Now that she was back in the cabin, Rita had to restart her duels with all four players inside to be eligible to leave.
And as soon as she returned, what greeted her were several bursts of explosive green light.
Her already low HP was instantly wiped out—she entered punishment time.
A ring of shimmering green feathers circled around her, plucking off three Blocks from her body.
The free-for-all continued.
Though the players were unified in one thing—BS-Rita with her counter-damage ability was the priority target—their cooperation was extremely fragile. The moment anyone's HP dropped below six, they immediately backed off attacking her.
Even Pine Bloom was no exception.
BS-Rita was a flying hazard—leave her alone and she'll zap you; hit her and you'll get zapped anyway.
Rita zipped into a corner and shouted in English, "I want Steady Happiness!"
Then she immediately launched three I Just Want to Improve So Badly skills at Pine Bloom!
Rita lost 3 HP, and Pine Bloom's bar dropped from six to three in an instant.
Elsewhere in the cabin, one player had just entered punishment time, another had only 3 HP left, and the last had landed a final hit and was at full health again.
Rita waited two seconds. When that 3-HP player dipped to 1…
A 0.1-second AOE hard crowd control—it was all she needed.
The final point landed.
She completed a full duel. Her HP was restored to full.
And right after using Top Chef, she once again hit Pine Bloom with I Just Want to Improve So Badly.
It was her fastest and most familiar skill. She didn't manage to steal anything this time, but she did snag the final blow—securing their second duel.
Now only Rita and one other player were still mobile. That player, realizing he hadn't secured the final hit on Pine Bloom, pivoted to steal Blocks from another punished player instead—one he had previously defeated.
Rita made a beeline for the player she'd just knocked out with Top Chef, managing to grab two Blocks before the punishment timer ended.
Without hesitation, she phased back to Pine Bloom's rear and started yanking more Blocks from her.
She attached every Block she looted to the outside of her body, becoming increasingly round in appearance.
Three seconds later, the fight resumed.
At this point, all five players had similar HP—either 9 or 10.
Rita's duel progress: 0–0, 1–0, 0–0, 1–1.
As time ticked on, the other three players—all of whom had arrived earlier—focused their attention on Rita and Pine Bloom. They had already dueled each other, even multiple times, and now just needed to finish their matches against the two of them.
Once they did, the player with the most wins could leave the cabin. And if no new players entered within two minutes, the second-place player could also leave.
They would've finished by now if Pine Bloom hadn't yeeted Rita out of the cabin earlier—wiping all of Rita's duel progress and forcing everyone to redo their fights with her.
But bad luck struck again—another player was thrown in.
A miniature Moon Fox crashed through the cabin window.
As Mistblade entered, she got zapped by the lightning web strung across the window frame.
Immediately upon arrival, she scanned the entire cabin in a single glance.
The cabin looked like a compact rainforest experiencing all four seasons at once.
Half of it was buried under snow, but trees and vines choked most of the space. At the center, a stone well overflowed with spring water, flooding a third of the cabin floor—and linking directly to the wall-bound lightning web.
In the air, a glowing little orb darted between trees, vines, snowflakes, and flying skills. Sometimes dodging, sometimes diving right into the chaos.
The other half of the cabin—tree-free—was occupied by three large players, unable to maneuver through the undergrowth. One radiated flames, another wielded a massive greatsword, and the third was wrapped in slicing wind blades.
To Mistblade's surprise, BS-Rita was spending most of her time maneuvering within Pine Bloom's terrain. It suggested the two were indirectly cooperating—fighting off the others while also dueling each other.
It made sense: the three earlier players had already finished all duels between them. Rita and Pine Bloom were their final checkboxes.
Now Mistblade was here too.
All of that registered in a blink. After clearing the lightning window frame, Mistblade steadied herself mid-air, avoiding the rising water and tangled branches.
She noticed the spring beneath the flooded section was also lined with electrified webs—explaining the occasional flicker of current across the water's surface.
Just as she paused, the greatsword-wielder sent a gust her way—splashing droplets into her path.
Mistblade dodged, but a glowing orb zipped low across the surface, raising two waves like a wakeboarder—trapping her in tight quarters.
While she tried to ascend and dodge another attack, a few drops splashed onto her, sending lightning coursing through her body.
Just one hit cost her two HP.
Mistblade glanced at the glowing, surfing firefly and gave her a stiff smile. "Nice one."
Didn't sound sincere.
Rita immediately veered off-course in midair, putting distance between them.
Mistblade looked at the chaotic mess and internally cursed.
Six players. One more and this cabin would explode.
The rest of the players were equally tense—especially the one who only needed one more duel with Rita to leave.
He desperately wanted to throw her out again. That would wipe her duel count, disqualify her from this cabin, and free him to go.
But BS-Rita had learned from last time. She wouldn't go near the windows. She'd even strung a lightning web across them—blocking any attempts to launch her.
And while her combat skill wasn't the strongest, she was hands-down the most difficult to hit:
Tiny, fast, airborne, equipped with movement skills, and worst of all—counter-damage. And that counter hurt.
Everyone here had great endurance and focus, so they didn't scream in pain—but it disrupted their rhythm. Every hit they landed on Rita caused them to flinch or stall.
It was driving him insane.
Pine Bloom was nearly fed up too.
She snapped at Mistblade: "Why are you even here?!"
The irritation in her voice was plain.
Mistblade replied, "You didn't sound when you called me to help fight BS-Rita."
Both Mistblade and Pine Bloom glared at her.
Rita immediately spun toward the three other players. "Attack!!" she shouted.
Then she dove headfirst into the spring.