Death Cast

1.27 | Grecia Bella Theatre

The jester continues to chastise the crew for their callousness. Despite the white paint on his face, the redness on his cheeks cannot be concealed due to the anger flushing on his head. After hearing the leader's tirade of expletives, everyone in the room dropped their shoulders and thought for a moment. This time, the jester is really enraged. Even if they were not the ones being reprimanded, they could sense his rage in the air.

Since the benches are integral to the performance, all rehearsals have been halted. Everyone gathered around the scene of the incident. The main suspect, Jaerim, tried to look worried as he walked into the crowd. He squeezed his way between people, pushing them away as he did so until he reached the center. He then first met the jester who had a lot of funny colors on his face.

"How come you didn't notice it? The benches are three stories high, and even though I'm standing on the edge of the room, I can see them clearly. How could you possibly have missed it?"

The jester inquired of whoever was responsible for knocking down benches. He pointed to the shambles that had been left on the ground. Jaerim followed the direction of his finger and discovered the pieces of logs and wood that were strewn about the ground. If you hadn't seen it before, you wouldn't have known it was a bench.

Jaerim licked his lips. "Was it this intense?" he murmured in a whisper only he could hear.

He'd seen Marikit and Makisig playing around the benches earlier in the day. The benches appear dangerously narrow, but he knows they are strong enough to support at least five adults of average weight.

"How did this happen?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"See that guy? The one close to the cart?" Another person chimed in.

"Yes," that someone answered in sympathy. "The boss is harsh. He's putting everything in line with his curses. Ah, but what happened?"

"Apparently, that guy is pushing the cart to deliver some props on stage. The cart accidentally hit the benches standing before him. So, everything fell down as what you can see."

The person seems confused. "That's it?"

"Why? Is there any problem?"

"But the benches..."

The way the benches were presented now, it appears as though someone hacked at it with an ax and a hammer. The manner in which it was presented does not appear to have been done by chance.

Anyone with a brain will see that it wasn't an accident.

"What did you think you'd get? Of course, it would be at least on this level, if not greater," Barron stood beside Jaerim and said something. Jaerim did not notice the grim reaper coming over since he is busy listening to gossip.

He raised his head to meet the white-haired grim reaper's eyes, his eyes were filled with confusion and uncertainty. He felt as if he had thrown away a good opportunity with this one. If the skill items are capable of causing this much havoc, shouldn't he consider simply destroying the entire theatre so that they no longer have to put on a performance?

It appeared as if the Grim Reaper was aware of Jaerim's inner thoughts and said, "There are, of course, restrictions. You couldn't just use it whenever and wherever you wanted. To maintain order, restrictions will be implemented."

Jaerim dipped his head slowly. "However, don't you think this is a little overwhelming?"

Inquiringly, "How so?" Barron shook his head. His gaze was unaffected by what he saw. "I'm afraid you've forgotten where you were."

"What?" Jaerim was perplexed by his expression.

"It is highly likely that you will die in this simulation. People like you would not be able to survive if the skill items were any weaker. Shouldn't you be overjoyed to receive such a present?"

They will be constantly threatened with death by the rest of the world. Skills like these allow you to defend as well as attack. Barron believed that everyone here was doing their best to remain calm despite the fact that they were on the verge of death. However, here comes someone who does not appear to be bothered in the least. Jaerim is still human, but he has a much colder personality than the average person.

Well, he has nobody tying him down.

Someone who had nothing to lose than his life is left without a burden than their own selves.

The jester realized that scolding people was a waste of time, so he simply told them to do something with the benches instead. He took notice of everyone in the audience, but he paid particular attention to the performers who were about to take the stage. Elias paused for a few seconds before considering the idea of putting off two pairs of dancers.

"In the meantime, we'll make adjustments because there aren't enough benches to practice on. Three pairs will be chosen to perform on stage. We'll use a lottery system to select them."

He gathered the dancers around him and displayed rolled pieces of paper to them.

"On these sheets of paper, there will be a number. The pair who get the numbers one through three will be put on stage while the other two will stay behind but they'll be at rehearsals nonetheless. Once new benches are acquired, the plan will be back to the previous plan."

Everybody listened intently to the jester's explanation of the strategy. Jaerim sat back and watched the group, particularly to the two Autumn pairs. Herman and his companion are eagerly awaiting the rolled papers, while Noel shows only a passing interest. Sandra appeared to be the one most intent on snatching the opportunity.

Barron asked, "Would you like to take the chance?"

Jaerim paused before nodding. "Wasn't it me who created this opportunity?"

He intended to use the skill item for two reasons: first, to determine the extent of the skill, and second, to give them a chance to breathe. He may have allowed others to avoid the challenge, but that doesn't mean he didn't want to take it himself. At the end of the day, it will all come down to luck.

And Jaerim is a very fortunate person.

The jester motioned the people to come closer. The representative of each pair took a step forward.

"Go, pick," the jester simply said.

Jaerim looked at the hand holding the papers and decided to be the first person to draw the lot. The rest of the crowd then followed suit, until there was nothing left on the jester's hand. He looked around and somehow met Noel's eyes. Noel appears to have opened his paper quickly in order to see his number.

Jaerim inquired about the number he had obtained through eye contact. In response to the question, Noel simply shrugged his shoulders. He appears to have gotten one of the three possible outcomes. Jaerim's brow furrowed as he studied the rolled-up piece of paper in his palm. He took his time unrolling the paper, pondering the odds of selecting a number between one and three.

He will have a three-to-five chance of success out of the five possibilities. There are still two possibilities left after Noel got one of the three. A twenty-five percent chance of getting the number one to three, and a fifty percent chance of performing on stage, were Jaerim's new expectations. As he unrolled the sheet of paper, he was thinking about all of the complicated numbers.

In the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Herman's face. There would be one slot left for Herman if Jaerim chose the highest numbers. However, if he chooses the lower numbers, Herman may be able to save his life.

"Which one?" Jaerim asked, humming.

It's easy to open a small piece of paper. Jaerim made the decision that he could not waste any more time. The small piece of paper opened in an instant, revealing a number that he quickly recognized. Jaerim cracked a grin. He turned to face the grim reaper, who appeared to be keeping an eye on him as he messed around. Seeing the youngster's grin, Barron raised his brow. A thought came to him.

"Did you come up with a good number?" Barron made a guess.

"What do you think?" Jaerim grinned further.

Barron took a look at the paper that was still in Jaerim's hand. The number that is written clearly seems to be a lot bigger than it really is. Laughing, the Grim Reaper patted the Jaerim on the shoulder.

He concluded, "Not bad. You are a very fortunate bastard, indeed."

Jaerim smiled and thanked the person who had given him the compliment. "In other words, it's something I'm very good at."

Yes, the grim reaper agreed.

That is certainly the case with Jaerim.