The Glorious Evolution

Whoooahh!!

The audience erupted before Levi could even utter a word... his fans cheering enthusiastically at the opportunity to settle the score over the robbery!

Even Arthur appeared quite delighted, knowing that if Levi defeated him, he would reclaim the stolen points and take Burden Collector’s reserve.

While everyone appeared to underestimate the cute little creature, Burden Collector merely tilted his head, staring up at Levi with the same simple, round eyes.

’This isn’t going to end pleasantly.’

Levi knitted his brows, taking the upcoming battle as seriously as possible... he knew the little creature might appear dumb on the surface, but a real monster resided within.

The Rifters celebrated the mandatory duel, which would ensure one of the two was eliminated, but their happiness was short-lived once their own turns arrived.

None of them fared any better... they either crawled forward with miserable totals or received higher rolls dominated by Calamity, landing them on Prison or Calamity tiles.

Finally, Bad Penny’s name appeared.

He rubbed his webbed palms together before reaching toward the dice, looking more enthusiastic than someone suffering from bad luck should.

Under the curious gazes of Levi and the Rifters, the skull above Bad Penny’s head suddenly opened its mouth... then, thin black threads extended toward their cursed skulls and devoured them whole.

The cursed skulls disappeared from above their heads, and yet... not a single Rifter appeared pleased as they watched Bad Penny’s skull abruptly shed its entire ominous aura!

Then, Bad Penny kicked the dice around with a wide grin.

[FORTUNE DIE: 6]

[CALAMITY DIE: 6]

[DOUBLES: ADDITIONAL ROLL GRANTED]

”...”

Levi was left silent as he watched Bad Penny move twelve tiles forward, landing on a white tile before swiftly rolling again.

[FORTUNE DIE: 6]

[CALAMITY DIE: 5]

[ADVANCE ELEVEN TILES]

Golden light illuminated his destination... a Fortune Tile positioned just behind Akira!

In two rolls, Bad Penny had covered twenty-three tiles, overtaking everyone but Akira and securing a favorable event with his Fortune Die dominant!

”BLACK HARVEST!” Gamble finally shared the tool’s details in a passionate voice. ”Those skulls don’t simply bring bad luck! They harvest your luck for this Dice Round and deliver it to the tool’s owner!”

As the Rifters were left envious of such a powerful tool, Levi realized that Bad Penny had calculated the odds to help him land on the Fortune Tile!

’He was counting on doubles...’

He understood that the tool couldn’t let him choose an exact result, but stealing everyone’s luck greatly improved his chances of receiving the best possible opening roll... double six.

Since no one could roll doubles twice in a row, the second roll was bound to be eleven... that meant he had waited until he landed on a tile that would ensure he could get as close as possible to the front while also landing on a Fortune Tile.

Soon, Akira, the Taxman, and the others reached the same conclusion as they gazed at Bad Penny, who spun the Fortune Wheel with a lazy smirk.

He landed on another tool and stored it in his inventory before skipping his turn... even though he was standing between Akira and the Taxman, he wasn’t scared in the slightest.

After all, those summoned here weren’t normal Baron rankers... but Rifters who had earned at least one achievement, and such an achievement couldn’t be obtained through luck.

Soon... the Freedom Round arrived, and it appeared that the Rifters had cooled down a bit, reaching an unofficial understanding to pause the war until the mandatory duel concluded.

Skip... Skip... Skip... everyone skipped their turn until an announcement resounded across the board.

[THREE-BODY PROBLEM] [BURDEN COLLECTOR]

As their names took the spotlight, the Standard Tile separated from the board and rose high into the air while expanding to a couple of kilometers across.

Finally, Levi was given the space he wanted to analyze and think freely... however, he didn’t seem too pleased, as he knew that the arena’s size benefited Burden Collector much more!

Still, he didn’t complain and swiftly put as much distance as possible between himself and Burden Collector.

”FIGHT!”

Burden Collector remained standing near the center... his tiny, half-meter-tall, sponge-like figure made him almost invisible inside the massive white arena.

He just stood there, watching Levi raise the Starpiercer Rifle two kilometers away from him; its smooth, decorative wooden surface gleamed under the artificial sunlight.

