Chapter 25 : The God of Gambling, Angler

Passing through the winding, cramped alleyway, they finally arrived at the gambling den.

From the very start, the strong scent of alcohol and tobacco wafted out, filling the air as they stepped inside.

Silence.

In an instant, the noisy chatter vanished.

All eyes were fixed on Jaeho, and there was only one thought on everyone’s mind.

“Damn it. Are they cracking down?”

“C-Calm down, there’s no need to worry! That gentleman is a new customer this time! He’s actually a friend of Vulca, who brought him here!”

At that moment, due to the staff’s swift intervention, people finally noticed Vulca kneeling beside Jaeho.

“Hey—Vulca! Seems like you’ve come up with more money again?”

“There’s only the captain left now, right? Hahaha!”

Ignoring Jaeho’s presence, they mocked Vulca, trying to ease the tension.

“Shut up, you bastards! Today’s going to be different!”

“Pfft! You say that every time you show up, don’t you?”

“Ugh… these guys!”

Unable to control his temper, Vulca moved forward, but Jaeho stopped him.

“In the end, only the results matter. The one who loses always talks too much.”

“?!”

Jaeho’s low voice echoed softly but clearly throughout the gambling den.

“That’s true.”

“Our master always said so. Empty words are useless.”

“Sure enough, he looks the part…”

The gamblers instinctively felt it.

This man wasn’t the same kind of person as Vulca.

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew solemn.

Their gaze shifted from themselves to the farmer staring intently at the gambling table before them.

Despite the drunken haze in his eyes, there was a seriousness radiating from him.

“What’s going on here?”

Jaeho was bewildered.

His attempt to calm Vulca only ended up awakening everyone.

“Hmph… Come this way for now.”

Following the staff’s guidance, Jaeho headed toward the secluded table in the corner.

***

From the start, he couldn’t join the big game.

He had to start at the bottom, so his assigned spot was the farthest corner.

Vulca took the small money Jaeho handed him and mingled with another table, while the elves lined up at the bar, asserting their presence.

“Isn’t that the elf who came to the city the other day?”

“Seems like it, yeah.”

No rumors could be kept under wraps.

“They say that man commands elves.”

“Well, just by looking at his fierce face, I’d believe he’s a slave trader.”

Fortunately, thanks to Jaeho’s appearance, suspicion turned into mild misunderstanding and intimidation instead.

“Hoo, let’s see…”

Jaeho’s eyes shifted toward the dealer and the guards lurking nearby.

He knew the basic rules but was clueless about the details.

All he could rely on was the subtle signals the others covertly sent.

As a result:

“The winner is Al…cia.”

“Damn…!!”

“As expected… quite the skilled player.”

“You say Vulca brought him here, but who on earth is this guy?”

A string of consecutive victories!

Though suspicions about the newcomer grew, no one dared voice complaints.

For days afterward, Jaeho steadily built his reputation by regularly attending the gambling den.

[<Comet of the Gambling House> Title acquired.]

[All probability options have increased randomly.]

[<The hand is faster than the eye> Skill unlocked.]

[You can now play your cards more skillfully.]

[Fame in the Underworld has increased.]

[If cheating is detected, infamy will increase significantly.]

And finally, the day of the decisive battle arrived.

“Hey, you there.”

Just as Jaeho casually stepped into the den to claim a table, someone called out to him.

A man with an eyepatch over one eye, his fierce expression rivaling Jaeho’s.

“I’ve heard rumors you’re quite skilled. How about a match?”

The opponent Jaeho had been waiting for.

“Hyuk? ‘Doshin Aengkeulleo’!!”

“Ah, it’s been a while since you showed up.”

“Last time was about two months ago when I cleaned out Emil’s entire fortune!”

The other gamblers around shouted excitedly.

“There’s a nasty vibe here.”

Meanwhile, some elves voiced their dissatisfaction.

“…Commander.”

Jaeho responded calmly,

Concealing his tension as best as he could…

“Let’s blow this thing up.”

Doshin Aengkeulleo.

The ghost of the Rasel Kingdom’s underworld.

