This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 605 - : World’s Grave Forest: The Choice

So, among these nearly winning hands, were Snowland and Forest Sea hidden within?

Would the Owl Emperor or Moon Empress recognize their own worlds?

And if BS were ever shattered, would it too become one of these gravestone tiles?

Rita picked up the [■·Troublemaker Rabbit Tail] and placed it gently atop the line of World's Grave Forest tiles.

Why had Rabbit 4 wanted her to reshuffle?

It certainly wasn't for her sake. Rabbit 4 might have been intrigued by her, but certainly not as much as Rabbit 1 or Rabbit 3.

Her current hand wasn't anything remarkable. Whether she reshuffled or not wouldn't make much of a difference—there wasn't much excitement to be had from it.

The only explanation…

Someone was about to win.

And Rabbit 4 wanted to watch the chaos unfold just before they could.

That alone would be entertaining enough.

In fact, maybe the player on the verge of winning had something to do with her.

Maple Syrup? Mistblade?

Imagining their face when they realized the game had been reshuffled at the last second, Rita couldn't help but grin.

There was no fear in her heart—only anticipation.

She no longer worried about attracting powerful enemies by standing in the spotlight, about being noticed and hunted down while still trying to build her strength from the shadows.

Since returning from Dark City, she'd accepted it: from this point on, no matter how low she tried to keep her profile, hiding in the dark was no longer an option.

The rabbit tail was activated.

Light flowed into the forest of gravestones. The long row of mahjong tiles toppled in unison, flipping face down with a satisfying thud.

No more movement—but then came the sound of tiles being washed and shuffled, echoing through the room for a full five minutes before falling silent.

[Ding! The reshuffling is about to begin. Do you want to remain anonymous as the one who triggered it?]

Wait—a choice to remain anonymous?

Relief washed over Rita. Without hesitation, she selected anonymity.

[Divine Game Announcement: Due to the efforts of a mysterious player, the Lania Kaia World's Grave Forest has been reshuffled.]

Rita smiled in satisfaction.

Enemies or not, there was a difference between conflict forced by game mechanics and being hunted down over personal grudges.

Even now, days later, battlefield chat was still buzzing with talk of the chaos that followed that day's reshuffle—players smashing tiles in rage.

Rita eyed the seventeen navy-blue mahjong tiles on the table, and for once, felt a rare flicker of nervousness. She rubbed her hands together and asked Nivalis, "Do you think I'll lift them and instantly win?"

Nivalis, thinking of Rita's legendary bad luck at mahjong, swatted her fantasy aside: "Absolutely not."

Rita pressed down on both ends of the tiles, lifted, and spread them out with practiced hands.

The gesture was smooth, almost too professional.

So was her posture—legs crossed, one hand examining the tiles with care, the other resting on the back of her chair, completely relaxed.

[4-Character], [8-Character], [3-Bamboo], [9-Character], [2-Dot], [2-Dot], [8-Bamboo], [8-Bamboo], [Red Dragon], [Red Dragon], [East Wind], [8-Dot], [7-Character], [9-Character], [3-Bamboo], [1-Bamboo], [5-Dot]

Rita's expression turned solemn.

Nivalis, who'd been crouched in the corner of the table, tensed. Was the hand that bad?

She quickly leaned over to look.

B8017913 floated over too—it understood mahjong.

Then they both watched as Rita—still very serious—started grouping the tiles into sets.

Nivalis, who'd already memorized the hand, stared blankly: "…Don't you have a perfect photographic memory now?"

Rita pursed her lips, setting the tiles into place with almost religious reverence. "Mahjong is sacred. Don't sully it with shortcuts."

Nivalis: "…" So you're saying you'd rather not use your brain?

The hand was now neatly laid out:

Three mini "trains."

The shortest: a sequence—[7-Character], [8-Character], [9-Character]

The longest: four pairs—[2-Dot]×2, [3-Bamboo]×2, [8-Bamboo]×2, [Red Dragon]×2

And six leftover singles—[4-Character], [9-Character], [1-Bamboo], [5-Dot], [8-Dot], [East Wind]

Rita propped her chin in her hand, staring at her tiles. Nivalis's head throbbed just from looking at it.

"This is worse than before," Nivalis muttered.

Rita shook her head. "It's a performance. The gods want a good show."

This time, it was her. Next time, it would be someone else.

She wouldn't waste the opportunity. If the gods wanted entertainment, she'd give them a spectacle.

Besides, with this many tiles, how bad could the result really be?

Last time, three sequences gave her the key World's Grave Forest: Fearless. What would eleven tiles produce?

She grouped the sequence and pairs and pressed them together.

Click.

They snapped into place like magnets.

[World's Grave Forest: The Choice] – World's Grave Forest Key ★★★ (Required to enter World Battlefield)

Skill 1: Legendary Prologue – When entering the World Battlefield, you and your pet each unlock two divine-grade talent skills.

Skill 2: War Horn – When entering the World Battlefield, you and your pet each unlock three additional skills.

Skill 3: Death Like the Wind – Once per Divine Game, you and your pet can use this to instantly return to the nearest safe zone, ignoring all restrictions.

Skill 4: Reconsider – Once per Divine Game, you can change the unlocked effect of any World Tomb tile you possess into a different one of your choosing.

Rita's eyes lit up at the fourth skill.

It meant she could wait until she saw the game rules and then swap the effect of a wildcard tile—mid-game.

This was far better than [Veteran Player].

Looking again at her "junk" tiles: [4-Character], [9-Character], [1-Bamboo], [5-Dot], [8-Dot], [East Wind].

Ignore the useless [1-Bamboo]. [4-Character] and [9-Character] unlocked tools, [5-Dot] and [8-Dot] unlocked artifacts, and [East Wind] unlocked a skill.

Rita sat up straighter, brows furrowed.

Although she had purchased [7-Character] only two weeks ago and couldn't buy another yet, this hand—surprisingly—was turning out pretty decent.

It wasn't a winning hand, but it was more useful than what she had before.

Nivalis, still thinking in mahjong terms, mumbled about needing a Two Bamboo…

Then—

[Divine Game Announcement: Mistblade has used the Divine Game reward "Who's Cheating?" to identify the player who triggered the reshuffle.]

Nivalis: "Holy crap."

Rita: …

Ah. So Mistblade was the one about to win.

Well, no need to be so dramatic about it…

Also—wait, so you could just… check who reshuffled?

Then why the hell did they even bother asking if she wanted to be anonymous?!