episode_0024

“Hoo hoo… Hoo-ahp! Hoi-it!”

Struggling with joy, Penelope wielded Varisada and moved her body back and forth like she couldn’t control it.

Watching Penelope take on various strange poses as if doing yoga, Balkan’s eyes were half-lidded.

“…It’s good to be so confident, but it’s better to avoid fighting with Yudahee as much as possible.”

“What… Is this possibly a knockoff?”

Avoiding a fight when there’s no shortage of it. “No, it doesn’t make sense to hand over a custom weapon to the contractor and then tell them to avoid fighting. Isn’t that nonsense?!”

It doesn’t make sense unless you handed over the weapon. This was beyond explanation. At his words, Balkan bowed his head and closed his eyes.

Even though Balkan was at the top of his game in assessing opponents, he could only see a 50/50 chance for Yudahee and Penelope to clash. It was a calculation based solely on pure skill, without introducing any ‘variables.’

“Just by watching the video, there wasn’t much to see… Whether it’s cutting down a goddess or fighting in the forest, it’s all psychological warfare, isn’t it? I could do that too.”

“Tsk, foolish.”

“Wow, a god calling his own contractor foolish!”

“That’s because you only saw the surface and didn’t see the essence. If you could see inside, you wouldn’t judge so easily.”

Balkan predicted with very high probability that Yudahee had experienced countless deaths and rebirths, or something comparable.

Closing the narrow gap characteristic of a regressionist, stepping faster to increase the attack speed. Other gods might have noticed, but at his age, it was impossible to gauge how many deaths one had to experience to possess that level of sense.

Regression… Who was the deity capable of regressing a target, turning back time? Muttering to himself, lost in thought, while Penelope was rapidly flipping through Yudahee’s videos.

And finally, the scene of planetary destruction arrived.

In an instant, along with the cameras going dark, the sight of the pierced planet…

“Wow, how can I block that?”

Even if Penelope and even Penelope’s father came at me with their swords, could I withstand that blow?

However, Penelope’s gaze was not one of despair, but rather a thorough analysis.

It simply meant I couldn’t block that blow… not that I couldn’t counter it.

The contracted spirit is of the summoning type, and the reason those present didn’t rush in was due to mutual restraint, so within a 30-meter range, a preemptive strike is quite feasible.

The best defense is offense.

By forcibly distorting before the summoning is complete or compelling a dodge to cancel it, it’s entirely possible.

I’ve grown accustomed to their movements.

Barisada swings round and strikes at the virtual Yudahee… Although she didn’t sever the neck in one stroke, she left a deeper wound than expected.

After that, it’s just clinging on to drain her stamina.

Unlike a sword, which can handle close combat situations, an axe tends to lose its effectiveness when directly confronted.

If I’m not going to cut through their body, I can’t swing carelessly; instead, I force Parashu’s ring part to entangle them.

After forcing Parashu to fall, I’ll engage in unarmed combat-

“Hmm… There’s no specific data here.”

The opponent seemed to have some skill with the axe, but it would be absurd to assume the axe was their primary weapon.

After all, what Yudahee holds is the most exceptional item she possesses.

No one knows for sure which weapon is her most familiar.

Having only participated once, there was a severe lack of accumulated data.

Instead of immediately engaging, perhaps I should bring others along to extract some combat data… I thought.

“Still, it’s somewhat manageable…?”

There were many more irrational situations than this.

No matter the 1:7 battle against snipers trying to thwart her victory, or encountering enemies and reaching for a random weapon crate only to find her opponent wielding Flamberge while she got a butter knife, Penelope persevered through it all. She stood here, triumphant.

Referred to by other contractors and deities as-

The Divine of the Grandmaster, SSR-ranked contractor of Balkan.

[Sword Saint Penelope.]

Penelope was brimming with confidence.

It was a bothersome task inspired by whim, but wouldn’t it be proper to go out for a bit after so long?

However, what truly concerned Balkan was…

“Still, don’t fight Yoo Dahee.”

