The Glorious Evolution

The crowd cheered, though a fair number booed just as loudly, not too fond of arrogant Rifters unless they had what it took to back it up.

Akira raised her chin, unbothered by the mixed reactions.

”Whenever you’re ready, Your Highness.”

Gamemaster Gamble passed the dice to her again and got out of her way.

Akira used the same technique to roll the dice, sending them flying everywhere before they landed in front of her.

[FORTUNE: 4]

[CALAMITY: 3]

[TOTAL: 7]

”Fortune wins!” Gamble announced. ”Seven tiles forward!”

The invisible wall before the Start tile faded away, revealing a tile lit up in gold... FORTUNE TILE!

It was calling for her, and Akira didn’t reject the call.

The moment she willed it, her body teleported onto the golden seventh tile, like someone had plucked her from above and placed her down.

Levi and the rest of the Rifters remained behind, but a dimensional window opened before each of them, allowing everyone to watch.

Meanwhile, a golden interface appeared in front of Akira.

[FORTUNE TILE]

[Would you like to spend Fortune Points to improve your reward?]

[The greater the investment, the greater the potential reward.]

”Increase it.”

Akira agreed without hesitation, knowing that a chance like this might not occur so soon. A second window popped up, allowing her to choose how many Fortune Points she wanted to spend.

She studied it for a moment before deciding to be slightly more aggressive and selecting an amount... six points vanished from her starting balance.

’Already spending? Interesting.’ Levi murmured inwardly.

There were only twenty Fortune Points available to each of them at the beginning... he knew spending six during the first round was too aggressive, but if the Fortune Tile gave Akira something capable of influencing the entire game, the investment could pay for itself.

Even Gamemaster Gamble and the viewers seemed delighted by her decision.

”That’s what I want to see! No hoarding! No responsible budgeting! Spend those points!”

Following her confirmation, a giant golden wheel manifested out of the ether before the viewers’ amazed eyes... The wheel was so casino-coded that some viewers suffered from gambling PTSD at first glance, while others didn’t hesitate to participate in side bets, choosing which Tool she would land on.

The tools were:

Fortune Compass.

Tile Swap.

Calamity Shield.

Fortune Multiplier.

Loaded Dice.

Route Key.

The quality of the tools was noticeably higher, and they were surrounded by a golden glow, like they were some mythical treasures.

Above the Fortune Wheel was a number written as ×2!

’Six points doubled the quality of the tools... interesting.’

Levi thought inwardly as he watched the wheel spin rapidly while the pointer passed one tool after another.

The viewers held their breath in anticipation, feeling like they were gambling with the Rifters... while they gambled with their money, the Rifters were gambling with their lives.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

It slowed past the Calamity Shield... passed the Route Key, and then finally stopped at... LOADED DICE!

A small golden die materialized above Akira’s palm... then, the tool’s description appeared before Akira alone... the Rifters were left with only the name to figure out its effect.

[Loaded Dice]

[Single Use]

[Before rolling, select the exact result of both dice.]

[A Double cannot be selected or intentionally created through this tool.]

While the Rifters were trying to understand the tool, Akira showed a faint smirk and stored it inside her tool inventory.

She knew that on a board where landing on a specific tile could mean gaining a reward, avoiding a punishment, choosing a route, or forcing a battle with another Rifter, controlling even one die could completely change a turn... yet, she could control both!

Akira turned toward the distant throne.

”A useful beginning.”

Following her successful start, the rest of the Rifters felt quite confident about achieving a similar result or even better.

The Borrower slithered forward, his long serpent tail dragging behind him... He glanced toward Akira’s distant figure for a moment, his narrow eyes lingering on her inventory.

”Watch how it’s done.”

The Borrower smirked and placed both hands against the gigantic dice before pushing them forward.

They rolled across the tile, colliding once before settling side by side.

[FORTUNE: 1]

[CALAMITY: 3]

[TOTAL: 4]

The Borrower’s smirk froze as he watched the Calamity Die pulse with an ominous dark light... everyone knew what it meant... Calamity Luck was dominant!

Levi remained silent and watched the fourth tile light up with the same ominous light... before the Borrower could react, he found himself standing on top of it.

The moment his feet touched the surface, the cheerful colors around him vanished while a gigantic prison symbol appeared beneath his feet.

PRISON TILE!

The Borrower’s expression stiffened as he watched iron bars rise from the edges of the tile, sealing him inside with no way out.

[IMPRISONED]

[The Borrower’s next two Dice rounds will be skipped.]

Since the Calamity Die had the highest number, the Board’s luck increased the Prison Tile’s punishment from a single round of imprisonment to two rounds!

”Can I spend Fortune Points?” The Borrower frowned.

”Of course!” Gamemaster nodded.

The Borrower thought about it carefully for a few moments before waving his hand dismissively.

”Never mind, I accept the imprisonment.”

Hearing this, many viewers felt like he had made a terrible mistake... even some Rifters thought so. However, Levi knew that he had made the right decision, as he would have done the same.

’Imprisonment might sound bad on paper, as it makes one lose their turn... but at the same time, it protects them from wasting their Fortune Points or landing on even worse tiles.’ Levi nodded. ’The Borrower is in a great strategic position, where he can sit back and study everyone’s moves in peace.’

Or so he assumed... before the next turn arrived, the Borrower, Levi, and the rest were left stunned at the sight of a giant countdown manifesting above the prison.

[04:59] [04:58]

Underneath it, another line appeared.

[Imprisonment Tax: –1 Fortune Point every three minutes.]

”Excuse me?”

The Borrower’s heart skipped a beat, feeling like the prison bars, which he had considered a means of protection, had turned into a real punishment!

”Oh, did I forget to mention that?”

Gamemaster Gamble asked innocently, but his sinister grin was there for all to see... and yet, such a scenario didn’t surprise many who were familiar with Gamemaster Gamble’s abuse of the system’s loopholes.

Even Levi recalled how Gamemaster Gamble had taken advantage of the Joker’s final round.

He had just dropped a hundred-meter Sun onto a Scarlet Dracara and walked out of it with nothing left... the rules said he was owed the same recovery window between duels, but he never got it since it was the final battle and there was a tie between him and the Ruiner.

Gamemaster Gamble had merged the map and dropped an exhausted Levi in front of a monster still at its peak, then called it a finale for the sake of ending the game on a great climax.

’He is doing it again...’ Ash’Kral warned. ’Be careful of every single tile... he has the right to put traps in his game, and I am sure he makes full use of it.’

Traps that the rules hadn’t mentioned... and the Borrower was the first to fall into one.

He was smart enough to realize it and didn’t waste his breath protesting... he walked to the prison bars and stared at the Rifters silently, watching every move of theirs.

’So much for a strategic position.’