Gambling den
Seth swiftly surveyed the room, which contained over 100 people crowded around staff members tossing dice. He saw the dealers shaking the dice in a cup before calling out for numbers and he smiled as he made his way towards the 1G table. He knew that was the betting amount for that table.
He could easily guess the rules after one look around the room. The dealer would put three dice in a cup and scramble them on the table. The players would enter the game by placing a gold coin and calling a number from 3 to 18. Closest number to the sum displayed on all three dice will win 90% of the coin pool.
There were two more people at the table chosen by Seth. As the dealer scrambled the dice, the two men at the table placed one gold coin each, one calling 13 while the other 7.
Before the dealer could open the cup, Seth placed his coin and said 3.
The two men burst into laughter almost immediately. Almost no one would bet 3 since the odds of all three dice landing on one were relatively low.
“Brat, go back and stop spending your father’s money.”
“Yeah, he’ll beat your ass for sure.”
Seth smirked and continued watching the dealer, waiting for him to reveal the dice. They might bet on luck, but the system has already told Seth the result.
The dealer shook his head and removed the cup, only for all three of them, even the server to the side, to stare incredulously at the three dice showing a dot each.
Once he noticed no one was moving, Seth asked, “Can you move on and take your tax? I don’t have all night.”
The dealer coughed in embarrassment and pushed all three gold coins towards Seth, “Sir, for a perfect guess, there is no tax taken by us.”
“That’s even better,” replied Seth as he took his coins and started heading to another table.
At the start, the server girl followed him, amazed at how good his luck was, but in time, her thoughts changed. Like everyone else inside the room, the server started suspecting he was cheating and even started thinking of ways to leave him so she won’t get into trouble along with him.
After Seth gained 36 gold coins, a strong-looking man walked out from the back and came up to him. “Sir, please follow us into the back room. The boss wants to have a word with you.”
Seth grinned and handed the server two gold coins. Bending to her side, Seth whispered in her ear, “Wait for me to return. It will be quick.”
The man opened a door in the back and gestured for Seth to walk inside. After Seth walked inside, the man that led him here closed the door and kept guard outside.
A man with a disfiguring scar in the place of his right eye was sitting at a desk, looking at Seth with his one good eye. “So you are the brat cheating in my house?”
Seth smiled and sat down on the couch in front of him. “Indeed, that’s me. What of it?”
The man found Seth’s calm attitude quite disturbing and moved his hand slowly under his office. “What of it? Do you even know where you are?”
Noticing that the boss was about to grab a short sword strapped underneath the desk, Seth smiled and said in a deadpan voice, “If you touch that sword, I’m going to kill you.”
The man stopped and stared intently at Seth. His composure, his unruffled demeanor, and the fact he was aware of his intentions completely flummoxed him.
“Who are you?” asked the man, not taking his hand back but not grabbing the sword either.
“I’m the one who killed your town lord and also an ascended of the academy. I’m sure a man with your connections should know what that means?”
The man’s entire body shook at the word ‘ascended.’ He knew that was what students who graduated from the academy in the capital were called, and each ascended was a superhuman monster.
“What would an ascended be doing in our small town?” the man was still somewhat doubtful but didn’t dare to slight Seth anymore, even his tone taking a more humble demeanor.
“Passing by. I only came here because I needed some money and fun. Still, if you want to make a move on me, I would be happy to entertain you.” by this moment, Seth gathered just enough destruction energy to make a slight cut on the man’s cheek, right under his only working eye.
Feeling a slight tinge of pain, the man touched under his eyes and froze when he saw the blood on his hand. Now, every doubt he had that this kid in front of him was an ascended was gone.
The man’s hand under the table trembled as he nervously said, “You can take whatever amount of money you want.”
“I’m not here to rob you yet. I don’t have that bad of an opinion about your people, so I won’t cause too much trouble for you, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. If any of your people mess with me, then don’t blame me for what would happen next.”
Having made his point, Seth stood back up and walked outside on his own, disregarding the confused look of the guard at the door.
The guard at the door let him pass, and Seth stepped up to the server girl, who was waiting for him. He wanted to keep betting, but he knew no one would bet against him anymore after the show from before.
Moving close to the server, he bent forward and whispered in her ear again, “Is there any place around here where we could have some privacy?”
Seth could feel both positive and negative energy coming from her. He knew it was probably headed toward his money, but he didn’t care. He also needed to work on his lust source, and this girl was not half-bad.
The girl’s figure was slender, and she was quite tall. Her bust and booty were not remarkable, but he felt it was the best size for her body type. Her elbow-length, kinky, salt-and-pepper hair was worn and combed over, with her narrow, pale-grey eyes slightly clouded by life’s hardships.
The server pondered momentarily before nodding and saying with a determined expression, “Follow me, sir.”
