Chapter 39: The Fundamental Vow (3)

“How much do you need?”

This Chick is truly a fascinating creature.

To hear a request for a loan and then to smile so broadly.

“So, how much can you lend?”

“How about I lend you ten million won to start?”

Ten, ten million won.

It’s astonishing that one can casually attach ‘to start’ in front of ten million won.

I glanced at the man in the suit and asked.

“Can I get into the game with ten million won?”

“Um, if it’s a small game, then yes.”

Right, let’s start with the smaller games.

I am, after all, the only person in this casino with the ability to see through things.

Turning ten million won into a hundred million, and a hundred million into tens of billions is no big deal.

Tens of billions. Just the interest from the bank would be enough to live on.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Hehe.”

“Excuse me.”

“Uh, yes?”

“It’s okay if you lose all ten million won. I can lend you more. And if you lose that as well, there’s no need to worry. You can work off the debt by working for our family.”

The chick’s eyes began to sparkle.

“My personal butler makes over a hundred million won a year. So don’t worry and just go for it.”

There’s a sense of madness in the chick’s eyes. For some reason, I feel like I absolutely must not lose this money.

“Uh, okay.”

But, what was the reason I came here in the first place?

It was to meet Cheonsu and overpower him.

If I end up winning a huge amount of money, Cheonsu will have no choice but to show himself.

He would have to either threaten or persuade me.

That’s when this chick would come in handy.

When I glanced at the chick, she was already receiving chips from a casino employee.

“Here, these chips are worth ten million won.”

“Oh, right, thanks.”

“Let’s go!”

The chick was excited and hurried along.

Why, why this nervousness?

I found myself half-dragged towards a secluded area behind the Big Hand Casino.

And so, I entered a secret and dangerous game at the Big Hand Casino, one where fortunes—and perhaps even limbs—were at stake.

***

“Who would have thought, in a casino, it’s not poker but Seotda* being played.”

As I looked around at the games being played at each table, it was roughly 20% Texas Hold’em and 80% Seotda.

The sight of Seotda being played with large Hwatu cards, similar to poker cards, on Western-style tables was something I could never have imagined in a Western-style casino.

“Ahaha, many of the customers here have lived through much and enjoy the games of old. And even among the younger generation, there are many who reject foreign influences in accordance with the traditions of their clans and families.”

Had he noticed my surprised gaze?

A casino employee standing nearby commented.

It occurred to me that with Korea becoming a superpower in terms of psychic abilities, a sense of national pride had indeed grown stronger, fostering a ‘Korean products only’ mentality.

Likely, the leaders of the families and clans who wear Hanbok daily are driving this atmosphere.

“Seotda, huh?”

That’s even better.

Even if I could see others’ cards in Texas Hold’em, it didn’t guarantee a win. But with Seotda, if I could see the other players’ cards, there was almost no chance of losing.

“Shall we try a round?”

I smirked.

Let’s lightly make about 1 billion won first.

No, my goal is to meet Cheonsu. So, I should earn about 2 billion won to meet him, right?

“Hehe.”

I followed the casino employee to a table where Seotda was being played.

***

“How, how could you lose 200 million won by just a single point difference?!!!”

“Unbelievable. Are you some kind of god of gambling?!!!”

“Peep.”

Jinari was at a loss for words, watching the gambling unfolding before her eyes.

In Jinari’s learned knowledge, gambling meant ruin and disgrace.

To her, gambling was a sure path to accruing massive debts and eventually becoming enslaved to loan sharks.

But who was this man in front of her?

Starting with just a golden chip worth ten million won, and then stacking up platinum chips worth hundreds of millions on the table?

“Hey! That man is definitely using his probability manipulation ability to win!!!”

A woman, having lost her money, clutched at a casino employee and said. But the casino employee only shook his head and responded:

“These cards reject abilities. To be precise, the cards will disintegrate if any psychic powers are applied to them. Try infusing your psychic energy into the cards yourself. They will turn to dust immediately.”

“No, I’m sure he’s using some kind of clairvoyance!!!”

“Ma’am, these cards are similar to Boundless Dark Waters in both the material and manufacturing process. When you put them down on the table, only the customer can identify the card until 10 seconds have passed. I assure you, based on the principle of connecting winds, which I, myself, have vow by.”

In that moment, the casino employee’s gaze sharpened.

“By the way, ma’am, it seems the interest on the money you borrowed from our establishment has yet to be paid.”

“Just wait, I’ll win it back soon. It’ll be quick.”

“Shall we discuss the details behind the scenes?”

The woman was dragged behind another blackout curtain by the casino employees.

So, there was another blackout curtain behind the casino, presumably leading to a VIP lounge.

‘It must be the VIP lounge.’

But this wasn’t the VIP lounge either.

According to the information Jinari had gathered,

‘The VIP lounge was said to be a dreadful place.’

Jinari looked around the gambling hall again.

It wasn’t a pleasant place, but it wasn’t as dreadful as she had feared. Being there with the man who was giggling while fiddling with platinum coins made the place somewhat more bearable.

‘Still, it’s regrettable.’

Who would have thought the man could play Seotda so well. Except for the case where one dies and gives up, the man had not lost even once.

As if he could see the others’ cards, he raised the stakes without hesitation and took away the opponents’ coins.

He easily won even the games decided by a margin of just one or two points.

