Zongman, Rebirth of the Heaven-Defying Kirito

Kirito was the first to arrive at his spot—the roulette machine.

He had held a grudge ever since he was humiliated here last time.

Back in the Eternal Land, he could ride his horse across the entire 40-minute match to defeat the enemy's sister. I'm not saying this to prove how amazing Kirito is, but rather... when have I, Duke Kirigaya, ever suffered such humiliation?

Kenshin casually sat down in front of a slot machine.

Although it's not the same machine as last time, the operating procedures of all the slot machines are the same, so it doesn't matter which one you play.

Unlike Kirito, who is full of negative energy, Kenshin has a clear and innocent look on his face.

A kendo fanatic, he had never been to a casino before, except for that last time. To be honest, he was still completely clueless about the equipment there and chose the slot machine simply because it was easy to operate.

Kenshin removed the reverse-blade sword from his waist, which was somewhat in the way, and placed it on the side of the slot machine.

With a simple mindset, Kenshin began the game.

Finally, there's the black guy, who wanders aimlessly through the casino.

Everywhere I looked, there were familiar pieces of equipment.

Although he was in a game, he did not feel any difference from reality.

That's right, he has experience working in casinos during his long history of working.

His gaze was different from both Kirito's and Kenshin's.

His eyes swept over the equipment one by one.

The slot machines were a bit lacking.

Roulette machines are purely a game of probability; I'm not interested.

Cards, mahjong... there really are all sorts of gambling games, which reminded him of his time working.

Back then...

Before Hei could even begin to recall the events, he heard someone shouting at him.

"Hey buddy over there, wanna gamble?"

Hei followed the sound and looked over.

It depicted a burly man in his thirties, presumably created directly from a real-life image.

Regarding this point, it's easy to confirm that players can be roughly divided into three types: those who can't wait to simply modify their appearance before entering the game; those who meticulously craft a perfect XP-like appearance that lasts for one or two hours; and those who intentionally summon 'Ancient Gods'.

The guy in front of me, however, seems to be the first type.

He had a dice pattern tattooed on his left arm, with the three dots deliberately painted vermilion. He wore a sleeveless vest, revealing his well-defined biceps.

At this moment, the other party was sitting at the other end of the 'dice game', looking at this side with a 'friendly' expression.

Hei opened his hand and held three dice. Then, with a high throw, the three dice landed precisely in the dice cup.

This is... showing off skills; the person is a master, and they're up to no good.

Looking at the ID on the other side—【Madman】

If an ordinary person saw this obviously pitted landscape, they would probably avoid it as much as possible and run away.

But Black chose to... follow the other party's persuasion, and with a natural smile, sat down in the opposite position.

"Um...excuse me, are you talking about me?"

The madman had already observed him thoroughly.

Seeing the dark face with its kind expression, yet revealing an air of naivety and foolishness, the other party's identity became obvious.

"That's right, you're still a student?"

The man with the dark face looked surprised: "Huh? How did you know?"

Hehe, just as expected, the madman was secretly delighted but did not show it.

"Of course I could tell, and from what I've observed, you must be a university freshman, right?"

Honestly, this observation is a complete mess, but let's just go with the flow and keep acting it out.

"Huh? How did you know that? Are you a hacker?"

Hei jumped up in alarm, pretending to leave.

Seeing this, the madman spread his hands to indicate that he had no other ideas: "Well, calm down, I'm not a hacker, and don't forget we're still in SAO."

Hei Jiang asked with suspicion, "Then how do you know about me?"

"Of course, it's through observation. I also have a nephew who's about your age, and the clear, innocent expressions on the faces of you college students are practically identical."

“So that’s how it is, haha…” Hei sat back down in his seat and said half-jokingly, “I thought I had encountered a cyber hacker.”

"Haha, how could it be such a coincidence?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, the madman steered the conversation toward the table between the two: "Well, it's fate that we met, how about we play a few rounds of gambling?"

"Want to gamble...?"

Hei thought carefully for a moment: "But I've never gambled before, so I don't know the rules at all."

Upon hearing this, the madman was overjoyed, realizing that the novice was still inexperienced in the ways of the world, but he remained outwardly calm.

“It’s okay. Everyone has a first time. Challengers can only become stronger through experience. Besides…” He paused here, “This is the world of SAO, isn’t it? If you’re timid and hesitant in the game, you won’t be able to accomplish anything great in real life.”

"That's true, there's definitely a problem with seeking realism in the game world."

"Hahaha—" x2

The two chatted and laughed, and soon became close. If others had seen them, they would have thought they were uncle and nephew. The scene was as harmonious as could be.

Then, the Madman accepted the rules for Black: "The rules here are: roll the dice and guess high or low. If you guess correctly, you will get a gold chip."

"But here comes the important part—we roll the dice and open the cup at the same time. Whoever has the higher total wins. Not counting the initial 500 Cor, the loser pays the winner an additional 1000 Cor. What do you think of this offer?"

Knowing the principle of "boiling a frog in lukewarm water," the madman set the price relatively low.

"no problem."

"Good!"

Then a system notification popped up in front of the two of them—[Player Betting Agreement]

After a quick glance, Hei discovered that the content completely overlapped with the other party's rules. It seems that as long as the original game rules are not violated, adding additional bets on top of them is also officially permitted.

This game is really... exceptionally well-made in some aspects.

He readily clicked the accept button, and the system automatically paid him 500 Cor.

As the game began, three dice and a matching dice cup appeared out of thin air in front of the two players.

The madman was already silently calculating how much Cor he could earn from the other party.

"By the way, this is your first time, right? Just do it like me."

As he spoke, he picked up the dice cup with his right hand, and placed the three dice inside with his left hand. Then he gently shook the cup with his right hand, and the dice made a jumping sound inside.

Such actions can only be described as those of an elderly person; they completely lack the skills used when meeting someone.

"Is that so?" Hei also imitated it quite well.

“That’s right, and then next…” The madman then turned the dice cup upside down on the table: “Three sixes!”

The dice cup was moved aside, and the numbers two, two, and three lay quietly inside.

The madman looked regretful: "Alas, it really wasn't as simple as I imagined."

He then turned his gaze to the other side, signaling 'It's your turn,' but the momentary ill intent in his eyes was noticed by Hei.

Hei's eyes narrowed even more as he smiled: "Then I'll make a fool of myself!"