《The Gambler》


 Prologue

    In a dungeon cellar, there was a make shift prison with multiple cells. The dungeon cellar was completely dark, with only a single lantern near the stairway going up, for nearly 20 cells. The smell in the cellar was foul, with a mixture of rotting flesh and excrements of the prisoners.


    In each cell, there were people hung up from their ceiling by their arms, their feet barely touching the ground. The prisoners shared two common aspects. Firstly, all of them looked malnutrition, almost as if they haven¡¯t been fed for days. Secondly almost all of their eyes were lifeless. The dungeon cellar extremely quiet.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    In the cell, furthest away from the stairway, was a young man. He like the other prisoners suffered from severe malnutrition, with his skin sagging and bones sticking out through the skin. His cheeks were sunken, and eyes were dull. His white hair was disheveled. His arms seemed so thin that they might slip through the handcuffs holding him up. He wore only a dirty torn pair of trousers.


    This young man¡¯s name is Adam, but to tell his story and how he ended up here we must rewind the clock to roughly two years.

 Rains Village

    Rains Village, Year 454


    Rains village is a quiet village with a population of few hundred people. Rains village rarely had new settlers and most of the villagers were originally born and bought up in the village. While some of them would occasionally leave for the large cities and metropolitans, majority would choose to remain, often picking up professions like farming, herding, or sewing. Even from those who left for metropolitans, a large chunk would retain, often claiming that they preferred the quiet city life as compared to bustling city life.


    Rains village was quite self-sufficient and rarely imported or exported anything to and from the cities, which also contributed to lower traffic in the village, and also the main reason why the villagers rarely had any contact with city folk.


    A young man of roughly 19-20 years was casually lying under the shade of a large tree while looking at sky chewing on a straw.


    The man heard gentle footsteps approaching him, but he didn¡¯t move and continued gazing at the sky.


    ¡°Adam how long do plan to laze about?¡± A slightly annoyed voice sounded out behind him.


    The speaker was a woman, roughly the same age as the youth.


    ¡°What is it Ellen?¡± He asked lazily, without opening his eyes or getting up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®What is it Ellen?¡¯ me.¡± Pouted the girl and continued speaking. ¡°You are leaving for the city tomorrow and haven¡¯t packed a single thing.¡±


    ¡°¡­Hmmm¡­I¡¯ll do it in a while.¡± Spoke Adam, as he pretended to sleepy. ¡°I¡¯ll miss this¡­wind.¡±


    ¡°Adam, I swear to god, if you are waiting for me to pack everything you are sorely mistaken. I won¡¯t touch anything, and you¡¯ll end up going with no cloths.¡± Reiterated Ellen, in hopes of convincing Adam.


    ¡°Man, you are such a nag.¡± Grumbled Adam under his breath. Of course, he didn¡¯t have the guts to say it to her face. ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ll do it now.¡± He knew better than to continue arguing against his childhood friend once she made up her mind to make him do something.


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    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s what I thought.¡± She snorted with pride, as she pulled him up.


    ¡°Oii Ellen.¡± Adam spoke walking behind her, heading back to the village.


    ¡°What is it?¡± She asked, slowing her pace.


    ¡°Will you miss me?¡± He asked, as tinge of red hue spread across his face.


    Ellen came to complete standstill and started feeling restless. It was honestly a cute sight, or so Adam thought. He did enjoy putting her in such awkward positions.


    ¡°Of course, you fool.¡± She replied shyly, whiling blushing, without turning back. She obviously didn¡¯t want to show her blushing face to her crush.


    Adam quickly approached her and tightly hugged her from the back.


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± She moaned softly. ¡°Adam¡­..¡± she spoke while blushing heavily.


    ¡°Once I¡¯m settled in, I¡¯ll have you come to city as well.¡± He spoke as he buried his face into her luscious hazelnut colored hair. ¡°It¡¯s been our dream since we were children. Will you come if I ask you?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I will Adam.¡± She spoke turning around to face him.


    Looking into his deep blue eyes she spoke. ¡°I will haunt you for the reminder of your life.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that.¡± Adam burst out laughing.


    ¡°Okay no more time to waste, quickly go pack your things.¡± She spoke.


    ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯m going.¡± Adam sighed.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    The next day.


    Near the entrance of Rains Village, was a horse carriage meant for transporting goods.


    Adam was standing near the entrance in a white shirt, black trousers and dark brown lace up boots. His blonde medium length hair was neatly combed towards the right. In his right hand he held a suit case with his belongings.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be off then.¡± He spoke to Ellen who was the only one to see him off. Adam¡¯s mother died at childbirth, and he was raised by his father. Unfortunately, a flu claimed his life when Adam was 18 years old. So technically speaking, he was an orphan. Hence only his childhood friend and sweetheart came to see him off.


