This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1130 Divine Game Quiet Mountain 13
"Is she doing well?"
An unexpected question.
But the sense of unease Rita had felt all along surfaced again.
How much did the Quiet Mountain copies actually know about Star Sea?
On the surface, it seemed like they knew very little, yet every one of them was aware of the existence of another self.
QM Mistblade’s question aside, there was also QM Cicada. When Rita had said, "SS DawnCicada is nothing like you, she has more patience," what shocked QM Cicada was not that Star Sea had another Cicada, but that the other Cicada carried the prefix Dawn.
And yet, she did not know why Beacon had been destroyed, nor did she know their true purpose for coming here.
Rita did not answer QM Mistblade’s question. In fact, by the time those words reached her ears, she had already fled into the hallway. At a moment like this, if you do not run, what are you waiting for?
But she did not run far. Rita did not leave the snow house. Instead, she hid in the shadow world, keeping her distance from the study.
If QM Mistblade could move during time stop, then why had she not acted at the beginning? Why did she only awaken after Rita had observed her for several minutes? Did an 18 tier powerhouse really need to play dumb to fool an intruder?
Maybe there were restrictions. Just like Rita’s own time stop, during which she could not affect any other living being.
Rita waited quietly for a short while. When there was no movement at all, she carefully returned.
Sure enough, the shadow of QM Mistblade in the shadow world had once again entered a time stopped state.
In that case, Rita did not waste any time. A player’s important items would never be left out in the open.
She retreated to the courtyard and used the Dustfire skill Let It Die to make a lucky bento. After eating it quickly, she returned to the study entrance. She did not go in, only peering through the crack in the door at the motionless figure inside.
She took Cat’s Ideal from the gacha machine. The ship’s wheel floated beside her, and Rita gripped the helm.
It was time to let QM Mistblade experience everything SS Mistblade had once endured.
She turned the wheel. The sound of waves echoed through the corridor. Pirate Enters the Stage.
"When the sound of waves is heard, activating this skill allows the player to strip a portion of the target’s assets according to the player’s will. The stripped category can be attributes, wealth, items, or skills."
She had tested this skill on Nivalis before. At the instant of activation, she only needed to decide the category in her mind. In this situation, of course she was taking items.
What if she got lucky? Back then, she had managed to steal a Divine Game entry ticket from the Fortune Fox. What if she could steal a Demon Game ticket from this Black Fortune Fox?
She used the skill three times in rapid succession. Rita only felt a few extra objects appear in the pocket of her robe, but she did not check them. The moment the three uses were exhausted, she turned the wheel and left the snow house.
The last thing she saw before disappearing was the shadow world being split apart by a flash of blade light. After the slash came red robes, a white tail, a black Tail Tip, and a fragment of the Star Sea moon at the corner of the window.
Rita appeared once more at the place where she had first descended, as if standing at the game’s spawn point.
She took three items from her pocket. A notebook, an old carving knife, and half of a ruby called Tyrant Game.
No Order Badge.
So even the luckiest person in the world could not steal an Order Badge?
But it was not a complete loss, because the notebook was titled QM Mistblade’s Diary Thirteen.
Was it wrong to read someone else’s diary?
Yes, it was.
But this was not a diary. This was intelligence.
Rita looked around, then put on Lonely Antenna Baby and jumped onto the top of a Mu tree. She found a comfortable position and sat down.
Did she forget something?
Whatever, it was probably not important.
She eagerly flipped open the first page.
"QM Mistblade"
...
Quiet Mountain, Year 6796, March 17
Cicada completely lost it today. She got played by that apostle who arrived not long ago.
I have never seen her this irrational.
She paced back and forth in the room, every flower on her Vine fully bloomed.
"I suspect her nightmare is messing with people for fun."
"We were cooperating just fine, and then she stabbed me in the back."
"Is this her nightmare, or the nightmare of players in the same game?"
"Is her nightmare betraying other players? That sounds pretty happy."
Does it? It really does sound a bit happy.
...
Quiet Mountain, Year 6796, April 5
I participated in another Demon Game. I probably will not be able to sleep properly for a while again.
I ran into the newcomer Cicada mentioned. QM Rita.
Ah, no wonder Cicada was so furious.
During the first half of the game, all of the rewards QM Rita obtained were automatically shared with her teammates. Judging by her dark expression, this was probably one of her mandatory tasks.
And in the latter half of the Demon Game, one of my mandatory tasks was to betray her.
I think I finally understand why she chose to betray Cicada first.
These forced betrayal tasks must be randomly assigned. QM Rita herself would not know who would betray her. So she chose to betray everyone first.
...
Quiet Mountain, Year 6796, July 8
I heard that QM Rita can enter Demon Games twice a day.
Does she not suffer? Or has she already gone numb?
Does she not know that every reward she earns will be doubled for the betrayer?
Why, after so many years, can I still not endure my nightmare?
Cicada has always believed my nightmare is being forced, in every game, to bow to the enemy camp in order to complete mandatory objectives, to follow their commands.
Everyone believes that, and it is not exactly wrong.
It does not sound like such a big deal. But this nightmare feels as though it was designed specifically for me.
If I want to win. If I want to live. Then I must abandon my pride.
However many Demon Games I have played, that is how many times I have performed a one knee surrender salute.
Like a fixed ritual. Cicada and the others have grown numb to it. But when will my heart go numb?
Many years ago, SmokeTune tried to comfort me. Out of 982 civilizations, kneeling on one knee can mean a proposal, a request for peace, or even a casual social greeting.
For example, Vineborne kneel on one knee when proposing. Sharkfin kneel on one knee to celebrate the cultivation of new fruit.
But Moonfox are not among those 982.
I cannot lie to myself.
...
Quiet Mountain, Year 6796, September 1
A very special guest came to my home today. QM Rita.
She asked me a question that I have discussed many times with the other apostles. In the Demon Games, where do the players who are not apostles come from?
"Copies deployed from other worlds." I have seen several in my dreams. Only beings created by the Demon Games can have their strength freely adjusted to increase difficulty.
"So am I one too?"
She is smart. Very perceptive.
But there are exceptions.
For example, the Vineborne who always die at the end of the game in front of Cicada and SmokeTune.
The Sharkfin who must be personally killed by Frenzied Shark.
And the Celestialkin who inevitably reject and loathe Kessa. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Some of them come from Quiet Mountain. Their common trait is that they hold a slightly special place in Cicada and the others’ hearts.
Just like this. If QM Rita likes or hates someone in Quiet Mountain, that being will enter the game to betray her. After leaving the game, their memories are erased, and she is not allowed to kill them.
The Demon Games grant us exalted status. Quiet Mountain’s people worship and adore us.
But the moment we respond to that affection, they become tools to make us suffer.
I told her my conclusion.
"This game is carefully designed for us."
Our nightmares cannot be exchanged. Even though we often dream of it, when you think about it carefully, the nightmares of other players are not any better.
"Do these forced tasks with no reason or logic, tasks that erase you the instant you fail, count as well?"
"Of course. That is exactly what I mean by carefully designed."
Every time we sink into suffering, we comprehend new skills.
Just like how I carve gemstones with a knife, cutting away everything useful or useless, until they fit my design, until they become something I can use.
