A porcupine nearly three meters tall stood before her.

Divine Game kindly displayed its level and HP right above its head.

It was a Level 15 elite porcupine.

She had to take it down within five minutes, starting at Level 1, with nothing but a wooden stick in her hand.

A noise came from behind the porcupine—out from behind its thick hind legs crawled a small Level 2 pig.

Perfect! So that was the extra ten percent of beasts added after reaching tenpai.

The monsters scattered across each corridor were at similar levels. Divine Game always prided itself on being fair.

The four apprentices didn't waste a second gasping, complaining, or whining. They gripped their weapons tightly and charged toward their targets almost in sync.

A battle this unbalanced meant they couldn't afford a single mistake.

Yet in the 4-Bamboo Corridor, none of the four slowed down.

Why didn't they just wait outside the game house and let BS-Rita exhaust herself, like Fat Goose suggested?

If they simply did nothing—didn't draw a single tile, didn't let any Lania Kaia players join—then BS-Rita would never reach the final round.

All they had to do was wait for someone else to get GodDraw77.

It would've been the simplest path. So why didn't they take it? Even the sly, calculating Wither Monarch refused to.

They'd rather ambush and chase BS-Rita between matches, then rush back to grind World Graveyard as if on a crazy schedule, running themselves ragged.

Why go through all that?

The answer was so simple it made them sigh—because of pride.

Just like BS-Rita, who had been nearly crushed in the fun match's solo round. She was hopelessly outmatched in skill, but even so, she refused to use that ability to send them off the field. Instead, she kept racking her brain for ways to turn the fight around.

Just like how Maple Syrup had once pretended to invite BS-Rita to team up. If the first match had been a team game, she would've waited until it started, then kicked Rita out so she could only complete a hidden quest—that, to her, was the least dishonorable option.

What she wouldn't do was kick BS-Rita out before the game began, replacing her with someone prearranged just to make sure Rita couldn't find a team in time and get locked out of the game entirely.

They all had these strange, stubborn principles.

To face their enemies on the same battlefield—and find a way to win there—instead of scheming to make them disappear.

They could gang up three-on-one to kill BS-Rita. That would still be within the game's rules and their pride's limit.

But avoiding a direct fight altogether? That would mean admitting a truth none of them wanted to accept—that if they met her, if it came down to the final moment, they would lose.

I just want to win.

I want to sit across from you and finally win, just once.

...

Ever since Rita entered the final game room, the black cat hadn't sat down once. It kept its eyes glued to the seven giant screens showing the rooms that had reached the final stage—any of which could end the game at any moment.

The blood elf was the same, though she had gotten tense even earlier, from the moment Rita faced a three-on-one. By then, two other teams had already entered their final rounds.

She turned to the black cat sitting on her right. "What do we do?"

The black cat stared anxiously at the status bars beside the screen. "I have no idea!"

It turned to the player on its other side. "What do we do, Lightchaser? I swear it wasn't this hard for you back then!"

"…" Lightchaser sighed, clearly dazed by her own admiration for Rita. "It was hard for me too."

Otherwise, how could she have failed three years in a row?

The black cat ignored her explanation and went back to ranting with Lightchaser about how insane this game had become.

But moments later, it turned back again. "You think she can kill a Level 15 elite beast in five minutes?"

Lightchaser shook her head. "No way."

The black cat glared. "You're terrible at small talk."

Watching the apprentice on screen who had just killed the small pig, Lightchaser said honestly, "Even for me, stripped of all skills and stats, using only basic gear, I wouldn't be able to do it either."

Some things simply couldn't be overcome by sheer willpower.

The black cat nodded with satisfaction. "Talking to you is always such a joy."

Lightchaser stared at her, speechless. Her old classmate had clearly gone crazy.

She opened the chat window that had been pinging nonstop.

[Ash Cinders]: 10,000 gold on her killing it in the second round.

[Lightchaser]: 1,000,000 gold says GodDraw77 is hers.

[Ash Cinders]: 9,728 gold says GodDraw77 is hers.

[Lightchaser]: Forget it.

Lightchaser closed the chat with a blank expression. Annoying. How the hell did Ash Cinders know how much gold she had?

...

The grassy plains, the sandy shore, the forest, and the snowfields of the 4-Bamboo Corridor were all drenched in blood—blood of the four beasts they'd been fighting.

The four young girls, none taller than a meter and a half, were dodging desperately, weaving through attacks.

It was like they had gone back to the start, yet each strike, each counter, was sharpening their instincts again. Their battle experience reformed into skills, and their knowledge reignited their magic.

Memory was the most valuable resource of all.

Rita, using the tactics she'd learned from Deceitful Bloom, had the porcupine locked down in a loop, unable to strike back.

But even so, five minutes later, none of them had finished their kills.

A treasure chest appeared at the corridor's entrance again, and so did the light signaling another beast's arrival.

Rita quickly retreated to the chest, kicked it open, and a long, two-finger-wide blade clattered out.

Way better than a stick.

But the new monster was stronger—a Level 17 Frost Wolf.

Rita ignored it for now and focused on the porcupine.

Eyes, throat, heart—those critical points guaranteed a 100% critical hit if struck.

With the new blade in hand, her damage shot up immediately.

At the seven-minute mark, the porcupine fell. She instantly chose to unlock Midnight Exile.

That was the trap of this game—since all four attributes were locked at ten, she couldn't use any skill that required a specific mana cost.

The passive skill Midnight Exile was the best choice available.

She dashed straight toward the Frost Wolf.

By the eighth minute, Pine Bloom, who wielded the most convenient weapon, was the first to finish two kills.

She ran to the mahjong table, drew a tile, slammed it down, cursed under her breath, and sprinted back.

At the ninth minute, Mistblade and Maple Syrup completed their kills too.

Both ran to the table, drew, slammed, cursed, and dashed back.

Rita watched in silence.

What kind of routine was that? Leaders, and not a trace of grace among them.

At nine minutes and fifty seconds, Rita barely managed to finish her kill just in time.

She bolted to the mahjong table, praying silently, Red Dragon, Red Dragon, Red Dragon—reached out, drew a tile—2-Dot!

She slammed the 2-Dot onto the table with all her strength, swore under her breath, and sprinted back into the corridor.

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