OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 312: True Bluff

Chapter 312: True Bluff

?

After ten minutes or so, Ms. Knight finally calmed back down as she remained still, being scolded by Ms. Queen for her so-called "audacious and rude behavior."

Through it all, Emir sat quietly, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

The ten eyes that watched him, their clans, even with his already high expectations, somehow managed to exceed them many times over.

Besides the new things he learned, including the weird-sounding names, he also confirmed multiple theories.

Celestials could transform into all manner of entities in ancient folk tales, not just vampires, dwarfs, elves, and succubi, but also werewolves, so-called "lovers of the moon," and whatever else that had once existed in the human mind.

Presumably, this transformation, caused by unlocking an ability in their path, would increase the effectiveness of all their abilities as their bodies, the conduits for Aether, would be more specialized to their path.

But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows; if a Celestial began walking this path, their soul wouldn't join the natural flow, reaching the Nether's River, but would flee and escape into the Void Beyond, tethered to the unknown chaos where only darkness resides.

Emir didn't know what that entailed, but he could guess, as would anyone, that it wasn't anything good.

Another thing to highlight was that he now knew which clan Arthur came from.

Sar Phalaki, the Last Wish, had those blessed by the Fortune's Wheel in their midst.

He couldn't see how they were connected, but perhaps it wasn't that Ebonfyre were descendants of this clan but rather Arthur's mother, the woman Isidore had a bastard child with.

She, a succubus, lured Isidore into her embrace, siring him a child and then manipulating his mind into taking them in; perhaps even the pills came from her, and she used Isidore as the delivery man, using him to raise her child.

'No... Maybe. Maybe not. Too contrived.'

Emir stopped thinking about that there, as his imagination was going wild, and he didn't wish to dig too deep into something he wasn't sure of.

His mind went back, continuing his previous trail of thoughts.

The last thing to highlight, besides Cember-i On's hypocrisy and the deadly competition between Class-Two's, a fight for Scripts and 'resources,' the other competitors themselves, was that Paragon's, Primordials, literal Gods for that matter, could rank down instead of outright dying.

It made sense considering their immortality, but wow, it certainly brought things into perspective.

"...Even 'Gods' are bound to slip."

His almost silent whisper was drowned out by Ms. Queen's scolding, yet Mr. Board still heard him, as he was the only one out of the lot who had his eyes on him the entire time, observing his reactions.

"...True, but also untrue, for their slip might not be one after all. The Tapestry of Fate is a mysterious thing."

"You mean to call it a bitch."

"Perhaps."

The two shared a chuckle as the rest ended their shenanigans and joined the table, prompting Mr. Rook to awaken from his short slumber.

"She quiet now?...Can we continue this accursed game?"

Mr. Board nodded to his moaning and dealt the cards, needing no further prompting.

"Let's, but to make it interesting, I'll have you show your cards when you fold."

They all nodded, turning quiet, leaving the third question for later as they focused on the game, knowing that showing their thought process here would prove disadvantageous for them in the games coming next.

Flutter~

Mr. King, as the one who'd always start the round, had 'Folded,' throwing his cards, revealing them to all:

[44] [2]

It wasn't met by surprise, as they all learned that he was a safe player, and this

mediocre 'Hand' only confirmed that, as he without even checking the 'Flop' deemed it to be a losing one.

And at that moment, everything clicked for a certain Pawn.

He was waiting for this, a chance to contend against the rest without Mr. King's towering 'Stash' hanging over them.

It momentarily cracked and fell over, decreasing the pressure on him and the rest, allowing them to play looser. Since the coin stacker's out of the game, they could go for bigger plays without being forced to make a choice or lose a substantial amount of Valora.

Emir wanted to use that shift in their thought process to his advantage, using it as a cover to kick off his plan. It all came together for this.

He showed them a pattern in the previous games, one that he fully intended to break, no matter what 'Hand' he was dealt.

So when it came for him to bet, unlike those before him, he didn't 'Check' but 'Raise' increasing his bet to fifty.

His choice was met by slight surprise, but they didn't comment, not even Ms. Knight, and continued with the round.

Mr. Board then dealt the 'Flop' after everyone 'Called' his bet, increasing the total 'Pot' to two hundred and ten.

