24. Offering to Dike.
“Hoho… Hoo-ahp! Hoi-it!”
In her joy, Penelope, unable to control her body, waved the barisada around.
Eyes of Balkan, watching Penelope take on various strange postures as if doing yoga, were deeply sunken.
“…It’s good to be so confident, but it’s better to avoid fighting as much as possible, especially with Yudahee.”
“What… Is this a knockoff, by any chance?”
Avoiding a fight when there’s no shortage of it.
“No, isn’t it absurd to provide a custom weapon to a contractor and then tell them to avoid fighting?!”
Unless it’s a gift, it doesn’t make sense.
At that, Balkan bowed his head and closed his eyes.
Balkan, who could predict the outcome of a fight even if he was at the top of his game in gauging opponents, viewed Yudahee and Penelope’s confrontation as a 50-50 situation.
It was a calculation based solely on pure skill, without introducing any ‘variables’.
“Just by watching the footage, there wasn’t much to see…. Whether it’s cutting the 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 looked at the surface and couldn’t see the essence. If you could see inside, you wouldn’t have judged so easily.”
Balkan was predicting with a very high probability that Yudahee had experienced countless deaths and loops similar to hers.
Closing in on the narrow gap characteristic of a returnee and taking a step faster to deliver attacks at a quicker pace to expand the shooting range.
Other gods might have noticed, but I couldn’t fathom how many deaths it would take to have the kind of sense I had at my age.
Regression… Who was the god capable of regressing the subject, turning back time- Balkan muttered, lost in contemplation, while Penelope was flipping through the image of Yudahee.
And finally, the scene of planetary destruction unfolded.
In an instant, along with the cameras going dark, a hole appeared in the planet…
“Wow, how can we stop that?”
Even if it was Penelope’s father, wielding all his swords, could they withstand that blow?
But Penelope’s gaze, watching it, was not despair, but a thorough analysis.
It was just that it couldn’t block that blow… it didn’t mean it was impossible to respond.
The summoned beings were of the conjuration type, and the reason they couldn’t charge was simply due to mutual restraint, so a preemptive attack was possible within a 30m radius.
The best defense is offense.
If the summoning ritual is forcibly distorted before completion, or the spellcaster is made to dodge in place, it is entirely possible to cancel it.
The movements were roughly familiar.
As Barisada spun around and swung at the virtual Yudahee… although she didn’t cut his throat in one stroke, she left a deeper wound on his neck than expected.
After that, it was just sticking close enough to drain his stamina.
Unlike a sword that can respond even in close combat situations, an axe tends to be less effective in a face-to-face situation unless it is wielded with precision.
If it’s not going to chop off its own body, it can’t be swung recklessly, and by forcing the ring part of Parashu onto Barisada, it is made to entangle forcibly.
By dropping Parashu by force and rushing in unarmed-
“Hmm… there’s no separate data here.”
Although the opponent seemed to have some skill with the axe, it was ridiculous to consider the axe as the primary weapon.
The fact was that Parashu was, after all, the most outstanding item Yudahee had.
No one knows for sure which weapon is the most familiar in reality.
Since I only participated once, there was too little accumulated data.
If I were to encounter someone, instead of fighting right away, I thought I should bring others along and extract a bit of battle data…
“Still, it’s somewhat manageable…?”
There were many more irrational situations than this.
Like the 1:7 fight against snipers trying to thwart their victory, or when they reached for a random weapon box with their opponent, and the opponent got a Flamberge while they got a butter knife. Ridiculous situations like that were not uncommon.
Yet, Penelope had overcome all of that and stood here.
She was referred to by other contractors and deities as-
The deity of the great blacksmith, an SSR-grade contractor from Balkan.
[Little Sword Saint Penelope.]
Penelope was full of confidence.
It was a bothersome task at the inspiration’s behest, but wouldn’t it be proper to go out for a little excursion after a long time?
But what Balkan was truly worried about…
“Still, don’t fight Yudahee.”
“Why on earth not?!”
