Chapter 775
Episode 190: The Legacy of Marliet Hister (5)
When she opened her eyes, the record windows glowed a soft blue in the dark.
Valeria stared silently at the screens for a long moment, as if gazing at stars.
[How was it, Master? The world you saw?]
“It was incredibly beautiful.”
Without hesitation, Valeria answered the golem’s question. A clear moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes.
Jin hesitated briefly, then reached out his right hand to Valeria’s left. His calloused fingers brushed over the back of her hand, and she didn’t pull away.
‘Was my teacher’s hand always this small?’
It felt different from when they’d held hands in their past lives. Jin had grown larger since then. Back then, he had leaned on Valeria; now, the roles had reversed.
For a while, they lay there, staring up at the ceiling.
“Don’t let life be pushed into some barren, desolate place.”
Marliet’s final words ignited a fire inside Valeria—a flame she had never known before.
A heart capable of loving the world.
Even if she was born burdened with a cruel fate, losing those who walked beside her, endlessly chasing a distant, illusory revenge—
Still, sometimes, life must be filled with something radiant. Sometimes, you have to reach out your hand to someone else. That spirit was passing from Marliet to Valeria.
Jin, too, was deeply moved by Marliet’s remarkable life.
As Marliet had said, the world needed more children who wouldn’t be forced into battle.
“Valeria.”
“Hmm?”
“I feel like you’re getting better. That makes me happy.”
Those were words Jin often heard from Valeria in their past lives. Whenever he pulled himself out of a broken state, she praised him.
[Oh, what’s this? A lovely scene. Ooooh.]
[Hahaha, this isn’t the time for lovey-dovey stuff, is it?]
Jen and Teven appeared, speaking like third-rate villains. Jin and Valeria stood up, naturally letting go of each other’s hands.
[So, are you ready to take the big test we’ve prepared with such care?]
While Jin and Valeria had been immersed in Marliet’s life, five hours had passed outside.
Jen and Teven had spent that time carefully preparing a test to grant the communication device.
The golem sighed and shook his head.
[Jen, Teven. Honestly, if you fail the test, you won’t get the communication device. You made it for your descendants, yet this is some strange behavior.]
[Hmph! Just as Marliet left traps, we’re only giving you a test!]
[Exactly! No free rides here.]
Jen and Teven’s eyes gleamed wildly—even as ghosts—as they looked excited.
Though the legacy site had already yielded plenty of results and inspiration, it was unacceptable to leave without the long-range communication device, the original goal.
If the test demanded brute force like the traps, there’d be no reason to be nervous. But it didn’t seem like they’d ask for a fight.
‘What kind of test is it?’
‘Probably something about magic or magical engineering.’
Even if it was a test of knowledge, Jin and Valeria were confident. They could ace the highest-level exams at the Biment or Ziphl academies without breaking a sweat.
Just as a flicker of tension and curiosity rose, Teven stepped forward.
[Ha ha! Now you’re starting to get it. Afraid the test will be too hard?]
[Nothing in this world is easy!]
“Ancestors, Dr. Jen, what kind of test have you prepared?”
[Well then!]
[Here it is!]
[Ready?]
[Rock!]
[Paper!]
[Scissors!]
Jen and Teven struck strange poses, alternating their words, leaving the two momentarily speechless.
“…Rock-paper-scissors?”
“Do we just have to beat you at rock-paper-scissors?”
[Ha ha ha! Yes, rock-paper-scissors! No matter how strong you are, you have no chance.]
[Hmm! Coming up with this fair and perfect test has enriched my research life.]
[In the name of the Hister family, if you can’t beat us at rock-paper-scissors, no communication device for you!]
After five hours of intense deliberation, the test was rock-paper-scissors…
Jin was at a loss for words again, but Valeria felt herself getting caught up in their rhythm.
To her, rock-paper-scissors was pure luck. One wrong move, and you could lose.
[By the way, Teven and I have been practicing rock-paper-scissors for the last 350 years.]
[Teven and I are basically the grandmasters of rock-paper-scissors. No rookies like you can beat us.]
“Ancestors, you just said this was a fair test.”
[Who goes first? The rules are simple. First to win 20 rounds wins! Each person has ten lives. Lose ten times, and you’re out. In other words, you keep playing until you lose ten times.]
[Decide who leads. Teven Hister will go first. The strongest always appears last, so I’ll be after Teven.]
[What’s that supposed to mean? Jen, you just said I’m stronger and should go first to intimidate the opponent…]
[Ahem, is there a mosquito around? Who’s going first?]
Jin and Valeria exchanged awkward glances.
Valeria decided to go first. Jin was the one keeping his composure.
“I’ll go first, ancestors.”
[Good. A Hister vs. Hister match is more entertaining. Heh heh heh, let’s begin! Rock, paper, scissors!]
Suddenly, Teven shouted and threw out his hand. Valeria reflexively responded. The result: Teven showed scissors, Valeria showed rock.
“Ugh.”
