out peacefully. Rita froze, realizing Maple Syrup had seen through her—had found the fatal flaw. She hadn’t been reducing her own numbers. At first, she could explain it away: she didn’t have that many numbers, or she needed more to calculate closer to the target. But after nine minutes without moving upstairs, without letting the Librarian hit her even once—no one would buy that anymore. This had happened before. Back in the Chaotic Blocks maze, Maple Syrup had suddenly realized Cat’s Ideal wasn’t in BS-Rita’s hands. And during that earlier Divine Game team match—BS-Rita had twisted the rules, just like now. Pumpkin hat askew, Rita stumbled back, still using I Just Want to Improve So Badly on every player she passed. Maple Syrup charged after her, fury blazing. The rabbit’s target was still Maple Syrup. Thirty-one minutes remained. Rita sprinted. Maple Syrup’s attacks chased her relentlessly, orange-red wings cutting blazing arcs through the air like burning fans. Thirty minutes left. Twenty. Fifteen. Rita was barely hanging on. Pumpkin hats shattered one after another. Dried leaves from her dagger’s storage were gone—hundreds used. Her first snowman had melted completely, its time-rewind power exhausted. They’d been locked in this duel for nearly twenty minutes straight. Rita tried Mystic Force once—but Crab had stolen it with Gift of Nature. She didn’t have time to counter. Maple Syrup’s relentless, lightning-fast strikes left no room to breathe. Rita had to activate the school regulations and cast it again just to survive. They were both completely focused on each other. Their life bars dropped together, locked in mutual destruction. Maple Syrup had centuries of experience on her side, but she was also fending off other students and the Librarian. The students were furious at Rita’s distortion—but they still wanted her dead, desperate to steal her numbers and seize the Fun Match victory. If this continued, Rita would die. But even if she did, that didn’t guarantee Maple Syrup’s win. Then again... Maple Syrup didn’t care.