The Glorious Evolution

The spectators swiftly began chanting again, their excitement unfiltered after Levi’s latest victory.

”Let’s see whether our Celestial can survive something even more dangerous than the Borrower!” Gamble laughed while pointing toward the dice. ”His own luck!”

’What a prick...’

Levi’s brows twitched slightly under the mask, but he couldn’t retort... his luck had been quite shitty lately, and he wished it would turn around before he lost his mind.

Levi rolled.

[FORTUNE: 3]

[CALAMITY: 3]

[TOTAL: 6]

”A small double!”

Gamble clapped while the crowd’s cheers grew louder, though Arthur and the girls reacted less enthusiastically.

”Don’t start celebrating yet...” Arthur said, his feet stomping on the grass nonstop.

Jasmine and the girls nodded, remembering exactly what had happened the last time Levi received an additional roll.

Levi needed no reminder... He advanced six tiles without allowing himself to become excited, then reached for the dice again.

One good result meant nothing if the next one sent him back across the board.

Thud... Thud!

[FORTUNE: 2]

[CALAMITY: 1]

[TOTAL: 3]

[FORTUNE DOMINANT]

Levi focused on the golden die before inspecting his destination... three tiles ahead, a prismatic surface lit up beneath an enormous wheel symbol.

[GAMBLE TILE]

’At least Fortune is higher.’

Levi sighed in relief as his body teleported onto the tile, where the symbol underneath his feet began shimmering more brightly in rainbow-like colors.

He knew the Gamble Tile didn’t guarantee a reward, but it was better than landing on another Prison or Calamity Tile.

RUMBLE!

Soon, a gigantic wheel rose before him, its outer edge climbing high enough that Levi had to extend his senses to inspect it fully.

[WHEEL OF RANDOMNESS]

More than sixty sections covered its surface.

Temporary enhancements, recovery effects, movement bonuses, Fortune Point rewards... Levi found them among curses, restrictions, point deductions, and punishments that made his expression turn serious.

Unlike the Taxman’s Fortune Wheel, this one offered no comfort in knowing that whatever it selected would at least be useful.

However... some sections offered rewards just as good as the choices given to Akira on her Mystery Tile.

”A little of everything!” Gamble announced as the viewers examined the possibilities. ”Fortune, misery, progress, regret... all conveniently gathered in one place!”

Levi’s gaze landed on a movement-retraction punishment for a moment before he dismissed the wheel’s current balanced odds entirely.

’Nope...’

He didn’t hesitate to spend his Fortune Points this time... and he went just as aggressively as the Taxman, spending a whole eighteen Fortune Points to rig the odds in his favor!

He had zero trust in his luck at the moment.

As the system registered the spent Fortune Points, golden light engulfed the wheel, illuminating the beneficial outcomes and improving their quality while expanding their sections.

Levi followed the changes closely, noticing that the unfavorable sections narrowed between them, leaving some punishments occupying barely a fraction of their previous space... of course, even the severity of the punishments dropped to the minimum.

”He’s spent everything he earned from the fight,” Shia murmured, her eyes moving between the expanding sections.

”Good.” Arthur nodded in satisfaction. ”I’d rather watch his points disappear than watch him get dragged backward again.”

In the cafe, the Dealer opened his mouth as though he intended to comment on Levi’s upcoming spin... but then, Madam Future gave him a stern glare.

He closed it.

Meanwhile, Levi placed his hand against the wheel and took a slow breath... he had improved the odds as much as he was willing to pay for... Whatever happened next was outside his control.

That part still pissed him off... Nevertheless, he spun the wheel with everything he had.

Ting! Ting! Ting!...

The wheel accelerated rapidly, blending its brightly lit sections while the needle clicked past them too quickly to follow.

The spectators made their bets as Levi stepped back, his attention fixed on the rotation... even the Rifters were heavily invested.

After the Taxman’s Position Exchange tool, they knew that whoever invested the most Fortune Points wouldn’t be left disappointed.

The wheel gradually slowed until the golden sections came into clear view while the curses and punishments faded into the background.

Ting... ting...

After one final movement, the needle settled over a section... this time, Levi’s luck didn’t screw him over.

Ding!

[STOLEN VALOR]

Levi’s brows rose as a small medal materialized above his palm, followed by a description visible only to him.

He read it once... then again, his gaze lingering on the final line before his lips curled into a faint smile under the mask.

’Now that’s worth eighteen points.’

Without saying a word, he closed the description and stored the medal, leaving the spectators and Rifters staring at the name still displayed above the wheel.

’Stolen Valor?’

’Does it steal someone’s achievement?’

’Maybe it takes the reward after someone else wins a duel...’

The Rifters’ guesses continued, but Levi showed no interest in confirming any of them.

Meanwhile, the Taxman’s eyes shifted toward him briefly, while Akira inspected the reward’s name with a slight frown.

Neither could draw a reliable conclusion from it, and this bothered them even more... Unknown tools posed much worse variables than known ones.

The rest of the Dice Round passed without another noteworthy reward, and the following Freedom Round ended just as boringly.

No one shared a tile, while those possessing useful tools preferred keeping them until a better opportunity presented itself.

This slow pace lasted for four rounds in total... two Dice Rounds and two Freedom Rounds... as the Rifters continued spreading across the different roads, collecting rewards and enduring punishments while slowly making their way toward the throne.

However, Levi’s progress remained as disappointing as ever.

In those two Dice Rounds, he moved a mere seven tiles in total... In both rounds, he landed on Standard Tiles, which saved him from spending his Fortune Points, but at the same time, left his inventory of tools limited to one.

Levi spread his aetheric spiritual vision until it covered the entire board in green light... his irritation only grew as he inspected everyone else’s positions.

Akira stood on the thirty-ninth tile, having retained her lead despite the turn lost to imprisonment.

However, the Taxman had reached the thirty-fourth tile, leaving him only five tiles behind her.

His Position Exchange remained unused... this bothered Akira much more than the small distance separating them.

Meanwhile, Mournful Spirit occupied the twenty-ninth tile along a separate road, sitting with her biwa resting across her lap.

The three other Rifters were spread between the thirty-third, twenty-fifth, and twenty-first tiles, each following a different route toward the board’s deeper sections.

Burden Collector stood on the twentieth tile.

Three tiles behind him... Levi sat on the seventeenth tile. Eight Rifters remained, and he was still firmly at the back.

Ding!

[DICE ROUND CONCLUDED]

”Another round without anyone trying to kill each other...” Gamble said, sounding slightly disappointed. ”At this rate, I might start believing you’ve become friends.”

Levi ignored him and inspected his remaining Fortune Points while the first few Rifters passed their turns in the Freedom Round.

Twenty points.

He was currently one of the richest Rifters besides the Taxman and Mournful Spirit... the other Rifters were slowly getting closer to a single digit in terms of Fortune Points.

Levi knew he only needed to reach the right tile and his points would turn his situation around.

Alas, the moment he skipped his turn, the Burden Collector’s name appeared on the screen... the small creature turned around and stared at Levi with his simple, round black eyes.

He looked almost like a child who enjoyed eating sand at the playground.

Yet, his gaze sent shivers down Levi’s spine, sensing that something was coming... something he wouldn’t appreciate at all.

His instincts were unfortunately right.

Burden Collector pulled out a small horseshoe-shaped magnet... then its size expanded until it was three times his size, making him resemble a toddler holding a giant sledgehammer.

’What’s that supposed to...’