NOVPUBA breeze swept past, blowing a flower petal onto Rita's face. She frowned and brushed it off.
If the July Theme Park was like a city in the mist, then the March Theme Park was a city of blossoms. Real flower trees—not ones built from Blocks—lined every path. Petals drifted through the air in varying sizes, and the air was saturated with floral fragrance.
Compared to these two parks, the 15th Month Theme Park seemed plain—like the difference between a barebones starter map and a premium DLC zone in a video game.
Even the Block vending machines were different. Not only were they more luxurious and finely designed, but every machine had a blooming tree beside it.
Rita browsed the vending interface for a few seconds and finally relaxed.
The marketplace was shared between parks. She recognized the list of 9-piece item fragments. Only a few had changed compared to the listings she'd seen in the 15th Month Theme Park—but that was to be expected.
The game console hadn't sold yet, but the four game item fragments she listed earlier had.
She fused the resulting 25 Blocks to her body but kept the two remaining fragments on hand for emergencies. As long as she could keep collecting the game console, things were looking up.
Rita returned to the bumper car, motioned for Nivalis to slide over to the passenger seat, and jumped into the driver's spot. She wanted to see how different the attractions here were from those in the 15th Month Theme Park.
In under ten minutes, she had her answer.
The March Theme Park had an identical layout to the 15th Month Theme Park.
No zoning, either. That meant Divine Game players and temporary Divine Game players could all participate in the same attraction queues.
But anyone brought here by a Divine Game player likely wasn't someone they were willing to sacrifice.
Which meant that if those players didn't want their teammates or protégés repeatedly dying, resetting, and losing tons of attributes and rare items, they'd have to work hard to earn enough Blocks for food and playtime.
Rita scoped out the Pirate Ship, Claw Machine, and Bumper Cars once again. Mechanics looked unchanged, but the ticket prices had doubled.
So had the prices for popcorn, grilled fish, and BBQ rice bowls.
Every necessary expense here was considerably higher than in the 15th Month Theme Park.
Nivalis was still feeling lucky they'd arrived on full stomachs—otherwise, they'd already be bleeding Blocks.
She even whispered to B8017913, asking if it could work a part-time job at the food stands.
Rita slowed the bumper car to a crawl, cruising through the park while waiting to observe one last mechanic—the payment system for the March Theme Park. It was almost 5:00. She was watching closely.
The other players were interesting, too. They carried on as if nothing special was about to happen. No signs of bracing for anything. Maybe the payment system wasn't something they could control?
That seemed the most logical explanation.
At exactly 5:00, a gust swept through the park.
It blew right through the players, snatching a few Blocks off each one at random. The pieces dissolved into flower-petal-colored fragments and drifted away.
Rita cursed loudly, "How is this different from daylight robbery?!"
It really did just yank Blocks away at random—sometimes even game item fragments.
She watched one player wail in despair, holding a staff that had been cleanly shortened by a third.
Not wasting another second, Rita turned the wheel and steered straight for the Pirate Ship.
Compared to the Claw Machine and Bumper Cars—both of which relied heavily on combat stats—the Pirate Ship leaned more toward game sense and mechanical finesse. No HP loss here. She had experience. Maybe she could rack up another high score.
Nivalis messaged her privately: "Didn't they say you can only play each attraction once?"
Rita replied, "Different park, different ticket. Who knows, maybe I can. Nivalis, wait for me outside. 913, go into ring form—you're coming with me."
She glanced back at Nivalis and added, "Feel free to check out something else if you want. Just turn the bumper car into a charm and clip it on you."
It couldn't be lost or destroyed anyway, so Rita had no worries about letting Nivalis carry it.
B8017913 immediately started disassembling itself, handing the parts over to Rita to boost her Block count before they entered.
A glance behind showed only one of the foxkin from earlier still tailing them. The other had probably gone to fetch Mistblade.
Seemed like the Pirate Ship was a game Mistblade hadn't tried yet. With so many activities in the park and the game barely six hours in, the odds of her having done the same ones were low.
As Rita queued up with B8017913 in ring form, the six-tailed foxkin lined up right behind her.
Five minutes later, Mistblade strolled up casually.
She walked straight to the six-tailed foxkin, who stepped aside. Mistblade took the vacant spot—right behind Rita.
Rita: "…"
Queuing for the Pirate Ship with Mistblade. Absolutely surreal.
Mistblade muttered behind her like a devil whispering over her shoulder, "Pine Bloom wants in too. Not sure if she'll make it."
Rita: "…You invited her?"
Mistblade: "Yeah. She really wants to see you. Shame Maple Syrup just started a game—she can't come yet."
"…Stop talking like that, it's creepy as hell."
Rita shifted into offense as defense. "Is that force-invite ticket hard to get?"
Mistblade ignored the question and asked her own: "Did you self-study moonfox language?"
Rita hesitated a second. "Something like that."
That answer mollified Mistblade just a touch. In her mind, if Rita had gone out of her way to learn moonfox language, maybe it was to keep the promise of translating game rules.
But only a little. Her grudge still burned hot. No forgiveness!
Rita tried again, "That force-invite ticket. Seriously, how do you get one?"
Mistblade's tone turned smug. "You think I'll tell you just because you ask?"
Rita: "…"
This Mistblade was nothing like the stoic royal figure from before. Now she was pure chaos—short-fused and flammable.
Rita gave up asking.
But Mistblade wasn't done. She'd clearly been waiting for this. "Tell me how to get that car of yours, and I'll tell you how to get a force-invite."
Now that trade was way too unbalanced. Rita was only curious about the invite—it wasn't a must-have.
What would she even use it for? She didn't exactly have someone she was dying to invite into this hellhole of a park.
Maple Mu…
If Maple Mu had entered the game, maybe. She could exact some revenge by stealing attributes or items.
But if Maple Mu was here, she was likely under Maple Syrup's wing.
If Rita were still in the July Theme Park, she might've considered it. But here in March, with Pine Bloom and Maple Syrup both lurking around? Yeah, no thanks.
She quickly shook her head. "Honestly, I don't really need to know."
Mistblade: But I need to know!
She really, really wanted that car. It was slick as hell. Obvious Divine Game exclusive. No way it would ever be available again after Chaotic Blocks ended.
