[To all challengers, The Magician wishes you an enjoyable game.]

With this line, the game officially began. Perhaps, at this moment, the other challengers were hearing something similar in their heads.

[You are Evil. You are the Gambler.]

Luca swept his eyes over their faces. The bald man next to him was already soaked in sweat as he muttered something incomprehensible under his nose. If this was acting, then he probably was a very famous actor while still alive. The condition of the beautiful lady was similar. Her face was pale, and her lips were trembling slightly. Although she was not considered young, she still portrayed the image of a weak lamb. This appearance, combined with her impeccable looks, was enough to sway the hearts of many men. Unfortunately for the lady, this was not something that would work on Luca. The Asian girl, on the other hand, looked innocent and ignorant. It was hard to tell if she even understood her current situation. As for the other two; The muscle-man was stealing glances at the females, while the caucasian gentleman was still as dignified. He had charisma, and the gentle smile on his face was very prepossessing.

The game had started, and it was time for the first round of public hearings.

[The leader for the first round is Ivan Vladimirovich]

The voice announced, and the man diagonally to Luca smiled.

With a slight bow as a greeting, he said, " It is a pleasure to meet you all. As everyone just heard, my name is Ivan. Honestly, I still can not believe I have died. At my age, I feel left behind by the newer generations when it comes to playing games. I lack such a type of experience. Hehe, I seem to be from the so-called Evil faction. Anyway, I wish everyone luck, and let us all do our best."

As the gentleman's speech ended, the next in line was the brawny guy. He was still salivating over the ladies and took some time to come back to his sense. Looking up, he smirked, "Wow, what a speechy dude we've got here. Calm your horses, fellow. Lemme show ya how to play a game. Hey peeps, I am from the Evil faction. Come here, and let's kick the good guys' asses."

Luca's eyebrow twitched indiscernibly at these words. It was hard to believe this fellow had the brains for acting, and having such a pig teammate was not very enjoyable.

Next in line was the rapidly dehydrating middle-aged man. As his turn came, he stuttered before taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"He-hello. My name is John Adams. I, I am not really sure how things turned this way. I was a good worker my whole life, and I have a family to feed. I, I really don't want to die." At this point, he just started weeping as his speaking time ended. It was evident that his mental state was considerably shaken. At the same time, the other people on the table turned gloomy. Of course, there was one exception; The muscular man couldn't hide his contempt, lips mimicking the word "pussy".

It was Luca's chance to speak, but he decided to stay silent. The game rules permitted it, and it was only the first turn. There was no reason to converse with these people. His tactics, for now, was to wait and observe. Speaking without knowing enough information would only end up harming him. Toward his choice, the people's reactions were different. The plump man was still wiping at his tears while the gentleman across looked at him with reassuring eyes. Probably he thought that Luca was confused or even in a state of denial after learning about his death. The block showed contempt before ignoring him, eyes glued back to the bust of the middle-aged lady. From time to time, he was licking his lips in a very disgusting manner.

The beautiful lady on Luca's left smiled weakly, pretending not to see this.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Good...afternoon? In this game, let's all do our best," she spoke slowly and scarcely; Her confusion plain to everyone.

Finally, it was the girl's turn. She looked hollowly at the others with a slightly tilted head.

"Everyone...Can we go back if we pass these games? I miss my parents; My little brother. I, tomorrow I have to do a presentation in front of the class..."

Her voice gradually grew lower. At this time, a chime rang out, indicating the end of the hearings. Now, as the leader, the man named Ivan had to select three more people to form a team.

[The team leader Ivan Vladimirovich has selected Jack Davis, Luca Lawrence, and Motoe Yuna as his temporary teammates. You have 1 minute to cast your vote.]

The message was public, which meant that even if one didn't participate in the team, they still would learn of the people who cast their vote and the result.

[Note: You can mentally cast your vote.]

Luckily this time, Luca was chosen to participate in the game.

In The Magician's Election, there were three main points to take into account.

First, one could influence the result only if they were part of a team. The more times a person was chosen, the better. For this, both luck and acting skills were of importance. The fifth rule made sure that each person could vote at least once throughout the game. At the same time, by being a leader, they could try choosing teammates from their own pathway. This was an election, and the result depended on the majority of the votes.

At first sight, such a setup made the game unfair. The first leader had the least of information, and his choice of teammates was closer to a gamble. However, this was, in fact, balanced by the 8th rule. If at the end of the 6th round the result was a draw, for the 7th round Ivan Vladimirovich will be the leader once again. At the time, he will have plenty of information, and his leadership will be crucial. Therefore he and his team could draw the most benefits from a tie.

The second point was the public hearings and the observation rights. As well as the notification of one being subjected to a privilege. As the voice said, this was a game of wits. The essential idea was to gain more information about the opponents while revealing less about yourself. It was best if one could understand the identity of their friends, however, making yourself known was equal to being ostracised by your opponents. To gain the upper hand in the game, one had to hide deep, penetrating the enemy's team and sabotaging their election. It was a matter of cutting under the feet of the other pathway while trying to select friendly pathway players to win points. By comparing the people's performance in the hearings, the result of the voting, and the benefits of the positions, Luca had to balance over a thin rope.

The third noteworthy point in this game was the positions and their privileges; Each status had its pros and cons. And all besides that of the Traitor could directly or indirectly influence the vote. Traitor looked the most passive, but they could simply abandon the sinking ship before the beginning of the 6th round whenever they wanted. The Traitor had a trump card as well. If they were brave enough, they could directly jump to the opposite pathway at the start. This way, the game would change from 3 vs. 3 to 4 vs. 2. The line of the decision being irreversible was the leash around the Traitor's neck, preventing them from going full in from the start. In the end, the game was balanced.

There was a pit, however. It was the lack of restrictions. Most challengers could use their privilege every time they were in a team. The situation was already chaotic enough, and the duration of 6 rounds was short to grasp all of the information. Therefore, it was of utter importance when and where to use one's ability. Spamming it randomly was the worst choice.

As the 1 minute was about to end, Luca made his choice. For the first round, he decisively selected Upright and didn't use the Gambler's privilege. His reasoning was simple. First, he wanted to pretend to be Good; Taking a step back to hide deep. Second, by reducing the interference to a minimum, he wanted to grasp key information. Currently, the voters were him, the very likely Evil simpleton Jack, the dignified man Ivan, and the confused Asian girl Yuna. And, as this was the first round, the chance for others to abstain from their privileges was the highest.

The voting time ended, and the mechanical voice spoke again.

[The Prophet looked at you. The Duplicator chose you.]

[The first voting has concluded. The winner is Upright. One point to the Good.

The second round's team leader is Jack Davis. The second public hearing will start in 15 seconds.]

The moment the voice rang out, a wave of emotion passed through the crowd. The noble-looking Ivan scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and disbelief, and the muscled Jack's face was dyed in anger. Motoe Yuna pursed her lips with a stupid look on her face while both the middle-aged woman and the big-bellied uncle paled and sweated. Luca kept his calm, observing the other players. What really shocked him was not the final result, but the fact that two people already acted! Weren't these players too impatient? Of course, his shock was not too deep. After all, to a certain extend, he went out fishing. For humans, the unknown was one of the scariest things. And in the eyes of others, Luca was unknown. He abstained from speaking and always kept an indifferent expression on his face.

By the way, for the result to be Upright meant that more votes were cast toward upright than the Reversed. Two of the team members(Ivan and Jack) stated that they are Evil, yet, in the end, at least 3 votes were cast toward Good. Two of these votes were his (thanks to the Duplicator), then who was the other one? Was it the confused Asian girl, Motoe Yuna, or was there a liar?