Based on her experience, the Divine Game itself was the real priority. Rita chose D without hesitation.

The next second, the fourth option turned into a streak of red light and shot straight into Rita's forehead.

[Beacon world key player has obtained S rank skill Flower Kill]

With that handled, Rita took Nivalis and B80 and walked across the dueling arenas, each about the size of a serving tray, returning to the interior of the cruise ship.

She wanted to find that tier seven player. Unlike Dawn Cicada and the others, she saw things differently. She cared far more about the gains from absorbing worlds than about the players themselves.

Compared to players with unpredictable personalities and uncertain cooperation, she valued stable returns with minimal variance. Absorb worlds. Develop Beacon.

But the cruise ship was massive, and trying to locate a player who could be hiding anywhere was no easy task. Rita sent Nivalis and B80 out to search while she stayed on the first deck.

Despite being called a war cruise, the ship's interior facilities were fully equipped.

Restaurants, shops, training zones, libraries, everything was there.

There were ten decks in total, and each floor had a massive shop.

Without needing directions, Rita quickly found the shop on the first floor. She was curious about the currency used in this game.

Standing at the entrance, her eyes filled with doubt and amazement. The shop's decor reminded her strongly of the Forest Sea.

Not reminded. It was exactly the same.

There was even a sign posted at the entrance.

[Shop style is based on the top ten ranked worlds. Current rank one world: Forest Sea]

A world that had already been shattered was still gaining glory and splendor within the game, in the hands of other players.

Was this cruelty, or a strange kind of consolation?

Rita stepped inside and immediately saw the merchandise and their prices.

[Key Player Personality Tag Brave. Honor Points: 50000]

[Key Player Personality Tag Justice. Honor Points: 30000]

[Key Player Personality Tag Unyielding. Honor Points: 100000]

[Random S Rank Skill for Key Player. Honor Points: 5000]

[Random SS Rank Skill for Key Player. Honor Points: 20000]

[Random SSS Rank Skill for Key Player. Honor Points: 50000]

[Additional Key Player Slot. Honor Points: 100000]

[Peace Crystal. Reduces invasion progress by 20 percent upon use. Honor Points: 100000]

All the items were crystal cubes in various colors, neatly arranged inside display cases.

Personality tags were not priced equally. There were clear tiers. But if Rita had to choose, Unyielding really was worth more than Brave or Justice.

She instinctively walked along the entire personality tag counter and found Cunning.

Price: 100000 Honor Points.

The same tier as Unyielding, the most expensive category of personality tags.

A small note was posted beside the display case.

Friendly reminder: each key player can equip up to six personality tags.

Beyond that, the shop contained countless other items, much like an honor shop. Wings, dragon wings, artifacts, consumables.

And then there was Vine.

This was definitely something Deceitful Bloom had prepared for Dawn Cicada.

[Vineborne Vine Unique. Honor Points: 5000000]

The price extinguished her rising anger on the spot. Rita immediately abandoned any thought of intercepting it.

Forget it. Forget it. No need, no need. Calm down.

As she imagined what the little Vineborne might bring back in the future, Rita also began calculating what she might buy once she had enough Honor Points.

The moment she stepped out of the shop, she saw Maple Syrup standing there with her arms crossed, staring at the storefront.

Her long red hair lifted gently in the breeze of the cruise ship, along with the maple leaves on her wings.

Her gaze carried things others could not easily read.

At that moment, Maple Syrup reminded Rita of the Maple Syrup from the High Tower.

Back then, her presence had been sharp and commanding, but it still carried softness, fragility, and a sense of motherhood. She would drink and complain at the table, openly admitting her sadness and setbacks. She was nothing like the Maple Syrup Rita saw now in the Divine Game, seemingly unbreakable.

Rita looked away and did not continue staring at her nemesis. But just as she was about to leave, she heard Maple Syrup ask, "If it were you, would you follow Pine Bloom, or follow me?"

What a strange question.

Rita turned back. "Aba Aba?" Me? Follow you? Are you sure you are talking to me?

"No. I am not trying to provoke you." Maple Syrup shook her head as if waking from a dream. Her eyes, however, remained fixed on the fragment of Forest Sea inside the shop. Her voice lowered slightly. "I just want to know. If we were still at the High Tower, if you were an Oak Owl qualified to enter the central battlefield, who would you want as your leader? Me, or Pine Bloom?"

The fact that half the Oak Owls had chosen to follow Pine Bloom had really affected Maple Syrup.

Rita's eyes widened slightly, as if she had just seen a statue shed tears or a crack appear across the sea.

While she was momentarily shaken by Maple Syrup's rare vulnerability, Maple Syrup had already pulled herself out of it. She looked at BS Rita and noticed that Rita seemed hesitant, almost as if she wanted to comfort her.

Maple Syrup had always been like this. Hard to approach, hard to earn trust from. Yet once someone had treated her well, she found it difficult to truly hate them.

She did not push for an answer. Instead, Maple Syrup said, "Do not overthink it. I am not sad that they chose to follow Pine Bloom. I am just thinking that for ordinary Oak Owls, survival might matter more than dignity or Forest Sea."

Was BS without danger? Of course it was not. But as long as they followed Pine Bloom, even if war broke out, they were allowed to lay down their weapons out of fear, grief, or weakness. Pine Bloom would be disappointed and would try to urge them back into the fight, but she would never kill those who attempted to surrender.

Maple Syrup would.

And the reason she wanted to talk to BS Rita about this at all…

Maple Syrup asked with curiosity, "Paintwind said that on the day Lania Kaia descended on BS, you told the BS players something like this. Before I die, no one is allowed to put down their weapons. Otherwise, I will treat it as betrayal against me. So if they really did put their weapons down, what would you do?"

Rita froze.

Probably nothing.

As long as it was not more than half of the players, she would keep going.

If it was more than half, then… then BS would probably see an event called BS Rita defecting.

She had never imagined that it would be through a conversation with Maple Syrup that she would be guided into thinking about what ordinary players actually wanted.

Maple Syrup was always like this, deliberately or unintentionally pushing her forward, only to end up on opposite sides once things eased.

Perhaps because the Maple Syrup before her felt too similar to the one from the High Tower, Rita gave her an honest answer.

Maple Syrup fell silent for a long time. Rita, too, was lost in her own answer.

Then Fat Goose, who had apparently been eavesdropping nearby the entire time, spoke up. "So what is the point? Is it not good enough to let your people live happily? Wherever we live for a long time can become a new homeland."

A crude gust of wind, as if sketched in rough lines, drifted out from behind Maple Syrup's ear. It circled Fat Goose once, then fluttered in front of Rita, playfully brushing past her ear.

And so she heard the voice carried by that wind. It sounded like a child answering in a hurry, or a song drifting on the breeze, or a distant chant.

"How could it be the same, how could it be the same?"

"When the world fades, the one who stubbornly tries to reshape it is the only treasure the world has ever longed for."

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