On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Ninety-Nine

We left Eri and Aiko behind in the Bellagio, they were going to kill a few hours in the VIP restaurant, admiring the views of the fountains outside. The staff had assured us that in return for our stories and extra promotional photographs they would take care of them until Shaeula returned, so that was one worry off my mind. Shaeula had also received her cheque, which I was looking after. We would need to open her a bank account on our return, since I had been handling all her money up to now, but we could worry about that when we got back to Japan.

Crossing the strip we moved away from the main, well-known casinos and hotels, to a more well-worn area, with smaller and less fancy establishments. Still, the sights were impressive in their own ways, and Shaeula, hand in mine, was looking around with great interest.

“Hmm, Casino El Diablo should be around here somewhere…” after a few more minutes we turned down a side road and a building came into view, with a large, stylised statue of a devil in a sombrero holding a pitchfork standing by the entrance. Uh, the décor is… unique, certainly…

On closer inspection, a series of illuminations spelled out the name ‘Casino El Diablo’ across an array of lanterns trapped within glass flames. But there was something else… off… about the place. “You feel that too, right?” I asked, and Shaeula nodded, gaze fixed on the building in front of us.

“Indeed I do-do. It feels like a Territory.”

“Yes, I thought so too. But we are in the Material, so that shouldn’t be possible, unless…” Thinking back to the description of my own Territory when using Self-Examination, Territory, an idea occurred to me. That makes sense, but I can’t be sure…

“What do we do?” Shaeula asked. “Shall we proceed as planned-planned?”

“Yeah, no deviation in the plan.” I confirmed. “If anything, this is now an even better chance to find out more about other candidates. It’s too much of a coincidence to assume that the Territory we faced last night and this one here aren’t connected, right? But we should be careful. We don’t know what might happen.”

Walking to the entrance we passed by several security guards, and once we crossed the threshold, several strange, uncomfortable sensations assailed us simultaneously. It’s draining aether from us, just like a Territory would in the Boundary… The effect was weak, and we were able to suppress it with our strength, but for the average person…

“You are correct master.” Shaeula guessed my thoughts as I looked around the casino. It was full of patrons like any other, people betting endlessly on slot machines, table games and other gambling, while others were drinking at the bar or eating in the restaurant, but everyone looked… vacant, somehow. Their eyes were cloudy and their movements slower. “Aether is being continuously absorbed from everyone here and funnelled somewhere else-else. We are strong enough to resist it, but those with no such prowess will find themselves weakening, their minds fogged by aether depletion.”

That was what I worried I was doing to those around me when I was practicing in my apartment, so I stopped. But my occasional drains would be nothing compared to this constant one.

“Yeah, everyone looks out of it. It can’t be good for them, can it?”

“Should they leave here-here, their bodies will draw in ambient aether to replenish themselves. They may be mentally feeble for a few days or more-more, but they shall recover. Though if one was to stay here for many days, or be of a weak constitution…” she frowned. “… it would be rare, but sickness or death could potentially follow. The damage to their chakra networks would prove too much. But that is not all-all, Master. You have noticed it as well, I believe?”

“It’s pretty hard to miss.” The fortunate winds that were draping us were struggling against something opposite, a dark feeling that was the antithesis, a misfortune made manifest. Our winds were stronger, keeping us from suffering the full effects, but I definitely felt some of my Fortune being suppressed.

I guess I’m not the only one with the bright idea to gamble using luck, though I’d guess this candidate is going about it in the opposite direction… We moved over to the tables and watched for a few minutes. People were losing rapidly, their chips being scooped away by the dealers. The reactions of the losers were muted though, compared to the highs and lows I saw in the other casinos we had visited, this place was like a funeral. Oh well, I can’t complain. I’m using Fortune to my advantage, so I can’t criticise anyone else for doing the same, but… wait, what was that?

My senses, like all my other stats, were far more sensitive since my numerous upgrades from last night. My dynamic vision was uncanny, and it had picked up something on the roulette table. The ball had moved extremely unnaturally, bouncing out of a number that would have given several gamblers a large win. Watching for several more minutes, I discovered this happening repeatedly, and on the dice tables the dice seemed to be strangely weighted too.

Well, that’s low. It may be hypocritical, but actually cheating rather than allowing Fortune to take its course seems wrong to me… and getting away with it seems easy, since everyone is aether-starved and pliant…

Checking my watch I saw that it was a bit after seven pm. That gave me just under two hours until the poker tournament opened. Turning to Shaeula I smiled. “Looks like the owner of this casino is like us. However unlike us who rely on luck, they are cheating too. So I think it’s only fair if we return the favour. We might as well clean them out until the tournament, right? Turnabout is only fair.”

Shaeula grinned wolfishly. “Fear not, my master. I shall be sure to add to our funds-funds. Such trickery is nothing against us Fae, for we are true pranksters indeed-indeed.” With that she headed off for the roulette, having also seen how the cheating was happening with her sharp eyes.

Well, I suppose I had better get started as well. It’d be nice if I could earn the money for the poker buy-in before it starts. And it’d be hard for the casino staff to throw us out even if we win big, due to knowing they are cheating. So, where to start…?

