The Golden Play

"What if we collected all the coins we have? With the coins Miss Araxi gave us, maybe if we add a hundred silver coins, it'd be enough to hire a high-ranking physician!"

And everyone agreed. They flocked to hand over the coins they had until they had collected the amount they needed. 

For the next two weeks, Elera could only continue to lie down and started to sit up on the seventeenth day. Actually, in just three days, Elera was able to sit upright and start learning to walk. But, as Mr. Greystone had said that only those who had dark magic in their bodies had the power to resist fate. 

Seeing Elera still able to breathe properly after that cruel blow alone had succeeded in making everyone amazed. Especially if everyone knew that she could recover in a short time. Wouldn't that only add to the speculation? So, even though she no longer felt pain, Elera still continued to pretend to be sick so that no one would investigate her for more than a month. Because to be honest, Elera was also confused about her own body.

One thing no one else knew was that every night after midnight Elera would sneak away, and head to the largest and most hidden gambling center in the market. Like tonight, when Elera reached the door in a very different style, almost everyone in the room cheered her arrival. 

The large, old teak-carved door opened with a thud that echoed throughout the room, signaling Elera's arrival. Instantly, the cacophony of conversation stopped. All eyes were fixed on the figure who had just entered, as if time had stopped for a moment.

Someone announced, "wah wah wah, the gambling queen has arrived!"

"Eliza!" exclaimed a well-built man, with a dragon tattooed on his right arm, his voice trembling with excitement. "You've finally come, darling. We've been waiting for you for almost a month."

Elera walked forward, full of arrogant elegance and quality. With a body that was slender but still had places where flesh should be and a silky black veil that partially covered her face, there was absolutely no telling that she was a girl who had just turned sixteen.

And most importantly, they will only know that she is Eliza, not Elera, the illegitimate child of Mr. Greystone! 

"The Golden Play" is a famous gambling establishment in the town of whispering pines. The building was grand and charming, made of white marble stone that glistened in the sunlight. The entrance is adorned with intricate carvings depicting a fire-breathing golden dragon, as if welcoming gamblers with the promise of riches.

Inside, the ceiling is filled with sparkling crystal chandeliers, creating an enchanting, magical atmosphere. The atmosphere inside is bustling and filled with excitement. Gamblers sit around the gaming tables, their hands moving quickly, their eyes glued to the cards they hold.

"The Golden Play" offers a wide variety of gambling games, from poker to blackjack to craps. Gamblers from all over the city of whispering pines come here to test their luck and win riches.

This place is also famous for its delicious drinks and food. Gamblers can enjoy sumptuous dishes and refreshing drinks while playing gambling games.

"The Golden Play" is an exciting place for gamblers seeking thrills and riches. However, it is also fraught with danger. Gamblers must be careful not to lose all their money.

Although the information available about "The Golden Play" is limited, we can imagine how magnificent and attractive this place is. The magical atmosphere, thrilling gambling games, and delicious drinks and food make "The Golden play" an attractive place for gamblers in the town of whispering pines. 

Importantly, not everyone can freely see the original appearance of the golden play. Because ordinary people would only know that the large building was a shopping center that diligently closed every eight o'clock at night. 

"I heard you've mastered a new spell," whispered a blonde woman sitting at the gambling table, her eyes twinkling expectantly. "Are you going to show it to us?"

A silky smile was etched on Elera's red lips, and she said nonchalantly, "everyone will know later."

"Oh, Eliza, your beauty is even more alluring," hissed a man in black robes, his eyes not leaving Elera's veil-wrapped figure. "We all miss you."

"Eliza!" A red-haired man with a sly smile, approached the gambling table where Elera was sitting. "I've prepared a special bet for you." Are you ready to test your luck?"

"Sorry, I'm a little late," Elera replied in a soft, melodious voice, shaking her head with a faint smile. "I had some unexpected business."

"That's okay, dear. "The important thing is that you came," the burly man replied, shaking his head with a laugh. "What about our bet? "Do you still want to bet with magic cards?"

"Of course," Elera smiled mysteriously, pulling out a chair and sitting at the gambling table. "I'm always ready to test my luck."

Whispers of admiration and excitement filled the room. "Look, she really came!" 

"Eliza, even though she's always covered by a veil, she looks even more beautiful!" 

 "I heard she has mastered a new spell!" 

"What if she plays with us?"

"This game should be about forming a team. That way I can become one with Eliza."

Elera, calmly, gazed around the room, absorbing the atmosphere of admiration emanating from the visitors. She was the center of attention, the magnet that drew all eyes and attention. Her presence brought this gambling establishment to life, making it pulsate with energy and excitement.

In the world of arcanum, although witchcraft has become a taboo among the common people, the higher-ups, the honorable people and some sects, still idolized witchcraft. The most important thing was, the magic they used was completely unrelated to the dark magic that had been wiped out! And for people in the gambling circle, witchcraft seemed to be a must-have, even if it wasn't a powerful real-world fighting magic like that of Lord Greystone or other bigwigs. 

They learned magic just to be able to move cards or dice. Even then, with strict supervision, in the sense that someone under the age of eighteen was not allowed to master any magic at all.

"Well, since everyone has gathered, how about starting now?" said the croupier with a sly smile on his lips. He began to prepare the dice and other necessities. 

Someone standing not far from where Elera was sitting asked, "Are we going to play dice again? We've just played that game. Try replacing it with cards!"

The bookie raised his thick bearded face, looking at the person who had just spoken, "We have indeed played it, but Eliza has not."

A blonde woman with a cigar on her lips confirmed, "Eliza likes playing dice the most, let's give her a chance."

"Right, after all, Eliza certainly hasn't prepared herself to play cards or anything else, right?"

