Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Devil's Gamble - Rules (4)
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'Hit is the way to go, after all.'
When my hand touched the card on the table, the chat window flashed.
Private chat.
I could see a message painted in a bold color.
[Gamble Black]: That's not how you play it.
I let out a short breath and shot a glance at the screen.
The ID alone exuded an odd confidence.
[Gamble Black]: The dealer skipped over something in the explanation. Blackjack has a rule called 'surrender.'
[Gamble Black]: You give up midway, but only lose half your bet.
[Gamble Black]: Ask if that rule applies first.
My gaze paused on the card for a moment.
A brief conflict flickered through my mind.
'...Should I follow it?'
Truth be told, I'd never properly played blackjack before.
Just vague memories of betting snacks during a school trip.
I definitely wasn't the type to calculate like a pro and win.
Pretending to know and crumbling here in one go would be foolish.
And the chips I was betting right now were my lifespan.
It was wiser to heed advice from someone familiar with this place.
Even if it failed.
I could try something else next time.
I let out a short breath.
My mind was already made up.
With my hand still on the card, I met the dealer's eyes.
I opened my mouth in a low murmur.
"Is surrender allowed?"
The dealer's smiling mask twitched subtly for a moment.
After a brief silence, the reply came.
"Surrender is possible. You lose half your bet, though."
[Gamble Black]: Surrender exists? Good.
[Gamble Black]: Next is the stand rule. The dealer can't stop until they reach a certain total—17. Even if you stand, they have to keep drawing.
[Gamble Black]: It's to prevent players from just holding steady and winning when the dealer starts with low cards like 1 or 2.
[Gamble Black]: That's the dealer's stand rule.
Since I'd already decided to follow, I acted right away.
"What's the dealer's stand threshold?"
My voice seeped into the table.
Soon, the dealer responded.
"17."
[Gamble Black]: Alright, let's sum it up.
[Gamble Black]: Your hand is 9 + 7, total 16. Dealer shows 9, one hidden card.
[Gamble Black]: Hit here, and there's at least a 60% chance of a 10 or face card. Instant bust.
[Gamble Black]: Stand instead? Dealer must go to 17 or higher by rule. Overwhelming odds they'll end in 17-20.
[Gamble Black]: Your 16 has less than a 20% win rate.
I kept a blank expression and halted my hand on the card.
'...What does that mean?'
Fortunately, the dealer didn't notice.
The initial cockiness was gone.
A subtly tense demeanor.
But what was I supposed to do?
'Flip it over?'
I hadn't understood a word from 'Gamble Black.'
Perhaps reading my expression on screen, the veteran 'Gamble Black' explained simply.
[Gamble Black]: Bottom line: hit gives you the best shot right now.
I got it.
I tightened my grip on my fingers.
The card slowly lifted into the air.
And—
I flipped it over.
The card turned smoothly, revealing the number 5.
9 + 7 + 5.
21.
My win.
Without a smile or exclamation, I simply raised my eyes briefly to the dealer.
I was a bit stunned by my own victory.
As if questioning if it was real.
The dealer took it as continuing the game and slowly nodded stiffly.
Clack.
Double my bet rolled toward me.
***
As the dealer gathered the cards, he muttered lowly.
"...You're lucky."
The voice behind the mask rang low and smooth.
But at the end, a distinct odd nuance lingered.
"—They call it beginner's luck in this world. Congratulations."
A polite tone on the surface.
But beneath it, a faint mocking undertone hid.
I showed no reaction.
No laugh, no retort.
Instead—
I quietly rolled the chips in front of me with my hand, then slowly pushed them forward.
With a soft rustling, everything I'd just won gathered in the table's center.
For a split second, the dealer's mask wavered.
The gleam in the eye sockets snapped off.
"...Did you understand what I said?"
A subtly lowered tone.
"Beginner's luck is a one-time thing. And yet, you'll bet it all?"
The low voice carried mockery of foolishness.
But this time, a faint, inexplicable tension laced it.
I let out a short breath and nodded.
