Harem Stealer: Reborn with the God-Tier Sharing System Chapter 436 A fair game
Previously on Harem Stealer: Reborn with the God-Tier Sharing System...
The whispered word echoed within Noah’s mind, yet his expression remained completely static. He stood as still as a statue carved from blood-stained stone.
Motionless and resolute.
However, anyone watching would be stunned by the chaotic storm raging inside his consciousness.
Gaia observed him with eyes full of mockery, her dark skin radiating a brilliance so intense it caused Noah’s vision to sting.
A curse was suppressed behind his teeth.
"Would you like to go first?" she inquired. To her right, a small cradle materialized out of thin air. It bore the color of oxidized iron, its surface rippling and contorting as if a nest of serpents were writhing within the shell.
Noah felt an instinctive urge to peer inside. However, his survival instincts flared violently, screaming a warning so sharp that he froze at the last second. A shiver ran down his spine.
With mechanical precision, he shifted his gaze back to Gaia. He found her watching him, a cruel yet strangely gentle smile playing across her taut, dark lips.
"I will start," Noah declared, clearing his throat to mask his momentary lapse. "Proceed then, my child," she replied.
He felt an internal wince at her choice of address. Shaking his head, he forced his concentration back onto the stakes of the game.
Noah was already aware of his own whispered word. His task now was to provide a clue—one that was indicative enough to pass, yet subtle enough to avoid his own downfall.
It was a difficult tightrope to walk.
The mysterious woman had claimed this was a fair contest. Noah, however, remained skeptical. Even with her power suppressed to match his own level, her experience gave her a logical advantage. This was her domain, after all. Regardless, the die was cast; The Records had guided him here because of their faith in his abilities.
That thought provided a small measure of solace, however fragile it might be.
"Green," Noah stated, his fingers curling together. "That is my first clue."
The seed vibrated, pulsing with a silver light before settling. The reaction confirmed his clue was acceptable.
Gaia offered a sweet smile.
She was permitted only two guesses to identify the word. But what did green signify?
"What does green represent to you?" Gaia asked, her fingers idly brushing the cradle at her side.
"Do you truly think I would assist you?" Noah scoffed. "Give your answer, or do you require another clue?"
"Green is a color of many meanings," Gaia remarked serenely, completely unfazed by his hostility.
"It could denote the simple color, or perhaps an object possessing that quality. Something like..."
Noah’s heart skipped a beat.
"...a green soul?"
Her grin widened.
"Purity, perhaps?"
Noah cursed under his breath.
The Seed ignited with light once more, and Gaia’s portion expanded, shifting toward the fledgling stage.
Gaia looked up, catching sight of Noah as anxiety seemed to seep from the very pores of his soul.
The thick scent of terror clung to him. Gaia savored the sight with a sense of perverse pleasure.
Though she had restricted her power to ensure they were on equal footing, this game was her creation, and her reservoir of knowledge was vast.
The only path to victory for Noah was to surpass her boundaries. To reach beyond her wisdom... to travel upstream of the Great River.
Gaia harbored deep doubts about his capability. She began to question the motives of those little children who had sent him to this place.
Was his death their ultimate goal?
She dismissed the thoughts of those children, caring little for their schemes. Her lips parted once more.
"You should focus, little Brandon," Gaia urged, pulling Noah out of his descending spiral of dread. "You act like such a babe, easily paralyzed by fright. I assumed you were worth something if you serve as His pawn. It appears I was mistaken. You look utterly misplaced, as if you have lost the right direction in your life."
As Gaia spoke, the Seed flickered with light, signaling that a clue had been delivered. However...
"What was the clue?" Noah demanded, his brow furrowed in a heavy scowl. He brushed off her insults to focus on the mechanics of the game.
"I have already provided it," Gaia said with a smile.
"But you buried it within a sea of words," Noah complained. "Where is the fairness in that?"
She let out a laugh. "I never claimed such a tactic was forbidden. Now, stop stalling and attempt to guess the word."
Noah was stunned. He was now tasked with identifying the clue hidden in her speech before he could even attempt to solve the actual whispered word.
How could he possibly succeed?
Frustration and rage began to simmer within him like molten lava trapped behind stone.
Noah threw a glare at Gaia, but she ignored him, showing more interest in the cryptic cradle than her opponent. Noah shook his head, realizing he had to focus on his current reality rather than lamenting the lack of justice. He had known from the start the playing field wasn't level.
It didn't matter anymore.
His mind raced through a dark loop, replaying every word Gaia had uttered. He tried to pinpoint the exact millisecond the seed had reacted to identify the clue.
The task was grueling.
Gaia had spoken with such speed, and the presence of the cradle had been a constant distraction. It felt like a carefully woven trap designed to deceive him.
He released a heavy breath through his nostrils.
Gaia noticed and glanced his way. "Are you surrendering?" she asked, her permanent smile never wavering.
Noah remained silent.
He might have been outmaneuvered, but he refused to capitulate. His mind burned with intensity.
In his estimation, the only words that could serve as a viable clue were 'child', 'worthy', 'lost', 'pawn', or 'direction'.
The options were too numerous.
Which one was the key?
Noah lacked certainty and doubted he would find it through logic alone. Instead, he chose to take a risk.
"The clue," Noah began, meeting Gaia’s eyes with the hardened, weary gaze of a veteran soldier, "is direction."
Gaia’s lips pulled back to reveal a sharp, toothy grin.
"And what, then, is my whispered word?"
"Give me the second clue," he demanded, stealing a look at the cradle. It had grown slightly, and the aura of wrongness it emitted was becoming more palpable.
Noah began to perceive something strange—a sensation akin to whispers, yet different.
No. It wasn't a whisper. It was intuition.
"You attempt to play the intellectual, don't you? Do you not realize your destiny is to fail?"
Once again, the seed pulsed with light.
This time, Noah was focused enough to identify the clue immediately.
Yet, an internal force prevented him from voicing it.
It was a bizarre sensation.
Noah inhaled deeply, exhaled, and then snapped his head back sharply.
Gaia raised a curious eyebrow at his behavior.
Inside Noah’s mind, however, a realization was taking shape.
'I am such a bloody fool,' he cursed himself.
It seemed he had failed to learn his lesson.
Why was he standing here, participating in a game simply because he was told to? Was it because his opponent was more powerful?
No. 'More powerful' didn't even begin to describe the gap.
Noah could feel the staggering abyss between himself and the woman before him. It wasn't just a difference in strength; it was a difference in the very nature of their existence.
Now that he had regained his composure, he recognized in her the same essence he had felt from Laeh, only magnified to an incomprehensible degree.
But that was the reality before the game commenced.
The rules of this game guaranteed one thing: she was currently restricted to his level of power to maintain the facade of a fair match.
Noah fought back a laugh.
He finally understood the source of that strange intuition. After all...
"I understand now."
Noah’s voice boomed. In a sudden, explosive blur, his hand struck out like a lunging cobra, aiming directly for Gaia’s throat.
The woman’s brows knit together as she raised an arm to parry the strike. But just as his fingers were inches from her skin, Noah’s hand veered sharply to the right in a zigzag motion, lunging for the cradle at Gaia’s side. Gaia’s pupils shrunk. She moved instantly to block him, her face suddenly masked with genuine alarm.
But she was too slow.
Noah’s fingers clamped onto the cradle first. With pitiless force, he ripped it away from her side.
The woman let out a shriek of shock and fury, a sensation of something tearing emanating from her very core.
The Progenitor of Elysiari paid her no mind, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face. He turned his full attention to the contents of the cradle.
And then, all hell broke loose. -End of Chapter 436-