I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Therefore, before briefly parting ways with Cecil, Duke gave her these instructions:

"You just stay here obediently. If any special circumstances arise, just do as I have arranged in advance."

Afterwards, he spent a full ten minutes listing most of the possible scenarios for Cecil, along with the corresponding solutions.

For example, when someone approaches Cecil, who is hiding in the corner, she can fire a Holy Light Flashbang at the ceiling so that Duke will know something has happened to her.

For example, if you see Duke suddenly disappear and the game time is less than half an hour, then find a player who has no cards but is one star short to compete with (Duke took Cecil's eight cards, leaving her only the rock-paper-scissors cards and one extra star), and exchange one star for the game.

For example, if you see Duke going to a gambling table with someone before talking to her (in case he gets hypnotized), you should rush over and stop him as soon as possible.

And so on.

Duke's prior instructions were impeccable; the phrase "seeing Duke being attacked" was also part of his pre-arranged plan. According to their agreed-upon plan, she was supposed to come to his aid upon seeing him being attacked, using her special magic to help him escape. However, at this moment, she just stared blankly at him, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Duke didn't believe Cecil would remain indifferent just to see him get beaten up. She didn't have such malicious intentions, nor did she possess such excellent acting skills in concealing her emotions. Even if she had panicked for a moment and forgotten his previous instructions, she should have been furious enough to roll up her sleeves and take action by now.

Given her personality, if her partner were attacked in front of her, this girl would definitely only have one option: "Damn it! How dare they hit Duke? My ex-boyfriend is someone only I can beat up!"

Well, although Cecil's statement was somewhat artistically embellished by Duke, it is indeed the truth. That's just the kind of person she is. Even if her feelings towards Duke are still at the level of "dislike," she won't stand idly by and watch injustices happen. Not to mention that after Duke's rescue and a series of self-management efforts, her opinion of Duke isn't so bad anymore.

Therefore, the only explanation for her lack of reaction is... in Cecil's view, she was not being attacked.

"If you don't want to suffer, hand over all your stars!"

The veteran leader kicked out, which Duke barely dodged. However, he was now facing three opponents instead of one. The other two veterans took the opportunity to rush over, and one of them threw a punch that landed squarely on Duke's chest, causing him to feel a tightness in his chest and almost suffocate. He also staggered.

No matter how strong he had been before, Duke was still just a level 7 rogue, and being caught in direct combat was the situation he disliked the most.

"We're not devils. Just give us back the three stars you just swindled. We understand the principle of letting people live, so take the three stars and get lost!"

"Pah!" Duke spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest, and sneered, "Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"

"Hahaha! If you want to die, we'll grant your wish."

The veteran leader laughed again, then narrowed his eyes:

"You didn't expect this, did you? We've distorted the other people in the hall's perception of violence. Our actions are now seen as a sign of friendliness. In other words, no matter what we do, they won't save you. Even if we beat you to death, they'll just think you 'died of your own accord'."

A magical item that alters perception?

Duke stared in astonishment.

"You didn't know, did you, newbie? Stars can be used to exchange for rewards after clearing a level. This item is what we got by exchanging ten stars!"

Three veterans surrounded Duke, seemingly trying to break down his mental defenses with their words. However, the people around them remained indifferent, and no one approached... No, they had chosen their location very carefully. In the few dozen seconds that they had been fighting, no one had passed by!

In other words, the limitation of this item is...

"Oh."

"why are you laughing?"

The veteran leader sensed something was wrong. He looked at Duke, whose mouth was bloodied but who still maintained a composed smile, and forced himself to remain calm as he questioned, "What the hell are you laughing at?!"

"I'm laughing at your bad luck," Duke laughed. "Stars must be very valuable, right? You guys are really unlucky to have traded ten stars for only one defective product!"

"What did you say?" The veteran leader suddenly became furious, as if Duke had struck a nerve. "What the hell do you know?"

"If this tool for altering perception has no limitations, why did you only change the 'concept of violent behavior'? If you want my stars, you could easily change my perception of 'victory conditions' so that I think the victory condition for successfully completing the game is to lose all three stars, right?"

The three veterans fell silent.

Clearly, what Duke said was true; they had considered it before, but were unable to succeed, so they could only resort to this indirect approach.

They couldn't even forcibly take the stars because another game rule, "Cards and stars can be transferred or traded voluntarily by both parties," implied voluntariness. Their only option was to trick Duke into handing over the stars willingly.

"Hmph!" The veteran leader stared at Duke and said in a sinister tone, "So what if what you say is true? Even if there are limitations, even if we can't take your star, aren't you afraid we'll really beat you to death? Or are you sure we won't kill you?"

"No, I don't think you're lying about this. You really seem to be planning to beat me to death."

Duke grinned, and for some reason, the three veterans felt a chill run down their spines when they saw his bloodstained smile:

"But this prop has a fatal flaw, doesn't it?"

As he spoke, he took out a card and gestured towards the staff in the distance as if to tear it.

Chapter Forty-Nine: A Series of Interlocking Traps

The moment Duke made a move to tear up the card, the three veterans' expressions changed instantly.

There was an unspoken rule that wasn't mentioned when the legendary old man explained the rules: you can't use any method other than the competition to consume cards. If you destroy or damage a card by any other means, the staff will find out and you'll be eliminated early.

