Gambling
Zone 2 of the Ark.
The casino.
We'd followed An-susa's lead straight into the place.
It looked a lot like the market outside — tents stretched overhead, stalls packed tight — but that was where the resemblance ended.
"Are you kidding me?! What the hell is a four of a kind doing there?!"
"This guy. Can't even accept a loss. You gonna call someone, or what?"
"You son of a bitch!"
Cheers and groans rose from every direction at once. A strange place, that was for sure.
Thwack—
"You fucking bastard. You hit me?"
"Sir, if you keep making a scene, we'll have to handle this our way."
"Do you have any idea who I—"
Thud!—
"Guh—"
"I told you to be careful."
The staffer who'd just cracked the man across the back of the head wiped his hand off with a handkerchief. Blood-smeared bills came away clean. Dropping a guy that hard in a single hit… was he an Awakened?
"Goldy. Your eyes are glued over there. You're not thinking of gambling, are you?"
"Just looking. Never seen anything like it."
And I really hadn't. The whole place felt soaked in greed. Not just greed, either — sloth, envy, wrath. Quite the assortment.
"Unnie… what that person said earlier. It was about…"
"Yeah. The Black Dragon, right?"
"That's…"
"Don't worry. I'll handle it."
Confirm the heart first, settle the problem, then hand the Ark over to the Association. Simple enough.
Thud—
"Ooh. Ladies. Here to play a game?"
A man strolled toward us, all easy confidence.
"This oppa could show you the ropes, you know."
One look told me the type — the kind who fleeced people for a living.
"Hey. These are my guests. Go worry about your own clients."
An-susa stepped out in front of us, her voice low and even.
"Huh… a succubus? You lot are supposed to stick to your own zone. What are you crawling around here for…"
"You talk too much. We're heading inside."
"Come on. It's not that easy. You know the rules, don't you?"
"Rules?"
I'd been listening with my hands in my pockets. I tilted my head and stepped forward. The man smirked like he'd just landed a mark and launched into his pitch.
"Yeah. The inside is a VIP lounge. We can't just let anyone in."
"Huh… I've heard this one before. So how do you become a VIP?"
"Simple. Win a lot of money. Then buy your VIP status with the winnings."
Only coins won right here counted toward VIP entry, he explained. No outside cash.
Gambling, huh.
Who was it again… that streamer who played koi-koi? Having someone like that around would've made this easy. Guess it was on me.
"Where do you exchange for coins?"
"…Unnie?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Just trust me."
"Haa… you really are enjoying this, Goldy."
It wasn't that I loved gambling. But if it was necessary, what choice did I have?
"Exchange counter's over there."
I headed the way he pointed and summoned cash with my Treasure Digitization skill. One coin ran a million won. No chips — everything ran on coins only. Odd setup.
"Let's start light. Fifty."
"You call that light…?"
"We just came into some money last time. This is nothing."
Okay, it was a little big. Didn't matter. I was going to win it all back anyway.
"Miss, honestly, you don't look like you belong in a place like this. Want oppa to walk you through it?"
"Sure. Round some people up."
He grinned, sharp and oily. Whether he had a crew on standby or the crowd just smelled opportunity, people drifted over like they'd been waiting. Five in total. Three of them, including the guy who'd just spoken, carried unusual weapons.
Awakened, then?
"You know the rankings, miss?"
"I know that much."
"Good. Sit over there."
We claimed a table, and a woman in a sharp suit — the dealer — approached us.
"Texas Hold'em all right with you?"
"Yeah. And while you're at it, bring some drinks."
"I'm a dealer, not a waiter."
Something glinted in the left pocket of her jacket as she answered. Nasty little place.
"I'll assume you know the basic rules. If you don't, ask before we start. Betting runs clockwise."
She shuffled, dealt. Two cards face-down in front of me. I carefully peeked.
Wow. Absolute garbage.
Eight of clubs. Three of diamonds.
"Call."
I called anyway.
Why?
And over there… two of clubs and two of spades?
Because the results were already laid out in front of my eyes. I'd left Dragon Eyes on earlier — just hidden them so nobody could see. Never turned them off.
Go ahead. Play your hearts out.
"Full house. The winner is Ms. Goldy."
Thwack!—
"This is bullshit! Who the hell keeps drawing like that?!"
