[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist":3,"chapter-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-725":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1532482,1991,"Chapter 725: Divine Game – Chaotic Blocks116","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-725",725,"\u003Cp>Snow swirled through the maze, drifting down in heavy flurries. The flakes clustered midair, forming the number 10.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A countdown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten seconds until the game began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around Rita, a dozen of her Blocks had transformed into snow cubes—double the entry fee, triggered by the 6:00 PM game session.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several players glanced at one another, assessing the competition, before their gazes unanimously landed on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demon Lords and Overlords had battled here for years. Though rankings fluctuated, most top-tier players were familiar with one another. But this new face? Completely unknown. Either using a disguise skill, or a visitor from a different Month Theme Park.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the countdown vanished, Rita bolted into the maze, ignoring the attacks hurled at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Mysterious Power] was already active. Dodging wasn’t necessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with future-Rita’s warning, she wasn’t going to deviate from her own plan. If anything, sticking to her course would lead her to the moment where she’d need [Wrathful Moon] to rewind time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her goal was simple: find Sakura· Orange White, get the final [Dull Game] shard, then return to the 15th Month Theme Park and ride out the rest of the Divine Game in peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t care if the gods and devils found that boring. If they wanted more content, let another player drag her back in with a Forced Invite card.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn’t match the Demon Lords and Overlords in raw speed, but her \"defense\" was deceptive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Multiple players launched attacks at her—dozens of skills unleashed in rapid succession—but she didn’t even flinch. She tanked the hits directly, her Blocks only slightly scorched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It gave the illusion she was a tank build—someone who’d sacrificed speed for near-invincible defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The players who had spawned from the same entrance as her quickly gave up and turned to fight each other instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after they scattered did Rita duck into a corner and pull out [Cat’s Ideal] and one of her [Where’s the Owl Already] cards. She used [Owl Got Lost] to transfer the cooldown from [Waste Guide], then activated time-stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buffs were secondary. First, she needed to explore and locate Sakura· Orange White.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With only one shard, [Dull Game] was unusable. That meant she couldn’t use [The Free Stuff Always Costs the Most] to trade for it—because the skill only worked on items the other player had used.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the second limitation of that skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So she had two options:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Option one—disguise herself as a Fat Duck and challenge Sakura to a gacha duel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Option two—use [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] to steal it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was going to try option one first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time-stop engaged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita first organized her second gacha machine, loading it with capsules filled with assorted Blocks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once secured to her back, she pulled out a duck feather and activated [Away from Home, Identity is Self-Assigned], transforming herself into a Fat Duck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her entire body of Blocks converted into feathers. She could still feel which feather represented which Block.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her first gacha machine, however, appeared by her feet. It couldn’t be transformed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shrunk it down to its smallest size, tied its strap to the second gacha machine, and slipped it underneath her duckwing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she kept the second gacha machine on, even raising her wing wouldn’t reveal the hidden first one—neatly tucked beneath the strap and feathers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Retrieving items was simple, too. She placed [Cat’s Guide] into a capsule, then fed it into the hidden machine. With a single touch, it vanished into storage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, she pulled out fragments from the 13th Month’s [It’s Not the Craft That Sucks], patched them onto her body, and watched as they transformed into feathers too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were her sacrificial tokens—something to lose during the 5-minute punishment timer if she didn’t manage a kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once everything was secured, she began sprinting through the maze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if she found Sakura· Orange White, she still needed to learn the map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In case her first attempt failed, she wanted to be able to teleport across the maze using [Absolute Freedom] or phantom mobility skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She kept [Dull Game] in hand the entire time, using the [Blocks Tracker] arrow embedded on it to confirm the identity of each player she passed—just in case Sakura had also used a disguise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After four hours of nonstop sprinting, she’d mapped the entire labyrinth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were 491 players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one capable of resisting time-stop appeared—her earlier concern—but the sheer number of participants was much higher than she expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She honored her future self’s warning: don’t approach the maze’s 3 o’clock entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, after checking every path, the arrow on [Dull Game] led her to a corner near that very entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why was she supposed to intercept Sakura· Orange White here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would [Dull Game] be stolen shortly after the game started?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or would someone interfere with the trade midway?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita crouched down in an egg-hatching position, closed her eyes, and rested—letting the remaining time waste away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since [Waste Guide] was still active, she figured she might as well rack up a few extra buffs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When time resumed, Rita’s \"waste index\" on her duck paw had passed 15,000.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roughly 2,000 came from her previous session in [It’s Not the Craft That Sucks], but most were earned from her intense study sessions with Deceitful Bloom and Drummer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the 30 Star-Sea years, even though studying in time-stop deducted from her waste score, there were still plenty of breaks—short, well-earned naps that added up over time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So by now, she still had a considerable surplus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her core stats—attack, defense, speed, crit rate, accuracy, health and mana regen, magic resistance—had all increased by at least 9x.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood still, waiting quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, her expression twisted slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did she tell Sakura· Orange White that [Dull Game] was special? Why say outright she came for it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came her own voice, echoing through the maze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was hearing herself pitch the trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this was what it felt like... hearing your own manipulation from the outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening closely, she double-checked her status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good. [Absolute Clarity] was still active. That was one of her initial loadout skills.\u003C\u002Fp>",1015,"2026-06-06T06:15:15.640Z",1,"novelbin.me","7c9611cdb315a04d6202c16bbab58de6a10629b9c71dd82edd58b217074f89b1","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-726","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-724",1404,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthis-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-cover.jpg"]