    ¡°*sob*Adam..*sob* I¡¯m going to miss you¡± Spoke Ellen, as she wiped her tears.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry silly girl, I¡¯ll see you very soon.¡± Adam spoke consoling his emotional friend.


    ¡°Also, you are to write to me every other day, and I want you to stay away from all city girls. Male friends are okay, but no females.¡± While she knew Adam was meek and wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to make friend with either sex, she still wanted to emphasize that female friends are ¡®no go¡¯.


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± He spoke laughing dryly.


    ¡°I mean it.¡± She pouted. ¡°No female friends!¡±


    ¡°Yes Ellen. I will make sure I don¡¯t have any female friends.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. This is something for you to remember me by.¡± She spoke as she handed him a bag.


    ¡°Woah, you got me a present.¡± Adam¡¯s eyes sparkled as he received her gift.


    Inside the bag was a thick black trench coat. ¡°Well winter had started, and I know that those winter coats are expensive in the city. So, I made this for you. You should be grateful.¡±


    Adam immediately took the black coat and wore it. ¡°Thank you, Ellen. I¡¯ll definitely get you something when you come to the city.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you best earn a ton of money then.¡±


    After striking a few poses Adam asked Ellen. ¡°How do I look?¡±


    ¡°The coat looks good. I really am talented.¡± She spoke smiling.


    ¡°Ahh¡­.Will it kill you to compliment me every now and then?¡± Adam sighed dejectedly.


    ¡°Also, I something else I want to give you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± He asked confused.


    Ellen pulled Adam towards her and leaned in to kiss him. It all happened in a flash. ¡°Okay, I have to leave now.¡±


    ¡°huh?!¡± Adam was still dazed, not understanding the situation.


    ¡°No female friends.¡± Ellen shouted as she ran back to the village.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Inside the carriage.


    ¡°So, Westport City will be my new home?¡± Adam spoke to himself inside the carriage, while still touching his lips where Ellen kissed him.


    ¡°I¡¯m excited.¡±

 The Travel

    Year 454


    Wales Kingdom was a kingdom located on the central continent¡¯s western region. Hence it was considered a coastal kingdom. They possessed one of the strong naval fleets in the world and their army was rapidly expanding the kingdom towards the east, which was easy due to it being occupied by primitive humans who couldn¡¯t contend against weapons of steel such as swords and guns. However, 50 years ago, when King Renard Wales 56<sup>th</sup>to his name ascended to the throne he suggested a relatively peaceful approach, where the primitives would hold on to their lands, but the said land would be under the jurisdiction of nobles, and by extension the royal family. They would also be required to pay yearly tax, although the amount was almost negligible, as the noble and royals knew that a backward and underdeveloped region would be unable to pay the normal tax rate even if it took them a decade. This was mainly done so because although they were assured of victory it was would take a lot of resources and manpower to continue this war. On top of that develpoing the lands would take even longer and would waste larger chunks of resources, so it was better to let the locals who were familiar with the land develop it themselves, while offering a small portion as tax.


    King Renard Wales also approved an urbanization system bought to him by the royal economist where, one by one these village would be developed into cities, and the primitives educated. Although he met with backlash from the nobles and they army, he still pushed through with the plan. Rains village was one of the primitives¡¯ land that had been urbanized at least to some extent. Due to the difficult terrain, major urbanization was halted and over time had been forgotten about. The education system however remained and continued to develop the village over the course of the past five decades.


    Westport city was the 2<sup>nd</sup>most popular city in the Wales Kingdom. As its name suggests, Westport city was a naval region located near the western boarder of the kingdom. It was a popular city for mainly two reasons. Number one, was that it was the hub for immigrants who wished to enter Wales Kingdom from the sea routes. Number two was that due to it being a coastal region, there were a lot of cargo ships that would dock at Westport City while on long journeys, so making it resting spot for merchants, mercenaries and pirates. Also, the vast amounts of imports and exports conducted through the sea routes made Westport a land of opportunity and relatively easy to find work.


    Unlike the capital city of Saint Fare, Westport had very few nobles. Hence most of the wealthy who ruled the city were merchants, and true to their name, they introduced multiple economic policies that greatly boosted the economy.


    Adam had relayed his interest of travelling to the village chief, who pulled some strings to get him a job at the dock which was easy as he dock of Westport was always looking to hire anytime of the year.


    The horse carriage rode along a beaten path, but gradually the road was getting smoother and the ride became easier. This was because the roads near the city was maintained and taken care of on regular basis as compared to the less travelled roads.


    Adam woke up from his nap and looked out the window. ¡°I can see smoke in the air, and a tall wall, I must be getting close.¡± He was excited to begin this new chapter of his life.


