"C'mon, it's the only time we'll be able to go out and have fun! At least, until the Tournament ends. After today you'll be back in the fight. So! We should do something fun!"
Cane paused, turning around. Behind him stood Dalton, with his hand held out.
"Well. Alright, then." With that, Cane walked past Dalton, ignoring his outstretched hand. Dalton dropped his hand, slightly frowning.
Why... does Cane feel somewhat distant? Dalton paused for a moment, before quickly catching up after Cane's departing figure.
Maybe he's just tired from the Tournament fights.
...
Unknowing to Dalton, Cane was wondering the same thing. Even though he'd known them all for months, why was he suddenly feeling nothing when he saw them?
Or at least, quite a few times, Cane simply couldn't find himself having fun with his friends, or relating to them. They seemed like entirely different people, perhaps from different worlds or planet. Or maybe, Cane was the different person.
Regardless, even if it was hard to tell, even if it didn't show up all the time, a small rift grew in Cane's mind, separating himself from his former friends. Of course, on the outside, everything was mostly normal.
Cane continued to joke around with them, being kind and caring with them and help them out as needed. But it was all because he didn't know what else to do with his growing feelings of separation. No matter how hard Cane tried to stay friends, something in him was changing him.
Making him more money-hungry, making him more power-hungry. Making him colder and apathetic, (though he was already quite apathetic to begin with), making him want to be alone.
Perhaps these thoughts... Cane's mind went back to his coma from 3 days back. But his mind kept hitting a blank.
"What are you thinking about?" Cassidy sat down next to him. The group had taken a trip to the nearby shooting range, where the others were already having fun firing at targets. Some moved on pre-made tracks in the ground, and other targets were hung from drones and moved erratically.
Of course, it was mostly just Dalton and Susie having fun, since Rake and James were still recovering from their injuries. They watched from the side, as did Cane. Cassidy had also been participating, but purely for training.
Her next match with Nick Nick wouldn't go lightly, so she wanted as much training as she could fit within one day.
"I said, what are you thinking about?" Cassidy raised an eye at Cane's ignoring attitude of her. Cane's thoughts were interrupted as she did so. And yet, he had no response.
What response could he give? "Oh, I was just thinking about how useless and unrelatable you guys are!"
Yeah right.
Cane turned to face her and shrugged. "I don't even know what I'm thinking about. I... lately these days, I feel strange every time I think. It's like there's something pushing me, deep inside me, to do certain things."
He lay down on the ground. "I don't know if I want that. I'm not sure what I want to even do in the future. All my goals, my aspirations, they seem so far away. Like climbing a mountain without gear, in freezing weather and a slope more than 90 degrees. Oh! And I'm also blind while doing all that."
Cassidy pondered for a moment, mulling over Cane's highly detailed description of his mind. She turned to stare at him. "Are you too focused on your future goals, then? It's not healthy to do that. Focus on being in the present a bit more. And remember..."
She stood up to leave, finishing her sentence as she walked away. "You still have us - your friends. You don't have to face every task alone."
Cane sat back up to watch her leave. He then turned and gazed upon Dalton and Susie, watching the two of them having fun. They were dancing and weaving around the targets, firing at them now and then.
For a moment, Cane felt the urge to go join them. But a strange feeling swept over him, and he shook his head. Nevermind. I can't waste my time playing... I should focus on getting more wealth or something.
Cane also stood up, leaving the firing range in a flash. A devious smile grew on his face.
And I know where to find some.
...
Steal!
Cane's original clothes were instantly covered by a pitch-black cloak. Meanwhile, a white mask appeared in his hands, donning the mask right after.
With a confident grin that no one else could see, Cane opened the doors to...
A casino.
Immediately as he entered, Cane was hit with moody yellow lights, setting a relaxing tone in the atmosphere. This tone was broken, however, by the constant shouts and wails of unlucky gamblers.
An attendant moved in as he saw Cane's entrance. One glance at the clothes and demeanor made it obvious to everyone that the mysterious man was a high-profile individual.
"Good evening, sir. Would you like to have a few drinks at our bar, and perhaps taste our famous Venom Wine? Or, alternatively, would you like to head straight into gambling?"
The attendant then held out a tablet.
"We would also like for you to register an identity. Of course, it doesn't have to be a real name, it's more like a formality."
