Now that they have a grand total of $103 030 between them, they decide to go back to their original plan of scouting the room. The last thing they need, is to lose everything to a stupid blunder. After a rough count, she realizes most of the people here are commoners. In fact, two more former adventurers have just left the hall to advance to the next. Must be nice to have an advantage considering they’ve already passed this exam once. With that, they unanimously agreed to avoid the brown uniforms for now. So, they’re going down the rows of tables, eying the games of stripey prisoners.

After some observation, it makes them realize, cheating is excessively prominent here. They aren’t the only ones who thought of peeking, a few other prisoners also formed allegiances with the same strategy and even devised secret gesture communications between themselves. Varying from numbered blinks, for example, once for ace, twice for jester, to twitch in fingers, like index for queen and pinky for king. Majority are pretty easy to crack. The hardest part is identifying the right players to partners. Figuring out which ones are peeking and which ones aren’t. For that she really needs to squint real hard because the prisoners are all dressed like Zebras. It’s starting to make her eyes hurt. Then ever so randomly, two Felmane adventurers will come in and drag some prisoners out. Mostly those who are huddled against the wall, looking absolutely done with life. What’s that all about?

After that, they spend a good hour arguing about what their signals should be. She suggests that it should be something quick and easy to remember. They only have twenty seconds to pick a card. Whereas Cyan thinks it’s better if they have something that’s more communicative than just assigning one card for each finger. From what they can gather, successful players are cunning. They can’t be relying on the sheer luck they had the first round to hope that their messages are conveyed. That and it can’t be simple enough to be figured out by others in a single quick glance. Unlike the prisoners, they don’t blend in. The only thing they’ve got going for them is the number of participants crammed in this space to overload sensory with loud bickering so they don’t entirely stick out like sore thumbs.

In the end, he talks her into searching up morse code on her phone and forces her to memorize the entire thing. A blink would represent dash. Whereas a finger tap would represent dot. So, the King card, letter K, would be represented blink tap blink. This way, they’ll be able to fluently communicate more than just what cards they see.

She hates studying. Why does he have to make everything so complicated. But in the end, having lost the debate against him, she begrudgingly spends the next half hour committing the stupid chart to memory.

Her brain hurts.

Following that, they’re hit with another unexpected challenge. It’s actually rather difficult to initiate a game. The ones with above million inventories refuse to play against them because they’ve got way more to lose. Whereas the ones in their inventory tiers are mostly skeptical about the fact that they’re examinees with unknown Magia abilities. Others they actively avoided or declined because they can’t seem to figure out their tricks on their continuous victories. After the umpteenth denial, Lilith is starting to think they might’ve won their first game by pure fluke.

It takes them another hour or two for Cyan to finally find a target that doesn’t immediately turn them down. He’s in the distance, near the entrance, hard capitalizing his pretty privilege to the hostess looking lady with bleached blonde hair, plastic for tits, and a slightly dirtied bandage over an eye. She’s just reentering the hall from her prolonged smoke break. Playing the -uwu, I know your pain having to deal with disgusting old men every day, even in here. Look at me, I’m a breath of fresh air.- pick me boy façade.

If there’s anything Lilith can easily commit to memory. It’s definitely that. Even buried within the crowd two tables away as she is, she can tell Cyan’s internally cringing with every debauched word leaving his tongue that she had to hold herself back from giggling. It’s funny he’s struggling to say a few simple lines of sweet nothings. But that’s the right angle after all. Because Hostess Lady is more than keen to play along, mistaking his awkward for shyness.

She’s taking the bait. Asking to see Cyan’s inventory sum. They know she’s got $112 000 so they’ve made sure they’re in her wealth tier.

Hostess Lady takes a moment to examine Cyan’s $103k, now she’s asking for the number of cards he has. He’s showing her four. Bite. Sink. Perfect. They’ve got a hook. She’s agreeing to the game.

They’ve been observing her. Hostess Lady doesn’t have an accomplice. Instead, she relies on her own sharp observation skills to pull sleight of hands on her opponents with peeking accomplices on the last round. The trick is in her wrist and thumb. She palms two cards, shows the peeper the bottom card whereas slips the top card on the table whist pushing the bottom card into her sleeve with her thumb. And considering Cyan and Lilith haven’t been the most subtle about knowing each other, it’s safe to assume Hostess Lady is definitely aware of this information. Hostess Lady is agreeing to this game knowing Cyan will cheat. But what she doesn’t know, is they’ve got her read too. Lilith wouldn’t be focusing on what Hostess Lady is putting down, but her sleight of hand. It isn’t visible from the front but she hasn’t practiced it enough to be untraceable from the back once they know what to look for.

