I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 369. If It’s Twisted, Just Cut It (7)

There is a saying in Ruquer.

When something happens, first suspect Keter.

When the explosion that shook the heavens and earth erupted, Joyray was certain.

“Keter! What are you doing?!”

Joyray rushed out of the waiting room.

Keter had always been strong. Now that he had returned, he showed such strength that it made one wonder if he had become an 8-star Irregular.

“But even so, it’s no use. You can’t win against Amon!”

Becoming an 8-star Irregular means reaching the realm of a ‘Demi-God.’ The power to interfere with the world becomes so strong that even the mere thought of wanting to kill someone can lead to their death.

But Amon is a being who surpasses even those 8-star Irregulars. In other words, he is either a god or something infinitely close to it. No matter how strong Keter is, he is an opponent he can never defeat.

And this explosion must undoubtedly be Keter attacking Amon.

‘Please let my prediction be wrong.’

Joyray hoped that for once, his prediction would be wrong as he returned to the arena, but—

“Dammit!”

As expected, Keter was aiming an arrow at Amon.

Naturally, Amon was unharmed. Instead, he looked down at Keter with an expression of interest.

“Even though you know who I am, you attack me without even introducing yourself. You’re a madman. So, you’re Keter?”

Surprisingly, Amon seemed to know Keter.

Keter lowered the arrow he had aimed and spoke.

“Has my reputation spread even underground? This popularity of mine.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Lian and Uron.”

“Huh?”

Keter was puzzled. He forgets things he’s not interested in quickly, but once he’s interested, he never forgets. How could he not remember these names?

The 4th Layer Underground. If they were people who had faced Amon, Keter should have known them. Moreover, those two had often mentioned Keter.

‘Did I forget? No, that can’t be.’

Keter was certain. He never forgets names.

“Lian and Uron. Are those aliases or titles?”

Amon smiled with amusement at Keter’s question.

“Perhaps. You don’t know their names. Do you want to know?”

“Not really dying to know. But I’d appreciate it if you told me.”

“Then let’s do this. I’ll forgive your rudeness for attacking me. In return, participate in this arena. If you win 10 consecutive matches, I’ll grant you one of my authorities and tell you the true identities of those two.”

Amon, showing mercy to Keter who had attacked him out of nowhere, even made an offer.

“No!”

It wasn’t Keter who answered, but Joyray. Grabbing Keter’s shoulder, Joyray spoke with force.

“Refuse. You must not stay here.”

“Why?”

“Even if it’s 10 consecutive wins, it’s only one match per day. That means you’ll have to stay here for at least 10 days. You look busy, don’t you?”

Joyray persuaded with logic, not emotion.

Keter stroked his chin.

“Indeed, I don’t want to stay here for 10 days.”

Amon then proposed a compromise.

“Short on time? Then fighting 10 times in a row should solve it.”

“That’s still too long. Let’s make it easier.”

Swish.

Keter pointed at Amon with his finger and gestured.

“You, come down.”

*

The monsters in the audience cheered. They cheered for the madman Keter who had challenged their ruler, Amon.

Amon’s lips curled up.

He is not a noble king. He is a monster. A monster who seeks only amusement. There was no way he wouldn’t step forward when challenged.

Floating down to the arena, Amon. His appearance was that of a handsome youth, so facing Keter, it looked like a meeting of princes from different kingdoms.

“Very good. It’s been hundreds of years since I had a challenger…. Even Lian and Uron were reluctant to fight me.”

“So, you still don’t know who those two are.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you just before you die. Contrary to what I’ve heard, archery seems to be your specialty. Go ahead and shoot. I’ll take three hits without doing anything.”

Amon spread his arms, showing his ease.

Keter was about to say something, but Joyray grabbed his shoulder again.

Shaking his head.

Joyray’s eyes told him not to do it, to run away even now.

Wink.

Keter responded with a wink and turned back to Amon.

“When did I say I’d brawl with you? I’ll beat you in a game.”

“…A game?”

Amon was puzzled, and the monsters didn’t understand the word ‘game’ itself.

“It’s a game called Rock-Paper-Scissors.”

“Do you really believe you can beat me in that game?”

“200 percent.”

“Oh ho.”

Amon finally showed interest and crossed his arms.

“Explain how the game works.”

“It’s very simple. You use your hand to show rock, paper, or scissors to compete against your opponent. Scissors beat paper, paper beats rock, and rock beats scissors.”

“Very simple.”

“Let me demonstrate. You follow along. Raise any hand to head height. On the signal, lower your hand to waist height and choose one of the three. Once lowered, you can’t change your choice. Ready, rock, paper, scissors!”

Keter showed scissors.

And Amon, following along, showed rock.

Amon asked nonchalantly.

“So, I win?”

“Correct. You’re good at this? We’ll play a total of 10 rounds, and the one who wins the majority wins the game.”

“Indeed, it will be decided quickly as you said. But, there’s no risk of losing your life. That takes away the fun.”

Stake your life on the game.

Keter went a step further.

“Just staking your life isn’t fun either. A game must always have a bet. I’ll stake my body and soul.”

When Keter promised to stake his soul first, Amon laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! Truly a madman! Staking your soul! Fine! If you win, I’ll grant you three wishes!”

“I like it too. Now, before we start, let’s set some detailed rules. For example, it could end in a 5-5 tie. In that case, we’ll play one more game to decide the winner. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“During the Rock-Paper-Scissors game, until the result is decided, no actions other than Rock-Paper-Scissors are allowed.”