Even if they tried everything, if it seemed impossible to win, it would be fine to turn around and run away, so why did Balkan keep saying such irritating things?
“Actually, it’s not Yudahee… It’s about not fighting the one behind her, Dike. I don’t ask for much. Aim for third place. That alone will be an unprecedented record for you.”
“Third, third place…?”
No, Penelope couldn’t help but wonder if this dwarf deity had developed dementia.
Even just the first place record she had brought in was over five. Huh? Third place? That would be an unprecedented record?
“…Do you know what’s really strange right now? And on top of that, isn’t that what the goddess of justice is talking about? But… it seems like she doesn’t know anything.”
Even just rolling around in the blanket, Penelope seemed to have already reviewed all the past matches.
She was a typical lazy genius.
Among them, the previous contractor of Deke, Deke Deke Deke… Malcolm’s video was also there…
Truly an unremarkable contractor with no tricks, pressing the advantage of physique difference against opponents.
And there was no ability specifically attributed to Deke that could be seen.
No matter how many times I looked, there seemed to be no ability related to Deke at all. What should I pay attention to?
But as I continued to watch… something caught my eye.
It wasn’t just a visible ability.
“Why does the contractor Malcolm keep entering the top 20…?”
There seemed to be no hiding in skill, but after the match ended, the overall rankings caught Penelope’s eye.
50th, 41st, 20th, 38th, 81st, 19th, 55th, 18th…
A miracle that consistently entered the top 20 almost every other match, excluding the probationary range from 50th to 21st.
Even on days when he was eliminated two times in a row, he entered the top 20 for three consecutive times the next day.
Watching the match videos, it was truly a miracle.
Penelope, who had started to pay attention to the words of inspiration, found herself increasingly concerned.
Starting solo in a place where battles between contractors were completely unseen, turning around only to find a lucky spot with a supply box right there! Similar incidents repeated.
Such miracles were happening countless times in matches where the same pattern was appearing among all contractors.
Moreover, the problem was not just that.
“The probability of finishing the match within the top 20… 51%?”
The number of accumulated rounds easily exceeded 150.
Whether it was few or many… it was impossible for a contract participant to consistently maintain a win rate of over 50% in the arena.
And if that participant couldn’t even reach the level of SR Intermediate…?
From Noble mtl dot com
It would be more unusual if their name remained unknown, rather than the opposite.
“No! This doesn’t make any sense?!”
A situation where, just like the Martingale betting system at the casino, one could win without a single failure was unfolding in the arena.
Moreover, the points that Dike was winning were showing a slight but consistent upward trend, further evidence of this.
So, let’s assume for now that this was just a series of fortunate coincidences.
There are many inexplicable things in this world, so let’s just consider this one of them, a stroke of simple luck.
With that, Penelope brushed aside her doubts and moved on toward her next record.
Although it was unclear what motivated him, Malcom seemed to be deliberately initiating a series of losses, causing her win rate to plummet.
For a while, it seemed like mere mistakes.
Three eliminations, with one 20th place finish… Two eliminations, with one 20th place finish…
But when the number of eliminations suddenly began to rise like a stone rolling down a cliff, it became uncontrollable.
As a result, she lost 14 points in 14 consecutive eliminations.
And then, two forfeits… and in the third match that she had to participate in, the sudden emergence of a monster, Yoo Dahee, from nowhere, was completely unexpected.
As a result, she achieved 1st place.
1st place prize: 15 points.
Recovery from 14 consecutive eliminations.
“….?”
What’s this? Am I seeing it wrong right now?
Penelope felt a shiver run down her body.
“So, I’m telling you not to fight with Yudahee and Dike.”
As if understanding now, Balkan looked at Penelope, sticking out his tongue.
Using the unique characteristics as a deity to support contractors is fundamental.
Even if it’s just Balkan alone, didn’t they provide Penelope with useful weapons as a divine being?
To increase the chances of victory, even if only a little.
