The money tornado around Marcus reached the ceiling, bills spinning so fast they looked like green razor blades, while the Dryad Queen shot an aura of vines that manifested into trees and wind, transforming the Lucky Loon into something out of a nightmare.
Bark twisted like rope, and vines slithered across the ground hungrily, aiming for Judas—who stood there clutching his remaining twenty-dollar bill in his sweaty palm.
Sera yawned. "Really?" she said, examining her nails as a vine the size of a telephone pole whipped toward her head. Without looking, she raised one finger, disintegrating the vine into purple ash. "This is what passes as an A-rank?"
Standing in front of a pissed Marcus, the Dryad Queen's eyes widened in terror. "What are you?"
"Bored, mostly." She glanced at Judas. "Let's use this as your second lesson," she said nonchalantly, flicking away another vine. "Open your skill tree."
"What? Now?!"
A money blade shot toward his face, but Sera simply raised a finger and evaporated it mid-flight.
"Yes, now. This is a perfect learning opportunity." She stepped forward, and the Dryad queen backed towards Marcus in response. "This cocky gambler and his failure of a guide is strong enough to hurt you, but not powerful enough to threaten us. I'll be your training wheels."
"Hey bitch," Marcus seethed, shoving the dryad queen out of his way. "My system is flashing all kinds of warnings about you." He laughed dryly. "But where the hell do you get off calling this a training session. You're both dying tonight."
With a glint of unhinged anger in his eyes, he bounded forward, tearing the carpet open beneath his feet.
"Mmm." Sera created a purple barrier around herself and Judas, casual as closing a door. Marcus's fist blazed with a golden aura as it slammed into the barrier, bouncing off harmlessly. "See? Adorable. Now Judas, skill tree. I'm going to teach you how to use bets."
Judas nodded, his breathing unsteady. "Skill Tree."
In response, the familiar interface flashed in his vision revealing the same glowing transparent tree of abilities he had seen before. "I'm only seeing Charisma, Intimacy and Combat. Where the hell are the bets?"
"Calm down. That's normal. Now say 'gambling'."
"G-gambling."
[GAMBLING BRANCH - NEWLY UNLOCKED]
[TIER 1 BETS]
Coin Flip (3 SP) - 50% base success. Success: Next attack does double damage. Fail: Take 1 damage to your vitality.
Lucky Seven (5 SP) - 30% base success. Success: Restore 3 Vitality. Fail: Lose 4 Agility for 60 seconds.
Snake Eyes (4 SP) - 20% base success. Success: Stun target for 3 seconds. Fail: Stun yourself for 1 second.
[TIER 2 - REQUIRES LEVEL 10]
Judas stared at the screen, his mind racing.
"Start small," Sera advised, deflecting another barrage of attacks without even looking. "Coin Flip is perfect. Low risk, decent reward. Remember, with your daily luck of 7, that's..."
"50% base plus 35% from luck," Judas calculated quickly. "85% chance of success."
"Exactly. Now unlock it and try it out."
[COIN FLIP - LEARNED]
[SP REMAINING: 22]
The second the ability locked in, knowledge flooded Judas's brain. Not just how to use it, but the feeling of it, like a coin constantly spinning in the back of his mind, waiting to be called.
Marcus, knuckles now bleeding, slammed his fist into the ground creating a crater. "Are you SERIOUSLY ignoring me to teach this runt how to use his system?"
"Yes. Now pipe down." Sera didn't even look at him. She lowered her barrier, catching a money blade between two fingers, before flicking it back nearly taking Marcus's ear off.
"Now," Sera said, finally turning to face Marcus properly. "Let's make this educational."
She raised one hand, and purple chains erupted from the floor, wrapping around the Dryad Queen. The nature spirit shrieked, vines withering instantly at Sera's touch.
"NO!" Marcus roared, charging toward them.
"Stop."
One word from Sera, and Marcus's legs locked mid-stride. He pitched forward, slamming face-first into the casino floor with a thud.
"What did you—"
"Suggestion spell. Very basic." Sera sighed, looking bored. "He'll be able to move again in about... ten seconds. Judas, that's your window. Use Coin Flip and throw a punch or something."
"But he's defenseless—"
"He threatened to kill you two minutes ago."
Fair point.
Judas moved toward Marcus's prone form, feeling the weight of the ability in his chest. The man was already starting to twitch, fighting against whatever Sera had done to him.
"I place a bet. Coin Flip!" he shouted, his words coming out naturally.
A translucent silver coin materialized above Judas's head, spinning in slow motion. The Lucky Loon's broken neon lights reflected off its surface, heads on one side showing a crown, tails showing a skull.
