Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Devil's Gamble - Rules (10)
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[Returning to the last save point.]
[The most recent save point is AUTO SAVE 4.]
[Devil's Gamble - Horror Tale]
[Death Type]: Gunshot
[Tip]: A magazine with bullets loaded doesn't guarantee safety.
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My vision brightened, and my surroundings sharpened into focus.
I had opened my eyes again on the first floor of the gambling hall.
The overwhelming red light from moments ago was gone.
The orb that had swelled as if it might burst at any second had vanished too.
What remained was.
The flashing neon signs and
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep—!
“Kyaaaaah! This is it! Did you see that? I won!!! Now I’ve got a Han River view apartment!!”
Clatter-clatter-clatter—
“Fuck yessss!!! I’m rich now! Rich, I tell you!!!”
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!!
“You fucking bastard!!!! This is rigged, right?! No way!! It’s weird that it stopped there!!”
The lights, cheers, and wails exploded all at once into my ears.
I glanced at the chat window, and the same conversations from before scrolled by.
[Pa-Cheonhwang]: …132nd run success. 3-second loss.
[Crazy Woman]: 74th run success. 13-second loss. Stomach full to bursting, huh? Bountiful harvest? You fucking bastards?
ㄴ[Flounder]: But it was still a success, right?
ㄴ[Crazy Woman]: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ[Crazy Woman]: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’ll kill you. Yeah, I’ve decided. I’ll slaughter you the moment I see you.
ㄴ[Flounder]: ...Over something like this. You’re joking, right?
ㄴ[Crazy Woman]: Does it look like a joke?
My body moved familiarly.
This time, there was no need to ask around like before.
Soon, I spotted a paper on the floor.
It looked freshly dropped, its edges slightly damp and crumpled.
I bent down and picked it up.
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You are currently in sector 777-KQJ-19.
You have entered the ‘Devil's Gamble’ horror tale.
This document is not a low-quality joke or prank.
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The information written here was incorrect.
Rule 3. Chips and Coins
3-1. Chips can be obtained from the pawn shop, and what you pawn means your ‘lifespan’.
ㄴ Chip settlements are processed when all chips are used up or when you leave this gambling hall.
3-2. The moment your chips reach 0, you become subservient to the casino.
The words on the paper were matter-of-fact, but reading them brought an odd sense of dissonance.
The phrase “What you pawn at the pawn shop is your lifespan.”
But my actual experience had been different.
Here, it wasn’t just lifespan.
The rules I’d seen in this place allowed a much broader range.
Items in my bag, talents etched into my body, even the time I was alive.
It was as if anything could be swallowed up as long as it was labeled ‘collateral’.
At the bottom of the paper was a familiar mark.
One was the insignia of the Horror Tale Management Bureau.
And the other one.
If this information was corrupted, it was probably because that other mark had influenced it.
For now, what I needed to do was clear.
I headed straight to the pawn shop.
The inside was as quiet as before.
An expressionless employee waited, with a gleaming silver tray placed in front of him.
The moment I placed my hand on it, I felt an invisible thread being pulled from within me.
My breath caught for a moment, and my lungs felt heavily compressed.
But the sensation soon subsided, returning to normal as if it had never happened.
Clink—
Golden chips fell onto the tray, stacking up neatly.
The silver tray slowly slid toward me.
“Settlements for items pawned at the pawn shop will be processed when all chips are depleted or when you leave this gambling hall.”
I gave a short nod.
I’d heard those lines once before.
Not long after leaving the pawn shop, a familiar table came into view in the distance.
A table bathed in blue light.
The masked dealer looked at me and gestured to the seat.
“Will you join?”
I met his gaze for a moment before quietly sitting in the chair.
I took out my chips and placed them on the table.
***
The game dragged on in a tedious back-and-forth.
The beginner’s luck from my first time didn’t appear.
Dealer’s hand.
10 + 9
My hand.
9 + 8
The moment the numbers appeared, a chill ran up the back of my neck.
My head burned with unnatural heat, while my heart seemed to freeze and slow.
…Why?
Even though it was a simple hand, it felt like this sequence had been waiting from the start.
The cards fell perfectly into place, too naturally.
And then, a whisper reached me.
“Next round.”
Someone had definitely said it.
“Next round, you win.”
I turned my head, but no one was around.
Under the blue light, only the dealer smiled silently.
The pounding in my chest grew louder.
Soon, even that pounding faded.
My mouth opened.
“…All in.”
I pushed all the chips—half of which I’d already lost—onto the table.
Why had I been thinking like that just moments ago?
