In US, the price of a favor was the most expensive, the hardest to repay, and the most difficult to calculate. It was nearly impossible to determine when a debt was truly settled.
This made Shadow.Q reluctant to haggle with Rita. Even if she didn't negotiate the price down, Eclipse Vanguard's debt to Rita wouldn't diminish in the slightest. Every time Shadow.Q thought about it, she couldn't shake the suspicion that she'd never truly understood Rita.
Was she really like Eleanor described—a person who ensured those who helped her were always repaid fairly? Eclipse Vanguard's profile on Rita emphasized her commitment to fairness. But was her "generosity" simply a calculated way to get what she wanted?
Such doubts, however, were unspeakable. Eclipse Vanguard's gains from Rita's deals were tangible. Her contributions, like [Time Is Always Squeezable], were gifts that kept on giving, and larger gestures, like the legion command item, were too significant to ignore. They lingered in the mind, impossible to forget or refuse.
The more Shadow.Q thought about it, the more Rita seemed like one of those people who appeared pure on the outside but were secretly calculating—a "white-cut black."
While Shadow.Q was lost in her internal storm, Rita was gleefully counting her newly acquired skill crystals.
She glanced at the [Skill Storage Crystal (One-Time Use)], noting the line at the bottom: (Creator: EasySing).
With a sigh of admiration, Rita said,
"It's bad to assume, but imagine if EasySing were a lone wolf. Selling skill crystals alone could have made them the wealthiest player by now. Yet, they've never even appeared on the wealth leaderboard. What's their deal?"
Jameson's investigation had turned up nothing about EasySing. Who—or what—was this mysterious figure?
Even the solo players' training group she'd joined recently was speculating. Someone in the group mentioned being targeted by two factions for refusing to join them. They were considering Eclipse Vanguard as a refuge and asked the group for advice. Another member had replied,
"Join when EasySing tops the wealth leaderboard."
Shadow.Q snapped out of her thoughts and gave Rita a strange look.
"Who said EasySing is a person?"
"EasySing is our commander's panda."
Rita blinked, utterly lost.
"Yes, it's illegal, but fortunately, things changed before the authorities cracked down. When the game invaded, the panda mutated. The skill crystals you're holding? They're its… um… post-bamboo digestion byproduct. That's why EasySing doesn't appear on the wealth leaderboard. You'll find it ranked on the pet leaderboard instead."
She immediately opened the pet leaderboard and scrolled down. Sure enough, EasySing was ranked #7.
Had she ever bitten into a skill crystal? Had she?? Think, think, think!
No! She hadn't! Definitely not! The only thing she'd ever bitten was an Escape Gem. She'd always used her hands to crush skill crystals.
Meanwhile, Shadow.Q watched Rita's expressions shift from shock to despair to horror and finally to relief, utterly baffled.
"What's wrong? Did you drink skill crystal water or something?"
Faced with Shadow.Q's concerned gaze, Rita could only smile weakly.
After parting ways with Shadow.Q, Rita returned to her villa. She glanced at the rooftop, debating whether to sell the Level 3 Instance attached to her property. After some thought, she decided to keep it for now.
The Special Affairs Bureau's presence in her home provided a layer of deterrence and security. Even if she didn't truly trust them for protection, their badge alone was enough to keep ordinary threats at bay.
The protective water screen surrounding her property was useful but not foolproof. High-level players often had unique methods of bypassing such barriers. Given that Level 10 players were no longer uncommon, having too many unfamiliar, high-level individuals around made her uneasy.
It had been an intense and stressful day. Despite it being only midday, Rita decided to take the rest of the day off. She and Nivalis stayed home, ordering a feast of delivery food for two gold coins and indulging in some well-earned relaxation.
Nivalis dragged out the freshly cleaned whale hide and had Rita use [A Big World, A Small Me] to shrink it. She turned it into a tunnel to play hide-and-seek with the cats in the backyard.
Rita sat on the back steps, soaking in the rare tranquility. She watched Nivalis, now the size of a kitten, blindfolded and playing with the other cats.
"Where are you, little kitties~? Come out, come out, wherever you are~!" Nivalis called out, her voice comically mischievous.
Rita shook her head. She couldn't bear to look.
As she observed the playful scene, Rita mentally reviewed the day's battle.
Her most glaring issue was her lack of offensive options. She needed to prepare a skill capable of directly reducing a target's health by a percentage.
Although luck was on her side during the fight with Miyaas, it had taken eight skill crystals before she succeeded once. Against such a significant power gap, even the best skills could be suppressed. But that didn't mean she could go without them.
She also needed better ways to counter sleep-inducing agents and escape restraints.
Miyaas, that wonderfully generous sea creature, hadn't just given her a Divine Gift—he'd provided a thorough stress test for her combat strategies.
Her only regret was that he'd only dropped Soul Catcher upon his death.
Her mind wandered to the barrels of seawater, mixed with her blood and Miyaas' ashes. What should she do with them? Dump them into Lania Kaia's ocean? Too risky—what if the sea creatures noticed? What about Blue Star's ocean? Also unsafe—there were sea creatures there too.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. Could she use her Divine Gift skill [Renovate] to transform the seawater?
The thought sent her bolting to her feet.
But what if it failed? Maybe it was safer to wait until Nivalis' [Time Stealing Dragon] skill was off cooldown, just in case she needed to rewind. Lowering her luck was a gamble she didn't want to take lightly.
To Rita, "low luck" meant anything less than maxed out—and with anything less than full luck, she might as well expect to get hit by a meteor.
She hesitated, then calculated. It was only the 6th. Nivalis' skill wouldn't reset until the 10th of next month. If she failed, her luck would recover in a week. She could potentially attempt this four or five times before then. Besides, [Time Stealing Dragon] only restored up to 160 seconds at a time, and using it repeatedly in a short span might cause unforeseen issues.
Screw it. She'd try now.
Rita stood up again, determination flaring in her eyes.
But as she glanced around, she realized every single cat was staring at her. Even Nivalis, now unblindfolded, was looking at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Mind your own business!" Rita snapped. "Once I'm done, we're going out for dinner. And afterward? Mahjong night!"
Nivalis stood at attention and saluted. "Yes, sir!"