Chapter 15: Chapter 14: The One Percent (3)

A man patiently called out beside him.

“Doctor…”

For some reason he couldn’t focus on the task at hand.

Task at hand? What… Who am I?

“Doctor?”

The man called out once more, a voice laced with uncertainty.

“Yes, I heard you. Of course, we’ll carry out more tests. There must be a way, Upstan.”

He responded while his hands ceaselessly manipulated test tubes full of medicines.

Did I just say that?

“Doctor, you misunderstand… She’s gone.”

The man called Upstan took a silent step back.

Gone? Who’s gone?

Despite wondering who, his body still shivered uncontrollably. He felt his face twist viciously; even his eyes hurt from pressure.

“Gone?”

He snarled back to Upstan.

“There is no such thing as gone. I’ve explored the depths of all science that this world has to offer. I alone have conquered the forbidden zones of the tenth floor and experienced the hells of Tientra. I’ve breached the Gates of Deceit and tasted the Pools of Desire.”

Is this really me?

“If you think death can get in the way. You are wrong. Dead? I’ll bring her back. Her body is disintegrated? I’ll build her a new vessel. I will prove that I have not studied the soul arts in vain. If you think the mere- “

“Doctor Lazure, what you’ve done is create a plague! I can’t sit idly by and let you ruin yourself any longer. Please… Please come to your senses! She’s no longer with us anymore.”

Upstan pleaded desperately.

Someone died… Doctor Lazure is working hard to bring her back? Am I Doctor Lazure?

“You too… Upstan? Those subjects, it was for the greater good, to progress my research! Their sacrifice means nothing to me!”

“Doctor Lazure you can’t treat other lives like cattle. She would not have wanted this…”

Doctor Lazure’s body stopped trembling and a certain clarity rekindled in his eyes.

“What she wants…”

A foreign aura spread outward from Doctor Lazure’s body. His eyes went dull.

“Lazure my love…”

He called out softly to himself.

“Stop this at once. Help these people, I’ll be waiting for you. I will always be waiting for you.”

The dullness in Doctor Lazure’s eyes went away and he regained his vision. Upstan simply stared at the doctor with his mouth agape in shock.

“I see… Upstan. It appears my wife wishes for me to rejoin her in a different way. Ah… I’ve committed quite a few sins, haven’t I?”

Doctor Lazure gave Upstan a sideways glance.

“Y-yes Doctor… perhaps too many to be redeemed.”

Doctor Lazure waved his hand apathetically, letting out a deep sigh.

“Listen up, a working example of the cure is on the table. I only came across it accidentally though and haven’t bothered to improve it. The method for it…”

Doctor Lazure listed off a formula with lightning speed, which Upstan committed to memory.

“It appears I have created quite the villain out of myself.”

He placed a hand on Upstan’s shoulder.

“I’ll be leaving this place. I’m sorry to trouble you, my friend.”

After one last look, he walked out of the room, never to be heard of again.

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The boy woke up with a jolt and sucked in a deep breath. Cold sweat coated his body, causing a chill to reach his bones.

What in the world was that nightmare?

He stretched his arms overhead and shivered. At this point, he was both distracted and awake, whether or not he wanted to be.

After a drawn-out sigh, he started his day with a wash. After getting dressed, he noticed a savory smell filling the air.

“Mmmm.”

His stomach rumbled and he chased the scent, finding Meya cooking a few delicacies.

“Good morning Little X, or should I say good evening?”

She hummed a tune and continued cooking.

“Good… evening Meya. Is that for me?”

The smell alone was enough to drool over.

“Of course it is. Normally our head chef would craft your meal, but for reasons I’ll be replacing her.”

Since Meya wanted to decrease the boy’s interaction with the other staff, she easily assumed additional duties.

Fortunately, Meya wasn’t a bad cook. The kitchen staff even found it to be a pity when she declined their offer to continue learning the trade.

Eventually, food was served.

“Ah!”

The boy let out a joyful cry after gorging on the first bite of tender meat. His eyes sparkled as he devoured everything in sight.

“Perhaps I should have made more…”

Meya murmured while elegantly cutting into her portion.

Satisfied and full, the boy pushed away his plate. Meya suddenly felt self-conscious the moment she noticed his gaze.

