Chapter 9: The Victor’s Dilemma

“Luck only works once…!”

Alfredo couldn’t finish his sentence.

He had to move—because a barrage of attacks came crashing down on him.

Stone spikes shot up from the ground, and ice, wind, and water rained down from above.

Flames lurked for a chance to burn him alive.

The attacks were relentless.

If he stopped for even a moment, he’d be hit.

He had to figure something out—anything.

‘Should I attack the spirits directly? No, that’s not possible right now. In that case, the only option is…’

Alfredo’s eyes turned toward Exitra.

If the spirit user is defeated, the spirits will naturally disappear.

‘Go for the summoner!’

Alfredo set his sights on Exitra.

While watching carefully, he spotted an opening.

‘His back is completely unguarded.’

A wicked smile crept onto Alfredo’s lips.

The spirits were too wild to get close from the front, but the back was a different story.

And he had a skill perfect for striking from behind.

‘Now’s the time! Ambush!’

Alfredo used his ambush skill to get behind Exitra once again.

This time, he didn’t aim for the vital points.

‘If I only aim for the vitals, the pattern becomes too predictable. So instead…’

“I’ll carve you up!!”

He went for a flurry of random attacks, not caring about precision.

Alfredo’s dagger moved fast—

Or at least, it tried to.

“Gah!”

He couldn’t move.

Vines had shot up from the ground and wrapped tightly around his entire body.

“You thought I wouldn’t expect you to come from that direction?”

“How did you—”

“Why else? I led you there on purpose.”

Exitra grinned.

He hadn’t launched that attack blindly.

He had read Alfredo’s movements and driven him to his limit.

Then he deliberately showed his exposed back to lure Alfredo in.

‘Still… good thing it worked.’

He opened his status window.

His spirit energy was nearly depleted.

All that flashy magic had drained him more than expected.

If Alfredo hadn’t taken the bait, Exitra would’ve lost for sure.

“What? No way…!”

“And honestly, I didn’t expect you to fall for it so easily either. I just showed a tiny opening and you pounced on it like a moth to a flame. It was pathetic.”

“You bastard!!”

“Watch your mouth. Is that how you speak to your elder?”

Exitra gave a mischievous smirk and turned his head toward Brain.

Brain looked at Alfredo.

Alfredo was still bound by the vines and unable to move.

He struggled to cut the vines, but they held tight.

The winner was clear.

Brain looked at the knight acting as referee.

The knight nodded.

“Victory goes to Raider Exitra!”

A major upset had occurred.

Everyone had expected Exitra to lose.

The worst aptitude.

The worst matchup.

The worst difficulty.

It was a perfect storm of disadvantages.

A hundred out of a hundred people would’ve bet on Exitra losing.

But he won.

And not just won—he completely overwhelmed his opponent.

— [Whoa! What the hell?!]

— [Did I seriously just see that?!]

— [That’s what a Spirit User can do?!]

— [???]

But no one could deny it.

They had just witnessed it live with their own eyes.

— [Spirit Users can attack like that?!]

— [That’s totally broken.]

— [Wow, that was insane.]

— [kkkkkkkkkk]

— [Hey, all you people who said Spirit Users were a safe bet—where are you hiding now? Come out~]

[User ‘Creditor’ has donated 1,000 won.]

<Ahh, can you hear me? It’s time to collect those mission payouts~>

— [You made a bet, now pay up~]

— [We thought he was a safe bet, but turns out he’s a goddamn beast~]

— [I can just picture all those ‘safe pick’ guys frozen in shock right now lol]

— [So satisfying! Hahaha!!]

[User ‘SafetyVault’ has donated 20,000 won.]

<He actually pulled it off? No way!>

To their credit, the viewers who had set mission bounties started sending in their donations.

The chat window exploded.

The so-called “worst aptitude” Spirit User had just defeated an assassin, considered the worst matchup for that class.

Not only that—his command of the spirits had been remarkable.

— [So how many spirits did Exitra actually use?]

