Before her, Kusma boy cracks half a smile, he’s amused,

“You’re either incredibly dumb, or you have an absolute obligation to clear this exam no matter what. Which is it?”

“It’s the former.” but she isn’t going to allow herself to be dragged into his pace anymore. She’s incited a twitch in his lips for that,

“At least you’re honest.” she’s got to simplify the game. Simplify, simplify, his entire play hinges on the fact that he’s smarter than her. He can predict her better. So, he definitely knows what she’s up to. He watches her shuffle her hand. Furling all of them out, face down onto the table. Then she counts with the timer, 15 seconds left,

“You can’t be...” good, she’s finally unnerving him, it’s a cautious laugh he lets out, “that’s insane.”

“You may be able to outsmart a dumbass like me, but you can’t outsmart RNG.” she takes her hands off the table. Leaving her cards on top. She just won’t pick,

“Get fucked by 50/50.” she won’t play his mind games anymore. The random selection will only be made after the timer’s dead so he won’t be able to pull anymore shenanigans. 10 seconds, he’s getting uneasy, pointing out,

“RNG isn’t on your side either!” he really doesn’t like her plan. But it’s the only thing she’s got right now. Even if she stalls this round out with a low bet, it’s his turn next, and he can mitigate all risks by forcing all-ins on her and she can’t even retaliate because she doesn’t know her own hand. At least, now she has a surviving chance. A suicide bomb. All or nothing!

The timer’s running out, 5 seconds, he’s persuading,

“I’ll stop messing with your eyesight, so just pick something!” he’s more anxious about this than she thought. She takes three paces backwards. Making sure that the table is out of reach. If he’s going to mind control her into a selection, he won’t make it in time. Two seconds, he has to make a selection now otherwise he’ll get randomized too. One second. He’s placed.

Timer’s dead. Her heart tightens. Even though she knows this is the best opportunity she gets. It’s absolutely nerve wrecking to know that she’s leaving her fate up to luck. If she loses... then what can she afford to wager up next? An eye, ear? Or a Lung? Something she has two of and losing one will not completely cripple her. It’s funny how bitter dread tastes in her mouth, she’s clenching her fists. She wants to win. She wants to win so badly. Please, please, please, please. Lady luck let her win.

Kusma boy isn’t happy either. He’s biting into his lips hard. They’re both anxiously awaiting this reveal. The cards are getting flipped over. One of them is dying here.

She’s seeing a Jester and a Jester. He’s placed a Jester. Her heart freezes, her breath stops. What is it? What is her Jester truly? Did she win? Did she lose?

A moment passes. Two moments.

Neither of their inventories are budging. The cards disappear off the table. He didn’t change her Jester! Did he only change her Assassin into a Queen? Should she ask? If she does, he can just shuffle her vision again.

Shit...

He heaves a sigh of relief. RNG really is a prick. They’ve drawn this. RNG won’t give her an easy victory. It’s forcing her to keep playing. It really won’t be that easy.

And now, he gets the bet. Immediately he starts the timer, not even giving her time to reconcile, he tries,

“$20-” no! She can’t let him finish the phrase. He’s forcing an all-in on her! Passing Bob a signal. A spark goes off, she interrupts,

“How do I stop you from changing what I see?” she can’t let him bet and mitigate his losses. It won’t be worth it to RNG him when he wouldn’t risk game over and she would. She needs to stall, compelling him to change his sentence to,

“Unless you have cleanse type Magia. You can’t.” he doesn’t look too happy with her. He’s finally showing her signs of weaknesses, so that means, she’s slowly breaking his confidence in his victory. And she’s going to keep chipping away at him, she requests for a second bullet the moment he finishes answering her first,

“I decide if I want to dispel that.”

“How many people can you affect the perception of?”

“Two”

“Do you know who my third teammate is?”

“No.” she needs longer answers so she can sort out her thoughts,

“What are the letters of the alphabet?” he instantly frowns as he’s forced to begin rapid counting,

“A, b, c-” he’s trying to get this over with quickly as possible. She’s using this opportunity to reason.

There’s another thing that’s been striking her as odd from his reactions just now. He’s way too adversed that she won’t pick. But if his strategy really hinges on the fact that he can out think her then, it won’t make sense. Her not knowing her own cards would be the same as her picking on random. If she’s picking at random, then how would he anticipate to out play her? Or, is he predicting that she will eventually be able to figure it out through deductive reasoning?

Judging by the past two rounds, she can rationalize, her Assassin has been changed to a Queen, yet her jester remains untouched. A-> Q, J -> J, that leaves the other two to either be Q -> A/K or K -> A/K. No. This can’t be right. If she’s guessing on which cards he’s changed and which he hasn’t, then he won’t be able to predict her either.

Therefore, the logical conclusion only points towards one thing, and she needs to confirm it, she asks, right as he finishes reciting the last letter,

“How do you know what card I’m going to put if I don’t even know my own cards?”

