Chapter 155: [Equivalence]

Chapter 155 -151: [Equivalence]

“Damn it! Furen, be careful! You got blood all over me!”

“What? Bai Ya, what are you doing…? Is your blade warped?”

“If it’s warped, can’t you just grab another one? Don’t you see all the weapons lying around?”

“Those few are trying to escape, hurry up and finish them off…”

“…”

An hour later, the battle had reached a fever pitch.

The flames of the bonfire whipped wildly in the sudden night wind. Every lick of fire painted the surroundings a stark crimson.

Dense swarms of figures twisted and swayed in the woods, surging forward, stretching, shrinking, and scattering with the violent shifts in light.

Hiding behind a window cracked open just a sliver, Anna and Zovir stared wide-eyed at the scene outside, their small bodies trembling uncontrollably.

They had seen dead people, and they had seen goblins caught stealing from the farm and killed.

But they had never seen a scene like this—

Group after group of goblins and Kobolds poured out of the woods as if they were insane, only to be identically crushed to the ground by some mysterious power, then slaughtered one by one without being able to put up any resistance.

Staring blankly, the two young slaves watched it all unfold, their eyes filled with fear and confusion.

Clearly, they couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

This wasn’t hard to understand.

As slaves, their lives had been completely confined to the farm. Outside of growing crops and raising livestock, their knowledge of the world was limited to the tall tales told by the older slaves.

Goblins were as shady and despicable as rats, and they loved to collect coins.

Kobolds had long tails and were fierce and cruel.

The silk spat out by a Giant Spider was exceptionally strong; just a single thin strand could hoist a cow.

Bear goblins had limitless strength and loved to eat human heads.

Mmm…

Although there was a lot of exaggeration, the stories were basically reliable.

And so, Anna and Zovir were filled with fear for these monsters.

Of course, they knew that Adventurers could kill these monsters.

But before tonight, the only “battle” the two had ever personally witnessed was the one with the group of goblins last night.

There had been eight of them. Theodore and a group of craftsmen killed five, and three escaped.

Having only seen this one encounter, their understanding of a “goblin’s combat strength” was based solely on it—

Weaker than an adult man, slightly stronger than an adult woman.

Stout, brawny shrews excluded.

Strictly speaking, Anna and Zovir’s assessment was quite accurate.

But it was precisely because of this that they couldn’t understand the current scene.

They simply couldn’t comprehend how Lu Wei’s group of three could slaughter group after group of goblins and Kobolds as easily as chopping melons and slicing vegetables.

Nor could they understand why these goblins and Kobolds would relentlessly throw their lives away, one wave after another.

And so, all they could do was stare dumbly, truly realizing for the first time just how vast the gap was between “Ordinary people” and “Adventurers.”

No, it was the gap between them and Lu Wei’s trio.

“Zovir…”

Clinging tightly to the window frame, Anna’s face was deathly pale, and her voice trembled.

“I… I must be dreaming, right…?”

“It’s not a dream.”

Zovir was a little calmer. He shook his head with difficulty.

“Mr. Lu Wei and the others are just that incredible.”

“Th-then maybe we don’t have to worry about being dragged back anymore?”

Anna’s train of thought took a peculiar turn. She looked over, her eyes filled with hope.

“After all, we’re Mr. Lu Wei’s property now. Even if Master Cyrus finds us, Mr. Lu Wei won’t be afraid of him, right?”

“Don’t worry, he definitely won’t be.”

Zovir gently squeezed her hand. Though he wasn’t sure, he gave a firm, reassuring answer.

As expected, Anna let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s good. I’ll work even harder so I don’t disappoint Mr. Lu Wei…”

“…”

Outside, the bloody battle had yet to stop, and Lu Wei’s commands still rang out from time to time.

Perhaps because she was getting used to it, Anna’s body gradually stopped trembling. The fear in her eyes slowly faded as she clasped her hands and prayed for Lu Wei and the others.

Zovir, on the other hand, watched the scene outside in silence. He unconsciously clenched his fists, a flicker of yearning in his eyes.

‘If I could become a powerful person like Mr. Lu Wei and Mr. Furen…’

‘…I would pay any price.’

…

…

“Nice!!”

“Another win!!!”

“Come on, come on, again!!”

“Hey, don’t leave!”

「Meanwhile, at the ‘Money Pouch’ casino.」

Just as Lu Wei’s trio was enjoying their satisfying hack-and-slash game, Mirana had already achieved her goal for the night.

Starting with 2 gold coins, she’d won three times in a row, turning it into 16 gold coins.

Putting aside the 3 gold and 5 silver she owed Furen, and the 5 gold coins for that pair of Giant Troll Eyes, she still had 7 gold and 5 silver left.

It was enough to pay for Kairos’s medicine for the foreseeable future.

However…

Without a backward glance at the clamoring gamblers, Mirana walked out of the casino and into a dark alley nearby. She took out a pyramid-shaped, four-sided die that was emitting a faint purple glow.

Four-sided dice are relatively rare; usually, only casinos use them.

But this one wasn’t stolen from the casino.

“…”

Biting her lip, Mirana clutched the die in her palm and slowly closed her eyes.

It seemed she was making some kind of difficult decision.

For someone who was always so calm, this reaction undoubtedly showed just how important her next action was.

That’s right. This was the price she had to pay for her “strong luck.”

Every time the “extra luck” she obtained accumulated to a certain point, this die, called [Equivalence], would begin to glow.

And she would have to roll the die within 24 hours to decide what price she would pay.

I: The disappearance of some memories.

II: The stripping away of a certain emotion.

III: The transfer of double misfortune.

IV: The life of an innocent.

The four numbers carved on the four corners of the die each represented a different price.

As is clear from their names, the first two would affect Mirana directly, while the latter two would affect other people.

One would be someone she cares about.

The other would be a “truly innocent person.”

Considering the die’s name was “Equivalence,” the four prices should be more or less equal.

But from the perspective of “personal gain,” “IV” was undoubtedly the best outcome.

At the very least, if it were Lu Wei, he would definitely hope to roll a 4.

However…

‘One or two, please.’

The alley was silent. Moonlight, like pale ink soaking through the night, traced the patterns of fate on the mottled stone walls.

After an unknown amount of time, Mirana finally opened her eyes and relaxed her right hand, which had been clutching the die.

The die fell straight down, landing on the ground with a soft CLACK before tumbling for a few rotations.

A few seconds later, it abruptly stopped.

The purple light was faint, but it was enough for Mirana to see the number on the die’s top vertex.

[IV]

The life of an innocent.

“…”

Her fingers trembled slightly. A moment later, Mirana silently bent down and picked up the die.

And at that exact moment, an authoritative voice came from the alley’s entrance.

“Miss, I need to talk to you.”