Chapter 54. Fortune and Misfortune (5)
Majesty Yoo Jaeha cursed and glared at Basil.
Making us gamble with lifespan?
He had clearly recognized Jaeha and deliberately proposed this game.
Sure enough—
"I certainly didn't expect the Majesty of Creation to come crawling into our territory of his own free will."
I knew it.
Basil regarded Jaeha with arrogant eyes.
His mocking expression seemed to ask whether Jaeha had really been foolish enough to walk into a tiger's den.
It made Jaeha's blood boil.
He shouted angrily:
"You said the competition was supposed to be fair! How the hell is this fair?!"
"You're the manager of this place!"
"You must have an enormous lifespan thanks to everything accumulated here!"
"You could press those buttons hundreds of times!"
Despite Jaeha's outburst, Basil leisurely polished his monocle.
"If you disliked those conditions, you shouldn't have accepted the challenge."
"This city was built so that those who possess an unfair advantage may enjoy the difference between themselves and everyone else."
I'm telling you, I wasn't the one who accepted the challenge! That bastard did!
Majesty Jaeha clutched his forehead.
But when he saw the light in Jooheon's eyes as his hand hovered over the buttons, Jaeha realized that refusing to play would probably cost him his entire lifespan before the game even began.
Stay calm.
Survival comes first.
We just have to win the game, right?
To do that, they needed to select the horse with the highest Fortune.
That would give them the best chance of victory.
Apparently, Jooheon understood this too.
He gestured toward the contestants.
"You're picking the horse."
"Your Fortune is higher than mine."
"!"
Jaeha felt his blood rush to his head at Jooheon's order.
Still, he decided to remain calm.
Ultimately, the guaranteed way to win this game is to select the contestant with the highest initial Fortune.
The distinctive insight of a Majesty appeared in Jaeha's eyes.
[Authority of Creation.]
[Object Appraisal activated.]
Appraisal information appeared before him.
No. 1: Muscular man. Excellent stamina, but terrible luck today. (Fortune: D)
No. 2: Agile woman. Good equipment, but poor concentration. (Fortune: D)
No. 3: Experienced middle-aged man. Plenty of experience, but almost no stamina remaining. (Fortune: D)
No. 4: Athletic woman. Clear eyes and light, agile movements. (Fortune: C)
No. 5: Elderly man with a limp. (Fortune: F)
Jaeha's gaze settled on contestant number four.
"That one!"
"Number four!"
Unlike the others, a faint golden aura surrounded the woman's head.
She was the person most blessed by this city's system today.
If nothing interfered with the race, she would undoubtedly finish first.
"Number four!"
"She's the luckiest one here!"
"Please, for the love of everything, bet on her!"
My lifespan is on the line!
If they selected number four and Jooheon refrained from doing anything stupid, they would have a reasonable chance of competing even if Basil piled on every buff imaginable.
At the very least, they could avoid the worst possible outcome of losing huge chunks of lifespan.
Jooheon glanced at contestant number four and smiled wickedly.
"She's the luckiest?"
"Yes! You can't fool my eyes!"
Jooheon nodded and reached toward the buttons.
Jaeha was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
But Jooheon's finger wasn't moving toward number four.
[Selection complete.]
[Racehorse No. 5.]
"......?"
Silence.
"???"
Jaeha's mind went blank.
Number five?!
The limping old man who looked as though he might collapse at any moment?!
He was clearly nothing more than a disposable extra in this race.
"Hey..."
"Your finger slipped, right?"
"You were trying to press number four and accidentally hit the button beside it, right?"
"Please tell me that's what happened."
"Nope. I pressed the right one."
Jooheon chuckled and began repeatedly pressing the button.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
"It's boring when the luckiest person wins."
"Isn't it much more exciting when the unluckiest contestant pulls off a dramatic victory?"
"Don't you agree?"
"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!"
Jaeha almost grabbed Jooheon by the collar.
But he stopped himself.
"No, listen, rookie."
"Think about this for a second."
He took a deep breath and tried to explain as rationally as possible.
"We can compensate for weak physical abilities with Artifacts."
"Explosives on their ankles? Disasters?"
"Equipment can take care of those things."
"That's why we should choose someone with at least a little more Fortune—"
Jooheon interrupted him.
"I'm going to make sure nobody can use Artifacts anyway."
"...What?"
Jaeha stared blankly at him.
Jooheon continued calmly.
"With misfortune."
"......"
Jaeha's face slowly twisted.
"THEN THAT MAKES EVEN LESS SENSE!"
"If you're going to stop everyone from using Artifacts, you should at least pick someone with good physical abilities!"
"That means number one, not number five!"
"The muscular guy! He's got the best stamina!"
Then Jooheon casually pointed at the limping old man.
"That guy is a Majesty."
"...What?"
Jaeha's mind stopped working.
"W-What did you just say?"
At that moment, Jooheon picked something up.
[Declaration of Plunder Right]
Activates a declaration against one designated Majesty: ‘That Artifact does not belong to you.’
If the declaration is accepted, the target Artifact enters a ‘Disputed’ state.
During a dispute, diplomatic relations, alliances, and neutrality treaties are automatically terminated.
If a Disputed Artifact is destroyed, one adjacent Artifact submits.
[Do you wish to use this right?]
[The declaration may be exercised against Majesty-class entities within range.]
