Chapter 1403: 1403 Adjudicator Game: Game Invasion 8

One by one, the stories forming the bridge’s surface erupted with starlight.

The beams shot chaotically into the night sky, tracing countless arcs before finding their destined owners.

Snowland. Forest Sea. Beacon. Tingo. Among Antlers. Mountain Isles. Nuclear Flash...

Order Clock began tolling again.

Heavy, resonant chimes echoed through the darkness.

It sounded like an official announcement that the old era had come to an end.

And Rita discovered something unexpected.

The Authority she gained by "taking" these players was greater than the Authority she had obtained from the suspected world fragments.

The illustration within World Sigh seemed to come alive.

She could vaguely sense that she was now capable of more.

The feeling was difficult to describe.

As she looked toward the edge of the cosmos, she seemed to "see" an invisible barrier.

By the time Rita had changed the Order of every player, the distant Order Clock had lost much of its brilliance.

In contrast, the Bridge of Sighs now radiated dazzling white-gold light.

The glow made Order Clock resemble a fading moon just before sunrise.

Rita gave the distant clock one final glance before stepping through the dark gate.

Not a single player who had entered before her had returned with information.

Something must have happened inside.

Otherwise, people like Shadow.Q or Smoke Tune would certainly have come back to report what they found.

Just to be safe, Rita recalled Nivalis into her pet space.

As for the items she could still use besides her Player Relic, she chose Wrathful Moon, Cat’s Ideal, and Foolishness Game.

Cat’s Ideal remained anchored in the starry sky.

With the First Mate aboard, Rita could carry the helm wherever she went.

As long as she didn’t summon the ship itself, it would remain where it was.

Still, she packed Cat’s Schedule and My Sigh with her as additional precautions.

Finally stepping completely through the gate, Rita found another bottleneck.

She pushed through the crowd.

Beyond the gate lay yet another bridge.

A long, dark bridge stretching endlessly into the void.

It resembled the abyss players crossed when first entering Divine Game.

The only illumination came from the players’ skills.

But Rita immediately understood why.

She had heard the final restriction.

[Maximum Active Skills: 10]

[Please select the skills that may be used within Ash Prison.]

Ten empty slots appeared before her.

The players clogging the bridge were all busy making their selections.

For a moment, Rita felt as if she had returned to Divine Game.

And somehow, it also felt like she had gone back to an ancient MMORPG.

Or perhaps...

The restrictions of Divine Game had never been solely about fairness.

Maybe they were extensions of prison regulations.

Rita casually summoned Nivalis.

Sure enough, a skill selection interface appeared in front of the dragon as well.

Not only that.

Nivalis’s Gacha Machine occupied one of her item slots.

So much for exploiting loopholes.

An item that could function freely inside Divine Game was being detected and restricted here.

The prison’s rules actually superseded Divine Game.

The food and ordinary objects inside the machine remained usable.

But any item taken out would likely activate immediately.

The only uncertainty was whether she could still swap items through the machine itself.

Then again...

This was her Adjudicator Game.

Why should she obey someone else’s rules?

Rita opened World Sigh, which remained completely unrestricted.

Placing her hand atop the Authority illustration, she attempted to insert her own rules into this world’s game system.

[Would you like to spend Soul Fire to add hidden game rules?]

"Yes."

Before opening the Bridge of Sighs, she had already established quests and reward systems.

What she had not done was create rules.

The original plan had been to arrive first and then develop countermeasures based on the First Epoch’s environment.

She simply hadn’t expected that rule creation itself would require Soul Fire.

Whether that was how Authority holders normally created game systems or whether it was unique to invading another domain, she didn’t know.

As she confirmed her choice, aurora-like light spilled from the illustration.

It illuminated every player’s face.

Then Rita’s voice echoed across the bridge.

[Adjudicator Rules]

[1. Adjudicator players cannot die. HP cannot fall below 1. Upon reaching 1 HP, health will be locked and the player will be forcibly returned to Cat’s Ideal.]

[2. Adjudicator Public Chat Channel unlocked. Players may share their locations in real time through the channel.]

[3. Players may submit requests to borrow Soul Fire from the Adjudicator.]

Since she still knew very little about the prison, Rita only added three rules.

Even so, those three rules alone immediately locked away 7,000 Soul Fire.

The first rule by itself consumed 5,000.

Rita had wanted to add an extra skill slot for every player.

She tested it.

That rule would also lock away 5,000 Soul Fire.

Not worth it.

Her maximum Soul Fire capacity had already been reduced to 30,000.

Player Saves, personal Saves, timeline Saves, and countless miscellaneous expenses had already tied up 1,200.

She needed to be economical.

Still, those three rules noticeably relaxed many players’ expressions.

Setting the matter aside, Rita focused on choosing the skills she would bring into this game.

Mystic Force and Flower of Deceit followed her Player Relic.

The more she used it, the more special the relic seemed.

Back in Divine Instruction, Player Relics had ignored item restrictions.

She could freely use associated abilities.

And now, in this final game, skills linked to the relic didn’t occupy skill slots either.

Unsure whether she would still be able to activate abilities through ultimate techniques inside the prison, Rita chose her skills under the assumption that ultimates would be unavailable.

First came Survive Until the End, still her dream skill even after becoming a god.

Then Lightchaser Moment, which summoned her notoriously ill-tempered battle companion.

The luck-based skill Let It Die.

The Wind Says Nothing, which stacked beneficial buffs.

The instant-kill move Story’s End.

Shadow of the Moon, used alongside Lantern for escape and concealment.

School Rule No. 801, which altered skill costs and cooldowns.

Then came Sin of Arrogance.

She hoped never to use it.

But in a desperate situation, it could change destiny itself.

Against a boss with overwhelming attributes, it could completely rebalance the battle.

Finally came the two companion skills she used together:

Unchanged Fate.

Phoenix Seat.

By the time Rita finished carefully making her selections, she fully understood why traffic had come to a standstill here.

The choices were agonizing.

The more skills one possessed, the harder it became to choose.

Rita had ten slots.

Most other players only had five.

Naturally, everyone was taking their time.

Once her selections were complete, she stepped toward the far end of the bridge.

Toward the place known as Ash Prison.

Toward the land of exile.