This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1191: Divine Game, Divine Instruction 5

Sensing a skill rune was not difficult. All it required was calm breathing and sharp focus. The real challenge came in drawing it.

First, it had to be drawn in a single stroke. The line could not break. The moment it did, the half drawn rune would instantly burn into ash.

Second, no line could be traced twice. The tip of the pen could not backtrack. If it did, that section of the rune would become unstable.

This was completely different from learning runes back in Moonlight Marsh. Back then, she followed a solution path to arrive at an answer. Now, she was facing a completed answer and had to work backward to find the logic behind it.

Rita felt like she was playing one of those one stroke puzzle games.

And the higher the skill rank, the more complex the rune.

She could not help thinking of the SSS rank skill A Great Drunkenness that she had comprehended from the white bear long ago. That rune had been extremely simple. She could sketch it in her mind in an instant, like elegant cursive.

But the S rank Mischief Kitchen was completely different. Its rune looked like a tangled ball of thread. Even so, every section carried a strange sense of playful mystery. It matched the skill itself. The more mischievous it was, the more dazzling it became.

Logically, she should have switched to an easier skill. Rita was not stubborn enough to fight this one to the end.

In fact, once she realized how difficult this rune was, she had already switched once. But before she could continue, Foolishness spoke without even looking up.

"No switching."

Her voice was cool and flat. It sounded almost like deliberate provocation.

Yet Rita was suddenly reminded of a distant feeling. So distant that she thought she had forgotten it. The time when Lightchaser took her away from under the bridge by the lakeside.

Harsh and exacting teaching standards. But whether it was Lightchaser back then or Foolishness now, their guidance was a treasure to her.

Rita paused for only a second, then went back to struggling with the skill. She tried breaking it down, piece by piece, to understand it.

Her obedience caught Foolishness’s attention. She glanced at Rita several times over the edge of her book.

Still, she was not strict with Rita alone. She paid close attention to the others as well.

When Cicada and Prayer tried to switch skills, they were stopped. Maple Syrup and Kessa did not switch, but less than ten minutes into the lesson, Foolishness named two skills each of theirs and ordered them to draw those runes instead.

The workshop grew quiet. Only the soft scratch of pen on paper could be heard. With Foolishness’s permission, Nivalis and B80 were exploring the palace. Their occasional gasps, cheers, and delighted screams echoed faintly from afar.

They were doing their best to keep their voices down. But no one here was ordinary. Of course they could hear everything.

Rita suspected Foolishness wanted it this way. That kind of raw and enthusiastic emotional feedback was something other gods could not provide.

When Nivalis screamed again, lowering her voice as she whispered, "Compared to the toys in this palace, Divine Game is nothing," Rita quickly looked up at Foolishness.

She caught the faint curve of a smile lifting at the corner of Foolishness’s lips.

Under her gaze, that smile slowly faded.

"Focus on your work," Foolishness said coolly.

Rita stared at her for two more seconds with a knowing look before lowering her head again.

Dawn Cicada spoke from her left. "Your pets are really good at winning people over."

Rita did not respond. Maple Syrup on her right picked it up instead. "They learned it from her."

Prayer said, "They won you two over?"

Kessa replied, "Obviously."

Cicada snorted. "Disgusting."

Maple Syrup said, "They did not win me over."

Kessa said, "I do not see it that way."

Rita said nothing.

She slowly turned her gaze toward Foolishness, clearly asking her to manage classroom discipline before this turned into a comedy routine.

Foolishness kept reading. The corner of her mouth lifted again, just slightly.

Serves you right.

When Rita felt she could now draw about twenty percent of the rune in one go, Nivalis’s voice suddenly came from the direction of the palace entrance.

"Mistblade?"

The five students were surprised, but none of them stopped moving their pens. Nearly an hour had passed, and no one was making smooth progress.

More than ten minutes later, just as Rita thought Nivalis had shouted nonsense again, Mistblade’s voice sounded at the classroom door.

"Greetings. I am a messenger sent by Lady Deceitful Bloom."

Foolishness closed her book against her chest and raised a hand. The petal in Mistblade’s hand flew into her palm.

As the god read the message, Mistblade spoke again. She said respectfully, "Lady Deceitful Bloom also asked me to deliver a message."

Foolishness slowly looked up at her, waiting.

Mistblade raised a finger and pointed directly at BS Rita.

"She says you are really childish."

Rita fell silent. She would bet her life that Deceitful Bloom’s original message was not phrased like that.

Even Foolishness, who usually showed little emotion, revealed a trace of helplessness. The letter itself had already called her childish several times. Deceitful Bloom had clearly guessed she had privately coordinated with Boiling Orange, Ashveil, and others.

That final message was probably just an offhand comment. But the moon fox had countless little schemes. Knowing that gods would not get angry over a player’s joke, she had taken the chance to mess with BS Rita.

The petal dissolved in Foolishness’s hand.

"I understand," she said. "Go back and tell her I agree. Tomorrow is too early. Five days from now, our two classes can hold a joint session."

Mistblade gave a formal salute and left.

Inside the workshop, Foolishness returned to her reading. The five students continued drawing.

Kessa said, "I remember Mistblade being very steady before. She suddenly feels much more lively."

Maple Syrup replied, "You remember correctly. She was infected by a curse from a certain world."

Cicada added, "Unfortunate. Does that curse affect intelligence?"

Prayer paused. He really wanted to say something, but he was worried he could not win the fight.

Rita said calmly, "Obviously, you have been affected too."

Prayer went quiet.

Mistblade, whose legs were still bound by Deceitful Bloom’s vines and could only move by controlling them, had not even left the open workshop area yet. She called back, "Could you at least wait until I am farther away to say this?"

Foolishness put down her book and rubbed her temples.

This was only the first morning, and it was already this lively. How was she supposed to endure the rest?

She was starting to regret agreeing to a joint session.

Especially one with Deceitful Bloom’s class.

Just imagining it made her head hurt.