Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Devil's Gamble - Rules (7)
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Even in the midst of all this, keeping a poker face didn't change.
It wasn't particularly difficult.
I stretched my hand out in front of me.
With each light flick of my fingertips, golden coins rippled outward in response to my gesture.
A mountain of golden chips.
It didn't quite feel real, so I touched them a few times before letting them slip through my fingers.
Clink— clink—
Soon, a Security agent approached me, and I stood from my seat.
People surprisingly lose their sense of reality in front of excessively large sums of money.
There are even experiment reports showing that the phrase "tens of millions of won" makes the heart race more than "hundreds of billions."
Similarly.
“Hold on a moment.”
'Telling them how valuable this is won't make a difference.'
In truth, it didn't feel like much.
If anything, the price of the suit I was wearing felt more tangible to me right now.
I smoothed out my suit to avoid any wrinkles, then slowly raised my gaze.
"Now, shall we go?"
As I stood, two waitstaff swept the chips into black cases.
Two waitstaff carrying the cases behind me, flanked by Security like bodyguards, headed toward the stairs leading to the third floor.
A red line came into view in the distance.
The Security blocking the way stepped aside to both sides, opening the path to the next floor.
Not long after climbing the stairs, the scenery of the third floor gradually came into view.
The space itself wasn't much different from the second floor.
The difference was that the tables inside were noticeably fewer, and the atmosphere felt heavier, with a sharper tension in the air.
Seeing this scene, the GambleBlack chat was oddly aggressive.
[GambleBlack]: Time to show your real skills now.
I chuckled inwardly.
There was excitement and anticipation in their voices, but no sign of fear.
One thing I knew for sure.
I could never sit at the same table as GambleBlack.
This time, the regression opportunity hadn't come as expected.
Luck had played a part.
It was hard to pin down due to various compounding factors.
Still.
I didn't believe this luck would last forever.
Gambling is a game where every win guarantees a loss somewhere.
Even so, I planned to climb as far as luck would take me.
Regression wasn't just repeating the same time.
It allowed me to accumulate experience.
To make better outcomes and choices than before.
I looked up at the casino ceiling.
Brightly shining glass orbs.
The countless stacked chips inside them continued to radiate light throughout the casino, unwavering in their presence.
***
I didn't need to choose a seat.
I was guided to one table.
Two black bags were placed on top.
Click— click—
As the lids opened, light from the chips spilled out.
I leaned back in my chair.
Lifting my head to look across, the figures seated at the table entered my view.
Rooster Mask.
Pig Mask.
Cow Mask.
Donkey Mask.
"A new guest has arrived. Let's resume the gamble."
Clink—
The sound of chips pouring echoed heavily across the entire table.
Each had bags similar in size to mine or larger placed beside them.
The Dealer slowly raised his hand.
"Time to deal the cards."
***
Gray smiled behind his mask.
Some people occasionally made the mistake.
Those who, just because they got lucky a few times in a row, started delusions of being the master of this world.
After being assigned as a Dealer on the third floor of the casino.
He had seen countless such people.
The first floor was a playground anyone could enter.
The second floor was a stage you could endure if you had money.
But—
The third floor was different.
Luck like that didn't work here.
This was the domain of true gamblers.
Only those who had survived hundreds, thousands of hands remained.
So it was fair to say the real game started now.
Occasionally, rookies like this would make it up to the third floor.
But their endings were always the same.
Ruin.
Their initial momentum never lasted long.
One of two paths.
They quickly lost their stack and tumbled back to the second floor.
Or they lost everything and became eternally bound to the casino.
And the rookie now sitting in front of him...
Would ultimately walk the same path.
The Dealer shuffled the cards while observing the rookie's face.
No emotions were visible on it.
The only thing shown was a minor fuss over his suit's appearance.
He dismissed the thought immediately.
'No way.'
Just the chips on this table alone were worth hundreds of such suits.
That.
Had to be an intentional bluff.
A blank expression, poker face.
He was holding it together for now.
But how long would that face last?
The Dealer smiled quietly to himself.
A hobby of his as a Dealer.
Timing how long it took for someone entering the third floor to break.
'At least 30 minutes this time would be nice.'
A poker face like that.
Meant nothing to the masks who dominated this stage.
As the hands piled up, as the chips dwindled, true nature would reveal itself.
And in that regard, these four were specialists at drawing out those emotions.
They hadn't experienced defeat in this casino for decades.
It would show soon enough.
That they'd misjudged something.
How ruthless this stage truly was.
The cards were dealt.
The Pig Mask started first.
To crush the rookie's momentum.
***
The cards were dealt.
