Chapter 134: How about a bet?
I stayed there waiting.
However...
Something caught my attention.
There was a small crowd gathered not far from there.
Several acolytes were surrounding a table.
Or rather...
Some kind of gaming table.
I approached.
There were dozens of Level 2 magic crystals stacked on the table.
In the center, on top of that small mountain of crystals, was a leprechaun.
He wore a green suit and held a small golden hourglass.
Above his head, a complex magical equation floated in the air.
The symbols slowly changed.
The table was divided into four sections.
Blue.
Red.
Black.
White.
Each side corresponded to one participant.
There were four acolytes sitting down.
All of them held small yellow magical pens, whose tips emitted a glow similar to that of the hourglass.
And they were writing desperately.
The four participants’ eyes were fixed on the equation.
— It can’t be...
The man in the red section ran a hand through his hair.
— Fuck! This damn matrix changed again!
The white participant immediately replied:
— It didn’t change! You’re just probably too stupid and interpreted the second variable incorrectly!
— I didn’t interpret it incorrectly!
— Then why doesn’t your third line close?
— Because the compensation variable is inverted!
Some people around them began to laugh.
— Stop laughing! You sons of bitches, I’m sure none of you can do any better.
The crowd laughed even harder.
In the black section, another acolyte wrote frantically.
— Shut the fuck up!
He slammed his hand on the table.
— If you keep talking, I’m going to lose my concentration!
— You’ve already lost it — someone replied from within the crowd.
— Shut up!
Meanwhile, the white participant was completely focused.
His eyes moved across the equation.
— L1, or L2...
He wrote.
Erased it.
Wrote again.
— No... this isn’t right.
In the blue section, however, there was a different acolyte.
He wore a monocle.
One of his arms seemed to have been replaced by a mechanical arm.
Small metallic components moved inside it as he wrote.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The mechanical arm adjusted itself with every movement.
He seemed extremely calm.
Unlike the other three, he showed no panic.
He’s using the mechanical arm as a calculation tool...
Interesting.
There was probably some kind of magical circuit inside the prosthetic.
The red participant noticed his behavior.
— Hey, Blue!
The man with the monocle didn’t even raise his eyes.
— What?
— Have you solved it already?
— Not yet.
— Then stop pretending you’re calm!
The blue acolyte ignored him and continued writing.
The leprechaun shook the hourglass.
The four began writing even faster.
Scratch!
Scratch!
Scratch!
The leprechaun began to laugh.
— Hehehehe!
The sand was almost gone.
The blue participant finally stopped.
He looked at the equation.
Then at his own answer.
The blue acolyte slowly wrote down the final result.
As soon as he finished...
FWOOM!
A golden aura gently exploded over the table.
The magic crystals vibrated.
The leprechaun spread his arms and said.
— Blue is the winner!
The other three participants reacted in completely different ways.
The red participant let out a deep sigh.
Then simply threw the pen onto the table.
Clac!
He stood up furiously.
Then began walking away.
The white participant remained seated.
He clenched his fist.
— It was the L1 matrix... it confused me.
Then he looked at Blue.
— You only won because you were lucky, bastard!
The blue acolyte finally raised his eyes.
— If it was luck...
He adjusted his monocle.
— Why didn’t you have the same luck?
The crowd erupted into laughter.
— Hahahaha!
The white participant’s face turned red.
— You...
He stood up.
But apparently decided that it wasn’t worth continuing the argument.
Meanwhile, the winner no longer cared about the others.
He calmly began collecting the magic crystals.
Seeing that game, I almost had an orgasm, because I realized that with the Biochip, I would win them all and become very rich.
The red chair was empty.
Without thinking too much, I pulled it out and sat down.
The moment I settled into the chair, the noise around me disappeared.
Everyone looked at me.
I didn’t need to ask why.
The auras were easy to perceive.
My Level 2 stood out completely from that group.
The acolyte sitting in the blue position adjusted his monocle.
His gaze traveled over my body from top to bottom.
— You sat in the wrong place.
I tilted my head.
— Wrong?
He pointed at the table.
— This table is for adults. Not for brats who haven’t even gotten out of diapers yet.
Some people around them began to laugh.
— Hahahaha!
— A Level 2!
— He really sat here?
— Maybe he got lost on the way to kindergarten!
I remained seated.
I didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, I put my hand inside my bag.