[Ha ha ha ha, that’s the experience of an ancestor. Rock-paper-scissors is a psychological game. I’ve mastered it, but you’re just a beginner… Most people panic and throw rock first. That’s why you lost! Rock-paper-scissors!]
“Ah.”
[Scissors? I choose rock! Another win for me. Next, I’ll throw paper. If you throw scissors, you win. Can you do that? It’s not hard. Rock-paper-scissors! Oh no, you threw paper instead of scissors? Too bad.]
Valeria had thrown paper expecting Teven to throw rock, but Teven anticipated that and threw scissors.
“You said you’d throw paper…”
[The world of competition is ruthless. You’re paying the price for not trusting me! If you’d thrown scissors as I said, it would have been a draw. Heh, rookies.]
Surprisingly, Teven’s claim of 350 years of practice wasn’t a lie. He relentlessly pressured Valeria psychologically, reading her moves like a master.
‘I’m done for. My teacher completely lost me.’
Valeria, unusually flustered, kept playing.
When the match ended, the score was 9 to 1 in Teven’s favor. Valeria stared at the scoreboard the golem had written, disbelief on her face. She never imagined such a merciless defeat in rock-paper-scissors.
“Well done, Teven. You even let her win one round. Showing mercy to your descendants?”
[Heh heh heh. Jen, looks like you won’t get a chance.]
[But don’t get careless. He’s still calm.]
[You’re not my descendant, so I’ll win this legacy for you…]
Now Jin had to face them both alone.
“Jin, be careful. He’s a real master. How… how is this possible? It’s just rock-paper-scissors.”
Nodding, Jin stepped forward. A cold breeze swept between him and Teven.
[You rookie from Runkandel, I’ll throw rock.]
“As you wish.”
[Oh? Trying to act tough, huh? Let’s see if your courage lasts. Rock-paper-scissors!]
Teven threw rock; Jin threw paper.
[Hmm? I feel like I need to use more advanced psychology to handle you.]
“I’ll throw paper.”
[You’re provoking me? You need some manners! Rock-paper-scissors!]
This time, Jin threw scissors; Teven threw paper.
[…Scissors? No reason to throw scissors here.]
“Is that so? I just switched it up.”
[You’re a master… or just lucky?]
“Rock-paper-scissors. Rock, right? As you can see, I threw paper.”
[What? I lost again?]
Jin quickly deflated Teven’s confidence like that.
Teven didn’t win a single round out of his remaining nine lives.
Valeria’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Jin and Teven.
[This can’t be! You must have rigged it!]
[No rigging. Statistically unlikely, but entirely possible.]
[Step back, Teven. You’re no match.]
Jen stepped forward like a giant, and Teven gritted his teeth, glaring.
[Jen, stop acting like you’re stronger than me!]
[Hmph. Losing by skill and then blaming rigging? Pathetic, Teven. Is that all you’ve got?]
[That bastard! Ah, don’t hold me back!]
The golem and Valeria grabbed Teven, while Jen smiled slyly.
[Ah, it’s been a while since I felt this thrill of facing a worthy opponent… Jin Runkandel, if you can defeat me too, I’ll hand over the communication device.]
“Whenever you’re ready, let’s begin.”
A tense silence fell between them.
In truth, the only one who was excited and nervous was Zen. Jin was so confident that he could win every round—not just ten times, but a hundred, even a thousand times over.
“Good thing it’s rock-paper-scissors. If it had been something like a coin toss, that would’ve been truly risky.”
Rock-paper-scissors was never a fair game for a martial artist with superhuman ‘mind power.’
Jin, who could see and dodge even the swiftest strikes from a ten-star knight’s spirit-infused sword, would never miss the exact moment when the hand gesture changed in rock-paper-scissors.
Like Teven before him, Zen had no idea about this.
“Rock-paper-scissors!”
“Rock. I win.”
“Ugh!”
“This time I lost.”
“Rock-paper-scissors! Two wins in a row!”
Jin deliberately made the matches look intense. He figured it was better to put on a convincing show that would satisfy Zen’s pride before ultimately winning.
“Paper!”
“Scissors!”
“Result: ten to eight, Jin Runcandel wins.”
Jin and Valeria exchanged high-fives, smiling, while Zen bowed his head briefly and accepted the outcome.
“I should’ve just stuck to my original plan and folded… That was a good match, Jin Runcandel.”
“I’m sure Zen learned a lot from this… Heh, I picked up a few things myself, Jin Runcandel. Zen, bring the communication device. It’s time for the winner to take all.”
This time, Teven tried to act like he was the big shot compared to Zen.
“Don’t get cocky! Rock-paper-scissors is definitely above you!”
“Look where that ‘great’ rock-paper-scissors got you. See? I told you we should’ve done a coin toss.”
The two bickered for a moment before fetching the communication device together.
Though their words were a bit rough, it was clear no real hard feelings were involved.
“Finally, I’m free from my duties. Thanks for winning, both of you—our descendants and Jin Runcandel.”
“Congratulations to the new champions.”
The golem clapped its hands, congratulating Jin and Valeria.