    From his youth he had heard about cities and the many wonders they held. Large metal vessels that floated on water. A large metal snake that transports people and moves on its own called trains. He couldn¡¯t wait to go site seeing once he reached.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be working at something called a casino¡­¡­¡± Adam scratched his head in confusion. He got a very short explanation as to what his work was from the village chief. Only thing he knew was that it was at some placed called a casino. It was only natural that someone bought up in a primitives¡¯ land would be unaware of the recent developments in happening in the kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms. One of these new developments was naturally casinos and gambiling.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Adam gently opened the moving carriage¡¯s door and jumped to the driver¡¯s seat next to the coachman.


    The coachman asked in annoyance, striking the horse slightly harder. ¡°What are you doing boy?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry for the trouble. I was wondering if I could bother you with a few questions about the city? I mean you¡¯ve been coming and going from the city for decades. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll find anyone more knowledgeable about the city and it¡¯s inner working than you.¡± Adam asked knowing that he was burdening the coachman. Since the passing of his father or maybe even before that, Adam had only ever been comfortable around Ellen. She was the one person in the world he would open up to. He hated troubling others or doing anything that would make others hate or dislike him. In certain ways he was a textbook people pleaser, rarely ever voicing his own opinions or thoughts for fear of offending others. One of the reasons he decided to travel to the city, was so that he would be able to reinvent himself and stop being a pushover.


    Although the coachman was annoyed, he was not above been swooned by a praise or two. Immediately acting like a wise old man, he spoke. ¡°You got that right, boy. There are few who know as many secrets as I do about Westport. Ask away.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. I was wondering if you could tell me what a casino is?¡± He asked looking at the note he got from the village head. The note only held two lines. The village chief couldn¡¯t be blamed for this, as he barely knew how to read or write. Just the fact that he was able to write two line full of information was a miracle itself.


    ¡°Casino, waiter, Jack¡¯s Gold.¡±


    ¡°Ask for Trevor Smith.¡±


    ¡°A casino?¡± The coachman smirked before continuing. ¡°A casino is a place of wonders. It¡¯s a place where gods are made, and gods are killed. A peasant could turn into a wealthy tycoon, and wealthy tycoon would be reduced to a beggar.¡±


    ¡°Wealth? Ah do you mean bronze notes?¡± Asked Adam. Back in village most things were divided equally amongst people, a model of social equality. Hence the concept of wealth was almost nonexistent. At the very best the villagers would resort to a barter system. Hence bronze notes, the official currency of the continent, played no role as no one wanted or used them. This in turn lead to the villagers not understanding the concept of wealth or value of money. As backward as they may be when it comes to wealth, the village head did provide Adam with 20 bronze notes to help him get settled in the city.


    ¡°Hahahahaha¡± The coachman suddenly burst out laughing. ¡°You really are a country bumpkin. Boy the entry fee for a small casino is a silver note, that is comparable to 10 bronze notes. Even to make money you need money.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, I¡¯ve heard of these silver notes. They belong to the rich people of Westport, right?¡± Adam replied with the minimal knowledge he had from talking to the rare visitors that would stop by the village.


    ¡°I mean they aren¡¯t only owned by the rich, but I guess you could say that the rich have a lot of silver notes.¡± Replied the coachman not knowing how to exactly answer the question. ¡°Well anyway boy, are you interested in trying your luck?¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, I¡¯m not sure. Although I do want to visit a casino.¡± Adam¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement. ¡°Also have you heard of Jack¡¯s Gold?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t a single gambler that hasn¡¯t heard of Jack¡¯s Gold. It¡¯s the largest casino in Westport, owned and operated by Lord Jack.¡±


    ¡°So, is this Lord Jack a wealthy person?¡± Asked Adam


    ¡°He is the wealthiest person in Westport. Although I don¡¯t know too much about him. Everyone claims that he is blessed by lady luck and that he had never lost a gamble.¡± The coachman spoke with longing in his eyes.


    Adam listened in awe, and asked a few more questions about cities, and the coachman happily replied.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Few hours later.


    ¡°Boy we¡¯ve reached the city gates.¡± Called out the coachman, as Adam had gone back into the carriage. The carriage was stopped on a large metal bridge that connected the land to the city. There were hundreds of wagons and carriages queued up to enter the city. The entrance for people on foot was located elsewhere, so the only people on the bridge were either on horses or in carriages.


    Hearing this Adam peeked his head out from the window, and he could see a wall that was extremely tall. The wall was at least 50 meters tall made from grey stone bricks, and in front of him was an equally tall metal gate was open. There were soldiers in black military uniforms holding bayonets, that he learned about in the village schools, stationed in front of the gate.


    Adam¡¯s heart was pounding from excitement. ¡®All the stories are real. Structures that seem to hold up the sky, guns that can kill people from far. I can wait to see trains and metal ships.¡¯ Adam thought to himself staring at the bayonet in one of the soldier¡¯s arms.

 Westport City

    Year 454


    Entering through the city gates, Adam¡¯s eyes never left the window.


