This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Eighth time. Ninth. Tenth...

Three rounds of the game had passed. Even though Rita hadn't killed a single player or event gift pack, she had spun the gacha machine a full hundred times.

Plus, she was still getting a 30% profit share from Banana Mint.

Sure, in round two the player side lost, and she dropped 5% of her Blocks—but all her valuable game Blocks were inside the gacha machine. She hardly felt a thing.

But the biggest surprise came when the game ended and she left the "Defend the Gacha" field.

[Defend the Gacha Game Rankings]

[1st Place: BS-Rita – Paths Cleared: 10]

[2nd Place: Lania Kaia Mistblade – Paths Cleared: 4]

[3rd Place: Lania Kaia Pine Bloom – Paths Cleared: 3]

...

[1st Place Reward: 9 Bonus Gacha Spins]

[2nd Place Reward: 4 Bonus Gacha Spins]

[3rd Place Reward: 3 Bonus Gacha Spins]

...

[BS-Rita has entered the Defend the Gacha global leaderboard – Rewards Upgraded]

[Congratulations, BS-Rita, you've received 1/3 of a Premium Gacha Token (Remaining: 7)]

[Congratulations, BS-Rita, you've entered the Global Rankings for Defend the Gacha]

[#1: BS-Rita – Game Score: 99.5]

[Scores are calculated based on path clears, relative player power levels, kill count, number of event gift pack encounters, etc.]

[Special Gacha Reward x1 Obtained]

[Note: If you drop out of the global top ten before the game ends, the reward will be revoked]

With the metaphorical curtain falling, the battlefield faded. Cheers and ambient chatter returned as the outside scene appeared.

Only now did Rita realize where she had really been.

They were on a massive tabletop, surrounded by a sea of spectators. She had assumed she'd been her usual size, but now, seeing the other players outside the arena, she realized she'd been shrunk for the game. Everyone had been watching the entire match unfold.

As Rita flew out of the game box, she instantly returned to full size.

She hadn't killed anyone, yet thanks to those 100 gacha spins, she'd walked out richer than when she went in.

She had entered around 7 PM. By the time she emerged, it was already 9.

Despite the game's intense pace, each round had taken quite a while.

Wind blew through, scattering flower petals over the players exiting the arena.

Twenty-one Blocks and six duck feathers drifted from Verdant Whisper · Windrush's body to land in front of Rita. Over forty Blocks and fifteen feathers came from Banana Mint, also landing in her arms.

A few other players' Blocks followed.

Rita smiled warmly at her angel investors.

Verdant Whisper · Windrush looked numb. Banana Mint was clearly still processing, hands on his head, lost in existential confusion.

Two new items dropped before her: Dusk and Night, and Born Star.

These had been unlocked at 7:45 and 8:45 PM. Rita immediately stashed them into her gacha machine.

All players exiting the arena did the same—paying game fees, unlocking new tools.

She glanced back at the Blocks table she had left. A new group of players was already inside. No gift packs yet, though.

This was one of the new Nighttime Month Theme Park attractions. From the outside, it looked like a street of cute board games lined up one after another. But once inside, every last one of them was a trap.

All of them were PvP events requiring both players and event gift packs.

A soft, pale pink, egg-sized object floated down in front of her. The reward for reaching the global leaderboard.

[Blocks and Me · March Gacha]

Reward item – cannot be traded, dropped, damaged. No special effects. No stat bonuses. Can be shrunk into a keychain.

(Owner: BS-Rita)

Rita slotted the pink egg into her gacha machine. Unlike the other eggs that shrank to standard size when placed inside, this one stayed larger—like the difference between a duck egg and a goose egg. Twice the size.

But her focus was on something else: a small, metallic slice of a premium gacha token.

One of the rare few non-Block items. Cold and heavy in her hand. Just holding it gave her chills.

She was already guessing what the "premium gacha" meant.

Eyes glowing, she turned toward the centerpiece of Nighttime Month Theme Park: a towering, nearly Ferris wheel-sized gacha machine.

She needed two more pieces to make a full token. Only seven remained...

She'd been pulled into "Defend the Gacha" shortly after the night phase started. If the premium token fragments were only available as upgraded rewards from ranking first and entering the global leaderboard...

Then there might only be nine fragments in existence.

Sixteen Month Theme Parks. Tens of thousands of players. Only three premium tokens.

The other players scattered—some chasing down gift packs to ask about the gacha machine, some sorting through loot, some prepping for their next ambush, and others turning their sights on those ultra-rare token pieces.

B8017913 approached quietly.

Rita didn't hesitate.

"I'm heading to 15th Month Theme Park. Sort these out for me."

She quickly handed over all the loot she'd gotten via Banana Mint and the others—shards, attribute Blocks—and even gave B8017913 half of the 800g worth of Blocks she'd won from the gacha.

"If you see any owl shards, buy them."

Then she handed over six gacha capsules containing her "Loser Balloons."

"You and Nivalis each get three. Use the exchange to sell hers to her."

Loser Balloons were tricky to use outside, requiring protection. But inside the Blocks World, they could be hidden within the body. They'd be a huge help to Nivalis.

"Okay." B8017913 couldn't resist cracking open one of the capsules on the spot. When it saw the transparent bubble-balloon inside, its expression shifted to something complicated.

Rita pretended not to notice.

She pulled out the long-unused Unbind token and severed her "Shared Prosperity" contract with Verdant Whisper · Windrush.

Time was precious. No time to get tangled up.

Everyone had seen the leaderboard rewards. It wasn't just her who could spot good loot.

She glanced around quickly and picked the most deserted attraction. Bought a ticket.

March Theme Park wasn't as punishing as October's, and this time, she even listened to the rules before slapping her forehead with a mule card: "No, I'm not wrong!"

Flawlessly executing a refund, she spun her deep blue helm and warped back to 15th Month Theme Park.

Somewhere behind her, a gingerbread man yelled, "Who let this low-class player in?!"