Conflict

"Heyo~"

A cheery voice called out from behind me, and I turned to see another guy, he seemed about my age, and was rather casual, considering this whole situation, if what that "god" said suggested this occurred monthly, maybe he was a returning winner? It would make sense to choose a piece that already won for you in the past again I suppose, though maybe he just had supreme composure.

"These spaces really are large, huh?" He continued speaking casually, as if we weren't just told to "battle" each other, whatever that means. Well, I guess I was also rather casual, did he assume I was a returning player? Well, that notion may be dismissed if my lack of experience is revealed, but I don't really think I can use him overestimating me much right now, due to my lack of knowledge.

"They really are like the spaces on a game board from the position of a piece being moved across it, I suppose." I chimed in, maybe that sounded more insightful or philosophical then I meant it, but considering he didn't immediately come charging at me with a knife or anything, this "battle" probably wasn't a physical one at least. So I felt a bit more safe to engage him in conversation.

"Indeed, they were difficult to judge the size of."

My eyes widened,

"Oh? You were able to determine the exact size of such large spaces?"

"My visual acuity is perfect, as are my perceptive abilities. Each of these spaces are approximately 2 acres in size."

"2 acres? But I'm able to see the whole spaces, up to 6 spaces away, and move through them at a speed one wouldn't move through 2 acres at..."

"Blame it on our oh so generous game masters, our movement speed and perceptive abilities are greatly enhanced for the purposes of this game, though the enhancement of my perceptive abilities is a bit redundant, to be frank."

"Even then, I doubt you could see this far in real life..."

The man merely chuckles, examining him closely, he's wearing a blue t-shirt, blue jeans, and...no shoes, oddly. His hair is also blue, and his eyes are golden...in other words, this guy looks weird.

"Well then, let's battle."

With that abrupt declaration, a "point betting interface" appears on my phone, I can bet any personal points, if I win I get them all back, I get any points my opponent bet, and I get the right to search the space for treasure, in the event of a tie all points bet are lost and neither player can search, and well, a loss is obviously the win benefits going to my opponent instead.

It also allows me to "spend dice." And each dice spent will grant me additional "battle points" that can be used for this betting only based on the die used, a D6 cannot be used, D8 will provide 1 point, a D12 is 3, and a D20 is 5.

"I'll say it right now, I'm betting a total of 0 points, feel free to search this place if you want, I won't waste my points or die on such an early bet."

A convincing enough reason, I suppose, but the way he chimed in so suddenly was off-putting, and he could also easily be lying, but what would he gain from lying? If he actually bet something, and I bet nothing because of his lie, he would earn the right to search, but If I spent dice to gain a reliable betting point total, and he was telling the truth, it would be a waste. Really, the game is just the same, regardless of his statement, he was just trying to psych me out, I still have to guess how much he will actually bet, regardless of his words. I decide to spend just 1 D8, that way if I lose, the point I lose won't be one of our team's actual scoring points, and bet the 1 battle-only point. And in the end, it reveals that I won, without revealing how much he even bet...though, in this case it's obvious it was zero.

"Well then, go ahead, search around."

I really hate that smug expression of his, whatever, with a sigh, I go retrieve the two treasures I located, checking the standings, my personal points are now 4, and with two more dings from other teammates, the team point total is 7.

"My name is Seven, by the way, nice to meet you."

The guy chimed in with a name that sounded painfully like an alias, especially since this guy looked Japanese, and was also speaking Japanese. But I suppose my name made a good alias too.

"Yeah, sure, and mine is Pizza. Don't laugh, or I'll be sure to screw you over later, somhow."

"The somehow doesn't really inspire confidence, does it?"

He plays with his own hair absent-mindedly as he says that, even...ok, picking your own nose is just gross, and rude! We're in the middle of a conversation!

"So, Mister Pizza, why are you bald?"

What? I have a perfectly fine head of hai-

...where did...my hair go?