    ¡®Awe¡¯ was the only way to describe the thoughts racing through Adam¡¯s head.


    In front of his eyes, were multiple clusters of buildings, each of them at least five to six stories high. The buildings were of various colors, compared to the monotonous color scheme of the village houses. The spaces between these multiple clusters of tightly packed buildings gave birth to multiple streets and alleyways.


    Under almost every building was shop. Yes, there was literally a shop for every single thing, from guns and ammo, to laundry, to daycare. Other than the shops, there were various vendors who pushed carts peddling goods from them.


    There were countless street lamps that decorated the sides of the brick roads, main streets and even some alleyways. All of the lamps shared an intricate and beautiful design.


    On the roads and streets were many similar looking carriages called taxis. There were many people riding horses.


    Even the security was top notch. Adam would see police with different yet similar uniform compared to the military, walking in pairs. Compared to the military posted at the gate entrance, the police didn¡¯t seem to carry bayonets, rather they carried something called revolvers in their holsters on the sides of their belts. It was more compact and discrete.


    ¡®So, there are lamps, that are powered by electricity. Back in the village we only lanterns.¡¯ Sighed Adam to himself, taking in all of the city. ''And that thing of their belts is a pistol..''


    Soon the carriage stopped in front of a shop called John¡¯s General Store. ¡°Oi boy, this is where I drop you off.¡±


    ¡°What? But I need to go to Jack¡¯s Gold casino.¡± Replied Adam. The last thing he wanted was to get lost in this spectacular yet completely unfamiliar place. "Welcome to the eastside district."


    ¡°Jack¡¯s Gold is located on the eastside port of the distirct.¡± Spoke the coachman stroking his beard. ¡°Just ask anyone for the location to the port and they¡¯ll show you the way.¡±


    ¡°The port?¡±


    ¡°On second thought, you might actauly get lost. So, take one of the local carriages and tell them eastside port, Jack¡¯s Gold.¡± Said the coachmen, somewhat concerned for the young man. ¡°It¡¯s rather cheap but be careful, these local carriages try to trick newcomers and tourists. From my estimation it should be about 1 or 2 Bronze notes at best. Be careful not to let them fool you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for everything.¡± Adam, spoke giving the coachman a quick bow. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    "He''s such a good boy. Westport is going to chew him up and spit him out." Sighed the coachman. He had seen far too many youths dreams crushed by the iornclad reality of Westport.


    Adam quickly made his way from the general store street to the main street where it would be easier to find a carriage.


    After turning right onto the main street, he could see a line of carriages parked in one spot.


    ¡°Hello, I was wondering if you could take me to eastside port, Jack¡¯s Gold.¡± Adam said, remembering the directions given to him by coachman.


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    ¡°I¡¯m on break right now, ask ahead.¡± The coachman said pointing to the carriage ahed of his own.


    Adam asked the next coachman, and he agreed. Remembering the first coachman¡¯s advice, Adam set a price of 2 Bronze Notes before he entered the carriage.


    ¡®So, this a metropolitan city. Ellen would love it. Ah yeah, she told me to check out the art museums and that she wanted to go when she comes to visit. She also wanted one of those machines that takes pictures. I hope it¡¯s not too expensive.¡¯ Adam finally managed to curb his excitement and decided to plan out his schedule. ¡®I really need a bath and some sleep. I wonder where I¡¯ll be staying?¡¯


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± The coachman shouted out. The ride was nearly 20 minutes.


    ¡®It took a while. If I¡¯m not mistaken John¡¯s General Store should¡¯ve also been in eastside district. Just how large is the entire Westport city?¡¯ Adam awoke from his stupor, hearing the coachman and quickly grabbed his suitcase and exited the carriage.


    He pulled out a wallet from the inside pocket of his black coat and gave the coachman two bronze notes.


    In front of Adam was 10 story high palace, and as wide as an entire building cluster. The palace was a bright gold color, or at least it looked like it was. Before he could even get near the palace there was a large gate and gardens leading to the golden palace.


    It was almost midnight, and even in a metropolitan like Westport most shops would close by 10 pm. Yet outside of gates of the golden palace, was packed with people and carriages. All of these people seemed to be from a different social class all together. The men were dressed in suits, with ties and hats. While the woman wore glamorous dress of different colors. Their necks, ears and wrists were adorned with jewels and gold. Some men wore round lens on one of their eyes, with a golden chain extending behind their ears.


    ¡®What¡­.is going?¡¯ Adam was extremely confused. ¡®Their clothing is completely different compared to mine. Even the women, wear nothing like the cloths in the village. Are they all here for the casino?¡¯


    Quickly Adam started walking towards the golden palace, ¡®Jack¡¯s Gold¡¯.


    ¡®I want to see just what sort of place a casino is. Something that makes all these people come here. A place were gods are born and gods are killed.¡¯ Adam¡¯s heart raced with each step he took.