Most of the people participating in this rock-paper-scissors game now are veterans, and they are well aware of this unspoken rule.

They had seen too many defiant players try to consume cards in other ways, but no matter where they hid, they couldn't escape the staff's pursuit... However, the three veterans had never heard of anyone daring to try to tear up cards in front of the staff.

Are you really that stubborn?

Duke's desire to die is none of their business, but if his actions attract the attention of the staff, that would be disastrous!

The three veterans reacted swiftly, rushing towards Duke without hesitation. They absolutely could not allow Duke to do what he was about to do and attract the wrong kind of attention.

But some people acted even faster than them.

A staff member in black appeared out of nowhere and pinned Duke to the ground. The three veterans who attacked Duke were also pinned to the ground by the staff members who appeared one after another.

"Cards can only be consumed through matches!"

"Violence is prohibited!"

The staff member calmly reprimanded them, and then proceeded to take all four of them away, eliminating them all prematurely.

But at that moment, Duke shouted angrily, "No, look carefully at what I'm going to tear!"

The Duke staff member who had been overwhelmed paused for a moment, looking down at the object in his hand... It wasn't their rock-paper-scissors card, but an ordinary playing card, except that its back was very similar to the card provided by the rock-paper-scissors game, which even confused the staff member.

The staff member's face darkened. He released the "innocent" Duke and said coldly, "Don't cause trouble."

Duke innocently spread his hands: "I understand."

He pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket, each card resembling a rock-paper-scissors card. He had just extorted this deck from a seasoned player. When Duke came to him, the guy had unexpectedly lost a star, leaving him with only three stars. Duke couldn't extort any more stars from him, so he could only extort this deck of cards from him.

Unexpectedly, this custom-made deck of cards saved Duke's life.

"The effect of this magical item shouldn't be able to distort perception within a very close range, right? That's why you chose to attack from a place far away from the referee, which is why my perception didn't change at all."

Then, Duke looked down at the three men pinned to the ground and said with a hint of mockery:

"See? I told you so. This prop you got in exchange for ten stars is completely useless."

"you!"

Duke shrugged, deciding not to pay any more attention to the loser's wailing, and prepared to meet up with Cecil.

I was careless. If I had Cecil with me, these insects wouldn't have had any chance at all.

Wait... why did I leave Cecil's side?

Duke belatedly realized this.

When he blackmailed his first target, he didn't try to hide it from Cecil at all. It was only after blackmailing several targets that he suddenly decided to get rid of Cecil on a whim... Why did he do that?

Just as Duke sensed something was amiss, holy light, like a flashbang, illuminated the entire hall, blinding countless people.

"Cecil?!"

The holy light came and went very quickly. The players in the hall were startled by the sudden flashbang, but after a brief discussion and complaints, they returned to normal.

Only Duke, who understood its significance, suddenly turned around and looked at the spot where Cecil had been standing.

There was no one there.

Damn it!

At this moment, Duke was finally able to confirm one thing.

This witch's game is indeed a conspiracy against the Radiant Witch Cecil. The morning's magical air bus accident, the discovery of the suspect, the escape into this witch's game... and a series of coincidences are actually all designed to lure Cecil into a trap.

The only unexpected element in this intricate conspiracy might be Duke's presence, which is why they managed to distract him and then take Cecil away!

"Did you guys know about this too? Damn it, tell me about your accomplices who... never mind, these guys were just pawns being used."

The bewildered expressions on the faces of the three veterans, who were being restrained by the staff, seemed genuine; they seemed to truly have no idea what was going on.

The staff who had been holding the three of them down lifted them off the ground, preparing to take these three guys, who had blatantly violated the rules of the game, away for an early elimination.

But at that moment, Duke, who seemed to be turning to leave, suddenly tripped and fell on the three of them.

Just before he was about to collide with the veteran leader, the staff member holding him steadyed Duke and said with a serious expression, "Violence is prohibited, including any violence that is faked as an accident."

The staff member who had let Duke go also approached, his face dark, and said:

"I'm warning you! If you cause any more trouble, I'll eliminate you too!"

"It's a misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding. I didn't intend to retaliate against them. I'll leave now."

Duke quickly shook his head and apologized, then turned and left, but with something extra in his hand.

[Item discovered: Cognition Modifier (Custom Version)]

[Item Name: Cognition Modifier (Customized Version)]

[Item Description: This is a version specially customized for this game by a certain mad scientist. If it were the full version without any features being cut... his budget probably wouldn't have been enough.]

[Item Effect: In an enclosed space, alters the perception of "violent behavior" by all intelligent beings, except those within three meters.]

This prop looks like a remote control with only one button. Pressing the button will turn its effect on, and pressing it again will turn it off.

He glanced at the prop and tossed it into his inventory.

Since transmigrating, Duke has not committed any theft, and it seems that this body has not forgotten its old ways.

Duke strode back to where Cecil had been, but the place was deserted and there was no sign of a fight... That was a good thing, he was more afraid that Cecil would instinctively retaliate and be eliminated by the staff without any apparent cause or effect.

The suspect who escaped... he's not in the same place anymore either!

Duke cursed himself.

"Damn it, why did I make such a brainless decision?!"

"Perhaps it's because you were influenced by other factors?"

Duke suddenly raised his head.