“Whoa, whoa—calm down.”

“…Soryu, where is this guy from?”

“The Arrow of the Blue Sky. Though you’ve probably never heard of them.”

“And where exactly is that faction based?”

At the very least, Melchapin possessed enough intellect to refrain from swinging his fists recklessly.

Zap-!

I ignored Melchapin’s piercing gaze and calmly continued reading the guidebook.

“Hah, seriously.”

Seeing my nonchalant attitude, he wore an expression of sheer disbelief.

It was the first time he had encountered a human so brazenly confident in his presence.

Slither-

I familiarized myself with the synergies and champions listed in the guidebook, carefully examining the specific rules in play.

‘This battlefield uses classic rules.’

I tried to continue reading the guidebook, but the running commentary from behind shattered my concentration.

“To think you’re trying to befriend a guy like this. Soryu, have you lost your mind?”

“He may look like that, but he’s incredibly skilled. He doesn’t belong in a 999+ tier Private battlefield.”

“Hmm, he certainly doesn’t look the part to me.”

Tap-!

Once I had grasped the essential details, I set the guidebook down on the table.

While picking a fight brought no benefits, I couldn’t exactly let someone openly disrespecting me slide.

I addressed the brute named Melchapin.

“If you’re so confident in your skills, how about a bet? Though I suppose a petty-minded fellow like you wouldn’t accept.”

“A bet?”

“Let’s bet on who achieves the better record in this Private battlefield.”

Players were meant to prove themselves on the battlefield, not with empty words.

Hearing my proposal, Soryu hastily tried to dissuade Melchapin.

“Melchapin, just pretend you didn’t hear that. There’s no reason to take a bet where you’re clearly at a disadvantage.”

“What…? Are you looking down on me!”

Since Soryu had witnessed my skills firsthand, his warning was genuine.

However, the remark seemed to strike a nerve with Melchapin, who flushed red with indignation.

Boom-!

As he stomped his foot, a deafening boom reverberated through the room.

The fact that the floor remained intact was a testament to the exceptional construction quality of the Toros Construction Company.

“C-calm down.”

Melchapin growled, prompting Soryu to take a step back.

Once he was in this state, not even Soryu could hold him back.

“Fine. I accept your bet.”

He was the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve.

To draw out his temper even further, I provoked him again.

“A straight-up bet would be too disadvantageous for you, so I’ll offer a handicap.”

“A handicap?”

“If my health drops below half by the end of this battlefield, I’ll consider it your victory.”

“Are you mocking me? As if I would accept a bet like that!”

Melchapin erupted in fury.

“How arrogant.”

A player who had been quietly observing from the sidelines furrowed his brow.

My words implied that I didn’t consider the other players as competition at all.

“Hey, you seem a bit too riled up yourself. You need to calm down.”

Having witnessed my skills, Soryu also tried to dissuade me, likely assuming I was making a reckless bet in the heat of the moment.

But I had no intention of backing down.

I merely added a single phrase.

“Are you scared?”

Even with my mask obscuring my face, he seemed to sense the mockery in my tone.

“… …”

Blood rushed to Melchapin’s head, his veins bulging as he trembled and curled his lips into a snarl.

“…Fine. If you’re that confident, I accept. Hey, you all heard that, right?”

The atmosphere among the surrounding players wasn’t particularly favorable, either.

While the bet was primarily with Melchapin, anyone who heard the terms could tell they were being dismissed just as easily.

I might have needlessly made enemies of the crowd, but this was a 999+ tier Private battlefield, after all.

There wasn’t a single player here who posed a genuine threat to me.

“I’m washing my hands of this.”

It was already too late to intervene. With the situation completely out of his control, Soryu simply threw his hands up in resignation.

“So, what are we wagering?”

“If we’re doing this, we’re going big.”

Every eye in the room locked onto me.

“Let’s wager one Item combination formula each. You aren’t going to back down now, are you?”

“… …”

A heavy silence descended over the waiting room.

Wagering an Item combination formula on a single Private battlefield match?

Was he out of his mind?

Melchapin flashed a wicked grin.

Despite his scrawny frame, didn’t he show an unexpectedly manly side?

This was a bet overwhelmingly in his favor.

Backing down from this would disqualify him from being a true man.

“Alright, I accept the bet. Hey—bring over a notary.”

Melchapin gestured toward a staff member.

“Yes, please wait a moment!”

The trembling Toros Construction Company employee scurried out of the waiting room to fetch a notary qualified to officiate the wager.

A brief moment passed.

Creak-!

The waiting room doors opened once more.

Tromp- tromp-!

A luxurious suit paired with polished dress shoes, preceded by a thick, artificial cloud of cologne.

The man the employee brought appeared to hold a high-ranking position at a glance. He offered an affable smile as he spoke.

“I hear you’ve arranged quite an entertaining wager.”

“Yeah, be our notary. My opponent is this guy.”

Melchapin, scowling at the pungent odor of the cologne, jabbed a finger in my direction, drawing the man’s gaze toward me.

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Kanbal, Branch Manager of the Toros Construction Company’s Solar branch. What sort of wager are you gentlemen proposing?”

I reiterated the terms of the bet, and Kanbal’s expression filled with genuine interest.

“You’re wagering an Item combination formula? Ha ha, providing such an event will certainly make this Private battlefield far more thrilling.”

With a bright smile, Kanbal continued.

“First, I must verify the Item combination formulas you intend to wager. I need to ensure they hold equivalent value. Since the information within an Item combination formula can influence the battlefield, please present them only to me as the notary.”

“Sure, I’ll show you mine first.”

Thud- thud-!

Melchapin stomped over to a corner of the waiting room and showed his wagered Item combination formula to Kanbal.

