The Absolute Value Game

"This is ridiculous...!"

Greed despaired.

Losing streak after losing streak in a game he had been certain he would win—anyone would despair under those circumstances.

A pure game of chance. A contest of who simply had the better luck. In that arena, I never lost.

Crushing someone under absolute value? That little trick did not work on me either.

Because I could see it.

The odds themselves.

No matter how thoroughly someone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tried to dazzle the eyes or hide the truth, Golden Grace always picked out the probability. It was not a perfect one hundred percent, but accuracy like this was more than enough.

I had started with seven thousand. Now it was thirty-seven thousand. Converted into coin alone, that was three hundred seventy million gold.

"...We'll change the game."

Greed raised the white flag. He had finally recognized that he could never win at odd-even.

A wise choice, if one could call it that.

The next game, however, was hardly any different.

"Next is higher or lower. Guess whether the gold I pick out is above or below a certain amount."

Odd-even, then higher-lower.

Was this bastard actually a Golden Goblin in the purest sense of the word?

If this place had been a casino, he would have tried to pull tricks or lure me into a scam. Instead, Greed pursued gambling in its purest form—crushing the opponent with nothing but overwhelming gold and value.

Of course, even that was never a guaranteed one hundred percent, so I still could not fully relax.

Clink-clink-clatter!

An enormous quantity of gold coins rose from the treasure heap into the air—far more than before.

"Bet. You have five seconds."

"All in."

"...?"

All in?

Greed doubted his own ears.

What is this guy doing?

The human had not won every single round. He had alternated wins and losses with exquisite precision, steadily bleeding Greed of value the entire time. Greed had taken him for a gambler who only ever played safe games within safe margins.

All in?

"Think carefully. The moment you lose every last scrap of value, all that remains is that pathetic body of yours!"

Only those who lost everything—or those who possessed everything—could leave this place. And Greed had never once lost everything inside his own domain. No matter how lucky someone was, a single mistake in a game like this could strip them bare.

"All in."

I stated it with finality, as if I had no intention of changing my mind whatsoever.

Greed smiled faintly.

He's taken the bait.

The first game had only been a warm-up. Could the human actually call this one correctly?

Rumble! Rrrumble!

Even more gold coins floated into the air—numbers no living being, human or otherwise, could ever hope to count.

"One billion gold. Higher or lower? Ten seconds."

He would have to think carefully before answering.

But if one truly thought carefully, the answer was painfully obvious.

Greed's original value had been around two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hundred thousand. Of that, the Golden Essence and the Vessel of Greed together accounted for sixty thousand. Add the thirty thousand I had already taken through betting, and the total reached ninety thousand. Pure gold alone, therefore, was obviously "lower" than one billion.

We had been playing exclusively with pure gold, after all—not the other treasures.

"Ten, nine..."

"Neither higher nor lower."

Greed's brow furrowed.

"...Neither higher nor lower? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly one billion gold."

Greed was inwardly rattled.

How did he know?

Observation-type skills were unusable in his presence. That meant the human would have had to count them one by one—and no human could count one billion gold coins in ten seconds. No one could. Not a million, not ten million, not a hundred million—one billion. How was anyone supposed to count that in ten seconds?

"Are you certain?"

"I am."

"I will give you one last chance to change your answer."

"Your tongue is long."

"...Correct..."

He could not understand it. But one fact was now crystal clear: he would never defeat this human in any game that involved assigning numbers.

"Next. Let's play the next game."

He would need something far more complex and difficult.

Sweet. So sweet my teeth felt ready to rot.

The Golden Essence. At last, a crafting material for Unique-grade equipment had fallen into my hands.

All that remained to pry from him was the Vessel of Greed. Maze exploration had already been wiped clean from my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind. That was no longer important. Fleecing the sucker standing right in front of me was far more important.

It isn't only Golden Grace. I also have the Great Sage.

Alongside the Hidden Trait Golden Grace, I possessed the Great Sage—a function that delivered precise information together with probability. Ordinary observation skills had been sealed, but even Greed could not seal a Hidden Trait.

Unlike the odd-even games where he had tried to conceal things, the higher-lower game had been conducted openly. There the Great Sage's function had been absolute. The exact figure of one billion gold had been displayed right before my eyes.

"Ah... aaah...!"

In the end, Greed dropped to his knees.

I had sucked him dry down to the very last drop. Greed's treasure vault now stood empty. The Golden Essence, the Vessel of Greed, every gold coin and every treasure—I had swept them all away.

But I was not the sort to be satisfied with that alone.

"M-my treasures...!"

"You still have one more thing to wager, don't you?"

"What is left?"

"Your body."

The body of the Golden Goblin who bore the name Greed still remained.

Greed stared at me as if he could not believe what he was hearing—as if asking what kind of greedy bastard I was supposed to be.

Greed thought.

He had only been flustered because he had never been driven this far before. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠One thing still remained—the single greatest value of all. Everything he possessed had been assigned a value, yet there was still one thing whose value had never been measured.

Greed himself.

Even if every treasure in this place were piled together, it would not compare to his own "value."

Peace returned to Greed's face. It was not over until it was over.

