Wind and sand billowed behind her as Rita left Oasis Town once again.

Every few steps she turned back to wave, and B8017913, perched on her shoulder, also glanced over its shoulder.

At the town gate, L12185511 stood clutching the little wooden cat head with both hands, its eyes glowing brightly as it watched BS-Rita grow smaller in the distance.

B80234615 muttered, "…Sigh."

Every time Rita had opened her mouth earlier, it had braced itself, terrified L12185511 would snap and drag all three of them into mutual destruction.

Rita snapped back irritably, "Why! Every time you talk I get mad!"

B8017913 didn't even flinch. "I'm genuinely afraid one day I'll get struck by lightning just from being near you."

"Don't dramatize me," Rita shot back. "Everything I said was sincere."

"That's exactly what's terrifying!"

If she uttered a single lie, both it and L12185511 would sense it immediately.

That was an ability granted by the gods to help Mechanoids operate inside the Divine Game without being fooled by players.

Only when L12185511 could no longer be seen did Rita finally return to the initial room to check the batches of potion pigment she had been preparing.

Nivalis, who had been dutifully stirring mixtures, visibly relaxed the moment she stepped back in.

"Finally! You said nothing no matter what I asked. I thought something happened."

B80234615 answered for her. "You should worry. She owes a mountain of emotional debt outside and went to pay some of it."

Nivalis blinked. "Oh. Which one?"

"…"

Rita dragged Nivalis aside and sat down, face turning serious.

"I'm working now. No one is allowed to bother me."

B80234615 stared at her.

If L12185511 could see her real personality right now…

It pulled Nivalis to a corner, whispering. Occasionally Nivalis' shocked reactions popped out.

"I knew this day would come!"

"Good grief… good grief!"

"She forgave her? Just like that?"

"No one escapes this butterfly…"

"Amazing. Incredible…"

"It's pollen hell. Absolute pollen hell."

B80234615 corrected her, "No. It's pollen euphoria."

Nivalis paused. "…Right. You're the expert."

Rita pressed her fingers to her forehead.

Kids at home loved internet slang too much.

Should she spank them? Would that help?

She stopped listening to those two entirely and focused on preparing the remaining colors.

Time really was tight.

Some potions required long processing, so she used her gaming console and the [Ultra Memory] settings to adjust time flow and temperature, accelerating the process.

With the new potions added in, she had enough materials to prepare all eight of her habitual base colors, and anything beyond that she could mix herself.

By the time all pigments were ready, two hours and twenty-seven minutes of the Game's production phase had already passed.

She set up the nearly two-meter-long enchanted canvas.

Porcelain dishes from her capsule machine became palettes.

A cup of clear water was set aside for rinsing brushes.

Besides essential potions, she had redeemed two more enchanted brushes in different sizes.

She laid them all out carefully.

Her expertise wasn't on par with veteran players, but a six-hour crafting window might have been designed precisely to level that difference.

Top-tier creations required enormous time; veterans were just as constrained.

Six hours could be their limitation—and her opportunity.

Standing before the canvas, she tugged at her sleeve with a hint of regret as she looked at [Behind the Curtain], the time skill she had gotten from Pine Bloom.

Unfortunately, it was still sealed by Bone Shade's curse.

If she could use it, she could have dropped the temporal curtain and practiced endlessly.

Now she could only rely on another trick.

She pulled out her regular practice canvas from the capsule machine and activated [Waste Guide].

Time froze.

She practiced once, then used the owl brooch to shift away the cooldown and practiced a second time.

Only when she fully decided what she would paint did she pick up her enchanted brush—one resistant to potion corrosion—and begin the real work.

She instructed Nivalis to be ready with [Tail Tip].

If Rita made a major mistake, Nivalis would spin around to rewind time to one minute earlier.

Watching Rita roll up her sleeves and focus intensely, Nivalis secretly messaged B8017913:

"What do you think? If she takes ages—centuries—before entering that 'Isolated Isle' world, will her grumpy elf teacher there also get mad? Like L12185511?"

B80234615 replied, "She'd coax him eventually. I'm actually confident in her now."

Nivalis: "I await the day she crashes."

B80234615: "She won't. After she finishes the painting I'm telling him everything."

Nivalis: "...I'm the eldest pet. I'm not scared."

B80234615:

If she hadn't paused just now, I'd believe that.

…

Once she finished eating the manifested dish from [Let It Die], Rita finally began.

[You Are Being Watched]…

[You Are Being Watched]…

Dozens of times.

Apparently, even watching her paint was entertaining enough for several gods.

She stood on the far left of the canvas and activated one more skill—

One she had learned during a capsule-machine crafting class when she was drowning in self-doubt:

[Talent Perception] (SSS-tier)

"Am I an idiot?"

This skill detects a target's innate talent and temporarily reallocates your talents from other domains into one chosen field, letting you surpass normal limits.

Costs 100 percent mana per use, lasts six hours, cooldown two Starsea days.

Her highest talent was still alchemy—displayed in full radiant bar, glowing with violet-gold.

Next came her artistic talent, often praised by Valena.

Then brewing, enchanting, cooking, jewelry crafting… an entire list.

She poured every transferable point into the painting category.

Its meter shot past first place, then burned so bright the bar itself vanished.

The word "Painting" shifted into a strange script she couldn't even read, glowing elegantly.

Who would she paint first?

She had sketched more than ten possibilities while time was frozen.

Scarlett.

Rick.

Zoey.

Nivalis.

Even herself as a child.

But the moment her brush touched real enchanted paper—

it was Zoey.

Not Zoey's cold, regal form from her past life.

Not the humiliated version wearing a ridiculous hat after Rita's revenge.

But Zoey at her rebirth—

in the shattered ruins of the Lopez estate—

a newborn in an adult's body, curled naked, arms around herself, illuminated by the newly formed owl-light wings on her back.

This was Rita's painting.

She refused to let ugliness stain it.

Even when painting an enemy, she would capture their brightest moment.

Behind Zoey sat Rick, knees drawn up, watching her rebirth.

Rita disliked him, so she painted him a little smaller.

Still, after a moment, she added a thin glimmer in his eyes—

perhaps the only genuine emotion the man had shown in two lifetimes.

Behind him stood Sanchez, claws lowered, the bloodied blades just brushing Rick's nape.

Yet her gaze wasn't on him.

She looked past the canvas edge, filled with pure battle spirit.

Rita painted her with the gear from BS-'s final war—Sanchez at her strongest.

Above Zoey, slightly left, she left a space for Shadow.Q.

Which version?

The one in High Tower?

The one from the BS- battle?

Neither.

The moment Rita truly recognized Shadow.Q was the day they hunted Black Jade together.

Black Jade had promised to serve Blue Star if Rita offered Nivalis' blood.

In that moment, Shadow.Q had turned toward Rita with a calm, terrifying clarity.

A politician loyal only to her cause.

Her epitaph would record her greatest achievements.

And perhaps—if she chose—

it might one day include the line:

"Friend of the BS-Adjudicator."

Rita thought,

If Shadow.Q wanted it,

She would allow it.

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