This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist
Chapter 688 - 688: 688: Divine Game – Chaotic Blocks 79

Divine Relics: Cat's Ideal (SSS)

"Mysterious kitty, no being can glimpse your past, present, or future."

Skill 1: There's a Cat Here

What's your name, Meow-Meow? Upon activation, you transform into a random cat you've seen before. While in cat form, you're immune to detection and tracking. The transformation doesn't restrict your use of any skills or equipment. When you meow, every creature who sees you will stop what they're doing to respond, and you gain 8 seconds of invincibility. Each meow reduces the skill's remaining duration by 5 minutes. Duration: 1 hour. Mana Cost: 5% per use. Cooldown: 2 hours.

Skill 2: Guide to Wasting Time

Playing, sleeping, and sunbathing are not wastes of time. Activating this skill suspends time in your world and generates a temporary stat called "Waste Index." When the time stop ends, your Waste Index determines the type, number, strength, and duration of buffs you receive. Up to 50 buffs may exist simultaneously, and duplicates stack. Max duration: 48 hours. If the time stop causes harm or affects other players, it ends immediately. Mana Cost: 2000. Cooldown: 2 hours.

Skill 3: No Logic

Cats just do whatever they want. Distorts one chosen perception of all creatures temporarily. Duration: 30 minutes. Cost: 1 Luck Point (restores in 3 Starsea days). Cooldown: 2 hours.

Skill 4: Cat's Ideal

Summons an indestructible cat-shaped ship, anchored to Cat's Ideal.

Skill 5: Absolute Freedom

Even without wind, the cat ship will sail. Turn the rudder in your heart and go wherever you desire. Aside from gods, no skill, item, relic, or being can stop your departure. Within the Divine Game, this skill can only take you to previously visited locations. Mana Cost: 500. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

This was the undowngraded Cat's Ideal.

High compatibility?

Rita asked, "How high are we talking?"

Sweet Pomelo dodged, "Who knows?"

Rita cracked open another capsule, answering offhandedly, "Really? 'Cause I see it differently. These skills don't scream escapism or indulgence to me. They scream freedom. No rules. No cages."

Sweet Pomelo paused for a moment, then fell silent.

Unconsciously, Rita stopped opening capsules.

It had been a casual remark—yet it struck right at the heart of everything.

Why did she strive to grow stronger?

Was it for power, admiration, riches, glory, status?

No. She enjoyed the strength—but what she truly craved was the security and control it granted.

She wanted to be free.

To live as she pleased, undisturbed and unshaken.

To have a life no one else could dictate.

That was all.

And in that sense, Cat's Ideal matched her perfectly.

Compared to that, Wrathful Moon felt... off. Among the four skills currently unlocked, only Timewalk and Wrathful Moon were truly unique. Planet and Nebula Bubble were rather generic.

Still, the compatibility must be above average. According to B8017913, if it weren't, Wrathful Moon would've left her already.

She thought of the lamp's description—"This lamp only lights up when it's in a good mood. It enjoys fairy tales."

Maybe she'd try telling it stories each night when she returned.

But that was as far as she'd go.

She wouldn't twist herself just to fit a relic's expectations.

She wielded the Divine Relics—they didn't wield her.

And if one day Wrathful Moon left her because she wasn't "compatible" enough?

Well, then that relic just had terrible taste.

No sooner had she finished internally roasting Wrathful Moon, the capsule in her hand revealed a prize.

A red X-shaped Block.

[I Don't Want to Play This Game Anymore]:

Use to immediately exit your current game project without any penalty. You may keep all gains earned during the game, but ticket costs are not refunded.

——

6:45

[You have now played for 1 hour. Detection confirms all S-tier and above items and relics have been unlocked. Now unlocking relics/weapons/accessories/equipment based on usage frequency.]

["Ring of Flame Spirit" unlocked.]

["Ring of Flame Spirit" has been dispensed.]

Rita took the nose ring, fished out an empty capsule behind her, stuffed it inside, and tossed it into the gacha machine.

With Where's the Owl Already already occupying her accessory slot, this new sacred item would have to take a backseat.

Still, it wasn't useless—she could wear it right before leveling up to get that sweet +6 stat bonus.

As she secured the ring, Rita muttered, "If I'd known, I would've kept more junk relics on me."

Sweet Pomelo replied, "Wouldn't matter. Unlocking is based on usage frequency. If the usage is too low, it won't be unlocked."

Rita blinked. "That's how that works?!"

Sweet Pomelo said flatly, "Final interpretation rights belong to the Divine Game. Got any feedback?"

Rita dryly offered, "…That's just wonderful. Nope, no complaints at all."

She'd finally opened all 1000 capsules.

In her hand were just three significant rewards:

Universal Fragment,

Forced Unbind,

and I Don't Want to Play This Game Anymore.

Okay, technically four if you counted the earlier Prize Box.

She glanced at Fat Duck No.1 with a pointed glare.

Sweet Pomelo spread its wings smugly. "I didn't lie. I said there were Universal Fragment, Forced Unbind, I Don't Want to Play This Game Anymore, and Prize Box in the pool. Aren't they all in there?"

She couldn't refute it.

If Fat Duck had been shaped like a penguin, she might've decked him by now.

With a huff, she dropped all those Blocks items into the gacha machine for safekeeping.

She'd earned a fair number of Block items by now, but most had already been used.

Aside from the three from gacha, she only had:

1 from the Labyrinth compensation (Universal Fragment),

1 Free Game Coupon,

1 80% Off Shopping Voucher,

and the achievement reward from buying the gacha machine: Blocks Duplication.

Sweet Pomelo tilted its head. "Aren't you going to unbind your Blocks?"

Rita shook her head. "No rush."

Now that she'd secured her Divine Relics, she wasn't in a hurry anymore.

With I Don't Want to Play This Game Anymore, she could test the waters in one more project for free—and if the rules suited her, maybe she'd even take another run through the 15th Month Theme Park.

More importantly, she'd thought of an even better idea:

She could use Moment Reversal to swap names with Verdant Whisper · Windrush during Asset Transfer.

First, though, she planned to check if Early Exit had sold.

Just as her hand reached for the ship's helm, she turned to find Fat Duck had somehow appeared behind her again.

"Where to?" she asked. "Starting fare: 20g Blocks. Plus 5g for every minute."

Sweet Pomelo pouted. "You weren't like this when you wanted to buy the gacha machine… or intel. You even invited me for a joyride…"

Rita spread her arms wide. "Look at me. Really look. I'm broke. If I'm still friendly after going bankrupt—shouldn't you be the one who's scared?"

Sweet Pomelo: …Okay, fair.