"There was no foul play. You didn't sense any mana, either."
That's right. This unnie can hide her mana perfectly, too.
Still… that guy had been getting suspiciously good hands all night. He'd been holding something back after all.
"Not much talent for the game, huh? Wow, look at this haul."
Five hundred million already. VIP entry required five hundred million. That was enough.
I was just about to stand when—
"You fucking bitch… what kind of scam was that?!"
Crash!—
The table flipped. The men closed in, hemming me in from every side.
"Wow… you're actually doing this?"
Yeah. Definitely a lawless dump.
Click—
"…Unnie."
Ha-eun dropped into a ready stance, hand tight on her sword hilt, voice tight with nerves.
"Haa… it always ends like this in places like this."
An-susa sighed beside her.
"Fighting's fine right now, yeah? They started it."
"Yes. Self-defense. And nobody here cares if you throw down anyway."
Even better. Less cleanup this way.
Shing—
Ha-eun drew her sword. I let mana circulate lightly through my body.
Dash—
As they rushed me, I raised a hand, casual as anything.
Slash!—
One of them crossed two daggers into an X and swung.
A flick of the forehead should do it.
"All that flair and nothing to back it up?"
Crack!—
My forehead flick knocked a dagger clean out of his grip. While he was still gaping, I slipped behind him, seized both arms, and—
Slam!—
"Urgh!"
—drove him into the floor. I glanced at the next man right behind him and gathered mana into my foot. One step back.
−50,000 KRW
Detail: [Shockwave] Skill Usage Fee
BOOM!—
"Guh—!"
A kick to the gut and the skill fired at the same time. Light burst out; the man went sailing. I casually shook out my foot.
Clang!—
Sharp metal rang out to the side. I turned. Ha-eun had her sword raised high, catching her opponent's blade. Her body was small, but the boldness of her advance rattled the man long enough for him to freeze—
Shhk—
—and the tip of Ha-eun's sword came to rest at his throat.
"This is fucking…"
"So why start a scene? You were the ones who asked to play."
"You were cheating! Obviously!"
"Who cheated? Dealer, did you see anything?"
"No."
The dealer's answer made the man's face twist.
"You—!"
"It was a fair game. If you don't like the result, take it up with the boss."
Trust a crook and get stabbed for it. He'd been part of the same crew, fed advantageous cards, gotten cleaned out at the table and then stomped in a fight — so of course he was cutting his losses.
"Khh…!"
"Ha-eun. Knock him out."
"Yes."
Thud!—
The second the words left my mouth, Ha-eun dropped him and cracked the flat of her blade across the back of his neck. Lights out.
"Great. So, dealer? Where's the VIP lounge? This should cover it, right?"
"It does. I'll escort you myself. This way."
She left the men where they lay and led us on. From what An-susa told me afterward, people getting knocked out or killed in fights like that was common around here.
"Present your coins here and receive a badge for entry. I'll take my leave, then…"
She guided us that far, gave a quick bow, and vanished at a brisk pace. Clearly not interested in staying tangled up with us any longer.
"I've never been past this point myself. Inside is Zone 1."
"What's Zone 1 for?"
"It's a space for VIPs, so I don't know much. But rumor says they hold auctions."
"Auctions?"
"Yes. Rare valuables you almost never see in the outside world, dangerous artifacts from Gates — that kind of thing changes hands there."
Valuables, huh.
I was pretty interested in that kind of thing… maybe I should sit in?
"I'd advise against it. Anything that shows up in a place like that is going to start at tens of billions, at least."
"Damn, that expensive?"
Maybe I should start hauling Gate loot out to sell…
Thud—
As we approached the VIP entrance, a line of guards stood watch. Their bearing alone put them in a different league from the scrubs we'd seen so far.
"Present your pass."
"This work?"
"…Confirmed. And the ones behind you?"
"My party."
He hesitated. One badge. Four of us. He was just opening his mouth when—
"Fufu. Welcome. The boss has instructed us to receive you."
A masked woman stepped out from inside.
"Rachel. Is this the one?"
"Mm."
"Magnificent. From the horns to the tail… a perfect dragon."
She looked me up and down, slow and thorough. And then she said—
"Wonderful. We'll put her up for auction right away."
…Put who up for what?