MMORPG: Rebirth of the Mortal Online - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: The Mad Marbles
“We’ll need one more.” Ramon said with a smirk while rolling the marbles in his hand. “This game is better with four.”

“It is something we found in here, the common room.” Hannibal said it with a grin. “It’s called The Mad Marbles. It is a crazy one, winning over any dull real life games.”

“Well then, let’s try to find another player, then explain the rules.” Adam said.

He knew a lot about this game. It was something mercenaries played all the time during their missions and during some late night gatherings. It was fun and competitive, and it always kept everyone on their toes.

“Hmm, who should be an exciting participant?” Ramon looked around the common room with a watchful eye. “I don’t want some spineless coward; that’s boring.”

At that moment, a voice came.

“Adam, you’ve returned.” Donald stepped into the common room, and Ramon’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Donald, a man I was looking for, keke.” Ramon laughed heartily.

“You have?” Donald’s eyebrow jumped.

“Play a game with us.” Ramon showed the four marbles. “A game of The Mad Marbles.”

“How is it played?” Donald asked and got seated, then said to Adam. “We might find the boss room soon. We’ve gotten quite far.”

Adam nodded casually and turned to Ramon, then asked, “What’re the rules?”

“We’ll roll these marbles.” Ramon rolled one marble for everyone and said, “After you roll the marble, a number will appear on the marble between 1 and 20. The one with the highest score will start.

“Then, that person will become an attacker and can choose to attack one of the players. The attacker and the player will roll the marbles. If the player has doubled the score of the attacker, the attack will rebound for the attacker.

“If you get attacked, your marble will crack. If your marble gets destroyed, you’re out of the game.

“Understood?”

“Sounds simple.” Donald said this and rolled his marble between his fingers.

“Is that all? Did you forget something?” Adam asked curiously while trying to stop himself from smiling.

‘Still with his fucking games, Ramon…’

“Hmm…” Ramon scratched his cheek and exclaimed, “Ah. The one getting attacked can choose to skip one round. The attacker’s round will also get skipped.”

“Mm, shall we start?” Donald asked with a smile, feeling slightly excited.

Ramon and Hannibal rolled the marble in their hands, smirked at each other, and nodded.

Beside the table, a fireplace flickered and sent a glow of gold across the room, illuminating the faces of the four as they prepared to begin their game.

The room was quite warm and smelled of burning wood and cinnamon. It didn’t smell bad as the scent was quite faint and inviting.

Adam threw his winter clothes inside his inventory as he started to sweat slightly. He was now wearing a light t-shirt and sweatpants with black socks and sneakers.

He had purchased some new clothes from the clothing store for a fairly cheap price. The basic clothes were quite uncomfortable as they were made from low-quality materials.

“Let’s roll,” Ramon said.

At that moment, the four rolled their marbles to the center of the table. The marbles collided with each other with a soft click and came to a gentle stop.

Ramon had a score of 6.

Hannibal had a score of 11.

Donald had a score of 12.

Adam had a score of 2.

“Ah,” Adam wryly smiled, “the lowest score.”

“I had the highest score, so I am now an attacker?” Donald asked, making sure that he understood the rules correctly.

“Yup, choose one of us three to attack.” Ramon said with a smirk.

“Mmh…” Donald looked around until his eyes landed on Adam and said, “I’ll attack Adam.”

Adam’s lips twitched, and he grabbed his marble from the center of the table—the others did the same.

Ramon and Hannibal leaned against the backrests of their chairs, watching the confrontation unfold with amusement.

“Will you skip or not?” Ramon asked Adam.

“No, I am fine.” Adam twirled the marble in his hand and prepared to roll. “Donald, let’s roll at the same time.”

“Aight.” Donald felt his heart beat against his chest nervously.

Three, two, one—the countdown ended, and they both rolled their marbles across the table simultaneously. They happened to clash against each other with a loud clink.

After the marbles slowly came to a stop, they revealed a number each.

The four leaned closer to check out the score.

Donald’s score was 3.

Adam’s score was 17.

Crack—Donald’s marble cracked around the middle. It was still intact, but it wouldn’t survive another two attacks.

“Cursed!” Donald grimaced and let out a sigh of frustration.

Strangely, Adam, Ramon, and Hannibal stayed quiet, looking straight at Donald.

Donald’s eyebrow rose, not understanding why they were looking at him.

Smack—at that moment, a loud sound of flesh getting slapped resounded across the common room.

Donald’s head snapped to the side, a red mark appearing on his cheek. His eyes looked wide in a shocked expression.

Several players looked around the common room, wondering where that strange noise came from.

“W-what the hell?” Donald touched his stinging cheek and looked at the three with wide eyes. “W-what was that?”

“Ah, I guess I forgot to mention.” Ramon chuckled. “If your marble gets hurt, you receive some of the damage. Slap to the face.”

“What the…” Donald looked at the marbles in shock. “Magical items… what happens if the marble gets destroyed?”

“Punch in the face.” Ramon put his fist against his own cheek and imitated a punch. “It’ll hurt, but nothing you can’t handle.”

“Sounds interesting.” Adam said it with a chuckle.

Ramon wasn’t lying. It was mostly harmless, but the pain depended on the number the attacker had. This time, it was 17 out of 20, which was close to the pain of an ordinary slap.

If the score had been 20, it would be equivalent to the strength of the real slap.

“Alright, let’s continue.” Hannibal said it with an impatient look. He was almost shaking with excitement.

The four took their marbles and then rolled them at the same exact time. They rolled to the center of the table and collided there.

The numbers instantly appeared on the marbles. The numbers appeared in a form of mist that soon took shape.

Ramon’s score was 10.

Hannibal’s score was 15.

Donald’s score was 1.

Adam’s score was 9.

“Hahaha, let’s go.” Hannibal rubbed his hands with a grin.

“Who’ll you attack?” Ramon asked with a smile.

Hannibal looked straight at Donald with a predator’s gaze. “Donald.”

“Ah!” Donald’s face paled. ‘Now that my marble is damaged, they’re targeting me to finish me off. If I lose this one, my marble is at its breaking point. Should I skip?

‘No, I’ll need to save my skip. If I win, Hannibal’s marble will also get damaged, and I won’t be targeted anymore. If I skip now, I’ll just get attacked the next round again.

‘This is a round I must win!’

Hannibal and Donald grabbed their marbles, then counted from the three before rolling them down the table. They clashed at the center of the table, and numbers appeared on each.

Donald and Hannibal looked at the marbles. It was an important round for the whole outcome of the match.