Even Jinari, who knew little about Seotda, could tell that the man’s gambling skills were unnaturally good, almost divine.

‘Could he possibly have the ability to read minds?’

She thought it unlikely.

She had heard that even the witch who nearly brought the coalition of families to ruin could only read souls, not the thoughts those souls harbored.

If that witch, considered to be a high-level psychic, couldn’t read minds, it seemed unlikely that this man could.

So, was it purely gambling skill?

‘To be so good at both fighting and gambling. What exactly are you?’

Without realizing it, Jinari found herself moving closer to Yoo Hajin, staring intently at his face.

***

The chick was staring at me intently.

Could it be because of the ten million won I borrowed earlier?

“Jinari, here. A golden coin. This is worth ten million won.”

“Hmph.”

The chick turned away, refusing to accept the coin.

What’s the deal?

I tried to give it back.

It’s not my fault she didn’t take it.

Just then, a casino employee approached me with a greeting. And then, with an unpleasant smile, he began to speak.

“Your skills are so exceptional that other tables are hesitant to include you.”

“So, they’re all cowards, huh?”

The total amount I’ve won so far is about 3.55 billion.

While that’s a tremendous amount, it’s hardly enough to meet Cheonsu. Moreover, my overwhelming skills seemed to have intimidated others, as I was no longer welcomed at other tables.

“How about a game with our casino’s pride player? We’ll stick to Seotda.”

“Hey, is that like a professional gambler or something?”

“Someone of a skill level similar to yours.”

An offer like this, in a situation where I couldn’t play any more games, wasn’t too bad, honestly.

“How skilled are we talking about? Isn’t this player a psychic specialized in cards?”

“No. You may have heard of the vow that no psychic powers would work on these cards. Did divine punishment descend then?”

“No, it didn’t.”

I couldn’t actually see if divine punishment had descended or not, so I had no way of verifying whether it happened. But considering those who made the vow seemed fine, I guess that means their claim was true.

“Shall we play a game, then?”

“Thank you. Please follow me this way.”

As I followed the casino employee, the gamblers began to murmur.

“Is he going to meet that man?”

“His luck ends here. There are several who lost their hands to that man.”

“Even I nearly lost all my wealth to him. Such a foolish youth.”

“I feel sympathy for that kid. A friend of mine became crippled after losing to that man.”

Just who is this person that instills such fear?

And so, I was about to meet the player the casino took pride in.

He was a middle-aged man with his hair beginning to thin.

The game went smoothly.

Or, to be precise, it appeared to go smoothly.

I had drawn a “Three March” hand (both cards from March). And the old man’s hand was a “Poisonous Snake” (January + April).

Naturally, thinking it was my win, I confidently bet one hundred million won.

But the old man, perhaps thinking it was all bravado, matched my hundred million bet and called for a double.

Did he really think I’d be intimidated?

“Call.”

And then, I lost.

“You’ve got a Three March. But, see, I’ve got a Four April.”

Just like that, I lost over two hundred million won in a single game.

My hands and feet started to shake uncontrollably.

No way, it was definitely a Poisonous Snake before, how did it turn into a Four April??

Where did that April card even come from??

And just like that, I lost again in the same manner.

The four hundred million won that I had gathered through blood, sweat, and tears without a moment’s rest had now ended up in the hands of that pot-bellied old man.

I was so shocked, my mouth wouldn’t close.

“My, my money, the fruits of my labor...!!!”

That old man, he must be a shark.

Otherwise, there’s no way I could have lost.

I glared at the old man’s hands with venom in my eyes.

When, when did he switch the cards? The old man was rolling up his sleeves.

That meant the only place he could hide the cards was in his palms.

As I stared intently, I began to notice some odd finger movements.

The old man might have thought the cards were concealed, but I could see right through them.

In the blink of an eye, the cards were switched.

Even with my exceptional dynamic vision, if the card wasn’t a clear one, I would’ve missed it.

So, he was indeed hiding the cards behind his hand.

Have I ever seen such cowardice? This game should be played fair and square, just like I do!

Upon witnessing that, I immediately charged at the old man and grabbed his hand.

“Why do you have an extra card in your hand?”

“Eh, what? How? This, this card should be undetectable by psychic powers.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘absolute’ in this world.”

I forced the old man to his knees and searched him.

Wait, his right arm’s skin color seems off?

Specifically, a part of it looked unnaturally white, as if it had been skin-grafted.

Could it be a fake skin with cards hidden underneath?

I pressed down on the grafted skin.

It felt normal, no strange sensation.

So, I tore at the skin, and the arm itself began to open.

I hadn’t imagined such a gimmick.

“Ugh.”

It turned out, the old man’s arm had been modified into some sort of card storage compartment.

Seeing the cards wriggling inside the muscles was quite revolting. Was this cyberpunk?

“Wow, did you modify your arm just to cheat?”

“How, how!!! Even the gods and immortals were deceived by this arm, which had the skin of a disguise ability user grafted onto it!!!”

I subdued the twitching old man and looked back at the casino employees standing there.

They were visibly flustered. Smirking, I spoke up.

“I’ve seen on my way here that many have fallen victim to this old man. Would it be alright to reveal this arm to the public?”

“Pl, please, wait, just, just a moment, please. I beg of you.”

The casino employees were trembling, unsure of what to do next.

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