“Oh ho…”

Since Melchapin shielded it with his broad back, I couldn’t see a thing. After verifying the formula, Kanbal returned with an enigmatic smile.

“Next is…”

“You can call me Hans.”

“Yes, Mr. Hans. Could you please step this way?”

I followed Kanbal to the corner of the waiting room and presented my sole Item combination formula.

【Dice of Fortune】

– Dull Dagger + Dull Dagger

– Critical hit chance +20%

– Upon each critical hit, attack power and spell power increase by +7.

“This is from the Paradise Private battlefield…”

Recognizing the origin of my formula, Kanbal stared at me with wide, astonished eyes.

I had heard rumors in passing.

Whispers of a player who had hit the Jackpot at the Paradise Private battlefield.

It seemed he hadn’t realized that player was me.

“Verified.”

Zap-

After verifying the formulas, I returned to my seat and locked eyes with Melchapin.

The atmosphere was growing increasingly heated, a development that seemed to satisfy Kanbal immensely as he smiled broadly.

“I have now verified both parties’ Item combination formulas. There are no issues. While there are slight differences, they hold comparable value.”

“Comparable?”

Melchapin stared at me in disbelief.

Believing this was a bet he couldn’t possibly lose, he had wagered his finest Item combination formula to assert dominance…

A creeping sense of anxiety began to swirl within Melchapin’s chest.

He hadn’t actually intended to wager this particular formula, but the situation had spiraled slightly out of his control.

‘Looks like he wagered something quite useful.’

I was mildly surprised by Kanbal’s assessment as well.

I had wagered the Dice of Fortune formula simply because I had no other options, but I hadn’t expected him to bring something this valuable to the table.

Did that mean he was truly that confident?

Regardless, this worked out perfectly for me.

An opportunity to acquire an Item combination formula on par with the Dice of Fortune had just fallen into my lap.

“Excellent. Let me reconfirm the rules of the wager. At the conclusion of this battlefield, if player Hans’s health is 50 or above, player Hans is victorious. If it falls below 50, player Melchapin claims victory. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Confirmed. I wish you both a thoroughly enjoyable Private battlefield.”

With the formalities concluded, Kanbal departed to prepare the Private battlefield, leaving a restless atmosphere in his wake.

Soryu approached Melchapin and grumbled under his breath.

“Melchapin, I tried to stop you. This was your choice.”

“Are you going to keep rubbing it in? Look around. See what everyone else is thinking.”

The players, their pride stung by my earlier remarks, were diligently poring over their guidebooks.

It seemed my provocation had inadvertently ignited a fire under them as well.

I might face concentrated interference once I entered the battlefield.

But it didn’t matter.

That might have been a concern in the past, but with the ‘Dice of Fortune’ Item combination formula in my possession, I wasn’t about to lose.

With thirty minutes remaining until the battlefield commenced, I found an empty seat in the waiting room and sat down.

No one dared to approach me, but Soryu, after gauging the mood, sidled over.

“I didn’t expect things to turn out like this. My apologies.”

Soryu offered a sincere apology.

If he hadn’t needlessly tried to pair me up with Melchapin, this entire situation could have been avoided.

Still, from my perspective, it wasn’t a bad turn of events.

A prime opportunity to earn an Item combination formula as a side reward had just presented itself.

“No, I should actually be thanking you.”

I meant it.

Soryu looked at me, genuinely surprised.

“Just be careful. There are going to be a lot of players gunning for you.”

Given his friendship with Melchapin, there was nothing more he could say.

He knew exactly what deck Melchapin favored, but revealing that information would effectively mean severing ties with his friend.

After Soryu left, I sat alone and contemplated the direction of the deck I would construct for this battlefield.

In the previous battlefield, I had participated alongside Chasey, starting with the constraint of avoiding shieldbearers entirely to conceal my identity.

But that restriction was now lifted.

This was made possible by my efforts over the past three days.

—Equipped Gear-

Name: Steel Visor

Type: Helmet

Grade: Bronze

Stats: Defense +2, Critical Resistance +2

Price: 35G

——————————

The Steel Visor, purchased with the gold I had saved over three days.

The Steel Visor featured a steel mask across the facial area, providing ample protection for the face.

By concealing my physique beneath thick, scrap-iron armor and obscuring my face with the visor, no one would be able to identify me.

Naturally, someone observing closely might harbor suspicions.

But who would ever suspect a player of acting as a champion?

It was precisely this blind spot in their logic that gave me absolute confidence I wouldn’t be discovered.

My greatest strength was none other than my identity as the ‘1-Cost Shieldbearer Lee Shin’.

Therefore, building a deck centered around myself would be the most efficient approach.

The only item in my possession was the Dice of Fortune, a Stack-type Item whose effects amplified as the battle dragged on.

Melding these two elements together, a specific deck composition came to mind.

‘I don’t have the Bramble Armor yet, but that’s fine.’

Targeting the Bramble Armor had been part of the plan to utilize this very deck.

With a few minor adjustments, the deck would still generate sufficient power, even if it lacked the full punch of my original concept.

Tap-!

Having settled on the deck’s direction early, I pushed the now-useless guidebook aside.

Then, I considered my next steps.

‘If I acquire another Item combination formula here and secure the Bramble Armor in the next battlefield, I’ll be set for a while.’

A standard deck typically utilized three to four Core Items.

Of course, the necessary material items weren’t guaranteed to appear every match, so possessing a variety of Item combination formulas was essential for navigating battlefields smoothly.

However, in a 999+ tier Private battlefield, this wasn’t a significant issue.

But as I progressed to higher-rated Private battlefields, the skill level of the players would rise, bringing far more challenges.

Acquiring one more Item combination formula from this bet would be a tremendous help in that journey.

Even if I still had no idea what kind of formula it would turn out to be.