Chapter 302: The Abilities of a "Winner"
"Hey, don't be so unhappy."
"Even though I won a couple of rounds against you, I still earned you quite a bit of drink money."
Lorne spoke to Kaspars, who was standing to the side with a rather sour expression.
"You really didn't cheat?" Kaspars frowned, staring intently at him.
Lorne had won several rounds in a row. Although Kaspars had been carefully observing his every move from the side, he was certain that Lorne hadn't cheated—at least, he hadn't seen any trace of it.
"Just a bit of good luck, that's all." Lorne shrugged. "The cards are yours, and the people are yours. What's there to doubt?"
He drained his beer in one gulp. Through these few simple games of poker, he had roughly understood how to use the abilities of a "Winner."
How should he put it? Through simple practice, Lorne discovered that so-called luck manipulation was a bit different from what he had initially imagined.
He found that the "luck" a "Winner" could accumulate and manipulate was like a "stamina bar" or "mana pool" in a game; its consumption was closely related to the probability of the event he wanted to change.
"Good luck" was essentially making a low-probability event happen. The lower the probability of the event, the higher the "Luck Value" required to make it happen.
For instance, guessing a coin toss versus guessing the specific number on a die—the latter consumed more luck.
Of course, some things weren't that simple to calculate. Like a coin toss, the first toss and the second toss weren't entirely independent events; there was a certain mystical connection between them. As the frequency increased, the corresponding consumption would also grow. The specific patterns still required further exploration.
Lorne guessed that if "good luck" worked this way, "misfortune" should follow a similar form. Like "good luck," "misfortune" itself was a low-probability event.
So, was it possible that the "Monster" Pathway actually possessed the ability to manipulate "probability" to a certain extent? By making low-probability events occur, they could achieve various unexpected effects.
For example, making an almost impossible good thing happen, or preventing an almost certain bad thing from occurring.
As long as the probability wasn't absolute zero, there seemed to be room for manipulation.
"These are just guesses. If I can become a demigod, I should be able to touch upon deeper levels of things."
"Fortunately, playing a few rounds of poker doesn't consume much 'Luck Value'."
Today, he had originally intended to check out a factory for sale at a low price to see if it was worth acquiring. On his way back, he happened to pass by the Brave Bar. In the spirit of "since I'm already here," he reverted to his original appearance, walked in for a drink to relax, and incidentally experimented with his "Winner" abilities.
"A pity Marich isn't here—" Lorne was somewhat disappointed. He had wanted to play a few rounds of cards with Marich's "Zombies," but the man was nowhere to be found.
"Another round, on me," Kaspars said, pointing to Lorne's empty glass.
"You're being surprisingly generous?" Lorne handed over the glass.
"I take a cut from every round played."
After draining his refill, Lorne stood up to leave. Before walking away, he paused, leaned toward Kaspars, and whispered, "You'd better leave this place for the next few days. If possible, leave Backlund altogether."
"Why? I still have plenty of business to attend to," Kaspars asked, puzzled.
"Just a friendly warning," Lorne looked at him with a calm gaze. "I feel like... you're about to run into some bad luck, and it might not be a small trouble."
"Really?"
"Are you... one of those people?" Kaspars frowned slightly, a hint of awe appearing in his eyes.
Lorne gave a noncommittal nod and then turned to leave, leaving a visibly unsettled Kaspars standing there in a daze.
"As expected, after advancing, I can see other people's fortunes to some extent. Though it's blurry, I can barely distinguish between basic good and bad luck," Lorne thought as he walked.
Before leaving just now, he had felt that Kaspars' fortune was a dark grey, the kind that indicated a major disaster was coming.
Considering Kaspars' close ties with Sharon and Marich, who were being hunted by the Indulgence Faction, there was a chance he'd be caught in the crossfire. That was why Lorne had given him a special warning.
"Someone is following me—"
Turning into a small alley and reverting to his "Scott" appearance, Lorne sensed something unusual.
Was it one of the gamblers from before? Or—
Lorne walked a bit further, then suddenly stopped, quickly drew his gun, and spun around.
"It's you, Marich."
He saw Marich, dressed in a black jacket with a cold expression, standing quietly in the shadows of the alley.
"Why didn't you say anything just now?"
"I am a Zombie."
Uh—fine, you Temperance Faction people are all a bit... like that.
"Looking for me? We just met the day before yesterday, right?" Lorne asked.
"I was just patrolling nearby and happened to see you," Marich replied.
