Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

Chapter 204

A Gamble with Time (7)

The Twelve Divine Moons, Silver Age November.

His ability to simultaneously view the past, present, and future, as well as to rewind, fast forward, or stop time, is truly unique among the other Divine Moons.

“What is your favorite poker game?”

Silver Age November, with a long, sage-like white beard, asked Baek Yu-seol.

Without hesitation, as if he had prepared in advance, Baek Yu-seol responded.

“I’ll play Seven Card Stud.”

“Seven Card Stud, you say.”

It was one of the most famous poker games, and in Korea, where Baek Yu-seol once lived, it was synonymous with poker itself.

There’s no particular reason he chose this game. Is it because it’s easier to win against someone who manipulates time like Silver Age November?

Of course not.

It was just because it was the only poker game he knew the rules of.

Th i s w a s c o p ie d f r o m k in g m t l . o r g
He didn’t know how to play poker well and was such a novice that he had to check the rankings through his Bulbul Glasses.

Here’s the crucial point.

In Seven Card Stud, players receive one card at a time and start betting, but they rarely touch the cards.

In other words, doing something like switching cards is virtually impossible. Even if you briefly flip a card to show it, the ever-present mana sensors and Garam Tribe guards would catch you immediately.

“Shall we start the game right away?”

The dealer approached, taking a glance at Baek Yu-seol. But it wasn’t Baek Yu-seol they were worried about; they were gauging the mood of the tyrant of the Lotus Inn, Silver Age November.

“Sure, why not. What’s the stake?”

“One million.”

“Heh heh heh. You, young one, will have quite the experience.”

Following Baek Yu-seol’s lead, Silver Age November placed the stake on the table.

“Deal the cards.”

The game began.

Sitting across the long table, the dealer carefully distributed three cards each to Baek Yu-seol and Silver Age November.

Each of them checked their hands and revealed all three cards.

From this point, half of the outcome was already determined.

Sometimes, players would start with good hands, while others might receive cards that couldn’t possibly form a good hand even with four more draws.

‘Poker face.’

It refers to the expression used to hide one’s emotions to avoid revealing their hand. For Baek Yu-seol, blessed by Red Spring March, maintaining a poker face was easy, so he kept a calm expression throughout, but Silver Age November was different.

He kept smiling and revealed one card, prompting Baek Yu-seol to do the same.

“I’ll deal the cards.”

After revealing one card, the dealer dealt another card.

After revealing the newly received cards, the betting began.

Baek Yu-seol examined his cards and declared a “half,” betting half of the stake.

“Hmm…”

Silver Age November scrutinized his expression, but there was no clue to be found. For now, there was nothing he could do, so he placed his bet.

“Call.”

The game proceeded swiftly. Neither Baek Yu-seol nor Silver Age November hesitated to place large bets, and the dealer distributed the cards while sweating profusely.

“I’ll call and raise to four million.”

“I’ll call and raise to eight million.”

The dealer, who prided himself on having seen many high-stakes games, had never witnessed such a match before.

‘What kind of nerve does that student have?’

Th i s w a s c o p ie d f r om k i n g mt l . o r g
Seeing Baek Yu-seol casually throwing in enormous stakes, it was clear he was the child of a famous noble family. But even so, was it not too much money to be considered a life lesson?

Silver Age November was also strangely reckless, betting money carelessly, unlike his usual cautious demeanor. He hardly even looked at his hand.

Thus, the seven cards were dealt, bringing the game to its climax.

When all the stakes were placed with a massive amount of money on the line, they revealed each other’s cards.

Baek Yu-seol’s hand, a back straight.

Silver Age November’s hand, two pair.

‘Baek Yu-seol wins.’

Silver Age November stroked his beard.

‘I lost.’

In a situation where he had no choice but to lose all the money he had bet so far, Silver Age November closed his eyes and then reopened them.
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**…Half.”

Five minutes earlier.

The moment when Baek Yu-seol placed his first bet.
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He refocused on the ‘present.’

His future self had lost. So, he would act differently here.

“Fold.”

Why bet on a game you’ve already lost?

Thinking he would get a decent hand, Silver Age November folded, leaving Baek Yu-seol helpless.

The next game was the same.

“Double!”

“…Fold.”

“Raise!”

“…Fold.”

“Heh heh heh. Good, good.”

Silver Age November’s strategy was simple.

By ‘observing’ both the present and future simultaneously, he confirmed the outcome in the future and acted differently in the present.

Seeing the future, Silver Age November declared fold whenever Baek Yu-seol had the advantage, and bet big when he had the upper hand, taking Baek Yu-seol’s money.

‘As expected, he’s unbeatable.’

