Chapter 131: The Game

Liana nodded softly after listening. "I have never played before. I am not very familiar with the strategies."

"Same here," Theo added, looking slightly dazed by the complex scoring combinations.

"No worries," the Pontifex said smoothly. "You know the rules now. Tesserae is all about luck, and beginners always have the best luck."

Sylvia and the Pontifex exchanged a fleeting glance, both spotting the calculating gleam in each other’s eyes.

Tesserae was definitely not about luck. It was about ruthless calculation. Today, they were going to teach the deep-pocketed Sovereign a harsh lesson in imperial economics!

"I think... I won?" Liana hesitantly pushed her ivory tiles forward, her silver eyes flickering with uncertainty.

"Imperial Decree. Pure Aether."

"..."

*A fluke! This had to be a fluke! Her millennia of godly gambling skills had not even had a chance to shine yet!*

Sylvia stared suspiciously at the Reborn Empress. How could an initiate have better luck than a certified Oracle?

"Tsk..." Theo sighed. He had not won the round and was the biggest contributor to the payout. Though Sylvia and the Pontifex had scored minor points, Liana took the lion’s share.

"Pay up, pay up," Theo took out a pouch of silver. Despite losing, he was smiling.

"Just beginner’s luck," the Pontifex refused to believe it.

Sylvia reluctantly fished silver from her purse, her face blank. "Again."

Five rounds later, every single game, Liana won first, Sylvia second, the Pontifex third, and Theo dead last.

"This game hates me," Theo drew another hand. It was a chaotic mess of mismatched elements, looking like a mosaic wrecked by a stray griffin.

This round, Sylvia and the Pontifex both looked pleased. They had drawn excellent starting hands. They exchanged a subtle nod, forming an unspoken veteran alliance.

"Hmph." The Pontifex swiftly arranged her tiles. "I am not here to prove my skill. I am here to take back my silver!" She was clearly aiming for a colossal multiplier.

Sylvia smirked. "Liana, dear, with my hand, do you think you can beat me? You think you can take down the Academy’s Goddess of Tesserae? If you do, I will—"

"A Centurion’s Draw!" Theo suddenly declared, his face lighting up. A Centurion’s Draw meant an immediate minor payout from all players. He collected his coins and discarded a tile.

A pale, slender hand reached over and calmly took Theo’s discarded tile, then gently pushed her entire row forward.

"The Seven Golden Aquilas."

*Crack!*

The Academy’s Goddess of Tesserae and the Devourer Cult’s ancient founder were thunderstruck. They slumped back in their chairs, faces ashen.

"Do you even know how to play?!" the Pontifex slammed the table. "She was holding the Seven Golden Aquilas, and you fed her the exact tile she needed?!"

"I told you I am not good at this," Theo said blankly.

"Liana, you said you did not know the strategies!" Sylvia gritted her teeth as she tossed out her last piece of silver.

"I really did not," Liana tilted her head slightly. "I just learned. It is simpler than primeval divine arts, so I picked it up quickly."

Sylvia and the Pontifex were speechless. They could not refute that logic...

They turned to look at Theo. He was grinning like a total idiot. His smile was harder to suppress than an erupting volcano.

"What the hell are you smiling about?!" Sylvia snapped. "You did not win a single hand! You kept feeding Liana winning tiles, you lost the most money, and you are still laughing?!"

Liana glanced at Theo and noticed his coin pouch was empty.

So, she reached over, scooped up her colossal mountain of silver, and placed it all directly in front of him.

"For you."

Theo froze. His idiotic smile gradually twisted into the greedy, calculating grin of a criminal mastermind.

The Pontifex and Sylvia exchanged glances, jolting upright like patients reviving on their deathbeds.

Something was incredibly wrong. They had been scammed.

Theo had lost the most, but Liana had won even more.

Combined, their net worth had skyrocketed... meaning every single coin of profit had come from Sylvia and the Pontifex.

Were these two running a couples’ scam?

"No more, no more. I am broke," Sylvia pushed her tiles away in disgust.

"Professor, you are out of money, but I have plenty," Theo smiled shyly.

"Oh? You are offering it to your master? How surprisingly filial of you..." Sylvia’s eyes sparkled.

"If filial piety is too embarrassing, let us do it another way," Theo’s grin widened. "Have you ever heard of a high-interest exploitative loan?"

Before the exploitative loan could be finalized, the heavy iron doors of Solstice Manor burst open.

Sylvia looked over to see Headmaster Lucius, Elder Tiberius, and Instructor Cassian standing in the archway.

Headmaster Lucius froze at the sight of the gambling table.

Elder Tiberius looked entirely bewildered.

Cassian, meanwhile, stared at the Abyssal Sword Sovereign—who was sitting there entirely unharmed, happily counting his mountain of extorted silver—as if he had seen a phantom in broad daylight.

Cassian glanced down at the single strand of black hair in his trembling hand, then back up at Theo.

"Theo... are you... a human or a ghost?"

"Obviously not a ghost. Ghosts do not play Tesserae," Theo chuckled, both touched by their grief and highly amused. Before their confusion could deepen, he added, "Naturally, I am an undead wraith seeking vengeance. Hehehe..."

"Abyssal demon! Taste my blade!" Cassian roared, drawing his greatsword.

"Wait, I was joking!" Theo scrambled backward. Luckily, he explained fast, otherwise he would have had to catch an Exarch-tier cleave bare-handed.

"What in the world happened down there?" Elder Tiberius finally relaxed, wiping cold sweat from his brow.

Headmaster Lucius sighed, attempting to reclaim his dignity. "Instructors should remain composed. What kind of example is it to panic at the slightest misunderstanding? You must take your time to assess the situation."

Lucius looked at Theo and Liana. The two prodigies had repelled the southern invasion, slain Exarchs, and humiliated the Crown Prince. As a Headmaster, he knew true geniuses needed to weather storms. Elders must remain stoic and unshakable.

"Give us your report, Theo," Lucius said calmly, taking a measured puff from his pipe.

Theo gestured to the gray-haired woman sitting at the Tesserae table.

"Headmaster, this is Pontifex Valerius, the ancient founder of the Cult of the Devourer. I brought her out of the tomb with me. For now, she can be considered... my employee."

Lucius paused mid-puff.

"She is currently drafting her resume," Theo continued nonchalantly. "So, I must ask... does the Imperial Academy currently have a vacancy for a Grand Magister?"