This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1207: Divine Game, Divine Instruction 21

That single sentence was the only line in the projection.

After Quiet Mountain Deceitful Bloom spoke, the image vanished.

The players stood in silence for a few seconds. Then, as if struck by the same thought, they all reached for the tiles and began shuffling at high speed.

"Next round, loser swaps out," Kessa declared.

Fury Prayer handed Nivalis a bag of gemstones. The pouch hung open, overflowing with Fireglint gems that flashed brilliantly in the light. "Selling your seat?"

Nivalis immediately dropped her tiles and hugged the bag. "It’s yours."

Rita clicked her tongue. "Am I that poor to you?"

Nivalis glanced at her several times before finally blurting out, "Do you know how many times Snow Pile beat me for selling dragon dung?"

The three players at the table, including Kessa who was waiting beside Maple Syrup, all looked over. Their expressions mixed shock and faint disdain.

"What are you staring at?" Rita snapped. "I was securing dragon resources for my people. Was that about money?"

Under her glare, they tacitly dropped the subject. How far it would spread privately was another matter.

After the initial novelty of the World Graveyard faded, everyone’s interest shifted fully to the scenes from before Uncharted Star Sea’s defeat. Those glimpses clearly involved the final war. They played faster.

They even tried openly calling for the tiles they needed to speedrun the game. That method did not trigger the final reward, though, so they were forced to rely on actual play.

Each projection shared the same backdrop: Starsea, Quiet Mountain, and a massive clock face studded with shimmering fragments of light.

But the combatants atop the dial changed each time.

Whether it spoke to Quiet Mountain’s judgment or simply the nature of genius, at least eighty percent of the battles were between original and replica.

Many gods they did not recognize struggled on that clock face.

Rita identified Tingo Howl and Among Antlers Dustfire through divine relics.

All of them had once received divine credentials. Pooling their knowledge, they reconstructed the names of the eight special gods from the Demon City of Binast and even determined their races from their revealed true forms.

Tides Captain.

Lania Kaia Drummer.

Reef Bitter Cup.

No Light Graffiti.

Beacon Deceitful Bloom.

Brilliance Foolishness.

Mountain Isles Hearthsmoke.

Midsummer Mischief.

There was Beacon. Brilliance. Midsummer.

But no BS.

No Forest Sea.

Rita scratched at her hair and turned to Maple Syrup. "Know why there’s no supreme god from BS or Forest Sea?"

Maple Syrup tilted her head and blew a feather back into place. "Because each world can only produce one supreme god. Those two seats are waiting for us."

Kessa frowned. "Who says that’s even a rule?"

Rita leaned right, closing the distance between herself and Maple Syrup. She reached behind her and casually draped an arm over Maple Syrup’s shoulder. "We do."

Dawn Cicada was shuffling tiles with practiced elegance. At that, she glanced up, eyes sliding over the two of them. She caught the tension in Maple Syrup’s posture and smiled faintly.

"So you’ve made up?" she asked.

Fury Prayer adjusted his glasses with one finger. "Looks like it."

Maple Syrup’s eyes shifted toward the corner, meeting Rita’s gaze at close range. She smiled lightly. "Had enough, my archrival?"

Rita held her expression steady, withdrew her arm, and resumed playing as if nothing had happened. After a few quiet motions, she muttered, "You’re really hard to understand sometimes..."

Her gentleness toward family. Her obsession with Forest Sea. Her coldness toward enemies and certain kin. And that sliver of softness she reserved for her so-called archrival.

If Maple Syrup hated anyone most, it was probably not Lania Kaia, not the Captain, not Rita.

It was herself.

Scenes from their shared past flickered through Rita’s mind. She sighed. "You and Pine Bloom should switch main cities. She only wants endless sunshine. You’re living through all four seasons at once."

She had spoken casually, following instinct. Only after the words left her mouth did she notice the other three pairs of hands at the table had stopped moving.

She looked up.

Dawn Cicada was staring at Maple Syrup with wide eyes. Even the Vine on her shoulder had straightened, making her look almost comically startled.

Fury Prayer looked the same. His perpetually half-lidded eyes were fully open.

"No way," Rita laughed awkwardly.

She turned toward Maple Syrup.

A faint red glow had appeared at Maple Syrup’s brow.

"...?"

Maple Syrup stood abruptly, eyes burning as she locked onto Rita. "I understand now."

She dropped that line and ran out.

Nivalis slid into the empty seat, stacking tiles while admiring Rita’s stunned expression. "Master, when are you planning to awaken yourself?"

Dawn Cicada laughed in high spirits. "Probably after she’s helped every player she knows find their direction."

Rita gritted her teeth. "Until I find my own direction, I’m not evaluating anyone else."

Another round ended.

This time, the projection showed an elf.

Ash-gray hair. Mage robes. A staff planted against the ground.

Her eyes held only a thread of fading light. It was obvious she stood by sheer will alone. A lantern hovered beside her, trying to support her.

Another elf approached step by step.

The dying one gave a faint smile. "Let me tell you a fairy tale."

The image cut.

Nivalis slammed the table. "It ends there?!"

With no one stabilizing it, the three-legged table toppled again.

Dawn Cicada and the others sighed and crouched to gather the tiles.

Fury Prayer asked, "That was your Wrathful Moon?"

"Yes." Even without knowing the elf’s name, recognizing the first owner’s appearance was valuable. It would help later in the Burial Grounds.

Nivalis glanced at Dawn Cicada several times. When Dawn shot her an irritated look, she gathered her courage. "Why didn’t you ever try to take Wrathful Moon back?"

Dawn pressed her lips together and kept picking up tiles. Rita assumed she would not answer.

Then she spoke.

"When it was in my hands, its core namesake skill never manifested. Taking it back would have been meaningless."

She added, almost casually, "Why did you say Wrathful Moon never truly recognized me? Have you truly recognized me?"

Rita replied flatly, "Nice try."

Dawn Cicada froze.

So much for outmaneuvering the master.