A presence that appeared suddenly in front of gamblers who had earned some fame, wiped them out clean, and disappeared without a trace.

Respected and feared by all gamblers.

Yet no one knew much about his true identity.

One famous story was that several who had their fortunes stolen by Aengkeulleo tried to track him down for revenge.

But while they chased him, he vanished like dust in the wind.

“Living up to the name.”

Facing Aengkeulleo, Jaeho thought so.

His age was hard to estimate, a strange appearance with no visible emotion on his face.

“Must be an NPC, right?”

Jaeho figured no human could maintain such a perfect poker face.

“He’s no joke. No one’s shown that level of poker face against Doshin until now…”

And that was the unanimous thought among all onlookers watching Jaeho.

“Then… let’s begin.”

With a word from the dealer, the game commenced.

***

An even heavier silence filled the gambling den than when Jaeho first appeared.

All that could be heard were the shuffling of cards and quiet, tense breaths.

“Huff… huff…”

Though Vulca, standing behind, coughed roughly, it seemed he couldn’t be chased out in the middle of this crucial battle.

Ssss—

Jaeho’s sharp eyes swept quickly around.

After days of cheating, his acting had become quite natural.

“3, 2, Queen…”

Following the dealer’s information, Jaeho carefully handled his cards.

“Aengkeulleo said he only plays one game.”

He claimed to empty his opponent’s entire stake with just that one match.

“How is that even possible?” Jaeho had asked.

“They all go all-in as if possessed. But when the cards are finally revealed, Aengkeulleo is always the winner.”

“All-in as if hypnotized…”

Thanks to meticulous manipulation, Jaeho’s hand was so strong defeat was unthinkable.

“I’ll bet it all.”

Surprisingly, Aengkeulleo was the first to raise the stakes.

“Huh?”

“Aengkeulleo made the first wager!!!”

“Well, how will you respond? Heh heh.”

“Don’t say embarrassing things out loud.”

But despite the unexpected move, Jaeho remained composed.

“This is strange.”

His hand was way too good.

That meant Aengkeulleo’s hand couldn’t be too bad either—so what was he trusting to go all-in?

Glancing over—

Jaeho’s eyes landed on a spectator behind Aengkeulleo.

The pot rose.

“Go?”

The signal was clear: he could raise further without issue.

“Very suspicious, but… fine. Let’s go! If I lose, I’ll take responsibility!”

<Spirit of Vitality> says ‘That’s a bit…’.

“In that case, I’ll bet it all, too.”

At those words, he reached for the chips.

[Darkness’s Touch covers you.]

“???”

A sudden notification popped up.

[The cards in your hand will be swapped.]

“Magic? A curse?!”

Jaeho’s brow twitched as he glared at Aengkeulleo.

His twisted grin was unmistakably a smile.

“Damn it! So he’s cheating, too?”

That was why Aengkeulleo always won.

He used some method to switch out his opponent’s cards!

But—

[Beloved by nature! You are protected from unnatural forces by Curse Resistance.]

[Curse Resistance passive activates successfully.]

“?!!!”

Aengkeulleo’s expression froze noticeably as his secret move was blocked.

“That bastard… finally showing his true face.”

Jaeho couldn’t help but laugh at Aengkeulleo’s trembling panic, sweat dripping down his face.

“Hey…”

Incensed by the mocking smile, Aengkeulleo’s eyes rolled back.

“This is cheating!!!”

His furious shout brought the den to a sudden halt, but the thick red curtain blocked anyone from leaving.

“No one leaves this place! You’re all bound here to gamble your souls forever…!!!”

But Aengkeulleo had overlooked one thing.

When you call someone a demon, you’re also admitting there are many fierce, powerful friends here.

tup-

At that moment, Aengkeulleo grabbed the dealer’s wrist who was holding his last card.

“This guy gave me this! That’s definitely a 2 Slave!!!”

Sure enough, the dealer held the 2 Slave card.

“And the next card he’ll give me must be a 10 King! He’s planning to finish me off with a Royal Straight King!”

