"Damn it... It's that 'gambling dog' from the third floor! How did it become an A-rank Catastrophe!"
"This creature can't be killed, we have to run!"
"..."
Just like in the intelligence report, the bullets striking the creature seemed to disappear into asphalt, creating ripples before the surface returned to its original state.
It had absolutely no lethal effect.
Shudders of terror spread across the faces of the more than a dozen mercenaries.
They had all heard about the terror of this Catastrophe.
Every single one found by it had met their end, without exception!
Seeing it, even the girl with the mechanical arm whitened, warning Leonard Churchill, "This creature is of a curse variety. Whoever it targets is doomed! I can't resist its curse either."
With that, she cursed under her breath, "Damn it, why is this Catastrophe here?"
Against other creatures, she had the confidence to hold her ground.
But a curse variety creature, is not something that can be dealt with using conventional means.
It's wicked, nothing but pure wickedness!
Avoidance is the best option.
Upon hearing this, Leonard Churchill stayed calm. For him, this wasn't about having bad luck.
On the contrary, he thought that facing this creature would instill the normal level of intensity.
No sooner had he said this than the dozen or so mercenaries showed the correct posture to adopt in facing this creature.
The bald captain screamed, "Run!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the mercenaries chose to make a run for it, leaving the intention of a stand-off far behind them.
The bad news is, whoever this creature targets, dies.
The good news is, it only targets one person at a time.
Right now, everyone was gambling on their luck.
Betting that they wouldn't be the creature's next target.
...
However, since the Catastrophe had manifested, death was inevitable.
Not long after the group of mercenaries had fled, a dark figure darted in front of their eyes and in the blink of an eye, the gambling dog, which was hundreds of meters away, had mysteriously appeared in their midst.
Leonard Churchill's gaze narrowed slightly, "Teleportation?"
Hearing about something was one thing, witnessing it firsthand was a separate matter.
And the mercenary targeted by the Sorcery Gambler had seemingly been selected without his realizing it, causing his face to instantly grow pale.
The bald captain and the other mercenaries watched, unable to bear the sight but relieved all the same.
As long as it's not them.
The bald captain looked around uneasily, "Let's go, don't mind him!"
Everybody knew if one was targeted by the creature, there was no chance of survival.
Staying behind is pointless.
No one had a thought for their companion or what was left in the safe. They all made a swift retreat.
The creature paid no attention to the fleeing mercenaries but casually held two glowing playing cards in its hand.
It demonstrated both cards, one of which had a 'Spade A' pattern.
It quickly shuffled them until it lost track of which was which.
A simple two-choice betting game, seemingly testing their vision.
The creature issued a demonic, deep voice, "Make a bet. Where is the Spade A?"
The targeted mercenary grimaced, as though held by some mysterious force, he stood frozen.
He reached out with trembling hands. He didn't want to choose, but knew he faced certain death if he didn't. Choosing gave him a slight chance of survival, "I...I choose this one."
The dog-headed creature looked at his chosen card and a chilling, mocking grin spread across its hideous face, "Congratulations... You guessed wrong!"
The result was revealed.
The chosen card was turned over, revealing it to be blank.
The other card was the Spade A.
At the announcement of the result, the horror on the mercenary's face solidified, life left his body, and he died on the spot.
...
Not far away.
Leonard Churchill, who had not fled far, watched the scene unfold and whispered, "So that's the curse. What a bizarre way to kill."
He wanted to observe how this creature killed. What he saw, however, was beyond his understanding.
As the intelligence had stated, this method of instant death by curse was not something that could be readily resisted through conventional means.
The group of mercenaries witnessed the scene and ran even faster, terrified out of their wits.
However, after killing one person, the dog-headed monster once again vanished in an instant.
Before the mercenaries could react, the monster had already blocked their way.
After all, with a group of over ten people, the probability of being targeted by the monster had significantly increased.
The one chosen this time by the monster was the locksmith, "Old Six".
Just like before, the mercenaries promptly and decisively abandoned their comrade and attempted to escape.
However, it was apparent to the mercenaries that their larger group size made them more likely to be targeted by the monster. In the process of escaping, the Bald Captain's eyes flashed with a ruthless light, then, without any warning, he shot two cards towards Leonard Churchill and the mechanical-arm girl standing in the distance.
