Chapter 286
Chapter 286
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 286
Chapter Title: The Fourth Night (5)
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The moment I saw Diamante, I knew right away.
'An Apostle.'
A Creator who held a higher rank than even a Demon King could appoint a Demon Lord as their 'Apostle.'
A Demon Lord who became an Apostle could wield the Demon King's abilities and a portion of their Coins, possessing martial prowess far beyond that of ordinary lords.
It meant they were a being the Demon King truly trusted.
Lucar had just been a taste.
But the surprising part was...
'The real one's here.'
...I hadn't expected it this soon.
It had only been after the first game.
Though it was an absurdly overwhelming victory, I figured they'd observe a bit longer.
Losing 2,560 Coins was a painful blow, but they weren't even giving a chance to recover.
They swapped out the dealer the instant they lost.
In other words...
'You're more pressed for time than I thought, Demon King of Adversity.'
It meant they couldn't afford to waste even a single Coin.
Or perhaps there was some reason participants weren't allowed to amass large quantities of Coins.
Either way, it was good news.
Just the fact that there was now a non-zero chance of bankrupting the Demon King of Adversity in this 'Fourth Night' was enough to ignite my resolve.
"By the way, Participant 499,519. You're quite the intriguing human. Lucar shouldn't have lost so pathetically."
Participant 499,519?
Park Chan-woo nodded inwardly.
'Dealers can access a certain amount of participant information.'
It was as expected.
That's why I'd gone all-in on the first game.
The more data they accumulated, the better they could counter.
Only in the first game, with no information, could I disrupt the dealer so thoroughly.
'Participant numbers seem assigned based on entry order into the Fourth Night.'
Roughly around that time.
Having entered near the very end, they'd given me 499,519.
Park Chan-woo shrugged.
"Shame. I thought I could fleece you for more."
"That's why I'm here, isn't it?"
"Got enough Coins?"
"Plenty prepared. But no matter how I think about it, it's baffling. How did you have over two thousand Coins?"
"Don't they all have that much?"
He played innocent.
The demons hadn't pierced his true identity yet.
This was the probing phase.
They were racking their brains to figure out who this human was, one who held a quantity of Coins only the head of a church or a dictator could amass.
Clap!
Diamante clapped his hands.
"Fun. I love situations full of variables like this."
"What's the next game?"
When Park Chan-woo asked, Diamante glanced around and said,
"We'll run a very simple game that everyone here can join. It's an 'auction.'"
"An auction among ourselves?"
"With just six people?"
The others tilted their heads.
An auction was a competition where people bid higher prices on a set item.
This was a VIP room, but there were only five people gathered here. Six including Diamante.
"Ah, we're not participating in the auction ourselves."
"Then?"
"We choose the item. A thousand random participants in the casino right now will set the auction price for that item. Our game is to match the 'average value' they decide."
"...Couldn't the dealer know that 'average value'? This is your demons' world, after all."
When one man spoke sharply, Diamante chuckled softly.
"Shall I swear on the 'Messenger of Oaths'? I have no idea who those random thousand are, or what average auction price the participants set."
It was a reasonable claim.
The 'gambling system' involving Coins had to be fair in its own way.
It was a rule born from the Creators' own love of gambling.
If it even superficially violated fairness, the entire Creator Abyss could be deemed a 'rules violation' and wiped out.
The Demon King of Adversity wouldn't risk that.
Park Chan-woo stepped forward.
"Let's proceed."
"Then, we'll select the item for the first 'auction.' Each of you pick one piece of equipment or tool you have and present it. We'll go with the one valued the 'highest.'"
"How do you determine that 'value'?"
"Once you present your items, numbers will appear above them. Higher value means a higher number, lower means lower."
The one with the highest value...
It was a psychological battle.
No one knew the true value of their own items better than themselves.
It went without saying that using your own item for the auction would be advantageous in many ways.
But there was no guarantee the participants would bid fairly even if you did present one.
'This guy's got a good grasp on human psychology.'
Diamante.
Definitely tougher than the first dealer.
Which meant blindly putting out a high-value item here wasn't ideal.
