Betting on certain odds is still betting

The flight had been uneventfull, no dragons appearing in the sky while he crossed the country, no babies on the flight, Aki was greatly surprised and put on nerve because of that, but tried to pretend otherwise as he landed on Nevada.

He'd not intended to even pass through the highly overprissed hotels or try his luck on a cassino, because while he could most definetly cheat the place off, that was not the impression he wanted to leave on the money leeches around, since they most definetly received people like that on a daily basis.

No, instead of all that assholary, he simply looked around for the biggest place with Qi signatures. It really didn't take long to find it.

"Welcome sir, how may i help you?" Directly asked a polite young woman who clearly wanted him away from the place. Aki wasn't badly dressed mind you, but neither did he look like a spectator nor could she detect his cultivation base.

"Good day to you too." He nodded. "You see, a friend of mine said this was a place where i could get lots of money if i didn't mind dirtying my hands with heavy handed work, and before you think something strange, yes i am a cultivator, upper pawn stage, it's something from the inscription i practice." He directly explained with zero time to be interrupted and whispering the last part.

"I understand sir, excuse my manners." She dirrectly bowed while apologising. If a pawn stage cultivator was hiding their cultivation, it was obvious that she would not be able to pierce it's camoflage, It'd be much better to leave this to her superiors. "If you would follow me." She respectfully said, now taking him more seriously.

Aki simply nodded, passing through the cassino front and behind a door that opened to a resting area and through a secret passage that led to a more violent kind of money arena.

"Pretty lights." He commented, already refering to the pen-pusher in front of him. This guy was clearly pawn stage as well, and so were the ones fighting past the window behind him. "I would like to participate in some fights while betting on myself, how can that be arranged?" Aki asked and the man finally raised his head and glasses to look at him.

"I see you are new here. You need to either pay a thousand dollar to participate in any fight or sign a contract regarding any earning durring said fights." The man smiled, clearly not giving a shit but doing what he was paid for.

Cultivators really don't take people in their eyes unless they are stronger then them.

"Great, what would be my revenue if I fought the most gruesome and sadistic pawn stage cultivator you have for ten minutes and ended the fight in an awesome way? By the way, i mean i can do just that even with him trying to win and kill me, no need for a script."

"We don't do those kinds of fights here sir, but i'am sure that what you want can be arranged. By the way, as of now, the rate for anyone still in pawn stage defeating the bloody maw would be 1x3." At that, Aki smiled and took out a suitcase with twenty thousand cramed into it, plus his wallet and a thousand more.

The money was basically all of his profit plus some money scrapped by Isabela and Melissa.

"I'm betting this on myself. I'd like to fight the beast the earliest possible." The man with glasses smiled at the casual use of a spacial ring. Whoever this man was, he felt they might get a lot if they might make a lot of profit or connections depending on his actual prowess.

******

Walking out of the ring, Aki saw that there was a soldier waiting for him. He just smiled at the stone faced mam.

"Would you have a towel? Having blood all over isn't the best for this kind of meeting." He said, getting a white one and thanking the man.

Walking through a series of halls, they quickly reached a room with a man that was clearly the owner or manager of the place. Fat, a monocle, officially dressed, no nonsense face, stack of papers that looked like they could last for days.

"The man of the hour! Your fight was, for the lack of better word, interesting." He said, referring with words and gestures to the still blood smeared youth. Only the blood on his hands wasn't his.

They'd only steped on the ring when both fighters started storming each other with attacks, the victory obviously on the veteran's side thanks to his regeneration and expertise in fighting humans, or so mostly everyone though.

Each of Aki's hits held great weight and momentum, seeming to almost randomly liberate the heat he clearly stored from the fight. With his oponent being a master of yang and flame, it didn't take long for Aki to start burning even with his resistances and defences. It took him being completly encapsulated in orange flames to make everyone notice that no, he didn't seem any worse for wear than when he started.

Expectations started to shift and then it came.

His oponent decided he needed to preserve his image, and since none of his attacks till now had properly damaged the other guy, he went for his ultimate. It was supposed to be a frightening and painful experience for anyone, but even the bloody maw thought it weird when Aki started bleeding from every pore and roaring a scream that hurt his ears.

Most thought it was a new trump card they'd not seem before, but the real cultivators knew that he'd just broken through in his yang affinity. The fact he'd grown a inch and gotten even more muscle bound drove the last bit home.

It'd been gruesome, but advancing an affinity can litteraly change your whole danm carrer as a cultivator, because it always has some kind of ridiculous requirement in knowlege, understanding and energy, so even if he didn't win, Aki was still getting scouted and having a talk with the manager.

The only one who properly understood what this ment was actually the other presence in the ring. One would think that his oponent had just received a miracle, but his suspicius were confirmed by this and the following exchanges, Aki had been going easy on him for making a show and getting his energy.

'This guy is even worse than me!' Was the last thought bloody maw had before the last hit made him unconcious.

Back to the present, Aki was being praised for his showmanship and power a bit more before they went to bussines.

"I have to ask though, what do you plan on doing now?" The slightly overweight man asked with great curiosity.

"I'm going big, of course." He shrugged from his seat. "60k isn't nearly enough for any project I want to do by myself. I need at least a million, and I intend to get it honorably." He pointed out while trying to look wise, getting much the same reaction from the man sitting in front of him.

