Rita had a major performance planned in a few days.
But before that, she handled two important matters.
First, she went to the dentist and had a tooth removed.
Once the socket was empty, she inserted the Magician's Fake Tooth.
The moment it touched the numbed gum, the fake tooth rooted itself firmly into place.
The second issue was the Wilson family's hidden vault.
She still could not believe Samuel was this incompetent.
How had he still not noticed anything missing?
If she revealed herself as a participant in the second beta under these circumstances, even a pig would figure out who emptied the treasure room.
So on June 8th, Rita made another trip to W City.
Using photos of the antiques and jewelry she had previously sold, she commissioned a batch of convincing replicas.
She also bought three hundred pounds of fake gold bars.
Using her game inventory and Phantom Shift, she moved everything back into Samuel's hidden study vault.
There was no urgent need for money in the family anyway.
In her previous life, when she returned while fleeing for her life, the old couple had still been busy moving these treasures.
Back then, Rick constantly demanded money because he had become a beta player and needed huge amounts of cash.
But in this life?
He was just an ordinary nine centimeter warrior.
What money could he possibly need?
By the time everything was restored, it was already June 10th.
That day, Rita invited Samuel and Scarlett to Rick's hotel.
She had originally wanted Zoey there too, but after losing an ear, Zoey had no interest in dealing with anyone.
Fine.
If she could not gain the heroine's trust, driving a wedge between the male and female leads worked too.
Rick sat quietly at the edge of the bed with his gaze lowered.
His expression practically screamed:
"Even though I feel miserable, I'll cooperate with whatever my sister wants."
Once everyone was seated and Rita confirmed the hotel door was tightly shut, she lowered her voice mysteriously.
"I found something that might cure Rick."
The moment she said that, the two people pretending to stay calm and the one openly impatient all snapped their eyes toward her.
Rita explained that a few days ago, while bored waiting for someone early in the morning, she had downloaded a game.
But after only playing for two hours, the game vanished.
Along with her phone.
Most importantly, she had brought the game's items and abilities into reality.
To prove it, she searched for the game in front of them.
Nothing appeared.
Samuel, Rick, and even Scarlett unconsciously slowed their breathing.
Scarlett had a terrible temper and acted impulsively, but she knew Rita well enough to know she would never joke about something this serious.
Rita lowered her voice even further.
Then she pulled a shabby gray pouch from her pocket.
The four slot bag she had obtained from Wheel of Fate's previous owner.
Right in front of them, she pulled out three lunch boxes far larger than the pouch itself.
Then she removed a tiny glass vial no bigger than a pinky finger.
Inside was a liquid that gleamed like a red gemstone.
She handed it to Rick.
"This is a healing potion from the game. Hurry. Try it and see if it works."
Rick accepted the vial with trembling hands.
The look in his eyes was complicated beyond words.
Shock.
Emotion.
Gratitude.
And jealousy.
"Hurry up and drink it," Rita urged.
Scarlett sounded even more anxious than she did, repeatedly pushing Rick to hurry.
Samuel's fists were clenched tightly enough that it looked like he wanted to force the potion down Rick's throat himself.
Rick tilted his head back and drank the potion.
Then...
Nothing happened.
His face darkened as he stared silently downward at his pants.
Still a nine centimeter boy.
Sinful Act.
Who had ever seen a male lead in a power fantasy novel reduced to single digits?
Nine centimeters.
Round it off and it was practically zero.
At that moment, Rick was grateful he was an actor.
Forcing a smile onto her face, Rita comforted him.
"Even if this one doesn't work, we still know these unbelievable things are real now. I caught this opportunity, so next time you might too."
Before anyone could respond, she continued.
"I originally wanted Zoey here today too. I hoped she could help investigate. A game this strange can't possibly have only chosen me. The Lopez family has influence. They definitely know more than ordinary people like us."
After calming himself, Rick finally asked,
"So what kind of ability did you get?"
"It's not really a skill," Rita replied casually. "More like a talent I drew randomly. It lets me make people lucky or unlucky. I can alter someone's Luck stat once a day."
She smiled.
"Want to try it? I can raise your Luck to 10. That's the maximum."
She had already decided that from now on, she would disguise her Divine Gift as Wheel of Fate.
It was simply too useful.
Not only could it alter luck, it also allowed the user to choose whether the target noticed the change.
Perfect for causing trouble.
Hide it when making someone miserable.
Show it when doing something nice.
Flawless.
Rick's emotions became tangled again.
The ability sounded useful, but not overwhelmingly powerful.
Not the sort of talent that completely separated people into different worlds.
Still, part of him regretted that it was not a healing type ability.
But those feelings vanished quickly.
The jealousy faded.
What remained was genuine gratitude.
A secret this huge...
And Rita was willing to share it with them.
Yes, she always held something back.
Yes, she never handed over all the money she earned.
But in this moment, those old resentments began dissolving.
He thought to himself:
Forget it.
I won't let Zoey keep suppressing her anymore.
I'll find some other way to make Zoey feel jealous.
Samuel's emotions were equally complicated.
Why couldn't his son have been the one to encounter such a miracle?
Yet at the same time, warmth spread through him.
He understood the son he had raised.
If Rick had obtained this opportunity instead, he might have shared scraps with the family.
But he never would have revealed everything so openly.
Scarlett felt the same way.
Part of her lamented that her son had missed out.
Another part felt her heart grow hot with emotion.
What a foolish girl.
Telling her family absolutely everything.
Rita opened the food containers and invited everyone to eat while they talked.
Then, somewhat sheepishly, she packed the pouch away.
Clearly implying that this item itself would not be shared.
Oddly enough, neither Samuel nor Rick felt uncomfortable this time.
Before, Rita regularly gave the family money, but to Samuel and Rick, who knew the family's true wealth, those sums meant little.
Her caution only made them think she was selfish and distrustful.
They had always believed she deliberately kept secrets from her own family.
But now?
After revealing something this extraordinary, even her obvious reservation did not feel offensive anymore.
Instead, they simply sighed inwardly.
Rita was still stingy as ever.
Of course, Rita had no telepathy.
She had no idea what the old fox and his little fox son were thinking.
But she followed her plan carefully and remained constantly vigilant.
In her previous life, Samuel and Scarlett only became players after the full game invasion began.
Their talents had been painfully average.
Still, Rita had already made up her mind.
If either of them hit the talent lottery this time...
She would erase them immediately.