‘Even if he’s from Stella, there’s no way a kid could beat the best gambler.’

Silver Age November was known as the tyrant of the Lotus Inn.

No one could defeat him in a card game, and his magical skills were so powerful that it was impossible to drive him out by force.

Whenever he showed up, they were forced to play cards, and each time, he would drain the inn’s money and flee.

He’s not just a tyrant, but a complete thug.

So, when a young student took him on without knowing better, he must be shedding tears of blood by now…

‘Hmm?’

‘What is this?’

Hence, everyone present felt puzzled all at once.

“Call.”

Despite losing almost half his money, Baek Yu-seol maintained an indifferent expression as he continued the game.

‘Does that amount of money mean nothing to him?’

If he were immensely wealthy, it made sense, but no matter how much money he had, once the game started to go south, even pro gamblers would show signs of breaking.

Yet Baek Yu-seol consistently maintained a relaxed demeanor.
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Did losing money really not bother him, or…?

“Raise!”

Silver Age November pushed in coins with a powerful bet, causing the spectating Garam Tribe guards to shake their heads with cold sweat.

‘He’s doing it again.’

Even though only two cards had been dealt, it was clear he was confident of his victory.

Whenever Silver Age November bet like this, he always won, so it was obvious this time too.

However.

Baek Yu-seol didn’t counter it. He rested his chin on his hand and, after a moment of thought, spoke to the dealer.

“Dealer, could you shuffle the cards before the next deal?”

“What? What?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”

“Well, um…”

“Wait! What do you mean by that?”

Finally, Silver Age November spoke up, somewhat flustered.

“Is there a need to shuffle? We can proceed as it is.”

“It’s not like I’m shuffling. The dealer is doing it, so why not?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

As this was unprecedented, Silver Age November was visibly confused.
T hi s w as c o p i e d f r o m k in g m t l. o r g

In this round, he was supposed to win with a ‘full house’ while Baek Yu-seol had a ‘straight.’

However, in the ‘observed future,’ there was no instance of the dealer shuffling the deck.

If the cards were shuffled now after a large bet had been placed…

The result would become unpredictable, even for Silver Age November.

Even if he tried to peek into the future again now, it would be too late. For Silver Age November, reversing an event that had already occurred—’time regression’—wasn’t possible.

“I will reveal the cards.”

Baek Yu-seol, a back straight.

Silver Age November, a triple.

‘I lost.’

Baek Yu-seol’s hand improved by one rank, while Silver Age November’s hand fell into the abyss.

“Heh heh. What a thing.”

Having never experienced this before in his life, Silver Age November let out a hollow laugh.

A ‘variable’ interfered during the game, altering the future. Baek Yu-seol swept Silver Age November’s money and said,

“It seems you originally had a good hand.”

“Hmm? Yes, that was the plan.”

“But I shuffled the cards, so the hand was broken.”

“Well… that’s true, I suppose.”

But that was only an event that occurred in the future. There was no way Baek Yu-seol could have realized it, yet he spoke as if he had witnessed the same scene.

“Let’s resume the game.”

The same pattern repeated thereafter. Whenever Baek Yu-seol got a good hand, Silver Age November would fold, and conversely, when Silver Age November got a good hand, Baek Yu-seol would request a card shuffle.

However, even with the variable of ‘card shuffle,’ there was no guarantee Baek Yu-seol would win.

In the future, where Silver Age November couldn’t predict due to variables, there were plenty of scenarios where Baek Yu-seol lost.

Conversely.

There were also plenty of scenarios where Silver Age November lost.

Neither of them was particularly skilled at poker. In terms of psychological warfare or technical aspects, they were no different from ordinary people.

In other words, they were purely playing Seven Card Stud.

‘This is…’

Silver Age November clicked his tongue. The future was constantly shifting.

Do you know the term butterfly effect?

It’s such a well-known term that I’ll skip the explanation and just say, Baek Yu-seol’s every trivial action created a butterfly effect.

The future isn’t set.

Depending on the events that occur in the present, countless possibilities and probabilities branch out, and the flow reveals the future.

But the moment ‘coincidence’ intervenes, even Silver Age November can’t predict the future.

For example, let’s say you’re playing ‘odd-even’ by shaking three dice in a cup.

Inside the cup, the dice collide with the walls and each other, creating an infinite number of ‘possible outcomes.’

Countless events created by layers upon layers of coincidences.

3, 4, 1.

2, 6, 6.

1, 3, 2.

Even if you see the same future, thousands or tens of thousands of futures occur, and Silver Age November can’t predict what numbers will appear in the odd-even dice game five minutes later.

