Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Skill & Run One Card Poker Round 5 (2)
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"Haha! Smart thinking. In that case, me too! Hoo...!"
The Principal slightly lifted his mask to expose his mouth, then used [Portal Hand] to create a tiny dimensional gate.
And he took a little breath just for himself.
"Hahaha! Sorry to leave everyone except Dokgo Hyun Player out of breath. By the way, you have one minute left until the betting deadline!"
"Kuh...!"
Dokgo Hyun wanted to claw at his throat.
But even in this situation, he kept thinking.
'Think! Recall the memories!'
Dokgo Hyun activated a skill on his own memories.
Dokgo Hyun recalled every card used from Round 1 to Round 4.
'Round 1: 10, 7, 9. Round 2: 6, Q, 5. Round 3: 2, K, 3. Round 4: K(4), J, 8.'
The K(4) in Round 4 was originally a 4, but Dokgo Hyun had used a skill to swap it for a K.
In other words, excluding the case where he artificially swapped his 4 for a K, no identical cards had appeared.
'That means no duplicates so far. And no Aces at all. Is this a coincidence?'
Dokgo Hyun tried to shake his head, but it felt like his world was spinning.
"Dokgo Hyun Player! 40 seconds left! Feels like you might die from asphyxiation before then? Oh, and Na Youngho Player too?"
"Shut up."
In truth, Na Youngho was suffering just as much.
'Hard to maintain [Air Bow].'
Creating a barrage of air arrows was exhausting in itself, and he had to keep the skill active even while storing them in his inventory window.
'But drinking the Elixir now would be a waste. Save it for the absolute last resort.'
Instead, Na Youngho pulled out a bottle of Healing Potion and drank it.
Gulp!
His stamina recovered a bit.
Skills were tied to mana, but recovering stamina extended skill duration somewhat.
Around that time, Dokgo Hyun recalled Hint D again.
'Poker Round 5 Hint D: No identical cards appear in a single round, so rest easy.'
Dokgo Hyun was convinced.
'Come to think of it, the Principal emphasized "rounds" before.'
He had said it at some point after Na Youngho tore the cards.
'A new deck has been prepared, but the rounds of Skill & Run One-Card Poker continue without reset.'
He'd dismissed it as meaningless, but looking back, the word "rounds" had significance in relation to poker.
'Right. So that's what "round" means...'
Dokgo Hyun combined the fact that no cards had duplicated so far with Hint D and reached a conclusion.
'In this game, a "round" means a cycle where cards from 2 to A each appear at least once. Once a round ends, the next begins seamlessly. And no A has appeared yet.'
Since Dokgo Hyun hadn't drawn an A this round, combining his "round hypothesis" with Hint A made it highly likely Na Youngho had drawn it.
'The hypothesis isn't 100% perfect, but combining all hints and probabilities leads to the best decision.'
He reached a conclusion.
With a fading voice, he declared to the Principal.
"...Dr."
"Pardon? What was that?"
"This round... I fold...!"
Thud!
Dokgo Hyun slammed his head on the table and collapsed.
He was barely clinging to consciousness, but hypoxia made it impossible to hold himself up.
'Heh heh.'
The Principal chuckled inwardly.
'He figured out the rule.'
He shuffled the cards each time for show.
In reality, the Principal could distribute any card he wanted.
Not completely arbitrarily, but following two principles.
First: Distribute according to hints as much as possible.
Second: No duplicate cards within a single round.
The "single round" in the second principle wasn't like Round 1 or Round 2, but a term based on one deck.
'When all cards in a deck have been used once per suit. That's one full round.'
Dokgo Hyun had seen through these two principles.
Combining that no A had appeared yet with the hints gave the answer.
'This round ends Round 1 and starts Round 2.'
Dokgo Hyun organized his thoughts as consciousness slipped away.
'Up to now—in Round 1—no A appeared, so one must appear. I didn't draw it. Therefore, Na Youngho's card must be the A.'
This also explained Dokgo Hyun's K.
His K was from the new Round 2, not Round 1's K.
In essence, Round 5 bridged Round 1 and Round 2.
So despite drawing a high card like K, Dokgo Hyun boldly folded instead of calling Na Youngho's all-in.
"Dokgo Hyun Player loses! Na Youngho Player wins this round!"
Clatter!
The chips moved to Na Youngho.
Even holding the strongest card, A, he'd only gotten an ante pot, so Na Youngho's expression soured.
Not as bad as Dokgo Hyun's, though.
Dokgo Hyun's lips had turned blue from hypoxia.
"Now, entering the Run Phase!"
Flash!
Dokgo Hyun and Na Youngho were teleported somewhere.
"Hm."
Na Youngho got lucky with his teleport this round.
The Poker Room was just a short walk from the restroom.
'Did Dokgo Hyun die?'
He'd seen him collapse from hypoxia right after calling fold.
'No, he probably didn't.'
Dokgo Hyun should have one Elixir left.
Plus, from Mission 4, he'd taken out the sniper, so plenty of Healing Potions too.
'The question is, is he recovering on the rooftop? Or already healed and moving?'
To Na Youngho, Dokgo Hyun's skills were time-related with versatile applications.
'Rush in recklessly, and I'll get hit again.'
Especially with his stack of Wraith's Brands, a head-on fight was risky.
