On the 14th, after grinding solo in daily dungeons, Rita finally reached Level 16.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted worldwide. The sea-dwelling alien armies were advancing toward coastal nations. Eclipse Vanguard began organizing evacuations for non-combatant and non-combat-skilled players while sending high-level players to bolster coastal defenses.
This event had also happened in her previous life, but much later—closer to the year's end. At that time, she was preoccupied with survival, only catching glimpses of updates on the forums. All she remembered was that during the Sea Alien Army Landing Incident, nearly a billion lives were lost globally. Entire islands were seized by the aliens.
Although she had secured the duplicate Fate Out of Sync, the vast unknown of the ocean remained daunting. She couldn't fathom how Eclipse Vanguard would tackle this threat…
Rita fortified her entire villa, extending her lightning grid defense system even to the top floor. Inside, the house was riddled with traps of various kinds.
Nivalis, holding her pinky finger up delicately, carefully opened the fridge to grab a chilled soda. Despite her efforts, she still got zapped. Annoyed, she finally confronted Rita:
"Is there anything valuable in this house worth protecting, besides the teleportation array that only you and I can use?"
Rita paused, crouched under the couch as she stuffed hallucinogenic cacti into the shadows. After a moment of thought, she couldn't come up with a good answer. Most of her truly important belongings were in her inventory.
But she retorted confidently, "This isn't just about valuables! I'm worried someone might sneak in and set traps for us! I'm striking preemptively. Besides, don't forget about your precious toys and those rare, first-edition comic books you want to protect!"
Nivalis fell silent. She had no counterargument. Those toys and comics were indeed worth protecting.
By 11:30 PM on the 14th, Rita was dressed for action. She wore a fitted tank top and long pants beneath a hoodie and trench coat. This wasn't to show off; it was purely pragmatic. The extra fabric might prove useful in a pinch, as bandages, fire-starters, or something else.
She considered strapping knives to her arms or wrapping her wrists in bandages but quickly dismissed the idea. Since the game's integration, anything even remotely weapon-like—be it a chef's knife or an ordinary metal rod—would be gamified and become a gray-quality item.
Before leaving for Lania Kaia, she checked her shoe rack and found a note:
"Don't pick the resurrection skill."
It was written in her own handwriting and included a childhood anecdote only she could know, proving it was indeed left by her future self.
She had been planning to select the "Undying" talent, specifically the "Hold on, I'll Be Right Back" skill, for its ability to resurrect her. After all, her One-Person Party talent didn't seem like it could change the tide of battle.
"I Just Want to Improve So Badly" was tempting, but even if she stole attributes nonstop for a month, it likely wouldn't bridge the gap between her and the elites in the battleground, such as Mistblade or Maple Syrup. Mistblade had barely survived her own trip there, suffering grievous injuries.
"Moment of Reversal" was an option, but using it consumed life force. If all her other skills were sealed and healing potions were unavailable, a few uses could very well kill her.
"Away from Home, Identity is Self-Assigned" also seemed irrelevant. Without potions, she'd be forced to reveal her true form every two hours. And if she needed Nivalis' help, her identity would inevitably be exposed.
Survival was her top priority in such a dangerous environment. All else was secondary.
Burning the note, Rita finished putting on lightweight running shoes and teleported to Lania Kaia.
She and Nivalis hid near an underwater volcano, waiting for the appointed time. Rita pulled out World Graveyard·6-Dot, 7-Dot, 8-Dot, combining them into World Graveyard·Key★.
When she activated it, a small box materialized in front of her, labeled:
She placed 9-Bamboo into the slot.
The box folded away, and an ethereal voice echoed in her mind:
"Welcome, Blue Star player Rita. You have successfully activated your qualification to enter the World Battleground."
"Primary battleground language set to your native tongue: English."
"You are now qualified to join the 24,367th Game of the Gods."
"If you do not participate within 60 days, you will permanently lose this qualification."
Rita was still dwelling on the words Blue Star when Nivalis gripped her shoulder anxiously.
"Will I be able to enter with you?"
"Of course. When Snow Pile sent you to train in the High Tower, he didn't ask if I had any specific World Graveyards. He made it clear you'd be coming with me. But if you're worried, you can hide in the pet space for now."
Without another word, Nivalis vanished into the pet space.
Rita's thoughts shifted to her skills. Would they work inside the battleground? She braced herself for the unknown.
When the time arrived—11:00 PM Lania Kaia time, midnight Blue Star time—her vision went dark, and she felt herself falling.
"Detected: Two World Graveyard·Red Dragon cards. You will gain the ability to enter the main battleground two minutes early."
"Detected: World Graveyard·3-Character, 5-Character, 7-Character. You may unlock three items."
Her inventory flashed before her eyes. She quickly chose:
Wrathful Moon Chávez's Time Magician's Wisdom Tooth
The lantern and pocket watch appeared before her. Luckily, the game didn't rip the wisdom tooth from her mouth. She stashed the lantern and watch inside the wisdom tooth, noting with annoyance that the game had inexplicably removed the chain from her watch.
"Detected: Entry granted via one-star key: World Graveyard·6-Dot, 7-Dot, 8-Dot. Skill unlocked: Rookie at the Table. You and your pet may each unlock one god-given skill."
She immediately chose to unlock her own skill over Nivalis'.
Since resurrection was off the table, there was only one clear choice:
"I Could Just Steal It."
Future Rita's warning was enough to sway her, but there was also Mistblade's cryptic comment about her lack of resolve to enter the battleground more than three times. Despite her low level, Mistblade didn't seem worried that she might die on her first try.
If the battleground held opportunities to seize an SSS-tier god-given skill, it would be worth the risk. There was no way she'd let this chance go to waste.