Elera raised her head, smiling at a fat man who had just asked in a dismissive tone, "I haven't prepared for games other than dice, but maybe I can try playing cards."

The person who had suggested playing cards was delighted. "Very good, Eliza!"

However, the bookie seemed to hesitate, "Are you sure you want to play cards?"

Elera nodded definitely, and her smile rose as the other players cheered about the card deal. 

The magic card game Elera was playing was no ordinary card game. These cards were not just pieces of paper with pictures, but magical objects that held magic power. Each card has its own spell, and players must use them strategically to defeat their opponents.

The game Elera is playing tonight is "Battle of Magic". In this game, each player has a deck of cards containing various magic spells. The goal is to deplete the opponent's health points by using the spells on the cards.

Each card has different attack and defense values. There are cards that have high attack, but low defense, and vice versa. There are also cards that have special effects, such as increasing attack, reducing defense, or even summoning magical creatures to help in battle.

Elera is known to have a unique playing strategy. She relies not only on attack power, but also on strategy and tactics. That said, this is the first time Elera has played cards without prior preparation. She often uses cards with special effects to trick the opponent, and then launches a deadly counterattack.

Tonight, Elera plays a "Fire Attack" card that emits a large flame to reduce the opponent's health points. Then, she plays the "Ice Shield" card to protect herself from counterattacks. She also plays a "Lightning Strike" card that paralyzes the opponent for a moment, and then launches a final attack with a "Dragon Strike" card that summons a fire dragon to destroy the opponent.

With her clever strategy and proper use of spells, Elera managed to defeat all her opponents. The visitors who witnessed Elera's performance were amazed by her skill. They realized that Elera was not only a beautiful girl, but also a strategist in the game. 

"Eliza, you've always been the best!"

"Unexpectedly, even without preparation, she could win!"

"I wonder what game Eliza can't master?"

Elera smiled brightly. Amongst her boring life in Mr. Greystone's mansion, at least she had her entire bloodless family in this gambling house, and she felt happy with her victory. Overjoyed, Elera said, "since I don't need many coins today," she took a few of the coins she had won, then pushed all the remaining coins forward. "You can take these for free!" Which made all the players in the room exclaim in delight.

Since the gambling house was indeed crowded with people, and since they were all too lazy to distribute Elera's pile of coins one by one, the bookie proposed to give all the coins to the bartender and make the night more exciting by drinking together. 

"Recently, I heard that someone was found dead with black star shackles around his neck. Rumor has it, that person must have met the lord of the death cave."

Suddenly, discussing the cave of death, the goosebumps of all the listeners began to shudder. Who didn't know that the lord of the cave of death, who was also the supreme ruler of the village of criminals, Frederick Vonhohenzollern, was a mysterious person with the most criminal records in history? 

Over the past ten years, it's hard to count how many evil deeds he and his army have committed. Although his name is well known throughout the arcanum world, who has ever actually seen his face? In fact, so mysterious is the ruler of this cave of death, that there are rumors that anyone who sees his face will surely die! 

This is certain, because so far no one has ever known what Frederick Vonhohenzollern looked like.

Someone else chimed in, "Where was the body found?"

"It was said to be about fifty meters from the cave of death."

A blonde woman came over, serving ten bottles of drinks at Elera's table. Overhearing the people's conversation, the woman asked, "being in the vicinity of the cave of death, that person probably intended to commit suicide."

The storyteller refused, "but people say that fifty meters away from the cave of death, a trail of droplets of that man's blood was found. So, it's possible that he was looking for firewood in his field and was dragged to that place."

Elera felt interested in this discussion: "So far, no one has ever seen the true face of the lord of the cave of death. Then, how can they say that every corpse that died mysteriously was killed by him?"

"So you think they're just making accusations?"

Elera shrugged her shoulders, "After all, no one has ever seen the killer for sure."

"Eliza, I think you should watch your mouth more when you're out. Some people might take offense at being called a liar."

Someone handed Elera a glass of drink. Elera accepted it kindly: "I'm just asking, not accusing them of being liars."

The first storyteller explained, "The silk thread weapon can only be used by the village army of criminals and the cave of death. Then, the only person who can use the black star shackle weapon is their leader. Do you think this evidence is not enough?"

The blonde woman replied, "but I think Eliza has a point...."

All this time, people only knew Frederick Vonhohenzollern from the mouths of others. Perhaps the news about their weapons had some truth to it, but, in Elera's opinion, there could be someone who manipulated his crimes to be passed on to the cave of death. 

Just like her. It was not uncommon for her to hear people say that Lord Greystone's bastard child was a thick-faced, useless girl. Wasn't Elera, as Lord Greystone's bastard child, always bad? But among all the people who had spoken ill of her, who had ever actually seen her face?

All this time, apart from the forest and the golden play, Elera had never once stepped out of the Greystone family's large residence! But lo and behold, not even a few people openly praised her when she came out under the identity of Eliza. 

Just as Elera was about to open her mouth again to ask further questions, a guard shouted, "the people from the palace are coming!" And managed to make the atmosphere that was originally full of laughter become boisterous instantly. All the people gathered inside the golden game began to press the buttons that moved the walls, floors, tables, chairs, and all the gambling equipment and, in an instant, the golden play had turned into a peaceful shopping mall. 

Actually, the owner of the golden play has a magic bag that functions to hide anything in the blink of an eye. In fact, even if it's a mountain, it can still be hidden. It's just that, to do that, of course, you need to use a few spells to then give the illusion of a new, better place. Meanwhile, since the dark witches were exterminated, the government has continued to strive so that the residents no longer rely on witchcraft and return to swordsmanship as taught by the ancestors. 

So, the spell to use the magic pouch will automatically be tracked by the government. 

When the messengers from the palace arrived, the doorman announced loudly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, enter the room!"