“Now, it is time to spin the synergy Roulette, the crown jewel of the Paradise Private battlefield! We will proceed in reverse order this time, starting with player Hannibal!”

The atmosphere inside the gambling hall heated up at Profano’s words.

Each person held a slip of paper; it seemed there was a side bet running on which synergies each player would land on.

They really had thought up quite a variety of gambling opportunities for a single private battlefield. I found it rather novel.

“What will player Hannibal’s lucky synergies be? Let’s begin the first roulette!”

Trickle-!

The spinning wheel used for the synergy Roulette was divided into sections, each with a small groove.

A total of 27 sections.

Each section listed one of the synergies appearing in this private battlefield.

Trickle-

Once the roulette spun fast enough to blur the letters, Profano placed three balls onto the wheel.

Clang- clang-!

The balls bounced wildly under the centrifugal force.

Creak-

As time passed, the wheel’s rotation naturally slowed, and the movement of the balls began to decelerate as well.

Trickle-

The slowing balls shifted one section at a time before finally settling into place.

Clack-!

The moment the last moving ball dropped into an empty groove, Profano declared the end of the spin.

“Alright, player Hannibal of the Steel Bullets has landed… ‘Gunslinger’, ‘Guardian’, and ‘Sun’! Please remember these three synergies!”

“See! I told you to trust me! Hahaha—jackpot!”

“Damn it, I got two of them right!”

The first roulette concluded amid the outcries of gamblers around us.

The man called player Hannibal wore a satisfied smile.

As the name ‘Steel Bullets’ suggested, his primary synergy of choice was Gunslinger.

Crash-!

With Hannibal’s synergies decided, the betting area grew rowdy.

“Take mine first! 50 shillings on Hannibal!”

“Don’t push—! Wait your turn!”

Proof that many gamblers were betting on Hannibal’s victory.

Ding- ding- ding-!

The payout odds for Hannibal displayed on the wall-mounted board were gradually dropping.

“Tsk—betting now will barely break even.”

Betting late wasn’t an issue, but with the odds so low, there was no reason to force a bet. Thus, sighs erupted from the gamblers who had missed their chance to wager.

Ultimately, betting on Hannibal was a privilege reserved for those who had lined up early.

That explained why people had been lining up so early.

“Tsk—being Hannibal doesn’t guarantee first place.”

Still, the gamblers held onto hope, anticipating the results of the next roulette.

With the roulette rules in effect, there was no overwhelming favorite here.

Even Hannibal was no exception.

Trickle-

“Faction Ranking 384th, player Teiz of the Lotus! Synergies are ‘Gunslinger’, ‘Despicable’, and ‘Wild’!”

Ding- ding- ding-!

With each result, the crowd’s reactions were starkly divided, and the payout odds fluctuated wildly.

After 14 spins of the roulette, it was time for the 15th.

“She’s from the Arrow of the Blue Sky, right? Will she use the Archer synergy?”

“Archer is practically obsolete. She might actively use other synergies instead.”

A player from the Arrow of the Blue Sky. Her low ranking and lack of information actually drew people’s attention.

“Faction Ranking 988th, player Alice of the Arrow of the Blue Sky! What synergies will she get? Let’s find out right now!”

Trickle-!

The roulette spun swiftly.

Perhaps out of tension, Chasey was gripping the hem of her robe tightly.

Trickle-

Clang-!

The roulette stopped completely, and the third ball dropped into the correct section. Then, the announcement came.

“Player Alice of the Arrow of the Blue Sky has landed… ‘Ghost’, ‘Robot’, and… ‘Druid’!”

“Whoa…”

“That’s the worst.”

Sighs of disappointment echoed around us. After all, she had only landed difficult synergies that were hard to use as a main composition.

The payout odds on Chasey began to rise bit by bit. It meant that seeing her synergies, people were betting on other players instead.

It meant no one was betting on her victory.

But Chasey must have been smiling beneath her mask.

None of the gamblers knew she had landed her desired synergy through an 11.1 percent chance.

Chasey didn’t need to aim for the jackpot; she only needed to select one synergy to aim for bonus points, and the synergy she would choose was naturally the Druid synergy.

“Now, for the final turn. Also from the Arrow of the Blue Sky, player Hans! What synergies will appear? Starting the roulette!”

And my turn had come.

Trickle-!

As the roulette spun, I finally started to feel nervous.

‘Please.’

I prayed fervently in my heart.

I needed at least one synergy with a low maximum activation count to even attempt the jackpot.

Right now, the Item combination formula offered as a reward was absolutely crucial to me.

Trickle-

Clang-!

And so, the final ball of the roulette settled into its place.

“And that concludes the final roulette!”

‘What did I get?’

The crowd gathered around the roulette blocked my view, making it hard to see what synergies had appeared.

“Winner betting will close five minutes after the announcement of the final roulette results! Please note that additional betting outside of the designated time is not allowed!”

Perhaps because it was the last one, Profano was drawing it out instead of announcing it right away.

Fortunately, no disaster occurred where it would be revealed 60 seconds later.

“Then I shall make the announcement. Player Hans’s first synergy is… Shieldbearer! A classic synergy.”

‘Not bad.’

Getting the shieldbearer synergy, which was essentially my main synergy, was positive news.

