Back at the hospital ward, a few minutes after Sunless left.
The room was still filled with silence when, finally, moon like eyes widened, revealing the flickering, dying embers of silvery hues.
"Brother!" Jane, Sunless' sister, widened her eyes as she stood up.
Instantly, pain racked through her body, causing her expression to turn pale.
Still, she didn't care about the pain and instead turned around, only to notice that her brother was nowhere to be found.
She glanced at the calendar on the wall and noticed the date.
It read: January 4th, 2026.
"Noo…" Jane mouthed as tears slid down her eyes slowly.
"He… is already gone."
In her mind, memories poured in like a tide.
In these memories the same scene had played out and on the same day.
Her brother left in the night, probably to make some money for their treatment.
But he never returned.
Jane struggled to her feet, but her limbs felt extremely weak and she could barely move them, not to talk of standing up from the bed.
'I… need to increase my strength. Perhaps there's a chance he just left now and I can still save him.'
Although Jane knew it was already too late, she wasn't willing to let her brother die like that.
For this brother who had sacrificed everything for her, including his life…
Jane would go to any lengths just to keep him safe.
With that thought she sifted through the memories in her mind and immediately a martial arts scripture appeared.
The Chaos Scripture.
Without hesitation, Jane began following the meditation pattern in this mysterious scripture.
Although she was in a haste, she tried to follow the unique path laid out in the scripture as fast as she could so she could go and save her brother.
"Brother…" Jane muttered under her breath. "Please wait for me."
…
The neon lights flickered incessantly as Sunless blended into the night crowd.
Unaware of what had just transpired in the hospital, Sunless continued on his way down the street and into an alleyway.
The streets were bustling with life as teenagers in the prime of their youths sought to enjoy as much as they could, ignoring all the worries they had in life.
In a bar not too far away, a group of youths were gathered drinking and wasting their lives away, while ladies trailed movements around their bodies, arousing their hormones for an intense night of passion.
There were also married, older men who occasionally entered brothels to satisfy their uncontrollable lust.
The moment Sunless entered the alleyway it was as though a different world revealed itself to him.
Just a few meters to the right, muffled moans could be heard.
Although faint, Sunless could tell what was going on there.
He glanced emotionlessly at the location for a few seconds before shifting his attention forward.
There, a group of youths chatted idly.
In Sunless ears he could hear the cheers of a crowd from not too far away.
The underground fight arena.
Sunless took a deep breath then stepped forward, entering the lively scene.
He ignored the youths and entered the arena.
The moment he stepped in, he was greeted with a reception room.
To the left was a desk where a sexy middle aged lady sat casually as she chatted with some grown men.
To the right was another table where a middle aged man was shouting and trying to garner the attention of the bunch in front of him.
"I'm telling you. The odds are truly stacked against the monster slayer. Place your bets quickly and you might just cash out."
"Hey, you!" the man shouted, pointing at a passerby who didn't seem to be heading anywhere in particular. "Come and place a bet. I'm telling you, it's to your benefit."
Sunless ignored the man and was just about to walk in the opposite direction when his gaze drifted downwards and he noticed a few bubbles on the ground.
'Huh?' Sunless was astounded. 'These can drop bubbles too?'
Although he was surprised, his legs were already moving toward the location before the bubbles could disappear.
Seeing Sunless approach, the man's eyes lit up.
"Hey, kid. Look at this… according to our analysis there's a fifty fifty chance of the war hero winning. Do you dare make a guess on who will win? Hehe, it's going to be a tough one right?"
The man laughed, revealing rows of yellow teeth.
However Sunless attention wasn't on him.
Upon reaching the table, he quickly tapped on the bubbles littered on the desk, counting about ten of them.
[Ding. Gained 1 gambling attribute. Congratulations on stepping into the entry stage gambling type profession.]
[Ding. Gained 1 gambling attribute.]
[Ding. Gained 1 gambling attribute.]
[Ding. Gained 1 gambling attribute.]
The moment Sunless touched the last bubble, a surge of indescribable knowledge flooded through his mind.
[Ding. Congratulations on stepping into the adept stage gambling type profession. Your gambling knowledge has increased exponentially.]
Sunless felt his thoughts become smooth instantly and many things he would usually ignore became visible to his eyes.
He noticed the betting slips on the desk and memories appeared in his mind.
These were fake.
Although the bets could be placed, they could be interchangeable.
That way the betting arena would earn maximum profit and would be unable to lose anything.
Sunless listened to the man's words and widened his eyes slightly.
There were even traces of manipulative tactics in his movements and manner of speaking.
He sounded confident at first and with his lively attitude that drew people in, it was no wonder not many people resisted placing bets.
Sunless grew solemn at this discovery.
'This is just the mastery stage gambling profession and to think it's already brought such drastic changes to my mind.'
This also made Sunless more alert, noting that he couldn't be careless in the least.
"Hey, kid. You betting or what?" the man waved the fake betting slips in front of Sunless eyes.
Having seen all his tricks already, Sunless eyes grew colder as he shook his head.
"Not interested." With that he turned around and walked to the opposite table.
The man stared dumbfounded at Sunless for a moment before flaring up.
"Not betting then why the fuck did you come here in the first place? What a fucking stupid brat."
"Anyone wants to place their bets?" The man no longer paid Sunless any attention upon noticing a few new entrants.
Meanwhile, the moment Sunless approached the other table, the seductive lady glanced at him and withdrew her attention from the others.
Her voice was sultry as she said:
"Are you here to join the fight?"
Sunless nodded.
She picked up a tablet from the table and began recording his information.
"Martial warrior?"
"No." Sunless shook his head in reply.
He noticed a disappointed look appear on the lady's face which she quickly waved off.
"Do you belong to any gang?"
"...no."
"A normal fighter huh…" the lady muttered as she recorded it down.
"Do you have a phone or something? Lemme send you the link to the website. Just keep refreshing it, the algorithm will pair you at random with someone."
"I… don't." Sunless said with a shake of his head.
The lady glanced at him briefly before shaking her head.
"That's alright as well. Your attention should be on the stage for when you're called. What name should I record here?" Her fingers flew across the tablet as she glanced at Sunless with a smile.
Sunless hesitated momentarily before speaking:
"Sunless."
"Hmm?" the lady raised a brow before bringing her attention back to the tab.
"Sunless…? Interesting name."