Shang remained silent for a while.
'So, this is the next question I have asked.'
'I think it makes sense that I would ask that question next.'
Shang took a deep breath.
Hearing that this would be Shang's next answer made Shang relax.
The God wouldn't go back on his word if Shang had asked this question as part of one of his three gifts.
This would mean that he would get a serious answer, which is what he needed and wanted.
"So, what now?" Shang asked.
"I don't know," the jester said with a wide grin. "I haven't decided yet."
For some reason, Shang didn't like that answer.
"What do you think I should do?" the jester asked.
There was something up with the God's mood, and Shang had a good guess.
"Send in the next opponent," Shang said.
The jester continued grinning as he slowly spun his hammer.
"Quite a smart answer," the jester said. "But I make the rules, and if I want to change the rules, I can do so."
Shang didn't like that answer.
"You know what?" the jester said as he retreated a bit. "Congratulations! Your results were so great that I won't force you to die! You hate that feeling, right? So, there you go! Well done! You don't have to die!"
As Shang heard that, a cold shudder went down his back.
Shang was currently a cripple.
If he didn't die and resurrect, his body would stay in this state.
What then?
Shang gritted his teeth.
"Do you want to see me kill myself?" Shang asked.
The jester kept spinning the hammer in his hand. "Why don't you try it?"
Shang's mind went wild.
Waiting for death was something else from consciously killing oneself.
"What if I don't resurrect?" Shang asked.
"You're right," the jester said. "You won't be resurrected."
"But why won't you try it anyway? It would be fun to see you kill yourself."
At this moment, Shang felt very similar to the other two times he had been killed in the trial.
However, this time, Shang knew that he wouldn't resurrect.
Then why should he kill himself?!
But then, if the God didn't kill him, how was he supposed to live like this?
What if he refused to kill himself?
The jester just continued spinning his hammer as he watched Shang struggle.
He loved the complexity of the situation.
Both options were an incredible risk.
What would he do?
Several minutes passed.
Shang continued debating with himself.
What was he supposed to do?!
Suddenly, a timer appeared above Shang.
"I'm getting bored. You have one minute to decide," the jester said with a laugh. "If the time runs out, your outcome will be worse than any choice you can make."
Shang started to breathe heavily as his mind struggled to come up with an answer.
What was he supposed to do?!
Die?!
But then what?!
Survive?!
But then what?!
It didn't matter what he did!
The timer started to go down second by second, and Shang's mind began to drone.
Shang had never been under so much stress in his life.
Die?!
Survive?!
The timer ticked down.
It felt like 50 seconds had passed in a flash.
Shang's bloodshot eye kept focusing on the timer.
'What do I do?!'
'What do I do?!'
'What do I do?!'
5.
4.
Shang gritted his teeth as his eye looked away from the timer.
3.
BOOOOOM!
An explosion of Fire and Ice came out of Shang's head, scattering it across the surroundings.
Shang had chosen death.
Everything in Shang's mind halted as he waited for death.
And waited.
And waited.
Then, Shang began to panic.
His head was scattered over multiple meters!
He didn't even know where he was or what he was right now!
Why wasn't he dead?
A broom appeared in the jester's hand as he began to sweep up all the different parts of Shang's head.
The sensations Shang was feeling right now were indescribable.
Shang couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening right now.
After some seconds, the jester was done with sweeping up all of the fragments of Shang's head and dumped them in a bucket.
Then, the jester put both his hands in the bucket and kneaded them like they were dough.
Some seconds later, the jester lifted a brand-new head out of the bucket with a grin.
However, one thing was different about this head.
Shang now had his second eye back.
The jester only looked into Shang's eyes with a grin.
"Do you think you have the power to die under my watch?" he asked slowly.
Shang didn't answer.
"Your body doesn't matter. Your soul doesn't matter. Your mind doesn't matter," the jester said. "If I want you to exist, you will exist."
"Even if I turn you into dust, you will still exist."
"If you die, I can recreate you."
"I can make a second one of you."
The jester pulled the head closer to his face.
"And if I want to, I can stop your existence."
Shang didn't answer.
He had never felt this powerless in his life.
A deep fear and pain appeared in Shang's mind.
At this moment, Shang truly felt worthless.
He couldn't do anything.
"Now, now, we can't have that," the jester said. "If you lose all your motivation, watching you will be boring."
"Look!"
Shang felt a sting on his face and rubbed it with his hand.
'Hand?'
Shang looked down and noticed that his body had recovered fully.
At that moment, Shang felt like he had gained a new lease on life.
"You chose correctly," the jester said as he jumped away from Shang.
"A bit of biting back is fun, but I have use for you. Don't forget, you are supposed to make this world fun, and for that, I need more stuff. Only Mages are boring."
"If you disobey me too much, you might decide that you don't want to help the warrior's path anymore."
"You see, I want my world to be fun. If it isn't fun, I will become bored."
The jester turned to Shang and grinned at him.
"Do you want to see what happens when I'm bored?" he asked.
Shang felt a shudder go down his back.
"No," Shang said.
The jester's smirk transformed into a smile.
"You know why all of this is happening," he commented.
Shang nodded.
"Because I used Entropy to win against three enemies I shouldn't have won against," Shang said.
This had been Shang's guess from the very beginning.
The biggest indicator had been the lack of cheering after Shang had won these fights.
If Shang had been willing to carry the drawbacks of his ability, the God wouldn't have minded.
However, Shang had essentially used the God's power to resurrect himself, essentially ignoring the drawback.
And the God didn't like that.
"Do you want 22 or 19 points?" the jester asked.
This seemed like an innocent question.
However, Shang felt like the answer to this question would have long-reaching consequences.
Shang knew that this question was important.
"What would I need to do if I want 22 points?" Shang asked.
The jester spun his hammer again.
For a couple of seconds, he remained silent.
"I would only want you to do one thing in the real world," the God said.
"I will give you the means to do it, and it won't take more than a couple of minutes."
"However, you won't like it."
"You will have to kill someone."
"So, what will it be?"
"19 points and a reward you get without needing to do anything…"
"Or 22 points where you have to kill someone you don't want to kill."
"What will it be?"
Shang felt like a hole had opened in his chest.
It was like he had been put in front of that one Adept again with the Space Affinity.
But this time, Shang would have to kill someone he didn't want to kill, which could only be someone he knew.
And the choice wouldn't be up to him.
What if the God wanted to kill Shang's teacher?
What if he wanted to kill Astor?
Viera?
Yiral?
Mattheo?
Duke Whirlwind?
Could Shang kill someone like that for three measly points?
Weren't 19 points already enough?
Shang took a long time to decide.
He had to decide between a slightly bigger increase in power for killing someone innocent or a normal increase in power with a clear conscience.
After a minute, Shang made his choice.