Walking towards the dice tables I passed by a pair of large African-Americans. They looked similar, maybe siblings, but what drew my eyes was the massive chest of the woman, straining at the seams of the expensive dress she was wearing. As she shot me a withering look I coughed and turned away, scuttling past, my face red. Huge. You don’t get many Asians with assets like that, Westerners have their perks. She was pretty hot too… oh well… I have a girlfriend now, I shouldn’t be disloyal… but then, looking isn’t a crime… Shaking my head to clear the intruding thoughts, I pushed my way through the deadened crowd around the high-roller craps table.

Watching the dealer scoop up tons of chips as the players lost again, I tossed down a pile of dollars, changing them into chips of my own. Taking up the dice I rolled them around my palms. Yeah, weighted. These dice are going to come up losers way more than they should…

“All right then, I’m going for a pass line. Ten thousand dollars.” The table limits were higher than usual in this casino, no doubt to speed up the gain of money from cheated patrons. Tossing out the dice they were going to land on a losing roll despite my luck, but that wasn’t going to wash with me. Flicking out a finger I let out a faint whisp of wind, and one die flipped over.

“Roll is an eleven. Bet passes.” The dealer choked. Those who had also bet pass scooped their winnings as well.

“Same again.” I said, and the next round I won another ten thousand with another throw of eleven.

I won the next bet again with a seven so the throw would pass to someone else, and when they made a bet I was the only person to notice the dealer swap out the dice for another set as she grabbed them after we placed out bets. Nice try, but I’m going to turn the screw now. I had placed the maximum of five thousand dollars on it being a twelve. Thirty to one for pay out, and quite a few others had followed me. When the person next to me threw the dice I could see them about to land on numbers that would screw the most people. But luckily for them, they are siding with me…

The dealer looked incredulously at the pair of sixes that were sitting on the table. There was a long moment of silence before she announced that we had won. It was a bet that netted me one hundred and fifty thousand more dollars.

“Wow, I must have used up all my luck. Think I’ll try something else now.” I excused myself and headed to the bar, killing time by having a drink. Yeah, security is watching. I guess they can’t work out how I beat the cheating…

There seemed to be some sort of plain-clothed security as well, as several burly men wearing decent if ill-fitting suits were also watching me cautiously. Taking another sip of the expensive champagne I had ordered to maintain my big-spender appearance I cast my gaze out over the floor, seeing Shaeula winning again at roulette, a heap of chips piled up beside her. Yeah, we are cleaning up. A bit more and then we had better call it… finishing my drink I headed to the roulette and allowed myself to lose fifty thousand in quick succession, before coming back strong when the interest of the security waned, ending up seventy thousand in profit. I then tried blackjack, but the cheating was hard to deal with there, costing me thirty thousand. Still, it was educational for the poker later. Yeah, this could work.

I re-joined Shaeula, feeling gazes upon us, to find she had amassed nearly three hundred thousand more. When she saw me coming she let out a bright smile. “My luck is in tonight Akio. It seems I can not-not lose!”

Yeah, nice acting. “Well, I’ve been lucky myself, but we shouldn’t push it.” Checking my watch I saw it was a quarter to nine. “I need to save some luck for the poker tournament! With the winnings I made here I can have some extra buy-in!” I spoke loudly so the aggrieved security could hear, mollifying them. If every game here is crooked there is no way the poker tournament isn’t. And as I found from blackjack, card games are the hardest to overcome the cheating. They’ll expect me to lose our gains back…

“Very well then. I am afraid I must leave now.” Shaeula said to her fellow gamblers, who looked sad to see her go. Taking her chips we went and exchanged them all for cash. Shit, I feel really unsafe carrying all this around with me…

“Well, we have time for a quick drink before the start of the tournament, you game?” I asked, and Shaeula nodded.

“Indeed. Winning is thirsty work.”

We grabbed a couple of very expensive whiskey on the rocks from the bar and downed them, enjoying the fiery heat. The time was coming up to nine, so I saw Shaeula off, giving her a warning to stay safe.

“You worry too much-much, my master.” She retorted. “You are holding our winnings, so there is no reason for anyone to come after me-me. I shall spend the rest of the evening enjoying the company of Eri and Aiko.”

I can think of one reason other than money to pursue you. “All right then. I’m not sure how long the tournament will run, so stay up, all right?”

“I dare say the girls will want to make the most of tonight-tonight. We shall no doubt be waiting for you.”

With that I saw her off. Moving to the VIP area at the back of the casino I was stopped by a beautiful American woman in a bunny suit. Damn, I’ve only seen those in manga. It’s hot in real life… Still, I wasn’t letting my guard down, as I could see several burly security guards hiding behind pillars. Is that a pistol at their side? Scary…

“This is the VIP area. We have a poker tournament tonight. The buy-in is a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars, and increases in the same increment. Are you here to compete?”

Making sure to appear a bit slower and more lethargic than I felt, to better match those being drained, I nodded, showing off my winnings. “I sure am. Can you take me to a table?”

Now that I was confirmed to be playing, the expression on her face changed to a hearty smile. “Of course, this way.” She took me by the arm, and as another man came up behind me to join another bunny girl appeared from the back and started talking to him too.

So, here we go. I wonder, can I beat the cheating and the other players, and if so… how much could I win?