Reasonable Suspicion
The first treasure chest contained fifty gold coins and was seven spaces ahead of the starting point.
Since the dealer went first this round, the purple die was already in her hand.
"Let's begin."
I gave a small nod.
The next roll will be a two.
The die left Hyran's palm and rolled smoothly across the table.
[You rolled a 2.]
As expected—two dots.
Now, on her next turn, Hyran would only need to roll a five.
That would land her right on the chest with fifty gold coins.
But she probably wouldn't do that.
To catch a sucker, you've got to give them hope first.
Hyran would definitely let me have that first treasure chest's fifty gold coins.
She'd probably even toss me one of the Shields of Balance sitting in the second or fourth chests.
That way, she'd make me greedy—train me like a pet—and take control of the game.
However…
Tap, tap.
Sorry, but the sucker here is you.
Thinking that, I flicked the die from my palm onto the table.
The die spun and stopped.
"Uhmm?"
Hyran made a strange noise.
[You rolled a 6.]
Her reaction gave her away—she was genuinely startled.
I couldn't help but grin inwardly.
Professional, huh? You're not supposed to let your emotions show that easily.
Of course, I understood why she was surprised.
The number that should've come up was four.
That's the kind of "nice round number" people subconsciously associate with a safe, first-chest grab.
But instead, a six appeared—throwing her rhythm off completely.
"Uhmm? What's wrong? You feeling alright?"
I blinked innocently, and she coughed awkwardly.
"Ahem, it's nothing. The air's just a little dry."
I nearly burst out laughing.
What a funny woman.
Your throat's dry, so you went "uhmm"? Really?
"Right, right. Dry air makes your throat scratchy—you end up making weird noises too."
I smiled pleasantly as I handed the die back.
"Here, your turn."
"...Ahem."
Clearly embarrassed, she avoided my gaze and tossed the die.
[You rolled a 3.]
Then she gave a knowing nod.
"Alright, I'll move forward three spaces."
Her red piece advanced briskly and stopped two spaces short of the fifty-coin chest.
It was also the space right before my piece.
Good thing there's no capture rule here.
If there were a "send-back-to-start" mechanic like in Yutnori, this would've gotten complicated fast.
The die returned to my hand.
"Hm."
I squeezed it lightly, feeling the weight in my palm as I eyed the board.
The treasure chest with fifty coins was just one space ahead.
But I didn't plan to take it.
Thunk.
[You rolled a 4.]
The die landed—four, as expected.
That one was supposed to come up anyway.
So Hyran showed no reaction, thinking the earlier six had just been a fluke.
She was wrong.
That six had been completely intentional.
Because I could control my rolls however I wanted.
I could even make the same number appear over and over.
The six I'd rolled at the start had been deliberate.
This four—also part of the pattern I'd chosen to let play out.
This wasn't something you could do just by memorizing the die's pattern.
You had to be able to manipulate it.
To slip into that pattern and bend it to your will.
It was easier than it sounded.
Tap, tap.
"Ah, what a shame. I needed a one."
I clicked my tongue at my piece passing right over the first chest.
Hyran gave a polite little smile.
"You can get it next time."
"Oh? I feel like you'll take it before I do."
"Haha, maybe I will."
She was pretending to tease, but I knew what she was thinking:
I'll let him take the first chest, make him think he's winning.
That's how you reel in a fish.
But things weren't going the way she planned.
Because I'd already taken precautions.
Rattle.
[You rolled a 2.]
[You opened the first treasure chest.]
"...Huh?"
"See? Told you—you grabbed it in no time."
The die had shown two.
Hyran's wide eyes said it all: Why did that happen?
It wasn't supposed to.
She should've rolled a four, not a two.
So she'd opened a chest she hadn't even meant to touch.
Pretty awkward spot, huh? You can't just say you want to undo it now.
The secret was in my hand.
Knowing the die's pattern let me predict the next result—
and more importantly, skip over it.
Like this.
Tap, tap, tap.
The die in my fist rolled invisibly three times before I actually threw it.
And in the next moment—
[You rolled a 4.]
[You opened the second treasure chest.]
[You obtained the Shield of Balance!]
"...!"
A heavy silence crashed over the room.
Hyran's eyes trembled violently.
I placed a hand over my chest and exhaled in mock relief.
"Well, at least I got one thing out of this, huh?"
But behind me, chaos erupted.
It was Kals and Tyrbaen—the two who'd been calling me a gambling addict earlier.
"Whoa! Did you just win that?"
"Guess even a slug can find its stride sometimes!"
…You mean 'even a worm can roll straight', right?
Igral was just as excited.
"How did you do that? That didn't look like luck!"
"Argh, quit getting in my face."
My stomach churned again.
Anyway—like Igral said, this wasn't luck.
