The Gods’ Gacha Game: Return of the God-King

Chapter 37: Winner Takes All

Boris stepped forward with his arms raised, ready for a fight. “Heh. Looks like we’re in for a good brawl.”

Michelle’s eyes narrowed as her hand drifted to the dagger at her side. “Why are they here…?”

I didn’t answer immediately, but the truth was obvious. With the new divine decree forcing all divine warriors to enter new scenarios weekly, Graham had no choice but to participate in the Rift of Scenarios like everyone else. Still, it wasn’t out of the question that he’d taken this opportunity intentionally. After all, someone like me—an unknown variable rising in power—was the kind of threat someone like him wouldn’t ignore for long. To someone obsessed with control, I was an anomaly that had to be removed before I challenged his authority one day.

“Have you been waiting here the whole time for us?” I said flatly, meeting Graham’s gaze. “That’s pretty desperate.”

“Hah! Don’t flatter yourself,” Graham rebutted before taking a step forward with malicious intent gleaming in his eye, a grin curling along his scarred face. “But I won’t lie—I don’t mind ending you right here and now.”

Just as it felt like the confrontation was about to erupt, Elysia appeared with her usual serene smile.

“Excuse me, but combat between fellow divine warriors is prohibited in front of the Rift of Scenarios,” she said gently. Then her tone darkened, the smile never leaving her face. “Furthermore, the penalty for violating Lady Istellia’s rules is severe.”

“Hmph. You’re lucky this time,” Graham growled, reluctantly stepping back.

But rather than letting the tension dissolve, I stepped forward and pointed directly at him. “Graham, I challenge you to a duel to the death in the Great Colosseum—winner takes all.”

“Maxim…!” Michelle gasped in disbelief.

“Lad, I like your courage, but this is a bit reckless.” Even Boris frowned a bit, clearly thinking that this was too risky.

The Great Colosseum was a sanctioned battleground located not far from the main plaza. There, divine warriors could duel to the death without the consequences of having to bear the soul coin deduction for killing fellow divine warriors. What was more, the winner would take everything that the loser had in their possession—even items stored in their inventory—would be transferred to the victor.

“Challenging me

to a duel? Do you have a death wish?” Graham sneered with interest. “Fine by me. Let’s do it now! I’ll rip you to pieces and feed your remains to the dogs!”Pfft. What was that? That was the most third-rate villain’s line I’d ever heard.

In response to that, I shook my head calmly. “Let’s make it ten days from now instead,” I said, locking eyes with him. “Unless the so-called great Graham is afraid of a mere Bet-rank divine warrior?”

The choice of ten days wasn’t random, and the reason I chose that was that it gave me just enough time to make the necessary preparations without giving him cause to suspect I’d become too strong to handle. Graham was a prideful and cautious man. I was counting on that.

A vein visibly twitched on his forehead, seeming about to burst from my taunt. For a moment, it looked like he might lunge at me anyway, but then he chuckled lowly.

“Good. Very good,” he said, enunciating each syllable with dangerous intent. “A duel it is.”

Graham stepped aside and walked closer toward the alcove without another word, his elites falling into step behind him. The three of us watched in silence as they disappeared one by one into the dark swirling portal to begin their scenario.

Only when the last of them vanished did Michelle let out the breath she had been holding. “Maxim… what were you thinking? That man is dangerous!”

“I know.” I nodded, keeping my tone calm. “But we can’t afford to keep bumping into his men every time we walk out of a scenario. If we don’t deal with him directly, he’ll keep coming.”

What I really meant was that if we crossed paths with him in any other place, Graham wouldn’t hesitate to strike first. But by challenging him to a duel, I’d forced him to delay any immediate retaliation. After all, someone like Graham would rather fatten the pig before slaughtering it, believing he’d reap greater rewards that way.

“You could’ve waited… Just one more class advancement and we’d be in a much better position,” she argued.

“Sometimes it’s not about waiting for the perfect time,” I replied, flashing a confident smile. “It’s about choosing a time where the enemy underestimates you just enough.”

Boris gave an approving grunt and crossed his arms. “Bold move, lad. A gamble… but not a stupid one. Still, ten days ain’t much time. We’ll need to prepare well.”

“Exactly. I’m going to train harder than ever,” I said. “And you two as well. If we’re going to survive this, I can’t do it alone.”

That was my sincere thought. While I might be able to clear the scenarios alone in the long run thanks to my unparalleled knowledge of Divine Will and my legendary class, doing it fast enough to reach the strength needed to challenge Graham within ten days would require their help.

Michelle’s eyes met mine, and the worry etched on her face gave way to something steadier—resolve. “I’ll do my best to help you!”

“I like that attitude,” Boris added with a grin. “I’ll teach you everything I know. No holding back.”

