The Glorious Evolution

Before Levi could question the tool’s effect, Burden Collector pointed it toward him.

humm!!

Golden light flashed above Levi’s head before a stream of particles escaped from his displayed balance, flying across the tiles and gathering between the magnet’s ends!

Levi felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach after realizing that the tool had targeted his Fortune Points directly!

[REMAINING FORTUNE POINTS: 10]

The golden particles entered Burden Collector’s balance, replenishing it by a whole ten points.

”...”

Levi stared at the number above his own head, then slowly turned toward the small creature lowering the magnet.

’You little shit...’ he cursed inwardly.

”Thank you.”

Unbothered, Burden Collector blinked at him before putting the tool away... then he skipped his turn amid a sea of boos from Levi’s fans.

”TEN FORTUNE POINTS!” Gamble exclaimed excitedly. ”Burden Collector has been patiently biding his time until the Celestial got within the five-tile zone! The maximum range of the Fortune Magnet!”

Levi’s expression turned unpleasant at the explanation... he had seen Burden Collector obtain the magnet tool, but he had no way of figuring out its strengths and weaknesses, which ended up getting him robbed.

But there was nothing he could do about it... he had no protective tool to negate the effect, and Burden Collector was aware of that.

Seeing Levi get robbed in broad daylight, most of the Rifters’ expressions turned aggressive.

Everyone had been too chill for the past few rounds, and now that the fuse was lit, there was no more holding back.

They understood that either they went on the offensive or they would be forced to take the full brunt of the tools as Levi had.

Backlash... A giant, broad, hairy man with yellow skin and a shaved head was the first to make his move.

He stood on the twenty-ninth tile along a different road, away from the ruckus... and yet, he didn’t hesitate to pull out a rifle-like tool.

[Fortune Snipe activated]

The golden rifle enlarged in his rugged hands, and he braced it against his shoulder... Levi held his breath, but fortunately, Backlash didn’t point the barrel at him.

He aimed it at Mournful Spirit, who still had more than fifteen points in her possession!

She looked up from her biwa as a small targeting symbol appeared over her chest, her fingers tightening around the instrument.

”You...”

Bang!

Before she could react, a thin golden bullet crossed the space between their tiles and struck her in the chest!

Mournful Spirit jolted backward, and the biwa nearly slipped from her lap... However, there was no blood, no torn clothing, and no visible wound.

The bullet broke apart into golden particles, and then her Fortune Points dropped rapidly!

[FORTUNE POINTS REDUCED BY 50%]

Her deadpan expression showed a hint of anger, which she stifled just as it manifested.

Unlike Burden Collector’s magnet, the tool didn’t transfer those points directly to its user... instead, an enormous golden pot manifested above the board, receiving the deducted Fortune Points before another notification appeared beneath it.

[DEDUCTED FORTUNE POINTS ADDED TO THE FORTUNE POT]

[DISTRIBUTION BASED ON THE PREVIOUS DICE ROUND’S HIGHEST ROLLS]

Levi watched the previous results appear around the pot, ranking the Rifters from first to last... Since his last roll wasn’t that good, he was at the bottom of the list.

However... the one on top?

Backlash!

’His tool might not be of a higher quality, but he made sure to use it after the round in which he had the highest roll.’

Levi analyzed the move, not underestimating Backlash’s intelligence even though he resembled a giant yellow gorilla.

Soon, eight threads of golden particles descended from the pot, flowing toward the Taxman, Akira, Levi, and the rest of the Rifters... each thread’s brightness reflected the number of points received.

Backlash and the Taxman had the brightest threads, while Levi and Burden Collector were at the bottom... each receiving a mere point.

”My apologies, fair lady, but you were the closest one with the most points.”

Backlash bowed his head while tucking his arm behind his back, resembling a true gentleman... though his wild, rugged appearance didn’t match his polite manner or his voice in the slightest.

Mournful Spirit settled back down on the floor and resumed playing her biwa... her tune was quite jarring, reflecting her irked emotional state.

She might not have said anything, but everyone could tell that she held a grudge... if she hadn’t already skipped her turn, she might have retaliated right away.

Unfortunately, another Rifter seemed to take their exchange as permission to make things worse!

”My turn, then.”

The voice belonged to Bad Penny, a short, fat Falseborn who looked like a toad trying to pass for a businessman... His purple waistcoat barely covered his belly, and a copper coin dangled from one ear.

He pulled out a small black skull and crushed it between his webbed fingers, releasing a cloud of smoke that swiftly spread across the board!

Before Levi could react, part of it gathered above his head and condensed into a floating, ominous skull.

Then, a quick inspection revealed identical skulls above every other Rifter, including Bad Penny!

[CURSED TOOL: BLACK HARVEST ACTIVATED]

[DURATION: ONE DICE ROUND]

”Bad luck? Seriously?”

Backlash’s expression darkened as he inspected his curse, while Bad Penny merely shrugged and skipped his turn.

’He included himself? Or does the curse apply to all Rifters alike?’

Levi frowned, finding it difficult to understand the decision when Bad Penny had spent close to seven Fortune Points to get this tool... he had a feeling that there was more to the curse than met the eye.

However, the last remaining Rifter soon passed his turn, leaving him little time to consider it.

[FREEDOM ROUND CONCLUDED]

[DICE ROUND COMMENCING]

Akira rolled first, sending the two giant dice tumbling through the air while black smoke escaped from the skull above her head.

[FORTUNE DIE: 1]

[CALAMITY DIE: 6]

She advanced seven tiles with a displeased expression, although her destination turned out to be a standard white tile... with no event to resolve, the higher Calamity Die had nothing to worsen.

The Taxman wasn’t as fortunate.

[FORTUNE DIE: 1]

[CALAMITY DIE: 2]

He inspected the forked path ahead before choosing the narrower branch, which led toward a short dead end... However, he didn’t care about any of it, as the three steps helped him get closer to the Gamble Tile at the end of the road.

’Smart move.’ Levi frowned.

With the curse interfering with their rolls and the Rifters turning on each other, the Taxman switched his focus to the beneficial tiles instead of competing with Akira.

Next, Mournful Spirit’s name appeared, prompting the slender, ghostly lady to reach toward the dice with her bony hands.

[FORTUNE DIE: 1]

[CALAMITY DIE: 2]

Three tiles illuminated ahead of her, ending on a Prison Tile... she accepted the imprisonment silently.

Levi’s turn followed right away, and his expression wasn’t the best... his luck was already as inconsistent as a marriage held together for the children’s sake.

Now, he was cursed with bad luck? It only spelled trouble.

’Just get me somewhere useful... please, I beg of you...’

He rolled the dice while the skull above his head released another mouthful of black smoke, watching them tumble until the results finally settled.

[FORTUNE DIE: 2]

[CALAMITY DIE: 5]

Levi’s face soured at the higher Calamity Die... but then his expression changed when the seventh illuminated tile along his route turned out to be a Standard Tile... It might not be a Fortune Tile, but at least it spared him a worse fate.

Right after him, Burden Collector’s name appeared... he reached for the dice with his stubby arms and rolled them.

[FORTUNE DIE: 1]

[CALAMITY DIE: 2]

Three tiles illuminated ahead of him, ending on a standard white tile... before anyone could react, Burden Collector teleported right next to Levi.

”...”

”...”

As the victim and the thief faced each other silently amid the audience’s shocked gasps, three notifications dinged in the sky.

[OCCUPIED TILE REACHED]

[MANDATORY DUEL SCHEDULED: NEXT FREEDOM ROUND]

[THREE-BODY PROBLEM VS BURDEN COLLECTOR]