"Will I still be able to use my professional skills in this Divine Game?"
That alone was an answer.
"I won't bring the gacha machine," Rita said immediately. "But I don't want a new skill, either. I want to bring my alchemy knowledge and expertise. Is that allowed?"
This Divine Game was too strange. The god behind it was giving her bizarre choices. Even that line she heard upon entering—"If you could only keep three skills for the rest of your life…"—was suspicious. And now, if even her profession couldn't be used?
She needed to hedge her risks.
A skill that let her rebuild from nothing was good, but being able to survive with her profession was an extra layer of protection. Even if she didn't use it, it was still a fallback.
Gacha crafting had steep material requirements—most of which didn't exist in BS.
Cooking was good, easy to learn, low material demand, usable anywhere. But it was too replaceable, with a low ceiling. Alchemy, by contrast, was the most balanced.
Even in BS, she could find substitutes for at least half the materials needed for low-level alchemy. Maybe the product wouldn't be as effective, but it was still better than relying on food buffs before every fight.
A few more seconds of silence passed before the answer came.
Before she could ask what would happen to her pets, the gacha machine in her arms vanished.
And she continued to fall.
Her consciousness blurred.
The helm and lantern that had been circling her spiraled into her hands and sank into the back of her palms, disappearing from sight.
[Divine Game No. 24,270: Card Swap]
[Swap your stories—would you still be the same?]
[Is fate the staircase to your throne, or the mire that binds your feet?]
[Did destiny forge you, or did instinct write your ending long before?]
[When the game ends, your achievements, renown, and combat power will determine your final rank.]
A dented trash bin at the mouth of a dingy alley. A child was half-submerged inside it, little legs flailing as she rummaged through the garbage.
The girl popped out of the bin, her black hair tied into a tiny topknot, her chubby, pale face lit up with a grin that revealed a row of baby teeth. In her hands, she triumphantly held a black leather jacket with a tear in it.
She gave the jacket a few shakes—still reeking faintly of smoke but otherwise decently clean—and pulled it on without hesitation.
The inside was lined with several layers of old clothes. All of them were her recent scavenging trophies.
Rita had landed in this godforsaken world three days ago.
One moment, she was sitting under a tree chatting with Fan Xiangxiang, who had come all the way to see her new place. The next, she was here.
Still clutching her birthday present—a game console, unopened.
She figured it out quickly: she'd transmigrated. Into a bizarre world full of weirdos. And she had… wings.
Ten skeletal bones stretched from her back like flaming blades. She didn't even need a flashlight at night.
At first, she thought she'd be locked up and dissected, so she spent her entire first day hiding.
Until she realized she wasn't even close to the weirdest thing here.
People walked around with tails, wings, horns, bull heads, and even animals that talked. This place was magic.
Luckily, everyone spoke the same language, and for some reason, she understood and could speak it too. Still, she hadn't actually spoken to anyone yet.
Using her trusty stick, she poked through the trash bags beside the bin and found a sealed loaf of bread. Harder than the stick, but it hadn't been opened and was only a day past expiration.
She stuffed it inside her coat and bolted.
That loaf—almost as long as her torso—was enough to last her two days.
Her mismatched sneakers, salvaged from different dumpsters, squeaked across the snow as she ran. She passed one shop after another, catching warm gusts of air from open doors and vents, basking in fleeting moments of comfort.
She slowed as she passed a jewelry shop.
Inside, a child slightly taller than her sat nestled in their parents' arms, still drinking from a baby bottle. The kid had curly red hair and fiery orange wings—flame-shaped, like hers.
The moment their eyes met, Rita quickly looked away and broke into a run.
Halfway down the street, she smacked her forehead.
Flapping her flaming wings, she lifted into a low hover and weaved through the town, avoiding adults as she made her way to the riverbank under the tall bridge at the town's edge.
This was her base camp.
The bridge loomed at least fifty meters overhead. From here, she had a perfect view—ideal for spotting threats and escaping.
And caravans often crossed the bridge, the noise and motion bringing her an odd sense of comfort.
Once seated near the water, she waited, making sure she hadn't been followed.
Then, carefully, she took out the bread, unwrapped it, and began nibbling slowly.
As she chewed, her grape-sized eyes filled with tears.
She missed her parents. Her little brother. Fan Xiangxiang.
Even her new classmates. She had just finished her summer homework—if she'd known she'd get isekai'd, she wouldn't have bothered.
She wiped her tears with the sleeve of the jacket she'd just found, then sniffled and took another bite.
Between sobs, she pulled off one of her gloves and studied the strange symbol on the back of her right hand—a ship helm outlined in glowing white lines.
Her left hand had a different mark: a black-lined lantern with a weird stone inside it.
She placed her left hand over the helm symbol.
A platinum-colored ship's wheel materialized in front of her.
She could feel it had all sorts of functions and powers.
But she had no mana. The only usable ability right now was Cat's Ideal, and there was no way she could summon a ship in this unsafe place.
No Logic might work too, but it cost 3 Luck per use. She had no idea how much Luck she had, but she didn't want to be cursed for a week.
The lantern was a bit better.
It had a skill called Sleepless Tonight. It also consumed Luck, but only 1 point per use, and it regenerated in a day. It let her split incoming damage with a marked target—great for emergencies.
Another one called Nebula Bubble had a daily use cap but didn't require mana, meaning she could use it even now.
All of these could be activated without summoning the items themselves.
This had to be her cheat.
As someone raised on power fantasy novels, Little Rita was sure of it.