Hester was amused, as he finally got to play games and also make some side money.
He and his two companions had made more than twenty thousand R in a single night.
It was not a game of luck or skills. But rather a game of cheats. If you can't cheat in a game, there is no thrill left in it.
And for a game as simple as Card of Numbers, cheating was even easier!
Hester's plan was simple: since he owned the deck of cards, he had made unnoticeable patterns on their backs, which would tell him which card was of what digit.
'Let this guy win a few rounds, and after he starts betting big amounts. The real game will start.'
'Huh?'
Hester frowned as he suddenly noticed something.
The man before him was also in the dark, just like them. The darkness was, to tell the truth, in name only; it doesn't have any purpose. With a little effort anyone can see each other's faces.
But that was not what got his attention.
In front of him, for a small moment. Not more than a single second later, he saw a light.
A silver light, a soft glow coming from his opponent's iris, has caught his attention.
'Was I hallucinating?'
Shaking his head, he again focused on the game.
Placing their cards on the table, Hester was confident that Asher would win.
After all, they all had a tactical agreement to let him win.
And he did win as he played the nine card.
Everything was going as he planned.
*****
'Their cards were normal.'
I had stopped their time and checked their cards.
All of their cards were quite good in a sense.
Not as strong as mine, but they still held a wide variety with them.
"Ah, you won, congrats!"
The man in front of me cheered; his smile was so wide that one might imagine he had won.
"Oh, thanks." I smiled in his direction, acting overjoyed by this small win.
The amount I won was nothing more than 45 R.
Sadly, this much money was being spent every hour. So, to me, it was hardly anything profitable.
'It's only been three months, but the amount of money I have accumulated is vast on its own.'
With a subtle tap of my finger, I asked.
"Well, I am Asher; what's your name?"
The man smiled, his gaze fixed over my cards before speaking. "Hester, an awakened."
His face then turned to look at the other two present beside him. "And these two shy people are my companions; they don't talk much. So, don't pressure them."
"Who the fuck is Shy?!" The one on my left shouted, taking me by surprise.
"Just ignore Hester; you know how he is." The one to my right spoke, following their lead.
He turned his head to face me and said under his breath. "My name is Lath, and that guy is Arnus. We both are awakeners."
"Ah, okay, nice to meet you, both of you, I mean." I said with a wary act, making my voice shake.
Seeing my reaction, Hester smirked and said loudly,. "We are not going to beat you, don't worry. Oh, but if you cheat, I will kill you."
I blinked and turned my gaze toward Lath and Arnus simultaneously.
Nobody said anything regarding this, as if I was supposed to take this seriously.
"Okay."
I nodded my head slowly in their direction as Hester nodded in return with a satisfied grin in my direction.
'This is going to be exhausting.'
"Asher, you can decide the next bidding amount." Lath told.
"50 R" I placed the money on the table without hesitation.
"Good."
Placing my card next, I quietly observed what they all did.
Activating [Kairosflow] I watched the world slow down to a crawl once more.
Their eyes would wander to the back of the card in subtle but quick glances. If not seen carefully, they would go unnoticed.
'I won.'
I had played the nineteenth card. And all of their cards were below ten, a clever move from their side. Removing useless cards at the start of the game was always better, but I still had the upper hand in terms of numbers.
Just like that, four rounds passed.
"As an Awakened, what kind of work do you usually do, Mr. Hester?" I asked.
The latest bet right now had the value of 1000 R from each person, and I was sure they would keep increasing the money amount.
Hester looked up from his cards and rubbed his neck before saying,.
"We work as guards for merchants or sometimes even nobility. And you?"
"A small merchant, nothing special or thrilling like yours."
Hearing my reply, Hester smirked.
"Well, the amount you keep spending is nothing to scoff at… Calling you a small merchant will be a mistake."
Shaking my head at his words, I smiled and said with an embarrassed voice,.
"No, I am sure you all make a lot more than me… What work are you doing these days, by the way?"
Hester raised a brow and glanced at me suspiciously.
"Why do you ask that?"
"Ahaha, nothing. I might ask for it as well later, if I can afford it."
"Oh, I see we will be guarding a shipment in the upcoming days, nothing else. The price for the work depends on the amount of time we will be doing it and the danger involved in it."
I nodded, hearing his words, and placed the card zero.
This led to a draw between us and amassed the money on the table.
"I have two cards left… twenty-seven and seventeen, respectively."