[BET ACTIVATED: COIN FLIP]
[SUCCESS CHANCE: 85% (50% base + 35% luck)]
[ROLLING...]
Time seemed to stretch. The coin tumbled through the air, each rotation visible in perfect detail. Judas could hear his own heartbeat, feel sweat running down his back.
The coin landed.
Heads. The crown faced up.
[SUCCESS!]
[NEXT ATTACK: DOUBLE DAMAGE]
Power surged through Judas's arm, his fist glowing with a faint silver light. He brought it down on Marcus's shoulder just as the man regained movement.
The impact was devastating.
Marcus screamed, rolling away as his golden aura dimmed. His shoulder was visibly dislocated, hanging at an unnatural angle.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[MARCUS KING - VITALITY: 18/25]
"Holy shit," Judas breathed, staring at his fist. "That actually—"
Marcus's good arm swept Judas's legs. He hit the ground hard, tasting blood as he bit his tongue.
"Shut it trash boy."
"Breathe Judas," Sera said, now perched casually on a destroyed slot machine. The Dryad Queen was still wrapped in purple chains, crying softly.
Judas tumbled to the ground from Marcus's sweep, but with almost superhuman reflexes, he was able to regain his balance on both arms and clumsily find his footing.
These stat boosts… Both of us are doing things that shouldn't be possible. I have to learn and learn fast. Marcus won't be the only one.
With a sigh of determination, he faced Marcus who was shakily bringing his feet beneath him.
"I place a bet. Snake eyes!" Judas cried out.
[BET ACTIVATED: SNAKE EYES]
[SUCCESS CHANCE: 55% (20% base + 35% luck)]
[ROLLING...]
"Oh? Taking a little more risk my little gambler?" Sera mused, tilting her head in amusement.
Two dice materialized this time, carved from what looked like bone. They tumbled through the air in slow motion, each face showing different combinations of dots.
The dice clattered across the floor.
Three. Five.
[FAILURE!]
[SELF STUN: 1 SECOND]
His muscles locked instantly. He couldn't move, breathe, or even blink. He could only watch as Marcus's golden fist filled his vision.
But Sera didn't move. Didn't even raise a finger.
The punch connected.
Judas flew backward like he'd been shot from a cannon. He crashed through two slot machines, metal and glass exploding around him, before slamming into the far wall. His body twisted with a sickening crack, as the taste of copper filled his mouth.
[CRITICAL DAMAGE TAKEN!]
[VITALITY: 3/7]
[WARNING: MULTIPLE FRACTURES DETECTED]
[WARNING: INTERNAL BLEEDING DETECTED]
"Piece of trash." Marcus said, spitting on the ground. "That's what you get for—"
He stopped mid-sentence as Sera calmly walked through the battlefield. She moved through the destroyed casino with deliberate slowness, glass crunching under her heels, until she reached a crumpled Judas.
She knelt beside him, her expression unreadable.
"That," she said softly, reaching to lift his head, "is the cost of failure. One second of stun. One second of vulnerability. And against someone strong enough..." She gestured at his broken body. "This happens."
But Judas slapped her hand away.
The motion was weak, pathetic even. Blood dripped from his mouth as he forced himself to speak.
"Don't." His voice was raw.
Sera's eyes widened, genuinely taken aback. "Judas—"
"No!" He pushed himself up on trembling arms, blood spattering the floor. "You know what pisses me off? Really pisses me off?" His eyes locked onto Marcus. "It's this jackass!"
Marcus blinked in confusion. "What?"
"A good-looking guy." Judas spat blood. "Infinite money. Probably drowning in women. Living the life every guy dreams of." He spat, his posture unbalanced and swaying. "And it's STILL not enough for you, is it?"
"You don't know shit about me—"
"I tried to de-escalate!" Judas screamed, somehow finding the strength to stay on his feet, despite his legs shaking. "I tried to walk away! But you just kept going and going and GOING! What, your ego couldn't handle someone not kissing your ass?"
"Judas," Sera said quietly, "I didn't know you had this side."
He whirled on her, swaying dangerously. "Yeah? Well, I decided something yesterday. When Amelia was in my arms. When this system dropped into my lap." His fists clenched, blood running between his fingers. "I'm done. Done letting shit just happen to me."
"You're at 3 vitality," Sera warned. "If you take another hit—"
"Who cares." He turned back to Marcus. "You want to kill me? Go ahead and try. You're going to have to earn it, you privileged fuck."
Marcus's face went purple with rage. "PRIVILEGED?! I worked for everything I have!"