[K?] [7] [5]

Mr. Rook tapped the table, 'Checking,' as did Ms. Queen, yet Emir 'Raised' once again, increasing his bet to a hundred Valora.

"Tshhh...."

That got an audible reaction from Ms. Knight, grinding her teeth, but with not much delay, she 'Folded,' revealing her 'Hand.'

[6] [6]

Her 'Hand' wasn't bad at all, a pair of six was decent, but she seemingly wanted to play it safe, or perhaps she wished to show that as her intention, trying to manipulate the other's view of her, and increasing the chance that they would see her first hand as exceptional, confirming it

not to be a bluff.

Emir caught a whiff of her attempt at mind games, but he didn't dwell on it too long and looked at the table's middle, awaiting the 'Turn,' as did the other two, their minds filled with

thoughts similar to his.

Complying with their silent request, Mr. Board dealt the 'Turn.'

[7]

Tsk!

It turned out that her luck wasn't so good after all.

Ms. Knight, who kept clicking her tongue, couldn't help but lament as she 'Folded' too early,

losing the chance to play a Two Pair, a most common winning 'Hand.'

Mr. Rook snickered under his breath, enjoying her woes, while 'Checking.'

Ms. Queen was about to 'Check,' or so she teased, but then she pushed up a chip worth twenty Valora, raising her bet to a hundred and twenty.

Emir 'Called' without giving it a second thought, exuding confidence, not 'Raising' the bet but only matching it as he wanted to save the end for last.

But when it came to Mr. Rook, a man with a crooked posture and head close to smacking the table's edge, proceeded to 'Fold,' throwing his 'Hand' away with a sigh, collapsing onto the

table even further.

[J] [10] "I'm bowing out, my luck is as bad as my mood. Stay alive till next week, kid."

His reaction was certainly justified; he did lose one hundred and thirty Valora in just three matches, while he could make it back, it seemed that trying hard wasn't in his vocabulary.

"I will. See you."

A nodding Emir watched as Mr. Board dealt the 'River,' while Mr. Rook touched the small

tower-like pin, disappearing a moment later.

[K?] [7?] [5•] [7] [5]

Now only Ms. Queen and Emir remained.

Judging by her plays so far, it seemed that she was going along for the ride and only nudged the board to get rid of Mr. Rook, wanting a showdown between her and the pawn beside her. She looked at him, her purple eyes locked with his shades, teasing his blacks.

Her hand reached out to the table, and her fingers began nearing the chips, her nails scraping the green next to them as she wished to get a reaction out of him.

But seeing that her actions were going nowhere, she knocked on the table.

"I'll check."

Her move was correct, betting there would've been a bad move. What would she accomplish

by doing that? Bluffing, now? And killing her stack? No, that wouldn't change anything. So

she went for the check.

But Emir, unlike her, didn't wish for a showdown, he was aiming to make her 'Fold.'

So, without further adieu, he pushed the remaining chips on his table up, going all in, his bet

increasing to a hundred and seventy.

"No, you won't..."

Ms. Queen raised her brows as she paused any movement, her thoughts churning, wondering what 'Hand' would make him so confident.

'A straight isn't possible, a double ace is unlikely; perhaps a double ten; or does he have a

double king? But then, why didn't he raise after the turn? Does he have a flush? No, four hearts, not five. Or does he have a three-of-a-kind? Maybe three sevens or even three fives... But then what about a Full house?'

'Is he bluffing? Does that make sense? A come up going all in with his hard-earned Valora that

he must've spent much blood, sweat, and tears to amass away in just a game of poker? Is he

insane? That much Valora would make him a billionaire a hundred times over on backwater

planets.'

'No, no, he went ahead with this because Mr. King pulled out early; he wanted to set the flow, and that wasn't possible if he had a stack darkening his sight with its shadow.'

'But maybe that was what he wanted me to think... I can't be sure; I don't have a hold on his

personality yet. Maybe he's-'

Emir knocked twice on the table, getting her out of her thoughts. "Wakey, wakey, Ms. Queen, must I remind you that we have a round to end?"

She didn't reply and silently stared at him, her eyes scanning him from top to bottom, and

then, it finally clicked.

She noticed something.

An action that was missing.

The pawn wasn't tapping his chin like last time.

His 'tell' was discovered.