Cane stared at the tablet for a moment, wondering what kind of pseudonym he should pick. He couldn't very well go with Thief after all, since it left a bad look on him. Plus, Cassidy and the others already knew about his pseudonym from their days in The Hunting Grounds.
"The Xuanmen Gambler. X-U-A-N-M-E-N."
Cane didn't really know what had prompted himself to pick such a name. Perhaps it had something to do with the title? But who knew...
Regardless, after registering a name with the attendant, Cane immediately went to his first gambling site. The slot machines.
For these, they were in fact quite similar to the scratch tickets found in the Outer City. They also provided rewards if you got a three-in-a-row, but there was one difference. The rewards were amplified by ten.
What that meant was if one got themselves a 555, instead of only earning 555 points, they'd earn 5,550 points instead. As for the cost of one spin, they were rather insane. 1000 points per spin.
Even the smallest reward on the slot machine could bring a profit. The only question was, who could be so lucky to always win when they spin?
Cane.
Even though he'd never seen any changes to Innate Luck within his skill list, he knew that all skills - even the ones he'd gotten before awakening - grew more powerful with each rank up. This was confirmed because Divine Treasure Eyes would always grow stronger with each rank up.
Calculating how much more powerful Innate Luck was compared to when he'd first gotten it... it was over 20 times more powerful.
Without even bothering to look at the slots, he directly payed for 10 spins. Then, he set the machine to automatically spin for him.
A shocking site emerged. Cane's slot machine...
The only result it gave out were three-in-a-rows!
It was even more coincidental, having spun a 111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 and even the infamous 000!
All those points added up would amount to 59,950 points. It was a shocking amount. While everyone who'd seen the spectacle were still gawking at the sight, lost in thought, Cane himself had already collected his points.
And headed to the roulette table.
Roulette. It was probably one of the least favourable styles of gambling, right up there with slot machines. After all, things like poker and blackjack still had some level of skill, allowing the unlucky gambler to turn the odds in their favour. Of course, the amount of odds they could turn were limited, and as everyone knows, in blackjack, the house always wins.
But regardless, this was still better than slot machines and roulette tables, right?! After all, it was pure luck and no skill. In fact, who knew what kind of dirty tricks the casinos had done in order to subtly increase the odds of losing?
Cane knew this, and he didn't care. For someone like him, who couldn't understand the nuance of poker or blackjack, (and considering he literally had a skill called Innate Luck), he knew that the way to turn the odds in his favour was to pick a game which relied only on luck.
Cane converted his points into digital coins and pressed a random display. There were numbers ranging from 0 to 36. He'd picked number 18, opting for an inside bet - a straight up, to be specific. This meant that if he won, the payout would be 35 to 1.
After a few minutes from indecisive people shuffling their numbers around, the dealer spoke up.
"No more bets!"
With that, the roulette wheel spun and the ball was thrown in the opposite direction.
Everyone's breathing hitched as the wheel spun slower and slower. Soon, the result would be out.
And the winning number...
18.
Everyone stared at the cloaked man who stood off to the side. He looked calm, like he'd expected such a result from the start.
"Damn, bro! You're only lucky guy. But y'know how it is - when you win big, you'll lose big next round. When you lose big, your next big win is right around the corner!" One particular outspoken man clapped Cane on the shoulder.
Everyone smiled, expecting Cane to leave. After all, his winnings had just jumped from 59,550 to 2,098,350!
But Cane wasn't done. He stayed there, continuing to bet on 18.
The crowd secretly looked at Cane in disdain. Hmmph, betting on the same number twice? What, does he think he's the protagonist of some novel?
He definitely doesn't understand how luck works.
Once that man loses, he won't be feeling so smug!
...
"YOU'RE BANNED!!! YOU'RE F*CKING BANNED FROM THIS CASINO, YOU HEAR ME?"
The casino owner directly kicked Cane out, alongside his winnings of 2,570, 356,000. He'd only won 2 more times when the owner had stormed down, furiously ordering him to leave.
"ATTENDAANTS! GUAARDS! DON'T EVER LET ANYONE WEARING CLOAKS OR MASKS INTO THIS F*CKING ESTABLISHMENT, GOT IT?"
Cane shrugged and turned to leave.
As he walked away, a new legend arose within gambling circles.
A legend of a man who won 10 times in a row on the same slot machine.
A man who's winnings on that slot machine were consecutively higher each time.
A legend of a man who won in roulette, betting on the same number 4 times.
Of history's number 1 gambler, the Xuanmen Gambler!