A casino employee dressed in a black suit greeted us.

“What brings you here today?”

The sizable man cast a wary glance our way, no doubt because Chasey and I were wearing masks that concealed our entire faces.

Of course, it wasn’t an uncommon sight; many VIPs preferred to keep their identities hidden.

However, most typically wore half-masks. Full-face masks like ours were a rarity.

I tensed my throat and lowered my voice an octave.

“I heard a private battlefield is being held here.”

“You’re a new face… how did you find out about it?”

“Does that matter?”

I had gotten the information through Jay, but I saw no reason to reveal my source.

The employee gave me a suspicious look but didn’t press the issue.

“The entry fee is 100 shillings per person. I trust you have the funds?”

“Of course.”

I subtly produced two gold coins from my pocket, and the employee’s friendly smile returned.

As long as the entry requirements were met, they couldn’t care less who you were.

“Are you aware of the concept of the Paradise Private battlefield?”

“Please, enlighten me.”

I had already heard bits and pieces from Jay, but given the rather unique rules, I wanted to double-check.

After guiding us to a table, the employee returned a moment later, placing a guidebook in front of each of us.

– Paradise Private Battlefield Guidebook.

“The details are written inside. Please feel free to listen along as I explain.”

Shrrk-

Scanning the guidebook, I found a list of the synergies and champions that would appear in this battlefield, along with the entry fees and rewards.

It also detailed the most important aspect: the exclusive rules of the Paradise Private battlefield. This section seemed to require my full attention as the employee spoke.

“Our Paradise Private battlefield employs the Roulette rule. It differs from other private battlefields, so please read carefully.”

Unlike ranked matches, private battlefields sometimes incorporated local rules based on the organizer’s preferences and regional characteristics.

The Roulette rule adopted by the Paradise Private battlefield was a fairly famous format, occasionally found in other regions as well.

The guidebook elaborated on this, and I read through it meticulously.

– Before the start of the battlefield, a roulette is spun to assign 3 synergies out of 27.

– Including the randomly assigned synergies in your deck during play grants additional points.

– Activating the assigned synergies to their maximum effect threshold grants additional points.

– The final winner is determined by combining ranking points and additional points.

To be absolutely certain, I asked the employee about a vague point.

“Do we have to include all three synergies from the roulette in our deck?”

“As long as at least one of those synergies is present when the game ends, you will receive the additional points.”

It seemed using other synergies during the build-up phase was perfectly fine.

Thinking about it, it was only natural.

Spectating was fundamentally impossible in the battlefield, making it incredibly difficult to track exactly what synergies a player used during their build-up.

Therefore, they simply checked the final results to see if the required synergies were present on the result screen.

Since including just one of the three synergies was enough to earn the bonus, it wasn’t an overly strict rule.

The roulette was meant to be a fun element, not a disruptive factor that heavily influenced rankings.

“The roulette will be spun in the event hall in one hour. If you wish to participate in the private battlefield, please register before then.”

With that, the casino employee hurried off to greet new arrivals.

Chasey was thoroughly reading the guidebook, while I took a moment to scan my surroundings and gauge the atmosphere of the casino.

Signs prohibiting alcohol were prominently displayed, so most people at the tables were simply snacking and resting.

“A roulette rule… interesting.”

Some of them appeared to be players as well, reading through their own guidebooks.

Murmur- murmur-

Just then, the casino began to grow increasingly boisterous.

“Shall we get going?”

People who had been enjoying various games stood up and started gathering in one spot.

The line steadily grew longer.

Checking the start of the line, I saw a signpost that read ‘Betting Area.’ Glass partitions had been set up in front of it, but no employees were stationed there yet.

Betting could only begin once registration closed, but for some reason, people were already lining up.

‘If it were me, I’d wait to see the payouts before getting in line.’

Well, gamblers weren’t fools; they probably had their reasons. Participants were prohibited from winner betting by regulation, so Chasey and I had no need to stand in line.

Still, we needed to hurry up and register. I looked over at Chasey, who was diligently reading the guidebook.

“Are you done reading?”

“I’ve memorized it all. It’s not a particularly unusual rule. But is it alright if I stick to the strategy I originally planned to use?”

She had joined the private battlefield to practice her druid deck, and she was worried that if the roulette spat out different synergies, she might be forced to choose another deck.

However, I had a good idea of how the battlefield would play out, so I wasn’t too concerned.

“It’s fine. The other players will likely choose decks they’re confident in rather than blindly following the roulette synergies.”

The Paradise Private battlefield was a 999+ tier private battlefield with no strict rating requirements.

Most of the players here would be from lower tiers.

If the roulette gave them a synergy they had never used before, could they really pilot that deck properly?

Absolutely not.

The roulette rule was simply a system where you could earn bonus points if your main deck’s synergy happened to pop up. No one actually planned to flexibly build a deck around the assigned synergies.

The core of the roulette rule was that it allowed players to overcome a slight skill gap with luck.

It was a popular rule among gamblers, as it occasionally produced unexpected upsets.

But for me, right now, the roulette rule was the most advantageous.

While others saw it as a luck-based element, to me, it was a welcome feature that allowed me to cover the difference in item combination formulas with pure skill.

That was exactly why I had chosen this place for my first private battlefield.

“Then let’s go register.”

Registering didn’t take long.

There weren’t many players participating in the private battlefield, so there was no wait.

Simply submitting 100 shillings along with a faction emblem was enough to earn participation rights.

However, I hadn’t expected to run into an unexpected figure here.

Then again, it was a meeting that was entirely predictable.

He was someone who had to be present wherever a private battlefield was held.

“Haha— The casino has quite a lively atmosphere. You wouldn’t be able to feel this anywhere else but Yukantar.”

A man entered the casino, escorted by another man in a luxurious suit.

