BXBX NOVEL Chapter 44: Twenty
Chapter 44: Twenty
Donald's score was 2.
"Eh?" Donald looked surprised and asked, "Is it a tie? Who won?"
"Look." Ramon pointed at the marbles.
Crack-a crack appeared on one of the marbles. It was Hannibal's marble. Now, there were two cracked marbles at the center of the table.
"If it is a tie, the tiebreaker goes to the defender."
"Whew, haha!" Donald put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair with a satisfied grin.
"Tch." Hannibal clicked his tongue, but then a large grin appeared on his face.
His grin looked unnatural.
Smack-a large sound of slap sounded across the common room.
Hannibal's head snapped to the side with a red handprint on his cheek.
During the slap, he didn't stop grinning even for a moment, not even when some blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.
"Hahahaha!" Hannibal laughed and snapped his head back to the front. "That stung, hahahah!"
"Hahaha!" Ramon joined in the laughter. "Cmon, I want to get hurt as well, kekeke!"
'The game of The Mad Marbles was extremely popular with mentally unstable people.' Adam thought to himself as he saw the two lunatics laughing and grinning.
'If I recall correctly, Necroman Guild, which they were part of in the previous life, were known for their dangerous and sadistic games, like this one.
'In the end, this wasn't enough for them, and they started playing another version of The Mad Marbles-it was called The Killer Marbles.
'In that version, if the marble gets destroyed, that player will actually die and get zeroed!
'I once heard that Hannibal from the Necroman Guild was the undefeated champion of The Killer Marbles. He was the first person to win five times in a row, but even his streak came to an end eventually, and he lost his sixth match.
'Like in their previous lives, they seem to get addicted to this game, which will end up being their downfall.'
"Let's continue; I can't wait!" Ramon shouted impatiently.
The four took their marbles, and then, after the count of three, they rolled them to the center of the table. They clashed at the center of the table and came to a slow stop.
Ramon's score was 14.
Hannibal's score was 6.
Donald's score was 8.
Adam's score was 20.
Ramon's and Hannibal's expressions froze.
"Oh, it is your turn." Donald turned to him and gulped, 'Will he attack me out of revenge? I won't be able to win if I get attacked constantly. I chose Adam because Ramon and Hannibal seemed like a revenge type, but this is not going well for me!'
"Oh, twenty." Adam chuckled and asked, "Since I got the highest point score, is there any rule regarding that?"
"Actually, there is..." Ramon clicked his tongue. "If you get the highest score, you will have two attacking turns."
"What!" Donald exclaimed.
"The first attack is the normal one; however, if the attacker loses in his second attack, they won't get any damage." Hannibal added with a serious look.
"So they get one attack for free without any danger to them?" Donald said in shock.
"Who will you attack first?" Ramon asked.
Adam smiled and moved the marble gently in his hand. It looked like he was thinking. The game of The Mad Marbles wasn't all about luck. There were some strategies involved as well. 'Should I try to push Hannibal or Donald to the breaking point? No, there is a better solution.' "Ramon, I'll attack you." Adam said with a smile.
Ramon's lip twitched, 'Sneaky fucker. If he hurts my marble, then he is the only one with perfectly intact marble. It is more worthwhile to go after others to try to eliminate them instead of wasting a turn trying to attack Adam.
'Also, if he wins this round, he has one free attack to try to push one of us three into the breaking point. He is currently in a great position. However, if I happen to win, the advantage will go to me!
'This is an important round that will decide the outcome of the match!'
Adam smiled with a carefree look.
'I have an advantage. Ramon has to double my score to win this round. That is still possible, but it is unlikely. Still, there is nothing else I can do except pray. As long as I don't get a low score, my chances of victory are immensely high.'
"Let's roll!" Ramon grabbed his marble and said, "One, two, three, roll!"
With the flick of their wrists, Ramon and Adam rolled the marble to the center of the table. They clashed against each other and came to an instant stop.
Donald and Hannibal looked at the marbles with expectant looks. This was a very important
round.
Ramon's score was 11.
Adam's score was 3.
"Yes, haha!" Ramon jumped to his feet and cheered as if he had just won the whole match.
"Cursed..." Adam gritted his teeth and prepared for the impact to land on his cheek.
Crack—as his marble softly cracked, a loud slap landed across Adam's face, leaving a burning sensation in its wake.
"Ah!" Adam stumbled back, the taste of blood filling his mouth.
"Stings!" He shook his head as if he had just taken a shot of powerful alcohol, trying to shake
off the pain.
'Now the advantage is mine!' Ramon giggled to himself as he saw three cracked marbles on the table, right beside his perfectly intact one.
He felt like a barrier had appeared all around him, protecting him from any harm. It was now mostly worthless to try to attack him. Unless they want to equalize the situation.
If he lost, the game would be equalized, but if he won, the attacker would be at breaking
point.
Unless the attacker had a free turn...
"I'll attack Ramon again." Adam said without hesitation and picked up his marble. 'This is the
only way. I'll need to level up the playing field.'
"Whew..." Donald and Hannibal sighed in relief.
This was extremely good news for them. They weren't in danger of getting pushed to the breaking point, and there was a chance that all four would be in the exact same position.
That would increase their winning chances again.
Ramon's face looked sour, as if he had eaten something bad. This was a very bad outcome for him. He was lucky to win the previous one, and the chances of winning yet another round were
slim.
'You want to play? Alright then!'
They exchanged powerful gazes, and then, at the exact same time, they rolled their marbles to the center of the table, where they clashed and made a loud clinking noise.
As soon as the marble stopped rolling, they showed numbers, and instantly, cheers filled the
table.
Ramon's score was 7.
Adam's score was 7.
"Damn it!" Ramon facepalmed with an ugly look. He would've needed 14 or above to win the
round.
"Whew..." Adam breathed out in relief and then smiled.
Donald and Hannibal cheered as this greatly increased their odds. Even though Hannibal was Ramon's friend, he also wanted to win. This was a good outcome for everyone else except
Ramon.
Crack, Smack!
After the crack, an invisible hand smacked Ramon across his face. However, his head didn't move even the slightest as he tanked all the impact and the pain.
"Whoah!" Ramon exclaimed and laughed heartily, already forgotten about his loss as the pain brought a strange amount of pleasure to him. "Alright then, it is currently a tie!"
The four exchanged looks.
The next round was going to be tricky.
No one really wanted to be the attacker this time.