CHAPTER 812: 812: DIVINE GAME- CARD SWAP 61

January 12th. The final match of the Divine Game was about to begin.

Every student planning to compete in the solo round had their eyes locked on the crimson card suspended high in the air.

The Bike grabbed Rita’s arm. "You’re really joining the solo match?"

Rita gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah. Why?"

In the fun match, she hadn’t lasted all that long—fewer than a tenth of the participants had even managed to converge on her. Plenty of stronger players never got the chance.

Some hadn’t had a way to strip others of their wealth, some couldn’t get there in time, others never found her location.

And besides, the fun match tested creativity more than raw power—brute force alone didn’t guarantee a win.

The solo match, though, was all about power.

The rules changed every year, but the core was always the same: combat strength above all.

"You know you can’t possibly win, right?" the Bike said.

"I don’t know that," Rita replied flatly.

He faltered, realizing he’d hit a nerve. He still believed reality didn’t bend to willpower, that feelings couldn’t change facts—but he let go of her wrist with a sigh.

"If you fail, you’ll never be allowed back in the Game," he warned.

The crimson card above them flipped.

Rita watched it fly toward the end of the Long River, then turned back to him with a quiet smile. "Here’s a secret—my era’s about to begin."

With a firm step, she shot into the air toward the glowing countdown of the crimson gate, leaving her future teammate staring after her in shock.

...

Rita’s equipment was the same three items as before—her two divine relics and her Moonlight Marsh satchel.

She hadn’t expected the moment she passed through the gate to get a system prompt: [Demon’s Pass] counted as a magical item.

Which meant she’d have to willingly drop something—or the Game would randomly take one away.

She immediately backed out of the entry zone, pulled off her satchel, and started packing.

It only took a few seconds for her to decide.

The satchel was great for hauling casting materials, but after years in Moonlight Marsh’s SSS class, she had no shortage of healing spells—ten at least, from A-rank to S-rank—most of which only needed mana.

The rarity and special value of the [Demon’s Pass] outweighed the satchel.

She tucked the Pass into a hidden inner pocket of her uniform.

Then she stuffed a pumpkin full of winter snow and pulled the half-pumpkin snow-hat over her head.

Next came handfuls of dead leaves and spring blossoms shoved into her clothes.

As for the maps she’d drawn after watching the team match—she’d already burned them after committing them to memory.

When she was ready, she swung the satchel in a wide arc and hurled it toward the ship’s bow. "Swordmaster! Do me a favor!"

A passing longsword caught it midair and hooked it back toward the Moonlight Marsh ship-house.

Rita didn’t look back. She plunged into the crimson gate.

[Solo Match—Assassinate the God]

[A god is hiding somewhere in Demon City. Find them and kill them on your own.]

[Each Demon City citizen you kill has a 10% chance to drop a clue about the god.]

[Kill another player to gain all the clues they’ve gathered.]

[Game Duration: Until all players are dead or have left.]

As the rules echoed in her mind, Rita’s first move on landing was to check her [Demon’s Pass].

It had transformed into a sleek metal wristwatch—just like the ones she’d seen in the team match. It recorded citizen data, handled daily functions, and stored all earned credits securely, nearly impossible to steal.

Strapping it on, she began moving, orienting herself with her mental map and gathering information as she went.

The city was modern—towering skyscrapers and an air of peace.

During the team match, she’d studied its crime rates and limits.

For a place called Demon City, it was remarkably orderly—at least on the surface.

It had a full administrative structure, a judiciary, and a well-armed security force in matching black uniforms. In the team match, a single officer had fought an entire squad to a standstill.

They only deployed against illegal intruders—meaning competitors like her.

More students poured in. Skills were still locked before the start, so everyone quietly dispersed.

Rita quickly spotted her first demon statue.

It was a strange one—something she’d noticed when mapping them.

It looked like an orange Gastly, but was actually an orange engulfed in flames.

A glance at the bookstore across from it told her exactly where she was. She dug through a nearby trash bin, found a bread bag, and stuffed her dead leaves and flowers inside.

Then she stripped off her Moonlight Marsh uniform and draped it over the statue, even hanging her boots from its tiny hands.

The clothes had to go. She wasn’t sure if the city guard still remembered the team match, but if they did—and the timeline here followed right after—they’d recognize her as an intruder just from her uniform. That would wipe out the advantage of the [Demon’s Pass].

Now she wore only a black vest, black pants, and her snow-filled half-pumpkin hat.

With the bread bag in hand, she headed on. Passing a clothing store, she slipped into the back and found a combat-friendly outfit with plenty of pockets, tucking the leaves and flowers inside.

A nearby shoe shop provided new boots.

As she changed, she considered her approach.

If this were a single-player game, she could get a job, blend in as a model citizen by day, and kill by night. But this was a competition.

There was no time limit, but the others wouldn’t wait around for her.

Pick off stragglers? Trail the top killer and swoop in on their targets?

Too clumsy. She’d be better off gathering citizen kills herself...

Of course, if she spotted a suspicious player along the way, shadowing them might pay off.

The most efficient method would be killing natives and competitors in tandem.