Well that was…bizarre.
I've never seen the system like that before, glowing red and everything, it even dropped an ominous one-liner. That Clanker is quite the moron, giving me seemingly random choices to make. Just a few minutes ago it even told me to hit on a 19.
It made me sweat a little,... this might just be one of It's new tricks, acting all doom and gloom like that.
Oh well. Now that's done, time for the main course of today's hunt.
The first gacha system implemented in B-Hive, the Spiral.
It is a roulette table that has a total of 72 slots, double that of the standard game. However, players noticed something strange about this thing.
It isn't roulette at all, the slots are colored differently and instead of the usual black and red they now have tiers and odds. There are like 5 orange SSR slots, the odds of getting them are quite a joke.
While that, you can have a more feasible 20 SR slots, though speaking of. It's SR so you better just roll another 10 to hopefully get SSR. The rest 47 holes aren't worth mentioning, just green and grey common trash.
If your ancestor's fond of you, they give you an orange, instant 10x for your bid. The SR isn't half assed either, 1.5x for each slot. Though being SR, it's still a loss either way.
Here's where the fun begins, the slots don't reset every turn. If a ball lands in an Orange then jackpot, that slot is plugged. Done. Out of the game. If you aren't the highest bidder, you're just picking through the leftovers of the whales who went before you.
The betting system is kinda whack as well, You bet for priority. Like in an auction, where the highest bidder wins the item, but now they have to do a 10 pull to perhaps bring that item home.
Thankfully, most people quit before they go too deep. But as they say, 99% of gamblers quit before winning big.
I lit a new cigarette, haven't had a smoke this good since Uni. "That slimy bastard from before, his name was…Johny? He lent me a pack before leaving, saying he'll be back for it soon."
"I almost felt grateful, but he just dipped right after, haven't seen him anywhere. What a dodgy bloke." Roland took a drag, his mind cleared and confidence surging.
With ease, he steps closer to the gathering crowd surrounding the big wheel in a corner of the ever glamorous den.
"Bid yer bets people, the round's bout da start! Ten balls! Who 'll be their owner? Who will eat oranges today? It could be you, it could be him! It could even be that lad over there!". A seasoned dealer announced, gathering the disorganized guests.
As soon as I arrived at the massive wheel, there were already balls being thrown. The dealer wears a fine white suit, standing adjacent to the wheel table. In his right hand is a glass of red wine, holding medium to small ivory balls like a handful of aged olives.
A heated fellow brushed past me and joined the crowd, he threw down his pouch with a thud.
Wait, did I see that right? one, three coins, six…
"30 platinum coins for the balls, just hurry already. No lads here have as much as I do" He spouted with such arrogance between his teeth.
All eyes were on him as the crowd went quiet, before erupting in chatters.
"Isn't that Baron Rum's son ?, oh how good would it be to be young and reckless". A few nobles turn their heads, disdain paints their eyes to the man's mannerism.
The dealer calmly took his pouch as if this was a normal occasion, and started making a few weird gestures on his throat.
When the dealer opens his mouth, a sharp loud announcement blasts off "30 platinum going once, going twice. and sold! to this young lad"
A thunderous mechanical sound struck the air as the announcement ended. The comically large roulette began its fateful rotation. The dealer lifts the wine glass above his head.
As if held up by a string, the 10 balls different in sizes started levitating, floating elegantly until they reached the top of the roulette. Floating in a circle bobbing up and down like a carousel .
The once lively crowd now went silent, observing the performance of fate before them.
Like clockwork, the balls dropped one by one. With each landing, the mechanical wheel speeds up. Until it couldn't be followed with the naked eye
The fellow looked confident, showing an aura of assurance as if he had already won. He casually combs his hair, admiring himself in his ivory hand mirror. Not even batting an eye to the spinning wheel of fortune.
Eventually, the wheel stopped. The young fellow, still deep in admiration for his own reflection, only looked up when the crowd began to hiss and murmur.
"The results are in: four Greens, one Purple, and five Greys" announced the dealer, as he lowered his glass.
The young fellow's jaw dropped, the aura he had two minutes ago vanished like it never was. The mirror slipped from his hand, his comb lay cold on the ground.
"This can not be!". He shouted and started gripping his hair like a frenzied ape.
The fellow rushed over to the dealer, stomping on his tools of aura farming." You fucking ass, you rigged the damn thing didn't you?, that wheel, those balls! IT'S ALL YOURS DOING!" He held tightly to the dealer's collar, smearing filth on his pearly suit.
The crowd stares at him, some smiles mockingly, others chuckles. But most were disgusted at this childish outburst.
The dealer, though shocked at first, slowly puts up a business-like smile. "Young lad, we at B-Hive do business as clear as day, are you aware of what you're accusing us of right now?" He attempts to nudge free of the young fellow's grasp.
The crowd instinctively moves back, forming a circle around the two men as the situation gets heated.
"Lad, or should I say… young master. Please take your winnings and leave if you don't want to continue". With a snap of his hand, 8 platinum coins float up and glide to the lad
"This brat is really, foolishly testing his luck against a telekinesis mage right now, I thought the young masters trope are just fictional crafts. Guess they really only have three brain cells and an inflated ego." I took another long drag.
The young man looks at the floating coins in front of him, tempted to grab. Unfortunately his pride grabbed him first.
He slapped them away with shame in his eyes, looking even more furious than before.
"You damned slave, you dare mock me with this? Do you know who my father is? If I say even a word about this he wi-" but before he could finish his words, the dealer swung his arm.
The air suddenly shifted, as if a vast being was looming over the entire den.
An invisible force slams the young man down the dirty floor before holding him up, facing the dealer." Young Master Ron, we know exactly who your father is. We won't hold you accountable for what happened here today, we will be sure to inform your father."
The 8 coins that previously fell down were grabbed by a few lucky guests. Hastily flew out from their pockets and glided straight to the dealer's hand. "These are your winnings, I hope you come back sober next time, young master."
The dealer simply shoved the coins in Ron's pouch, and returned to his station at the Spiral, leaving the unconscious bloodied Ron cold on the floor.
The dealer signaled something with his eyes, the inner doors swung open. Two hooded figures calmly walked out and grabbed the pathetic lad, dragging him on the floor and faded out behind the corridor.
"Ah...I saw that coming three yards away". " Young people are so foolish, to bet 30 platinum before the greens are cleared, tch tch" some guests click their tongues, others sipped their drink, all leisurely waiting for the next rotation.
Roland stood idle, nonchalantly observing as the rounds went on. Three more auctions passed, with the highest soaring over 60 platinum. However, most were rather unfortunate, getting either 1 purple, or none at all.
While the losers' groans echoed through the corridor, Roland remained a statue of smoke and silence. He didn't give them even half a glance, only counting the empty spaces on the ivory wheel.
He simply watches, no reaction nor angst. Just sheer focus solely on the spinning roulette as if this was a daily occurrence. Roland's gaze reminiscent that of a tiger patiently waiting for a plump boar to fatten up
As the pool tightens, the crowd of the curious and greedy naturally grows. Finally, after four rounds with only 27 slots remained and most of the trash cleared.
The tiger lowers its stance, signaling the start of the hunt.
I puffed a cloud of smoke, the coins in the pouch clinking with every step I took. It was time to feast.