But the only thing to worry about now was card number one, as no one has played it yet.
If I place the seventeen number card right now, I might lose the game, but the chances for my win will increase as all single-digit numbers will get eliminated.
'Like hell I am going to lose now; these guys have been in sync all this time. Even a toddler can tell they are playing together.'
So, I placed the twenty-seven card on the table with its back facing us all.
'This is the move they all must be expecting, that by using a twenty-seven-digit card, I will win big by luck for final round safety.'
All of their gazes fell on my card as they also started to place their cards.
"Once again a bid of 1000 R, what do you all say?" Hester asked.
"Sure," I nodded and placed my hand above the card.
"Of course."
"Why not?"
As Lath and Arnus' reply reached Hester's ears, they all froze.
Their time stopped!
"Let's see what you all have to offer."
Flipping their cards one by one, a smile appeared on my face.
Lath has played the number one card…
While Hester has played eighteen and Arnus eleven simultaneously.
'No one except me has played a twenty-digit card. Surely a coincidence…'
I sighed and switched my card immediately from twenty-seventh to seventeenth.
Flick!
As we all showed our cards while placing the money, Hester's smile vanished in thin air.
Bang!
In another blink of an eye, several things happened. And I could see all of them clearly. Arnus, banging the table loudly, stood up and grabbed my collar, pulling me in his direction. Lath, clearly in shock, also moved to catch Arnus.
"You little!" As Arnus placed one foot on the table, his fist rose up in anger.
"Arnus, stop!" Lath shouted.
I didn't try to stop any of them, as my eyes stopped at Hester.
'Are you not going to stop them?'
I wanted to ask this of him but clearly had no way of achieving this. After all, I need to maintain a meek persona.
"W-what are you doing?!" I asked.
"Don't act like you don't know; where is that twenty-seven number card?!" Arnus argued back and threw me to the ground.
Thud!
'Alright, I will remember this.'
"Asher, let's end the game. My colleagues have taken this too seriously."
Hester said in a small voice, I could feel his bloodlust, of course not as strong as Arnus, who wasn't even trying to hide his emotions.
"I, I see."
He looked at the table where the money was silently moved toward his direction.
"Do you want the money as well?"
'Actually, I do… but not just mine but all of it. Every last coin you have, I owe it from now on.'
Shaking my head in his direction, I slowly stood up.
Acting this way was not very comfortable for me. After all, I was prideful in my own right, but right now I was trying to learn something. To see how I could work differently from my usual ways, I would play the role of a meek merchant who secretly also had a strong bodyguard hiding in the shadows.
However, the moment I stop this act, I swear… you three will be beaten till you are half dead.
It was not because they had thrown me to the ground; well, it was one of the biggest reasons. But the main reason was cheating, yes, cheating those who played fairly.
"What are you waiting for, Asher… Or do you plan to play one more game?" Lath asked, his voice holding a hint of mockery as he held Arnus tightly in his grasp.
"N-No, I will leave." I said and left the booth, staggering in my steps.
As I came out and reached the outer area of the tavern, many customers had already left. The waiter cleaning the tables saw me and frowned before raising a brow and asking in confusion.
"Sir, what happened?"
I smiled and shook my head before stretching my arms slightly.
"Nothing, nothing at all." I paused, my gaze turned to look back. My lips curled up into a grin as I silently whispered.
"My hands are just itching tonight… I might catch a big fish very soon."
The waiter nodded hesitantly, his gaze turned to look outside.
'Isn't it too late for fishing?' He thought but quickly cleared his thoughts.
'Rich people have peculiar wishes, I guess?'
Not minding what the waiter was thinking, Asher cleared his jacket and spoke in a calm voice.
"Do you have any drink with you?"
"Ah, yes, sir, I will bring it right away."
As the waiter left, I took one of the empty chairs and sat down on it.
I was not in a hurry to leave; those three monkeys must be counting their money right now. It will take some time before they will come out, and I will probably take my leave by then…
Or I can finally try something I had learned from the spars with Castor.
It was to use my abilities correctly, not to brute force through them but rather to use them for something else entirely. For this reason my act was necessary, to create a trap.
Even though they were weaker than me, they still were good targets to practice and develop my skills further.
"Here is your drink, sir."
Clink—
As the waiter placed the drink on the table, I grabbed it immediately before nodding my head in his direction.
"Thanks."
'Let's see how it works out.'