    He was in front of the golden place and its extravagant entrance. By the entrance were two large men in a black suit-like attire. Their gazes feel on Adam. They looked at him up and down, as though valuing his worth. Under their powerful gazes and intimidating presences Adam immediately felt extremely nervous.


    One of the guards spoke up. ¡°10 Silver Notes for entry. Cough it up or leave.¡±


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m not here for the casino. I¡¯m here for a job. I was wondering if I could meet Mr. Trevor Smith.¡± Adam quickly shaking off his nervousness.


    ¡°Trevor Smith...? We don¡¯t have such a person here. Stop making up stories and get the hell out of here you little shit before I toss you out myself.¡± The guard spoke walking towards Adam. Adam himself was almost 180 cm tall, considered to be one of the tallest in the village. However, in front of the guard, his head didn¡¯t even reach the guard¡¯s chest.


    The other guard quickly spoke up. ¡°Wait Dante.¡± He then turned to look at Adam and continued. ¡°Are you talking about Manager Smith?¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m not sure either. Today is my first day in the city. I¡¯m here for the job of a waiter I think.¡± Adam spoke reciting the note given to him by the village elder.


    ¡°Alright. Follow me. Dante take over for minute, I¡¯ll drop him off at Mr. Smith¡¯s office.¡± Spoke the second guard.


    Dante spoke, stilling glaring at the young man. ¡°Alright.¡±


    The guard led the Adam inside the Casino.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Present Time, Year 456


    In a dark dungeon reeking of shit and rotten flesh, Adam was hung from the ceiling by his wrists. Adam¡¯s body hung from the ceiling looking life. His eyes were closedl. If not for him muttering under his breathe, people would¡¯ve mistaken him for a dead body.


    ¡®¡­. The stories of long are gone¡­¡¯ Adam muttered under his breathe. ¡®¡­Ace of Spade, Arrow of Destiny¡­¡­...Ace of Diamond, Shield of Wealth¡­¡­...Ace of Hearts, Health of Kindness¡­¡­Ace of Clover, Symbol of Mystery¡­¡­.¡¯ He muttered these lines over and over, almost as if he was in a trance.


    From the cell across him, another man was hung up from the ceiling by his wrists, or at least his wrist.


    The other man was grotesque. His skin had countless blisters of them. His body was covered in pimples and pocks. On his back was a large red pulsing lump, sometimes oozing out slime like blood. He had no hair, and his teeth was crooked. He was missing and arm, that had been cleanly severed from his left shoulder. His eyes however, were unlike Adam¡¯s. They open and bright red in color, full of wrath and rage.


    ¡°¡­. WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP¡± Shouted the grotesque man, glaring at Adam through the rusted iron bars of his cell. Adam had been murmuring the same thing for nearly 7-8 hours, and the grotesque man was at the end of his patience.


    Adam¡¯s closed eyes jolted opened, a gentle blue glow lingered around his irises. ¡°Ace of Spade, Arrow of Destiny.¡± He opened his mouth and spoke. His voice was calm and cold.


    As his voice resounded, a black light appeared above his head. The dungeon was so dark that even if one was told where to look, they would still miss the black light. The black light quickly materialized into an illusory image of playing card.


    The illusory ace of spades quietly floated above Adam¡¯s head.


    ¡°You¡­. How are you using your powers¡­?¡± The grotesque man was shocked. He had been locked in here for an extremely long amount of time. He tried everything he knew to get himself out of his rotten prison dungeon. The cuffs that restrained everyone in this dungeon prevented anyone from activating their abilities.


    The illusory ace of spades flew around the dungeon cell, and then quickly shot towards one of the chains holding Adam¡¯s wrist.


    *Clink *


    The sound of metal clashing vibrated through the dungeon. The chain holding up Adam¡¯s right hand snapped off.


    The illusory card flew around and shot towards the other chain. Once again, it smoothly cut through chain, completely freeing Adam.


    Adam was completely bare chested and barely had any flesh on his body. His extremely loose torn trousers were held up by a worn-out belt. He didn¡¯t have anything on feet.


    His originally blonde, but now white hair was completely disheveled. His eyes were cold and indifferent.


    He gently caressed his wrists as his gaze fell on the grotesque man.

 Jacks Gold

    Year 454


    Entering through the extravagant entrance, the flashing lights inside the casino almost blinded Adam. There were crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling. The lights were uniformly golden. The floor was white marble and glistened under the golden illumination.


    There were hundreds of machines, with levers on the sides. Various people would go up to the machines and pull the lever, which would then make the machine generate 9 random images. If you get the same three images either, horizontally, vertically or diagonally you would win.


    Adam¡¯s eyes never left the machine with the lever as he studied it carefully.