Na Youngho decided to gather the wraiths first.
"Listen up, wraiths!!!"
Na Youngho bellowed in the booming voice befitting the archery club captain.
"All of you, gather in the 3rd floor hallway!!! Come together, don't come alone!!!"
His shout would reach Dokgo Hyun too, but he didn't care.
"Don't rush Dokgo Hyun recklessly!! Come to me!! We'll block the Poker Room entrance together!!! Pile Wraith's Brands on him and kill him!!!"
Na Youngho had 6 Wraith's Brands stacked.
Dokgo Hyun had 3.
'If I charge the rooftop and he's already recovered? I'm dead.'
That's why he needed numbers and smart play.
With enough bodies, the "entrance block" strategy would work perfectly.
Slither...
Soon, all four wraiths gathered.
"Hey. Is that plan solid?"
The wraiths asked skeptically.
"Shouldn't we all head to the rooftop now? 5v1, we'd win easy?"
They'd been wiped 4v1 by Dokgo Hyun before, but repeated deaths fueled their confidence and revenge lust.
With Na Youngho fully cooperating, they felt they could win.
But Na Youngho shook his head.
"Have you ever beaten Dokgo Hyun even once?"
"..."
It was a bone-chilling fact.
"Truth is, neither have I. That bastard Dokgo Hyun is a fighting genius."
Na Youngho had scoffed at first, hearing rumors of Dokgo Hyun as a delinquent hunter—calling him crazy.
But now he knew.
Hunting humans, especially outnumbering foes solo, wasn't easy talk.
Dokgo Hyun didn't just brute-force with physicals; he fought with meticulous plans and stayed undefeated.
"Admit our limits. Play defensive. If he can't enter the Poker Room this round, his Wraith's Brands hit 6, weakening him big time."
"Hm..."
"Then next round, we go 5v1 like you said. We win 100%."
"Not a bad strategy, right?"
The wraiths nodded to each other.
'Got 'em.'
Na Youngho was certain.
Meanwhile, the wraiths harbored quiet doubts.
'We followed this guy, got killed by the rabbit monster, turned into wraiths... Can we really trust him again?'
Not that Na Youngho was lying.
He was an excellent ace as archery club vice-captain, but as leader, he relied too much on charisma.
Charisma didn't always equal command ability, especially for him.
The wraiths exchanged glances.
'One last shot.'
Spoiler: Na Youngho's judgment here proves wrong too.
Because Dokgo Hyun's body wasn't fully recovered yet.
Meaning if Na Youngho had charged the rooftop with the wraiths now, he could've killed Dokgo Hyun, who was just coming to.
Whoooosh...
The windy rooftop.
Dokgo Hyun lay in the center.
"Haaack?!"
He gasped deeply, eyes snapping open.
'Wh-what? What happened?'
Dokgo Hyun pieced together his memories.
Hypoxia collapse.
'Called fold right before blacking out.'
The rooftop wind must've helped him recover barely.
'Rooftop's the second teleport?'
Dokgo Hyun chugged a Healing Potion first.
Gulp gulp...!
He scanned around—no enemies.
His blackout delayed the teleport announcements for him and Na Youngho a bit.
Dokgo Hyun grasped the situation quickly.
'No wraiths coming to kill me yet, Na Youngho staying quiet—means defensive play.'
He predicted Na Youngho's strategy.
'Planning to keep me out of the Poker Room this round, stack my Wraith's Brands.'
Step step...
Dokgo Hyun dismissed Na Youngho's plan nonchalantly and headed to the rooftop water tank.
"Sorry, Na Youngho. No Round 6. This Run Phase ends it."
The main building 3rd floor hallway was quiet.
Na Youngho and the wraiths stood guard before 2nd Year Class 5—the Poker Room.
He'd ordered total silence, but they all thought the same.
'Why isn't he coming?'
Rrrring!!!
An ear-splitting noise.
The fire alarm.
"Fire...?"
Na Youngho muttered.
No flames visible, but he flinched.
'Did that bastard Dokgo Hyun set the school on fire for real?'
Outnumbered badly, mutual destruction by burning the school wasn't impossible.
'But torching a school isn't that easy.'
Main building was concrete, cafeteria separate.
'Above all, sprinklers are installed, and the alarm's blaring—so water's coming soon.'
As Na Youngho thought.
Sizzle...!
Whoosh...!!
Sprinklers activated.
Na Youngho sighed in relief.
"Whatever it is, no fire worry."
But his skin stung.
Cold water? No—smoke rose from his body.
"Huh?!"
"What the?!"
The wraiths writhed in pain too.
Sssizzle...!
Skin melted, then reddened instantly.
Now he noticed—the water didn't smell like tap water.
"Hydrochloric acid!"
"Aaaagh...!"
The wraiths collapsed powerless.
Na Youngho tried pulling [Air Bow].
Aim for air arrows into an air umbrella—but lacked strength for the skill.
One reason for rapid stamina drain.
"N-no way."
'Sprinkler water + acid + poison.'
Didn't know how, but Dokgo Hyun triggered the sprinklers after dumping acid and poison in the tank.
'Right, that bastard had an artifact.'
Blade with greenish tint—looked deadly.
'That was a venom and acid artifact!'