Flipping the next card confirmed Aengkeulleo’s claim.

“See! All the stuff these guys have done until now was cheating!”

“W-What? You’re telling me we’ve been fooled all this time?!”

“Damn it! Who the hell do these bastards think they are?!”

The onlookers erupted in anger, grabbing the staff to investigate.

“Tch, figures.”

Jaeho clicked his tongue inwardly.

A man called ‘Doshin’ wasn’t going to be that oblivious.

“He must have trusted the curse, so he fell for it knowingly.”

But Jaeho wasn’t going to just sit there and take it.

“Never thought someone called the kingdom’s Doshin would be this sloppy.”

“Ha! Did he really think some cheap trick would work against me?”

“You’re writing a script, huh?”

“No chance. The moment you try that, it’s game over. We have to play for real.”

One misstep here would mean losing everything he had built so far.

<Spirit of Vitality> says ‘You’re already becoming a master gambler…’.

As always, Jaeho ignored it.

“Are you confident?”

Jaeho asked Aengkeulleo.

“I’m always confident.”

“Good.”

Jaeho pushed all his chips to the center of the table.

“If the hand I’m holding isn’t a Royal Straight King, I’m definitely losing. But if you really have the 10 King, then I win no matter what.”

It was a 100% 10 King.

“But that’s no fun, is it? Let’s change the stakes.”

Jaeho’s sudden proposal stirred murmurs among the crowd.

“I’m betting my entire fortune on the fact that I don’t have a Royal Straight King. How about it? The winner loses, and the loser wins.”

“What?”

Aengkeulleo, caught off guard, hesitated slightly.

But then hardened his expression and nodded.

“Fine!! I accept.”

“Come on, show your cards!!”

At the spectators’ urging, Jaeho reached for his cards.

“Don’t touch your cards!!!”

Aengkeulleo shouted angrily.

“Cheater wouldn’t risk flipping his cards.”

Pointing at a nearby spectator, Aengkeulleo said,

“Have that person watch me shuffle. How about it?”

“Fine by me.”

Jaeho raised both hands, stepping back.

“Th-Then…”

The nervous spectator slowly placed a hand on Jaeho’s cards.

“Heh… Seems like the one thing you have to be most careful of in a gambling den is the crooked eye.”

Confident Aengkeulleo spoke as…

Thud—

The cards were finally revealed.

“…….?”

Silence.

“0 Slave?”

“What? 0 Slave?”

“Then… it’s a complete bust.”

Cards that had nothing to do with a Royal Straight King!

“What the hell… what do we do now?”

Jaeho folded his arms, smiling calmly.

“Th-That’s impossible…”

Aengkeulleo staggered backward.

“I think I’m the winner of this game.”

In the end, the cheater was defeated…

But it was all thanks to the skill that Jaeho had honed to level 22 in the gambling den!

[<Hands are faster than the eyes> Skill activated.]

[Quickly swap out the cards in your hand.]

While locked in a mental battle with Aengkeulleo, Jaeho had secretly used this skill.

[<The Comet of the Gambling Den> title effect increases all random probabilities.]

On top of that, another gambling passive skill activated!

[<Bear Hunter’s Declaration of War> bound skill triggered <Sakura?> skill.]

The skill <Sakura?>, which brings random misfortune, had dealt Jaeho the absolute worst hand in this moment.

If this had been a normal game, it would have been a complete defeat for Jaeho.

“This… cheating!! This is cheating!!!”

<Spirit of Vitality> says ‘Agreed’.

Flash—!!!

Black light burst forth from Aengkeulleo, who overturned the table.

“I definitely had the 0 Slave card!!!”

[Lower Demon appears in true form.]

“How dare you mock me, the god of gambling!!!”

“Hyukin, it’s a demon!”

“Aaaahhh!!”

The gambling den erupted into chaos in an instant.

People fled, but the thick red curtain sealed the exits so no one could escape.

—No one can get out of here! You all must gamble your souls here for eternity…!!!

But Aengkeulleo had overlooked something.

Calling him a demon meant admitting there were many strong, fierce friends here.