The ability to observe the present and future simultaneously. It sounds like a wonderful ability, but it’s merely an ‘ability to calculate probabilities’… nothing more, nothing less.

Time was far too vast and magnificent for a single being to dominate.

When you think of the Twelve Divine Moons, you might imagine them as beings that ‘dominate certain attributes.’

Blue Winter December dominates ice.

Red Summer June dominates fire.

Red Spring March dominates the heart.

But…

That is a misconception.

They do not dominate attributes.

They merely understand the flow of those attributes better than anyone else.

“I’ll call and double.”

“Ugh…”

In terms of understanding time, no one could surpass Silver Age November.

…Unless the opponent was not just a mere time traveler but someone who truly understood the intricacies of time.

During each game, Baek Yu-seol generated countless coincidences.

He would place bets without even looking at his cards, ask for a card shuffle, or even request the Garam Tribe spectating the game to shuffle the cards.

T hi s w a s c op i e d f r o m k in g m t l .or g
‘The future became unpredictable.’

The predetermined future kept changing.

For Silver Age November, it was both terrifying and despairing. It was like being tied up and blindfolded, then dropped into a vast ocean.

Yet at the same time… a thrilling sensation tingled up his spine.

“Haha, I won!”

It was a game he was supposed to lose.

But because Baek Yu-seol kept generating ‘coincidences’ whenever he placed his bets, Silver Age November exploited that point to his advantage, placed large bets, and ended up winning.

This was also…

A coincidence.
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He could have lost or won.

He placed his bets on an uncertain future, and eventually, he won.

“…I lost.”

When Baek Yu-seol put down his cards, Silver Age November chuckled and swept the mountain of coins toward himself.

“Isn’t this fun?”

“Yes, it’s fun! With this money, I can drink Thousand-Year Dongdongju to my heart’s content!”

“Is that really why you’re happy?”

“What?”

Finally, Silver Age November lifted his head and made eye contact with Baek Yu-seol. In his eyes… something mysterious flickered. Silver Age November couldn’t help but think, ‘I’ve seen that before.’

“There was something I’ve been wanting to ask if I ever met you.”

As he naively swept the coins, Silver Age November put them down and slumped into his chair. Then, crossing his arms, he nodded.

“Ask away.”

“Is the future of this world fixed?”

“…It seems like you know who I am.”

Silver Age November grimaced as if his head ached, but then he sighed deeply. Seeing his opponent behave like that, it was obvious.

That presumptuous human kid came to him knowing his identity.

So… he answered calmly.

“The future is set.”

Silver Age November could observe countless futures, and they indeed branched into many timelines.

However.

No matter how many futures there were.

The conclusion… was all the same.
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‘This world will perish in ten years.’

All futures, extending into countless branches, were racing toward the exact same endpoint.

The endpoint of annihilation.

The predetermined future cannot be stopped or reversed.

Silver Age November was merely a person who swam a little better in the river called ‘time.’

While others were swept down the waterfall powerlessly, he barely, barely managed to swim against the current.

Changing the fact that the waterfall itself falls from top to bottom… is absolutely impossible.

So.

Baek Yu-seol asked again.

“Is the future… truly set?”

“What?”

“Did you foresee your victory just now?”

No, he didn’t.

While swimming through the vast ocean of an uncertain future, feeling like he’d discovered an uninhabited island, he played poker.

T h is wa s c o pie d f r om ki ng m t l . org
“…That’s a difficult question.”

Silver Age November.

In exchange for gaining the ability to swim against the flow of time, he realized the truth that ‘the set future cannot be changed.’

The moment he realized that truth, it became both his shackle and his curse, one he couldn’t escape for over a thousand years.

However.

If there were someone who could generate a variable, causing ripples in a tranquil lake, and steer the predetermined future in another direction?

A very trivial thing, that is.

Even in a simple game of poker… what if there was a being who could change the future?

“The future is not set.”

At first glance, it could be considered an arrogant statement. How dare he discuss time with Silver Age November? But the old man nodded quietly at the boy’s words.

“Indeed…”

Someone who couldn’t even predict the outcome of a simple poker game; how could he be called the Silver Age Moon of Time?

“I came here to gamble with you.”

It was the first time.

An opponent with whom he couldn’t predict the outcome, even while gambling.

The wager with him could only be a loss for Silver Age November.

Even the already set future was altered, making the outcome unknown.

“The contents of the gamble are simple.”

With that, he proposed another gamble.

“Ten years from now, whether the world will be destroyed or not.”

Ping!

The boy flicked the last remaining coin toward the old man.

“I’ll go all-in on ‘it won’t be destroyed’… with my entire life.”

End of Chapter