— [No idea.]

— [We need a full analysis on this!]

— [Ox]

— [Oox]

— [Explain yourself! Explain!]

It was such an unbelievable sight that over 3,400 viewers were now typing their own takes in chat.

The feed was scrolling at lightning speed.

[User ‘Chairman’ has donated 300,000 won.]

<The clippers are ready. Doggy~ It’s time for the pet salon!!!>

— [Let’s gooo!]

— [Oh right, I forgot about that part lol This fun isn’t over yet!]

— [Time for Dogg’s head-shaving ceremony~ Everyone, take your seats and get your popcorn ready!]

— [This is a YouTuber goldmine for sure!]

Everyone was celebrating and having fun—

Except for one person.

Dogry, who was watching the stream, unconsciously stroked his well-groomed hair and muttered to himself.

“Shit… I’m screwed.”

***

“Whew…”

Exitra rubbed his head.

Maybe he had overdone it.

His head throbbed a little.

Even though his skills had helped him stay on top, the physical and mental exhaustion was unavoidable.

‘Still… everything went according to plan.’

The strategy had worked flawlessly.

He had delivered a dramatic performance and showcased overwhelming power not typically associated with a Spirit User.

Thanks to that, the chat window had gone completely wild.

— [Wow, that was insane.]

— [This is just crazy.]

— [Exitra had that kind of physicality? Bro, have you been fooling us this whole time?]

— [Con artist Exitra.]

— [‘Explain’ spelled backward is still ‘explain.’]

— [Wow… so lame…]

— [lolol]

“Hahaha, a con artist? No no, this has nothing to do with my physical skills. I didn’t even move, remember? The spirits did everything.”

Physical ability usually referred to one’s capacity to move the body.

Exitra, however, hadn’t moved at all.

He simply thought and gave commands to the spirits.

Calling that “physical” felt a bit off.

“That’s kinda… not right, huh?”

“Then what do we call it?”

“Brain-sical?”

Hahaha. “Brain-sical”—that sounded about right.

—[Ox]

‘Anyway…’

Things had gone a lot smoother than expected.

Of course, the biggest reason for that was a particular skill.

‘Multitasking.’

It was thanks to that skill.

Multitasking allowed him to think multiple thoughts simultaneously.

Because of that, it became easier to issue commands to the spirits, and it put less strain on him.

‘I originally planned to use maybe two spirits at a time…’

But with Multitasking, he was able to summon and control six spirits at once—water, fire, wind, ice, earth, and wood.

Something previously impossible had been made possible with a single skill.

‘It’s an incredible skill.’

Thanks to it, he was able to deliver a more dramatic performance.

It was perfect.

“And thank you all so much for the generous support~ I think this is the first time I’ve received this much during a stream!”

Exitra grinned as he spoke.

The chat immediately exploded again.

— [Wooooow! He totally scammed us!]

— [My money… ㅠㅠ]

— [Who said this was a safe bet? Step forward now.]

— [If I knew this would happen… I wouldn’t have bet so much… My credit card bill next month is doomed…]

— [Bro… can I get a refund? If my girlfriend finds out, I’m dead… ㅠㅠ]

— [ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

— [That was pure gold. LOL]

The reactions were split into two groups.

Those who bet on the mission were crying, while the rest who just watched were laughing at them.

“Hahaha, with your donations, I’ll treat myself to some delicious chicken~ And no refunds, of course!”

He had completely emptied the viewers’ wallets.

Never in his life—even before his regression—did he expect to make this much money on the first day.

‘How much is that now?’

Just from donations alone, it was over a million won.

He had never made that kind of money before.

It felt surreal.

‘Even after fees, there’s still a lot left.’

— [Look at that smirk on Exitra’s face.]

— [Of course he’s smiling. Wouldn’t you be happy after getting over a million won?]

“Ahem! Was it that obvious?”

— [Super obvious.]

— [Clipped the moment you smiled after getting paid.]

— [He’s a self-born villain now.]

— [Isn’t he a beauty-born villain?]

