This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

She didn't even need to say the words.

By the time Rita returned to the food truck, having just acquired the fourth piece of her game console, and heard little gingerbread ask through private chat if it could take the bumper car for a spin—mentioning it was a good friend of B8's—

"Of course," Rita replied without hesitation.

She took the two supersized hand-rolled sushi sets from B8017913 and sent a private message,

"This car belongs to you too. As long as it's not in use by one of us, you can take whoever you want for a ride. Just check with Nivalis on the timing."

When B8017913 drove off with D11329, it couldn't help but share what Rita had said.

It didn't quite know how to explain why it did that—maybe it was showing off?

A childish impulse perhaps. But by the time it understood its own motivations, it was already bragging.

D11329: "I thought once you contract with a player, everything you gain belongs to them?"

B8017913 looked at the tiny Block model on the steering wheel, where three little figures sat side-by-side.

"BS-Rita isn't like that."

D11329: "Did you two sign an equal contract?"

B8017913: "No. We're not equals. But she respects my contributions."

D11329: "Is that better than an equal contract?"

B8017913: "I don't know. Maybe I'll only know the answer if the day comes that we sign one."

…

Rita sat on a bench beside the food truck, munching her sushi while carefully reassembling Soul Catcher and Lonely Antenna Baby.

She'd only lost three Blocks to the amusement fee system—but two of them had been crucial item fragments.

Rebuying those two alone cost her nearly 400g Block, burning through all the profits she'd earned by selling the seven-piece set Clearwater.

Was she just unlucky? Or was this because of something—like B8017913's influence? Or maybe it was just the March Theme Park being cursed?

Back in 15th Month Theme Park, she'd barely lost any Blocks randomly—just two the first time she played the Star Pirate Ship game. So now she couldn't say for sure whether this drop rate was her fault or the park's.

She slotted the bone and antenna pieces back in place, then pulled out her game console.

The fourth fragment had gone up in price—550g Block.

Rita hadn't spent the 518g she earned from selling her earlier console fragment. Those Blocks were massive—just 15 pieces in total, most of them perfect cubes, way larger than anything Mistblade carried. She suspected they came from much higher-tier players and might represent better stats.

Even though she knew more Blocks were better, she couldn't bring herself to use those. Instead, she prioritized the smaller ones she'd collected in 15th Month.

This new fragment was a corner of the console screen.

[Game Machine That Loves Games · Incomplete (4/9)]

Skill 1 – Games Brought to Life: Scan any game. After 1,000 hours of play, the player gains a random skill or item from that game. (Game slots used: 0/10)

Skill 2 – Ultra Storage: Each game slot can hold up to 999 unique items, one per slot. Items cannot stack. (Slot conditions like time flow, weather, and temperature will affect stored items.)

Skill 3 – Event Loot: After 2 hours of playtime, gain a random event loot box…

The second skill's description was now complete—and it instantly doubled the console's value.

It was no longer just a glorified storage unit. It could be used to brew, grow magical plants, and store time-sensitive materials.

Rita was falling more and more in love with the thing.

She tucked the console carefully into a hollow Block shell built into her upper torso.

Just as she did, a new player sat beside her—a Block avatar with green Block wings and a bright green scalp.

Rita turned to look. "Pine Bloom?"

The Owlcrow replied, "I'm just a student of Her Majesty Pine Bloom."

Oh? Rita raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly are you learning from Pine Bloom?"

Owlcrow: "Dragon-rearing."

Rita: "…Right. That's rich."

She grinned. "You must be… taking an extended leave from school, huh?"

Graduation-Delayed Owlcrow: "?"

Rita turned to the six-tailed Moon Fox sitting on her other side, still busy chomping sushi. With help from B8017913's remote translation, she asked in Moon Fox tongue:

"Are you Mistblade's student too?"

Six-Tail: "Yes."

Rita: "What do you study? Alchemy? Gemcraft?"

Six-Tail: "Mahjong."

Rita: "…"

Where on earth were Pine Bloom and Mistblade finding these students? Their nonsense game was impeccable.

Still, Rita could tell these two were genuinely close to their mentors. You wouldn't dare make jokes like this unless you had real ties. No way would top-tier players bring along dead weight—they had to be trusted kin.

She thought back to her earlier game on the Star Pirate Ship, when she used Nothing New to Me to scan her opponents. Most had been Tier 15.

In 15th Month Theme Park, she often spotted pets or temporary Divine Game players with lower stats.

But that wasn't happening here in March Theme Park.

Because here, failure was too expensive.

The ones being brought in by Divine Game veterans were people they genuinely wanted to train.

And yet, those very people had become liabilities. Rather than letting them fumble through costly games, it was better for the veterans to play solo and just cover their companions' fees and food.

That's why, in these higher-tier parks, most of the action happened between elite players.

Leaning back in her seat, Rita stared at the park's overhead map. At the very top, a line of Blocks marched back and forth, reordering themselves to display various languages.

They all meant one thing: March Theme Park.

She began to seriously consider whether to stay… or return to 15th Month.

March Theme Park had enemies. It was tougher. It randomly deducted fees. It had a ridiculously high chance of stealing your stuff. Ever since she arrived here, her luck had tanked.

Unless it was something like the Star Pirate Ship—where HP was locked and the mechanics favored her—she had a near-zero chance of holding her ground.

Back in 15th Month, she dominated. Every game mode was within her control. Even facing Tier 12 players, she could hold her own thanks to Midnight Exile and her burst skills.

Of course, March Theme Park also had better drops. The Blocks here were more valuable, and the chance of pulling high-tier loot was greater. That was its one big advantage.

But… Rita's current goal was to collect console parts. For that purpose, high-value Blocks were actually a disadvantage—she needed volume, not rarity.

Looking at it that way… there really wasn't much reason to stay here any longer.