Rita rarely had such an uninterrupted block of time to study magic potions. Nivalis, finding these quiet days boring, transformed into a small spider to accompany Rita for a few days before returning to her pet space to sleep and play games. They had tested it out—time in the pet space was the same as outside the tower. What felt like an extremely long period for Rita was just the time it took Nivalis to play a game.
During this time, Rita had planned to run the Soul Catcher game once a month, but she discovered there was a limit: no more than three skills could exist at the same time. After unlocking Backlash from a previous run, she already had the skills A Lie and A Prank filled up, meaning she couldn't add anything new.
Fortunately, she could still use the Moon Cut ability.
She wasn't sure exactly where the moonlight she cut came from, but her initial attempt at creating a "moonless land" still hadn't healed after two years. However, she wasn't overly burdened by these thoughts. Every time she gathered moonlight, she would give it to Wrathful Moon , who would randomly return 1–3 points of profound power. She wasn't sure whether Peach Jar's low luck stat had anything to do with it, but her first return of 7 points seemed like an early bonus.
She had now collected 55 points of profound power after two years of monthly moon cutting.
But the atmosphere around the oak owls was increasingly gloomy. They murmured constantly about whether Forest Sea was going to collapse.
In the meantime, Rita met Peach Crown during the Hazel Nut Festival in the year 7210. It was then she learned that Peach Crown was actually Peach Jar's great-granduncle. The younger Peach Crown was already full of the charisma and leadership qualities of a true leader. Just sitting there, his black wings spread, he exuded an intense sense of authority that calmed everyone around him.
However, she didn't meet Pine Bloom or Maple Syrup . The three legendary leaders each ruled over different regions in Forest Sea , safeguarding the land. After Lania Kaia 's invasion, the three of them rose to prominence, and in just five years, they had made a name for themselves. However, all the spotlight seemed to focus on these three, and no other oak owls could match their strength.
Those who didn't have the strength to back up their ambitions quickly perished in the political games, while others, lacking the monumental actions of the three legends, faded into obscurity as their followers dwindled.
Meanwhile, inside the tower, Rita had no qualms about exploring Peach Crown 's divine gift, along with the powers of other famed oak owls. She recorded everything—valuable intelligence for later use.
Aside from Peach Crown , Rita also met Peach Crisp , who, according to Lucia , was Peach Jar's cousin. Though still small and unable to walk, Peach Crisp was remarkably talented, possessing an S-rank Apothecary divine gift. Every day, three senior oak owls would take turns training him, allowing him to level up without even needing to walk.
The special skill he had, New Release Every Month , allowed him to randomly discover new effects by experimenting with the various fruits and plants in Forest Sea . Even if he just squeezed juice from them, some bizarrely useful effects would emerge due to the right combinations of plants.
Rita envied this divine gift skill. After the family banquet, she decided to trade her divine gift for new skills on the battlefield three times. Afterward, she took the opportunity to "assassinate" Peach Crisp , trying to swap his New Release Every Month skill for herself.
The skill was briefly "washed" outside before returning to her. Even though the oak owls around Peach Crisp noticed something was off, they couldn't trace the change back to Rita.
With the new skill in hand, Rita could finally experiment with the various oak owl fruits and plants. She felt as though she had stumbled into a world like Plants vs. Zombies , where the plants had all sorts of strange powers—like alarm chilies that exploded when their owner died, or sweet peppers that screamed when strangers approached, or stubborn winter melons that could automatically regulate indoor temperatures.
By combining these fruits and vegetables in odd ways, she could create meals with unusual effects. Some oak owls had their own secret recipes. Rita was reluctant to leave until she fully understood the functions of these bizarre plants and had figured out the structure of the oak owl society.
Thanks to the New Release Every Month skill, Rita crafted many new concoctions.
By the end of Forest Sea 's 7217 year, marking ten years in the tower, Rita had finally found a way to deal with the Pigeon Pullet issue.
Over these ten years, Rita focused entirely on her own endeavors, deliberately avoiding emotional ties with any oak owls. Now she was the head chef, her skills with the ladle and wok improving dramatically.
However, to prevent triggering her Goddess of Cuisine skill, she purposely made her food unpleasant, keeping the taste ratings under 80. This wasn't hard, especially after gaining the New Release Every Month skill, which allowed her to create strange and unpalatable dishes with bizarre effects.
Once she had gathered all the necessary intelligence, she began her transformation into a silent and eccentric oak owl—one that was now quite strange in behavior. After the invasion of Lania Kaia , such unusual oak owls were becoming more common.
The other oak owls around her continued to disappear one by one. Eventually, even the chefs with C-rank divine gifts left, leaving Rita alone to prepare more and more meals, growing increasingly frustrated as the workload increased.
Every time an oak owl left the kitchen, they would greet Rita and leave their personal utensils with her, asking her to take care of them. They were worried about hygiene if the utensils were used by the soldiers.
Rita also had her own set of utensils—an egg-shaped bowl, a leaf-shaped spoon, and two pine needle-like chopsticks. It was a small perk of the kitchen; they didn't have to share with the soldiers.
As more and more oak owls left, Rita found herself collecting their utensils. Over time, the pile grew higher, gathering dust that she would wash away only for it to return. Eventually, she simply pretended not to see it.
——"Peach Jar! Look, is this the fruit you've been looking for? I'm giving it to you. I'm going to the battlefield tomorrow. This is a gift for you."
——"Peach Jar, if you were as generous as the oil you put in your dishes, you would have many more friends. For some reason, everyone really likes you."
——"Peach Jar, why don't you talk to us? Peach Chuan doesn't talk either, but Luo Ye says that according to her divine gift, Peach Chuan doesn't talk because she looks down on us. You're different. You're indifferent yet deeply caring, which is a strange way of thinking… She says you don't talk to us because you're afraid of forming emotional bonds with us. Why would you be afraid of that?"
——"Peach Jar, do you know? You encouraged me. You could stay here in safety until everything ends, but you go to the battlefield to fight enemies whenever you have the time… If I could come back, would you be my friend?"
——"Peach Jar, they say you're the most diligent and opportunistic, making the most unappetizing meals just to get sent to the battlefield."
These were ordinary conversations. Rita wasn't emotionally moved by such daily exchanges, and she didn't develop any sympathy for the aliens. To be honest, she didn't even have that kind of compassion for Blue Star people, let alone these foreign beings.
In her mind, these oak owls were worth less than Kayden .
She didn't feel touched at all; in fact, she even suspected that these spirits had already realized she was an outsider. Otherwise, why would they all try to interact with her? Were they trying to harm her?
It wasn't until later that she realized these spirits behaved the same way with everyone. The oak owl race was naturally cheerful, and most of them were pretty gullible. Ordinary humans in this place could easily become their playthings. She felt slightly more at ease.