Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: One-on-One Rock-Paper-Scissors (2)
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Paht!
Both of them played rock again.
The mood between them warmed up.
At least on the surface.
"Wow, already the final round. It's been intense, hasn't it?"
The dealer grinned as if she could see right through everything.
"Alright, last three minutes! Flipping the hourglass!"
Clack.
Saraharak...
"Okay then."
Oh Younghee first filmed Dokgo Hyun with the [Camera of Truth] and asked her question.
"Dokgo Hyun. You're not going to betray me this round and play rock, right?"
"As long as you don't betray me, of course I'll play rock."
Dokgo Hyun spoke the truth.
Oh Younghee smiled faintly.
"That's a pretty thorough answer. So, as long as I don't betray you, you won't betray me either, right?"
"Of course!"
Dokgo Hyun sounded resolute, but Oh Younghee sneered inwardly.
'Ridiculous. This is the final round—how are you going to verify if I betrayed you or not? By the time you check, the best-of-three will already be over!'
That was right.
In rock-paper-scissors, betraying in the final third round made verifying, condemning, or demanding compensation pointless and impossible.
'Defeat means death.'
In game theory's finite repeated games, if the payoff for betrayal in the last round was high with no downside, betraying at the end was always profitable.
Especially here: cooperation without betrayal led to a draw with no gain for either side, but betrayal rewarded full absorption of the opponent's mana—a massive incentive.
So Oh Younghee mocked him silently.
"My turn then."
Oh Younghee filmed herself with the camera and told Dokgo Hyun to ask.
But his question was bizarre.
"Oh Younghee. If you've lied to me even once, does that mean I can kill you then?"
"...What?"
Such an aggressive question out of nowhere.
Her own skill urged Oh Younghee to respond.
Of course, no matter what lie she told, it would register as truth...
Oh Younghee calmed her racing heart and answered nonchalantly.
"I don't know why you're asking that, but my answer is of course 'yes'."
Then the judgment came.
As the skill's owner, Oh Younghee could always force a truth judgment, even on lies.
"See? Believe me now?"
Oh Younghee asked confidently.
Dokgo Hyun's expression didn't change.
"Sorry if I'm being overly suspicious, but I had to worry about a third possibility."
"What's that? What possibility?"
"That your skill has some hidden ability. Like, it forces truth from others, but lets you lie and still get a 'truth' judgment."
"...!!"
Oh Younghee flinched.
Dokgo Hyun's suspicion was eerily sharp.
"Why suspect that?"
"Your skill's B-Grade."
It was just a hunch, but Dokgo Hyun laid out his reasoning.
"The premise of this reasoning is that 'B-Grade is never a low rank'."
Dokgo Hyun didn't have many samples to judge rank differences, but comparing his S-Grade skill [Time Distortion] and the B-Grade weapon Venom Knife, he concluded B-Grade wasn't weak.
"A B-Grade skill with zero combat utility that imposes no penalty on opponents' lies? That made me think there must be at least one hidden special ability. Probably an extra one just for the user."
Oh Younghee fell silent at his point.
Dokgo Hyun pressed on.
"Plus, there's one decisive hunch that made me suspect you. You never asked about my skill."
"That's suspicious?"
"Yeah. In this death game, skills seem to play a big role. So it's common sense to ask about the opponent's skill when revealing your own honestly. But for some reason, you didn't ask about mine at all."
"I don't get it. Why's that suspicious?"
"If we both clear this bonus mission with a draw? We both survive and move to the next one. But if I know your skill and you don't know mine, you're at a huge disadvantage next round."
"Ah...!"
Even if Dokgo Hyun had no intention of spreading her skill info, Oh Younghee had to guard against it—from her perspective, it'd be devastating.
"In other words, no matter what skill I have, you planned to 'win' through rock-paper-scissors. The intent to win and kill me was deeply embedded in your subconscious. That's why you didn't bother asking about my skill."
"Ugh...!"
"Barring that, it doesn't make sense to freely reveal your own skill without asking about the opponent's. Once I reached that conclusion, my suspicion solidified into certainty. That your skill explanation has lies mixed in. In other words!"
Dokgo Hyun spoke with inner conviction.
"The camera definitely discerns truth and lies for those it films. But as the owner, you can lie and it always judges as truth... that's the possibility."
"..."
"But this is just a hunch. Skills are hard to prove concretely."
"Then why spell out this reasoning right to my face?"
"Ah, that's just my personality."
Dokgo Hyun grinned.
Seeing that smile, Oh Younghee flinched again.
It felt like a monster in human skin grinning wide and acting friendly.
Chills ran down her spine.
"Oh Younghee. I'm the type who commits once I've resolved to. If it's for a reason I can convince myself of, I accept any backlash later without complaint. But you're ambiguous right now. I can't tell if you're actually deceiving me or not. And besides..."
Dokgo Hyun repeated his earlier words.
"I said this before: 'As long as you don't betray me, of course I'll play rock.' Since it's just a hunch so far, I'll play rock as promised until your betrayal is confirmed."
Dokgo Hyun extended his fist.
"That's it. I explained at length for my own satisfaction and basic courtesy toward you. Sorry it was so long."
Oh Younghee couldn't grasp Dokgo Hyun's logic.
She'd heard it all, but it didn't sink into her head.
'What? Why reveal his suspicions outright? What the hell...?'
