Judas sprinted across the Lucky Loon, his strength still amplified by his stats, even if his abilities were turned off.
Catching Marcus by surprise, he dug his knuckles into Marcus's sternum, forcing the air out of his lungs.
Marcus growled, then retaliated with a devastating hook that caught Judas in the ribs.
[VITALITY: 5/7]
Judas gasped but didn't stop. Another wild swing at Marcus's face, grazing his cheek.
[MARCUS KING - VITALITY: 11/25]
Marcus's knee drove into Judas's stomach. Then an elbow to his back as he doubled over. Then another punch to his temple that sent him spinning.
[VITALITY: 2/7]
But Judas kept coming despite the blood streaming from his nose, ribs probably re-broken, and his vision blurring.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Marcus backed away, his eyes attached to Judas. Even with his superior stats, even landing three hits for every one of Judas's, the kid wouldn't stop. "Stay down!"
"Make me." Judas wheezed, stumbling forward with another swing that actually connected with Marcus's jaw, sending a sheering pain down his wrist as knuckles met bone.
[MARCUS KING - VITALITY: 10/25]
Marcus regained his footing then grabbed Judas by the throat with his good hand, lifting him off the ground. "Fine! You want to die? I'll—"
Judas spat blood directly in his eyes.
"FUCK!" Marcus dropped him, stumbling backward and wiping at his face.
Judas hit the ground hard but rolled to his feet, swaying like a drunk. His legs were shaking, blood dripping steadily from multiple wounds, but his eyes were still burning and locked onto Marcus.
"Twenty-four years," Judas rasped, taking another unsteady step forward. "Twenty-four years of taking everyone's shit. Fuck you."
He threw another punch. Marcus easily dodged and countered with a blow that should have dropped him.
[VITALITY: 1/7][WARNING: CRITICAL CONDITION]
Judas stayed standing.
Marcus stared, genuinely confused. "How are you still—"
"Because," Judas laughed, blood bubbling on his lips, "I'm too pissed off to fall down."
"You're insane," Marcus muttered. "You're actually insane."
"Hmmm. I think that's enough." Sera said suddenly, walking forward casually, stopping right in front of a bloodied Marcus.
She raised one finger, "I don't think there's anything more to be gained from you."
She flicked Marcus in the forehead.
The A-rank gambler flew backward like a bullet in flight, slamming directly into the Dryad Queen. They tumbled together in a tangle of limbs, crashing through what remained of a poker table.
"Fifteen seconds left on your Bankruptcy," Sera announced, examining her finger like she'd flicked away a piece of lint. "And let me explain something while you untangle yourselves."
Marcus groaned, trying to push the Dryad Queen off him. "You've been COMPLETELY USELESS this entire fight!"
"She's terrified," Sera said matter-of-factly. "Much smarter than a meathead like yourself."
Judas collapsed to his knees, adrenaline finally failing. But he was still conscious and glaring.
"Physical prowess," Sera continued, "isn't an ability. It's just what I am. You turned off system abilities, yes. But the difference in our strength is far too great."
Marcus's eyes went wide.
"Five seconds," she counted down. "I suggest you leave."
The last seconds of Bankruptcy ticked out.
Power flooded back into everyone's body. Judas's base abilities reconnected. Marcus scrambled to his feet, both arms ruined, dragging the Dryad Queen with him.
"We're going," the Dryad Queen gasped. "Vegas is yours. Everything is yours. We'll never—"
"Wait," Judas called out, his voice hoarse. He was still on his knees, held up by pure stubbornness.
Marcus froze.
"Your money." Judas gestured weakly at the millions scattered across the floor. "Take it."
Marcus looked confused. "What?"
"I don't want your money. I don't want anything from you." Judas's eyes were cold. "I just want you gone. And if I see you again, system or no system, abilities or not, I'll keep coming until one of us stops moving."
Marcus nodded frantically, taking a few unstable steps backward.