“Kukuku. Are you afraid I might kill you if I’m at a disadvantage? That could happen. I swear I won’t.”

“Interference from the monsters is also prohibited.”

“You’re quite cautious. Understood.”

“Lastly. In case of any foul play, I’ll appoint Joyray here as the referee.”

“Hohoho. As you wish.”

Amon urged them to start, and Keter released his hand. Though called a referee, Joyray, essentially a spectator, said to Keter.

“Keter. Since you’ve appointed me as the referee, I will, with the honor of a mercenary doctor, fairly monitor you and Amon to ensure no foul play.”

“I trust you, Captain.”

“Let’s begin now. Both of you, face each other.”

Joyray positioned Keter and Amon to face each other.

“I will give the signal. Both of you will move according to my call. Any objections?”

“None.”

“None.”

“Then we’ll start the first game immediately. Raise your hands.”

Keter and Amon raised their hands to head height.

Joyray immediately gave the signal.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

Following the signal, both arms descended. When they reached waist height, the ‘hands’ of both were revealed.

Keter had rock.

And immediately seeing Amon’s, Joyray announced the result with a calm expression.

“First match… winner, Amon!”

Amon, who won the first match, smiled and said.

“Lucky.”

Keter, who lost from the start, responded nonchalantly.

“First match jitters.”

The small talk ended there.

Joyray gave the signal again. The second game followed immediately.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

Keter showed rock again.

And Amon also showed paper, resulting in the same outcome.

Amon boasted.

“Such good manners. You even let me win the second match.”

“It’s a handicap for the weak.”

“Hohoho.”

Keter spoke as if he had intentionally lost.

Joyray, unknowingly swallowing hard, said.

“Prepare again.”

The third match followed immediately. The result was decided in just 5 seconds.

This time, Keter showed scissors. He predicted Amon would show paper three times in a row.

But this time, Amon showed rock.

“Oh my, I won again?”

Three consecutive wins out of ten. Just three more losses, and the match is over. Amon is clearly far ahead.

This Rock-Paper-Scissors is no ordinary game. It’s a game of life and death, even staking souls. Yet, Keter remained calm.

Joyray, forcing a calm voice, started the fourth game.

Keter showed paper—

And Amon showed scissors.

“Easy, too easy.”

Amon, holding up scissors, celebrated his victory.

Generally, Rock-Paper-Scissors is known as a game of luck. The ‘hand’ expressed by the hand is unknown until it reaches waist height.

With three possible hands, Rock-Paper-Scissors has a 33% chance of winning. But those who enjoy this game know it’s not just about luck.

This seemingly simple game is heavily influenced by ‘psychology.’ Predicting what the opponent will show and choosing accordingly. Self-proclaimed Rock-Paper-Scissors experts say so.

But in the world of Transcendents, it’s different.

They can ‘see’ what hand will be shown.

And they have the ‘reflexes’ to immediately choose the winning hand. They decide their hand by observing the opponent’s hand shape.

In other words, Rock-Paper-Scissors between Transcendents becomes a game of ‘vision,’ ‘speed,’ and ‘reflexes.’

Keter had also been watching Amon’s hand with his eyes.

But something was off.

Amon had no ‘tells.’

Expressing rock is just lowering a clenched fist, so there’s no change.

But expressing scissors requires extending the middle and index fingers, and expressing paper requires extending all fingers.

In other words, there must be tells, but Amon had none.

He simply decided his hand at the exact moment his hand reached waist height, in that brief instant where reaction was impossible.

But it wasn’t that he was reacting to Keter’s hand with speed and reflexes alone. His eyes weren’t even looking at Keter’s hand.

‘He’s pretending to rely on luck.’

Keter didn’t think he lost in speed and reflexes. Since childhood, he had a win rate of over 60% against Transcendents in Rock-Paper-Scissors.

This isn’t about speed but psychological warfare. Creating traps with hand movements. Even with superior physical abilities, one can fall for it. In fact, it can backfire.

But for some reason, Amon was completely immune to such psychological warfare. Keter was certain after three consecutive losses.

‘He knows what I’m going to show.’

In the fourth match, Keter deliberately kept changing his mind. He decided to show scissors, then rock, then paper, then rock again.

He kept changing his mind until the last moment, finally deciding to show paper. But Amon, as if he knew, showed scissors and won again.

It could be luck. The probability of four consecutive losses isn’t that absurd.

But Keter was certain Amon was ‘cheating.’

Even so, he didn’t argue. He couldn’t prove how Amon was cheating. But of course, Keter wasn’t one to stay still.

Then, seeing Keter’s calm expression, Amon taunted.

“Now you only have two chances left. Thank you. Getting a soul like yours so easily is definitely a stroke of luck for me.”

“Shut up and raise your hand.”

“As you wish.”

Both raised their hands. Joyray was about to give the signal again when Keter suddenly declared.

“I’ll show scissors this time.”

“Are you crazy? Oh, you were always crazy.”

Amon didn’t pay attention to Keter’s words. Or rather, he pretended not to. He was secretly mocking Keter.

‘Kukuku. He must have caught on a bit, but does he think that will change anything?’

Following Joyray’s call, both hands descended.

Keter’s hand, which had been using subtle movements for psychological warfare, was now calm. Amon smiled victoriously just before his hand reached his waist.

‘Not a madman, but a fool. Thinking of showing scissors as he said.’

Amon, certain Keter would show ‘scissors,’ showed ‘rock.’

“…!”

His eyes widened for the first time.

Joyray also opened his eyes wide and shouted.

“Fifth match… winner, Keter!”

---