Endless Evolution: Last Star

Upon returning home from the Dead Lands, Adam would never have thought he would end up in a casino, but that was the beauty of life — sometimes unexpected things happened that one never even thought of.

Click. Click. Click.

Adam had been holding his breath for several minutes as the slot machine showed them different combinations over and over again. Several times they won, several times they got nothing, and a couple more times they broke even.

Silvana was clearly enjoying the process. She stood behind Adam, and every time they got a winning combination, she rejoiced, practically jumping up and down on the spot. When they got nothing, she started nervously biting her nails and swearing.

Perhaps she was acting too emotionally, but the excitement was all the more pronounced because of how calm she usually was, both in life and at work.

Adam, in turn... Well, he just kept pulling the lever over and over, hoping that the moment when they would lose everything or win a large sum would come as soon as possible.

The only thing he liked was watching the lines spin on the slot machine and its special effects.

"Come on, Adam, pull it again! We're almost there!" Silvana exclaimed as she leaned toward him, her hair grazing his ear.

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe we should try something else? I mean, there are lots of different things in this casino you can use to lose money, not just the slot machines!"

Silvana frowned.

"Tsk, why don't you believe in your luck? If you don't want to win, then I'll do it myself!"

She reached for the lever, but before she could touch it, Adam grabbed her wrist.

"Alright, let's do this. We'll play this slot three more times, regardless of the outcome, whether we lose or win, then we'll go to the bar, have a cocktail, and look for the next place to spend our money, okay?"

Silvana puffed out her cheeks, but finally nodded.

"Fine, I hope three times will be enough to win, otherwise I'll be disappointed!"

Adam shrugged and pulled the lever.

Click. Click. Click.

Twice, they got nothing, and the third time, there was a small win that couldn't make up for the two previous failures.

"Damn it!" Silvana punched the back of the chair. "Adam, we have to play one more time! I feel like the next one will definitely be a winner!"

Adam shook his head as he got off the chair.

"Nope, we agreed. Three times, and then we go to the bar."

"But!" Silvana gasped as she glanced at the empty chair and the chips on Adam's belt. She realized she could try to win herself.

But...

Hop!

Before she could touch the chips, Adam threw her over his shoulder and strode calmly forward.

"Hey! Let me go!" Silvana started hitting him on the back like a little girl, but the best she could hope for with that kind of strength was to give Adam a back massage.

'Well... I've heard that some people can behave differently in casinos, but I didn't think Silvana would be one of them,' Adam thought as he headed for the bar. 'Although I won't hide the fact that when we got a winning combination a few times, my desire to continue increased exponentially!'

Gambling could bring out the best and worst in people. It was a way to have a good time, the most important thing was not to forget that.

Was Silvana being too active, or was Adam staying too calm? It didn't really matter since neither of them crossed the line. They both understood where they were, although Silvana clearly had more confidence that they had a chance to win a big prize.

Tap.

Two glasses appeared in front of them as the bartender moved on to the next guest.

"You know, mathematically, the more you play, the more chances you have to win?" Silvana muttered, stirring an olive in her cocktail.

"Is that a hint that we should have kept playing that slot? Come on, I'm sure you know that in a casino, only the casino wins. Everything else is just good service and a pleasant way to spend your money, isn't it?"

Adam waved his hand as he took a sip of his cocktail, his eyes widening.

"Damn, this is one of the best I've ever had, and they only cost 10 credits!"

Realizing how profitable it was, Adam loaded the menu on his phone as his eyes darted up and down the screen.

It was no secret that food and drinks in casinos often cost very little compared to restaurants and bars of the same standard. Like every other aspect of casinos, this was done to keep people there as long as possible.

Many casinos had no windows or clocks, and the patterns on the floors were so complex and chaotic that it was impossible to focus on them as if they were a painting, ultimately forcing people to look up and see the slot machines and dozens of other ways to spend their money.

The casino where Adam and Silvana were did not use all the tricks available, some of which were unavailable due to their location in a skyscraper, but those who designed the place made sure that every detail ultimately brought profit to the owners.

Adam ordered two more cocktails when Silvana glanced his way.

"Agh, you're right. Even if there are lucky people who win large sums from time to time, the chances of that are too small. I'm sorry, I was acting like a child."

In response, Adam just smiled.

"Well, we came here to have fun, didn't we? Besides, we still have 9,500 chips left out of 10,000. We only lost 5% of what we had. We still have a lot of work ahead of us!"

Silvana giggled and touched his hand.

"Then let's not waste any time!"

...

While Silvana and Adam went in search of the next spot in the casino, at one table, a girl with a fiery temper watched the fast-spinning roulette wheel.

And, unlike her partner, she couldn't win, which annoyed her more than the thousands of monsters she had killed along the way.