    ¡°That there is called a slot machine. It costs 2 chips to play and is one of the cheapest games to play here in Jack¡¯s Gold, though the odds are quite hard to beat.¡± The guard spoke, realizing Adam was staring at the slot machine. ¡®A country bumpkin indeed.¡¯ The guard sighed. He too had been from the primitive lands colonized by Wales, so he understood the excitement and confusion that came with coming to a casino and by extension the city.


    ¡°I see. Thank you for telling me, Mr.¡­?¡± Adam wanted to thank the man, but realized he had forgotten to ask for his name. ¡®Did he tell me his name, or did I not ask?¡¯


    Seeing Adam''s awkwardness, the guard let out a small chuckle before continuing. ¡°My name is Aaron.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Aaron.¡±


    ¡°No worries. Those green tables there are were some customers play card games, such as poker, black and many others.¡± Said Aaron, giving Adam a basic rundown of all the various games available at Jack¡¯s Gold.


    ¡®I¡¯ve heard of these playing cards. I didn¡¯t know they were used so widely in casinos though.¡¯ Adam thought back to the deck of cards he had back in the village. It was gifted to him by his father, who had once visited the city. Although he didn¡¯t know how to use them, he carried the deck as a memento from father.


    ¡°Mr. Aaron, I¡¯ve heard a couple people claim this a place to get rich. Is it true?¡±


    ¡°You can drop the Mr., just Aaron is fine. Well people do claim that this is a place to get rich, but more often than not it¡¯s not. Quite on the contrary I would go so far as to claim, that this is a place where people get poor.¡± Smirked Aaron at the naivety of Adam. ¡°Think about it. If everyone who came here got rich, why would we continue to operate. This is not a charity.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. So, do we cheat?¡± According to the brief rundown of the casino given to Adam by the coachman, he claimed that the casino often tended to use underhanded methods to ensure that the customers never won too much.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not too sure about other casinos, but Jack¡¯s Gold never cheats anyone. We are staunch believers in Lady Luck and with it comes belief in fairness. All our employees as well. We believe that Lady Luck will never abandon us, never forsake us. It¡¯s because of her blessing that we our able to operate in such as extravagant fashion. If we cheated to ensure victory, where would lady luck play her role?¡± Spoke Aaron with reverence in his eyes.


    ¡®Lady Luck? Back in the village, everyone believed in the Lord on the Moon. Do people in the city not believe in the Lord on the Moon?¡¯  From birth to youth and finally to adulthood, Adam had believed in the Lord on the Moon. This was his first time hearing about this Lady Luck, who belonged to a different religion.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°Mr. Aaron, do people in the city not believe in the Lord on the Moon?¡± Adam asked curiously.


    ¡°Lord on the Moon? Ah yes. The Lord on the Moon is a god worshipped by the primitives from ancient times. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d find a believer of the Moon here.¡± Aaron laughed.


    ¡°So, then who do the people in the city worship?¡± Asked Adam. ¡®Why did he call me the believer of the Moon?¡¯


    ¡°There is only one officially accepted religion in Wales, and that is the Holy God and the church of fire. While they don¡¯t prevent the worship of other religions in private, any public display would probably lead to you being locked up.¡± Aaron spoke, as his voice grew grim. Being a staunch believer in Lady Luck, he wanted to use his money to build a church of luck to show his belief.


    ¡°So, are there any believers in the Lord on the Moon?¡±


    ¡°Highly unlikely. Most likely your best bet would be to travel to the primitives¡¯ land to search for believers of the Moon.¡±


    ¡®Primitive Lands? Does he mean Rains Village?¡¯ Adam understood the difference in knowledge between those in the city and those in the village. ¡®I still have a lot to learn. I better work hard.¡¯


    ¡°And we are here. That office his Manager Smith¡¯s office. I have to head back now, can¡¯t leave Dante alone for too long.¡± Aaron quickly hurried back to his post.


    Adam approached the white wooden door, in the secluded golden hall. He knocked 2 twice.


    A voice came from the other side of the white wooden door. ¡°Enter.¡±


    Adam proceed to open, and he saw a large office, with the same interior as the casino. A large crystal chandelier hung on the celling of the office. The lights were bright golden, and the floor was made of white marble.


    There were various works of arts hung around the office. There were even sculptures made of gold lying about here and there in the office. At the end of the office was a white marble table, with a red velvet chair.


    On the chair sat a relatively old man. He had blackish-gray hair, neatly combed back. His facial features were sharp, and he had a thick grey beard that hide most of his cheek and jawline. He wore a pair of bi-focal lens. He was dressed in a black pin-striped three-piece suit, with a cravat instead of tie. There was a golden chain spanning from the lapel of his suit to his breast pocket. The man could be considered handsome despite being well over his prime.


    ¡°Mr. Smith, my name is Adam. I was asked to find you by my village elder, Collins, with regards to finding a job.¡± He spoke as he handed the noted he got from the villager elder.