“The abilities of the Goddess of Justice, Dike, are related to probability, right? To the extent of being able to arbitrarily adjust the rankings in the arena…?”
Apart from that, it wasn’t explained.
“No, what kind of justice is this, just a mere trickster.”
“Dike’s idea of justice is simple, a righteous principle that aligns with the truth. Usually, it ends with very simple actions and reactions within that line, but… in the arena, Dike’s justice shows unexpected abilities.”
Balkan muttered quietly.
[Justice will always prevail.]
And when it exerted its power properly… it was none other than when Dike knelt down and prayed to Adikia.
Justice is always on Dike’s side. So, what would happen on the opposite side… isn’t it obvious without saying?
Balkan was convinced as he watched Yudahee, a relentless return against Adikia, who imposed a humiliating posture, ruthlessly cutting her down.
This, it finally exploded.
It was a whimsical phrase that could only come out in a grand tale, but Penelope couldn’t laugh at all.
In other words, after 14 consecutive defeats, is it certain that she will always be in first place?
And the indicator of that is none other than the arena points.
Even if you finish first in the previous arena and acquire 15 points… it’s still the same level as before, considering how much Malcolm has forgotten.
The recorded numbers were still lower compared to before.
“Well then, before you get eliminated 14 times in a row, calculate the remaining elimination count from before.”
Upon hearing that, Penelope slowly counted.
Wins from ranks 20 to 4.
Draws from ranks 50 to 21.
Losses from ranks 100 to 51.
Exclude 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place as they never occurred.
Loss-draw-win-loss-draw-loss-loss-win-draw-win-loss-draw-loss…
The result was, precisely… 28 more losses than wins.
In other words, even if you win first place twice in a row in the future, it wouldn’t be surprising.
“Ah.”
Superstition only works once or twice, this is as good as a confirmed future.
The absolute event of the balance between wins and losses being achieved.
“Until the next match… Yudahee, the contractor of Dike, must definitely take first place…?”
“Yes, that foolish contractor. And should I tell you something even more frightening?”
Balkan showed an unknown smile.
“The real terror is that Dike himself is completely unaware of it.”
“Pain! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”
“What the hell, you crazy bastard! What? Did you blow your points on the stock market?”
“Ah-ahhhhh! My back! My back! My back! My disk exploded!”
He still couldn’t get his wits together.
Not content with just breaking shrimps, Yudahee was now recreating memorable scenes from WWE in this place—Tombstone Drive, Flying Elbow Drop, Choke Slam.
He was desperately trying to recover from this damn situation, but behind him, someone was mocking a pumpkin seed.
Seriously contemplating whether this wasn’t just some nonsense circulating on the internet, Yudahee thought deeply.
What’s the point if he manages to do something but loses everything?
Even if he tried to use the disk as a shield, it might already be captured by someone else, rendering it unusable.
Yudahee’s eyes, staring at the stretched-out disk in the living room with his tongue sticking out, were cold.
This couldn’t go on. This couldn’t be.
His comfortable retirement plan was collapsing due to this gambling addict.
A drastic prescription was needed. A harsh and intense prescription that would tear apart the very essence of his personality.
After tightly bundling up the disk with curtains, Yudahee looked around.
Adikia, who had just finished showering, was coming over with a towel on her head. Yudahee quickly approached and grabbed Adikia’s hand.
“Uh…?!”
Adikia’s small hand was sucked into Yudahee’s.
“Uh…uh…uhhh….”
Being dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
What’s more, it was the proactive contact from Yoo Dahee, who had recently fiercely rejected his hand.
“…Adikia.”
“Y-yes?”
When she raised her reddened face, Yoo Dahee, wearing an extremely serious expression, was looking down at Adikia.
“Let’s work together.”
“W-what kind of work…?”
People are said to never change, but…
Surprisingly, they can change when faced with a strong shock.
Yoo Dahee knew this shocking method all too well.
Whether it was Brain Pick or Brain Pick or Brain Pick.
“Offer it to the foreign god.”
“…..?!”