Rita wordlessly emptied her pockets, handing over her last 79 gold coins, 27 silver coins, and 3 copper coins to the Wind Scythe. "That's all I have," she said solemnly, with an air of righteous condemnation.
She wanted her demeanor and actions to shame this 103-level Wind Scythe into the depths of guilt!
The Wind Scythe, however, fell silent. Its tail swished to the right, confirming that Rita was telling the truth. That was really all she had.
He could sense financial fortune in people, and this little owl radiated wealth, yet she was somehow penniless. After a moment's hesitation, he shamelessly scooped up the coins. "Alright, I'll forgive you this time," he said, before skipping away cheerfully.
Rita had been prepared to use her skills to take her money back. But as she watched the Wind Scythe's retreating figure, a sudden thought flashed through her mind: Could his financial fortune be what I've been sensing?
"Let's find out." With a mischievous grin, she activated [I Just Want to Improve] on him.
Before the skill could complete, the Wind Scythe disappeared into the crowd. Rita didn't even have time to adjust his luck stat. Moments later, she heard his voice again in the distance, yelling, "Ow! You owe me compensation!"
"Ah, so being level 103 is just his camouflage..."
She opened her inventory to check the results of the skill and froze. Her balance had increased by 2497 gold coins.
Her new skill could only steal 1% of someone's wealth. If this was just 1%, that meant the Wind Scythe had over 200,000 gold coins in savings—and yet he was out here scamming people.
Rita didn't linger in the area. Keeping calm, she and Nivalis casually left and followed the directions they'd bought earlier to Lucia's current residence.
She tucked Nivalis into her pet space, which she had filled with toys and gaming devices to keep her entertained.
After preparing everything, Rita didn't bother knocking. Instead, she took out a small bottle containing 50g of Moon Sand, opened the lid, and waited.
Within seconds, the door opened.
Disguised as "Frosting", Rita smiled politely at Lucia.
Lucia immediately understood who was standing before her. Her eyes fell on the Moon Sand, and without needing further explanation, she knew what this visit was about.
Lucia accepted the Moon Sand with a faint nod. "This didn't come from the tower, right?" she asked.
Rita, who had once harbored doubts about Lucia due to information from Gota, shook her head. Her suspicions had since faded.
After all, Lucia had no obligation to share information about the tower, and upon reflection, Rita realized that Lucia likely considered the challenge to be less about climbing the tower and more about retrieving [Fate Out of Sync]'s Moon Sand in plain view of countless onlookers.
"No," Rita replied with respect. "I obtained it by chance."
Lucia didn't press further and began teaching Rita how to make [Gold-Class Assassin]. Unlike [Melting Time], this master-tier potion required intricate brewing techniques rather than complex ingredients.
After spending an afternoon with Lucia, Rita left feeling like an alchemy novice all over again. She released Nivalis from her pet space for some air and decided to visit Hecipah in Dark City.
Nivalis transformed into a small jellyfish, nestling in Rita's collar. "Do we still have enough money to get home?" she asked softly.
Rita stifled a laugh. "And if we don't?"
"Then let's go to Dragon Island and scavenge some trash to sell," Nivalis suggested earnestly.
Rita's heart softened, and she turned down a side street instead. She brought Nivalis to the largest mechanical toy shop in Polar Day City and told the clerk to gather one of every toy released in the past year.
Nivalis clung to her collar. "No, don't! This is too expensive. We're broke! I can't play with all that. Look at that robot on the third shelf—it's so big! Where would we even put it?"
Ignoring her protests, Rita picked up the limited-edition mech figure that cost 188 gold and handed it to the moon fox clerk. "This one, too."
In the end, the total came to over 1300 gold. The clerk even threw in an 18-slot storage case for the toys.
As they left the shop, Nivalis's voice trembled with excitement. "MOM!!!"
Even Holy Cup, North Year, and Snow Pile had never spoiled her . They'd always told her to choose just a few things. But Rita? She'd bought everything new that year!
"Don't call me that!" Rita hissed, glancing around nervously. "If Holy Cup hears that, I'll never hear the end of it!" She added with a firm tone, "Relax, I can afford to raise you. Don't worry about money."
"…Through crime, obviously," she muttered under her breath.
Nivalis, delighted, used her jellyfish tentacles to affectionately pat Rita's collar. "Anything you say, darling~"
"…" Rita stared ahead, speechless.
Afterward, Rita visited Hecipah, bringing gifts. Following Nivalis's suggestion, she picked a fun gaming device for Kayden and bought Hecipah a clock that told minotaur-themed jokes every hour.
When Hecipah accepted the clock, it struck the hour and let out a loud moo. Then it began:
"Our final song tonight is 'All the Kids Are Mine, I'm Super Pure,' requested by the Minotaur King for Alchemy Maniacs. The title? 'I'm the Star of the Village.'"
"BAM!" Rita slammed her fist onto the clock.
"This isn't a minotaur joke! It's a Hecipah joke!"
Despite her 187 Strength, the clock didn't break. What kind of quality is this?
Flustered, Rita stood up and pounded on it seven or eight more times until it finally shattered.
Awkwardly collecting the pieces, she stammered, "Wrong gift, sorry about that." Then, she handed over 5g of Moon Sand as an apology. Noticing Hecipah's expression, she gritted her teeth and added another 5g, which she'd originally prepared for Eclipse Vanguard.
Hecipah smirked, lowering the hand she had raised to strike. "You just saved your head."