Heh! They’re caught in the swamp of my Ex-Skill, Adek thought, chuckling privately, as he drew his cards from the shuffled deck. When faced with my Ex-Skill, all opponents, especially the ones with half a brain, fall into this delaying-the-inevitable trap.
Adek’s luck skill was by no means absolute. Fortune sometimes favored his opponents too, while other times his advantage was only minor. That was exactly why it could befuddle shrewd opponents. They got caught up in something along these lines: “If I play perfectly, I have a good chance of winning.”
Unfortunately for those playing against him, Adek was talented; he had a photographic memory and could perform mental arithmetic in the blink of an eye. He’d never make a mistake when it came to probabilities, and he’d never be outdone in optimal play. Which meant that with each passing turn, the situation tilted more and more in his favor. There would be no turnaround—there had been none in all his ten thousand years. Suffice it to say, while his luck wasn’t infallible, he was still a powerful foe.
She should have held on and aimed for a direct hit against me.
Isabella would have taken a heavy blow if Adek managed to go out first, but she had to take a successful gamble at some point. In fact, since her ally held a card she could use to go out, she could’ve waited another handful of turns before going out. Even if he didn’t discard the card she needed, the troll might. This wasn’t the only example. There had been several moments earlier in their battle where she’d decided to make the safest move as well.
She can stay calm by telling herself that she’s safe because of her shrewd strategy, but she’s really only buying herself a little more time.
She might be thinking, “I’m playing the best anyone could. I’m making the right moves, so I’m safe.” But the moment she realized those assumptions were false, her true nature lying beneath that icy facade was sure to show itself. Adek couldn’t wait to see it.
“I believe it’s my turn first.” Adek sized up his new hand and smirked. And that’s how we end up like this. I’m going to show you hell.
For his first turn, Adek drew one card and discarded one. Alicia did the same. Next, Isabella drew her card, placed a meld of three kings on the table, then ended her turn by discarding a card. On the troll’s turn, it discarded the three of hearts.
“I’ll take that.” Adek picked up the three of hearts and combined it into a meld with another two cards from his hand. “I have something more.” He revealed his five remaining cards: the six, seven, eight, nine, and ten of clubs. “My starting hand was actually one card away from a rummy.”
The shock was evident on Alicia’s face. That Adek’s ally held the one card he needed to go out was certainly unlucky for them, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it now.
Heh heh heh! Since the odds are in my favor, something like this was bound to happen, Adek thought as he observed his foolishly cunning opponents. Since there was no point in scoring a rummy as a direct hit against his own ally, he’d intentionally placed his cards on the table one meld at a time. That way, he’d gone out normally. Each other player would lose points depending on the values of their remaining cards.
“Let’s see what kind of cards you have left, Queen.”
Isabella revealed her cards. While she’d gotten rid of three kings earlier, those weren’t her only cards worth 10 points; her point total was 36.
“It’s showtime!” Adek said.
Much like a four-jawed insect, the mouth of Isabella’s chair monster gaped open in four directions, then slammed down to take a massive bite out of her body.
“Graaah!” Isabella screamed in agony; the pain flared much higher than before. A hint of exhaustion clung to her face as she got her breathing back in order. A large chunk of her body had vanished. After all, she only had 20 points left. Adek still had all 500 of his. Her situation was truly precarious—there was a good chance she’d die in the next round.
“Heh heh heh! It’s already within sight, the moment of your death, when your beautiful body will be devoured by the monster down to its last scrap of flesh. Have no doubt, eternal darkness awaits you,” Adek said. He wanted her to squirm, thrash, cry, scream, and beg for her life. Once she’d been stripped bare of the skin of human reason, he would laugh at her hideous, pathetic appearance!
“Let us continue.” Isabella, however, remained the same. Indifferent and calm, she drew her cards to start the next round.
Adek stood silent for a moment.
“What’s the matter? Draw your cards, shenmo.”