Gambler's Ruin (2)
The most dangerous thing in gambling is a beginner's luck.
It paves the way for deeper immersion into gambling, the shortcut to ruining one's life.
Two Unique items? Already?
Hyunwoo stared at the roulette results in shock.
Could Unique items really drop this easily? Then why bother going into Babel Tower at all?
Just spin the roulette every time money came in...
"Damn, your luck's insane. Two Uniques? Wow... In game terms, you're a total luckbuild. Luckbuild."
His master said something from the side, but it didn't register in Hyunwoo's ears. Classic early-stage gambling addiction.
"How high up does this go...?"
"Grades? No way it'll hit Legendary. Probably Epic at best."
Meaning, with good luck, he could reverse his life in one go.
Trust in my luck?
Items did drop in Babel sometimes. Snagging even one Unique would be a massive jackpot.
"If it's a money issue, your master here can lend you some."
Hyunwoo hesitated. He knew borrowing money to gamble was wrong.
If I stop here, it's all profit. But... maybe five more spins?
Five million won was pocket change—something he could farm from orcs in no time. Losing it wouldn't hurt.
"Could you lend me five million won?"
"Hmmm~ Just that much? Fine, sure."
He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth, but it was too late. The second five million hit his account, his hand was already spinning the roulette.
It dropped... a Unique! Hyunwoo's heart pounded wildly.
"M-Master! Look at this! An item dropped!"
"Oh..."
"This is Unique, right? How much would it go for at auction?!"
"Dawn's End is a famous item. Extra damage to status-afflicted targets, I think? Top rankers all carry one. I have one too."
Hyunwoo never imagined he'd get something this good. It was perfect for his own use.
Pair it with the harpoon sword?
He'd planned to use the harpoon sword himself, not sell it, and now he was lost in happy dilemmas...
"Congrats? Sell this and your debt's cleared."
"Mm!"
Ryu Ga-eul muttered without changing expression. Hyunwoo shook his head, steeling himself again.
No. Sell it. Paying off debt now is what matters.
Items like this could drop again someday. If he farmed hard in Babel.
After agonizing, he decided to send it to auction.
"But even if you sell now, the money comes later."
"Next month at least...!"
"Here's a deal. Sell it to me. Ten billion won, say?"
"Deal!"
"But... if we go by spin count, I could value it double."
One million per spin meant twenty billion would buy 2,000 spins.
Fifteen spins netted three Uniques.
Then 2,000 spins? Hundreds of Uniques, easy.
"Let's do that."
"Good. No backing out."
2,000 chances. No way nothing drops.
That's what Hyunwoo thought as he accepted.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Ryu Ga-eul marveled at her disciple's innocence.
A Unique? Shocked me. How'd he beat 0.00045% odds?
The roulette had a hidden feature: guaranteed drop. Sacrifice five items for a sure hit of the same grade.
Of course, it was pure scam bait to hook the clueless.
Still, his luck's unreal...
As the Sword Saint, she knew Hyunwoo's luck in Babel matters was freakishly good.
Squirrelly little shit. Thinks he's hot stuff just 'cause he's lucky. As if size is everything.
Insolent disciple. Twisting away instead of offering his body to his master.
Good thing he took the roulette bait.
When he brought back ten million won in a day, her heart nearly stopped. Proof he could pay off even massive debts.
It made her anxious. Higher Babel floors dropped better items more often.
Thought this debt was enough. But his talent's way beyond.
Even with gear support, soloing floor 27 was insane.
Hate to admit it, but he's way better than me.
Player society buzzed with news of Park Hyunwoo. Rumors spread so fast, even isolated players knew his name and face.
Need more debt. A lot more...
Hyunwoo would climb Babel fast. His talent wouldn't end here.
So Ryu Ga-eul lured him into more debt.
To keep him from ever leaving her side.
"What about these junk items? They won't sell."
"Oh, that? Feed 'em here."
◈ Insert items to acquire Stat Enhancement Tickets.
◈ All enhanced stats are random.
◈ 5 Normal: 1 Ticket
◈ Rare: 1 Ticket
◈ Unique: 10 Tickets
◈ Epic: 100 Tickets
◈ Legendary: 1,000 Tickets
An item that boosted stats? No reason not to use it.
"With this, no need to level up, right?"
"One or two traits can't be bridged by skill alone. No matter the strength."
"Ah..."
One in ten was huge; one in a hundred, less so.
No reason for high-level Ryu Ga-eul to use it. Sure, big money could make her stronger, but inefficient.
"Alright. Time for 2,000 straight spins!"
"Mm-hmm."
The path to ruin began.
Ryu Ga-eul smirked.
He's lost it. Why do this? Straight to doom... Gambling!
She recalled a line from some gambling manga as she watched her disciple spin.
200 straight spins.
Rare: a measly 90. Uniques? Zero...
What the hell?
One million per spin. 200 million gone in a blink.
No. Stay calm... Plenty of spins left.
He converted all items to stat tickets, then spun 500 more straight.
Goblin Heart (Normal) x201
...
What?
Did I see that wrong? Over 200 of the same item?
"Aigoo, no luck. Just Normal trash piling up?"
"Ugh...!"
"Still tons of spins left, Hyunwoo... Right?"
Stay calm. Lose reason, and it's over.
Over 1,000 spins remaining. Far from the end.
"Damn it!"
Shake it off. Spin again.
1,000 straight pulls. So far was just fodder. Go big.
Elf Shoes (Normal) x781
Orc Axe (Rare)
...
"Ahh...?"
Something's wrong. No Uniques? Three in fifteen spins before.
"Whoa! Talk about bad luck. A thousand spins, zero drops?"
"Urgh!"
"Too bad. So close~ Hyunwoo. Still 200 left, yeah?"
Expectations for the last 200 crumbled.
And the results? As expected.
Only Normal grade items dropped, so the next draw is guaranteed Rare!
All 200 were Normal. He tossed them into the converter for stats, naturally.
"..."
"Total bust~ But 20 billion on solid stat boosts? Not a total waste, lucky you."
...A golden opportunity, gone like that?
No. Still early. Can't lose momentum now.
"Master, I..."
"How much?"
"Huh?"
"How much to lend ya, Hyunwoo?"
"Ughhh... Just one billion!"
Debt now at 2.15 billion. Unthinkable bloat.
"One billion? Hm... Fine."
"Thanks!"
One billion in, 50 straight spins.
"Ughhh!"
"No drop again? Tch, after 500-600, dropping to 100 kills momentum! Borrow big!"
"...Okay."
And so he borrowed ten billion.