“Why on earth not?!”

Even if it seemed impossible to win no matter what strategy was used, why did Balkan keep insisting on this irritating talk about running away?

“It’s not exactly Yoo Dahee… It’s about not fighting the one behind her, Dike. I don’t ask for much. Aim for third place. Just achieving that will make it your record-breaking performance.”

“Third, third place…?”

Really, Penelope felt like this dwarf deity might have dementia. Even the record she had brought in alone exceeded five. Huh? Third place? That would be a record-breaking performance?

“…Is the inspiration acting really strange right now? Besides, Dike, isn’t that the Goddess of Justice? But… doesn’t seem to know anything.”

Penelope, rolling around in her blanket, seemed to have already reviewed all the past matches. A typical lazy genius.

Among them, there was also the previous contractor of Dike, Malcolm’s image…

Truly unremarkable, an ordinary contractor who relied solely on the advantage of physique difference with no tricks.

And there was no sign of any ability specifically attributed to Dike.

One, two, three times, no matter how many times she reviewed, there was no trace of any ability related to Dike. What was there to be cautious about?

However, as I continued to watch… something caught my eye.

It wasn’t just some visible ability.

“Why does Malcolm, the contractor, keep ranking within the top 20…?”

There seemed to be no hidden talent or anything of that sort in his skills, but after each match, his rankings consistently stood out to Penelope.

50th, 41st, 20th, 38th, 81st, 19th, 55th, 18th…

A miraculous pattern emerged, with him entering the top 20 almost every other round, excluding the point-deferred range from 50th to 21st.

Even if he had been eliminated twice in a row, the next day he would miraculously rank within the top 20 for three consecutive times.

Watching the game footage, it was truly a miracle.

Penelope, who had begun to pay attention to Ingram’s words, was now starting to feel concerned.

Starting alone in a place where battles between contractors were nowhere to be found, or turning around to find a supply box right at the lucky spot! Such events repeated themselves.

In a game where such miracles occurred countless times, they all appeared uniformly.

And the problem was not just that.

“The probability of finishing the game within the top 20… is 51%?”

Just accumulating rounds alone easily exceeded 150 games.

Whether few or many… It’s impossible for a contractor to consistently maintain a win rate of over 50% while participating in the arena every time.

Moreover, if that contractor couldn’t even reach the level of SR intermediate…?

It’s not strange that their name isn’t known… it’s the opposite.

“No! This doesn’t make sense?!”

It was as if using the Martingale betting system in a casino and winning without a single failure was happening in the arena.

Furthermore, the points that Dike was taking away were also showing a slight but clear upward trend, clear evidence.

So far… let’s assume that coincidences overlapped and simply attribute it to good luck.

There are many things in this world that are incomprehensible, so let’s consider this as one of those, a simple stroke of luck.

With that, Penelope dismissed her distractions and moved on towards the next record.

I don’t know what got into Malcom, but it seemed like he was intentionally starting to lose, causing his win rate to plummet. It was a series of games that could be mistaken for mere accidents. Three losses and one 20th place entry… two losses and one 20th place entry… However, when the number of losses suddenly began to rise like a rock rolling down a cliff, it became unstoppable. As a result, he lost 14 points in 14 consecutive defeats. Then, in the second round and… in the third game, which he had to participate in, out of nowhere emerged the monster Yoo Dahee, whom no one could have expected to come from anywhere, achieving first place. First place prize: 15 points. Recovery complete from 14 consecutive losses. “….?” What’s going on? Am I seeing things? Penelope shivered. “That’s why I’m telling you not to fight with Yoo Dahee and Dike.” Balkan looked at Penelope as if to say, “Do you understand now?” with his tongue in his cheek.

Utilizing the unique characteristics of a divine being to support contractors is the most fundamental duty.

Even if Balkan acted alone, didn’t he provide formidable weapons to Penelope?

All to increase the chances of winning, even by a small margin.

“The goddess of justice, does Dike’s ability relate to probability? Can she manipulate the rankings in the arena at will…?”