I took out a small box.
I opened it.
Twenty red petals were carefully resting inside.
I placed them on the table.
— Then let’s find out if I’m too young to play.
The atmosphere fell silent.
The petals were an extremely intense red.
Even without deliberately releasing their energy, a faint bloody aura emanated from them.
The laughter disappeared.
One of the participants swallowed hard.
— Blood Roses...
The man with the monocle adjusted it again.
His eyes became much more interested.
— Oh...
The leprechaun immediately approached.
He picked up the petals with extreme care, as if they were extremely fragile and valuable objects.
After checking all of them, he announced.
— Twenty Blood Rose petals!
— Approximate value: six hundred magic crystals!
— To start a game, all bets must have a value equal to or greater than six hundred magic crystals.
The blue acolyte did not hesitate.
He took out six Level 2 crystals.
Clink!
He placed them on the table.
— Six Level 2 crystals.
The new participant who had sat in the white position also placed six Level 2 crystals.
— I match.
Then the new player who had sat in the black position picked up a small bottle.
As soon as he placed it on the table...
An extremely dense aura of magical energy spread out.
My eyes narrowed.
Even the nearby spectators began to drool.
— A mana potion...
I looked at the man.
Pseudo-mage.
At the peak of Level 3.
He wore various magical artifacts.
Rings.
Bracelets.
A necklace.
Even small pieces of protection were attached to his clothes.
It wasn’t difficult to deduce his origin.
The son of some extremely wealthy family.
The guy seemed to be perfectly aware of the looks around him.
Instead of being bothered, he put his feet on the table and crossed his hands behind his head.
— I hate poor people.
— If you don’t even have ten thousand magic crystals to bet, you shouldn’t even sit here.
An awkward silence took over the place.
I looked around.
The other players seemed irritated.
Some cursed under their breath.
Ten thousand magic crystals wasn’t a small amount.
Quite the opposite.
For most ordinary acolytes, it was a fortune.
— If you can’t keep up...
— You can leave.
— Let the best ones play.
Shortly afterward, the players began collecting their items.
The crystals went back into their bags.
One after another, they moved away from the table.
The leprechaun remained watching.
The man in the black position.
He looked at me.
He apparently hadn’t expected a Level 2 acolyte to have anything capable of matching that bet.
He extended his hand.
— My name is Linex Vornid.
I looked at him.
— George Gill.
I simply gave a slight nod.
After the other players took their items, only two things remained on the table.
My Blood Rose.
And the mana potion.
Linex looked at my petals.
Then at me.
— So...
He rested his arms on the table.
— What do you have to supplement your bet?
I sighed internally.
I thought for a few seconds.
I could simply leave.
I didn’t need to participate in that little game.
But a mana potion was extremely useful to me.
My mana still needed to advance.
I wanted to increase my status points at any cost.
I reached into my bag.
I took out two objects.
I placed them on the table.
Thump.
Two small crystalline structures landed in front of the leprechaun.
His smile disappeared.
He approached.
His eyes widened.
The leprechaun carefully picked up the two cores.
Then announced.
— Two Golem Spirit Cores!
— Estimated value, eighteen thousand magic crystals!
The people around us were left speechless.
A Level 2 acolyte had just placed something worth eighteen thousand magic crystals on the table.
If they had known that beforehand...
I probably wouldn’t have even made it to that airport.
Without a doubt, I would have been ambushed on the way to the airport.
But it was too late now.
I had already revealed my cards.
Linex raised an eyebrow.
He took his feet off the table.
He sat properly.
His eyes remained fixed on the two spirit cores.
Then he raised his eyes to me.
I remained calm and asked.
— Well?
— What do you have to supplement the value of the potion?
Linex didn’t answer immediately.
He reached his hand inside the bag attached to his waist.
Then he took out several crystals.
Eight Level 3 crystals fell onto the table.
Then he placed six more Level 2 crystals.
The energetic glow immediately caught the attention of the people around us.
The leprechaun picked up the crystals.
He examined each one.
Then he smiled.
— Eight Level 3 crystals and six Level 2 crystals!
— Value matched!
The hourglass began to glow.
Linex looked at me.
I looked at him.
The leprechaun spread his arms.
— Bets confirmed!
A golden aura swept across the table.
— Players ready?
The small creature smiled.
— Then we can begin the game!
...
1610 Words