The Promotion Test

Jack stood in the middle of the hub. He thought about the old man he had just made a deal with and thought that he was rather kind, giving such a good trade. And in the end, he didn't take the card, almost like he was just handing out things for free on his part of the deal.

He felt like he had to teach that old man not to give away things for free, but it seemed as though he understood since he wanted a trade at first. Perhaps that old man just made a mistake.

Jack walked over to the middle of the hub, where the shop was.

His footsteps reverberated throughout the place, almost echoing. This place was never really that loud, but it was far quieter than usual since there was nobody in the hub. Normally, there would be faint snoring from the people sleeping at its very edges, or at least footsteps from a person or two passing by.

And that silence made Jack's footsteps sound so much louder than they really were.

To pair with that, there were slight red stains at the very bottom of his shoes, but they were hardly noticeable. Though it was a little strange considering the floor itself was clean.

When Jack made it to the middle of the hub, or where the shop was, a panel displayed itself in front of him.

[Pair of Twos - Rations]

[Three of a kind Twos - Razor Blade]

[Pair of Threes - Matches]

[Three of a kind Threes - Utility Knife]

[Full House, Twos over threes - One Week of Lamp Oil]

[Pair of Fours - Oil Lamp]

[Three of a kind Fours - Wooden Spear]

[High Card Five - Promotion Test Admission]

This was quite a different menu from the first time he looked at it. Jack was able to gather that there were hidden options that weren't immediately displayed in the shop. However, there wasn't anything new that interested him.

The thing he was most attracted to was the rations, which made him excited. However, he was also not hungry, so he knew that he wouldn't be able to finish it. Then, he looked at the bottom, seeing that a five was needed for the promotion ticket.

Without too much hesitation, he put the five in, after which a beacon of golden light shot out. Then, a golden card flew down before landing in Jack's hand. It was a rather exaggerated display, but there was unfortunately nobody to see it.

While feeling it was a shame, Jack shook the card a little bit, which caused its glow to intensify several times over. Then, it teleported him.

He found himself sitting in a lounge chair, in what looked almost like a luxurious restaurant, with a large sofa along the sides of the room. He was sitting at a circular table on one end, while there was a man at another.

He looked quite young, with long gray hair that was more befitting of a female. Yet, somehow it didn't look out of place for him. There was a resting smile on his face that was quite welcoming, while his eyes were narrowed almost all the way.

His clothes were quite nice and clean, unlike how it was for Jack and pretty much everyone else on the first floor. The man was the first to call out to him.

"Ah, hello there. What is your name?"

Jack was a bit stunned, but responded quickly and excitedly.

"Hi! My name's Jack! What is yours?"

The man's smile grew a bit wider.

"Haha, hello there Jack. You can call me Brian."

He then turned to look to the side, where there was an empty seat.

"We should start any moment now. As soon as someone to play with you comes along."

Jack gave a thumbs after hearing that.

"Yay! I like playing games with other people!"

Brian laughed.

"I must say that I agree. Though, I won't be playing this time."

Jack looked a bit sad.

"Aw, why is that?"

Before he could answer, someone else suddenly appeared with a golden light next to them. It was a middle-aged man that was quite muscular. He had a strong glare on him, showing he wouldn't take anything standing down.

After looking around, he spoke demandingly.

"Where am I?"

Brian let out a chuckle before spreading out his arms.

"I'd love to get the introductions started, but before that, I must announce the beginning of the promotion test!"

After he said that, the table between the three of them suddenly transformed, widening several times over and getting a dark green surface. It was now a blackjack table that one would find at casinos.

Brian spoke merrily, like he was a salesman showing off his newest product.

"The rules are just like standard blackjack, where you will take turns choosing to get a card or to hold off. Aces count as a one or an eleven, and all face cards are tens. The person with the highest score wins! But if you get over twenty-one, then you lose immediately."

The middle-aged man clicked his tongue.

"Yeah, all of that's obvious. Can you hurry up?"

Brian didn't seem to mind at all.

