Zap-!

A mechanical whine laced with static echoed from above.

Jolted back to my senses by the noise, I surveyed my surroundings to grasp the situation.

A tiny room of barely sixteen square meters. A steel door situated on one side.

Phew-

I let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s over.”

A voice immediately resonated from the ceiling.

[“The results for Group A are in! Defying everyone’s expectations, the last door to remain closed was A-8! It was Hans, a player from Arrow of the Blue Sky with a Faction Ranking of 988!”]

I won.

Even if it was a low-level 999+ tier Private battlefield, I had finally secured my first victory as a player.

[“Final rankings will be calculated once the ongoing Group B results are out! With the variables of the Roulette in play, please don’t let your guard down! It ain’t over till it’s over!”]

It seemed Group B, where Chasey was competing, had yet to conclude.

In Group A, my overwhelming victory prevented the battlefield from dragging on, but when competitors were evenly matched, the rounds naturally stretched longer.

Regardless of Group B’s outcome, my ranking was already set in stone.

Remaining health: 82.

That was a far more comfortable margin than required, satisfying all three conditions for the Jackpot.

Checking my clothes for anything out of place, I then placed my hand on the steel door’s handle.

Creak-!

“Congratulations on first place. I will guide you to the VIP waiting room.”

As I stepped out, a casino employee was waiting for me.

Profano, the owner of the gambling establishment, would personally distribute rewards to the final top three rankers.

Although the overall results weren’t out yet, securing first place in my group guaranteed I wouldn’t drop below third, so they were initiating the preparation procedures early.

Once Group B’s results were finalized and the final rankings were tallied, the award ceremony would proceed immediately.

I compliantly followed the employee’s guidance.

“Please wait a moment.”

The employee stood before a dead-end wall. As he fumbled and tapped against it, a section caved inward, followed by the sound of whirring machinery.

Screech-!

Boom-

The wall slowly split apart, revealing a passageway just wide enough for a single person.

Flash-!

It was a pitch-black corridor where nothing was visible, but as the employee stepped in first, the lights flickered on one by one, finally illuminating the end of the passage.

A passageway of roughly ten meters.

At its end stood a black door engraved with bizarre patterns.

‘A magic circle?’

It seemed some sort of magic was imbued into the door itself. Being a layman in magic, I lacked the discerning eye to identify what it was.

Clank-!

The employee opened the door first and stepped inside.

I followed right behind him.

“Hmm…?”

There was a prior guest.

Someone I was already acquainted with, but certainly didn’t want to see.

“Hohoho- So you are the player who took first place in Group A. Please, come in and make yourself comfortable.”

A man dressed in a pristine priestly robe. It was Veron, the Imperial Priest, wearing a benevolent smile.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand why he was here.

From the organizer’s perspective, an Imperial Priest who assisted in hosting the Private battlefield would naturally be treated as a VIP.

However, I had heard things from Jay, and Veron was a rather unsavory character, making this a less-than-welcome encounter.

Nod.

Since my voice might give something away, I simply nodded in response and took a comfortable seat on the sofa.

The sofa was so soft and plush that I felt I could fall asleep just by sitting there for a moment.

Priest Veron merely smiled, unfazed by my demeanor.

‘When will Group B finish?’

The employee had guided me in and then left, leaving an awkward silence to hang between Priest Veron and me.

The air was literally heavy.

Priest Veron looked my way and opened his mouth in a low murmur.

“I’ve also had an interest in Arrow of the Blue Sky. It is the only place in Trivik where a Forest Race serves as the faction leader.”

Priest Veron was gauging my reaction.

“… …”

I didn’t offer any reply. Priest Veron’s forehead twitched briefly.

At that moment, a sound echoed from the audio equipment inside the VIP room.

It was crystal-clear audio without any static.

[“Ah- Unfortunately, the door that opened this time was B-2! The doors that remain closed until the end are B-1 and B-8, two doors!”]

‘She must be doing well.’

Chasey had entered door B-8.

Although the results weren’t out yet, it meant she had secured at least second place in her group.

It was her first time using this strategy in actual combat, but considering the Item combination formulas she possessed, this level of result was only natural.

She was still far from perfect in my eyes, but it wasn’t as if Chasey lacked talent as a player.

Once again, a voice echoed from the audio equipment.

[“Delaki of Spotlight, ranked 111st! Alice of Arrow of the Blue Sky, ranked 988th! Who will be the winner of Group B? And who will be the ultimate champion? The results will be revealed shortly!”]

‘It’s probably the final round.’

Considering Chasey’s health after employing the Open Port Strategy, it was about time for the results to be finalized regardless of the outcome.

Second place in Group A.

Player Teiz had secured a massive amount of bonus points. If Chasey were to record second place, there was a possibility she would be pushed down to fourth.

Chasey would likely be aiming solely for Druids.

‘She needs to take first place in Group B to receive the rewards…’

If she took second place in the group, it would be a somewhat disappointing result.

At that moment, Priest Veron spoke to me again from beside me.

“Hohoho- To have recruited two outstanding players into your faction, it seems Arrow of the Blue Sky has nothing left to do but soar, just as its name suggests.”

What a bothersome man.

He was the only person in Trivik who had recognized Chasey, so if she came here, there was a chance Priest Veron would figure out our identities.

According to Jay, Priest Veron dealt in information brokering as a side gig.

Information on two new players who had emerged in Trivik.