“I had a strange dream last night.”

He spoke up, interrupting her from her thoughts.

“What kind of dream?”

“It was about Upstan and a Doctor.”

“Really? Maybe the play made a big impression on you. It’s normal to dream about things after hearing about them.”

But it seemed so real. Almost as if… I was the Doctor.

The boy kept his thoughts to himself and waited for her to finish eating. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long as Meya’s portion was much less.

“Ready to play Chaos Round?”

The boy leaped up from his chair once he noticed Meya finished.

“Y-yes… Let me clean up the dishes first.”

She deftly cleared off the table, but internally she felt as rigid as a statue. Not very many people could perform well under pressure, and Meya was one of the many.

After Meya finished her maid duties, they made their way to the main room where Meya gave the bag of holding to the boy.

“Alright, I’ll teach you with everything that I’ve learned. I’ll play the role of the dealer and all the other players, but we don’t care if the other players win unless they get a Harmony orb. We do care if the dealer wins though.”

The boy patiently explained as if he were some sort of master of the game. Meya simply nodded and took a seat at the table. She watched him swiftly go around in a circle to replicate multiple players.

“Look here, it’s best if you think of these in groups. Simply count these groups together and subtract them from the total amount of possibilities. If you count by groups first, it’ll make the later parts easier.”

The boy pointed to the different orbs that had been delivered to the fake player positions.

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“Once you’ve counted the different groups, we can then use the probability table to determine the basic values of what could come next from the unknown orbs. We can also make a guess as to what percent chance we have in getting a successful combination.”

Meya nodded her head and counted the number of orbs in play according to their grouping.

“Two, three, um, seven in the Earth and Ground category. Six are close to the Inferno Pheonix…”

She rambled on as she went through each orb set in play.

“Exactly, but also remember that these ones are duplicates and can be double counted for the categories they share. This is because at the core, the different categories have a net probability of appearing. And if one shares categories, it’ll count for both since they both appeared.”

Meya quickly revised the numbers, gaining the approval of the boy.

“Exactly like that. However, what’s the most important part of this game?”

“It’s to determine if you’ll get a high score, right?”

“Wrong.”

He shook his head and wagged his finger side to side.

“The most important point is to determine if your score is higher than the house’s score. That’s an important difference because you can still win with a low score if the house’s score is even lower. This means… our probability of winning needs to accommodate the house’s potential score!”

Meya’s eyes widened once she understood this point.

“So, you’re saying, we need to calculate the probability of our score and the probability of the house’s score. Only then we can determine the probability of winning and losing!”

She remarked with excitement.

“Exactly!”

“So now that we’ve counted the number in each group, let’s use the chart for starters…”

The boy explained the easiest ways to perform the calculations.

Starting off simply, the math eventually became more complex as they included more and more things into their calculations. After each scenario, the boy quizzed her to help improve her speed and accuracy.

Soon, a daily cycle was formed.

They both woke up in the evening, ate meals together, practiced Chaos Round until daylight, and then passed out. They continued this process for five days straight.

On the fifth day, Meya stood before the boy confidently.

“Although I’m not as accurate as you… I think I could safely play Chaos Round with at least 60% accuracy!”

There was a level of triumph in her voice.

“Actually, I think you could play it closer to 65% accuracy.”

The boy corrected her, but he knew that she was being modest.

It turned out that Meya had a knack for doing complex math, which allowed her to easily grasp the core concepts.

“Unfortunately, I need to excuse myself for a while and help another guest settle in. Little X, I have a favor to ask.”

It was rare that Meya ever asked anything of him; that, combined with her nervous antics, piqued his interest.

“When I’m not around, could you remain inside this unit?”

Today was the day that Madam Lexene would be arriving at the hotel.

As the fourth-floor maid, she naturally had to fulfill her duties for both tenants, which meant that she could no longer spend each waking moment in unit 401. Fortunately, she knew that Madam Lexene was historically low maintenance and often times brought her own servants.

The boy looked at her thoughtfully before nodding his head. Although it would be somewhat boring, he could always spend time in the special training room when she wasn’t around.

“Thank you, Little X, please excuse me.”

Meya bowed before exiting the unit, leaving the boy to his own devices.