She led him back inside the hallway before walking towards a room with just the number three on the door. Picking up a key from her pocket with her trembling hand, she opened the door and even forgot to ask Seth to walk in first, as it was etiquette.
Not minding it too much, Seth followed her and closed the door himself.
Seeing her stop with her back facing him, shaking slightly, Seth said, “You know. I didn’t ask you to take me here so I could rape you. If you are uncomfortable, you could have just said it.”
The girl shook her head and started speaking, sniffling between words, “Don’t worry, Sir. It’s my choice.”
Heaving a long sigh, Seth ignored the girl and sat on the soft bed.
‘Show me the reason she’s doing this.’ he didn’t want to keep using the system for everything, but human interaction was still a pain.
The system complied, and Seth saw a brief profile of the girl in his vision.
<22>
‘Of course, she had to be a virgin and a saint,’ thought Seth, wondering why he couldn’t just choose a normal work girl.
A single name meant she was of common birth, probably from a village. Most of the time, the people born in the town would have two names.
He lay on his back and patted the bed before saying, “Come and sit.”
Hearing the girl’s footsteps getting closer and the ruffling of clothes, he added, “Don’t undress.”
The girl lay down next to him and looked up as well. She didn’t know what he had planned, and her heart beat wildly. She was scared and nervous, but knew this was her only choice.
Seth surprised her by suddenly asking, “Tell me why you’re doing this. Don’t lie to me, or I’ll leave and have you return the money I gave you.”
He could find out the entire situation from the records, but wanted to hear it from the girl’s mouth.
“Sir?” asked Ella, not understanding why he would suddenly ask that.
“Was I not clear enough?”
The girl panicked and started speaking.
“My mother died ever since I was a little girl, and my father was the only one who cared for me.”
“Two weeks ago, he fell ill with a sudden cough. I hoped he would get better, but it got even worse in the next week, with him coughing even blood occasionally. I rushed to the town in desperate search of a healer. Since the lord’s wife was also sick, there were a few healers in town, but I had no money to pay for one. While looking through odd jobs, I found this one, but the coins I gained here were not enough to employ the services of a healer.”
“When I saw the number of coins the other girls did by entertaining the customers and heard your offer, I knew this was my only chance. Please, Sir, allow me to earn the money I need to save my father.”
‘System, what is her father suffering from?’ asked Seth, ignoring the girl’s hopeful but scared eyes.
< Advanced-stage lung cancer caused by long working hours in dusty mines. >
‘What happened in the previous timeline?’
Seth heaved a deep sigh and asked, ‘Can I treat her father?’
Heaving another sigh, Seth looked at the crying girl beside him and said, “Go back home and spend his last days with him. No healer can save him.”
“What do you know?” the girl yelled at him, only for her to realize she had stepped over the line and shut up right after, lowering her head in regret.
“Because I’m a healer myself. You must have heard about the situation with the town lord’s wife. I was the one who cured her. Your father is suffering from a disease called cancer, which no one can treat. All you’re doing here is selling your body for nothing.”
Another wave of tears flowed down her cheeks. She had heard about the town lord’s wife getting healed, in light of the news of the lord’s sudden death and his peculiar habits, so she was hurrying to get as much money as possible. She wanted to catch that healer before it left the town.
Now, that healer was sitting on a bed next to her, telling her there was no hope.
The girl sobbed silently for a few more minutes before asking, “How can you be sure? You haven’t even seen him. How can I know you’re not lying to me?”
She still hung on to a tiny thread of hope.
“Because once one coughs blood, there is no way of saving them. Also, your boss can guarantee my identity, so there’s no point in you doubting my words. Trust me, there’s no one better than me at this in the entire Kingdom.”
Seth quickly made up a lie to convince the girl, but his words about her father’s fate were the truth. He also knew that the boss wouldn’t dare to dispute his story.
The girl got to her feet mechanically and started to walk away without uttering a word. Seth sighed and waited a little longer for the girl to confirm the truth with the leader of the gambling den.
Once the system told him she had left, Seth immediately headed for the boss’ room himself.
“That server Ella. Send someone to escort her back to her father and make sure no crooked healer around takes advantage of her,” said Seth as he threw one gold coin on the desk. “Also, tried to help her if she needs it, be it for the funeral services or other small things.”
The boss was taken aback, however, he still nodded. Doing such a small favor for an ascended from the capital was no big deal for him, anyway.
“Also, you must have some girls that will sleep with the customers for money. I want one in room 3. Please, at least make her look decently.” Seth said, throwing two more coins on the office counter before walking out. “I want her for the rest of the night.”
Once Seth was gone, the boss threw the two coins toward the guards and said, “Send Selene to room three. Tell her it’s an important job.”