“Well, this is interesting,” Xander said. He looked around him as if to reconfirm what the team was doing. It wasn’t any different from the same game they’d been playing for almost an hour. The Unnamed Team was currently sitting at a circular table and playing a round of poker. Beta, the Predator Slime, was also present for some reason. The familiar was starting to develop the habit of summoning itself. They said it was to protect their master, but Beta was most likely just interested in joining the odd situation.

“Yeah. I can’t say I saw this one coming.” Rex said. He was the round’s dealer. He shuffled the cards as he remembered how to from his previous life. It was almost an instinct at this point. Rex spent a lot of time playing with cards for either magic tricks or gambling. It was also just a good way to pass the time. He shuffled the deck one last time before tossing out cards to each of the six players.

“You’re the first sin to meet us that didn’t try to immediately kill us,” Nicholas said. He looked over to Greed. The sin wasn’t dawned in over-the-top armor like the others were. Honestly, he didn’t even look like a sin at all. There was no menacing nature to him. There was no obvious sin skill that needed to be dealt with. Greed looked like a simple bank teller and nothing more. His yellow uniform was a bit distracting, but that was the extent. One couldn’t be faulted for confusing him to be a normal human.

“Well, there’s still Lust,” Robyn said. She grimaced at her own words, and the other members of The Unnamed Team followed suit. Lust had appeared in their hometown alongside Sloth. She originally wanted to view the heroes and devise a plan to eliminate them, but that desire evaporated once she realized that they were rather weak. She agreed to leave the city and its citizens alone on the condition that The Unnamed Team would visit her home or invite her somewhere special. Once they agreed, Lust vanished and was never seen again. She sent messages to describe her home and where it was located, but recent events made the team unable to see her.

“Lust does indeed march to the beat of her own drum. That girl gushed about you all when she came home. Raise.” Greed said before pushing out a stack of gold and platinum coins onto the table. He remembered how she barged into the main hall without a care in the world. She told tales about the heroes, and they were every bit as she described them. Gluttony and Greed were interested in her stories. Meanwhile, Wrath simply took it as someone challenging their strength.

“You’re not mad at The Unnamed Team? Check.” Beta asked while pushing out their own stack of coins. At this point, there were more sins were dead than alive. If they were to mount an offensive, now was the time to do it. Their numbers would only dwindle further as The Unnamed Team stumbled their way through each consecutive battle.

The other members of The Unnamed Team also checked and pushed up their bountiful piles of coins. They had enough money to gamble and still remain wealthy. It wasn’t even a risk to continue playing haphazardly. The bulk of their coins was now held by the bank. What they were gambling with was nothing more than a fraction of what they were originally paid. That was why they could focus on the conversation so closely. It was worth losing some coins over vital information. And so, the conversation continued while Greed gazed longingly at the pile he was sure to win.

“Not necessarily. We weren’t really friends. Coworkers is probably how you’d describe us. Besides, we all know that we’re eventually going to be killed.” Greed said with a nonchalant tone. He wasn’t close to any of the other sins for that particular reason. They would all die. Demons may have lived extraordinarily long lives, but the sins were destined to meet their end. It was a reality that he and the others coped with in different ways. Greed’s method involved staying far away from the others and hoarding as much wealth as possible.

“Sounds pretty grim to know you’ll eventually bite the dust,” Xander said. He wasn’t sure what the right response should be. As a hero, it was his job to slay sins, but the more recent ones have been seeming more alive in a sense. Some sins, like Wrath and Pride, took initiative and tried to fight fate. Others, like Lust and Greed, sat back and enjoyed themselves until the end. The various reactions to the heroes somewhat corresponded to their given sins, so The Unnamed Team never got to see who the more aggressive sins really were.

“Indeed it is. Which is why we live our life to the fullest. Divulging into our sins and enjoying the spoils that come from it. Speaking of which, why not up the ante? All in, and I raise my skill [Greed].” Greed said with a smile. He loved to gamble. It was one of his favorite hobbies. The feeling one gets when they think they’ll win it all was euphoric. Greed pushed all of his coins to the center of the table and looked around. His fellow gamblers were a bit befuddled about the other thing he was betting.

“You’re offering your sin skill? Doesn’t that mean-” Robyn tried to say but was cut off. She and the others were beyond confused. Could Greed simply give his skill? It was possible. Shen, the guardian of the Echoed Woods, gave the skill [Speech: Animal] to Robyn and Nicholas. Why couldn’t Greed do the same?

“If you win, you’ll get my skill. You can kill me after that. No point in living a life without unabating greed. That’d be boring.” Greed said. His skill was what generated his boundless wealth. It practically acted like a magnet for coins of all currencies. Nobles always wanted his financial advice. Prices were perpetually better. Generous donations were regularly sent to his bank. Greed could practically swim in all the money he had. If there was anything else he wanted, whether it be power, more wealth, or even skills, [Greed] could get it for him. Losing this skill would mean he’d lose all that he earned. Losing all he earned was worse than death, which was why he tagged on the extra bit about killing him.