*****

"Did you hear? It seems like there was a peak pawn stage guy accepted into tomorrow's tournament."

"Stop kidding, it's a tournament for soldier stage practitioners, why would they let a weakling in? Where's the fun on that?"

"No no, you misunderstood. It seems like this is the young master of a hidden sect trying to raise some money to strike up on his own."

"Tsk, just some spoiled brat showing off then."

"Idiot, do you think those guys from hidden sects are the same as us? Of course not. This guy can probably wipe the floor with the normal competition, nevermind using some esoteric method to fight the higher levels!"

"When you put it like that..."

"We should go even if to just see him lose, shouldn't we?"

"And then booze."

"You know me so well."

"Ok, if you're done than can I get my scroll back?" Asked the tired looking god.

"But it's the perfect excuse to take a day off!" Exclaimed Aki, with Persephone making much the same exagerated movements. "Shouldnt't you have more people to help you with this? There's bound to something else that can also read this and not die." He complained, imediatly noticing his blunder and trying to change the subject. "You really should change the format you're ussing though, this shit is hella unconfortable to use as a scroll. Plenty of things could hurt your eyes less, have a better grip, so on so forth." Looking up, Aki noticed that the wife had a bright look and the husband seemed to have just eaten a lemon whole, which was pretty contrary to the expected when you consider he'd just mentioned the mean and long forgotten ex. "That one is definetly not entirely on me!"

"He could fix her!" Squeaked the goddess. "And then you'd have another person to share your work with when Hecate is away!" As she raised her hand, a long and gnarled mint stalk a bit taller than herself grew from the stone.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." Hades frowned.

"I'd need her whole history, testimony of any gods she knew and probably slept with, any of her old belongings you might still have and a restrain on her power level, because i most certainly can deal with an actual naiad, nor am i an actual psicologist or psiquiatrist. Manipulating her into healtier habits and maybe even turning into someone with a leser case of cripling depression sure is possible." He shrugged.

"That's what you'd diagnosis her with?" Asked the couple at the same time with serious faces.

"Self destructive tendencies, reliance in a unhealthy relationship that consisted on both parts feeling like shit, toxic friendships, abuse of substances, so on so forth, i didn't really get the full pay-check worth, so that's the best term i have, but you can be assured i will beat any unhapiness out of her and have her work from a far away home." He promised.

"Good enough for me." Said Persephone, making her husband sigh.

Suddenly the plant was no more and on the ground snored an elvish beauty with her supple posterior naked for all to see.

"You know, this might've been funny and slightly arousing if she wasn't crying on her sleep." Aki pointed out. The blood haired beauty had fallen with half her face upwards and it was clear not all the noises she was making were because of the terrible pose she found herself into. "I imagine by your reaction that this isn't the first time you took her out and that you have a whole case ready to dispatch her." He more stated than asked towards a grining Persephone.

The notion that she was somehow both smarter and more sinister than her husband, the literal king of the after life ( 99% which consists of diferent versions of hell), and at the same time still a sweet and friendly woman was kind of terrifying even to Aki.

If she wasn't already married he'd have a huge crush by now.

*****

"And that's why you're here." He finished explaining to the half listening naiad. "Shouldn't take long to traumatize you enough to actually listen to me."

"Wait what?" She blurted.

"Oh you were listening, thought i'd have to start dissecting your psique till you got angry and tried to do something stupid. That's good, less internal suffering is always good. Also less work for me." He nodded.

"Aren't psicologists supposed to pretend they care for their patients or somethings?" She tried to process what he said, already preparing a long list of curses.

"Well yes, but actually no. They are supposed to show a simple and calming appearence to make their patient listen, think, talk and follow their instructions, so any aproach is viable depending on the problem presented. In my case i simply don't care enough to pretend to be someone else when you're literaly going to be here for some long ass time." He pointed out. "That doesn't mean you can get out of my forceful therapy though. All bear bottles have rat poison and water on then, all cigarettes are made of chocolate, i burned all the weed on the building by distributing it on the alleys, you can't call anyone you know..."

"Aren't i just a prisioner?!" She screamed, fangs beared.

"Close enough from the truth, but before you say anything, please do remenber that all your family is clinicaly depresed, your female bud is a poisonous bitch and now a literal ghost that sucks the souls of men, your fuck boy is on celibat over another woman, your boss is embarassed of your conduct, Hecate wants you dead, and you are being given another chance by fucking Persephone." He loomed over her, starring directly into her eyes. "Stay. Endure. Grow. Be free. Actually live a life worth living."

"As if i have a choice." She grumbled, cowering a bit at the mention of the nothingness that changed because of her dissapearence over eons.

"As if your life before was that different from one of the hells the dammed make." He shrugged and she clossed her mouth. "I'm just going to make you hot, confident, healthy and maybe change your opinion about children." The air of pride he exuded was not missed.

"So i'm just a trophy for you, good to know." She grumbled.

"True enough, i only read you history, so you're as much an unknown as anyone walking down the streets. Now please explain to me how the fact i'm getting paid in case of success makes the fact you'd be hot, confident, healthy and probably in a loving relationship any lesser, because i really can't get it and it might be useful for future reference." He asked and stared at her gazing crimson eyes for the next 10 minutes. "I'll take that as recognition i'm right." He finally proclaimed.