Although Graham had become a threat that loomed over us, I felt no fear. As someone who had once shaped the very foundation of Divine Will—even if only fragments of those memories remained—I had seen far worse. Graham might have ruled this city with fear and brute strength, but I had no intention of bowing to anyone. Not even a god.

We turned away from the Rift of Scenarios and began walking toward the training center in District E. There was no need to rush into another scenario. What we needed now was some training and refinement to better challenge the scenario. After all, in ten days, the entire city of Fantasia would witness my battle. And if things went according to plan, it wouldn’t just be a duel.

“Are we going to train like yesterday?” Michelle asked suddenly.

“Well, I did promise to teach you a skill, didn’t I?” I said with a small smile. “Sorry that it got delayed a bit.”

When we arrived, I noticed that the training grounds were more crowded than usual. Many divine warriors flocked to the area to train. Is this the aftermath of yesterday’s decree? I thought. If they didn’t want to die, they had no choice but to become stronger—to increase their chances of survival in higher-level scenarios. It was logical.

Curiously enough, the training dummies I had destroyed yesterday had all been replaced with new ones. Since the System wasn’t responsible for repairing these, someone must have manually restored them, likely the training center’s instructor or something. Not that I’d seen one so far.

“Let’s go to the ring. There’s something I want to check first,” I said to Michelle.

“You two go ahead. I want to see if these new faces got some good fighting spirit in them. Gahaha!” Boris laughed heartily as he turned and headed toward the sparring area.

“Boris, before you go,” I called out and tossed him a bottle of Elixir of Harmonic Balance.

He caught it with one hand and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”

“It’s an elixir that amplifies stat growth through physical training,” I explained.

“Hmm, alright. Thanks, Maximillian.” He gave a firm nod, stashed the bottle into his inventory, and raised a hand in farewell before disappearing into the crowd of training divine warriors.

Wait, is this the first time that Boris called me by my full name? I raised an eyebrow. My action with Graham must have raised his respect for me.

“Here’s one for you, too.” I handed another elixir to Michelle.

“Is this the same one you concocted a few days ago at the inn?” she asked, eyeing the liquid in her hand with curiosity.

“Yup. I managed to brew a few more yesterday while I had the chance. It’ll help us raise our stats faster with only half the usual effort.”

As one’s stats grew higher, increasing them through regular physical training became significantly harder. That was where this kind of elixir came in—it could accelerate the process, saving us time and energy. Of course, there were other methods to overcome the plateau, like undergoing extreme training or utilizing specialized facilities. Unfortunately, neither of those options was currently available to us.

With that, we headed to one of the empty rings and stepped inside, facing each other after selecting our training weapons. I grabbed a wooden sword, feeling its familiar weight in my hand. Michelle, on the other hand, picked up a bow and quiver stocked with a dozen wooden arrows, along with a small wooden axe strapped at her waist.

Come to think of it, this would be the first time I was facing Michelle in a spar while both of us were armed. Last time, we had teamed up to spar against Boris using nothing but our fists. But that had been more of a cooperative exercise than a proper match.

“Let’s make a rule before we spar,” I said. “Don’t hold back when you attack me, not even a little. And if you want to surrender, raise both hands above your head.”

“Mm, I understand.” Michelle nodded, though she was visibly nervous. Still, her eyes showed determination.

Unlike Boris, Michelle didn’t have a signature skill—at least not yet. If she truly wanted to become a top-tier divine warrior, she needed to develop a versatile combat style, one that could adapt to different scenarios. Mastering a wide variety of skills would be key to that. And for now, the foundation of that journey began with practical sparring.

We took our positions at opposite ends of the ring. I adjusted my stance slightly to be more defensive, wanting to observe how she moved with her weapons first. Michelle exhaled, then made the first move.

“Here I go, Maxim!” she called out, drawing an arrow in one smooth motion and loosing it in a heartbeat.

The shot came fast and true, aimed directly at my chest. However, I didn’t even bother dodging; I lifted my wooden sword and parried it mid-air, snapping the arrow clean in two.

But before I could take a step forward, she was already nocking another arrow. This time, it wasn’t a single arrow, but three. Her movement was faster and sharper than I expected. These three arrows were not only faster, but they carried more force. Without a doubt, she was using a skill, likely Multi Shot.

I parried the one aimed at my core and twisted out of the way of the other two. Without losing momentum, I burst forward, shortening the distance between us in an instant.

“You’re doing well,” I said as I dashed forward, closing the distance. “But archers who can’t react when the enemy is close are only third-rate.”

Michelle’s expression tensed slightly upon seeing my erratic movements. She tried to pull out her axe from her hip, but while she was fast, it was not enough. I pivoted in close and swept my leg in a low kick, knocking her hand off balance. The axe flew from her grip and clattered to the side. Before she could recover, I stopped just short of her with the wooden sword’s tip pointed at her neck.

“Match is over.”