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Arthur’s scream sent the nearby birds flying.
Stony stared alternatingly between Arthur and Gilberto.
"He’s your son? I thought you two were friends…" he muttered.
"Thanks. I've always wanted to be a father who’s like his friend at the same time.”
"…I didn't mean it that way,” replied Stony. He stared at the two with interest.
Meanwhile, Arthur approached Gilberto and started scolding the latter. "You’re going to do what?! Are you out of your mind? He didn’t say anything, but silence basically means yes to your question earlier!"
"Arthur…"
"I'm against it. It hasn’t been that long since you came back to life, but you’re already trying to do such a dangerous thing...!”
"Arthur..."
Arthur composed himself at his father's subdued voice.
“Why…?” Arthur bit his lips and glared at his father with a stubborn glint in his eyes.
Gilberto chuckled at the rebellious Arthur.
"You’re laughing? What’s funny?" Arthur's expression turned icy cold. "Are you enjoying this, Father?"
"Oh, sorry I upset you." Gilberto shook his head. His voice was full of longing as he explained, "You looked very similar to your mother just now, and I couldn’t help but laugh.”
“…” Arthur's anger faded considerably.
"I can still remember how she kept on driving me into a corner with her stubborn eyes whenever I was about to do something she didn’t want me to do. Back then, I really couldn’t resist her. Her eyes were scary, but they were very lovely."
“…” Arthur didn’t know what to say.
"Arthur." Gilberto stared deeply at his son. Arthur’s mother possessed a pair of eyes that he couldn’t defeat, but this time, he had to be stubborn at all costs.
"I’m not sure if you know, but this is as far as I can go as a Player.”
"That's...!"
"You’re a smart kid, so I’m sure you noticed it as well."
“…” Arthur's face crumpled. Gilberto was right. He had that burning question in his mind, and Gilberto had just answered it for him.
“I never thought that you’re weak, Father...”
"Yeah, I’m strong." Gilberto acknowledged that he was strong. How could he be considered weak if he could kill an Overmind in a single blow as long as it was an ambush?
"But I can feel it… This is my limit as a Player—this is Gilberto Green’s limit."
"How can you know for sure until you try?!" Arthur cried out. Arthur felt a bit wronged. After all, Gilberto had taught him the importance of effort.
"Arthur," Gilberto looked despondent as he said, "I've tried everything."
He had done everything he could to avoid being a burden on his friends and to keep on protecting the people he considered precious. In order to not be a burden to his friends. To protect precious people.
"Unfortunately, there’s something that can’t be overcome with effort alone."
Gilberto’s physique was excellent, and his comprehension was at the summit. However, there was something that he just couldn’t overcome.
Talent… It was impossible to overcome it.
"There are only two ways I can become even stronger..." One was to level up, while the other was to obtain new skills. "However, I’m sure you already know about it, Arthur, but stats become less effective the higher your level.”
The difference between a Level 5 Player and a Level 6 Player was huge, but what about the difference between a Level 200 Player and a Level 201 Player? The stat gain was constant at every level, so there was bound to be diminishing returns.
"However, another option was just presented to me."
He had to succeed or be culled.
“…” Arthur shut his mouth and looked down. He trembled as if he were feeling cold.
"Arthur..."
Gilberto was at a loss for words. He had no idea what to do.
'Come to think of it, this is the first time I argued with Arthur like this.’
In the end, Gilberto wordlessly hugged his son and patted the latter’s back again and again. Soon, Gilberto felt his chest getting wet.
"I’ve always been proud of you, Arthur."
“…”
"I didn’t say that to make you feel good." Gilberto smiled. "You have no idea how proud I was when I emerged from the ice and saw you for the first time."
Arthur had become a man worthy of being followed. He had become a resilient and determined man with his own principles and ideas.
"I was so proud of you that I cried."
The Arthur that Gilberto had seen for the very first time was the ideal Arthur that Gilberto wanted to see.
"You had no parents to raise you up, but you grew up well. I’ve always been grateful and sorry because I couldn’t be with you when you were still young.”
“…”
Gilberto trembled because Arthur was quivering in his arms while crying.
Gilberto hugged him even tighter and said, "And didn’t you just say that there’s no way to know for sure until we try?"
And that was why he was trying…
He couldn’t allow himself to be culled here, and he didn’t want to be culled.
“I want to keep being a father that you’re proud of until the end, and I know that I’m being a bit selfish here.”
"I’m more than proud of you, Father…”
Arthur pushed Gilberto away. He was ashamed that he ended up crying, so he turned away and looked at the sky before continuing. "I’m proud of you, Father."
"Does that mean that you’re letting me do it?" asked Gilberto.
"No." Arthur turned and glared stubbornly at his father with his bloodshot eyes. "I can’t let you—No, even if I can, I won’t let you..."
“…”
"And that’s why you have to come back safely if you want to convince me otherwise."