The mechanical-arm girl, with her sharp reflexes, quickly raised her gun and shattered both cards while they were still several meters away.
Unexpectedly, the two cards exploded into a cloud of powder that glowed like fluorescent dust.
The mechanical-arm girl instinctively dodged, but because they were too close, some powder still managed to land on Leonard Churchill, who could not dodge in time.
Upon seeing the powder, the girl's face changed: "This isn't good. It's a 'Dirty Bomb Card'! This powder is bait, made from the poison glands of zombie worms. Most Catastrophes are strongly attracted to it... take off your vest, we need to leave this place quickly!"
Leonard looked at the powder on himself, and although he was unsure what these worms were, he still guessed the purpose of this powder.
With an unperturbed tone, he said, "I guess those mercenaries didn't take action right from the start and make us their targets. In their eyes, the only value of keeping us alive is to serve as 'bait'. But it doesn't matter..."
As the mechanical-arm girl listened to him, she felt that something about the situation was rather odd. If he had been aware of potentially being a target all this time, why would he just stand there and get hit like a sitting duck?
However, this wasn't the time for lengthy discussion.
She led her burdensome teammate and retreated quickly.
...
Leonard wasn't particularly surprised.
At least, the moment the Bald Captain turned his head, Leonard had already predicted his intention.
Leonard gently removed his tactical vest while keeping an eye on the ongoing gamble.
He wanted to try and understand the situation better.
The monster once again held two cards towards "Old Six", asking the same question: "Place a bet. Which one is the Spade A?"
Old Six, drenched in a terrified cold sweat, seemed to have a plan. His sneaky eyes darted around before he pointed at one of the cards, "I guess this one..."
Mid-sentence, he suddenly grabbed the card and declared, "I guess this one isn't it."
If the monster was rigging the game, then in Old Six's mind, the card in his hand had already been swapped out. He was trying to outsmart the system by choosing the card first and making the claim afterward.
However, Old Six was dead the very next instant.
His guess was incorrect once again.
The card in the hand of the corpse was still blank.
The cheating skills of this monster were far superior to Old Six's judgment.
....
"It's a guaranteed death."
After two deaths, Leonard came to understand.
While it may appear that there's a 50% chance of survival, it was clear that the dog-headed monster was cheating.
Thus, under normal circumstances, no matter which card is chosen, the result will be a loss.
The monster could teleport, so no matter how fast they tried to run, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
On the contrary, running blindly in this unpredictable lab carried even greater risks.
Once this thought crossed his mind, Leonard slowed down after turning a corner. He said to the mechanical-arm girl: "If we get chosen, don't mind me and just run ahead. I'll try to stall for time. With your speed, you should be able to get much further than those mercenaries. Of course, if I survive, come back to get me."
The mechanical-arm girl was taken aback upon hearing this. At first, she thought she misheard, "???"
She initially planned to say: if we get chosen by the monster, as much as I hope to save you, I'm powerless to do so.
But... what does he mean?
From the way he talks, it sounds like he believes he has a chance at surviving this encounter with [Sorcery Gambler]?
Where did he get such confidence?
Before she could further questioning, Leonard explained his motivation behind his words: "If those mercenaries can't kill the [Sorcery Gambler], then sooner or later we will have to face this monster, or perhaps other monsters. The risks of exploring unknown territories are not necessarily lower than facing this monster. It's not a bad idea to let those guys take the lead and trigger any traps. Also..."
"????"
The mechanical-arm girl looked at Leonard who had stopped mid-way sympathetically, assuming that her temporary team-mate had said something nonsensical out of sheer terror.
But while listening to his even-tempered voice, something felt a bit off.
But on second thought, what he said was true.
Since the [Gambler] from the third floor could come and hunt them down, what about the more terrifying, unknown Catastrophe from the fourth floor?
Or even other unknown dangers?
The exploration degree of this Alternate Dimension is currently just over 30%. The hidden dangers are far more threatening than this [Gambler].
During a massive escape mode, it's impossible to dodge all monsters just by sheer luck.
Looking at the situation now, if not running, then what to do?
The girl was torn and confused about what to do next.
Leonard paused slightly and his eyes flashed with an imperceptible hint of crazed amusement before finally declaring, "After all, I feel like gambling as well."