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On the first floor of the hotel, a woman in a clean and modest business uniform walked through the entrance. Beside her was a handsome young man, who was impeccably dressed. The man walked slightly behind her, an indication that he was not her equal.

They were greeted by two rows of maidens on either side.

“Greetings Madam Lexene!”

The employees bowed in sync as the woman and man walked past them.

“You look tired, Madam.”

A tall woman greeted Madam Lexene respectfully.

“Yes Manager Xin, quite tired. Send me the usual food and drink for the night. I’ll be sleeping early today. I want a full report tomorrow when I wake up.”

Madam Lexene carelessly waved her hand and strode past.

“Right away, Madam.”

Just as the young man walked by, he briefly locked eyes with Manager Xin and concealed a smile. The moment was too quick to be noticed by anyone, but Manager Xin saw it clearly as she was expecting it.

Not long after, Madam Lexene and the young man made it to the fourth floor. Meya greeted them in the same manner as the other maids upon entering the main room.

“Greetings Madam Lexene!”

She bowed swiftly.

“Yes, yes.”

She nonchalantly waved Meya away and entered unit 400, which had been left untouched since she last visited it.

“Greetings Meya, I hope you’ve been well.”

The young man spoke up as he was walking by. His rarely seen charismatic smile was on full display.

“Oh, Jun! I’ve been really well. Manager Xin has been very kind to me.”

Meya looked stealthily to the entrance of room 400 before turning back to the man.

“I hope everything works out!”

She whispered to him with a thumbs up.

Jun merely nodded and made his way to unit 400, where his master waited impatiently. Seeing as she was left alone, Meya returned to unit 401.

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“Hah!”

In a specialized training room, the boy punched out with a palm, causing a jet of insidious black flame to extend outward a distance. Another training dummy evaporated.

He recalled the flames and closed his eyes. The black flames wisped in and out of existence as they circled around his body. Soon, they changed into an enchanting green.

These green flames were a new flame that he only recently discovered. He learned that when these flames contacted different materials, they would apply a certain corrosive effect.

Additionally, these weren’t the only color of flames he discovered.

There was also a deep blue flame, which somehow flowed with more force when he attacked, as well as a light pink flame. While the light pink flame looked pretty, he still hadn’t quite figured out what was so special about it. However, whenever he looked at the flames, he would always be reminded of the pink mist that appeared from the crimson candles.

After reflecting for a moment, he extinguished the flame. Off in the distance he could hear small footsteps—it was Meya.

He straightened his clothes and went out to meet her.

“There you are. What have you been up to, Little X?”

Her glossy eyes and pearly teeth could lower any defense.

“Just exploring.”

He returned a smile of his own and continued speaking.

“Hey Meya… Let’s go to yellow tables now. We can do the same as last time, I’ll just tell you what choice I want you to gamble. Is it okay if we gamble this way?”

He looked at her expectantly. She couldn’t say no when confronted in this manner.

Originally, she never wanted him to touch gambling at all, but after seeing what he could do in Chaos Round, she reconsidered.

No. Gambling is still bad after all.

She had to hold tight to her beliefs.

“We can go tonight, but remember, I don’t want you to risk any of your money. Also, I don’t want you to go further into gambling… so… anyway that’s just how I feel.”

She already said everything she wanted to say, so they immediately made their way to the House of Amaryllis.

It went without saying that the boy was covered head to toe in his beautiful cloak. He also donned his white rabbit mask once more before exiting the unit. In a similar manner as before, they entered the building and swiftly found a spot at one of the green tables.

On the way there, they came to an agreement.

Meya would practice in a real world setting for half the night before they would move to the yellow table. That night she found out she only had a 55% chance of being accurate, which was still pretty good considering the pressure she was under.

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While the nighttime atmosphere was in full swing for the House of Amaryllis, a different and more sensual act was performed elsewhere.

The moans of a man and woman being intertwined were silenced by the walls of the hotel room, however that wasn’t the case within the room itself. After a soul shaking display of euphoria, a woman collapsed onto the naked chest of her lover.

“Jun… As amazing as ever.”

The woman cooed softly as she snuggled into his embrace.

“Only for you…”

He replied with a faded smile.

The moment he said those words, they both felt a guilty stab toward their conscience.