“You’re-” he’s actually nervous now. There are 13 seconds left. It’s a critical hit, he’s trying to muffle a hand over his mouth, he really didn’t want her to find out about this one,

“-not the only one” but it can’t stop him talking, “with eyes in the crowd.” someone is spying on her cards and what she’s selecting too. So, it isn’t just because he’s smarter, it’s because he also has information on what she’s putting. He had the perfect plan to destroy her. Cripple her ability to choose, whilst he knows exactly what she’s choosing. It’ll remove all counterplay from her side.

10 seconds, just a bit more and she can survive,

“How do I stop them from peeking at my cards?” she won’t give him a chance to speak what he wants to. If he doesn’t get time to bet, then it’ll default to $1,

“You can’t. My teammate is using a read type ability.” this would mean, his partner can reveal her cards no matter how she tries to hide her hand. It won't matter. She can force him into another 50/50 next round as long as she survives this round. 0. The timer’s up,

“$200 000!” wait. What? No. Why did she drop her guard there? It isn’t up. There’re still 7 seconds left. This little shit must have mind controlled her into it. He’s finally used it. So that’s how it feels like huh.

She hits him with another truth bullet,

“How do I stop you from messing with my mind?”

“Don’t look into my eyes for more than 3 seconds.” at that, she immediately focuses away from his face. It’s already too late to hear this. He’s got a bet off and now he’s slipping a card on the table. He’s just mitigated all his risk whilst forcing her into a dead end. She needs a win this round otherwise she needs to wager again. What should she even do? 5 seconds. She only has time to ask one question at best. Two if she’s quick. What should she even ask? She doesn’t know! Should she pray that random selection is merciful to her again?

That seems to be the only thing she can do right now. No. It’s too risky. It’s way too risky. RNG is not worth it if she doesn’t have a chance to take him down too. There must be some way out of this. The light to the end of her tunnel.

What is it? What is it? What the hell is it? A truth bullet goes off without her requesting it,

“Ask for his card!” that’s Cyan’s voice, he’s in the front row,

“What card did you put?” he’s got Bob's gun in his hand. Cyan has resorted to shouting because she isn’t looking at his signals. Her light! Spinning the barrel, Cyan instantly toggles again. Another spark goes off against Kusma boy's hand. This time, the bullet’s red. Bursting into scarlet chains. Binding across Kusma boy's fingers and up his arm to tangle around his entire body. Halting his movements completely with screeching rattles as he struggles against it whilst he admits at the final 2 seconds,

“Ki-” He can’t switch. The third and forth shots rapid fires. Speed buffs this time, she hears Cyan say,

“First card to your left!” golden clocks, bursting beneath their feet. She slaps her first card on the table. The speed buff wears out. The buzzer drops. Time’s up.

“-ng”, Kusma boy finally finishes his sentence. King.

She’s seeing two Jesters been revealed. But the cards are sliding over to her side. He must’ve shuffled her perception again because these results aren’t lining up with previous information. He’s even messing with the way she sees his cards! There was no way she could’ve dug her way out of this herself. Their inventories are adjusting to,

No. 420 Current Inventory: $ 400 000

No. 88 Current Inventory: $ 4 160 092

Her teammates clutched this for her. She may not be able to see her own cards. But one person certainly can. And it’s Bob. Kusma boy has admitted that he doesn’t know him, so he won’t know which person to perception control amidst the crowd. So, even if he’s messing up Cyan’s vision too, they still have a source of reliable information as long as Bob’s not exposed.

Cyan sounds annoyed,

“Quit trying to win this game by yourself. Now start the timer and look at my signals.” and right now Cyan’s being the perfect decoy. The more attention he draws to himself, the less likely Kusma boy will look for who Bob is. She plays along. Tapping her cards on the table. She runs the timer. Even though she’s standing on this stage alone, she isn’t doing this trial alone.

Cyan switches into morse code. Put the second card from her left on the table, she does. Cyan's telling her to bet,

“$ 4 160 092” they all-ined him. Cyan must be confident that they’ll win this round. What is their plan? She’s waiting for his signals. He isn’t telling her just yet. Before her, Kusma boy struggles,

“What the heck is this bullshit.” hollering to get Cat boy’s attention. He's tucked himself towards the side of the stage, behind the curtain, sitting on a director's stool. Kusma boy reminds,

“Hey. No violence rule, yeh? He just straight up shot and restrained me. Are you going to do anything about this?” this is different from the truth bullet they’ve been using. The bind has obvious visual indications as well as a subduing effect to hinder the opponent’s movements. But, is that really considered violence? No one’s hit him or anything. Cat boy is thinking about it for a few moments, before he concludes,

“Yeah.” shrugging, “I suppose that is against the rules.” he unenthusiastically gestures with a hand,

“Disarm the boy.” to mobilize the two Felmane adventurers behind him to disembark the stage. They’re going towards Cyan, but Cyan’s immediately ducking into the audience. Meandering around the crowd to the opposite side. Ten seconds remaining. The shackles shatters into red dust. The spell’s duration has ran out. Kusma boy is free to move again. But he isn’t placing a card. Instead, he’s breathing quicker. His breaths are shallower. He’s tense. He’s getting anxious just from the fact that he knows she has a selection made. Cyan is using Kusma boy's own mind game against him. He has a peeker, so he definitely knows what she’s put. Cyan’s asking her to taunt him, repeating the sentences he’s signaling her,

“What’s wrong? Afraid to put a card down because I’m going to bind you again?” Kusma boy cracks a nervous smile,

“No shit. If I place early. You can hit me with the bind and the truth bullet. Then, there is no way for me to switch choices.” oh. That must be the condition Cyan’s trying to corner him into. He’s updating her more lines,

“Good. If you know that, then choose carefully. Because you only get one shot at it. Once you’ve made a decision. I ain’t letting you switch anymore.” five seconds left. He’s getting frantic. It’s funny now she’s able to tell exactly what Kusma boy’s thinking.