"Insufficient."

"What is insufficient?"

"The value you currently hold is not enough to play a game against me."

"Two hundred thirty-seven thousand is still not enough?"

Two hundred thirty-seven thousand. That was worth two billion three hundred seventy million gold at minimum. An amount that could buy a small city, and it was insufficient?

Greed nodded.

"I will wager everything I am. In return, you must likewise wager everything you are."

"And what exactly do we do once we have both put everything on the line?"

"Value!"

He was still talking about value. But from the moment he had dismissed two hundred thirty-seven thousand as insufficient, it was clear he was speaking of "value" in an entirely new phase.

"Let us wager our value itself—yours against mine."

"A bet on whose value is higher, yours or mine?"

"Exactly that. Whether your value is greater, or mine! The side with the higher value wins. It is only natural that the one of greater value conquers the one of lesser value!"

Greed was confident. This was a game he could not possibly lose.

Driving him this far was impressive; he would give the human that much credit. Among countless challengers, this was a first. Of all who had ever reached the Golden Abyss, this one stood at the top.

But your winning streak ends here.

Ruler of the Golden Abyss. That title alone carried immense value. Across eons of time, the only Golden Goblin who had ever been named "Greed" was himself. Even the countless Golden Goblins of the Abyss had never possessed that name. Why? Because he possessed the value—and the qualification—to claim it.

He had coveted and gathered every treasure, approaching everything with pure desire alone. He had become one with the Abyss, dominated the Abyss itself, and seized the name Greed. Would such a being be assessed as having lower value than a mere human?

He had never once measured his own value, yet—

I am the king of all gold.

From the beginning of time, gold had been treated as the highest form of value. As the king of that gold, his own value could only be the highest in the world.

"How exactly is each of our values assessed? What is the standard?"

"Do not worry. My authority objectively measures the value of all things. Even if the subject were a god, I can still render judgment."

He would not cheat. A game born of pure desire. Only luck, instinct, and resolve would be tested.

So accept it.

Just as he always had. Go ahead and accept with confidence. No matter how lucky the human was, luck would not work in this "value game." Only one's own value would serve as the criterion. There was no room for luck or tricks of any kind. A completely different game from everything that had come before. Would he dare accept?

"Hmm..."

"Afraid? I understand. But you were the one who said we should wager everything. If you refuse, everything you have won until now will turn to foam."

Greed had proposed the type of game, but the human had been the one to propose gambling itself. Demanding that Greed wager his body had pulled the trigger. Therefore the human could not back down. The moment he retreated, he would lose everything he had gained through the games so far.

Accept or refuse—either way was fine with Greed. He found the structure extremely pleasing.

He's hesitating.

...And watching that attitude of Greed's, I was hesitating as well.

Of course, the overconfident posture had been there from the start, so it did not particularly bother me. I was simply curious about the clear standard by which "one's own value" would be judged.

Value judgment changes depending on what standard you set.

Value itself shifted according to the criterion. Just as every previous game had used "gold" as the standard of value, the same standard could be applied this time. If, for example, the assessment centered on "the total amount of gold one can earn until death," then I would obviously be at a disadvantage. He never died; I eventually would. An immortal Greed who endlessly accumulated gold would hold an overwhelming edge.

...Amazingly, Greed has been gambling in pure form this entire time.

I shifted my thinking. Walk into any casino and techniques were always in play—dazzling the eyes, scams, intimidation. Commonplace. Yet Greed had been conducting textbook gambling. At the very least, his desire for gambling itself was utterly pure. Even when he held the advantageous high ground, he did not cheat. Simply having more money and freely deciding the games did not constitute cheating.

He had been consistent so far. Should I trust that he would remain consistent now?

The rulers of the Abyss have been set in their ways for a very long time. That never changes.

No—I trusted my own judgment. Every Abyss ruler I had ever seen possessed a mind that had hardened. They had spent so long in the Abyss that the thinking formed across that time never softened again. The stubbornness, the obstinacy of pushing forward with whatever they had once decided—I could see the same in Greed. He would not pull any underhanded nonsense.

I reached my conclusion.

"Fine. Proceed."

"Kuhahaha! Excellent! Let us settle the true contest of value! A true contest of value I have never once conducted across all these long ages! Rejoice! Cheer! Have confidence!"

His tongue was needlessly long.

...Was this bastard also in the Serengeti category?

Gracia rubbed his neck once.

That damned woman...

Saintess Sea. He had never expected that bitch to suddenly attack him. Even his sixth sense had failed to read any hostile intent. She had tried to kill him as naturally as flowing water, without a shred of murderous aura. If he had not been on guard from the start, it would have been dangerous.

I don't know why Saintess Sea is still alive, but she is not normal.

He had meant to kill her, yet the whole business felt so unpleasant that he had left her alive. Killing a Saintess with his own hands would have been awkward in any number of ways. Besides, if he left her breathing she would go around obstructing other maze challengers on her own.

"...Here it is."

Gracia had swept up tickets while hunting event monsters with a thousand swords. Once he gathered a thousand tickets, the path opened, and at last he arrived before the door that held Sword Saint Ryleigh.