This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Following the logic of Divine Game, it was inevitable that players would eventually be sorted into different brackets based on performance or strength.

And because of that, Rita knew this—this crushing phase—was her window.

Sure, staying low-profile would let her hang out in the Fish Belly division longer.

But hiding her strength meant wasting her edge—letting all those Blocks slip right through her fingers.

She couldn't do it. She wouldn't.

There was one thing Rita didn't want to admit, but had no choice:

She couldn't forget the last game's divine assessment.

That phrase still lingered in her mind:

"You wasted [Midnight Exile]."

So now, she would make full use of it. Before player pools got reshuffled, she needed to extract as many Blocks as possible and convert them into game item fragments.

If the sorting was based on Block count and their attribute bonuses, converting Blocks into [Game Machine That Loves Games] pieces might delay her bracket change.

If it was based on overall performance, and she ended up in a tougher division with low stats, she could always convert fragments back into Blocks to buff herself.

She had options. She wasn't losing.

Sure, having fewer Blocks on hand meant higher risk of item loss.

But the current Rita no longer took the safest route every time.

She went where the bigger profits lay.

After realizing that focusing fire on her wasn't working—and was even hurting themselves due to reflected damage—players stopped trying to kill Rita.

Instead, they shifted their focus to Nivalis. Even with Rita deflecting some hits, a few inevitably slipped through.

At the six-minute mark, her [Family Bucket] expired. Her offensive pressure dropped.

The player base immediately retaliated.

Nivalis disappeared from the driver's seat.

Rita didn't even blink. She told B8017913 to take the wheel and instantly activated the Arcane version of [Silent Hill].

The spell, originally requiring 5 seconds to cast, was now reduced to 3.8 seconds thanks to multiple buffs.

The entire bumper car arena was engulfed into a shadow realm.

With the arena already flooded with smoke and fog, players had long since lost their sense of direction.

[Hide and Seek] wouldn't help her locate Nivalis in time.

Only [Silent Hill], which let her perceive everything in the "Other World," could do the job.

On the ninth second, Rita's car skidded into a drift and stopped right in front of Nivalis.

Rita vacated the driver's seat:

"Go!"

Nivalis jumped in without hesitation.

As they passed by the entrance checkpoint, Rita even gave the little gingerbread NPC a cheeky whistle.

"What's the matter? No one coming to pick you up?"

Nivalis, B8017913, and L3217: …

L3217: "Did you contract yourself to her willingly? I thought we couldn't be forced into a contract under any condition or accident?"

B8017913: "…"

What a loaded question…

Say yes? Feels kinda embarrassing.

Say no? This would spread like wildfire—and if other mechs tried to retaliate against Rita to protect it, then what?

So B8017913 picked the third option—"or":

"She treats me well. Honestly. I'm really happy."

L3217 went quiet.

B8017913 sent a few more messages. No reply. Maybe it got blocked.

Nivalis whipped the wheel hard enough to leave afterimages. Every few seconds, she had to re-correct her course.

And somehow, she still had the breath to chat with B8017913:

"I told you. I wasn't like this when we first contracted. I turned into this because of her. You didn't believe me."

B8017913: "I apologize for not trusting you."

Rita: "???"

Rita: "What are you two talking about?"

Nivalis spared a glance mid-drift. Said nothing—but her look said everything.

Rita was about to snap back when her brow furrowed slightly.

Behind them, in the pursuing bumper car, one of the players said something in a language she couldn't understand.

But Rita knew—it was aimed at her.

She instinctively ducked, dodging a boomerang that flew past her head, then leapt forward and landed smoothly back into her seat.

Another guttural phrase followed from the same player. The boomerang curved back around.

As it spun toward her, Rita calmly replied in Owlrish:

"I want stable happiness."

Right as the boomerang reached the front of the car, she activated:

[I Just Want to Improve So Badly]

One Block instantly disappeared from the boomerang's three-piece set.

Now down to two parts, it lost its ability to return—fell like a rock, landing in their car.

Rita didn't pause.

She cast the same skill two more times on nearby players.

In just a few seconds, five Blocks landed in her lap.

Sadly, the Arcane version only increased the success rate, not the cast speed, or she might have snagged even more.

Behind them, someone let out a heart-wrenching scream, shouting something over and over.

Rita turned back casually.

The player behind them was pounding their chest like King Kong.

"What are they yelling?"

B8017913:

"It's me! It's me! I—am—ME!"

Rita: "???"

Who was that?

She squinted, trying to remember anyone familiar from Divine Game… nothing.

Was it some kind of skill?

Why would anyone use a boomerang, of all things—something that, if mishandled, never came back?

Especially under this game's forced unbinding system?

With only 69 Stamina left, Rita decided to rest a bit.

She sat down and began reassembling the boomerang she'd just stolen.

But thinking back to the player's hysterics, she played it safe.

She attached the boomerang's tip to her body using free-link Blocks, anchoring it in place before completing the full assembly.

[Why Wouldn't It Be a Boomerang] (Legendary)

"The boomerang you throw is destined to return to you."

Bonus Attributes:

Agility +167

Constitution +221

Strength +114

Magic Properties:

+48% Critical Damage

-8% Skill Cooldown

Legendary Skill — 'Guess Who Got Hit?'

Ask a question while throwing the boomerang.

It will auto-target and attack the best-fitting person within 100 meters.

If it lands, 80% chance to steal one item (Cannot breach space-type equipment).

If you say "It's me," the boomerang will return to you, regardless of distance or dimension.

Mana cost: 3000

Cooldown: 3 minutes

Equip Requirements:

Power > Tier 6

Strength > 237

Like Rita's [Betrayal], the equip conditions were based on tier and power.

Another true Divine Game-exclusive item.

After reading the description, Rita didn't hesitate—she immediately disassembled the boomerang for safety.

Then asked:

"So what exactly did that player say before throwing this?"

B8017913:

"'Who's the most hated player in the arena right now?'"

Rita:

…Well. Yeah. That's probably me.