“Our job is to kill the sins, right? If we get [Greed], doesn’t that just shift our target to one of us?” Rex said. The Heroes of The Voice explicitly told them that their mission was to eliminate the sins. Everyone assumed that it was the only way to remove them and their skill. It made sense in their minds, so The Unnamed Team never gave it any more thought.

“Not at all. To reach the Demon King, all sins must either be dead or have their skills deactivated.” Greed said with a smile. He was more than happy to point out this information. Sure, he wasn’t particularly close to the other sins, but that didn’t mean he wanted them to die. Envy, Pride, and Wrath were practically begging to be defeated by starting fights. Sloth was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If he could at least save Lust and Gluttony, why wouldn’t he? The only problems were the sins themselves.

“Given how the sins are, it’s hard to imagine they’d turn their skills off willingly,” Nicholas said. He was quick to point out the flaw in Greed’s plan. Sins lived through their skill. It was what separated them from other demons. They were the embodiment of their sin. Losing their skill was practically worse than death in some cases. Even Greed asked to be killed if he were to lose this round of poker.

“Exactly. Which is why you’ll need a good hand to beat me. Then again, both fate and the voice are determined to make it so. I dare to say, the world is against me.” Greed said with a grim voice. He loved to gamble, but he also knew the chances of losing were high. The voice from above that spoke to him and the other sins had been silent as of late. It went against them. It was the reason the others had fallen. The voice knew and controlled all. It would fulfill its own prophecy by any means necessary. Greed was but another stepping stone for these heroes. Then again, that was what made this round of gambling exhilarating.

Greed made a face to the others, and they quickly realized he was waiting on them. The world would only stand still for so long. A winner must be chosen. The Unnamed Tean saw what was at stake…and folded. They weren’t in the position to give skills. Coins were plentiful at this point, but skills were still limited. If they could give some of their negative skills, they’d do it, but this was a fair round of gambling. One would have to offer something of equal or greater value to continue the game. Greed snickered. Nothing compared to his sinly skill. He’d win every coin that was on the table.

At least, that was what he thought until someone didn’t fold.

It was Beta. The Predator Slime didn’t have any skills to offer. Instead, they offered their life. Greed would essentially inherit Nicholas’s skill [Summon: Predator Slime]. Beta would become an undying servant for the rest of their life, which was unending. It wasn’t the best thing to offer, but it was the greatest thing Beta could give. Normally, it would have been considered worthless. There were many summoners in the world. What was the use of one skill that could summon a slime? The only thing that made the bet even was the fact that Beta was a sin slayer and a high evolution of the slime family. It irked Nicholas to has his familiar bet themself without his permission. The summoning skill was his strongest ability. He moved to stop the bet, but it was too late.

“Full House,” Greed said with a smile. He threw his cards onto the table. All five of them landed together in front of Beta and showed that they weren’t lying. It was an incredibly good hand. Obviously, Greed depended on his bluff to get everyone to fold, but he was more than willing to win the real way if need be.

Beta stared down at the card then gazed at their own. A solemn expression appeared on their face. Everyone else followed suit. Greed was the only one with a smile, but it didn’t last long. Beta took their cards and gave them to the sin.

It was a Royal Flush.

“NOTICE. [FAMILIAR: PREDATOR SLIME] HAS ACQUIRED THE SKILL [GREED].”

“I see now that fate really is on your side. Well then, don’t keep me waiting.” Greed said. He continued to hold onto his faltering smile. The voice from above had truly gone against him. It was only natural. The voice created the sins then prophesied their demise. He knew he’d be defeated by whatever heroes it’d send after him. Beta got out of their chair and approached the unmoving sin. They placed their hand on his shoulders and activated their skill.

“[FAMILIAR: PREDATOR SLIME]’S SKILL [RAPID DIGESTION] ACTIVATED. SKILL SUCCESSFUL.”

Beta’s hands extended. They stopped using [Polymorph] to return to their original form. The Predator Slime encompassed the sin. Greed was unfazed by everything that happened to him. He looked on toward the heroes that would change the world. He gave them one last parting smile as his body disintegrated. The Unnamed Team waved goodbye to the sin that was kind enough to not try to immediately kill them. They weren’t sure how to feel. This was their task as heroes, but it didn’t feel right. Genesis set Greed up for failure. All of the sins, actually. It left them with a lingering question. What was the point of the Genesis Program?

“[FAMILIAR: PREDATOR SLIME] HAS LEVELED UP NUMEROUS TIMES. SAID CREATURE NOW QUALIFIES FOR EVOLUTION.”

The four waited in silence. They knew which message was to come next. Part of them wanted to celebrate, but they held back out of respect.

“A FRACTION OF THE FAMILIAR’S EARNED EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN GRANTED TO ITS SUMMONER AND ASSOCIATED PARTY. ALL FOUR PARTICIPANTS HAVE LEVELED UP NUMEROUS TIMES. ALL FOUR PARTICIPANTS HAVE REACHED THE MINIMAL LEVEL TO COMMENCE A CLASS CHANGE.”