Cyan’s leading her to an empty table off to the bottom right. Gesturing her to the seat opposite him so Hostess Lady has her back turned to Lilith. Lilith is some distance away. Far enough to pretend she’s unrelated, but not far enough to still hear their conversation. Shuffling through the crowd, she’s making sure she’s able to see beyond Hostess Lady’s shoulders and her explosion of a messy bun. Avoiding bumping shoulders with the circle of prisoners on looking a different high stakes game going on in front of her. Some custom battle apparently, with increased rules so it’s really getting the viewers excited. It’s so cramped she’s stepping on toes because she’s focusing on tuning out the noise. That and, her eyeballs are starting to hurt with the constant side glance because Cyan’s told her she’s got to keep her head straight and be discreet about it. They can’t let Hostess Lady know they’re onto her.

Cyan's starting. Their holograms, manifested beside them, Hostess Lady is number 88. She has first bet. Like her other games, she starts aggressive. Cyan’s waiting for her signal. Lilith is supposed to tell him what cards she have. They should easily win the first three round, and maneuver around her sleight of hand on the forth this way.

But neither of them could have anticipated the incredibly stupid hurdle she’s suddenly struck with. Lilith can’t see! Hostess Lady’s dumb silicon tits are in the way. Protruding out of her pencil thin frame like two awkwardly attached balloons. Can’t they have picked someone that doesn’t look like a horny teenager’s stick drawing of their wet dream? They’re getting cockblocked right from the get go by literal tits!

The glaring hologram that now states,

No. 88 Current winnings: $80 000

No. 69 Current winnings: $0, Cyan’s already lost the first round on a random guess. It isn't going to plan. And from the incredibly irritated expression on his face, she doesn’t need morse code to know, he’s saying, the fuck are you doing. So, she’s agitatedly signaling him. Tits! She’s trying her best to inch into better positioning.

It takes him two glances to figure out what she’s on about. One with absolutely confusion and the other instinctually to the giant-sized melons he’s been respectfully trying to not make eye contact with. And oh, Hostess Lady notices. She more than notices, with the practiced way she’s teasing him,

“I guess men will be men no matter their age.” leaning forward with an elaborate arch in her spine, deforming herself against the table like cushions to lay her chin on top,

“But, coming from someone adorable as you, it feels more like a flattery.” damn. She’s thirsty. She’s hella thirsty. But her gesture’s actually revealing Lilith her cards. Now, she’s able to see two queens. The rest are blocked off by the shell of her ear, so she quickly notifies Cyan, following up with, keep her in that position.

He’s stalling for time, not betting to instead drop fuck boy lines Lilith’s rehearsed with him earlier,

“Why don’t you play the rest of the game like that. It’s a pretty view.” with cadence so forced he sounds like he’s reading off a script. Lilith’s read enough trashy romance novels to know that it’ll work. Women like that shit. And it does, Hostess Lady’s giggling,

“That’s bold, cutie. I suppose I can entertain your request at the expense of my back.” she’s really going in for the kill. Her voice’s becoming sultrier when she adds,

“It terribly hurts.” Cyan’s suffering. Despite he isn’t showing it on his face, he’s swishing his tails when he plays along,

“W-” trying hard to keep his voice from cracking, “want me to give you a massage afterwards?” he’s dying from the cringe. Even his smile is forced. The corner of his lips is twitching.

Screw morse code, Lilith can hear him from just the daggers he’s darting with his eyes - hurry the fuck up - She’s trying! It’s getting really crowded here. She’s being squished like canned sardine, marinated with the smell of crusty sweat.

The previous line backfires,

“Oh, what are we waiting for then!” because Hostess Lady is tapping her cards on the table to start the counter,

“Let's end this boring game and get to the more exciting stuff.” fuck. Lilith can’t see that card. Why does it seem like they’re being played like fiddles instead. She was supposed to be their prey. But now, it feels more like they’re caught by the necks in her fangs.

Cyan’s panicking. Repeatedly flickering her stifled glances and shuffling through the cards in his hand. Their plan is completely falling apart because they’re swept by Hostess Lady’s pace. The people here are all vicious criminals. They shouldn’t have underestimated them. Commoners or otherwise.

Shit.

They ought to gather themselves.

What can Lilith see at the moment? She is still unable to catch glimpses beyond the two queens in her hand. They don’t know how many cards Hostess Lady actually holds. But Lilith’s given Cyan all her cards to maximize their chances. Together with the cards she’s won from bald-patch just now, they’ve got 4A’s, 2J’s, 1Q and 3K’s in their arsenal. Although, he’s only showing three cards in his grasp having lost one to Hostess Lady just now. He couldn’t have lost the only Queen they have to her, right?