That was the only explanation.

“This isn’t justice, it’s pure chicanery.”

“Dike’s idea of justice is simple, the right way according to truth. It usually stops at a very simple action and reaction… but in the arena, Dike’s justice shows unexpected abilities.”

Balkan murmured quietly.

[Justice always prevails.]

And when it truly exerted its power… was when Dike knelt down and begged Adikia.

Justice is always on Dike’s side. So, it’s obvious what happens on the opposite side, isn’t it? No need to say.

Adikia, who enforced a humiliating posture, was mercilessly dissected by Yudahee’s relentless return, and upon witnessing this, Bulkan was certain.

This, it finally exploded as expected.

It was a comical phrase that might have come out of a historical drama, but Penelope couldn’t laugh at all.

So, after each defeat, does that mean victory is guaranteed no matter when it happens?

Even definitively first place after 14 losses?

And what represents that is none other than the arena points.

Even if you finish the previous arena in first place and receive 15 points… it’s still the same level due to Malcolm forgetting so much before.

Compared to before, she was still recording a low figure.

“Then calculate the number of eliminations left before being eliminated for the 14 consecutive times.”

Upon hearing that, Penelope slowly counted.

Win from 20th to 4th.

Draw from 50th to 21st.

Lose from 100th to 51st.

Exclude 3rd, 2nd, and 1st as they never occurred.

Lose, draw, win, lose, draw, lose, lose, win, draw, lose, lose, draw…

As a result, precisely… there were 28 more defeats than victories.

In other words, even if she wins first place twice in a row in the future, it wouldn’t be surprising.

“Ah.”

Superstitions should happen once or twice; this is like an already confirmed future.

As long as the balance between winning and losing is sought, it will absolutely happen.

“Until the next match… Yudahee, the contractor of Dike, must absolutely take first place…?”

“Yes, that foolish contractor. And shall I tell you something even more frightening?”

Bulkan seemed to produce an unknown laughter.

“The truly frightening thing is that Dike himself is completely unaware of it.”

—

“Ow! Ouch, ouch, ouch!”

“You crazy man! What? Did you blow your points on stocks?”

“Ah-ahh-ahhh! My back! My back! My disc popped!”

This, this still hasn’t sunk in.

Not only a shrimp bend, but also a tombstone drive, flying elbow drop, choke slam…

In the early days, it was Yoo Dahee who recreated the memorable scenes from WWE here.

He was trying his best to salvage this damn situation, but behind him, there was someone badmouthing him. It made Yoo Dahee seriously wonder if this wasn’t just some ridiculous rumor floating around on the internet.

What’s the point of saving him? Everything would just go to waste.

Even if he tried to use Dike as a shield, it might end up being useless since the shield had already been pawned off to someone else.

Yoo Dahee’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Dike, who was sprawled out in the living room with his tongue sticking out.

This couldn’t go on. This couldn’t happen.

His comfortable retirement plan was collapsing because of this gambler.

He needed an extreme remedy. A prescription that would tear apart his very personality and fix it.

After tightly wrapping Dike in a curtain, he looked around. At that moment, Adikia, who had just come out after taking a shower, was walking over while drying his hair with a towel. Yoo Dahee boldly approached and grabbed Adikia’s hand.

“Uh…?!”

Adikia’s small hand was sucked into Yoo Dahee’s hand.

“Uh…uh…uh…”

It seemed like sudden events could render someone speechless. What’s more, it was surprising that Yoo Dahee, who had recently aggressively pushed away his own hand, was now initiating such contact.

“Adikia.”

“Y-yes?”

With a flushed face, Adikia raised his head to see Yoo Dahee looking down at him with a very serious expression.

“Let’s work together.”

“W-what kind of work…?”

People say that others never change, but surprisingly, when faced with strong shock, they can. Yoo Dahee knew this shocking method all too well.

Whether it was a brain flick or a brain flick or even a brain flick.

“To sacrifice Dike as an offering.”

“…..?!”