Victor wasn't embarrassed at all when his true motive was exposed. Pressing his hands together, he said quite frankly, “So please, let me leech off your luck!”
Freya said, “...”
After a pause, she asked, “So, what exactly is a low-probability event? What kind of thing is considered a low-probability event?”
Victor thought for a moment and began to explain. “For example, rolling a die and getting a one or a six certainly wouldn't count as a low-probability event, since the chance is one in six. But if someone rolled a one or a six a hundred times in a row, that would absolutely be considered a low-probability event.”
In other words, both extreme good luck and extreme bad luck were included. In fact, when Victor was walking just now and got attacked by flying fish, nearly falling into the sea and drowning, that definitely counted as a low-probability event. It was something that could increase the digestion speed of his potion.
Thinking about it this way, digesting the Gambler potion seemed quite simple? All he had to do was constantly use his Luck Storage ability to suppress his luck to the absolute lowest, and he would experience a bunch of ridiculous incidents. But the problem was... if he actually did that, would he even survive a single day?
The core ability of the Gambler class advancement was luck. Victor had no other abilities besides this—no physical enhancements, no ability to shoot energy beams, and no healing spells. Luck was everything. Under such circumstances, if Victor were to experience a mountain of super unlucky events, he would literally die.
How was this any different from that horror movie Final Destination from Freya's previous life?
As for extreme good luck, it could naturally accelerate the digestion of the potion too, but this required consuming a massive amount of luck. Storing that much luck took a long time, which was why Victor's advancement had been so slow.
Therefore, luck was everything to a 【Gambler】. And as luck would have it, Freya seemed to have no shortage of it whatsoever. Staying by her side would definitely speed up Victor's potion digestion.
However, Freya still didn't agree immediately. Instead, she asked, “You said you're a bounty hunter looking for someone from the Mind Research Association. You aren't planning on assassinating them, are you?”
After all, the combination of "bounty hunter" and "looking for someone" made it hard not to think of an "assassin."
Normally, this kind of commission was highly confidential and couldn't be leaked. However, Victor said without any mental burden, “To be precise, it's to capture someone. The eldest young master of a fallen noble family snuck out on his own to pursue so-called freedom and extraordinary power.”
“This guy is really good at running. I've been investigating for a while, and the latest info is that he fled the country. He seems to have joined that Mind Research Association. My employer's commission is to bring this brat back.”
“Nobles? Pursuing the extraordinary?” Freya tilted her head slightly, switching which leg she was crossing. “But I heard that nobles all possess Extraordinary Pathways. Why didn't this kid get a potion from his own family? Why run so far?”
Victor's gaze was drawn to Freya's swinging legs, and he couldn't help but steal a glance at her black stockings. However, he quickly forced himself to look away and continued, “Nobles do possess Extraordinary Pathways, but they have to be highly influential nobles.”
He counted on his fingers. “From top to bottom, there are Dukes, Marquises, Counts, Viscounts, and Barons. Only those of Count rank and above have potions. As for Viscounts and Barons below them, to be honest, they're just ordinary people with a bit of money. The one who hired me is a Viscount.”
“Alright then,” Freya said. “I have no more questions. As for traveling together, since we're heading the same way, I don't really mind.”
After a few more casual remarks, Freya stood up and left, returning to her room. Over the next few days, she would occasionally visit Victor to chat or play cards, which kept the journey from being too boring.
Finally, on the seventh day of the voyage, Freya stood on the deck and could already see the distant coastline. Yuint City, their transit point for this trip.
While the ship was still some distance from the shore, Euphemia had already come to the deck to wait anxiously. The moment they docked, she rushed down first, lost her footing, and fell flat on the ground.
However, she didn't get up immediately. Instead, she lay there in a pose as if hugging the ground, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. “Ooh, the long-lost ground... I missed you so much...”
“Is it really that dramatic?” Freya said as she walked off the ship. But her immediate sensation was that the ground beneath her feet seemed to be swaying, making her feel light-headed as she walked.
Of course, she knew this was just an illusion. It wasn't the ground swaying, but her own body.
Freya had simply stayed on the ship for too long and had adapted to the maritime environment. Returning to steady ground so suddenly meant her body needed time to readjust.
However, this didn't take too long. After about ten minutes, Freya had adjusted her state. As for Euphemia, although she had gotten up long ago, she was still swaying left and right as she walked, looking like she had drunk too much during the same adjustment period.
Freya wasn't in a hurry to set off. She supported Euphy and led her to a spot out of the way to rest, while watching the bustling crowd disembarking. Then, she waved her hand and shouted in one direction, “Over here!”
Squeezing through the crowd, Victor finally managed to break free with great difficulty and arrived in front of them. He said, “You guys walked way too fast! I thought I was among the first batch to get off, but you actually beat me to it.”
Freya said, “Well, Euphy gets seasick, so we were waiting by the exit very early.”
Victor finally looked at Euphy, who was still a bit dazed, and said, “You must be Miss Euphemia? Hello, hello!”
While chatting with Victor, Freya had mentioned Euphy several times. However, seeing this scene, Euphemia couldn't help but freeze. She turned to look at Fufu, then at the scruffy, unshaven man in front of them. Seeing how familiar they seemed to be, a sudden sense of crisis welled up in her heart.
Wait, what? Who are you?