Which card did he lose? She didn’t pay attention. Damn, they have a complete lack of information in this game where information is key. The timer’s running out, Cyan’s trying his best to stall this out with a low bet,

“$1” dropping another random guess on the table before the last second hits.

The cards are revealed. He’s placed a King this time, against Hostess Lady’s Assassin. Losing the card to her again. Now they know she definitely has QQKA in her hand, and she isn’t that amused with Cyan’s cowardly bet,

“When you approached me for a game. I thought you had some grand scheme in your mind and I was looking forward to rip it to shreds and tearing you apart. But,” she sighs, “it seems like I have overestimated you. I guess, you were mere children after all.” she’s using plurals. They were right to assume she does know Cyan and Lilith are working together. Hostess Lady isn’t even bothered to hide it anymore, instead, she glances past her shoulders,

“Having troubles?” making eye contact with Lilith, she smiles, gesturing her forward with a come-hither motion, “how about you stand directly behind me so you get a clearer view?”

What’s with this sudden development? It freezes her in place, uncertain of how she should react. So instead, she’s exchanging wordless glances with Cyan. He’s drawing just as much blanks as she is. Why would Hostess Lady offer them that? What is she scheming. But her invitation is definitely advantageous to them, so, it’ll be stupid if she doesn’t take it.

Lilith hesitantly approaches their table. Hostess Lady is practically flaunting her cards in her face in full view. She’s showing QQKKAJ in her hand. Languidly retrieving an A to place face flat onto the table,

“Go on.” she prompts, “tell your friend here what I’ve just placed.” this is obviously a bait. She’s taunting them! Did she deal a sleight of hand? Is that actually an Assassin? Or is that a King in disguise? If she did pull a sleight of hand on them, then how long has she actually been marinating them? Because she didn’t slip up. There were no indications in her wrist and thumb at all! The timer’s ticking, and Cyan’s rushing her too,

“Just tell me what she placed!”

“An Assassin, but-” Cyan’s responding her in signals, calm down, trust me. He’s slipping a card on the table, the timer’s ticking downwards with her bet for their remaining 20k. Cyan has completely collected himself. He’s challenging her,

“You didn’t switch cards. That’s an assassin in earnest.”

“Oh, so you know about my sleight of hand too. I have to give you props for your thorough preparation. It is flattering to have a cute boy pay such close attention to me.” the cards are revealed,

“Unfortunately, you have the read wrong, cutie.” she’s placed a king.

“No. I think I got the read right.” Assassin. Cyan’s placed an assassin. Did he actually predict her? What’s actually going on right now. Lilith’s getting completely lost. This game is devolving into some mental gymnastics she isn’t following along anymore. It’s giving her headaches.

Cyan is analyzing her from their earlier exchanges,

“You’re the prideful type that hates the feeling of someone undermining you. You could’ve simply ignored my taunts and pretend it’s all a part of your plan. We’re already swept by your momentum so if you kept it in wraps, we wouldn’t know any better. ” the cards slip over to his side. Ticking the inventory to,

No. 88 Current winnings: $80 001

No. 69 Current winnings: $20 000

“But that wasn’t how it went. You felt the compulsion to correct me, prove me wrong. You were confident in your win just now. And the fact that it didn’t go according to plan, shows that you didn’t anticipate to lose there.” he’s turning the tides on her,

“We just caught you slipping up,” did he actually? Is that why he’s bullshitted her? But looks like hostess lady’s on the same page, she’s prompting him,

“And, how does that lead you to the conclusion that I am prideful?”

“Because you wanted to show us, you tricked us into thinking that we could see through your sleight of hand. We can’t see through it. You’ve perfected it, that was a straight up flex. And if I didn’t believe you have the capability to do that, I would’ve lost that round. Afterwards, there’s no way we can regain any sort of advantage or devise a plan for comeback within twenty seconds because you’ll instantly force the timer to start.” Cyan’s pausing to ponder a little further,

“And I suppose, if that’s the case the next card you’ll show Lilith would be the Queen.”

“Oh?” she raises an eyebrow at him, “even if I did, I’ll just be guessing how you may react to it. You can either choose to believe that I’ve placed a Queen and counter me with a King, or doubt my Queen as King and place the Assassin.”

“And that’s exactly what you want. Because your true aim is to tunnel vision us into thinking that we only have two options to play. Telling us you’ll play the Queen will make Queen and Jester irrelevant options to us.” he’s pointing an accusatory finger,

“Therefore, you can create a mental barrier in your opponent to safely play the Assassin on the final round. We either draw on the Assassin, or you win fourth round.” he’s right. Drawing wouldn’t have matter to Hostess Lady on the fourth round if she’s won third round. She’ll already have all their money. So, her goal would be to just secure her winnings and withdraw safely from the game!