Nothing was strange.
It felt certain.
This time, I would definitely win.
Yes, yes, this time I’ll definitely win.
This was decided even before the cards flipped.
The voice that entered my head knew it too and told me.
Once I made the decision, my mind eased.
The smile on the dealer’s mask deepened.
“Then, let’s reveal the cards.”
The blue light still pressed down on the table.
All the chips were now stacked in front of me.
The dealer’s fingertips moved slowly, the card brushing across the table.
First card.
The one that landed in front of me was J♠.
Soon, a card landed in front of the dealer too.
Revealed on the table: 10♣.
My turn again.
The second card slid slowly toward me.
8♥.
Finally, the dealer’s second card came down.
The hidden card.
Face down on the table, its image concealed.
But strangely, a faint resonance leaked from its back.
As if the number inside was already whispering in my ear.
My total now: 18.
Dealer: 10 + ?.
If that flipped card was 9 or higher, I’d lose.
But—
I knew.
No, I had no choice but to know.
That back was definitely a K.
Certainty wasn’t even the right word.
Like breath, like a pulse, the answer was already resounding inside me.
The face-down image wasn’t just a simple card.
Under the blue light, that pattern breathed with presence, alive.
K.
Definitely K.
I closed my eyes, then opened them again.
If I stayed like this, I’d lose.
“Hit.”
The card that came to me was a 4.
Total: 22.
Bust.
The dealer smiled and flipped his card.
It was a 7.
Total: 17.
‘…I lost.’
My mind cleared as if my head had been dunked in cold water.
The inexplicable certainty, the faith that had filled me moments ago, shattered completely.
By the time I came to my senses, Security had flanked me on both sides.
Black-gloved hands gripped my shoulders.
Without time to resist, my hand was dragged onto the table.
And—
Wrinkles spread from the back of my hand.
My skin thinned like paper, cracking; veins swelled and rose blue.
The veins blackened like spreading ink, and cracks spiderwebbed across my knuckles like dry wood splintering.
It wasn’t mere aging.
It felt like the years I’d lived were being ripped away in an instant, my future time severed at the root.
My breath hitched bit by bit; my lungs heaved heavy and dull.
Along with the slowing thump of my heart—
My final consciousness sank coldly.
***
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[Returning to the last save point.]
[The most recent save point is AUTO SAVE 4.]
[Devil's Gamble - Horror Tale]
[Death Type]: Settlement.
[Tip]: Chips are not to be wagered lightly.
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Bright light stabbed my eyes.
Instinctively, a ragged breath burst out.
Hoo—
The repeated breaths stopped.
As my mind slowly returned, I quickly scanned my surroundings.
Cheers and screams mixed into my ears, and flashing neon signs filled my vision, gradually revealing themselves.
The first floor of the gambling hall.
Even now, every inhale made my lungs move stiffly, like rusted sheet metal.
I instinctively raised my hand.
The sensation at my fingertips hadn’t faded.
The skin inside prickled as if crisping and splitting.
My knuckles felt like grinding bones.
But what I felt gripping my fist.
Was only the normal texture of my skin.
This time too, as always—
I stood on the first floor of the gambling hall.
[Pa-Cheonhwang]: …132nd run success. 3-second loss.
[Crazy Woman]: 74th run success. 13-second loss. Stomach full to bursting..?
[Crazy Woman]: Newb. Your breathing’s rough? Sis was gonna—
ㄴ[Not Human]: Pervert bitch. Hag. Aunty.
ㄴ[Crazy Woman]: ...?? Why the sudden beef? I was gonna tell you a hospital!
[Hopeless Life]: Gambling halls have that demonic charm that boils a man’s blood. Newb’s a proper man too—
ㄴ[Not Human]: ㅗ
[Gamble Black]: Gambling, huh. Brings back memories.
ㄴ[Not Human]: Memories my ass
ㄴ[Gamble Black]: Hey now. If this body could speak.
For some reason, ‘Not Human’s’ endless provocations had the chat lighting up, unlike before.
‘Burns well.’
I muttered to myself and looked down at my hand.
Just moments ago, the pain of bulging veins and splitting knuckles had been vivid—
Now, not even a trace remained.
The feel of wrinkles, the lingering creak of bones—all gone, as if they’d never existed.
I let out a long breath.
Rather, that pain had steeled my resolve further.
Upward.
I had to go even higher.
***
The place I soon arrived at.
“Settlements for items pawned at the pawn shop will be processed when all chips are depleted or when you leave this gambling hall.”
Now, the real fight begins.