    ¡°Hmm, so you are the boy Collins wrote about. You do look decent, so putting you as a waiter could be arranged easily. The only problem would be your social skills.¡± Manager Smith spoke, taking a glance at Adam and continued working on the pile of files he had in front of him. ¡°Anyway, take his letter and deliver it to Oliver at the chip counter. He will make arrangements for you to spend the night. And tomorrow we can decide where to place you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Smith.¡± Adam received the letter from Manager Smith, and gave him a slight bow, before proceeding to leave.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Year 456


    In the dark rotten dungeon.


    Adam¡¯s cold and indifferent gaze fell on the grotesque. The illusory ace of spades shot towards the bars of the cell, and in one smooth motion cut enough of them more a man to slip out.


    Adam withdrew his gaze grotesque man and proceeded to exit the cell.


    It was at this moment that the grotesque man quickly spoke. ¡°Oi Adam, let me out. You know you can break out of here alone. I¡¯m a rank 3 Astral of the ¡®Malformed Road¡¯. Being a Rank 3 ¡®Deformed¡¯, give me extremely power regenerative and strength-based abilities. Your Rank 3 ¡®Collector¡¯ doesn¡¯t have that much fire power.¡±


    Adam didn¡¯t reply, but he swept his hand towards the grotesque man, and 10 illusory cards of the suite of spade appeared around him. The cards were Ace, King, Queen, Jack and the numbers ranging from 10 to 5.


    The illusory spade cards hovered around Adam, before shooting towards the grotesque man. The bars on the cells, and the chaining holding him up were cut apart, freeing the grotesque man.


    The grotesque man immediately felt power swelling within him. His face revealed a wicked grin, as he stared at Adam.


    A cold light past Adam¡¯s eyes, and he disappeared from the view of the grotesque man. He suddenly appeared behind the grotesque man, used his right hand to cover his eyes.


    The grotesque man didn¡¯t even have time to respond before he heard the words. ¡°Don¡¯t move or your head might roll.¡±


    The grotesque man wanted to struggle, but with his vision blocked, he could feel something sharp gently graze his neck. There were seven illusory cards from the spade suit circling his neck, with distance of about 1-2mm. A word from Adam and his head would certainly roll.


    The grotesque man was no fool, he immediately realized that the sharp objects near his neck were the illusory spade cards. The grotesque man knew firsthand how terrifying those illusory playing cards were. They cut thorough the Astral binding cuffs likes they were nothing. Even though he could activate his Astral abilities, he wasn''t sure if he would make it in time to prevent the illusory cards from severing his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try anything funny, Arthur. The second you stop being useful or even if the thought of betrayal pops into your head, just know that I can kill you whenever I want to.¡± Although the grotesque man named Arthur couldn¡¯t see Adam, he could imagine the indifferent eyes, from the coldness in his voice. Arthur didn¡¯t for a second doubt whether or not Adam would keep his promise. All he knew was that he would die if he tried anything.


    ¡°¡­¡­. I understand.¡± Arthur dejectedly said.

 Oliver

    Year 454


    Adam left the manager¡¯s office and headed for the chip counter, with the letter from Manager Smith.


    ¡®I seen, learned and meet more people and things here today than I have in an entire year in the village Adam thought back to everything that has happened in the short day he¡¯s been here. ¡®So, this place is a casino. There are so many people. Is this what the coachman meant by being wealthy? Compared to this, life in the village is quite dull. I can¡¯t wait for Ellen to see all this.¡¯


    On his way he observed the various games and events that were held in the casino. He even saw women in provocative cloths dancing around, with many men surrounding them, throwing bronze and even silver notes at them. Even though Adam tried to deny his interest, he was a hot-blooded man in the end and couldn¡¯t help but stare.


    ¡®No Adam, you mustn¡¯t look. Your heart belongs to Ellen. She¡¯s the only woman you are allowed to see naked. No one else.¡¯ Adam snapped out his daze and steeled his resolve. ¡®I must not get tempted by these city girls.¡¯


    Thinking of Ellen, he couldn¡¯t help but touch his lips where she kissed. A faint red blush appeared on his cheeks and let out a small but gentle smile.


    ¡®Ahh, I have to go the chip counter.¡¯ Adam decided to stop wasting time and headed straight for the chip counter.


    Reaching the chip counter, which was a wooden booth, with a layer of thick glass separating those outside and those inside the booth. There was a young man with bright red hair, in a white shirt and a black vest talking to the customers queued up outside the booth.


    He would take their bronze, silver or sometimes even gold notes and give them round coins of different colors in return. ¡®Are those the chips that Mr. Aaron mentioned?¡¯


    He quickly reached the booth and spoke up. ¡°Uhm, I was wondering if I could meet Mr. Oliver.¡±


    The red-haired youth at the counter quickly replied. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Oliver.¡± He lazily spoke.