Reality bent inward.
The casino domain that had isolated them shattered at once, the time around them rewinding to before the fight, then resuming. The Lucky Loon's normal operations unpaused in an instant: slot machines chiming, dealers shuffling cards, patrons laughing over drinks.
Except now two bloodied men stood in the middle of the floor, both looking like they'd been through a meat grinder.
The nearest blackjack table went silent first. Then the next. Then the entire casino floor as heads turned and conversations died.
"What the fuck?" a dealer whispered.
"Call security!" someone shouted.
"Holy shit, is that blood?"
A woman near the bar dropped her martini. The glass shattered, and nobody even looked at it. All eyes were on Judas and Marcus, both swaying on their feet, both absolutely drenched in blood.
"They were just... standing there a second ago," a patron muttered.
"No, they weren't. I was just looking there. It's like they… teleported or something."
The crowd began backing away, creating a wide circle around them. Some pulled out phones. Others looked for the nearest exit.
Then the doors burst open.
A woman strode in, flanked by six men built like tanks in expensive suits.
She was young, mid-twenties at most, with platinum blonde hair pulled into a severe ponytail that somehow made her look more dangerous rather than professional.
Her tailored black business suit hugged her figure in a way that suggested the designer had been working with premium material, and her heels clicked against the floor with the rhythm of an execution march.
But it was her face that really sold it. Aristocratic features that belonged on old money, with full lips currently pressed into a line of absolute disdain and eyes the color of winter ice that looked at the pair with interest.
"I've always hated this poor excuse of a casino," she announced, her voice carrying that particular accent of someone who looked down on others as a habit. "But money stolen is just that. Still mine."
Her gaze swept across the room in an instant, cataloguing Marcus's injuries, the Dryad Queen's disheveled state, the money scattered everywhere like confetti at the world's most violent party.
Her eyes finally settled on Judas, still kneeling in a pool of his own blood. "A gambler's duel. Not the first I've walked in on, but by far the most convenient timing."
She crossed the distance to Marcus in three sharp strides, each step deliberate, and grabbed him by his hair. The movement was so sudden and vicious that even her security looked mildly surprised.
"Miss Evie!" Marcus gasped.
"Shut. Up." Each word was delivered like a slap. She gestured at her security with her free hand, perfectly manicured nails catching the light. "Subdue him. Carefully. He's worth more intact."
The large men moved with practiced efficiency, two of them pinning Marcus's arms whilst another produced heavy restraints that looked far too sophisticated for standard security equipment.
"This rat," Evie continued, her voice never rising but somehow filling the entire casino, "has been rigging odds in his favor and taking our money without remorse. Three point seven million over six months." She yanked his hair harder, making him wince. "Did you think we wouldn't notice? Did you think the Ashford family got rich by being stupid?"
She finally looked directly at Judas and Sera, like a predator eyeing prey.
"Another gambler. Another mistake waiting to happen." Her smile could cut diamonds. "All of you should just die. Would make my job significantly easier."
Sera raised an eyebrow, her own smile widening. "Bold words, little heiress."
"But not today," Evie continued as if Sera hadn't spoken, though her eyes flickered with annoyance at being called 'little'.
She pulled out her phone, still gripping Marcus's hair with casual cruelty. "I have to take this one in first. See, to make back the money he's stolen and wasted, there's a very big and very pricey black market for gamblers. How their supernatural abilities work, what makes them tick, how to replicate or suppress their powers. Medical research pays extremely well for live specimens."
The way she said 'live specimens' made it sound like she was discussing fine wine.
She raised her phone and snapped several photos of Judas and Sera, adjusting the angle twice to get better lighting.
Judas blinked through the blood in his eyes. "The hell are you doing?"
"Documentation," Evie said, reviewing the photos with the critical eye of someone who accepted nothing less than perfection. She took one more shot. "So I can take care of you next. You're clearly another 'gambler', and I always finish what I start."
