’Shit...’ He knitted his brows sternly and glanced at everyone’s picks.
Madam Future and Drayven were picked as Challengers.
The Ruiner and Levi were chosen as the challengee.
The Dealer lucked out on the option to sit the round out!
"Luck sure is on my side this game..."
The Dealer chuckled in amusement as he played around with a die in his hand... he took one last glance at Levi and the others, then he flicked the die in their direction and walked towards his room.
"I will be seeing you on the last round."
His playful voice resounded in everyone’s ears as they gazed at his back, getting further inside his room... The instant the door was closed, Levi switched his focus to the die lying on the ground.
He couldn’t help but show a deep frown at the number the Dealer rolled... a perfect six.
’How can you fight someone with fortune and luck on their side...’ Levi murmured inwardly, having a bad feeling about meeting the Dealer on the final round.
Before he could think too far about this, he suddenly heard Drayven’s cold voice directed at him.
"I am not going to use my Joker Card... if you have the guts, let’s duke it out."
Levi slowly turned his head to face him and then remained quiet... He was weighing the options of accepting his proposal.
’I am sure he isn’t going to use it... If he did, it would serve no purpose in his win. For him to mention duking it out means that he has only a Jack card and normal cards...’
Levi couldn’t afford to use a Joker card to cancel Drayven’s Jack card... after all, he still had the offensive priority.
This meant if he picked a Joker card and a high defensive card... the only positive result would be to survive for the next round. In turn, his Joker card would be transferred to Drayven, which would reduce his chances of winning the game.
On the other hand, if he allowed Drayven to use the Jack card, they would have a duel on their hand, and Levi wasn’t too sure if he was going to come out of it in one piece... To make it worse, he had already wasted his Queen card, which killed his chances of a full recovery.
’There is no way out... Drayven will get what he wants no matter what I do.’ Levi tapped his finger on the screen thoughtfully, ’It’s either giving up on a Joker card or accepting his duel.’
Levi knew that these two options weren’t even the worst... the real problem would be if Drayven was bluffing him and said that to bait him.
If Levi didn’t use his Joker card and Drayven used his own, it would create a big issue for Levi since Drayven had offensive priority.
All he needed to do was cancel Levi’s defensive card, which would leave him unguarded against his attacks.
Since Levi had already used the Queen card, he could no longer use double defensive stance... he would be forced to pick either an offensive card or another special card. Either way, they were useless when he had no offensive priority.
Three options... but the safest one was to use the Joker card. If Drayven wasn’t bluffing, he would win it. But Levi would still have a chance to recover it in the final round when he would have the offensive priority.
Meanwhile, the other two options had too much risk involved... a battle to the death before the final round or risk losing his life by trusting Drayven’s words.
In the end... Levi turned around and went inside his room without responding to Drayven. He had made up his decision, and he had no plans to share it with any of them.
"Coward."
Seeing his reaction, Drayven scoffed and went back to his room... he could already tell, Levi wasn’t taking him on his offer. He wasn’t bluffing as he truly planned on duelling Levi. But, regardless of what he said or swore upon, Levi had no intentions of putting his life based on Drayven’s word.
Someone who didn’t hesitate to wound himself, to bait him into challenging him.
As expected, the moment the battles kicked off, Drayven challenged Levi and Madam Future challenged The Ruiner.
Levi showed his chosen cards, which were the Joker and a low defensive card... meanwhile, Drayven brought an offensive and a defensive card. After Levi used the Joker card to negate his offensive card, their battle ended in a stalemate.
"Idiot... you are willing to give up on a Joker card in such a critical period." Drayven sneered as he held Levi’s chained-up Joker card after it was transferred to him.
"Keep it on you... I am coming for it." Levi replied indifferently.
"You don’t have the balls."
Drayven gave him a ridiculing look and walked away, having no plans to chit-chat with him. Seeing how their battle ended, many viewers were left disappointed, expecting an epic fight between them.
But, the intellectual ones understood that Levi’s move was the smartest one to make... if he was fighting anyway, he might as well fight in the last round and under his own terms.
A duel was happening, but Levi would be the one starting it.
Gamemaster Gamble swiftly switched the focus to Madam Future and The Ruiner... the viewers stopped whining about Levi’s cowardly-like decision and glued their eyes on the confrontation before them.
They knew that these two had the lowest number of Joker cards... one each. This meant one of them wasn’t making it out of this room if they still desired to have a chance at getting promoted.
As expected... none of them used the Joker card. Madam Future brought the Jack card and a high offensive card... Meanwhile, the Ruiner used the Queen card and a high defensive card.
"What a lineup!" Gamemaster Gamble shouted with a thrilled tone, "Will Madam Future use the Jack card first or the sword card?!"
The priority was important since if she decided to use the sword card first, the Ruiner could use the Queen card to gain immunity and heal his wounds.
However, if she used the Jack card first... the rules of the cards no longer applied. It was a free duel to the death, which negated the Queen card’s effect.
With these notes in mind, the choice was easy.
"May the worthiest win."
Madam Future said expressionlessly as she activated the Jack card, freeing them from the system’s constraints.
"I am not fond of hitting beautiful ladies... my apologies." The Ruiner showed a gentle smile as he rolled his sleeves, "You’re about to witness an unsightly version of me."
Despite the name and his lineage... the Ruiner looked and sounded way different from someone born out of a lineage known for anger issues.
He was a muscular red-skinned man with a well-kept hairstyle... his wavy, long hair was milky white, unlike his skin. His eyes, eyelashes, and lips were white as well. He had long pointy ears, which were pierced with crystals.
If it weren’t for the small black curly horns protruding from his forehead, he would be mistaken for a unique human, and not another race.
He was wearing a red suit with silver chains hanging from the jacket and the pants as decoration... his shoes were white and had crystals.
His entire appearance was peculiar, from his outfit choice to his gentle, silent persona. For a race known to wield and master the Wrath Aspect... he looked awfully chill?