    ¡®Red hair¡­¡­. that¡¯s new.¡¯ Adam thought to himself. ¡°Mr. Smith sent me here. He asked that I deliver this to you.¡± Adam spoke as he handed the red-haired youth the letter.


    The red-haired youth tore open the letter and quickly glanced over the content. ¡°Hmmm, so you are the new recruit.¡± He took a glance at Adam, sizing him up.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll show you to the workers quarters, but you¡¯ll need to wait until my shift is over. Also, feel free to explore the casino while you¡¯re at it. Here use this.¡± The red-haired youth handed a neatly arranged stack of coins called chips to Adam.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Are you sure? Although I don¡¯t know how much this is worth, it must cost a lot. I don¡¯t have any money on me.¡± Adam, quickly spoke up. He heard from the coachman that this was a common trick used in casinos to trap their customers in debt and charge high interest rates.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, don¡¯t worry about. It¡¯s on the house.¡± Laughed the red-haired youth, Oliver, almost as if he could read the thoughts going through Adam¡¯s head. ¡°Go have some fun. I¡¯ll take around another hour or two.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. Thanks.¡± Adam quickly received the stack of chips and headed off to the games.


    ¡®He¡¯s no different the masses. A boring fellow, with nothing special about.¡¯ The red-haired youth, Oliver, thought as he stared at the departing Adam¡¯s back. ¡®He doesn¡¯t have the qualities to be special¡­¡­...he doesn¡¯t have the qualities to be an Astral.¡¯


    While the two youths remained unaware of what the future held, this meeting here would be marked down forever in the history of the world.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Year 456


    A red-haired youth adorned in a black suit with a black top hat was walking through a dark alley in the eastern district of Westport.


    The red-haired youth stopped in front of a rusted metal door. The darkness of the alley and the black color of the metal door against the backdrop of the dark brown building made it nearly impossible to see.


    ¡®Adam¡­... I really hope you are here.¡¯ The red-haired youth thought, as he removed his dark grey revolver from his holster. The grey revolvers were very different from a standard kingdom issued revolver, which meant it was custom made. Along the barrel of the revolver were inscriptions that seemed to glow in the darkness of the alley.


    The red-haired youth kicked open the door, with ease. The metal door although rusted, was still extremely strong and embedded into the walls nearby. No normal human could kick open the door with one swift motion.


    All that greeted the red-haired youth even with the door kicked down was darkness. But all of a sudden, the red-haired youth¡¯s expression turned sour, as he quickly pulled out a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket and covered his nose and mouth.


    ¡®Poison¡­. no. It¡¯s not poison. Could it be¡­¡­.¡¯ The red-haired youth raised finger and spoke. ¡°Embers.¡±


    A small, lighter-sized, flame flickered around the youth¡¯s index finger, and quickly floated up and turned into an orb of light. The small ember defied common logic and quickly shed light on the entire room. Some of the light even seeped out into the dark alley light it as well.


    ¡®As I thought. This smell isn¡¯t poison. It¡¯s rotting human flesh.¡¯ A disgusted expression quickly spread throughout the red-haired youth¡¯s face. He tried to look away to try and hold back his urge to vomit.


    All around the room, was dismembered human body parts. The room wasn¡¯t large. More like the size of a medium storage unit. At the top right corner of the room was a staircase that led downstairs, where the smell of rotting flesh got stronger.


    The red-haired was about to descend to the basement using the staircase, when a blood red tentacle shot out from the other side of the staircase.


    The red-haired youth although surprised, was not caught off guard. He nimbly maneuvered around the blood red tentacle and dodged to the right.


    *Boom *


    *Boom *


    The red-haired youth immediately assumed a battle pose while pointing the revolver towards the staircase and shot twice.


    The blood red tentacle once again emerged from the basement. The blood red tentacle was as thick as a normal human torso and kept pulsing like a living heart. There were oddly shaped eyes and mouths around the body of the tentacle.


    ¡®Damn, it¡¯s a ¡®Malformed¡¯. This is not going to be easy¡­...¡¯ The red-haired youth sighed, as he prepared to use his Astral abilities. Although a ¡®Malformed¡¯ was going to be difficult due to his regenerative and physical powers, the red-haired youth was not afraid of a head on battle.


    ¡°Oliver, stop.¡± A cold voice emerged from the basement, as thing human silhouette was barely visibly at the end of the staircase.


    The thin silhouette continued walking towards the top, when he heard the red-haired youth speak. ¡°¡­...Adam¡­...is that you?¡±


    By now the thin silhouette had left the darkness of the basement and was visibly under the orb of light created by the red-haired youth, Oliver.


    The thin silhouette belonged to a youth. The youth was bared chested, wearing only a pair of dirty torn trousers that reached his ankles. The youth¡¯s white hair was completely disheveled. The originally handsome face was now sunken, his cold blue eyes however remained unchanged.