"You can certainly try," Sera said, her tone as pleasant as always, but her jaw tensed.
Evie's smile widened just a fraction, like she'd been hoping for resistance. "I don't try."
She reached into her jacket and produced what looked like a high-tech collar, made of sleek black metal with red lines around the edges.
In one smooth motion that suggested she'd done this before; she clipped it around Marcus's neck. It locked with an audible click, and small red lights activated along its surface.
Then she turned to face the Dryad Queen directly, meeting those ancient, inhuman eyes without a single trace of fear.
"This," Evie announced, her voice dropping to something cold enough to frost glass, "is a countermeasure against Guides." She tapped the collar almost affectionately.
"You may look human to people like us, without a system, but I know what you are. Attack and your gambler's head separates from his body in approximately zero point three seconds. Which means you die too yes?" She shot the Dryad Queen a cold mocking smirk.
The Dryad Queen's vines, which had been slowly creeping across the floor, froze completely.
Evie's smile was victorious and utterly devoid of warmth.
"That's what I thought." She yanked Marcus's hair again, making him stumble forward. "Let's go. You have a very uncomfortable, very profitable future ahead of you. My family thanks you for repaying your debt."
As her security hauled Marcus toward the exit, his face pale, words tumbling over each other in useless pleas, Evie's pace slowed at the doorway.
At the doorframe, she paused. Her gaze turned back to Judas.
"Evie Ashford," she said, her voice softer but no less commanding. "Heiress to the Ashford family. Remember it. We'll be seeing each other again very soon."
The doors swung shut. Expensive heels clicked away down the corridor, each step growing fainter. Marcus's protests dissolved behind the doors.
For a long moment, nobody moved.
"Well," Sera said finally, a genuine grin spreading across her face. "She seems fun. I think I like her."
Judas stared at the door. "She's quite literally a trafficker. I'm more likely than not a price tag in the shape of a human."
"Yes, but she has style~" Sera sighed happily.
"She's insane."
"Hmm" Sera looked down at him. "Also, you're still dying."
[VITALITY: 1/7]
[WARNING: CRITICAL CONDITION]
[SUGGESTED ACTION: SEEK IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION]
"I noticed."
The Dryad Queen finally moved, her vines retreating as she processed what had just happened. "One wrong move and Marcus would have..."
"Died messily," Sera finished cheerfully. "The Ashford family doesn't bluff. Old money, older secrets, and absolutely ruthless business practices. They've been killing gamblers who cheat their casinos since the 1920s."
She closed the distance to the Dryad Queen instantly.
With a judgmental frown, she tilted the Dryad's chin up, forcing eye contact. "See, I don't like you." Her voice lowered with hostility. "You failed as a guide. We were taught to avoid the Ashford, yet you let your gambler become their target. And now Judas has caught their attention."
"I…"
Sera's face twisted with disgust as she leaned closer. "I will never let my gambler down like you have. Go fix it. Now."
"O-ok..." The Dryad Queen vanished in a swirl of leaves and desperate light, presumably chasing after the Ashford entourage.
Sera looked down at Judas, who was still on his knees, swaying dangerously.
[VITALITY: 1/7]
[WARNING: CRITICAL CONDITION]
[SUGGESTED ACTION: SEEK IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION]
Purple light began gathering around Sera's hands, healing energy wrapping around her hands.
"I'll heal yo—"
[GAMBLER'S DUEL VICTORY DETECTED]
[VICTOR: JUDAS CROWN]
[LOSER: MARCUS KING (RANK A)]
[REWARD SPIN AVAILABLE]
[NOTE: VICTOR'S SPIN DOES NOT COUNT AS DAILY SPIN]
[CLAIM REWARD? Y/N]
Judas blinked through the blood in his eyes, reading the notification twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating from blood loss.
"Victor's spin?" he rasped.
