This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Rita stepped into the study's dungeon and casually targeted a random alien creature to burn off the unused skill.

Then she returned to her room and clasped the [Soul Catcher].

Maybe it had been collecting dust for too long, but she could swear she heard the siren's song laced with emotion—excited, maybe even a little aggrieved. The chant sped up, turning into a near-DJ remix. The bone fingers clasping hers tightened as if afraid she might bolt.

—"Truth or Dare?!"

Last time, she picked dare—and the dare had been to propose to her enemy. She skipped it.

This time, she picked truth.

She still had one "skip and get a reward anyway" ticket left for the month, so it didn't really matter which one she picked first. If the skill turned out to be trash, she'd burn it, clear the slot, and play again.

But going forward, she intended to alternate between the two, since she realized her laziness might have been what earned her the dud [Backfire] last time.

The siren's song returned.

—"If a stronger and more advanced mechanoid offered to become your servant, would you abandon B8017913?"

The plush little robot, riding a plush kitten behind Nivalis, came to a sudden halt.

Rita gave it some serious thought for a few seconds, then replied: "No."

Nivalis shot B8017913 a curious glance, then quietly asked, "You're not worried?"

They often chatted about Rita, and B8017913 had even seen a photo of her soul flame on Nivalis's phone.

Rita valued strength—but more than that, she valued loyalty. What mattered most to her wasn't whether something was powerful, but whether it was truly hers.

If the question had been: "If a mechanoid stronger than you, and even guaranteed by divine vow to never betray her, offered to serve—would she replace you?" …now that would've been a real threat.

But after a pause, B8017913 simply replied, "Not worried."

Nivalis glanced at the heart-shaped thread emblem on the robot's chest. When the question had been asked, she saw several ripples flash across that symbol—but she let it slide.

Rita, meanwhile, turned her attention to the new skill granted by the "truth" round:

[One Clarification] (1/1): Ask your question, and I'll search the winds for the answers left behind by those who once asked the same.

She had plenty of questions she wanted to ask.

But based on the skill's description, she couldn't get too personal or obscure. It clearly sourced its responses from existing records—if no one had ever asked the same question, there'd be no answer to fetch.

And even then, there was no guarantee the answer would be correct.

Still, she asked: "Are futures revealed through divination skills destined to happen?"

She thought of Rick—now a pile of ash—and honestly couldn't imagine him ever making a comeback.

A swirl of wind filled the room—gusts over ocean, gusts through rocky cliffs. The howling blended with siren song, forming a haunting melody.

Voices echoed in different tongues, layered into lyrics over the tune.

"There is no limit to living things, so fate occasionally shifts."

"Respect destiny, or suffer misfortune."

"Those who worship fate will be shackled by it."

"Prophecies can only reflect your present self."

She heard dozens of voices—some she didn't understand until B8017913 kindly stepped in to translate. The siren ballad about fate lasted eight full minutes.

So many answers, yet they fell into two camps: fate is ever-changing vs. fate is immutable.

Rita ended up more confused than enlightened.

She'd asked this very question to B8017913 once before. She still remembered its reply clearly:

"You were right not to kill him early. If the vision showed it happening, that means it must. Before that moment, you'd never have succeeded."

When she asked B8017913 again now, it "froze" momentarily—maybe embarrassed.

After a long pause, it asked, "What rank was the skill you used at the time?"

Rita remembered she'd bought several of those skill crystals back then and only used one. She rummaged through her skill crystal storage box and quickly found it: [Dear Spirit, Tell Me].

No rank listed.

Her brow furrowed. She remembered other skill crystals, like the one with [Longevity Like the South Mountain], had their ranks clearly marked.

B8017913's tone turned oddly cheerful, like a bureaucrat realizing they'd successfully shifted blame to someone higher up: "Oh, I know that one. Skills below D-rank don't display their level."

So… the issue had been a garbage-tier prophecy.

"…" Rita deadpanned. All that over-caution—completely pointless. She'd been worshipping at the wrong altar the whole time.

B8017913 helpfully added, "So technically, my answer wasn't wrong. It was the skill that sucked."

Just like with fortune-telling: sometimes the fortune hits, sometimes it misses.

The accuracy of predictions—and how susceptible they are to change—varied based on the skill's rank.

Listening to B8017913's breakdown left her conflicted. But she also had a new idea.

Maybe the type of question mattered too?

Even with the same skill, asking about the name of the next Divine Game vs. who will rank top might yield different levels of accuracy—since one's a fixed event, and the other involves countless variables.

Maybe White Bear-sensei had rubbed off on her, but the line she trusted most from that chorus was:

"There is no limit to living things, so fate occasionally shifts."

There were too many variables. She didn't want to dwell on this one issue.

She picked up the [Soul Catcher] again and chose Dare this time.

She guessed the dare might involve breaking her bond with B8017913, or maybe betraying it—or even trying to steal some of its power.

Instead, the new dare was:

"Pledge three SSS-tier skills to Soul Catcher as collateral. From now on, play Truth or Dare at least once a week. In exchange, Soul Catcher will grant you an extra game skill slot."

Rita's first reaction wasn't excitement—it was suspicion. She immediately activated [Refurbish], scanning [Soul Catcher] from top to bottom.

Then she pulled up B8017913's skill library, searching for scanning and analysis skills.

Out loud, she asked, "Does this relic have its own will? Is it dangerous to me?"

B8017913 responded with a full analysis and even posted the results in their group chat:

"This relic likely contains part of a Divine Game rule system. That's why it operates autonomously—and craves games."