The more Arrow of the Blue Sky made a name for itself, the higher the value of that information would become.

Would Priest Veron really just bury such valuable information?

No, he would try to exploit it somehow.

That meant I absolutely couldn’t let him discover our identities.

‘This is going to be annoying.’

He was someone I would frequently encounter if I intended to participate in the Private battlefields in the eastern region.

As suspicions piled up one by one, my identity might eventually be exposed.

Of course, I had the safety net of the Adjudicator, but it was clear that troublesome situations would still arise.

‘I need to move to the Western Region quickly.’

Still, there was no need to be overly cautious.

I had to successfully complete the two planned Private battlefields to reach my goal.

My ultimate goal was the Private battlefield in the Western Region taking place in twelve days.

Since that Private battlefield had a rating restriction of 100+, I needed to earn as many Faction Points as possible before the next update.

The biggest drawback of Arrow of the Blue Sky was that the only active members were Chasey and me.

Of course, since I was the one who created this situation, I couldn’t blame anyone else.

Still, I managed to achieve quite a positive outcome from this Private battlefield.

‘I hit the Jackpot, so our Faction Ranking should rise significantly.’

One’s performance in a Private battlefield was also reflected in the Faction Ranking.

Since this was the first Jackpot to occur in Trivik, I would likely receive an enormous amount of Faction Points.

It might be a bit tight, but…

If I just had one more member who could earn as many Faction Points as Chasey, we would secure the qualification to participate for certain.

However, finding a player of Chasey’s caliber would be difficult, and there was no reason for such a person to join Arrow of the Blue Sky.

That was only natural.

Players went by different titles, but they were essentially akin to nobility.

It meant they possessed a sense of elitism, believing themselves to be inherently different from ordinary people.

It wasn’t an incorrect mindset.

It was a fact that players wielded such power, and in reality, the group with the most influence in the Empire was the players.

But Arrow of the Blue Sky lacked the capacity to cater to the egos of players.

From the very beginning, even the faction leader, Phil Kruger, wasn’t very positive about battlefields.

Well, it was already a widely known fact that the Forest Race disliked battlefields, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

He had taken a liking to Chasey and me not because we were players, but because we carried the scent of the forest.

That didn’t mean he would reject those who sought him out, but it did imply that players wouldn’t receive the treatment they desired.

Would a proud player seek to join this faction while enduring such treatment?

Arrow of the Blue Sky simply didn’t offer enough merits to warrant it.

‘In the end, Chasey needs to perform well.’

To achieve the goal within the timeframe, not only I but also Chasey needed to earn as many Faction Points as possible.

[“The final winner of Group B has finally been decided!”]

And the result was in.

If she wasn’t first, the plan could fall apart.

It was a tense moment.

But I didn’t have to be nervous because I trusted my deck rather than Chasey.

First place in Group B.

[“The door that remained closed until the very end was B-8!”]

Alice of Arrow of the Blue Sky, who was assigned the perplexing Roulette synergies of Ghost, Robot, and Druid.

Chasey, who held the highest payout odds among the sixteen participants, defied everyone’s expectations to claim first place in Group B.

Creak-!

The door to the VIP waiting room opened.

Peek.

Guided by another employee, Chasey had arrived at the VIP waiting room.

Although her face was hidden by the mask, I could somehow tell that she was wearing a bright smile.

Flinch.

Chasey had been about to approach me in high spirits, but upon spotting Priest Veron, she restrained herself.

Seeing this, Priest Veron offered a wry smile and stood up from his seat first.

“Hohoho- You both have worked hard. Then, I shall take my leave to finalize this Private battlefield. Please rest comfortably.”

Verifying the result sheets of the Private battlefield was the duty of an Imperial Priest.

Since his assistance was required to tally the final rankings, he had been waiting in the VIP room until the battlefield concluded.

He would combine the ranking scores and the Roulette scores before officially announcing the final results.

After Priest Veron left, naturally, only Chasey and I remained.

Flop-

Chasey sat down next to me and, without saying a word, picked up the notepad and pen on the table.

Swish- swish-

Characters flowed onto the notepad with a fluency that could be called calligraphy.

After diligently writing something down, Chasey placed a period and handed the notepad and pen to me.

The notepad contained the following message:

– There are suspicious devices hidden here. I think it’s better to communicate in writing rather than speaking.

Catching her drift, I wrote a reply beneath her message.

Not being entirely fluent in the Imperial language, my handwriting was inevitably crooked.

– Good job.

An illegible scrawl.

Chasey stared intently at the notepad.

Fortunately, she seemed to decipher it, as her gaze shifted from the notepad to me.

Then, she gently lifted the lower half of her mask.

Only her red lips were visible to me.

Chasey slowly moved her lips.

‘Thank you.’

Flashing a radiant smile, Chasey readjusted her rabbit mask.

Our eyes met.

Since I was wearing a mask, even I couldn’t tell what expression I was making.

Without exchanging a word, Chasey and I simply sat there, letting the silence stretch on for a while.

It was the same silence as when Priest Veron and I were the only ones left, but this time, it felt inexplicably refreshing.

Like leisurely resting in a forest with a beautiful view.

How much time passed like that?

A voice echoed from the audio equipment.

[“The final tally is in! Truly, an astonishing result!”]

An overly excited voice.

Chasey clenched her fists as if refusing to lose.

I merely chuckled at the sight.