“Right now, the game centers around Rings. Rings look for those with high Prestige who seem to be Crowns.” Gilgamesh calmly explained. “One step beyond that, Scepters watch for Rings who appear to see the Prestige of others and hunt for Crowns. And Crowns pretend to be Rings to bait a Scepter challenge. Understand?”
“Yes.” Heroine lied.
Gilgamesh decided to ignore her ignorance. “...As I said before, since we have a Ring and a Scepter, an aggressive strategy is best. I will hunt Crowns and you will hunt Rings.”
“For me, that means challenging people trying too hard to look like Rings. For you, that means those who are keeping a low profile but are constantly on the move and have high Prestige.”
“Why?” Heroine asked.
“The former are most likely Crowns pretending to be Rings to bait a Scepter, and the latter are Rings pretending to be Scepters on the hunt for Rings as a cover while they actually hunt Crowns.”
“If that person really was a Scepter, they’d be targeted by Crowns or fall victim to a fake Ring. But since they have high Prestige, they are more likely to be Rings taking an aggressive approach.”
“...so I hunt people with high Prestige who are stalking.” Heroine summarized what was relevant to her.
“Yes. Also-” Before Gilgamesh could finish his words, a Puppet Knight confronted them and pointed back to the Ballroom.
“So we can’t remain in the Hallway for too long…” Gilgamesh deduced. “Let’s go.”
He led Heroine back towards the Ballroom, passing by small pairings of Nobles on their way. By their demeanor and Prestige, it seemed the intelligent Nobles were coordinating themselves just as quickly as he was.
“We need to shake hands after each Clash no matter the result, to obscure which of us has what Regalia to those who are watching us.” Gilgamesh informed. “When I hold out my hand with the palm backwards, that means we don’t switch. When my palm is forward, we switch. Remember that.”
“Okay.”
“This initial period won’t last long.” He told Heroine. “It’ll get much harder once the bulk of Prestige is in the hands of the cunning. We need to move fast.”
Gilgamesh - [ 21 Prestige ]
Heroine - [ 20 Prestige ]
The two of them moved fast and efficiently. Gilgamesh observed the lone standouts as targeting a group was too risky. He saw someone with 30 Prestige who stared at people a bit too long, and challenged him for a victory.
[ Gained 16 Prestige. ]
[ 37 Prestige ]
He held out his palm backwards and they clasped hands for a moment. Not too overtly, but not too discreetly either. It would not have the full effect if observers are not even aware that there was a chance their Regalia were switched.
He spotted someone moving quickly and making subtle glances. At his direction, Heroine challenged and won, increasing her Prestige by 10. Next, he saw another person watching others and challenged, but the Regalia of his opponent that formed was a Scepter.
[ Lost 10 Prestige. ]
Gilgamesh - [ 27 Prestige ]
Heroine - [ 22 Prestige ]
“A Scepter pretending to a Crown pretending to be a Ring…” Gilgamesh deduced as the loss of 19 was shared between them, though it seemed the lion’s share of the split was his burden to bear.
Gilgamesh did not slow down nor show any frustration. It was a numbers game. He only needed to stick to the dominant strategy and continue to challenge.
Several more Clashes brought their Prestige to 55 and 40, but as they departed from the scene this time, Gilgamesh witnessed someone win a major duel that brought his total to 120.
[ 120 - Viscount ]
The Nobleman’s clothing became more luxurious and the color of their mask changed from white to yellow, but the spectacle did not stop there. The elevated Nobleman laughed in a truly grating manner and spoke unforgivable words.
The loser of the Clash struck the Nobleman in the face, and was immediately apprehended by a Puppet Knight. The Puppet Knight dragged him off at once and both their forms faded into the air. The victorious Noble threw further salt on his wounds with further mockery, then he departed with his small group.
“100 must be the requirement for the next rank.” Gilgamesh determined as he glanced around.
More and more people fled the Ballroom with every passing moment, and the quantity of Prestige steadily rose among those that remained. Many others neared or even exceeded 100 in the same spectacle as before.
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“We shouldn’t stay too long.” Gilgamesh thought. “The next target should be higher.”
[ 95 Prestige ]
Gilgamesh spotted one such target standing around, subtly pretending to be a Crown. He took a step towards the Noble, but suddenly turned away to continue onwards.
“Something is off.” He thought. “His Prestige is too high. Anyone with high Prestige knows what they are doing. A Crown who does that would be targeted heavily by a Ring, thus he must be a Scepter.
“Scepters pretending to be Crowns to bait a Ring challenge, just as before. But this won’t last long. Soon the idle Crowns will be out competed and people will know that the ones left are actually Scepters. Then they will be targeted by Crowns.”
Gilgamesh spotted two people walking together, a Nobleman and a Noblewoman. 60 and 40 Prestige, respectively. The man subtly glanced around at people while the woman’s sight did not wander.