— [Either way, same thing.]

The chat wouldn’t calm down.

The summoner class, once considered the worst, was now being reevaluated.

Exitra might lack physical prowess, but his “brain-sical” was on another level.

It was more than enough to get people talking.

“Alright then, let’s keep playing the game.”

The match ended with Exitra’s victory.

And not long after, the scene shifted again.

***

It was another event cutscene.

The audience chamber inside the lord’s castle.

At the far end of the chamber stood a large throne, and a long red carpet stretched down the center.

Knights in armor lined both sides of the carpet.

Since the family had fallen into ruin, there weren’t many knights left.

Only six, in fact.

Sitting on the throne was Raiders Brain, and standing on the red carpet were Exitra and Alfredo.

“Exitra, who won the duel, shall now become my official successor. From now on, you will inherit my title and become the lord of this land. You must restore our fallen house to glory.”

“Yes, understood.”

“But I cannot give you everything just yet. For now, conduct yourself properly as my formal heir. If you prove your worth in time, I will give you everything.”

“Understood.”

Exitra bowed deeply in response.

He was now the official successor.

From this moment forward, the Raiders family and its domain were his.

But there was still one thing left to decide.

“Now only Alfredo remains.”

Alfredo lowered his head in silence.

From the way he clenched his fists tight, it was clear how bitter he felt about losing.

His eyes, glancing at Exitra, were full of hatred, anger, and inferiority.

“Exitra, what will you do with Alfredo?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Will you keep him by your side, send him away, or remove the threat completely? Make your choice.”

[Keep him by your side.]

[Send him away to a remote location.]

[Kill him.]

The choices appeared.

Now he had to make a decision.

Would he keep Alfredo close? Send him far away? Or… kill him?

The third option was especially brutal.

“Hmm… what do you all think I should do?”

— [3333333333]

— [333!!]

— [Triple three, baby~ ㅋㅋ]

— [I sincerely apologize, but 3.]

— [22222222]

— [He needs to die.]

— [But still, he’s your brother… Isn’t that too much? Just send him away.]

The audience was split.

They had seen other streamers go through similar choices before.

They already knew the rough consequences of each route.

— [If that guy lives, he’ll come back later to kill the protagonist.]

— [Some streamers kept him around and got betrayed later.]

— [Kill him now and avoid future trouble.]

— [If you kept him, he’d betray you later.]

— [If you sent him away, he’d eventually return with his own power and seek revenge.]

— [The safest option was to kill him outright.]

— [That way, there would be no loose ends, no future danger.]

Of course, that might ruin his relationship with Brain, the father… but so be it.

“……”

— [Still thinking? 3333333333]

— [Go with 3333333]

— [Let’s do it! Option 3!]

— [Follow the crowd!]

The audience overwhelmingly pushed for the kill option.

In the real world, it might’ve been considered inhumane.

But this was a game.

A world made of 0s and 1s, where the people breathing and moving were all just data.

That’s why they could suggest killing without a second thought.

***

After thinking for a while, Exitra activated ‘Audience Dialogue Mode.’

Using this function, he could speak to the chat while playing, and the characters in-game wouldn’t hear him.

It was a feature made specifically for streamers and BJs.

Thanks to it, he could comfortably talk to viewers during gameplay.

“Everyone, I’ve made my decision. I’m going to keep my brother with me.”

— [Ex?!]

— [A-Are you insane?! Human?!?!]

— [No one saw that coming! What?!?]

— [Absolutely not! That’s going to ruin everything!]

The viewers were outraged.

And understandably so.

They’d watched many streamers go through the same choice—and suffer because of it.

Exitra might be headed for the same outcome.

“Don’t worry, everyone. I have a plan. You saw me, didn’t you? Hahaha. I won with the summoner class—the one everyone said was useless.”

— [This is different, though…]

— [He’s doomed…]

— [Not just doomed. He’s tuna-doomed…]

— [This is beyond dumb…]

— [Strike three. You’re out.]