Chasey seemed to recognize him as well, whispering into my ear.

“…It’s Priest Veron.”

Priest Veron, whom I had met before, stepped into the casino wearing a pristine priest’s robe that clashed with the surrounding atmosphere.

All private battlefields could only be held under the supervision of an Imperial Priest. Trivik was no exception to this rule.

Therefore, it was only natural for Priest Veron, who was staying in Yukantar, to show up here.

‘I’ll be seeing a lot of him.’

The private battlefields I would be participating in for the time being were concentrated in Yukantar.

I fiddled with the wolf mask covering my face.

Priest Veron cast a fleeting glance our way but failed to recognize us.

Priest Veron’s arrival meant the private battlefield would commence shortly.

The man who had escorted Priest Veron stepped forward, holding a sound amplification device. It was Profano, the owner of the casino and the sponsor of the private battlefield.

“Welcome, esteemed guests, to Paradise Profano! Before we begin today’s main event, allow me to explain the rewards for this battlefield!”

Clap- clap- clap-!

Amidst the applause, Profano signaled to an employee. The employee carried an object covered by a cloth, piquing the crowd’s curiosity.

Profano raised his voice to hype up the crowd.

“A total of sixteen players will be participating in this battlefield! The winner will receive a prize of 1,000 shillings, and the player who hits the jackpot will be rewarded with a Pure Gold Dice alongside the ‘Dice of Fortune’ Item combination formula!”

Shrrk-!

As the black cloth was pulled away, a gleaming golden dice was revealed.

What…?

The Pure Gold Dice didn’t even register in my mind. The words ‘Item Combination Formula’ had completely filled my head.

However, the seasoned gamblers around me clicked their tongues and muttered.

“Has anyone ever actually hit the jackpot in a roulette rule battlefield? They only put it up there because they know it’s impossible.”

It was a lukewarm reaction.

Naturally, the conditions to hit the jackpot in a roulette rule battlefield were incredibly demanding.

Shrrk-

I checked the section of the guidebook detailing the jackpot conditions.

Condition 1: Adopt all three synergies drawn from the roulette.

Condition 2: Activate one of the three synergies to its maximum level.

Condition 3: Win the battlefield with 77 or more HP remaining.

They were absurd conditions, enough to understand why the crowd reacted the way they did.

But my motivation was ignited.

‘If the roulette just lands well, it’s doable.’

As long as it wasn’t physically impossible, I could always aim for it.

If I could obtain the Item combination formula here, it would be a massive help in the upcoming private battlefields.

Unfazed by the crowd’s reaction, Profano raised his voice once more.

“Eight players will form a group, and each group will proceed simultaneously! The player with the highest total score, combining ranking points and additional points, will be the victor of this Paradise Private battlefield!”

I hoped Chasey and I would be placed in different groups.

If we were in the same group, one of us was guaranteed to place second or lower, which would inevitably drag down our final rankings.

The best-case scenario was for us to take first place in our respective groups.

Profano went on to explain the rewards for places other than first, but my mind was solely fixated on the Item combination formula, so his words went in one ear and out the other.

“Now, for the first roulette! We will begin the group assignment roulette by introducing the participants of the Paradise Private battlefield!”

Clap- clap- clap-!

As the start of the private battlefield drew near, the atmosphere inside the casino heated up.

“Our first participant is player Hans from the Arrow of the Blue Sky, with a faction ranking of 988th! Let’s see which group he’ll be assigned to—let the roulette begin!”

Trickle-

The roulette spun rapidly. ‘Hans’ was the alias I had used when registering to hide my identity.

It was the most common name in the Empire.

Upon hearing the introduction of the first participant, the crowd began to murmur.

“988th in faction ranking? There are actually players in a place like that?”

“Arrow of the Blue Sky? Anyone heard of them?”

Since most players belonged to highly ranked factions, finding a player from a faction near the 999th rank was highly unusual.

Furthermore, the Arrow of the Blue Sky was a non-mainstream archer faction, so it hadn’t spread by word of mouth either.

It seemed no one in the casino had ever heard of the Arrow of the Blue Sky.

“Player Hans has been assigned to Group A! Now for our second participant. Also from the Arrow of the Blue Sky, player Alice! Please stay tuned to see which group she’ll be assigned to!”

Trickle-

Along with the rapidly spinning roulette, the casino began to buzz with commotion.

“They have two players? What kind of place is the Arrow of the Blue Sky?”

“Looks like it’s those two.”

The crowd’s gazes shifted toward Chasey and me.

Our matching outfits and masks made it obvious that we came from the same faction.

“Player Alice has been assigned to Group B! Now for our third participant. From the Hell Fire faction, ranked 387th, player Mashiro!”

Thankfully, Chasey and I were assigned to different groups.

The third participant was placed in Group B, where Chasey was.

Typically, group assignments started with players from the lowest-ranked factions, meaning the next lowest rank after ours was 387th.

“And our final participant! From the Steel Bullets faction, ranked 78th, player Hannibal! He will automatically be placed in the remaining Group A.”

With that, the group assignments were complete.

Despite being a 999+ tier battlefield, the factions the players belonged to had quite high rankings.

However, faction ranking alone couldn’t determine a Player’s skill level. There wasn’t a significant difference in skill among players who didn’t belong to top-tier factions.

Of course, there was a gap proportional to the faction rankings, but it meant there wasn’t anyone here with the transcendent level of skill like the player I met during the placement exam.

Players of Silver Tier or higher belonged to the dominant factions of each region, such as Garos or Liberthan.

“Now, we will spin the synergy roulette, the crown jewel of the Paradise Private battlefield! This time, we will proceed in reverse order, starting with player Hannibal!”

The atmosphere inside the casino was growing hotter by the minute.