She’s straightening her back. Hostess Lady isn’t smiling so amicably anymore, “you suddenly don’t appear as cute as I thought you are.” instead, it’s turning rather contemptuous,

”I don’t like cocky little boys.” is she mad because Cyan’s just read her like a book? No... from the expression she’s wearing, anger isn’t quite appropriate to describe it. It’s closer to excitement. A surge of adrenaline rush from a roller coaster ride.

“That sounds like a you problem.” Cyan’s trying to reel her into his pace,

“Now it’s your turn to take a gamble.” he’s showing her a King from his hands, “this is the next card I’m playing.” slapping it down on the table to start the counter,

“Play the Assassin. And you’ll win.” he’s directly challenging her pride. But why the heck will he show her that? Does Cyan also know how to perform a sleight of hand? What’s going on? Cyan’s getting quite reckless,

“Bet, $180 000.” what is his plan here? There’re no safe guarantees for anything now. They won’t be able to tunnel vision Hostess Lady the same way she would’ve them after he’s spelled out the entire mind game. Can he actually be leaving it up to pure luck? No. Cyan won’t do that. There must be a trick somewhere. What is it? What is he planning? The timer’s rapidly running out. Despite the smile’s still on her lips, Hostess Lady’s getting frantic too. She’s breathing heavily, mirroring a stuttering cadence of her heart. Something Lilith hears, when a person’s triggered into flight or fight. Looks like she hasn’t figured out either. But there is one thing Lilith knows she must do. She needs to tell him the card.

There’re two seconds left, Hostess Lady’s picking. She’s picking, one second left, half second left,

“Assassin!” Lilith declares, at that, Cyan immediately swipes the King off the table, drawing a different card to slap on top. She gets it now! His real aim is to corner Hostess Lady into a panic so she’s focused on trying to figure out what he’s up to, rather than considering whether to pull a sleight of hand on them. Hostess Lady has sculpted the game to entirely work in her benefits. Getting overloaded with information is actually more depreciative than helpful in a game against her. Cyan’s trying to simplify it by making her uncertain, baiting her to make her own decisions late. If it’s a reflex battle, Cyan wouldn’t lose against a commoner. They’re way faster. The timer goes off. It’s alright. They got this. The switch went through.

But, why does Cyan look so confused? He’s frantically questioning,

“What did you do?” wait. What’s going on? “What the fuck did you do?” huh? Did something not go according to plan?

The cards are getting revealed. Her Assassin, backstabbing his King. It didn’t get switched? Why? She’s certain that it did. She’s seen the timer on the last millisecond. Did Cyan screw up? Did Lilith misunderstand something about his plan? Judging from Cyan’s accusations,

“How did you stop me from picking the Queen?” her analysis was correct, that was his intention, so she’s asking,

“What do you mean by she’s stopped you from picking the Queen?” he isn’t any less bewildered trying to describe what just occurred to him in a word vomit.

“It’s like, my thoughts were suddenly replaced or something. I know, I have to select the Queen. I know where it’s placed, and I am looking at it when I’m reaching for it. But in that split second. All the Queens in my mind, were replaced with King.” Lilith is raising an eyebrow at him,

“Are you sure you didn’t just fumble in the last moment?”

“No! I’m not you!” Then what is it? Wait. Can it be? Well, it can’t be, right? Hostess Lady is a commoner- wait. Hostess Lady? Huh? Hostess Lady...?

Why is she thinking of bombacious Hostess Lady? Where did that come from?

Aren’t they playing against some brat from Kusma? She’s looking at him right now! A flat chested boy with platinum blonde hair, tanned skin and eyes that seemingly glows gold. Rather, eye, because the other one’s bandaged. He’s wearing a snake chain on his ear, long enough to wrap around his neck like a scarf. Adorned in a stripped prisoner’s uniform. That means, he’s a commoner, right? He doesn’t have Alyss’s spell lock on him. No... No. That can’t be right. He can’t be a commoner. It won’t make sense if that’s the case.

Fuck. Her head’s hurting. What’s going on? Kusma boy is heaving a sigh of relief,

“Oh. Bless Arpaesis. For a moment there I honestly thought I might end up losing my kidney too.” collecting his winnings and withdrawing from the game,

“You genuinely caught me off guard there.” and they’re wordlessly watching him walk away as he waves,

“Thanks for the 100k losers.” unable to say anything from the sheer confusion that they don’t start collecting themselves until moments later. Finally finding her rationale, there is only one logical conclusion to this situation,

“Did we... seriously get mind controlled?”