"Haha, it's great that you are so enthusiastic! Before each hand, the two of you will place bets, but they will be against each other. I will tell you who takes the first turn before every hand. The bets you place work individually from one another. For example, if both of you place a 2, then the loser has to give up the 2 from their bet along with an additional 2. If the winner bets a 3, and the loser bets nothing, the loser must still hand over a 3. If the player is unable to make up a bet with the cards they have, then they must compensate in other ways. Keep in mind you only have the cards that were in your playing deck to wager with or anything you win."

He held out one hand, as a deck of cards suddenly landed on top.

"Now, for this game, there will be no doubling down or splitting. But there will be plenty of chances for you to do so in the future, so don't worry about that. Now, one special thing is that you don't have to use your cards to wager. Instead, you can choose to use the card to increase your total as a substitute to adding a card to your hand."

Brian did a vegas shuffle without even looking at the cards, clearly showing that he had done this many times before.

"To win, you must win a total of five hands where you placed at least one card as a bet. Though even if you have won, you can choose to continue playing. This means that both of you have the potential to win if the winner decides to continue playing. Though as a side note, you can only declare whether or not the game continues or stops if you won that match, and fulfill the conditions of the winner. A secondary condition to winning is if your opponent is unable to provide proper compensation for the bet. After which, the game is over."

He cleared his throat.

"And that's pretty much it. By the way, you could give me a tip if you appreciate me dealing for the two of you."

Jack nodded several times while in thought.

"Oh, sure! What card do you like the best?"

Brian chuckled after turning to him.

"Well, if I had to choose, I would prefer getting twos."

In response, Jack took out all four of his twos and handed them over.

"Here you go!"

Brian's narrowed eyes had widened for a split second, clearly quite surprised. Though he took them with a bright smile.

"Why, you are quite the generous one I must say."

Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"But it's not like I'm giving it away! You are dealing for us, so it's a trade!"

The corner of Brian's lip had turned up slightly.

"Yes indeed, it is a trade. Say, friend over there, would you like to provide any tip for your humble dealer?"

The man scoffed.

"As if. Every single card can be the difference between winning or losing. I'm not such a fool that I don't even understand that."

Jack scratched his cheek with a confused expression.

"But we can both win! Didn't you hear what he said?"

The man narrowed his eyes and spoke through clenched teeth.

"Shut up, kid. I know exactly what the rules are, but things are never as simple as they seem like. It sounds so great that both of us could win, but the better it sounds, the bigger the lie."

Brian nodded a few times in approval.

"You are indeed correct. Things are never as simple as they seem here..."

Jack scratched his hair awkwardly while the man smirked after hearing that. Brian cleared his throat while they were still thinking.

"Anyways, for the first round, we will have Jack start first. Please place your bets."

A sinister smile formed on the man's face as he put down a two. Jack simply didn't put down a bet. From there, Brian dealt a card to each person.

Jack got a 10 of clubs.

The man got a 3 of spades.

Jack scratched the table twice.

"I want a card!"

He got a 5 of spades, totaling out at 15. Brian then turned to the man.

"May I ask your name, before we continue?"

The old man snorted.

"Donald."

Brian nodded amicably.

"Alright then Donald, what would you like to do?"

Donald raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't it obvious? Hit me."

He was dealt a 4 of hearts, totaling out at 7. Jack puffed up his cheeks when he saw this.

"Mm... give me a card."

Brian gave a small nod before dealing the card. Which was a Queen of diamonds.

That counted as a ten, which made his total twenty-five. Jack pouted after seeing this.

"Aw! I lost!"

Donald began laughing once he saw this.

"Do you see now, idiot? If you throw away all your cards, then you're just asking to get played! You should've never come here, kid."

Brian turned to Jack and let out a small sigh.

"Unfortunately, you do not have any twos. However, a bet is a bet."

After collecting the cards dealt from the deck, he reached underneath the table and brought out a rather large and rusty metal device. It almost looked like a giant fingernail clipper but had a thick base to it.

Jack inspected it curiously for a while before raising a finger.

"Hmm... oh, this is the thing that you use to remove fingernails!"

Donald smirked.

"Yeah, and that's what you're going to have to do. Really think that you can do this, kid?"

Brian turned to Jack with the same smile he always had.

"You will have five minutes starting now to remove one nail from your hand. Otherwise, it will count as a failed compensation."