Rita turned and stared at Mistblade for a few seconds before breaking into a grin. "You want that car, don't you?"
Mistblade's expression didn't change. She didn't confirm or deny it, but she did offer a trade. "Three master-tier gemstones. In exchange, you tell me how you got onto the leaderboard. Deal?"
So Mistblade knew about the leaderboard—and even guessed that the bumper car was a leaderboard reward?
Then again, maybe she was bluffing.
Rita turned away again, facing forward. "I might be willing to make that trade—but not yet."
If her rank on the bumper car leaderboard dropped to ninth while there was still a lot of game left, she'd sell it to Mistblade for Blocks without hesitation. But not now.
She'd been willing to sell in the 15th Month Theme Park because the players there weren't a threat. She'd kept her explanations vague, and even if they understood how the car was obtained, they wouldn't be able to replicate her results.
At the very least, they couldn't outperform her. Even if they made it onto the leaderboard, it wouldn't knock her off.
That was a whole different gamble.
Sure, this wasn't the Fish Belly group. It'd be harder for Mistblade to dominate here like Rita had before.
But Mistblade ranked over 900 spots above Maple Syrup on the PvP ladder...
No way was Rita underestimating her.
Out of Rita's sight, Mistblade's eyes briefly flickered with surprise.
From the way BS-Rita spoke, it sounded like her leaderboard rank wasn't low at all. Otherwise, she wouldn't have responded like that…
Like the 15th Month Theme Park, each Pirate Ship match lasted ten minutes.
The queue moved quickly.
Mistblade had thought BS-Rita would keep looking over her shoulder to see if Pine Bloom would show up. But surprisingly, after their earlier conversation, Rita didn't look back once—not even when it was nearly her turn to board.
Mistblade idly twirled a Block between her fingers as she looked up at the rocking ship. "Not even gonna check if Pine Bloom's here?"
The little Block figure ahead of her didn't turn. "Doesn't matter. The strongest opponent is already behind me. Everyone else—whether they come or not—is just filler."
Mistblade's lips curled high, only to be forcibly flattened—then curled up again, swaying just like the tip of the pirate ship above them.
If anyone else had said that, it would've sounded like posturing. But coming from BS-Rita—the same BS-Rita who got ganged up on by hundreds of reward-hungry players and still refused to apologize—the words held real weight.
BS-Rita was known far and wide for her stubborn streak. Would she lie?
Rita: You're sure? Really, really sure she didn't come?
Nivalis: Positive, totally positive. I counted over 200 players—no owlfolk in sight.
Rita: Okay, good. All clear. Go have fun.
A round finished quickly, and soon it was Rita's turn. She handed the prepped Blocks to little gingerbread.
Just as she'd guessed, different theme parks meant different instances. Even if it was the same attraction, it counted separately. Little gingerbread took her ticket and waved her aboard.
The moment she stepped onto the ship, Rita activated Romantic Tourist to check the landmarks she'd set back in the 15th Month Theme Park.
—They were still there!
She could teleport back anytime!
Relief washed over her. Her only worry had been that Winter Sea: Frenzied Shark might use another forced invite to drag her back into the July Theme Park.
Sure, she couldn't bring Nivalis and B8017913 with her through the teleport… but that was solvable.
She'd just strip them of their Blocks, send them back to the starting room, and teleport to the 15th Month Theme Park herself. Pets likely followed their master upon revival anyway.
After all, the invite was for her—not her companions.
Realizing the versatility of Romantic Tourist, Rita soared to the ship's prow and set three new landmarks in the March Theme Park: a vending machine, the far-off Ferris wheel, and the Block sign at the tip of the ship's mast.
That way, no matter where she was—whether in the March or 15th Month park—she could freely jump between them.
Now, to deal with B8017913.
Instead of flattening the bot beside her foot like last time, she opened the Block box holding her whole-grain buns and stuffed B8017913 inside.
She closed most of the box, leaving only two slits, then stuck the container near her feet.
So long as she touched the ship, B8017913 could make contact through the gap.
Rita: "Do you need to change forms to fire a basic skill?"
Rita: "If you end up as a treasure chest, shoot your simplest skill out through that gap."
She'd just finished giving instructions when the ship's rules echoed in her mind.
Pirate Ship Game Rules
Every 30 seconds, three passengers are designated as treasure chests. Hitting the same chest twice will randomly steal one Block from it.
Treasure chests have a 50% chance to steal a Block from any crew member they hit.
Every skill used counts as a "hit." Hitting shields also counts.
Crew members attacking each other will not yield Blocks.
The game has 20 rounds.
Once on board, HP is locked. If a player stays off the ship for more than 3 seconds, they will be forcibly returned to the center and immobilized for 5 seconds.
If the same Block on a chest is hit twice, that Block will be guaranteed to drop.
If a treasure chest hits the same crew member twice, the second hit guarantees a Block steal.
Same base mechanics as the 15th Month Pirate Ship—but higher difficulty.
The countdown began. With a sharp whistle, the ship started rocking.
Rita instantly activated Yes, I'm Fish Belly, what about it?, cloaking herself in harmless obscurity. Whether she was assigned as a chest or a crew member, this skill always gave her an edge.
March Theme Park players were a step above those in the 15th Month park.
Every treasure chest had some sort of survival trick. But the crew had counters too—interrupting their skills with moves Rita had never even seen before.
Sometimes, just as a chest vanished, a player would force it back out with some unknown tactic.
Rita was both thrilled and terrified.
Still, she hunted for openings.
With one round already under her belt, Rita was a lot more confident hitting chests.
And while Nivalis wasn't here, Rita had another skill to compensate: