CHAPTER 802: 802: DIVINE GAME - CARD SWAP 51

Rita wasn’t sure how much wealth the current first-place player had, but she knew one thing: she needed to take as much as she could. This was her only shot.

After some practice, her movements became quicker and more efficient, with her bone club swiftly sweeping over row after row of crystals.

Twenty minutes later, just as the number above her head crossed 70,000, the alarm went off at the entrance!

It was the Flare Monkey, patrolling the vault, that had noticed something was wrong.

Rita had known the moment the Flare Monkey entered the vault that she would be discovered, but so many crystals had already vanished. Hiding or leaving wasn’t the best option anymore. Now that the theft had been discovered, it was unlikely that she’d be able to return to this place after the security was tightened. Instead, she might as well take whatever she could while she still had the chance.

As the Flare Monkey started making noise, Rita stopped holding back. She practically dove into the pile of crystals, her bone club blurring as it struck.

The alarm blared, and soon, a large number of Pokémon and trainers rushed in.

Despite her [Hide-and-Seek] skill making her hard to detect, the crystals that had disappeared were a different story. Trainers immediately gave the order to attack the spots where the crystals had vanished.

Rita didn’t hesitate. She summoned [Nebula Bubble]!

She would bear the attacks and keep gathering crystals.

As the lanterns lit up, a layer of bubbles enveloped her. Any attacks that hit the bubbles transformed into ripples like a nebula, and these ripples would remain inside the bubble, eventually turning into defense points after 8 minutes.

Using the defense skill, she continued to collect the crystals.

...

On the viewing stands, Fat Goose clenched his fists, grinding his teeth as he muttered, "Faster! Faster! Come on!!"

Maple Syrup shouted, "Seventh place!"

Mistblade gave a heavy "hmm," her tail flicking wildly behind her, making the backs of Maple Syrup and Fat Goose tingle as they sat, focused on the screen, too tense to notice.

Eight minutes passed.

The nebula bubbles stopped absorbing damage, and Rita’s wealth had exceeded 100,000.

There were only 16 minutes left in the game!

Rita could still continue, but just then, she saw something rolling toward the door, holding a microphone!

Jigglypuff?!

Even though she had the [Legendary Prologue], which could help resist mind control, Rita wasn’t willing to take the risk.

She had gathered a lot of information at the wishing fountain, and she knew that if contestants were caught, all their crystals would be wiped out.

Without hesitation, Rita summoned Deep Blue Helm and left the vault.

In the sewers, a cluster of waves appeared, swirling into the shape of a helm. A Cubone appeared behind Deep Blue Helm.

The number above her head was enough to make all the native creatures rush toward her. Staying in disguise no longer made sense, and it would take away her ability to fly.

Rita immediately canceled her disguise. Whitebone reverted to her backpack, which she grabbed in her hand.

She checked her status, made a quick adjustment, and was about to find a new hiding spot.

But just then, her shield disappeared.

A skill that could directly remove her shield?!

"Sleep~"

The voice filled her mind, and a wave of drowsiness hit. Rita almost drifted off immediately.

But a sliver of rationality remained.

This was an SSS-level mental control skill, but it had been reduced by 80% by [Legendary Prologue].

At the same time, she heard the sound of a blade slicing through the air from behind.

Rita instinctively reached for her snowman in her backpack, intending to use the rewind to break out of this state, but her backpack was sealed.

A skill that could temporarily seal her space equipment!

[Spring Pumpkin], [Summer Snowman], and [Endless Autumn] didn’t consume any mana, but the downside was that they relied on materials. If she couldn’t access those materials, she was restricted!

She’d experienced countless failures with Lightchaser and GodDraw77 due to this.

She always kept several autumn leaves on her for emergencies, but her snowman was safer in her bag. After all, few skills could seal space equipment, and snowmen on her body were vulnerable to being shattered by opponents.

Rita forced herself to move slightly, just as a short sword came flying through, striking her mid-chest. The pain instantly snapped her awake.

Using a piece of autumn leaf hidden inside her uniform, she activated [Endless Autumn].

Then, she kicked out, her wings spinning at full speed, and with a quick twist of her legs, she grabbed her assailant’s head.

That wasn’t enough. A deadly strike would deal a lot of damage, but it wouldn’t guarantee a kill. At least, Rita knew that as long as her life wasn’t completely drained, she wouldn’t die, even if her neck snapped.

Her wings unfurled, and a mini fire dragon rushed toward her opponent, coiling tightly around them.

The air around them was infused with the scent of alcohol.

—[Drunkfire Cooking]

A voice called from behind her, "Don’t attack. She’s from Moonlight Marsh!"

Rita didn’t stop. Her fingers tensed as she thrust them into the opponent’s throat, using her fingers as a blade—[Throat Slash·Lightchaser]!

Only when she confirmed her opponent’s death did she shake the blood off her hands and pick up the short sword from the ground. She turned to the voice, smiling at the student, "Who isn’t?"

She had already rushed toward the one who spoke, the fiery glow lighting up her face, mixing with the murderous intent.

The opponent was also wearing Moonlight Marsh’s uniform, the platinum colors and black dragon-shaped headpiece—another student from Moonlight Marsh, the same one who had bought a snowman from her.

"You’re insane! This is self-inflicted!"

The blade swiped across the opponent’s cheek.

"You’re definitely in the top hundred now. You’re on the broadcast screen! Calm down!"

"We were just joking!!"

Rita softly responded, "Not funny at all."

Removing her shield and sealing her backpack were no jokes. This was a planned assassination.

She dashed forward, turning just as she moved, her wrist twisting. The hilt of her short sword hit the older student’s back of the head with a solid thud.

[Stun]!

This skill interrupted the student’s attempt to destroy her wand.

Trying to exit? Fine.

But they had to die to do it!

The long blade sank into their neck and sliced down through the spine.

The blade, like a precision mechanism, maneuvered around each bone. Flesh and blood parted swiftly, but the bones were left intact.

The clean sound of slicing echoed through the narrow hallway.

A perfect [Debone·Lightchaser]!

—Bang.

The nearly bisected corpse hit the ground with a splash of water.

Rita shook the blood from the long blade, her expression emotionless as she looted the weapons and backpacks of both students, along with a small pocket-sized clock.

Such a shame—the backpacks were locked with student info, so she couldn’t open them or access the crystals inside.

From what she’d heard when disguising as Cubone, these crystals likely disappeared along with the two contestants when they exited the game.

She stood above the bodies, glancing down at them. "Actually, it’s pretty funny."

Then, she tossed the backpack she was holding in a circle, lifted her head to look ahead, and grinned boldly, saying, "If you want to buy it back, prepare 100 credits."