I was manipulating the die's pattern by subtly "throwing" it within my palm first.
Once the die actually hits the table, the count just continues from there.
For example—if the current pattern is '4-5-6' and I want a six,
I simply roll it twice secretly in my hand before tossing it.
Then the 4 and 5 would be skipped, letting me roll 6 immediately.
If I had to name it, I'd call it "the fake throw."
That was the strategy I knew for Dice of Death—
a genuine exploit that existed in the original Shin.Ber.Se game itself.
In the original, they even gave you a separate "practice throw" window.
You could toss the die in a mock interface before actually rolling it,
so you could advance through the pattern as you pleased.
New players always wondered, "Why is there even a practice option for dice?"
But veterans—those who'd played for thousands of hours—
used it ruthlessly whenever they faced dealer NPCs.
You'd just open a notepad, toss the dice a few times, jot down the pattern,
and once you had it memorized, you'd jack up the stakes and rob the NPC blind.
That was a well-known black-market trick.
Of course, you couldn't be too obvious.
If the dealer caught on that you were using loaded dice or pattern manipulation,
they'd simply reverse the turn or drop the entire game.
And if the loss was too big? They'd use force to take their money back.
Which meant a fight would be inevitable.
Right now, I was using the dice with that risk in mind.
Still…
By the final stretch, suspicion is unavoidable.
If I cleaned the dealer out completely, it would be unnatural no matter how well I hid it.
Either way, I had no intention of letting Hyran take anything but the first chest.
Everything else is mine.
At that moment, Hyran gave me a polite little smile.
"Looks like you've taken the second chest, sir. Congratulations."
"Haha, just my luck. Didn't expect to hit exactly four there."
I laughed casually and handed her the die.
This time, I didn't manipulate it.
The goal was to minimize the number of suspicious moves while draining her dry.
The best-case scenario?
Get past the fourth chest without her realizing I've flipped her own loaded die against her.
Once her piece reached the halfway mark, she couldn't afford to turn back.
That meant I could safely clean up everything until the finish line.
After that, whether she caught on or not didn't matter—
I'd already win by default.
Resting my chin on one hand, I smirked.
"Your throw, miss."
The turning point came sooner than expected.
Thanks to the planning I'd done beforehand, the third treasure chest fell into my hands naturally.
I pocketed fifty gold coins without drawing any suspicion from Hyran.
But the fourth chest… was different.
"..."
I frowned slightly, eyes fixed on the board.
Of course this is where the problem shows up.
Right now, Hyran and I were just one space apart.
To claim the fourth chest, Hyran needed to roll a five,
while I needed a four.
And I already knew what was coming next.
It was her turn to roll, and…
The next number will be five.
If that happened, she'd snatch the fourth chest—
the one containing the Shield of Balance.
"Sir? The die, please?"
Her voice was sweet, pleased at the thought of wringing 180 gold from me.
Even behind her mask, I could tell she was smiling.
What now? If I change the pattern here, she'll definitely suspect something.
I toyed with the die between my fingers, lost in thought—
and then—
"Ehhhhh-choo!"
…What the?
The quiet Igral suddenly moved beside me.
He straightened up—then sneezed so violently the entire table jumped.
But it wasn't just a sneeze.
Thud!
He slammed both fists down on the table as he did it.
"Whoa—!"
The table lurched. Hyran staggered,
and even I, who'd been leaning on the edge with my chin, got swept into it.
Rattle.
In the confusion, the die slipped from my grasp and rolled somewhere out of sight.
Falling flat on the ground, I stared in disbelief.
What kind of bad acting is that?
The sneeze was absurdly forced—
and the timing couldn't have been worse.
It's like he's trying to bail me out of a tight spot!
But it wasn't even that dangerous a situation!
Still, Igral leaned close and whispered urgently:
"There! I drew her attention—do something now!"
"I didn't ask you to—what are you doing?!"
…Forget it.
He'd bet his entire purse on this, too—who could blame him?
Though… something about that bothered me.
He'd been playing long before I arrived,
and he only had ninety-two gold coins to his name?
That doesn't add up.
But my thoughts stopped there—
because as we collided, my face pressed right against his side.
Sniff.
What the—?
A faint, floral scent tickled my nose.
It was coming from Igral.
And, disgustingly enough…
It actually smelled nice.
I froze, confused and disoriented.
What the hell is with this guy?
Or was something wrong with me?
"Sir? Are you alright?"
Hyran's voice cut through the haze.
I nearly blurted out, 'I think I've lost my mind!' but swallowed it down.
I steadied myself, found the die on the floor, and—
Tap.
Without hesitation, I flicked it once in my hand—
skipping the next result.
[You rolled a 1.]
"...!"
Hyran's eye twitched violently.
She'd just missed the fourth treasure chest.
Her irritation was almost palpable.