Side Story: GM’s Card (3)

Boom!

“Graaaaaah!”

LP 400 → LP 0

As Leighton’s remaining Life Points hit zero, a powerful gust swept him away.

“Winner! Player Daidalos!”

“Wooooooaaah!”

“Amazing!”

“Take me, Dragon Lord!”

With this, the first match of the semifinals concluded, and the first finalist was decided.

“…Defeat. I have no face to show my master.”

“A victory by the thinnest margin. It was such a close match that it wouldn’t have been strange if you had won.”

Daidalos approached Leighton and extended a hand.

Leighton grasped Daidalos’s hand and stood up.

“Here. Take this.”

Leighton pulled a card from his deck and handed it to Daidalos.

“This is…”

“A loss is a loss. My master instructed me to give this to you.”

Daidalos received the divine card from Leighton. 

It bore the authority of Cambria, the goddess of the GM.

“You defeated me, after all. Go and win the finals. You know I’d look foolish if you lost up there, right?”

“Of course.”

Daidalos had no intention of losing. 

Carrying the will of his master and the hope of his friend, nothing could stand in his way. 

Whoever emerged as his opponent in the finals, he would seize victory and deliver the three divine cards to his master.

The ruler of the southern seas, Daidalos, tucked the card into his chest and vowed to himself.

Having defeated his greatest rival and friend, he felt as though no foe could stop him.

LP 4000 → LP 0

“Gaaaaaaah!”

Until he faced an overwhelming defeat in the finals.

Boom!

In a single turn, Daidalos was obliterated and collapsed with his eyes rolling back.

“One… one-turn kill?!”

“They defeated Daidalos so effortlessly?”

Even though the winner of the finals had been decided, the crowd remained stunned, unable to cheer. 

The champion had shattered Daidalos’s field and wiped out his Life Points in just one turn.

—Truly, your talent defies comprehension.

Deus, standing beside the champion in spiritual form, shrugged.

—Mastering magic, divine power, and swordsmanship in an instant was one thing, but to dominate even a card game?

The champion had obtained the ultimate card, surpassing even the two divine cards Daidalos possessed. 

It was none other than the card representing Albus, the male deity and GM’s counterpart.

Despite having the power to secure victory effortlessly with that card, the champion never used it, determined to honor the GM’s trust.

And in the end, they annihilated Daidalos in a single turn.

“I just did what you taught me,” the champion said.

—Ha. I couldn’t even see the winning move in that situation. Is this what it means to surpass the master? 

How can I even think of playing anymore with this humiliation?

Though Deus grumbled, a grin stretched across her face.

Collecting the three divine cards would grant a wish from Albus.

The moment she heard this rumor, Deus decided to participate in the tournament. 

Having mastered countless games since the dawn of Rudera, she was confident in her ability to win.

However, Albus’s declaration barred gods from entering the tournament.

Thus, Deus needed a proxy.

Initially, she sought someone from her own followers, but they were all too devout and honest to understand card games.

“Are they really my followers?”

Left with no choice, Deus scoured for a suitable candidate and finally found a prodigy beyond imagination.

A former princess and ex-apostle, Rebecca.

She became Deus’s ally on the journey to collect the three divine cards.

So, Deus couldn’t help but smile. Her ally had claimed victory with overwhelming skill.

“Th-the winner! Player Rebecca!”

Even the petite guide, who acted as the referee, was so stunned by the finals that the announcement came late.

“Woooooaaaah!”

“No way! Winning without using a divine card?”

“Then who holds the last divine card?”

“Rebecca? That Rebecca?”

The tournament winner was declared, and the crowd in the colosseum erupted into cheers.

Rebecca, the victor of the first duel tournament held on the sixth floor of the labyrinth, was also the GM’s first apostle.

Once cast out in disgrace due to her fall from grace, she was forgiven and allowed to rise again by the GM’s mercy.

Rebecca clenched her fist and raised it high.

Woooong.

From the heavens descended the GM’s blessing, taking the form of an angel bestowing light upon the champion.

It was the GM’s boundless mercy and divine power to wipe away the sinner’s tainted past.

“Apostleship reinstated—welcoming back the wayward prodigal.”

The gathered audience watched the moment in reverence, silently praying as if witnessing a living myth.

However, Albus had his own concerns.

“Of all people, why does she have to win? If Dua sulks, it’ll be a nightmare to cheer her up.”

His thoughts were far removed from the solemn atmosphere.

***

The Central System Hall of Rudera

Accessible only to those with permission, the grand hall was quiet save for Albus, deep in thought.

“What kind of gift would make Dua happy again?”

Dua, recently in her teenage years, had grown distant, no longer running to see her father.

 “Argh! Dad, you’re so annoying!”

She had locked herself in her room—or, more accurately, her ‘territory’—after placing second in the competition.

“Was it something I said?”

 “Didn’t Dua also get second place in that tournament on the 25th floor? My little runner-up queen! Runner-up queen!”

“Argh! I hate you, Dad!”

It had been a playful term he’d picked up from the community, and he hadn’t anticipated such an explosive reaction.

If only he’d held back that last comment, he might have avoided the dreaded “I hate you” from his daughter.

“I never thought I’d become one of those clueless dads who joke around and ruin everything,” he sighed, resting his head on his hand.

***

“Tooooot…”

Albus exhaled deeply. 

Raising a daughter wasn’t easy. 

She used to laugh at anything he did as a child.

As he mulled over what gift might bring back Dua’s smile, a voice interrupted him.

“Our dear junior?”

“Goodness! You startled me.”

Behind him, Deus’s head popped into view.

***

“So… you’re saying you’ve collected all three cards and now want your wish granted?”

“Yes! Yes!”

Deus nodded enthusiastically, clutching three cards tightly in her small hands as if they were her most treasured belongings.

“Ha…”

Albus rubbed his temples. 

He already knew Deus had formed a contract with Rebecca and learned the card game Magic and Rudera from her. 

Turning someone clueless into the ultimate duelist was a feat only Deus could manage.

“And you think I’m obligated to grant your wish because of those cards?”

“Of course! It’s a promise, isn’t it, junior?”

Deus thrust the cards toward Albus like they were binding contracts.

“I never promised anything like that.”

“Wh-what!?”

Her eyes widened in shock.

“But everyone said…”

“That’s just a rumor. Those cards are nothing more than commemorative hidden pieces I made for fun.”

“How could you!”

Deus stomped her feet.

“Do you know how long I’ve been looking forward to this? I couldn’t sleep at night!”

For someone usually lazy and uninterested, her sudden passion was baffling.

“You’re a god! Why are you acting like a child waiting for Christmas?”

Albus was incredulous.

***

“Even if the rumor were true, Rebecca won the competition, so shouldn’t her wish be the one granted?”

He thought about what the Pope or Saint Eclesia would say if they saw this immature deity. 

But he couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with her.

“Alright, let’s hear it. What wish were you hoping to make?”

He assumed it would be something trivial: maybe a game expansion or a rare item.

“I want to…”

“What?”

But when Deus finally spoke, Albus couldn’t believe his ears.

“I want to experience ‘OS xxxxx’ too. Like Alia.”