The rest period appeared at the top of the dome.—That's it, Tristan! —Bonaparte shouted—. You'll make me rich soon, boy.—Damn it, Emperor, are you really betting? —Díaz countered him with a perpetual smile across her face.—You should too. We came for something, girl.Díaz's face shifted into pure hatred, and Napoleon, though it seemed impossible, appeared even smaller than usual.—This can't be! —Roberts cried out loud in the middle of the corridor.—Don't tell me, you invited the boy and had so little faith in him. You're a real sea vermin, hahaha —Morgan could not stop mocking Roberts' pathetic face of defeat, who suddenly stood up and grabbed him by the shirt.—Change my bets… NOW!—You know the rules well… double or nothing —Morgan smiled sadistically while Roberts could only resign himself and, taking his hand like a godfather of the sea, kissed the skull ring Morgan wore.—Double… in favor of his third round.—Well said..................................…—That's it, Tris! —Rachel celebrated cheerfully, standing in her place. Her commotion made the shoulder-length-haired girl beside her uncomfortable.—How? —Jean genuinely wondered, bewildered, biting her upper lip—. How did he change so much from one moment to another?—Hehe, Tris is like that —Rachel replied confidently, taking her seat again beside Jean—. He undoubtedly has the abilities, the will, and the strength to be here. He just lacks a bit of…—Self-esteem.—Exactly. Imagine how bad someone must be to call himself a nobody.Jean fell silent for a moment and, for the first time, opened the betting screen.—Fine, let's make a bet, you and I, Rachel.—Huh?—I'll bet against him in the next round, and if I win, you won't support Mr. Nobody anymore.—Wait, but where is all this coming from?—Oh, is your faith in him not as great as you claim?Rachel stopped smiling, opened the betting panel, and in front of Jean made a recklessness worthy of a king.—Then let's make a bigger bet —she proclaimed, not as a lady, but as the king hidden behind her beautiful curves—. I'll bet all my credits, except for 30K to save myself in case I lose the next round. If you have so little faith in Tris, do the same.Jean let out a small laugh.—Fine. If that's how you want to play, that's how I'll play.All the credits of both girls, numbers that rose above six digits, were reduced to a poor 30K.—And one more thing —Rachel commented, accepting the bet—. If you lose, I don't know why I feel you should apologize to Tris.—… —Jean looked at Rachel's determined sapphire eyes clashing with her pistachio-gray eyes, and simply nodded.Thus, both girls shook hands, welcoming the next round..................................…—The nerve that… nobody carries is incorrigible —Gil proclaimed, in a much better mood. The millionaire bet from the previous round had returned him an amount of credits that would surpass descending and climbing again without spending a single credit.—He has finally broken the shell —Herc proclaimed, full of pride.—I've seen enough —Ati proclaimed, who among furs stood up—. I'm not going to bet on this doll. I appreciate it, I've seen something interesting, but it won't go past this round.—What are you saying? —Chu exclaimed with contagious joy—. Did we watch the same fight? That boy changed before our eyes, from a coward to someone capable of defeating Camelopardalis.Silence fell in the room.—Wait a moment… —Sal opened his eyes in astonishment, as if he could not fully understand what was happening.—How did we not realize? —Herc replied.—Strong, he is strong without a doubt —Moc said haltingly, bringing a hand to his mouth in amazement.—Strong! Fuck! He just defeated a gold incarnation, don't play dumb."Shuu" was heard in the room. Everyone turned toward the origin of that sound.The little prince, hunched in a posture very inelegant for someone of his stature, was biting his ring finger furiously to the point that a small thread of blood became visible.—Damn… you're mocking me.Yes, Arturo knew it. More than anyone he knew that that surname was as false as proclaiming himself Tristan.While the real Sir Tristan ascended to join his ranks, the false one had fought alone and matched the rise of one of his most loyal knights. And not only that: the wretch proclaimed himself to bear the surname "Malory," the one who recorded his entire legacy…Sir Thomas Malory…—I'll kill you… without a doubt I'll kill you…—Did you say something, little prince? —Herc asked, to which Arturo, with a distorted expression, simply rose from his seat and left without showing respect to those present.—Well —Chu broke the atmosphere—, you were leaving too, weren't you, Ati?—One more… I want to confirm it.—You too —the dog continued—. I feel we have a cheater in our ranks.—Wait… —Gil, somewhat slower to understand the well's functioning, spoke—. So this boy defeated an enemy…—We still need to confirm it —Sal interrupted.Gil only gave him a listless look and sat back down, observing the boy with growing interest..................................…The third round was about to begin. Miraculously I had been able to avoid using my abilities. There was no way for them to confirm whether I would recover my uses each round. Checking my status, unfortunately my assumption was confirmed.[NEX: 2/10]I did not recover my stats between rounds. I could assume that was why heroes at the level of Saladin or Heracles could not surpass the final round: simple exhaustion.I had to reach at least the fourth. I had to win the next round no matter what. But I could not help feeling that the previous enemy had been a colossal leap, from rabbits to the giraffe, as if one or more levels had been skipped.I could not avoid the gaze, that cold yellowish gaze of the great red-and-black axolotl from the sky, watching me as if trying to judge me."The third round will be revealed."Above everyone, on the great dome of the sky, something was drawn that I recognized instantly, a figure that would take anyone's breath away.Three heads…Tail and heads of serpent…Chains surrounding it, as if trying to contain it.My next trial began to detach from the starry sky.[Third Round: Hydra]
