Casino Wizard

Nearby the Hyden Casino is a tavern known as “Baladin’s Pub.”

Dragon Ear greeted the morning with a refreshing feeling.

It was because of a brief dream he had just before waking up.

A dream where he lost a gambling bet to a wizard.

Yesterday, he dreamt of barely winning, but today it was the opposite.

Both dreams were clearly born from desire.

The latter, however, had a touch of cruelty.

“Cutting off my right hand would be inconvenient.”

“Don’t worry, wizard. I can still gamble.”

“What?”

“Without hands, I might have to live my days gambling. If possible, could you cut it just above the wrist so I can still move money on my own?”

“You’d need a prosthetic hand. Here, take this.”

In his dream, Dragon Ear had willingly staked his right hand as collateral, and Hyden had generously offered him a finely crafted prosthetic made by dwarves, calling it his share of the winnings.

Of course, Dragon ear preferred to keep his hand intact.

But in the dream, there was no other choice.

Gambling at its peak excitement required risking one’s right hand.

It was not about guarantees but expectations.

Using the word “guarantee” would be disrespectful to the nature of gambling.

He couldn’t recall the exact game or what Hyden had wagered, but it was certain that the gamble had been worth staking his hand. That was why he had offered it without hesitation after losing.

When Dragon Ear awoke, he found himself holding his right hand aloft, staring at the ceiling.

“Still, it’s better to have hands.”

Blinking his amber eyes, he lifted his left arm as well.

An empty left sleeve and a perfectly fine right hand.

Even without hands, he could enjoy most types of gambling—especially the ones offered at the casino—but keeping them was still preferable.

Losing the ability to participate in certain games due to a physical disability would be unbearably sad.

“If I do end up betting it, I’d better win.”

Muttering to himself, Dragon Ear slowly got out of bed.

Creak—

Almost simultaneously, someone entered his room, holding a tray.

It was a waitress with green hair.

A woman who worked tirelessly from afternoon until dawn, earning her tips.

Lately, she had been particularly focused on Dragon Ear. Not without reason—there was no other customer who tipped as generously as he did.

“Your breakfast, sir.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s milk and a sandwich.”

“Appreciate it. Take your tip from the pouch.”

The green-haired waitress opened the gray pouch on the dresser, as Dragon Ear bit into the sandwich.

The sound of coins clinking reached his ears.

From the distinct jingle, it seemed her eczema-ridden hand had touched both a 10-silver coin and a 1-silver coin in sequence.

How he could discern this, he wasn’t sure. It just sounded different.

She eventually took the 10-silver coin. Quite a tip for a simple breakfast delivery.

“Take it.”

He let her have it without a second thought.

“Thank you.”

“The sandwich has three slices of smoked ham in it. From what I know, you don’t share your tips with the boss, who also happens to be the kitchen manager. That means you must have cleverly slipped in extra ingredients under their radar.”

“Yes, I did.”

“That tip is your rightful reward for your skill.”

The green-haired waitress quietly listened to Dragon Ear’s expressionless rambling.

Her name was Miriam. A woman who had become indebted overnight at the baccarat table.

Now she worked herself to the bone, running errands for gambling drunks and catering to their whims, just to save up enough to return to the casino that had ruined her life.

No further introduction was needed, nor was he particularly interested in learning more.

“Thank you. Are you headed to the casino again today?”

“Yeah.”

“Good luck, sir.”

“Thanks.”

Though luck wasn’t his primary objective, he didn’t bother correcting her.

The kind of gambling that focused solely on profit was also important.

The memory of the days when he played simply to win surfaced, bringing a fleeting smile to his face.

Those were good times. Thrilling times.

But indulging in nostalgia was brief.

The cards that had been dealt belonged to the past; those yet to be dealt belonged to the future.

Dragon Ear muttered to himself as he began his preparations.

His routine included practicing card counting with six decks.

He anticipated the casino would soon increase the number of decks at the blackjack tables, and he wanted to be ready.

Even though adding more decks drastically reduced the efficacy of card counting, Dragon Ear didn’t mind.

When that happened, he would find a way to reach the high-stakes VIP rooms. If even that failed, he’d come up with another plan.

“Take care, sir.”

“Thanks.”

With the green-haired waitress seeing him off, Dragon Ear headed for the casino.

He planned to quietly join the queue again today, but…

“A Draconian.”

“Yeah, missing a left hand. Should I try talking to him?”

“You idiot. Do you think he’d just spill his secrets?”