“How long does it have to be like this, Jun?”

She gazed into his eyes, an act she often did when searching for solace.

“My contract ends when I turn 23. So… I can only try to evade the inevitable. Please be patient, my love. I’m sorry…”

He gently stroked her hair.

“No, I understand. As much as I hate it… Please serve Madam Lexene well. I’ll be waiting for the day when we can be together openly.”

“Speaking of which…”

Jun sat up, carefully displacing the sultry woman.

“I have to go. If she finds out I’m not there, it’ll be trouble.”

After saying that, he dressed himself back into proper clothes, leaving the naked woman underneath a blanket.

“Oh and Jun. I wanted to ask for your help with something.”

The woman adopted a more modest tone.

“Hmm?”

He continued buttoning up his shirt.

“A young boy is staying in unit 401…”

Jun’s hands briefly froze before resuming.

“A… young boy? Is he some young master from an upper-class family?”

He continued to dress himself.

“No, I suspect he has no background. Jun… Please keep an eye out for him. Right now Meya is accompanying him, but he absolutely can’t be contracted. I don’t want another person to have to go through this.”

The woman pleaded.

“Haahh… I’ll keep an eye out. I also wouldn’t wish this on anyone else. Make sure Meya is taking precautions and not drawing attention. Even the slightest suspicions can create a trail.”

“Thank you, Jun.”

The woman smiled sweetly as the man walked away.

“Anything for you, my beautiful Manager Xin.”

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In the House of Amaryllis, excitement could be heard all across the floor.

At a green table, Meya practiced until her accuracy crept closer to 65%, allowing them to finally graduate to the yellow tables.

Her pool of spirit shards grew from 23 mid-grade spirit shards to 40 mid-grade spirit shards, an income obtained purely through her own effort.

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

The boy grasped Meya by the hand and pulled her to one of the many yellow tables.

It was a somewhat sour feeling, helplessly watching Meya play. Especially since the boy knew he was better than her at the game. One too many times did he have to restrain himself from speaking—anything for her to learn quicker.

“Okay, okay. Thank you for waiting Little X.”

She smiled and sat down in one of the empty positions. The boy sat in a guest chair next to her.

Soon, the game of Chaos Round began once more.

Amid the excitement, the boy wanted to bet 30 mid-grade spirit shards. He suggested that the chance of winning was around 82%. However, even with such a high chance, they lost by a hair, causing them to lose all 30 mid-grade spirit shards.

As the next round began, the boy sat there with knitted eyebrows.

“Ah, this is the main reason why gambling never works. People always bet bigger, understand?”

Meya quietly lectured to him on the side.

This was the primary reason why people would always lose, lack of self-restraint. Even if the odds of winning were great, it only took a single unlucky bet to lose everything. This was the vicious cycle of the gambling dens and also the start of addiction.

From that point forward, the boy became much more prudent.

He only told her to raise the stakes when the chance of winning was above 90%, and even then, he left enough funds in reserve to happily continue playing in case they lost it all.

This worked exceedingly well throughout the night. By the time they returned to the hotel, Meya’s funds had increased to 310 mid-rank spirit shards.

“3 high rank spirit shards… it’s 100 high rank shards for a single peak rank spirit shard.”

Meya rested on her back, staring at her bedroom ceiling. So much had happened in the last week, it was almost mind boggling.

Most impressively of all, she acquired a unique talent for predicting the outcome of Chaos Round. If she continued on her current path, it wouldn’t take long for her to come into possession of her own peak rank spirit shard.

The tower could have given her any trial: defeat a B rank monster, successfully build a business, became a renowned artisan, or even become a unique designer like Mistress Cai. However, the tower gave her the task of obtaining a single peak rank spirit shard.

Generally speaking, this trial was not hard.

However, just because the difficulty was low didn’t mean everyone could magically be born into a family of wealth. Those from poor origins would struggle with this trial for many years—possibly never finishing it in their lifetime.

For example, the Flowering Lotus Hotel employees were paid a single high rank spirit shard each month, which was a high income for their type of work. However at that rate, it would take an individual around a decade of stringent saving to accomplish the tower’s goal.

She smiled at the thought of moving on to the tower’s second floor, when suddenly she remembered something crucial.

…What’s Little X’s trial?