"With a pretty face and a system that probably handed you everything on a silver platter!" Judas took a stumbling step forward. "You think you're special? I never asked for any of this, and here you are abusing it for your own gain. You're living the good life, while I had mine taken away from me."
"That's enough."
Sera's hand clamped down on Judas's shoulder, and this time her grip was iron. Purple light flooded through him, healing magic forcing its way into his body whether he wanted it or not.
"Let go—"
"No." Her voice brooked no argument. "Your vitality hits zero, you die. No respawns or second chances. The system doesn't care about your pride."
The healing magic worked through him, bones snapping back into place, internal bleeding stopping. But the anger remained, burning hotter than ever.
[VITALITY RESTORED: 7/7]
"There," Sera said, but she didn't let go. "Now you can stand and fight without dying from a stiff breeze."
Marcus was staring at them both, something like respect mixing with his rage. "You've got balls, trash boy. I'll give you that."
"Stop calling me that." Judas's voice was deadly quiet now. "My name is Judas Crown."
He shrugged off Sera's hand, steadier now but still radiating fury. "I place a bet, Lucky Seven!"
I'm determined to learn. I don't care if my vitality is at full. I'm going to place all my bets, use all of my abilities and figure this shit out.
Three slot reels appeared above his head, spinning with violent speed that matched his mood.
[BET ACTIVATED: LUCKY SEVEN]
[SUCCESS CHANCE: 65% (30% base + 35% luck)]
[ROLLING...]
The reels slowed.
Seven. Seven. Seven.
[JACKPOT!]
[CRITICAL SUCCESS!]
[VITALITY RESTORED: ALREADY AT MAXIMUM]
[BONUS: BERSERKER'S FORTUNE - +5 STRENGTH FOR 60 SECONDS]
Red light exploded from Judas's body, his muscles visibly swelling with temporary power. The anger had somehow influenced the Bet, turning a healing ability into something violent.
"What the—" Marcus started.
Judas's fist connected with Marcus's jaw, sending the bigger man staggering.
[MARCUS KING - VITALITY: 16/25]
Another punch, this one to the ribs.
[MARCUS KING - VITALITY: 14/25]
A knee to the stomach.
[MARCUS KING - VITALITY: 12/25]
Marcus stumbled backward, gasping for air.
"Interesting," Sera murmured, watching with newfound fascination.
"Wait," Marcus said suddenly, "you know what? No. If you want to make this personal..."
He stood slowly, cradling his dislocated shoulder. "I just realized something. You keep talking about Bets, teaching him the basics." A bitter laugh escaped his lips. "But you haven't told him what a real gambler can do."
"Oh?" Sera raised an eyebrow, but she was still watching Judas, who stood there panting, fists clenched, looking ready to tear Marcus apart with his bare hands.
"I'm A-rank for a reason." Marcus's good hand went to his pocket, pulling out a single gold coin. "Want to see what a tier 3 Bet looks like?"
The Dryad Queen's eyes widened in horror. "Marcus, no! Not that one—"
"Shut up." He flipped the coin, and it hung in the air, spinning impossibly slow.
"I place a bet. Bankruptcy." He said with a cold calmness.
[HOSTILE BET DETECTED]
[MARCUS KING - ACTIVATING: BANKRUPTCY]
[TIER 3 UNIQUE BET]
"Bankruptcy?" Judas asked, the red aura around him not fading.
Marcus's grin was savage. "Here's the thing about money, kid. Everything has a price. Power. Abilities. Even the system itself." The golden light of the coin reflected off of Marcus's calculating eyes. "Penalty for this one is harsh. All my money gone if I fail. But the prize is worth it."
The coin started spinning faster.
"It turns off ALL abilities and items in a fifty-foot radius for thirty seconds. No purple fire from that annoying guide of yours. No more coin flips either." Marcus's eyes locked onto him. "Just meat and bone."
Judas laughed with a sick amusement.
"Good," he said, cracking his knuckles. "I prefer it that way anyway."
[BANKRUPTCY - ACTIVATING]
[SUCCESS CHANCE: 85% (40% base + 45% from daily luck)]
[ROLLING...]
The gold coin reached impossible speeds, becoming a sphere of light.
The coin stopped.
Heads.
[SUCCESS!]
[ALL ABILITIES AND ITEMS DISABLED - 30 SECONDS]
The effect was immediate. The Berserker's Fortune faded from Judas's body, his enhanced strength vanishing. But unlike before, he didn't stumble. He just stood there, eyes burning with mundane, human rage.
"There we go," Marcus laughed shakily. "Now we're equal. No Bets. Mano a Mano."