Under the watchful eyes of all present, the azure card moved first.
—Mini-Ga!
The blue card fell right into the center of a windmill cottage, its white blades still slowly turning in the breeze.
Almost all apprentices imdiately sprang into action, rushing toward the dungeon entrance.
Those who could fly went straight through the skies, while those without wings had no choice but to run, leaping into the instance once they reached the cottage.
Rita, Maple Syrup, Mistblade, and Motor in battle form all rose into the air at once.
Mistblade looked particularly elegant in flight. That tail really was worth it—no running start, no wind to catch, no extra movent needed. Just lift off. Even if it took up one of her precious magical item slots, it had been worth the trade.
On the ground, only Fat Goose was stuck running on two legs. It looked terribly uncool. Watching his four teammates glide above, he felt isolated.
Damn it, he needed a flying skill, and soon!
The mont they touched down, a notification rang through their minds.
[Mini-Ga — Fishing Contest]
[Objective: Within 12 hours, the apprentice who reels in the rarest fish species will be declared the winner.]
[Special Rule: In this ga, no apprentice may use skills against another apprentice. Once a fish is successfully reeled in, it is instantly recorded into the Divine Ga results. This outco cannot be altered by any skill.]
Rita frowned slightly, eyes lifting to the blue sky above.
Was this aid at her? That was a bit too self-centered, even for her. She preferred to think the rule was there to restrict multiple people. Maybe others had similar abilities.
The ban on using skills against one another clearly showed the ga was forcing them to rely purely on fishing.
She now stood back at the port city, the shoreline lined with countless boats. Dozens of wooden piers stretched from the coast into the sea, so even turning midway, clearly prepared for the apprentices to fish from.
After a few steps, she spotted a massive board by the roadside, packed with information on hundreds of fish species and their relative values.
Without hesitation, she turned and headed into the city.
The ga might be called fishing, but not a single rod or bait had been handed out. The apprentices had to figure that part out themselves. That had to be another layer of the contest.
Fortunately, the restriction only applied to skills used against other apprentices. Nothing said they couldn’t be used on NPCs. If not, she’d actually have to worry about where to find money.
Before the start, all the seafood rchants stood frozen in place.
The layout was the sa as during the team battle: shops selling rods, bait, and even fuel for anyone who wanted to sail out to deeper waters. Whether ships could still be taken for free this ti remained unknown.
Flying through the shops, Rita crossed paths with her teammates and other students from Moonlight Marsh.
Perhaps because no combat was allowed this round, the atmosphere inside the arena felt less tense.
Motor was tearing down a street in vehicle form with Maple Syrup riding on top.
Rita dropped down and waved. Motor braked, and she hopped right onto the back behind Maple Syrup.
"Go!"
Motor groaned. "If Cinnabar sees this, how the hell am I supposed to live it down?"
"Less whining, more driving," Rita said. "You’ve never won a mini-ga, so you don’t get it. This is nerve-wracking!"
Motor and Maple Syrup both fell silent.
"Can you throw her off?" Maple Syrup muttered. "She really deserves a smack sotis."
"Then why did you brake?" Motor shot back.
This wasn’t a large port town, but it still managed to cram in more than nine thousand apprentices. Even with shopkeepers and wandering seafood NPCs frozen, the place buzzed with energy.
When the white clouds above dissolved into a countdown that finally hit zero, the whole city ca alive.
Shopkeepers blinked into motion, unfazed by the sudden appearance of thousands of strange apprentices, greeting them like ordinary custors.
Rita split off from her friends and flew high, spotting Pomango, then deliberately took the opposite direction before landing in a crowd. She leaned over a counter and activated [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] on the shopkeeper.
Skill failed.
Her brows furrowed as she lowered the item.
So the rule applied after all. It hadn’t explicitly forbidden using skills on NPCs, but apparently that didn’t work either.
No matter. She had a backup plan.
While waiting earlier, she had already prepared for this. What if she couldn’t steal, or what if one attempt triggered a warning?
She slipped into a quiet alley, sat cross-legged, and flipped a gold coin between her fingers.
The coin lted into a Scratch Card.
She pulled out another coin and dropped it into the golden circle marked "Prize Weapon."
Her target: a fishing rod.
She had seen the rods in the shop. They all had attributes, so even ca with attack skills. If Lightchaser had managed to pull forks and hoes from Scratch Cards, why not a fishing rod?
Success.
The card accepted the coin and locked onto her chosen weapon.
Now all she needed was a half-decent rod. With that, she could sell it for bait money, then Scratch Card herself an even better one. Ard with a supre rod and premium bait, she’d reel in the rarest fish and win the mini-ga.
Perfect script.
That was exactly how she saw it playing out.
...
Outside the arena.
A hundred screens showed randomized feeds. But since this contest would drag on for hours, with much of it being the dull wait of fishing, the organizers had added a new function. Spectators could now pull a screen close and search for whichever apprentice they wanted to watch.
As Moonlight Marsh’s instructor, GodDraw77 technically had to keep up an appearance of fairness. No obvious favoritism. She didn’t move to search anyone.
Wail, seated right beside her, had no such restraint.
"So this Scratch Card ca from Rita?" Wail asked, watching the apprentice flip cards on her feed.
GodDraw77’s eyes had already been sneaking glances. At Wail’s question, she leaned subtly toward her neighbor, openly watching while answering, "Yes. She created it herself."
But Wail’s real concern was different. Her deathly gaze shifted to GodDraw77.
"So it costs just one coin?"
GodDraw77 froze.
Slowly, carefully, she straightened in her seat and stared firmly forward.
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