"Let's see how far it goes. That beginner's luck... Let's start the next game right away."
The dealer's fingertips gripped the deck again.
The shuffling cards echoed through the hall once more.
A new game began on the table.
***
The dealer's hands moved busily.
A fresh deck was swapped in, landing with a heavy thud.
"Bet confirmed. Game starts."
A card was placed before me.
First card, ♠10.
Second, ♣A.
*A can count as 1 or 11.
For a moment, seeing the cards made my heart feel like it stopped.
"...Blackjack."
My voice made the dealer's hand pause abruptly.
Pure luck this time. Victory sealed before Gamble Black could say a word.
I didn't lower my gaze.
No need to check the dealer's cards.
I just gazed leisurely at the eyes behind the mask.
"..."
Silence broken by one sound.
Clack—
Chips pushed toward me again.
Golden weight stacked higher. Double the previous tower.
The hall's noise persisted, but my spot felt frozen in silence.
The dealer's mask still smiled, but the darkness in its eye sockets deepened.
I didn't blink.
Instead, my fingertips swept the table again.
No hesitation.
'Again.'
I pushed all the stacked chips straight to the center.
Clink— clink—
The sound of chips colliding.
The gentle ripple swallowed the hall's noise like a wave.
In an instant, nearby gazes turned to me.
At some point, the dealer fell silent.
His hands moved quietly, mechanically.
Cards shuffled and fell onto the table.
♦8, ♠8.
The dealer maintained a calm posture.
But I could sense the hidden eyes trembling faintly behind the mask.
As if fearing something.
Then, the chat reacted.
[Gamble Black]: 8+8? Split them. Treat each as independent hands. Like playing two games in one.
[Gamble Black]: Doubles your stake, though.
I slowly moved my hand.
I spread the two cards apart.
"Split."
My voice settled over the hall's air.
I pushed all my coins to the center.
At my split declaration, the dealer's hand rummaged the deck again.
Clack—
♣3 on one side, ♥K on the other.
My left hand: 8+3.
"Hit."
Another card fell. ♠9.
Total 20.
My right hand: 8+K.
Total 18.
Stand.
No 21 this time, unfortunately.
The dealer's hand moved.
One, two, three cards.
K(10) + 5 + 2.
Total 17.
In that moment, the dealer's hand hesitated.
Normally, stand here. Rules say no more draws.
But.
The masked man's fingertips moved again.
Cards rustled.
Brief silence.
And, clack—
One card slid onto the table.
♦5.
Total 22.
Bust.
The hall's air turned icy cold.
The stiff masked man slowly collected the cards.
The mask smiled, but the voice beneath cracked.
"...Player wins."
The once-smooth tone now shook openly.
Like it was forcibly suppressed.
The entire hall fell momentarily silent.
The clinking chips, the cheers from behind—all seemed gone.
In the stillness, my gaze locked with the masked dealer's.
Darkness rippled beyond the eye sockets.
As if piercing through, yet hiding fear.
Soon, sensing something, the dealer's voice sank low.
"—You'll go all the way, then."
No mockery or leisure this time—just raw tension.
I slowly raised my head.
And quietly opened my mouth.
"Beginner's luck... doesn't seem over yet."
Chips stacked before me.
Gleaming weight filled the table.
From the initial bet, five wins now.
32 times the weight sat there.
Hall gazes gathered, drawn to the table.
No one could look away easily.
None could ignore the golden mountain.
Expression unchanged, I touched the chips with my fingertips.
Then decisively gathered them all—
And rolled them to the center.
Clink— clink—
The metallic wave swelled larger, engulfing the entire hall.
Nearby chatter, laughter, screams—even the music seemed to die.
Gazes converged.
In the frozen silence, only the golden glow from the chips shone brilliantly.
Now, no one could deny it.
Control of this table was no longer the dealer's.
In that instant, my gaze clashed with the eyes beyond the mask.
I slowly parted my lips.
Low and subdued, but clear enough to ring through the hall.
"—All in."
*All-In: Betting everything you have.
The dealer's mask twisted fully for the first time.