Diamante would use the presented items to gauge the opponents too.
What to choose?
Something high-value, or go low?
"Seems everyone's decided. Shall we see what you've picked?"
Diamante held out a round bowl.
"'Vessel of the Thunder Bird.' A pretty useful treasure, right?"
A number indicating its value floated above the Vessel of the Thunder Bird.
"Hm, 500. Let's see what the others have..."
"I'm number one. Bow of the Celestial River!"
The man beside him confidently thrust out a massive bow.
Its value was clearly much higher than the 'Vessel of the Thunder Bird.'
The others also presented what they believed were their highest-value items.
None matched the Bow of the Celestial River.
Now it was Park Chan-woo's turn.
He presented his predetermined item without a care.
"...Well, you're just as entertaining as expected."
Diamante's smile deepened upon seeing it.
What Park Chan-woo had presented was none other than...
"A thousand Coins."
"You didn't say there was a limit on quantity."
"Haha, true. Never said anything like that."
Diamante clapped as if he'd been perfectly countered.
Soon, a number floated above the thousand Coins.
One thing became clear.
Each Coin was worth roughly 20 points.
"...Then let's start the auction. A message will go out to a thousand random participants asking how many Coins are fair for 'a thousand Coins.' We just need to match that 'average value.'"
First game.
People receiving the sudden message would take it seriously enough.
Or dismiss it as a joke.
Hitting the 'average' amid such varied psychologies was incredibly tough.
The game truly began.
Diamante pulled Coins from his pocket.
Clink!
"While participants set their auction prices, we place our bets."
Then the potbellied man spoke up.
"If you keep raising endlessly, it's awkward for us to join. Shouldn't there be a cap?"
"Oh, and the person whose item is selected becomes the dealer. If the dealer bets first, only those who can match that Coin amount join. If no one participates, the dealer's bet is lost entirely. However..."
Diamante took a deep breath before continuing.
"Even if the dealer loses, they take 10% of the pot."
...I see.
Pros and cons.
But becoming dealer meant minimal losses.
It also meant carefully considering how many Coins to bet.
'I'm the dealer.'
Under everyone's gaze, Park Chan-woo pondered.
How many to bet?
Only one winner.
In a winner-takes-all game, you wanted as many participants as possible to rake it in big.
After a moment's thought, he spoke.
"10 Coins."
"...That's manageable."
"Call!"
Everyone joined.
The pot for the first game totaled 60 Coins.
It ended faster than expected.
The question of a fair price for a thousand Coins in auction.
Obviously lower than a thousand.
Some might've put a ridiculous 1 Coin.
Somewhere in the middle.
'Above 500, below 800.'
One thing for sure: it'd exceed 500 for certain.
But unlikely to hit 800 or above.
Scribble.
He wrote a number.
'650.'
"665! I win!"
The potbellied man thrust both arms up high.
The number 665 on his left palm glowed.
'Everyone's thinking alike.'
Regrettable, but he'd learned something.
Diamante.
The guy's 'average value' was 670.
Diamante seemed pretty serious about it too.
He shrugged and said,
"Congratulations. 6 Coins—10% of 60—go to the dealer, and the remaining 54 to the one who matched the average."
Park Chan-woo got his 6 Coins back.
Having bet 10, he'd only lost 4.
"Then we'll continue. Time to pick the next auction item, but no duplicates allowed."
Same rules.
The highest-value item made its owner the dealer.
Fire lit in everyone's eyes.
They now realized how advantageous the dealer position was.
With a modest bet drawing in the crowd, even a loss meant minimal damage.
...No, wait.
Whoosh!
Whoooosh!
"Oh dear. More VIP guests have arrived."
The more participants, the more a losing dealer could even profit.
The new arrivals numbered four.
Total of 10 now!
Soon, messages about the game and rules appeared before them too.
While everyone familiarized themselves with the rules, the veterans eyed the newcomers.
Park Chan-woo was no different.
Except...
He was only looking at two of them.
'...Han Shin.'
...Among the new participants was Han Shin.
And one more.
'Lee Hyuk-soo.'
The worst possible combination had entered the VIP room.