If he truly suspected her, he could've tricked her instead.
Yet Dokgo Hyun laid it all out honestly.
"For real?"
"Of course. I keep my promises. Film me with the camera again if you want."
With him responding that way, Oh Younghee didn't hesitate.
Click!
She filmed Dokgo Hyun with the [Camera of Truth].
"Dokgo Hyun! Unless my betrayal is verified, you'll really play rock this round?"
"Yeah."
Oh Younghee grew even more confused.
'What is this? Does he have some trick I don't know? No way?'
She realized Dokgo Hyun was about to use a 'skill'.
But she couldn't imagine what.
Then the dealer shouted.
"Time's up! Rock! Paper! Scissors!"
In that instant, Oh Younghee's mind raced.
'I have to play paper!'
Paht!
Dokgo Hyun played rock as promised.
Meanwhile, Oh Younghee...
"Paper?"
Oh Younghee spread her palm for paper.
'I-I won?'
Oh Younghee took a moment to realize in a daze.
"D-Did I really win?"
"Yeah. You won. Congrats."
"Kyahaha! I won! I won!"
Oh Younghee jumped up and down.
Dokgo Hyun's attitude seemed off, but a win was a win.
As long as time wasn't forcibly rewound, her victory was set in stone.
The dealer smiled and congratulated her too.
"Congratulations, Oh Younghee. With the victory declaration, we'll settle the mission. The winner of this bonus mission is Oh Younghee. That's you!"
"Oh, yes! Awesome!! I'm alive!!"
Oh Younghee even did a tap-dance-like jig in place.
Dokgo Hyun sat calmly.
'Gotta time this perfectly.'
"Dokgo Hyun. You lose."
"Hmm, is that so?"
"Now we'll settle with your life!"
Unavoidable death loomed over Dokgo Hyun.
In other words, the activation condition for [3-Minute Regression]—'right before death'—was met.
Dokgo Hyun returned three minutes prior.
Dokgo Hyun ignored the system message visible only to him and focused on reality.
It was the start of the final third round.
"Oh Younghee. If you've lied to me even once, does that mean I can kill you then?"
"...What?"
Such an aggressive question out of nowhere.
It was her first time from Oh Younghee's view, but Dokgo Hyun had already asked it.
He recited the same reasoning word-for-word.
'Gotta follow the exact same flow.'
After hearing the full reasoning, Oh Younghee used her skill again.
"Dokgo Hyun! Unless my betrayal is verified, you'll really play rock this round?"
"Yeah."
Oh Younghee grew even more confused.
'Same as before the regression.'
Dokgo Hyun had deliberately made it so.
'That way I can predict what she'll play.'
So he repeated his explanation verbatim, not missing a syllable.
Oh Younghee's reactions were identical too.
Then the dealer shouted.
"Time's up! Rock! Paper! Scissors!"
Paht!
Oh Younghee played paper, just like before the regression.
But what Dokgo Hyun played was.
"...Scissors?"
"Yeah."
Dokgo Hyun grinned.
"My win."
"N-No way!"
Oh Younghee shot to her feet.
"You, you! How did you lie!"
"I didn't lie."
"You said you'd play rock until my betrayal!"
"Yeah. And you betrayed me."
Oh Younghee had played paper.
Her action violated their promise to play rock for a draw.
"So how did you know I'd betray you beforehand!!"
"That's my skill."
"What?"
"[Lie Detection] is my skill."
Of course, it was a lie.
Dokgo Hyun's real skill was [Time Distortion].
In other words, he'd lied even to Oh Younghee on the brink of death.
"Match decided."
The dealer beamed.
"Congratulations, Dokgo Hyun. With the victory declaration, we'll settle the mission. The winner of this bonus mission is Dokgo Hyun. That's y—"
"I don't accept iiiit!!!"
Oh Younghee shrieked and flipped the desk.
Crash!!
The dealer frowned.
"How unsightly, Oh Younghee. Settle!"
The moment the dealer uttered the keyword.
Paht!
Mana began draining from Oh Younghee's body.
"Kyaaah...!"
Her scream didn't last long.
Oh Younghee collapsed and died.
Her mana flowed into Dokgo Hyun.
"Ugh!"
Dokgo Hyun felt skill activation become much smoother.
'My time sense feels sharper.'
With higher mana, he sensed the passive effect of [Time Distortion].
He could feel time's normal flow through his body, sensing seconds as precisely as a decent wristwatch.
"Quite cold-blooded."
The dealer remarked, watching Dokgo Hyun immediately check himself.
"A friend from the same school just died—doesn't it bother you?"
"Killing an innocent would prick my conscience, sure. But this one blatantly tried to screw me over at the end."
Dokgo Hyun wasn't some psychopath, but in certain ways, he was colder than one.
'In a life-or-death gamble, I go all out. If there's reason to kill, I don't hesitate.'
"And crucially."
Dokgo Hyun stated flatly.
"She's not a school friend. She's just a rival player."
Dokgo Hyun finished explaining.
The dealer smirked.
"Heh. Someone like you... might actually reach the 'Gate'."
"Gate? What door is that?"
"Oops, slip-up."
The dealer mimed zipping her lips.
"Anyway, time to move to the next zone. The others are ready."
"Sure."
Dokgo Hyun opened the door and was transported elsewhere.