This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

12:32

The game ended.

[Current Bumper Car Game Rankings]

[1. BS-Rita / BSNivalis / BSB8 – Notes Lit: 24]

...

[First place team receives bonus reward: 9 Blocks]

...

[Because the first place team entered the Bumper Car Game Global Rankings, rewards have been upgraded]

[Congratulations to BS-Rita / BSNivalis / BSB8 for receiving: Blocks Duplication Coupon x1]

...

[Congratulations to BS-Rita / BSNivalis / BSB8 for entering the Bumper Car Game Global Rankings. Best score preserved.]

[1st Place: BS-Rita / BSNivalis / BSB8 – Game Score: 99.8]

[Game score calculated based on notes lit, lighting speed, frequency of being lit, final Bumper Car speed, and number of defeated players]

As the [Blocks Revenue Distribution In Progress] screen froze, a cascade of Blocks rained down.

Nivalis couldn't even be bothered to walk. She just drove her Bumper Car out of the arena like a boss.

Rita also noticed their Bumper Car had changed—its original milky-white now a soft mint green, almost macaron-like.

Just like when she left the July Defend the Gacha, the game preserved her best performance and updated the corresponding reward item.

Her top score from July had earned her the Blocks & Me: July Capsule,

From 16th Month's Ferris wheel: Blocks & Me: 16th Month Ferris Wheel,

Now from this Bumper Car match: Blocks & Me: 13th Month Bumper Car.

She glanced at her current trophies:

Blocks & Me: 13th Month Bumper Car

Blocks & Me: 3rd Month Dice

Blocks & Me: 16th Month Ferris Wheel

Blocks & Me: July Capsule

Blocks & Me: 15th Month Star Pirate Ship

Five Month Theme Park collectibles so far. Pity none had triggered a hidden easter egg or achievement.

Shaking those thoughts aside, she turned to Nivalis and said, "Let's hit the market first."

B8017913 immediately picked up on the anticipation gleaming in her eyes. "Did you find something good again?"

Rita pulled out her incomplete Dull Game and showed it to B8017913. "Heard of this?"

"No," it replied, shaking its head. "I recognize the first two words, but I've never heard of this game item."

Rita caught the hint instantly. "Dull" must be the name of a god or demon.

While talking, their ride had already parked beside an unused vending machine.

Rita floated over and searched for Dull Game.

Stock: 1!

But her expression instantly soured.

[Dull Game (1/9)] – Price: 42,130 gBlocks. Discount coupons not accepted.

That single fragment alone now cost 91% of all the Blocks she currently owned.

No—Rita's gaze hardened. That price matched exactly what she'd possessed before entering the Bumper Car game, even including the game items she held.

Had Divine Game listed it?

She didn't want to believe it. Because if Divine Game had, it would mean some higher existence was actively trying to stop her from collecting Dull Game.

And they might've listed it before she even started the game, calculating her total wealth down to the gram.

That level of precision couldn't be a coincidence.

Rita stared at the lone listing in the shop, silent.

Should she cut her losses now, or dive headfirst into a collection that might never be completed?

If she gave up, she'd have the time and funds to farm more Blocks. She could replay It's Not the Craft That Sucks a few more times, gather more capsule machine materials.

Logically, that was the smarter play—more efficient, more immediate, and would boost her final Divine Game score.

But chasing down Dull Game was different.

Setting aside whether the remaining three fragments were even accessible, this single shard alone was far outside her budget.

And with Universal Fragments not working on Dull Game, she even began to doubt whether the five fragments she already had would survive once she exited the game.

Eventually, she searched for something else—Blocks Tracker.

[Blocks Tracker] – Cost: 120 gBlocks. Tracks the locations of other fragments of a chosen game item.

She applied it to her fragmented Dull Game.

A line of glowing red text floated above it:

10th Month – TingoAutumn Deer ←

With a blinking arrow pointing the way.

The 10th Month Theme Park, huh…

Rita fell deep into thought, mentally mapping out her options.

How was she going to retrieve those three missing fragments from TingoAutumn Deer?

Go in aggressive? Play the long game?

Use I Just Want to Improve So Badly, or rely on The Free Stuff Always Costs the Most?

What was the safest path? The least costly?

Minutes later, she returned to her Bumper Car and handed Now's the Time to Nivalis. Then she gave B8017913 a bundle of 35 spare game item fragments and said:

"Sell these for me. Keep the Blocks. I'll come find you before the game ends. You two plan your next steps however you want."

Nivalis accepted the item with a strange look on her face. "Why do you sound like you're saying goodbye forever?"

It felt like a death flag.

Rita didn't explain. Instead, she turned to Nivalis and said, "I need your capsule machine."

Without a second thought, Nivalis rotated the machine to her front and began unlocking it. "Should I remove the Blocks inside?"

That kind of complete trust made Rita's heart warm.

"Just take out whatever you want to bring with you after the game," she said. "I'll need everything else."

Nivalis pulled out her card printer and three odd-looking fragmented items, then handed over the capsule machine—complete with all its contents.

"All yours."

Rita accepted it and gave Nivalis a tight, grateful hug—then hugged B8017913 as well.

It was… unsettling. Like the lead-up to a tragic farewell.

Tears welled up in Nivalis's eyes. "I'll wait for you. Once we finish this job, we're logging off for good!"

Rita quickly covered her mouth. "Okay, enough…" Any more of that and she really wouldn't come back.

B8017913 had guessed she was heading after Dull Game, but didn't know where. "Where are you going?"

Rita held up her mismatched-colored revolver—the incomplete Dull Game—and said with a sigh,

"10th Month Theme Park."

She wanted to scout ahead. Three Dull Game fragments were still out there. If she could retrieve them from TingoAutumn Deer, then she wouldn't mind selling her soul to buy the final one.

But if she couldn't, then she'd change tactics—sell the five fragments she already had.

All five. As a single bundle.

That way, even if the buyer later discovered they couldn't complete it with Universal Fragments, it would already be too late.

She'd already thought of the tagline:

"A divine relic once cherished by the god Dull. Unique. Possibly capable of communicating with Him."

Would writing that provoke Dull's ire?

Rita didn't care.