"A demigod from the Indulgence Faction has arrived?" Lorne's expression turned serious.
"There are some signs. If necessary, we will abandon this stronghold," Marich answered.
"If you need help, you can come to me." Lorne paused for a moment and added, "I've recently... advanced."
"...Thank you." A hint of sincerity entered Marich's tone.
"By the way, since we've run into each other, any new intelligence to share?" Lorne asked casually.
"Hmm..." Marich pondered for a moment and said, "There is one piece of news."
"At a gathering I attend, someone discovered an ancient noble's tomb. They only explored the outskirts and didn't dare go deep, but it's certain that there are many rare Beyonder materials inside."
"They hope to recruit a strong enough team to fully excavate the tomb and then split the valuables inside."
A team thrown together like that—never mind their combat strength, what if they stab you in the back? Lorne grumbled inwardly.
"What was the result?"
"They succeeded."
"Succeeded?" Lorne was somewhat surprised.
"But they never appeared again," Marich's voice was low. "One of the members was a friend of mine. He completely disappeared in this incident as well."
"—" A brief silence fell over the alley.
"Do you know the specific location of those ruins?" Lorne asked after a while.
"I do." Marich nodded slightly. "I had Sharon perform a divination, and eventually, at a bend in the Stirford River, we found a hidden tomb entrance."
"Did you go in?"
"No." Marich shook his head slightly. "Sharon said it was very dangerous inside. So we didn't attempt to explore it."
If Sharon, a Sequence 5, said it was dangerous, then it was likely very troublesome. After all, a "Wraith" could bypass most physical damage.
Lorne lowered his gaze, thought for a few seconds, and asked, "The tomb—do you know which noble it belongs to?"
"Amon," Marich said succinctly.
"Amon!" Lorne's pupils constricted slightly.
That name—it felt so familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere, and it carried an inexplicable chill—
"Any more information?"
"According to a gathering member who is skilled in history, all I know is that the tomb's owner belonged to the Tudor Dynasty of the fourth epoch, and the family name was Amon. I'm not very clear on the rest." Marich shook his head slightly.
Tudor Dynasty—Amon family—Lorne firmly memorized this information.
"Alright," he nodded. "Thanks for the intel."
The two chatted for a few more moments. Just as they were about to part ways, Marich suddenly called out to Lorne.
"What? Something else?" Lorne looked back curiously. "That—" Marich hesitated for a few seconds, seemingly organizing his words. "That day—after I left the office, what happened between you and Sharon... afterward?"
"I—I feel like Sharon is acting a bit strange."
"Strange?"
"Although she looks no different than before—still expressionless and quiet—however..."
"I can feel that she has some... emotions she didn't have before." Marich tried to describe the subtle feeling. "As a member of the Temperance Faction, I don't know how to accurately describe that feeling, but it just feels like she's a bit... a bit..."
"You mean, she's throwing a tantrum?" Lorne's expression became somewhat odd.
"Throwing a tantrum—hiss, it seems... you could put it that way." Marich thought about it carefully and found this common expression surprisingly apt.
"So, what did you actually do to her that day?" He stared into Lorne's eyes and pressed for an answer.
"I didn't do anything!" Lorne waved his hand, speaking with an innocent face.
"She just overheard a conversation between me and some friends."
"Ah?" Marich was also surprised. Overhearing a conversation and then throwing a tantrum? That sounded completely inconsistent with Sharon's usual calm, restrained, doll-like style. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Friends? What friends?"
"Just ordinary friends, though they're all fem—" Halfway through, Lorne suddenly stopped.
A premonition mixed with absurdity and disbelief welled up in his heart.
Wait—Fors, Xio, Hazel, and that evening party companion or whatever—Sharon was in the room the whole time back then—
It couldn't be... because of that, could it—
Hiss—it shouldn't be, right? Sharon is a staunch member of the Temperance Faction, advocating for the restraint of desires and emotions, and she's usually so cold and indifferent to everything—
"What's wrong?" Marich asked when he saw Lorne suddenly fall silent.
"Nothing. I think... you might be overthinking things regarding Sharon." Lorne quickly composed himself.
"Is that so? Was it you—" Marich was still uncertain.
"Anyway, let's leave it at that for now. See you around, and give my regards to Teacher Sharon." Lorne waved his hand and quickly disappeared into the Darkness at the end of the alley.
Leaving Marich standing alone, staring in the direction Lorne had vanished, his brow furrowed.
"Could it be that Sharon feels something for him—"
>