The first to move was the Pig Mask.
Symbol of greed.
He always pressured opponents the same way.
Using special rules.
When only two players remained, if one declared a raise, the "Raise Rule" activated for that hand.
Once the “Raise Rule” activated, only raises or folds were allowed.
Even a weak hand could be relentlessly raised to pressure the opponent into folding midway.
Normally, such shallow tricks wouldn't work.
But as the pot grew and the stakes rose.
The psychological pressure on the player increased exponentially.
Especially for a rookie who hadn't even grasped the surroundings yet.
"Raise!"
“Raise!!!”
*Raise: Doubling the current pot.
Each time his fingertips pushed chips forward.
The metallic clinking waves echoed heavily across the table.
The Rooster Mask, who had been watching for a moment, clicked his tongue and tossed his cards.
The Cow Mask silently folded.
The Donkey Mask snorted and gave up.
Now, only two remained.
Pig Mask and the expressionless rookie.
“Raise!”
Pig Mask greedily shoved chips toward the center of the table.
The clashing chips rang out across the table.
At this point, he should fold.
The pot on the table was already nearly half of the rookie's chips.
Going too far.
Even for establishing dominance, taking half was excessive.
Endless greed emanated from the Pig Mask.
Still, hoping it served as a good lesson for the rookie.
Losing only half and learning from it.
The Pig Mask let out a strange chuckle.
As if certain of victory.
A normal rookie would have tossed their cards here.
The Dealer predicted the rookie's response.
It was about time to fold.
No matter how bold.
Even the rookie—
“…Raise.”
Clink—
The rookie's arm moved, pushing double the amount the Pig Mask had bet onto the table.
In that instant, the Pig Mask's shoulder twitched.
The rookie showed no emotional fluctuation.
Maintaining the same blank expression as when he first sat at the table.
Indifferently placing chips in the center, his gaze fixed solely on the Pig Mask.
As if asking, what now?
In response, the Pig Mask trembled, then burst out.
“Raise!!!”
“—Raise.”
“Raise!!”
“—Raise.”
Again. And again.
Two people mirroring each other exactly.
The Pig Mask's breathing grew rougher.
The pot was now astronomical.
Even for the Pig Mask, losing more than this.
Regardless of past contributions to the casino, he wouldn't escape unscathed.
Clink— clink—
The pot rose again.
Golden chips piled like a mountain, the sound filling the air.
For the first time, the Pig Mask spoke.
"...H-Hey."
The Pig Mask's voice shook.
"..Rookie. Why not fold... how about it?"
Even at the call, the rookie didn't budge.
With the same blank face from the start, he pushed chips forward once more.
Clink—
At that sound, thin cracks appeared on the Pig Mask's face.
The eyes behind the mask wavered.
“…We'll see?”
Calm tone.
In that moment, fissures cracked across the Pig Mask's mask like thin gold lines.
Silence flowed.
The Pig Mask's hand trembled.
The hand hovering over the chips stopped.
In the end.
Strength drained from the Pig Mask's hand as he placed his cards down on the table with a thud—
“…Fold.”
*Fold: Giving up the game. Forfeiting all stakes placed so far.
With his words, the air in the hall froze in an instant.
The game's winner was decided.
Slowly, the mountain of golden chips piled up until now was pushed entirely toward the rookie.
Clink— clink—
The heavy ringing struck everyone's ears.
The Dealer's eyes narrowed.
Instinctively, he glanced at the Pig Mask's cards.
The hand wasn't visible.
But considering his usual temperament.
Two pair to full house.
'Full house.'
Not the absolute highest.
But sufficient reason for the Pig Mask to raise.
'Then what does the rookie have?'
Donkey Mask, Cow Mask, Rooster Mask seated at the table.
Even the Pig Mask.
All eyes were drawn to the rookie's cards.
Just what hand did he have.
To act with such confidence.
By the Dealer's prediction.
At least something comparable to the Pig Mask's.
Too high a pot for mere bluffing.
No matter what—
'At least some reliable basis must be there.'
By fold rules, turned cards normally couldn't be seen.
But as a non-participant, when the game ended in a decision.
Even face-down cards could be checked.
The cards slowly revealed to the Dealer were—
'..One pair?'
Merely trash.
A hand with no real rank, unbeatable in most cases.
***
On the table steeped in silence.
“…The game.”
At the low voice, Gray pulled his gaze from the cards and looked up.
What entered his view was the rookie, sitting with the exact same face and expression as before.
And that sight was utterly unbelievable for someone who had just swept in an enormous stack of chips.
He calmly opened his mouth.
"Shall we start again?"