The tentacle wrapped around her legs was tightening, and Rita could hear her bones creaking under the pressure.
But the octopus boss didn't kill her imdiately.
That ant she still had a chance.
She explained, "Because our boss here doesn't just like strong employees and quality ingredients—it also seems to have a preference for certain species."
For cleaning, it chose Marmang-Crab, a 17th-tier player ranked 1888 on the leaderboard. For ingredients, it picked TingoJE, an 18th-tier player ranked 67.
Both players had aquatic features—one resembled a snow crab, the other a blue whale.
Marmang-Crab ca from the Marmang Deep Sea World, and SkyCrabs naturally lived underwater, even though they could move on land.
TingoJE—while still alive—was always surrounded by water currents.
And the octopus boss? It wasn't hard to guess where it ca from.
Snow crab, blue whale, octopus, jellyfish—
This was starting to look less like a restaurant team and more like a family reunion.
Except for her.
She was the odd one out.
And then ca that other player, the jellyfish-like one it had just grabbed.
Even though that player was only 12th-tier, he was still stronger than her.
She wasn't going to sit around and wait for herself to be replaced.
If a team had too many employees, the obvious solution was to kill off the extras.
And she wasn't going to be one of them.
Finding [Chefs] was getting harder and harder. Other teams were hiding them, and just now, the octopus boss had to break a stealth skill to reveal this one.
Rita concluded, "I don't want to be eliminated. I'm competing for my position and defending my job."
Then, she activated her disguise skill.
Her form morphed, transforming into a siren with a shimring rmaid tail.
She flicked her fin dramatically, turned to the octopus boss, and grinned.
"Boss, this is the real ! Give a chance to shine."
Marmang-Crab: … TingoJE: …
[Marmang·Crab]: I can't take this anymore.
[Tingo·JE]: neither.
[Marmang·Crab]: This is shaless.
[Tingo·JE]: Exactly.
[Marmang·Crab]: But can you do better?
[Tingo·JE]: No.
[BS·Rita]: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!
Rita ignored them.
She didn't know if it was because her words worked, or because her siren disguise was too convincing, or if the octopus boss was simply waiting to find a better chef to replace her.
But at the mont, it actually let her go.
Then, a notification popped up.
[Ding—Congratulations! BS Rita has killed "Potted Fortune." The player has chosen to use 2 S-Tier skills to purchase their second resurrection in this Divine Ga. You have earned one random S-Tier skill as a battle reward.]
[Ding—Calculating drop… You have gained 9 Intelligence.]
[Battle reward calculated… You have received the S-Tier skill: "Special Grade Chef? Special Grade Chef!"]
…A Cooking Skill?!
Rita montarily forgot about the insane resurrection cost—her focus was on the cooking skill.
She eagerly opened her skill panel.
[Special Grade Chef? Special Grade Chef!] (S-Tier)
Effect: Upon activation, the character's sleeve will display a large, glowing "特" symbol (aning "Special"). Any living being who sees this symbol will be compelled to exclaim: "What?! You're a Special Grade Chef?!" Skill Range: 100 ters. Skill Duration: 3 seconds. Mana Cost: 100 MP per use. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Rita: …?!
WHAT KIND OF STUPID S-TIER SKILL IS THIS?!
Wait. Wait. WAIT.
Rita slowly turned to look at Marmang-Crab, who was completely absorbed in arguing in the battlefield chat.
She activated the skill.
[Chef's Aura!]
Instantly, a dazzling golden glow erupted from her right sleeve.
A massive "特" symbol materialized, radiating intense light.
Marmang-Crab—who had been mid-argunt—whipped his head around.
"What?! You're a Special Grade Chef?!"
And it wasn't just him.
Within a 100-ter radius, across the streets, in the air, and in the surrounding buildings—
Every single player turned their heads.
"What?! You're a Special Grade Chef?!"
"What?! You're a Special Grade Chef?!"
"What?! You're a Special Grade Chef?!"
A chorus of voices in every language echoed the sa stupid line.
Rita tried to stay calm.
She forced herself to keep a straight face.
She clenched her jaw, gritted through the pain.
But the problem was…
This dumbass skill didn't spare her either.
Her gaze involuntarily snapped to the glowing "特" on her sleeve.
And—
Before she could stop herself, the words spilled out of her mouth.
"What?! I'm a Special Grade Chef?!"
…This was the longest 3 seconds of her life.
B80234615 decided to join in.
"What?! You're a Special Grade Chef?!"
Rita: "I am so disappointed in you. I thought you were my safe harbor."
B80234615: "This is fantastic. This is exactly what I wanted to see!"
3 seconds later.
Marmang-Crab stared at her in silence.
Every nearby player also stared at her in silence.
Rita let her arm drop, sighed, then calmly laid down on the octopus's back.
"Let's just pretend I'm dead."
Only the octopus boss and so tourists had remained unaffected.
Those cosmic beings were the real strong ones.
But…
The octopus boss's footsteps had noticeably sped up.
It was trying to leave this cursed area as fast as possible.
Rita: "This is a GOD-TIER skill. How is this just S-Tier?! It force-stuns every player in range, disrupts their actions, and even mind-controls them into speaking. It's practically an SS-Tier ability!"
B80234615: "Glad you like it. Now please hide deeper in your inventory."
After the humiliation wore off, Rita actually started liking the skill.
It was an amazing disruption and control ability!
Sure, it was embarrassing. Sure, it was short. Sure, it had no damage.
But who cares?
Even high-tier players like Marmang-Crab had been stunned for 3 whole seconds.
With proper timing, combined with a defensive buff, this skill could be incredibly useful.
Marmang-Crab rapped his claw against her shoulder.
"That… cursed skill—you got that from killing Potted Fortune, didn't you?"
Rita nodded.
Not only that, but she also told him about the death penalty increasing—how Potted Fortune had to sacrifice 2 S-Tier skills to revive.
Surprisingly, Marmang-Crab wasn't shocked.
Instead, he calmly said,
"Oh, yeah, I've seen this before. Third death costs 3 S-Tier skills, fourth death costs an SS-Tier, and so on. By the seventh death, it's an SSS-Tier skill. By the tenth death—
You lose a God-Given Talent."
Rita's mind went blank.
"The tenth death costs a God-Given Talent."
She asked B80234615,
"Have the 51 gas you experienced with escalating death penalties… all used this system?"
B80234615: "I was wondering when you'd ask."
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