He knows the card that she’s placed on the table. It’s what he’s been doing to her the entire game. He’s stuck between two options, either she won’t switch that card, and place a direct counter. Or anticipate her to switch that card and place a counter to the card that she’s switched. But he’s cornered. Because even if he places in the last second, as long as they can bind him, he won’t be able to do that same shit he did in the second round. They’ll bind him in time with the truth bullet and he’ll be stuck as he utters the answer. Whereas they’ve got a speed buffs that will give her enough time to reselect no matter how many milliseconds he’s strangling her on.

Kusma boy eyes the crowd. With his smaller stature, Cyan’s better at squeezing through the gaps. Behind him, the Felmane adventurers are struggling through it as though they’re swimming in mud, they’re closing the gaps. Four seconds. Three seconds. But Kusma boy is already checkmated. The adventurers won’t catch Cyan before this round is up. He’s using the prisoners as meat shields so the adventurers can’t even carelessly use Magia against him. Two. Kusma boy needs to pick, the truth bullet goes off, queuing her to ask,

“What card are you putting?” wait. But what is he doing? Shit. He’s furling his cards out on the table too. One second.

She gasps. Understanding what he’s up to, before he even opens his mouth to say,

“R-”He won’t pick! He’s trapped in a dead end if he does, that’s why he’s trying to take her down with him! He’s using her tricks against her. One second. Time’s running out. Did their plan get foil- Something loud bombards into her senses. It’s a gun shot. Cyan’s toggled again. But this time, not for the bind. It sounds like a fabric ripping. A portal’s opened on the table on Kusma boy’s side, looking like a paper tear swirling with black spirals. It makes her realize; this is what he’s truly baiting for! Time’s up.

“-NG”

All the cards are falling through it, leaving nothing on the table. A red buzzer flashes on Kusma’s boy’s side. The RNG selection has failed to take place. Her card are being returned to her side. She’s hyperventilating. She can feel her heartbeats in her throat and all she’s doing is standing here. It almost feels surreal when she hears the sound of coins ticking. She watches their inventories adjust to,

No 420 Current Inventory: $4 560 092

No 88 Current Inventory: $ 0, in slow motion.

…

Did they win? She does a double take on the inventory. He isn’t messing with her eyes on this right? Yeah, there are holograms appearing on Kusma boy’s side. Except, his drawing is missing an eye and a kidney. It feels like she’s being sucker punched with the confirmation. In a good way.

They won! They actually won! The other win condition was to get rid of all of the opponent’s cards! And when no card was placed, and the RNG selection couldn’t take place. The system must’ve assumed that Kusma boy has ran out of cards therefore giving her the win. They’ve cheesed him. They’ve completely cheesed him with Bob’s Magia by stealing his entire hand! Fuck. This feels good. This feels so good! She’s excitedly throwing her hands up into the air as she turns her gaze to Cyan to declare,

“We did it!”

But Cyan’s caught by the Felmane adventurers. He’s struggling against them as they restrain him. Dragging him away to a side. Cat boy orders them to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t interfere with the games anymore. Finally, the second portal opens above Kusma boy, his cards that were taken from him, fluttering down from it like petals. Cyan was forced by the adventurers to return them. No... It’s too early to celebrate. She stops herself leaping. The audience are spurring Kusma boy on to take the wager the same way they’ve encouraged her. Sadistic pricks. This may not be over. She shakes herself back into focus.

She’s observing Kusma boy. At first, there’s a wide-eyed blankness in his eyes. Then the awareness kicks in and Kusma boy looks tormented. Slamming a fist against the table,

“Dammit!” biting on his lips hard enough to draw blood, but he isn’t saying anything. He isn’t accusing them. Instead, he’s just accepting that he’s got outplayed. Bringing his shaking fingers up to the picture, he’s wavering, hovering between a lung and liver.

She gets ready. This isn’t over yet. The same way she wagered her way back into the game. He can too.

He stabilizes his hand. He’s going to continue this game too, and this time, she may no longer have Cyan’s help. In fact, Cyan’s being dragged all the way to a side with the Felmane adventurers, despite he’s loudly protesting against them about it. She can’t really hear him over all the white noise of the audience. But she can see it in his face that he doesn’t want to be removed.

She swallows hard. This time, it’ll just be her and Bob.

It’s alright. They still can do this. With that previous victory. She’s no longer fighting an uphill battle. She’s got betting advantage now. She takes a sharp inhale. Round three. Let’s go!