CHAPTER 842: 842: DIVINE GAME – CARD SWAP 91

[Gift of Nature]: Costs 1000 mana. You have a 20% chance to receive a Minor Gift from the target. If you sacrifice 7% of your max HP for the next 15 minutes (this HP cannot be restored during that time), you are guaranteed to receive a Major Gift from the target (each target can only yield 10 Major Gifts). If you permanently sacrifice 1 attribute point, you can strip every currently active skill effect from the target and use them as your own. No cooldown.

"No wonder when Crab stole my Spring Pumpkin, the healing effect still worked." Rita’s eyes widened.

This skill could literally steal other players’ active buffs and states.

So strong. A theft ability built for combat.

And it even had a guaranteed success option—just a 7% HP lockout for 15 minutes. With her [Mystic Force], that cost was nothing. In fact, it could be the perfect setup before activating [Mystic Force].

She immediately checked the giant snow crab’s divine talent. [Child of Nature]. The very first skill. The mirror of her own [Spring Pumpkin].

Her eyes shone. That one line—"steal all active skill effects"—meant this was a skill she absolutely could not let slip away.

Healing from [Spring Pumpkin] might be practical, but compared to a theft skill of this level? No contest. This was what she had been waiting for.

One theft skill was never enough. Two was just right.

[I Just Want to Improve So Badly] for life. [Gift of Nature] for combat. Perfect complements.

But the moment her gaze lingered on the crab, it scuttled backward in a blur and vanished from her sight.

"...Really? That paranoid? Does it know I’m after its skill?"

She didn’t chase. Now wasn’t the time. But she didn’t hesitate to test the copied counter-skill. Her reversals had no cost or cooldown—perfect for a trial run.

The first time, she chose the 7% HP lock.

A massive crab claw appeared in her inventory.

[Cancer]: A molted claw of the Cancer Tribe. Its attack power scales with the user’s Strength.

She immediately dropped the warped railing she’d been swinging and hefted the claw, nearly as long as her forearm. It wasn’t as good as a dagger—Throat Slash became "Claw Smash," Debone couldn’t carve bones—but it would do.

The second reversal, she chose the permanent attribute sacrifice. The skill negated the cost, and she instead gained five new buffs.

This was it. If she ever faced something like [Mystic Force], she could just steal it. She needed this skill permanently.

By then, Mistblade had finished prying loose the gems. "Got it!"

Without hesitation she tossed them to Rita. Everyone knew Rita’s passive made her the safest vault against theft.

Motor yanked his mechanical arm up from the earth. "Let’s move. I know where to fence them!"

This wasn’t just a squad. This was a crew.

They bolted in sync.

They weren’t the fastest, though. Other teams already had divine talents that could create wealth directly, and plenty were sprinting off with full loads. Many attackers suddenly gave up the fight and diverted elsewhere.

Still, a good half of them kept their eyes locked on Rita.

"They weren’t after the gems," Fat Goose shouted over the chaos. "They were after you!"

"Absolutely," Motor agreed.

Rita hurled a few leaves mid-stride, topping everyone’s HP bars back to full. "Sorry. That’s the price of being a two-time Divine Game champion."

Motor groaned. "If I’d known you actually talk like this, I’d have reconsidered applying to your squad."

Mistblade’s face twisted. "I miss the you from Gilane."

"Yes, the one who had a meltdown because snot dripped on her forehead," Rita quipped.

She didn’t name names. She didn’t need to. Mistblade’s tails lashed instantly.

Maple Syrup wisely stayed silent—back then she’d been the kid who sat outside the gem shop with a bottle just watching chaos all day.

Fat Goose too. Childhood friends were the worst. They knew every embarrassing story.

Their bickering didn’t slow them. They barreled into a secluded shop.

Here, the currency was Fishcoins: thin, white slivers carved from fish bone.

Three fake-and-real mixed jewels got them ninety thousand Fishcoins. Mistblade hadn’t used all her copies—six-hour duplicates were too valuable to waste on gems—but the haul was more than enough. Maple Syrup’s pricing told them this would cover plenty of supplies. If not, they could always grab more.

Food wasn’t an issue. Fat Goose could conjure magical meals, and Rita’s pack was stuffed with thousands of pumpkins.

Water? Same. She could brew ale on demand.

The shop counted as a safe zone. The system pinged a warning: damage anything, and you’d be instantly expelled.

The five split up to shop while Motor sat cross-legged, jacking into the network again.

Halfway through, his alerts started flooding the squad channel.

[Motor]: Buy as many Sea Game Loot Boxes as possible. Only 10,000 exist citywide. Three shops are already sold out. No restock.

Mistblade instantly dumped the remaining forty-something boxes into her cart. Maple Syrup blinked across the aisle to cover her, while Fat Goose wedged his shield into place at the chokepoint. Together they shepherded the haul to the counter.

Rita, who carried the cash, was already waiting there. She slammed the payment down, packed the loot, then split half the Fishcoins with Mistblade, who also had a storage charm.

She didn’t waste time explaining. She vaulted into the air and sprinted for other shops to snag more loot boxes.

[Motor]: Fuel is universal for all ships.

[Motor]: Clerks are mocking contestants who didn’t buy enough rods and bait.

[Motor]: Food expires after six hours.

[Motor]: Hidden item! Every premium shop has one—ship pets! Only 19 total across the city. Seven already sold!

[Rita]: Price? Do we have enough? This shop?

[Mistblade]: Yes, this one. Five thousand. We’ve got just over twenty thousand left.

[Motor]: The priciest is seven thousand. There’s one nearby for three, but we might not make it in time.

[Fat Goose]: Then grab this one.

Rita crashed back in, vaulting over the checkout line to hand every coin to Mistblade and Maple Syrup at the register.

Motor was right. No time. They weren’t the only ones with intel, and once the 19 were gone, even robbery wouldn’t help.