Chapter 233 - A Win: A Loss
As they kept playing, Rae finally stood up from her spot with a victorious expression. With a dramatic reveal act, she pointed at Arthur as one would point at a culprit.
"I figured it out!"
"Figured what out?" Arthur shrugged. "That you're not fit for this game?" He smiled inwardly at the three hundred points he now had.
"No, but how you cheated!"
"Alright, go ahead."
"You're disguising the cards!" She said with triumph. "You're using illusions to convert them into cards that you need."
"No." The teacher flatly rejected while Rae kept pointing her finger at Arthur. Rae's pale skin suddenly turned into bright red to her ears as she sat down with a pout.
"Well, that was a good guess." Arthur smiled. The reason that his method was hard to expose was how complicated it was. Jonah's ability was a complete mystery as no one, besides Arthur, saw him use it.
Then came Arthur's shadow space skill. He used it in front of a lot of people, who might have taken it to be a dark-essence skill for dodging. However, it was hard to imagine that someone can construct a space in the shadows to swap the cards.
As Rae sat there with a blush that was so unlike her usual prideful behavior, Arthur saw that the girl with the glasses was still using her ability to know their cards.
He, however, didn't choose to reveal it even if it was true. He would rather that her ability remains a secret known to fewer people than to win a few more points.
After a few minutes, Nera was the first to leave the table. She elegantly, but upset, bid them farewell while glaring at Arthur. After all, Arthur caused her a headache by changing his cards all the time.
Oliver fidgeted when he saw Reinhold try to approach Nera as she departed. Arthur sighed and smiled at him; Oliver withdrew himself as well and followed after Nera.
Now that his distraction was gone, Arthur would have more trouble in cheating. Glasses girl and Rae seemed more relieved now that Oliver, who was annoying the hell out of them, was suddenly gone.
With only four of them left, Arthur and Jonah started decreasing their cheating. The best lies were those that were mixed with the truth.
Arthur had the mind to try the Detect rune, focusing all of his mana on the cards around the table. There were, however, a few problems in that. He had already revealed a way for the teacher and didn't want to reveal any more than that.
There was also the fact that, unlike the subtle use of glasses girl's ability, the effect of concentrating his mana to detect the ink on the papers. He would be exposed.
"Yo, Alexie, you. Are you confident about playing without abilities?" Rae leaned with her elbow resting on the table. "It might take someone smart to win by cheating, but a genius to win using their skills."
"Why would I accept that?" Arthur was taken aback. "I'm doing just fine like this."
"Well, there's a side-bet if you agree."
"Ah, is this about making me your slave again?" Arthur leaned back in his chair. "I like my freedom, so no thanks."
"You wish," Rae grinned. "We'll bet on one demand. The loser has to obey the winner on one demand."
Arthur went quiet. He couldn't say he wasn't intrigued to bet on this. Getting a demand from Rae was a huge asset if used in the right place. After all, he was here to investigate the Enders and find the artifact. He can use her in her plans.
"Any rules for that demand?"
"Well, it can't harm the user in any way. Oh, and nothing perverted."
"What do you take me for?" Arthur growled. "I don't have any interest in you, even if I was that sort of person."
"That's nonsense." Rae laughed as if Arthur said the funniest joke in existence. "Anyways, are you in or not? After all, we didn't conclude our last bet."
"Alright, I'm in." Arthur grinned as he leaned forward. "No more cheating or abilities for me. What determines the winner?"
"Uh," Rae paused to think. She then glanced at the waiters bringing drinks to every other table and grinned. "Whoever loses has to drink a cup. The last one standing is the winner."
"What does that have to do with skill?"
"Win if you don't want to pass out." Rae leaned back with a smug smile. Arthur sighed and looked at the cards for a while and nodded.
"It's your funeral."
The mana that surrounded both of their bodies disappeared as Jonah and glasses-girl looked at each other with awkwardness. Jonah raised his hand and one of the staff came forward to answer his needs.
"This is going to be a long night, keep bringing some drinks to this table."
"What kind, sir?"
"Any." Jonah sighed when he saw Arthur and Rae glaring at each other. "Keep them coming."
As the teacher dealt the cards, Arthur and Rae glanced at their cards and began raising the bets. Jonah simply left the table as soon as they started and the glasses-girl seemed too frightened to keep playing so she left to another table.
The only two remaining on the table, beside the teacher, were Arthur and Rae. The hands were dealt. Arthur won first, then was Rae, then Arthur, then Arthur again, and then Rae.
Their wins were even and their faces grew redder the more that they drank. Arthur, however, had great trust in his stamina. Unlike normal awakeners, Arthur had almost a perfect balance over his stats.
The crowd grew around them as their shouting became louder and less coherent. Even for his stamina, Arthur started getting tipsy and dizzy. However, Rae was still standing even though they were in equal states.
After that, Arthur couldn't remember what happened.
***
The sun came in three segments to cover his face. Arthur groaned and rolled to the other side but someone pulled the blanket from above him.
"Wake up, Boss." Jonah's voice came in an urgent tone but Arthur couldn't care less. "Boss, we're going to be late!"
"I'll eat later," Arthur waved his hand and pulled the blanket over his head.
"Boss, we'll be the one eaten if we don't go!" Jonah pulled the blanket again with a tearful expression.
As he regained reason, Arthur suddenly shot up from his bed and looked around. They were in his room and Jonah was standing in the middle of it while a fat cat sleeping on the side.
"Where are we?"
"Boss, it's your room. We came back here yesterday, remember?" Jonah's face brightened as he started pulling clothes from Arthur's closet. "Here, you need to dress up. Quick!"
"What happened?" Arthur took the clothes with confusion as he massaged his temples. His head was aching and his stomach turned.
"Please, just wear these clothes and I'll explain everything on the way!"
Seeing him like that, Arthur nodded and did as he was told. They then ran out of the dorm as Jonah explained what happened yesterday.
In summary, he won the bet. Rae passed out a minute before he did and thus, he won the bet. However, there was some collateral damage. He and Rae got so drunk but none of them refused to back down.
That's why some teachers saw that it was fit to impart some wisdom and bring a conclusion to their conflict. However, Rae and Arthur simply dismissed them and called them names.
"What do you mean names?" Arthur asked as he gaped. He never thought it would end up that badly.
"Well," Jonah coughed as he scratched his nose. "Let's just say that some teachers have something against you and Rae."
"Oh." Arthur was speechless. What kind of mess has he gotten himself into? He believed it would be easy to simply outlast Rae in a drinking competition.
To his great surprise, she drank like a seasoned alcoholic with three kids and in a serious attempt to find a widow to marry.
"Where are we going then?"
"Our first class, Boss! Are you still asleep?"
Arthur slapped both of his cheeks as he tried to focus. It can't be as bad as Jonah had pictured it. He would have a normal day and all things would be well. Then, he would investigate the cloaked person from the forest with Reece.
As they reached the field that was mentioned in their schedule, Arthur was stunned to find many walls and mazes. The students have already gathered in front of a giant man that had each of his muscles as big as a man's hand.
With grey hair and sideburns, the man placed his hands on his sides as he talked to the students. Arthur and Jonah tried to sneak from behind but they were spotted immediately.
"Alexie Linan, is that you?!" The man's voice was like that of a speaker on full blast. "Why are you hiding, don't you want to see this gorilla-man?!"
"…" Arthur blinked. So, Jonah didn't exaggerate it when he said it was bad.