Euphemia was utterly shocked. Could it be that in the few days she was incapacitated by seasickness, Fufu had been abducted by this shady-looking middle-aged guy?!
She narrowed her eyes, staring intently at Victor like a protective, hissing kitten, while asking Freya, “Fufu, who is this guy?”
Freya tilted her head slightly. “He's Victor. I mentioned him to you a few times, don't you remember?”
Euphemia asked, “When was that?”
Freya said, “When we were going to sleep at night.”
Euphemia put on a thoughtful expression, trying to recall, but she couldn't remember a thing. Over the past few days, her brain felt like it had flour in the left half and water in the right, and the ship's constant swaying had mixed them together into a paste.
Seeing Euphy's miserable look, Freya explained once more, “Victor is an extraordinary I met while wandering around the ship these past few days. For now... you can consider him my follower.”
Calling him a "lackey" wouldn't be quite accurate, but "follower" fit the bill perfectly.
“An extraordinary? A follower?” But as she listened, Euphemia became even more bewildered. She asked, “Specifically...?”
Victor spoke up on his own initiative. “Rank Four of the Destiny Pathway. If there's anything you need me to do in the future, just say the word. I guarantee I'll do my absolute best!”
“Rank Four?!” Euphemia was stunned. This rank was definitely considered a powerhouse. In any city, he could easily serve as the captain of an entire Special Service squad. Yet, such a person had somehow become Fufu's "follower"?
Instantly, Euphemia's hostility toward Victor deepened. There was always an ulterior motive when someone was being overly nice! For a Rank Four extraordinary to act so subservient, he definitely had some unspeakable motive!
Euphemia immediately took Freya's hand, pulled her a few steps away to distance themselves from Victor, and whispered, “Fufu, you have to be careful. That guy is approaching you with zero boundaries. He's probably after your body, waiting to take advantage of you and then abandon you!”
Freya couldn't help but laugh. “Euphy, what are you thinking? Do you remember the constant luck I have? This luck is highly likely placed on me by a Rank Six or even Rank Seven powerhouse of the Destiny Pathway. Victor's abilities can't affect it at all. He's only following me to leech off my luck so he can accelerate the digestion of his Gambler potion.”
“Ah... what?” Euphemia was dazed again. How should she put it? It felt like she had just woken up only to have a mountain of shocking news slapped onto her face. Her brain couldn't process such a dense amount of information all at once.
But regardless, ever since they first met, Freya had always found Euphy's easily startled nature quite adorable.
Freya continued, “So, in addition to Countless Blessings and Countless Resentments, I might also need your help to investigate what this constant luck is all about. Please, Euphy! After all... you're the person I trust the most.”
“Uh... yes! Leave it to me!” Although her brain hadn't fully caught up, Euphemia still agreed very decisively.
By the time they returned to Victor, Euphemia had completely shed her previous hostile, defensive attitude. She was now like a kitten that had been thoroughly petted and comforted. Her mind was constantly replaying Freya's words on loop: “After all... you're the person I trust the most.”
Seeing this, Victor couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. His gaze swept back and forth between Freya and Euphemia. Recalling Euphy's hostile reaction when she first saw him, he immediately understood something. Wearing an "I see" expression, he asked, “What is the relationship between you two?”
Freya blinked her cute amber eyes and said as a matter of course, “We're best friends. Is something wrong?”
But Victor was in his thirties and had spent years knocking about in society, so his observational skills were naturally top-tier. Oh ho, so the reality is that one is completely clueless while the other has an unrequited crush?
Although he saw through it completely, Victor had no intention of saying anything. What if he ruined their progress? Besides, this kind of awkward, push-and-pull dynamic was all part of youth!
Just like that, Victor temporarily joined Freya and Euphemia's party. The three of them left the dock and walked toward the city center. After replenishing their supplies and buying plenty of dry rations and water, they hired a carriage and officially departed for the neighboring 【Fanipaca Empire】.
After traveling for another full day, as evening approached, the silhouette of a small town appeared before them.
After all, the Kingdom of Tarapaca and the Fanipaca Empire were "twin brothers" long ago, so they spoke the same language, albeit with some minor accent differences. Normal communication was definitely not an issue.
Victor volunteered to pay the carriage fare. In any case, it was from the four thousand Ducats he had won at the casino, so he didn't feel any pinch at all. Just like that, the group of four found an inn to stay at.
Yes, four people. The carriage driver also stayed, as he couldn't possibly drive all night to head back.
Victor got a room of his own, while Freya shared a room with Euphemia. Actually, Freya had originally planned for everyone to have their own room, but Euphemia shamelessly acted cute, saying things like she hadn't fully recovered from seasickness, still felt dizzy and unwell, and couldn't sleep at all without a sweet, soft Fufu next to her.
Since Euphemia put it that way, what else could Freya do? Besides, she figured she had already slept with Euphy for several days anyway, so it didn't really matter, and thus she agreed.
However, before resting for the night, Freya and Euphy went to Victor's room first to discuss their plan of action:
Victor said, “The priority is finding the 【Mind Research Association】. I've only heard that this organization is quite common in the Empire, but as for how common it actually is and where they are located, I have absolutely no idea.”
Freya said, “Since we could even hear about the 【Mind Research Association】 in the Kingdom of Tarapaca, it should be common knowledge to the locals. Why don't we just head to any major city and ask some passersby?”
...
Rate on N.U.