Sera's healing light dissipated as a smirk spread across her face. "Ah, yes. I was wondering when that would trigger. When you win a gambler's duel, you get to spin for rewards too."
She gestured at the notification with clear amusement. "This isn't like a daily spin. No quest required to claim your prize," she grinned at him. "Since, you already paid for it by battling to the death and all that."
"I'm not sure if I should—"
"Where's your gambling spirit?" Her smirk widened. " Live dangerously."
Judas laughed, then immediately regretted it as his broken ribs screamed in protest. "Fuck it. Yes."
[REWARD SPIN INITIATED]
Purple light materialized in front of him, but this wasn't his personal slot machine. This was laced with purple and gold, with letters on the reels. Without Judas even touching it—
[SPINNING...]
[OPPONENT RANK: A]
[CALCULATING REWARDS...]
The reels spun faster than anything Judas had seen before, symbols blurring into streaks of light.
"Hey, mate, you alright?" A concerned middle-aged man approached them. "You're just standing there staring at nothing. You good to make it to the hospital?"
"Not now!" Sera hissed, making the man flinch before he turned away, grumbling under his breath.
[PASSIVE ABILITY: "I CAN'T STOP WINNING!" ACTIVATED]
[FORCING JACKPOT RESULT...]
The reels slammed to a halt with a sound like a loud clap. Three identical "SSR" symbols lined up perfectly, each one radiating golden light that made the Lucky Loon's gaudy décor look dim by comparison.
[TRIPLE MATCH - JACKPOT!]
[RARITY: LEGENDARY (SSR)]
Sera's eyes widened. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. Your ability carries over to this too..."
[REWARD PROCESSING...]
[ITEM ACQUIRED: "FOOL'S FORTUNE" (SSR)]
[TYPE: ACCESSORY - RING]
[EFFECT: +1 DAILY LUCK]
[EFFECT: Once per day, automatically convert one failed Bet into a success. Backlash still applies.]
[SPECIAL PROPERTY: Grows with user. Additional effects unlock at Level 20, 40, 60.]
A ring materialized in the air before him, spinning slowly. It was deceptively simple. The ring was made of a band of dark metal embedded with a single small purple gem.
[+1,247 EXP]
[LEVEL UP! 8 → 9]
[LEVEL UP! 9 → 10]
[LEVEL UP! 10 → 11]
[LEVEL 10 THRESHOLD EXCEEDED]
[TIER 2 BETS: UNLOCKED]
Power flooded into Judas all at once. His broken ribs knitted together in seconds. Internal bleeding stopped, reversed, then vanished. Bruises faded before he could draw another breath. Even the blood on his skin seemed to evaporate.
[VITALITY RESTORED: 13/13]
[MAXIMUM VITALITY INCREASED DUE TO LEVEL UP!]
[STRENGTH: 7 -> 9]
[AGILITY: 6 -> 8]
[PERCEPTION: 5 -> 6]
[CHARISMA: 4 ->5]
[SEXUAL APPEAL 4 -> 6]
[LUCK: 7/10 (+1 FROM FOOL'S FORTUNE)]
Judas gasped as the transformation completed.
The ring floated down into his palm, still warm.
"An SSR accessory from your first real victory," Sera's voice had lost its usual edge. "And it scales with your level. Judas, do you understand how absurdly lucky you just got?"
He slipped the ring onto his finger. It adjusted to fit perfectly, the purple gem pulsing once in acknowledgment.
"Lucky?" He looked at her, a manic grin spreading across his blood-free face. "It's about time."
[TIER 2 GAMBLING ABILITIES - UNLOCKED]
[NEW BETS AVAILABLE:]
Russian Roulette (8 SP) - 50% base success. Success: Deal massive damage to target. Fail: Deal moderate damage to yourself.
High Roller (10 SP) - 40% base success. Success: Triple all stats for 20 seconds. Fail: Halve all stats for 20 seconds.