Gilberto smiled faintly. Arthur really couldn’t be honest about his feelings, and perhaps it was a trait that he had inherited from Gilberto.
"Got it, brat." Gilberto ruffled Arthur's hair and looked up at Stony. "My son is really cute right?"
"Dunno, my standard of beauty isn’t human anymore,” Stony said with a shrug before continuing. "Now, then, get on my shoulder. We’re going to the village."
"Will it take a long time?"
"It won’t be that long." Stony's eyes shone sharply as he glanced in the direction of the temple. "It’s a blink of an eye compared to the time I spent waiting for you."
***
The village was larger than what Arthur and Gilberto expected. However, they were stunned when they realized that not every resident of the village was a giant like Stony.
"…I thought everyone would be as big as you."
"Hahaha! I’m got a titan's gene, so I’m big. Not everyone is like me."
The failures came out of their houses one by one and gathered in the vacant lot.
"No way, are they humans?"
"Nah, I don’t think so. There’s no way there are human beings here."
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"No, I can’t feel Force from them, and I don’t think they’re transcendents.”
Gilberto swept his gaze across the failures in the vacant lot.
'It didn’t take that long for them to gather, so...’ It seemed that there were only less than a thousand failures left. 'That's bad. I heard that there were seventy thousand of them when they started theorizing their own Force.’
Obviously, the other failures had already become sacrifices for the Overminds outside.
"The emperor..." Just why did he sacrifice so many people? Fury burned within Gilberto's eyes.
"What’s the fuss all about?”
The crowd split, and a turtle-looking Overmind appeared. The shell of the turtle-looking Overmind was broken, and he slowly walked over to the vacant lot using a cane.
"Chief!" Stony knelt on one knee. "I found hope!"
"Hope?"
"Can you not see them? They’re humans! Humans!"
The village chief finally looked at Gilberto and Arthur.
"...Is that so? Humans?"
"Yes! The technique we have developed against the emperor can finally—”
"It’s useless." The village chief shook his head while staring intently at Stony. "Stony, you silly rock. It seems that you still haven't given up on your foolishness.”
"How can I give up?!"
Boom!
Stony slammed his fist on the ground.
"We finally stumbled upon humans in this prison, so how can I give it up?”
“You’re just being greedy…” The village chief continued without blinking. "The technique we had created was a technique that would change us.”
However, the emperor's Force had already taken root in their souls, so they failed to change themselves.
"I know, but if it’s a human being… if it’s a pure human being...!”
“Overminds are superior to humans. It's the same for us, who are called failures."
The village chief's gaze landed on Gilberto and Arthur.
"Were you trying to give these humans power that we’re not even sure if we can endure?"
“I told them that there’s a risk of dying…”
"I think you missed an important detail. Listen carefully, humans." The village chief sighed and went on. "It’s not just a risk. There’s an extremely high chance that you’ll die.”
"What…?” Arthur’s eyes widened. If the village chief wasn’t lying, then he truly couldn’t allow his father to learn the failures’ Force. "So he lied to us?”
"Let me ask you…” the village chief said, “What did you think is the probability of success?”
"Fifty percent!” Arthur exclaimed.
The village chief smirked. "That’s too high. I would say it’s one percent at most.”
“One percent…?”
A one percent probability of winning was basically considered a guaranteed loss in gambling, and Gilberto had to gamble his life for a one percent chance of success.
"Father! I definitely can’t let you do it.” Arthur’s eyes burned with determination.
Gilberto was shocked. He stared deeply at Stony and asked, "Did you deceive us?”
"…I’m sorry I didn’t explain it in detail, but I didn’t deceive you!" Sony looked at the chief and said, "Chief! I’m sure we both know that the probability isn’t fixed!"
"That's true." The village chief nodded nonchalantly. "Unfortunately, it’s a technique that requires enormous patience and concentration to learn. A human is inherently weaker than an Overmind, so I said that there’s a ninety-nine percent chance of failure.”
“…” Gilberto's eyes deepened. He was silent for quite a while before asking, "In other words, the one percent chance of success is all because I’m a human being rather than an Overmind?"
"Indeed."
Yes, it was indeed because he was a human. A human could never overcome an Overmind or even a failure in every aspect. Therefore, the village chief thought that the ninety-nine percent chance of failure made sense.
Gilberto chuckled. "I’ve made up my mind. We just have to compete.”
"…Compete?"
"If my patience and concentration are inferior to yours, then I’ll walk away from here without any regrets. After all, I don’t want to die.”
The bold proposal made the village chief silent. He thought about it for a moment before staring at Gilberto with his eyes half open.
"We will be grateful if you walk away after you’ve lost, but how will we compete? And who are you going to compete against?” asked the village chief.
"The competition is breaking the targets. My son will throw the targets."
‘What? Me?’ Arthur blinked.
The village chief nodded and asked, "Sure, but who will be your opponent?"
"My opponent…” Gilberto swept his gaze across the failures and said, "It will be all of you—all of you will be my opponents."