The curved table was about a meter wide and three meters long, plenty of space for four phone-sized puppets to scramble around. The length also let four players stand spaced out without bumping elbows. Judging by the arc, the three curved tables in this house could probably fit together into a full circle.

Inside the arc sat a gray leather barstool. A half-meter-tall otter perched there, a compact control console and a sleek, futuristic laser cannon mounted in front of it. The otter swept its gaze across the four players and reminded them of the key rules. "Your skills will sync to the puppets with a two-second delay. The puppets' attributes are identical to your own. Each round lasts sixty seconds. After every round I will increase attack speed and difficulty."

As the last word fell, a countdown lit in the middle of the table: 3—2—1.

Rita's first cast wasn't [The Wind Doesn't Speak], but [Wrathful Moon]. Thank goodness she wasn't the first target. The puppet on the far left—Crab's—had already lost a heart.

Worried the puppet might not actually be able to enter the shadow realm, Rita flicked a [Flash Step] toward the far edge as insurance, then brought up [The Wind Doesn't Speak] for buffs. The laser swept their way; [Wrathful Moon] triggered just in time and her puppet vanished from the table—only to be ejected back two seconds later. So invuln-window only lasts two seconds here? Fine. Workable.

Four players juked and jived while the otter raked the surface. Even in the first round the beam pattern was nasty—at least five shots a second, and on a table this small there weren't many safe pockets to hide in.

To heal, Crab—down to one heart—started talking.

"[Whale Falls in the Wind] doesn't actually fit NightFury that well. It's been trying to get away. I didn't steal it; it found a way to get stolen."

Only Mistblade's head lit up red.

Rita had run into the same thing herself: she'd only brushed [Cat's Ideal] and got its info without a single probe, which already told the story. As for Pine Bloom, she'd guessed the instant she caught [Whale Falls in the Wind]. Many god-relics are dramatically telling in feel; Pine Bloom was certain her own fit with it was extremely high. NightFury, whose temperament was miles off hers, was never going to be a great match.

Crab had to push on. "Even so, NightFury still pushed [Whale Falls in the Wind] up to its top tier—Howl."

Mistblade popped red again. Rita and Pine Bloom remained impassive. One had gotten [The Wind Doesn't Speak], the other the relic itself; hardly news to them.

Mistblade said dryly, "The two of you are making me look provincial."

Pine Bloom, in a very fine mood, smiled. "Say something we don't know, then."

Crab wracked its brains and threw out a handful of ladder-board scandals. Pine Bloom and Mistblade lit up red now and then. Rita never did.

Crab finally cracked. "You really don't care about the private lives of the big names?!"

Rita gave it a serene smile and shot Pine Bloom and Mistblade a little look of mockery. The truth was, she barely knew the names Crab was tossing out. They landed in her ears like the tales of strangers. Why would she care?

The first round ended.

Instantly, the laser bolts started ricocheting off the table edge.

That one tweak cost everyone but Rita a heart. It wasn't that her maneuvering was genius—it was like some invisible fortune charm had fused to her puppet. Every ricochet skimmed past her by a hair.

Backed against a wall, a creature will shed shame like a skin.

Down to its last heart, Crab shrieked, "My biggest regret in life is not having a child with Seahorse!"

Ding—ding—ding.

Pine Bloom, Mistblade, and Rita's heads all flashed red in perfect sync—and all three did the forced one-second turn away from the table.

Even the otter's hands paused on the triggers.

Who wouldn't be rattled by that?

Two neighboring tables also fell silent for a beat.

Heart refilled and brain back online, Crab scrambled to salvage its reputation. It yelled even louder, "You do know if it's about yourself you're allowed to lie, right? And I'm a male crab."

Rita, Pine Bloom, and Mistblade all shook their heads.

They did not know.

Wasn't the rule "no lies"?

Ten seconds later, a misstep left Pine Bloom at one heart, and she launched into it too.

"I regret most in this life that I never had a child with Maple Syrup!"

She'd almost said Lidian, but Maple Syrup had more shock value, and since the claim was about herself, it didn't need to be true.

Ding—ding—ding.

Even knowing it was nonsense, the three mentors couldn't stop themselves from lighting red and turning away.

When their forced turn ended, Mistblade—also at one heart—had no choice but to speak. "My biggest regret is that I never let BS Rita know about… our child."

Ding—ding—ding.

Crab, Pine Bloom, and Rita all lit up and turned.

Rita, who hadn't said a word since stepping into this house, burst out, "...Aba Aba!!" Are you sick?!?

Even a mute would be forced to talk after this.

In this game house, every ten seconds, another Divine Game player's reputation got dragged through the dirt.

Mistblade went, "Ah, so she really is dumb now."

Crab, thrilled. "Told you the rumor sounded legit!"

Pine Bloom: "You're mad!"

Rita just smiled, cool as ice. Mad? Hardly. She was still on full hearts. The other three were each down to one. Whether by her own slip or the forced-turn after a soulfire flare, the lasers somehow never tagged her. It was like miracles kept choosing her, again and again.

Blessings of the world's luckiest idiot.

Crab went out first. It had tried. Both it and its dear Seahorse were already ruined in the court of public opinion, but the other three had hit a monk's calm. Even Pine Bloom and Mistblade repeating the formula had lost its sting. Rita had tuned out their frothing entirely.

Another round ticked by. When the laser cannon upgraded to a true beam cannon, the only puppet still zig-zagging across the table was the black-haired doll with the crooked little grin.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.