However, since the maximum activation for shieldbearer was shieldbearer (6), it was difficult to aim for the jackpot with it.

Profano opened his mouth again.

“It’s a synergy that’s been trending in Trivik lately, isn’t it? The second synergy is… Assassin!”

“Assassin, huh…”

“With Assassin, you never know. I should bet on this guy named Hans.”

Contrary to the positive reactions of the crowd, my stomach was burning.

‘Damn it!’

The maximum activation for Assassin was Assassin (8).

A player running a Hardcore Assassin deck would have cheered, but with Assassin as the main focus, there was absolutely no way to aim for the jackpot.

“And the final synergy is…”

Gulp-!

Only one possibility remained for me now. Profano announced the last remaining result.

“It’s Magic Engineering! Player Hans’s final synergies are ‘Shieldbearer’, ‘Assassin’, and ‘Magic Engineering’!”

Magic Engineering?

Shrrk-!

I immediately checked the Paradise Private battlefield guidebook.

‘Found it.’

Only after checking the page titled ‘Magic Engineering’ could I finally let out a sigh of relief.

【Magic Engineering】

When combat begins, allied Magic Engineering units fire a pulse bomb. The bomb explodes, disabling the items of nearby enemies for 5 seconds.

(2) Disables items within 1 tile

(4) Disables items within 2 tiles

Fortunately, the maximum activation synergy was only 4.

Furthermore, the Magic Engineering synergy was a Lineage synergy.

It meant there were Shield Bearers or Assassins possessing the Magic Engineering synergy.

In theory, this meant it was possible to hit the jackpot.

‘With this… it might be possible?’

A way to combine these three synergies immediately came to mind.

The Hardcore Assassin deck that was gradually trending throughout all of Trivik.

With just a little refinement, I could fully utilize all three synergies.

Of course, the core of this battlefield wouldn’t be Assassin, but Magic Engineering.

“Players participating in the Paradise Private battlefield, please follow the staff’s instructions to move to your designated locations!”

“We meet again. I will guide you.”

The gambling hall employee who had greeted me at the entrance approached.

I would have to part ways with Chasey here since we were in different groups. Chasey spoke first.

“I will definitely take first place too! Th… no, Mr. Hans, please do your best as well.”

“Remember what I told you well. Even if your HP gets low, you must never panic.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind!”

Chasey nodded.

With those final words, I followed the staff to my designated location.

I ran into other players in Group A during the move, but with the private battlefield ahead, we didn’t exchange any words.

The place I arrived at under the staff’s guidance had a firmly shut door, with the letters A-8 written above it.

Clank-

Creak-!

Opening the door and stepping inside, a small space of about 5 square meters appeared.

It was a space that brought to mind a champion waiting room.

“Please exit the room immediately once the private battlefield concludes. If you leave before the battlefield begins, it will be considered a forfeit. May fortune be with you.”

Thud-!

The door shut firmly behind the employee’s parting words.

As stated in the guidebook, if my HP reached zero and I was eliminated from the battlefield, I just had to open the door and walk out.

The gamblers who bet on me were probably hoping this door would stay closed for as long as possible.

About five minutes must have passed.

A familiar voice echoed from somewhere.

“All players have finished their preparations!”

I looked up toward the ceiling where the sound originated.

All external noise was blocked, but it seemed there was a hidden sound system inside the room.

“Then, let the Paradise Private battlefield begin!”

Simultaneously, my Device began to glow.

[Do you wish to participate in the Paradise Private Battlefield?]

There was no reason to refuse after coming this far. Naturally, I pressed the ‘Yes’ button.

[Matching complete. Moving to the Dimensional Battlefield ‘PARADISE – A’!]

Flash-!

Ten seconds passed, and the light from the Device filled the room.

‘Let’s hope for good results.’

And so, my first private battlefield, the Paradise Private battlefield, began.

***

Whooosh-!

A damp, cold wind brushed past my body.

Only after the light faded could I carefully open my eyes.

“Where is this…”

I surveyed my surroundings, taking in the landscape of the battlefield.

The location for this battlefield was somewhat peculiar.

‘A cave?’

Long stalagmites grew from the floor, sharp stalactites hung from the high ceiling, and some of them connected like pillars of a building.

From a ceiling so high it was hard to believe this was a cave, bright light seeped through despite the absence of a sun.

It was a battlefield boasting an unrealistic landscape, as if this were what an underworld would look like.

But this was possible because it wasn’t a real terrain; it was a virtual space within an independent dimension.

Phew-!

A damp, cold wind blew from somewhere, tickling my face, and the sound echoed through the cave interior, unable to pass through the walls.

The fact that I could feel the cold wind despite wearing a robe enchanted to block external interference meant the spell’s efficacy didn’t extend to the battlefield.

The same applied to other players, so it wasn’t anything to worry about.

Shing-!

I picked up the sheet of paper floating before me and tore it in two with force.

Champion Summon Scroll (★)

– Summons one random 1-Cost Champion.

Vwoomm-

‘As expected.’

Just as I had experienced during the Placement Exam, the Shieldbearer’s equipment was equipped onto me.

Seeing the exact same thing happen in a private battlefield, I could finally be certain.

The first champion to exist on my battlefield was unconditionally me.

Thud- thud-!

Heavy footsteps echoed across the battlefield.