Some of the people in line reacted strangely as they noticed him.

A young man, barely in his twenties, kept glancing at Dragon Ear with excitement, while a noble’s son, whom he had shared a table with yesterday, stepped out of line briefly to offer him an unexpected show of respect.

One woman, dressed in a revealing gown, clumsily winked and tried to flirt.

‘What’s with this?’

It was unusual for Dragon Ear.

Despite being a wandering merchant and a disabled person, people generally treated him with polite curiosity at best or distant indifference at worst.

But now, whispers from the crowd gave him some clues.

“They were discussing banning him.”

“Who?”

“That Draconian. He apparently won big at blackjack. Scared the dealers stiff.”

“Wow. Seriously?”

The wizard must have stirred something up.

“Getting banned just for winning some money?”

Dragon Ear couldn’t immediately understand.

Blackjack’s vulnerability to card counting was well known, but there were plenty of ways to counter it.

Adding more decks or shuffling more frequently could weaken counting strategies, even render them useless.

Surely, the wizard knew all of this.

So why talk about banning him now?

“I get it.”

With the gambler’s insight, Dragon Ear quickly grasped the situation.

Though he wanted to deny it, his gambling-tuned mind wouldn’t let him. The answer was too obvious for it to be a gamble.

Ignoring the admiring stares of some patrons, he entered the casino.

The wizard wasn’t there.

Instead, an all-too-familiar dealer stood at blackjack table 5.

Tall for a human woman, with sun-kissed skin and golden hair tied in a half-up style, she had an air of both charm and sharpness.

It was Lucy, the casino’s floor manager.

Her presence at a standard table was rare, as she usually oversaw operations from the VIP room.

One seat was conspicuously empty at her table.

Dragon Ear knew immediately.

That seat was reserved for him, and the other customers didn’t complain for a reason.

Knowing full well, he walked over.

“Let’s see the cards.”

As soon as he sat, Lucy addressed him.

She didn’t raise her voice, but her words carried to nearby tables.

“Sir, there has been a suggestion to ban you from entry. However, the boss has dismissed it.”

“Thanks.”

“Indeed. Finding the optimal strategy isn’t a crime. In fact, your insight has allowed us to improve blackjack’s design. Today is the first day of those changes, and I’m here on the boss’s behalf to thank you personally.”

“Thank me?”

Lucy smiled awkwardly at his response but nodded.

“You discovered a winning strategy even our boss hadn’t anticipated. Every game has its weaknesses, but we never expected someone from the Dragon Kingdom to exploit blackjack first.”

“…”

“We owe you our respect.”

Dragon Ear silently acknowledged her words, his gaze fixed on the card table.

The number of decks had increased from four to six.

However, the discard holder’s size remained unchanged.

Lucy’s so-called strategy improvements had already diminished the effectiveness of card counting.

Dragon Ear was unlikely to achieve the same high returns as before.

“It’s probably written in the terms. Whatever changes they made.”

Yet many customers still looked at him with envy.

The first to discover and exploit blackjack’s weak spot, winning big for a few thrilling days, and then receiving public praise from the casino’s second-in-command.

That was Dragon Ear.

To outsiders, it seemed the wizard had lowered himself to acknowledge Dragon Ear’s skill.

“Sir, could I learn a thing or two?”

“Let’s do this!”

“Mind if I take some notes?”

People watched him intently, some even pulling out notebooks to jot things down.

But Dragon Ear hadn’t won.

The wizard had never even joined the table. He couldn’t lose what he hadn’t risked.

No amount of flattery could mask that this was just business.

“Dealing cards. May Goddess Gaia bless your game.”

Though the rules had shifted against him, Dragon Ear remained the most effective player in the casino.

Why wouldn’t he be? After all, he was almost banned for winning too much.

Here, that was a badge of honor.

But Dragon Ear wasn’t after badges.

“Oh.”

“Sir?”

Lucy turned her polite smile his way as he spoke again, his slit-pupil eyes narrowing briefly before a grin spread across his face.

“Dealer. You said my insights improved blackjack. If your thanks are genuine, I’d like a small reward.”

“Name it.”

“I want an invitation to the VIP room. Right now.”

A plan had sparked in his mind.

Not to shatter the new rules entirely, but to find a way to exploit them.

He wasn’t aiming for a clean victory.

As a mere gambler, he couldn’t outmatch the wizard, the casino’s boss.

The difference in power was overwhelming.

But he could drag them both into the mud.

It wouldn’t end well for him, but that didn’t matter.