“Another trap?” Gilgamesh wondered. “But their speed is swift. They don’t want to be challenged. They are hunters. The man is a Crown pretending to be a Ring and the woman, therefore, must be a Ring herself.”
“Challenge the woman.” Gilgamesh told Heroine. They approached the pair and challenged at the same time to simultaneous victories.
[ Gained 30 Prestige. ]
Gilgamesh - [ 85 Prestige ]
Heroine - [ 60 Prestige ]
Gilgamesh looked around and held his palm forward. Heroine eyed it just slightly longer than she normally did, and reacted with subtle surprise when she took his hand. But Gilgamesh did not explain himself. He simply led her away as he kept his focus perfectly straight ahead.
“Challenge.”
“Challenge.”
A pair of challenges came at them the moment their Truce was up. Gilgamesh looked back to find two Noble Girls snickering.
“You should keep acting the same if you switch. It’s obvious that you did.” One said.
“It’s obvious~” The other chimed.
“You’re not smart enough to play this game.”
“Not smart enough~”
Four Regalias emerged from light. The Scepter that challenged Heroine drew with her own, and the Crown that challenged Gilgamesh lost to his Ring.
“What?!”
“What?!”
[ Gained 45 Prestige ]
Gilgamesh - [ 130 Prestige ]
Heroine - [ 60 Prestige ]
In a spectacular flash, his clothing became more illustrious and his white mask turned yellow, but Gilgamesh did not gloat or mock them back. He only led Heroine back to the Hallway at once.
Gilgamesh had long seen that various groups were watching them. And he knew that Heroine would not convince the cunning hunters who watched them, so he manipulated her confusion to provoke a favorable attack, should anyone try.
This was not a strategy he had constructed beforehand, but one he had thought of on the spot. One inspired by the double-layered deceptions of his previous opponents. Gilgamesh did not gloat or mock overtly, but such sentiments began to arise within his subconscious.
“If the cunning have already started to dominate, then I need only change my strategy to target them over the ignorant.” Unbeknownst to himself, the corners of Gilgamesh’s lips curved just slightly upwards behind his mask.
Traces of a feeling he had not possessed before started to bubble within, not of the disdain he often had for inferior opponents, but an almost perverse celebration of his victory. A satisfaction born of the thrill of risk and reward that only made him crave more.
“You tricked me.” Heroine accused as they reentered the Hallway.
“It was the best option at the time. Besides, it’s not as though you lost, is it?” Gilgamesh responded without a hint of guilt.
“I guess…”
[ Viscount’s Right ]
‘You may trade Regalia with a willing Noble.’
‘You may ally with other Nobles.’
‘You may give Prestige to another Noble.’
‘You may make Vassals from lower ranking Nobles.’
[ Vassalage ]
‘All losses incurred by a Liege Noble with be shared amongst their Vassals.’
“This is a crucial layer…” Gilgamesh read the new mechanic with very keen eyes. “The game will eventually revolve around Vassals, but that is something for later…”
“We’re changing our strategy.” Gilgamesh informed. ‘Rings will still be the dominant Nobles at this stage, which means Scepters will be eager to challenge.”
Gilgamesh walked off, and Heroine followed. He assessed the wastrels who loitered in the Hallway around and suddenly approached one with low Prestige.
“You have a Crown.” The man reacted to his statement, so he make a proposition. “Trade your Crown to me and I’ll give you some Prestige.”
The man debated in his head for a while, but ultimately his desperation and hope won out.
[ Crown ]
‘Allow you to give orders to Servants.’
“Servants?” Gilgamesh eyed the word, and turned to Heroine. “Were there any Servants in the Lounge?”
“Yes…” Heroine confirmed. “But they just stand there…”
“I’ll need to test just how much authority a Crown has over them.” Gilgamesh thought.
Gilgamesh glanced down the Hallway, then stowed the thought in the back of his mind as he moved on back towards the Ballroom without giving the man a single point of Prestige.
“H-hey!” The man he had traded with called out after him, but Gilgamesh ignored such pointless noise.
“We’ll take advantage of the hunters who use the same Ring-Scepter strategy as us before the game changes again. I’ll pretend to be a Ring to bait Scepter challenges, and you will continue to act like the Scepter you are while we hunt for Rings for you to challenge.” He told Heroine.
“O-okay.”
“This will be harder than before.” Gilgamesh kept his more realistic thoughts to himself. “I’ll need to successfully fool others into believing that I have a Ring, without the ability to see the Prestige of others. And I’ll need to do so in a way that is subtle enough not to spark suspicion but not so subtle that it will go unnoticed.”
Gilgamesh laid out the difficulty of the path ahead, but despite his pragmatic words, beneath his mask was a face eager to return to the game.
