This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 630 - : Divine Game – Chaotic Blocks21

Rita remembered how she and Nivalis had once traveled to the world of Marmang specifically to gather cross-world game info—just in case they ever ran into a game like Crazy Kart, where lack of preparation meant instant disadvantage.

But things had gotten too hectic since then. Every time she returned from Divine Game, there was no downtime—no chance to visit other worlds just to waste time.

Besides, Eclipse Vanguard didn't have enough loose change lately to hire her for cross-world shopping. She wasn't about to take commissions for free, so she decided to put it off until they had the money to spare.

She flipped through the listings rapidly. There were 37 pages of nine-piece Block item sets, each page with nine entries. That wasn't a small number by any means.

But with hundreds of thousands of players in this game, only a few hundred nine-piece sets in circulation was almost laughably rare.

The item Wrathful Moon being a nine-piece had surprised her—though honestly, it felt a bit fake. That lantern contained a huge stash of moon sand. Without it, and without Wrathful Moon being an upgradeable item, it definitely wouldn't qualify as a nine-piece.

As for Game Machine That Loves Games, she'd already seen three fragments of it. The first time she saw it listed, the price was 500gBlock.

If fragments of the same item showed up too often, it usually meant one of three things:

The original owner was weak.

The owner didn't understand this round of Divine Game.

Or... they were the seller.

Some players would list fragments at outrageous prices just to avoid losing them during gameplay. But Rita doubted Divine Game had such a loophole.

Yes, prices in the trading system could be steep—but they were never unrealistically high.

Still suspicious, Rita dismantled one of her [Betrayal] Blocks and tried listing it in the market.

A warning popped up instantly:

Warning! Player BS-Rita is attempting to list a Block that originally belonged to them. Once listed, this action cannot be undone. If the Block fails to sell, it will be reclaimed by Divine Game.

She immediately withdrew the Block.

So no, there was no loophole.

Players could sell their stuff to gain Blocks, but the system wouldn't babysit your gear for you.

Rita stood by the vending machine until all seven of her listed item fragments were sold, netting her a modest 160gBlock.

Those two Game Machine That Loves Games fragments were still there. Actually, there were other nine-piece sets with multiple fragments on sale, but this one just kept catching her eye.

She thought back to the near-miss trade deal with Eclipse Vanguard right before the game started—such a fleeting moment of opportunity.

She stopped hesitating.

And began dismantling herself.

…

Nivalis peeked over, but a long line in front of a nearby food truck blocked her view.

"Why's she still not back?"

B8017913 was fiddling with its assembled dagger. Since partial equipment had no wear requirements—but came with incomplete stats and skills—it just stuck the blade horizontally on top of its arm. Swinging its arm became a full-on attack. Who needs hands?

It replied:

"Probably selling off Blocks to buy something good."

Then added,

"Definitely not just any item. It must be something expensive."

"Impossible." Nivalis said confidently.

"Blocks represent attributes. Losing too many ordinary Blocks raises the chance of her losing item fragments. She wouldn't take that risk."

B8017913 gave a low snort.

"Sister, your understanding of her is outdated."

Nivalis: "…"

She hadn't felt it while being the crazy one herself—but now, watching someone else spiral? Major secondhand embarrassment.

Her silence was too telling. If she'd played along, maybe it would've passed. But she didn't.

When even the dumbest one falls silent, you know it's bad.

And that's when Rita returned—right into this awkward silence.

"What are you two doing?"

Both Nivalis and B8017913 visibly relaxed at her voice.

Then froze.

Because Rita… looked almost exactly like she had when first entering the amusement park a few hours ago—tiny.

Now she was barely taller than B8017913, maybe 22 centimeters. If Nivalis stood up, she'd tower over her.

She had a hand Block stuck to her chest, a potion bottle perched on one shoulder, and seven or eight odd-shaped Blocks balanced on the other. One side of her face wore a frameless lens, the other a thick black-rimmed frame, and a small antenna poked from her head.

In her hands, she was fiddling with something unidentifiable.

This look? Weirdly balanced.

Compared to her previous form—half a meter tall with a tiny cube of a head—it was downright harmonious. Nivalis had endured that nightmare shape for far too long. Only Rita herself had found it funny.

Nivalis: "You bought something?"

Rita handed over what she was holding.

"Yeah. This."

It was a rectangular object.

The centerpiece was a mismatched rectangular Block—eye-catching because of how utterly out-of-place it looked.

Every Block on it was a different size, color, and even thickness. Running a hand along the back, you could feel uneven bumps — a Frankenstein's patchwork of whatever Blocks she could scrape together.

But on either side were two matching game controller-style Blocks — one red, one blue. Both had plus signs and directional buttons. A bit scuffed, a bit incomplete — but they were clearly original parts, still in one piece. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Looking at the whole thing, Nivalis had one concern:

Would Divine Game be getting sued soon?

[Game Machine That Loves Games · Incomplete] (2/9):

Skill 1 — Game Into Reality:

Allows scanning and input of any game. When in-game time reaches ??? hours, the player may randomly receive a skill or...

Nivalis read the description and shot to her feet in excitement.

"How much?! I want one too!!"

Rita held out her arms to show her current form.

"Sold everything I could. Barely got two fragments."

Before visiting the marketplace, Rita had 256 Blocks — not counting her original gear, items, or oddities. Of those, 8 were item fragments from the claw machine.

Those 8 fragments sold for 160gBlock.

But to buy just two Game Machine That Loves Games fragments, she still needed another 810gBlock.

For reference, a mid-sized standard Block was only worth 5g…

Rita didn't want to dip into her core starter Blocks. She refused to sell her potion bottle. But she did want to complete this machine — to see if it was worth it.

Wanting everything at once meant one thing: she sold off nearly everything else.

Right now, not counting her personal gear and weapons brought into Divine Game, she only had 69 Blocks left. And over 20 of those were already assembled into her new gadgets — including Don't Ask Me What a Potion Is and this new game machine.

Nivalis sat back down.

"…Actually, I don't want it that much."