CHAPTER 786: 786: DIVINE GAME: CARD SWAP 35

There was no way Rita could fight back.

She and Mistblade had been kicked out of the living room by Lightchaser and sent to decorate the house, lighting every candle and flammable lamp with the sacred flame. But in less than half an hour, eleven items were already missing from Rita’s backpack—everything from fancy brews to her school uniform!

Losing a school uniform meant buying a new one herself. Fifty gold coins per set!

There was only one culprit: Wail.

Rita stormed off to complain to Lightchaser, who only looked delighted and handed her another five hundred gold coins.

"Buy a new one. I’ll put it on your tab," she said generously.

Rita was speechless. She couldn’t live like this.

After Wail swiped a freshly brewed bottle of Wrong Season before Rita even had a chance to taste it, she finally snapped. Rita started stealing back.

Each theft cost her five percent of her health, but with Endless Autumn, she could keep healing.

The autumn leaves she used came from trading with a creature called a fall-tail in Moonlight Marsh. These animals hoarded piles of fallen leaves every year for food.

Lightchaser, lounging on the couch, was finishing a set of notes on ranged attacks—just a few more pages left. She didn’t bother to stop Wail from bullying her student.

Just as she scribbled out the last line, Wail let out a curious-sounding "Hmm?"

That was rare. Lightchaser didn’t even look up. "What?"

Wail chuckled. "She should be my apprentice."

Lightchaser ignored her.

With a dramatic flourish, she slammed a period at the end of her notes and tossed the parchment aside. Finally, she picked up the letter GodDraw77 had sent—reluctantly.

A few seconds of reading, and her expression turned stormy.

"What do you mean, ’You don’t mind your student having one more experienced teacher, right? It’s not like you’ve taught her anything good anyway’?"

She looked toward the young girl sweeping nearby. Rita was grinning for some unknown reason, occasionally letting out a happy little laugh.

Lightchaser lit the letter on fire.

Ash fluttered to the ground.

The sound made Rita gasp. "I just swept that! How can you just throw trash on the floor?!"

She flew over in a huff and cleaned it up again.

Lightchaser leaned back on the couch, arms crossed, her voice sharp. "Did you read that letter from GodDraw77?"

Rita paused, confused. "Nope."

Lightchaser’s scowl softened slightly. "Is she a good teacher?"

Rita hesitated. Honestly, she didn’t know GodDraw77 all that well. Sure, she saw the teacher daily in various animal forms, but with so many students, their direct interactions were limited.

"Very responsible. She teaches a lot of useful stuff," she said truthfully.

Lightchaser scoffed. "She knows nothing."

Rita stared at her. That tone... were they rivals?

Just then, Wail appeared beside Lightchaser, standing on the couch. She pointed at the trash bin, and the ashes reformed into the letter. Even though Lightchaser immediately flung another flame at it, Wail had already read the entire thing in that split second.

She let the ashes fall, shooting Rita a strange look. So this was the kind of apprentice Lightchaser liked?

Rita furiously swept again, her glare practically scorching the two adults.

Mistblade ran over and dragged her away, whispering, "Let it go, let it go!"

Once they were far enough, Rita discreetly gave Mistblade a thumbs-up: perfect timing.

Mistblade returned a fake smile: whatever makes you happy.

It was their silent signal—when Rita’s third wingtip on the right curved three times, Mistblade would jump in to break up the fight.

Rita resumed using her skill, I Just Want to Improve So Badly, targeting Wail from across the wooden dining table.

Lightchaser watched the little one’s health bar flicker and then glanced at Wail.

She had a pretty good guess what that skill was now.

A rare and dangerous looting-type skill—more valuable than time magic, and nearly undetectable.

Training would need to be... adjusted. Definitely had nothing to do with GodDraw77 trying to steal her apprentice.

...

Dinner was a top-tier meal Lightchaser had ordered in advance. Steam rose from the packages as she pulled them from her spatial pouch.

The only problem was the noise.

The little owlet had been crying for ten minutes straight. Mistblade sat beside her, handing over tissues, looking totally confused. All she knew was that Wail had apparently stolen everything from Rita.

Still, she was barely holding back her laughter. This was the most childish she’d ever seen Rita.

The girl was completely destroyed.

Her uniform, meal card, gold coins, snowman doll, crafting materials, assignments, brews, juices, 7,612 pumpkins, 1,823 autumn leaves... gone. All of it.

And the few things she managed to steal from Wail? Six stat points—and Wail stole them right back. Even the 2.97 million gold coins were gone.

All of it. Gone.

Sobbing on the floor, Rita pointed at Wail and wailed to Lightchaser, "It’s all gone! She took everything!"

To prove it, she dumped her backpack upside down and shook it furiously.

Normally, she spoke slowly to avoid slurring her words—she was still losing baby teeth—but now, overwhelmed with grief, her words tumbled out in garbled, unintelligible cries.

"Aaaah! %@$ pumpkins! %#297! Aaaugh!"

2.97 million coins! She couldn’t even dream of that kind of money.

She slammed her backpack, traced a huge circle in the air, pounded the floor, and jabbed herself in the chest, making sounds no one could decipher.

It looked like some kind of transformation... or maybe performance art.

Mistblade had pulled out the gaming device Rita gave her—it had a camera. She was flat on the floor, snapping photos.

Lightchaser rubbed her temples and said to Wail, "She’s only eleven."

Wail was sipping the stolen Wrong Season brew. "You don’t get it."

Her inventory was now full of trash.

Stuff she wouldn’t even look at normally—but that little brat had stolen six of her stat points and almost took 2.97 million coins. Almost gave her a heart attack.

What kind of theft skill was this terrifying?

Lightchaser made the call. "Dinner. No skills allowed during dinner."

After Mistblade helped Rita wash her face and hands, they sat at the table.

Wail handed Mistblade a scroll. "Flame Festival gift."

Mistblade hesitated. She didn’t take it. Instead, she looked at Lightchaser and Rita.

Lightchaser was pouring herself a drink, not even glancing over. Rita, however, snatched the scroll and shoved it into Mistblade’s hands.

"Learn it! Right now! Otherwise she’ll steal it back!"

Mistblade, flustered, thanked Wail and hurriedly opened the scroll.

It was a B-grade melee skill—Tail Whip.

Once the scroll vanished, Rita finally relaxed.

Wail watched with interest.

In her mind, Lightchaser’s voice echoed:

"Don’t tease her too hard. She doesn’t care much about others receiving gifts. You could give Mistblade anything and she wouldn’t be jealous or mad. But if you give Mistblade something that originally belonged to her..."

"Oh? Then what if I give Mistblade something I stole from her?"

"She’ll snatch it right back and hate you for it."