Double or Nothing (7 SP) - 60% base success. Success: Restore all vitality and gain temporary invulnerability (3 seconds). Fail: Reduce vitality to 1.
"Aggressive options," Sera noted, reading over his shoulder. "Tier 2 bets usually have severe fail conditions. But those success rewards..." She pointed at High Roller. "Triple all stats? With your current numbers, that would put you temporarily above where Marcus was."
Judas flexed his hand, watching the ring catch the casino lights.
"One safety net per day," he murmured.
"The backlash still hits you," Sera warned. "So, if you use Russian Roulette and fail, the ring will give you the success reward, but you'll still take damage from failing."
"So I could deal massive damage to an enemy and moderate damage to myself."
"Exactly. It's not a free win. It's a consolation prize that still costs you." Sera's eyes narrowed. "This isn't normal progression. You're being fast-tracked for something."
"Fast-tracked for what?"
"I don't know." For the first time since they'd met, Sera looked uncertain.
The notifications hung in the air like a threat and a promise.
Judas looked down at the ring on his finger.
"Let them come," he said quietly.
Sera's smile returned. "Now that's the spirit."
***
A/N: Judas Crown's System Status (for readers who love the mechanics, optional unless you are into how the system works and the leveling.) FEEL FREE TO SKIM PAST THIS!
PLAYER PROFILE:
Name: Judas Crown
Level: 11
Rank: D
Daily Luck: 8/10 (base 7 + 1 from Fool's Fortune)
CORE STATS:
Vitality: 13/13 (max HP)
Strength: 9
Agility: 15
Sexual Appeal: 8
Base Luck: 7/10 (+1 from Fool's Fortune = 8/10)
Available: 13 SP
ACTIVE ABILITIES:
Passive/Cheat Abilities
I Can't Stop Winning! (SSR) – Every spin during jackpot cooldown guarantees maximum luck results. After cooldown: 100% jackpot probability on daily spins.
Chaotic Motion – Movement becomes unpredictable when panicked. Helped survive the Tyson fight.
COMBAT TREE:
Phantom Step (5 SP) – Short-range teleportation with enhanced agility.
Charisma Tree
Silver Tongue (3 SP) – Enhanced persuasion and negotiation.
Tier 1 Gambling Bets (PURCHASED)
Coin Flip (3 SP) – 50% base success
Success: Next attack deals double damage
Fail: Take 1 vitality damage
Snake Eyes (4 SP) – 20% base success
Success: Stun target for 3 seconds
Fail: Stun yourself for 1 second
Lucky Seven (5 SP) – 30% base success
Success: Restore 3 vitality
Fail: Lose 4 agility for 60 seconds
Bet Success Formula: Base % + (Daily Luck × 5)
Example: Coin Flip at 8/10 luck = 50% + 40% = 90% success chance
EQUIPPED ITEMS:
Fool's Fortune (SSR Ring)
Effect 1: +1 Daily Luck (permanent boost)
Effect 2: Once per day, automatically convert one failed Bet into a success (backlash penalty still applies)
Special: Grows with player level, unlocks additional effects at Levels 20, 40, and 60
Ender's Watch (Epic Rarity)
Effect: Stop time for 10 seconds once per day. User cannot move but can perceive surroundings during the freeze.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS:
Amelia Hart: 100% Affection (Absolute Devotion)
Status: Dangerously obsessed. Requires careful handling.
Sera (Guide): Affection unknown after recent events.
ACTIVE STATUS:
Jackpot Cooldown: 5 days remaining (Day 2 of 7)
KNOWN THREATS
Evie Ashford – Heiress of the Ashford family. Gambler hunter with anti-Guide technology. Has Judas's photo.
Marcus King – Rank A gambler, now captured by the Ashfords. Former Vegas territory controller.
***
Stay tuned. The cooldown ends in 5 days, and when it does, Judas will be forced to spin again with 100% jackpot probability.
What kind of woman will the system throw at him next?