But they still needed two more members. What now?
That night, after GodDraw77 had dragged her back to rest in Moonlight Marsh’s dormitory inside the Twilight Library, Rita had waited half the night. Lightchaser never showed up. Who knew what she was off doing again—she couldn’t even drop by to check on her!
The next day, in the Worm Tavern of the Endless Desert, Rita found Crab and NightFury staring blankly at their empty glasses. They told her they’d already found two new teammates and wanted to introduce them.
As soon as she stepped into the tavern, she heard the faint sound of wind chimes and followed it straight to Crab’s table.
At a nearby table, Frenzied Shark sat with a plate of fried rice, glaring unblinkingly at Crab as if it had personally stolen her dinner. Spoon after spoon, she kept eating without breaking eye contact.
Crab’s shell twitched nervously. It scratched the back of its chair with a claw and immediately said to Rita once she sat down, "Hey, you know Quex?"
Rita blinked. "She dropped out too?"
"No," Crab said, "but she’s been kind of unpopular at school. No team wants her anymore, even though she’s really strong." Fresh chapters posted on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝘯𝘦𝘵
Rita slammed her glass of Moo-Moo Milk on the table. "I knew it! I knew it the first time I met her!"
A familiar voice came from behind her. "Knew what, exactly?"
Before Rita could turn, rain poured down over her head, completely soaking her carefully styled hair until she looked like she’d lost a fight with a cow’s tongue.
Three seconds later, the immobilization effect from Pomango’s rain spell wore off. Rita wiped her face, muttering under her breath. It hadn’t even been a proper skill—her bubble defense hadn’t worked on it at all.
Quex dropped into the seat on her left, and Rita forced a brittle smile. "What do you think?"
A tavern waiter hurried over and set a strange artifact on the floor. Every drop of rain that fell was instantly absorbed into a block of yellow sponge beneath it.
Compared to the fishing tournament years ago, Quex had changed a lot—just like Mistblade and Maple Syrup. Not just her appearance, but her whole aura was sharper, more focused. Everyone had grown stronger.
The rain above them abruptly shifted into snow. Quex brushed back her waterproof hood, revealing short, messy hair the color of storm-tossed seas.
The deeper hue meant her control over weather and magic had grown even stronger. The weatherkin really were incapable of hiding their power—every change was visible.
Quex caught Rita’s annoyed stare, then waved down a server. "A coffee. Put it on her tab."
Rita laced her fingers under her chin, trying to project intimidation, and asked Crab and NightFury seriously, "...Any other options?"
NightFury was about to answer when Crab yelped, "Hey! Stop stabbing me already! I’ve got my skill active—you hear the wind chimes? Be mature, okay? Look, Rita’s sitting right across from me. Am I hitting her?"
Rita didn’t even bother with manners. She raised her right leg slightly, letting NightFury see her boot—now full of holes from crab claws.
Crab stammered, "...That wasn’t—uh—it wasn’t on purpose!"
NightFury scowled, sheathing her dagger. "No. No other options."
Quex leaned back, smirking. She didn’t need to say a word; the smugness on her face said plenty.
Crab added, "There’s one more teammate. He’s—oh, there he is."
Rita turned and saw a pale, thin boy with delicate features standing behind her.
He looked familiar. Oh right—she’d punched him before.
Syntax sat down on her right, waved to a server, and said, "A fruit juice. Put it on her tab."
Rita glanced between the two people flanking her—Quex on the left, Syntax on the right—and then turned to NightFury across the table. "Do I look like someone with a pleasant disposition to you?"
NightFury shrugged. "Mostly it’s that everyone knows you’re rich. News spreads fast. Word’s out you stole 170,000 gold from Pomango during the match yesterday. Mojie’s been telling everyone—every time he mentions his and Pomango’s savings, he adds, ’How’d you know the missing 170,000 was what Rita took?’"
As the server returned with Syntax’s juice, NightFury ordered several of the tavern’s best dishes. "Put those on her tab too."
Rita sighed. She had expected this the moment the money hit her account. She hadn’t realized at the time that Mojie and Pomango’s entire mining profits were stored under Pomango’s name.
"Order whatever you want," she said tiredly, waving a hand.
It wasn’t her money, after all.
As Quex and Syntax started happily picking dishes, Rita rubbed her temples. Unless something miraculous happened, these two were definitely going to be her team for the upcoming group match.
Annoying personalities aside, she couldn’t complain about their power.
Quex had been a star since her second year, even before joining the Divine Game. She’d been a favorite to win the Worm Tavern championship and had taken last year’s Fun Match title.
As for Syntax—whatever his past reputation—he’d managed to trick Mute out of her divine gift skill. Anyone who could pull that off wasn’t weak.
The real problem was that this team screamed "chaotic energy."
Crab and NightFury were openly planning to backstab each other the first chance they got.
Quex had stared forty-seven times at the lamp and helm on Rita’s hand since sitting down.
And Syntax... well, he had a history. Last year’s team match, his squad had been on track to win—until he sacrificed the team’s objective to secure the divine gift of Silence for himself.
Still, this was probably the best she could do. At least they were stronger than Maple Syrup’s crew.
Rita raised her glass of Moo-Moo Milk. "This round’s on Pomango. A toast—to Pomango!"
All around the table, cups lifted—coffee, juice, ale, milk.
At that exact moment, Pomango burst through the tavern doors. The first thing she heard was her own name being chanted in chorus.
She took a long, steadying breath. Her right hand curled into a fist, knuckles cracking audibly.
Then, in a voice trembling with rage, she told Maple Syrup beside her, "Kill her. Kill her now."
Maple Syrup sighed softly. "..."
She really did admire BS-Rita’s ability to make everyone around her furious.