At the food stand, B8017913 was flipping skewers behind the grill in a gingerbread avatar when it suddenly heard Nivalis scream.
Nivalis: "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
B8017913 deftly flipped a skewer and sprinkled some seasoning. "What happened?"
Nivalis: "Pine Bloom and Mistblade are in the same Ferris wheel cabin as Rita right now!"
B8017913 paused mid-motion, then looked up toward the Ferris wheel in the distance. "How many players are in that cabin?"
Nivalis: "Including Mistblade… six."
B8017913: "Quick! Get the camera ready. Take as many shots of Rita as you can—we're printing those and hanging them up at home."
Nivalis: "Isn't that a little wrong~~"
But B8017913 had already jumped off the workbench, tossed the gingerbread skin to the slacking D6671 hiding under the table.
B8017913: "Break time's over. I've got a front-row seat to chaos to catch."
It popped open a panel under the food cart and stealthily slipped out. Not a single player outside noticed.
Despite claiming it was "wrong," Nivalis was already fumbling with the camera, fingers shaking with excitement as she tried to find a good angle on the Ferris wheel.
A bumper car screeched to a stop beside her with a tailspin flourish.
B8017913 leapt off. "How's your photography? Want me to take over?!"
The camera had been B8017913's recommendation, after all.
Before Nivalis could even answer, B8017913 had already scurried up her tail to her head. "Come on, let's fly up there. We'll get close-up shots in mid-air. As long as we don't enter the game zone, we won't get bounced."
Did Rita realize she'd set herself up for this?
The game's combat pacing was brutal. Not even two minutes after they took off—
A giant white frost python slammed into the cabin.
Then came the explosion.
The cabin Rita was in finally detonated.
Seven players were launched out through the windows one after another.
Nivalis flew after the chaos, trailing the blackened, tumbling Moon Fox, Verdant Owl, and firefly. On top of her head, B8017913 was frantically snapping shots.
A drifting cloud momentarily blocked the bright Block moon hanging behind the Ferris wheel, darkening the sky—making the glowing firefly all the more visible.
The seven players circled the Ferris wheel like a live-action exhibition.
Nivalis followed their arc in the air, her head constantly lighting up from the camera's flash.
Nearby, someone else stood watching.
Maple Syrup had dropped by after hearing about the curse, just to check if this game was even playable anymore.
Arms crossed beneath the Ferris wheel, she tilted her head in sync with the tumbling arc of her sworn enemy, her kin, and her "discount daughter."
She could vaguely hear the glowing dot shouting in Verdant Owl language: "Why are you taking pics of me?! Take pics of Pine Bloom… and Mistblade! Focus on them!!"
Maple Syrup: …This discount daughter? Absolutely not worth keeping.
Players could still use skills mid-air, but it didn't help much—they had no control over their bodies.
Rita clearly felt five Blocks forcibly pulled from her system during the blast.
Bad news: two of them were rare game item fragments.
Good news: those fragments were ones she'd just looted in this match—scrap pieces torn from enemy weapons. She hadn't even had time to check them. No loss, really.
After orbiting the Ferris wheel, all seven players were flung into different cabins.
The one Rita landed in had opponents whose key skills were all on cooldown. They were stuck with basic attacks and low-tier magic.
While darting through the air to dodge, she reached into her Block cavity, yanked out some jerky, and wolfed down a few pieces—boosting her drained energy from 74 back up to 95.
To her, this game was only just beginning.
The conditions to exit were simple: either complete 100 full duels, or visit every cabin on the Ferris wheel.
The first requirement was measurable. The second—uncertain. It didn't require wins either.
So what metric would determine leaderboard rankings?
Rita had only one guess: win rate.
Now that she confirmed food from Month Theme Park could restore stamina inside the game, she fully committed to her plan—to perfect her record in this match.
If a duel hit 1:1, or if she lost the first round and was clearly outmatched in the second, she'd abandon the cabin, reset the duel, and start again.
This preparation? Pine Bloom and Mistblade had no idea.
In fact, most players didn't.
Sure, some overly cautious types might bring snacks, but no one carried two full meals like Rita.
The game's hardest part wasn't the fighting—it was maintaining your stamina during nonstop combat.
Once drained, your only option was to enter a passive state and get steamrolled.
Fight back with zero energy? She didn't even know what happened when stamina hit zero—and she had no interest in finding out.
She would manage her reserves carefully, keeping her energy above 80 at all times.
If anything went wrong—like someone stealing her food, assuming the system counted it as a Block—she'd immediately abort the win-streak strategy.
She had gone through 29 cabins, completed 39 full duels, and won 36 of them.
Her counter-damage plus ultra-mini body combo was a monster advantage.
In 1v1s, her opponents attacking her was basically self-sabotage.
And in chaotic skirmishes, she was getting better and better. Family Bucket had proven invaluable.
In truly dangerous scenarios, she would bail mid-duel and re-enter later.
Now that she was away from Pine Bloom and Mistblade, her mind cleared a bit.
Every player here was as dangerous as Pine Bloom—sometimes even more.
There were moments she didn't even realize she'd been hit until her opponent dropped from counter-damage.
At this point, cabin changes were secondary. What mattered was victory rate.
Even if a cabin exploded, forcing her into previous ones again, she didn't care.
She still had two-thirds of her jerky left. Her stamina was solid. She could make it through 100 duels.
Her only three losses had been during mixed battles where she couldn't escape in time.
Now she'd just exited a chaotic cabin and encountered an opponent only slightly larger than her.
If she was sunflower-seed-sized, the enemy was about the size of a chestnut.
She remembered this one—Verdant Whisper. Wind-element. They'd crossed paths in the Star Pirate Ship.