Iya Continent: Card God

Two-Headed Deer Tavern.

The tavern had already closed, and Linta was its last customer.

To win big at the casino and still make it this far is nothing short of a miracle. But Linta knew the real reason. Today, the other party wouldn't care how many hands they'd won.

"We still have to go back after we finish eating," Linta muttered to herself as she ate the three-meat soup that Boss Simon had brought her from the kitchen.

After Mr. Simon brought it over, he left without saying a word.

"How much longer until dawn..."

Linta gazed at the darkening night outside, his face grave.

He blinked sharply, shook his head to regain his composure, and devoured the three-meat soup in front of him.

With renewed spirits, they headed back towards the casino.

……

Countless eyes in the underground casino were fixed on Linta's return.

This man on a winning streak is back. Can he continue his winning streak?

The prevailing idea was that Linta could switch to a different kind of gambling, one that everyone could participate in, and use his abilities to make money off the casino. However, Linta had no such intention. Aside from dice, other forms of gambling weren't suitable for him, or rather, he couldn't cheat.

It's a pity that even when betting on dice and the dealer, betting the maximum amount, you can't win many silver coins in one go. The rules of the game limit the bets.

"Mr. Linta, you're back." Manager Cameron said with a friendly smile from the dealer's seat.

Linta swallowed hard. It seemed that the steward, Kamai, was finally going to make his move.

Has he discovered my cheating methods?

Cameron smiled and said, "Would you like to gamble with dice, sir? If so, I'd like to play with you."

Linta smiled faintly and said, "Let's bet."

"Let's compare sizes."

"Then... let's begin."

In an instant, the casino fell silent, with only the sound of dice striking the dice cup remaining. Unlike the chaotic sounds inside Linta's dice cup, the sound of Manager Cameron shaking the cup had an orderly rhythm.

The gamblers present were completely absorbed, barely daring to breathe.

"Boom!!"

Both dice were placed simultaneously, the dice cup was opened, and the result was "six".

"Same."

"A draw!"

"As expected of Manager Cameron!"

Linta frowned slightly. As he expected, the other party could indeed roll the dice at will.

I witnessed this myself last time. I was able to beat him because the shadow from a certain angle extended out of his dice cup, changing the size of the dice.

But this time, it's a bit difficult.

It's difficult for the shadow to reach the dice inside by using the angle.

Even if you can change your own dice, you can't change his, which means an endless series of draws.

Manager Cameron smiled and said, "What a coincidence, a tie. Shall we continue?"

Linta laughed and said, "Continue!"

Linta did not hesitate and continued to gamble with the other party on dice.

My goal tonight is to draw the enemy's attention. Ideally, I'd like to draw the attention of that elephant, Gary.

Linta glanced absently at the top floor.

From the moment I arrived at this underground casino, I never saw Gary the Elephant appear, nor did I see him leave the Two-Headed Deer Tavern. Was he still there the whole time?

He... is gone!

Linta's heart skipped a beat as she realized something.

Even the bandit leader of the Iron Teeth Gang knew to dig tunnels in advance in the seemingly straight Misty Swamp Mountain. How could the owner of this underground casino not know this? Everyone had always assumed that access to the casino required passing through the Two-Headed Deer Tavern. In reality, that was just an illusion. There must be a tunnel within the casino that facilitated their entry and exit!

Linta gritted her teeth, feeling a pang of regret. But it was also expected; from the beginning, she hadn't thought she could attract Gary the Elephant. He'd been planning for so long; he couldn't possibly be hindered by her slight oddity.

Those who can stop themselves are always gamblers in casinos.

"Boom!!"

Another round of shaking has ended.

Carmack opened his dice cup first, and it still had the highest possible score: five sixes.

"It's your turn, sir."

Linta let out a soft breath, opened his dice cup, and found five sixes inside.

"Another draw!"

"Although it was a draw, according to the bookmaker's rules, if there are two consecutive draws, the bookmaker gets the money."

Linta frowned as he watched the silver coins on the table being taken away.

Damn, if I keep playing like this, I could lose all my savings in one night.

Carmen smiled kindly and said, "Would you like to gamble again? Or perhaps we could try a different kind of betting?"

"The betting continues," Linta said with a smile. "But could you turn off a few lights? They're too bright and hurting my eyes."

After a moment's thought, Cameron gestured to the casino staff to turn off the lights as Linta had requested.

Soon, the light on the entire gambling table dimmed considerably.

It was dark enough that shadows blended into it.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Carmike was the first to open the dice cup, confident that he would have the highest score. As long as he showed that he had the highest score, it didn't matter what score his opponent had.

"This time..."

"Um?!"

Carmack stared wide-eyed at the dice in the cup; there were only four sixes and one other number.

How could that be? I couldn't have made a mistake!

Linta opened his points, undoubtedly the highest number.

"Sorry, I won this round."

The gamblers were astonished, all surprised by Linta's victory. They knew that Manager Cameron's gambling skills were guaranteed to roll the highest possible score with absolute certainty, and he would never make a mistake. However, what they saw before them left them no choice but to believe it. The fact that the magic lamp wasn't lit further proved that the other party hadn't used magic. How did he do it? This became the question on everyone's mind.

Carmack felt the same way he had when he was defeated by his opponent months ago.

"Come again."

……

"Five sixes still make me the best!" Linta said happily.

They won again, but their opponent still had fewer points.

Manager Cameron's face was extremely pale, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot. He couldn't see through Linta's cheating methods at all.

How did he do that? Was it because he turned off a few lights? But the light was dim, not enough to create complete darkness. I could still see his movements clearly. Why? And why turn off those lights in the first place? Couldn't he have just replaced them?

Manager Carmack was utterly baffled; decades of experience couldn't provide a reasonable explanation. He was on the verge of a breakdown.

Linta remained calm and composed, showing no sign of anything amiss.

"The darkest place is under the lamp"—this is something even a seasoned player like him would overlook. Of the lights he'd asked to turn off, that one light didn't really matter. The important thing was that with less light, shadows lengthened and shortened according to the intensity of the light. And at that moment, his own shadow could touch his dice cup!

"Continue," Cameron thought angrily.

“Okay,” Linta said with a smile.

His gaze occasionally swept over the guests. The gamblers gathered together, cheering in surprise; in their minds, Linta was like a god of gambling.

Linta paid no attention to their cheers and praises, only caring about his own task. Now, his task should be completed.