The Warden of The Witches

Abandoning Dignity

"You're revealing your hand without even looking at the cards? Are you giving up on yourself?" Mephilia raised an eyebrow. "Don't forget, I still have one more chance to change my cards."

The one who chooses to reveal their hand first will have one less opportunity to exchange cards than the one who reveals later. Opting to lay down the cards from the start undoubtedly places all hopes on luck, and statistically speaking, the chances of winning are significantly lower.

"Enough talk, just show your hand," Aiden insisted.

Mephilia fell silent for a moment, exchanged two cards, and then revealed her hand.

Two pairs against a mixed hand, Aiden lost again.

Aiden, expressionless, lifted his foot onto the table, starting to untie his shoelaces.

"Oh? Substituting shoes for pants?" Mephilia chuckled. "But I doubt that can last long."

Aiden glanced at her, then pulled the entire shoelace from his boot and tossed it on the floor.

"If a shoelace can be pulled out and counted separately from the boot, I see no issue," Aiden shrugged.

"Resorting to such an undignified argument? Are you trying to charm me?" Mephilia teased Aiden.

"I'm just facing the stark reality of the gap between you and me. Although I'm not sure how you keep winning, the fact that I've lost so many rounds proves the vast difference between us. I probably have abysmal odds at this game; all I can do is prolong it as much as possible," Aiden calmly stated. "When mortals challenge gods, to win, one must be prepared to abandon dignity. I've been too concerned with appearances. In reality, I should have even unbuttoned my shirt one by one."

"Interesting. Let's see if luck will favor you this time," Mephilia gestured to continue.

Both drew five cards each, and Aiden immediately raised his hand. "Showdown!"

"Hmm?" Mephilia squinted. "Trying this again?"

This time, Mephilia changed three cards. After revealing the hands, Aiden lost once more.

Aiden quietly pulled out... an insole from his boot.

"I feel like you're underestimating me a bit," Mephilia remarked.

"I've never been one to show reverence to the gods, and you've known me for a while now," Aiden said nonchalantly. "Carry on!"

Seeing that there weren't many cards left in the deck, he gathered them all back together, shuffled, and cut the deck.

However, at that moment, Mephilia interjected, "That's enough, you've won."

"Tired of it?" Aiden paused, his right hand hovering over the deck of cards.

"No, it's because I already know I'm going to lose."

"You've predicted the next round's cards?"

"I can win the next round, but I can only hold out until the round just before this deck runs out," Mephilia calmly stated. "At that point, I'll undoubtedly lose."

"You know the order of the cards in this deck?" Aiden was taken aback; Mephilia words sounded like she could foresee the future.

"I have an exceptional memory. I remember where each card we've used is placed. The first time we went through the deck, I knew exactly where every card I handled and every card you revealed ended up in the discard pile. Shuffling and cutting must be done where I can see. In fact, I vividly remember and analyze every moment of your shuffling and cutting in my mind. After you shuffle, I can calculate the order of most of the cards. The more you shuffle, the more cards I remember," Mephilia said calmly. "Your highest chance of winning was actually in the beginning rounds. Unfortunately, you didn't win then, and your odds plummeted as the game progressed."

Aiden began to grasp that Mephilia seemed to have a handle on the distribution of the cards in the deck. The more card exchanges there were, the greater the possibilities she could see and manipulate. It wasn't that Aiden had no chance of winning; it was just that the probability was exceedingly small.

Therefore, Aiden later chose to reveal his hand directly—although the odds were equally low, it was still better than continuing to exchange cards.

"You actually remember the sequence of the cards. I thought you preferred games with more randomness," Aiden frowned slightly.

"The so-called randomness ultimately is just the part that observers cannot control. For a fresh deck of cards, I have memorized the arrangement, so what the next card will be for me is a hundred percent certain. Whereas for you, the next card is random, with the probability of any card appearing being one in fifty-four. For an observer, events are only probabilistic if they are unknown," Mephilia explained, a smirk playing on her lips. "As long as one has complete information, they can control that thing. The difference between a dominator and an ordinary person lies in the fact that the former just knows more secrets of the world than the latter."

"If that's the case, there are hardly any truly random things for you, right?" Aiden suddenly realized something. "Could it be that you can even determine the outcome of rolling dice?"

If one could fully analyze elements like the angle and number of rolls when throwing a die, it would indeed be possible to control the outcome to a specific number.

"Well... to some extent, yes. Although my mind can make perfect analyses, the precision in controlling the force is still not always spot-on," Mephilia smiled.

No wonder this person always managed to roll a six in Ludo... Aiden used to think it was just because dominator had some sort of lucky trait.

"I really don't want to play this game a second time," Aiden tossed the cards onto the table and letting out a sigh.

"Oh? Are you finding the game I proposed vulgar?"

"No, I disdain the fact that in this game, it's only men undressing," Aiden stood up to gather his clothes and put them back on. "For me, this game holds no enjoyment whatsoever. Can you understand that?"

"Don't say that. With stakes involved, don't you find the game more thrilling?" Mephilia spoke while using telekinesis to tidy up the playing cards.

"But you haven't actually put any stakes on the line. Last time, you suggested I follow the path to becoming a dominator. Setting aside whatever your intentions might be, you must have originally planned to fully disclose to me the method of becoming a dominator, right?" Aiden settled back into his chair.

"Well, it seems you still doubt me. But even if I have ulterior motives, you are here because you indeed need power for self-protection, don't you?" Mephilia grinned broadly. "At least for now, our goals align. And you've learned one crucial thing — to challenge the authority of gods with a mortal body, you must understand the art of sacrificing meaningless dignity. So, rely as much as possible on and utilize the strong individuals around you. Even charming me is permissible; I will mold you into the finest pawn!"

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