Levi knew enough about his Aspect and species to avoid approaching him carelessly... whatever the little creature wanted to take, Levi had no intention of providing it.

Without hesitation, Levi manifested a miniature, weak sunflame core inside the chamber, surrounding it with a thin, vibrating layer of aetheric energy before a final sheath of dark Void energy enclosed the bullet.

The middle aetheric layer kept the two opposing energies separated, allowing Levi to stabilize the projectile while aiming directly at Burden Collector’s head.

It followed the same logic behind Two-Note Aether Detonation... the only differences were its miniature size and the weapon needed to activate it!

BANG!

The bullet crossed the arena almost instantly, while Burden Collector merely tilted his head toward it... he neither evaded it nor created a defensive barrier.

The instant the bullet neared his face, Levi pushed the aetheric layer into resonance just before impact, causing it to rupture and bring the concentrated core into contact with the surrounding Void energy!

BOOOOOM!!

The projectile went off, unleashing a blinding explosion that swallowed Burden Collector and blasted the arena apart... without a sealed arena to contain the explosion, a small mushroom cloud rose above the impact zone!

Levi stood still against the shock wave without lowering his rifle, keeping his senses focused on the figure inside the destruction.

While his friends and the viewers cheered at such a direct hit, Levi’s expression gradually hardened.

When the flames dispersed, Burden Collector was still standing... except his body had grown to at least five times its original size instead of getting blown up!

His sponge-like body shimmered with golden light and dark energy while the wounds across his flesh closed almost as quickly as they appeared.

He had absorbed the physical damage inflicted by the explosion, using the very destruction meant to kill him to reinforce his body and grow stronger!

”...huh.”

”Wait, what? It’s a Void and sunflame bullet... how can he survive it this easily?!”

Shia’s eyes widened in disbelief as she watched Burden Collector use the very destruction meant to kill him to reinforce his body and grow stronger!

Even many viewers were left confused, knowing that Levi’s abilities were potent enough to pose a danger to powerful Lineages like Dracaras, Angraths, and such.

Yet, the little idiotic-looking creature was unharmed.

As Gamemaster Gamble clarified the matter in the background, Levi maintained a solemn expression and kept his rifle aimed at his enemy.

”Worldbearing Arts: Burden Multiplications.”

Burden Collector stepped forward and shook both arms... then, hundreds of small pieces broke away from his body, growing stubby limbs and round heads before scattering across the arena!

His size decreased a bit, but he didn’t seem to care... he put a hit on Levi, and his little sponge-like army approached him rapidly.

Seeing the creatures tumble chaotically in his direction, Levi ignited his Combustion Jets and took off into the sky.

Unfortunately, the miniature creatures swiftly lifted off after him.

Below, Burden Collector raised his arms and continued firing more clones into the air, gradually filling Levi’s escape routes.

He didn’t need to crush Levi with their numbers... a single copy touching his body or establishing contact with his soul would be enough for his Burden Aspect to do its magic.

Levi knew this as well and kept his distance from the army while holding the Starpiercer Rifle near his waist like a machine gun.

Then... he flew backward rapidly while firing never-ending rounds of mixed bullets... Void, aether, sound, sunflame; the source didn’t matter, as the rounds kept landing amidst the clones, creating a myriad of colorful explosions!

Despite the beautiful fireworks, the damage was minimal... in fact, the bullets made it worse as the cloned sponges multiplied like a virus!

Within a few seconds, the sponge army had doubled in number and continued chasing Levi nonstop.

While the Rifters frowned at the sight, knowing that Burden Collector was such a pain in the ass to defeat, Levi didn’t despair.

His previous research had helped him learn that Burden Collector was one of the Spongari Trueborns, who had earned their reputation for being practically immortal!

Their sponge-like flesh could endure extreme heat, cold, and an absurd range of punishments and energies... meanwhile, their Burden Aspect allowed them to benefit from damage that should have destroyed them.

Some were believed to have evolved to a state where even conceptual powers involving Space, Time, and similar authorities failed to kill them!

Hence, Levi used bullets infused with all of his powers to figure out which ones did the most damage... after a thorough analysis, he found the answer.

’Singularity Bullets imploded inward and killed off some of the clones, erasing them from existence before they could multiply...’