Chapter 580
A mountain of stakes piled high.
The table was overflowing with sacred relics and various items dazzling enough to widen anyone’s eyes just from a glance.
“……”
“……”
Sharp glints flickered in every direction, filled with murderous intent.
They had bet everything they had—there was no turning back.
Kang Jinhyuk, watching, clicked his tongue.
‘And that’s why you don’t bet so recklessly…’
They say gambling is the shortcut to ruin, and clearly, it wasn’t wrong.
Just look at them throwing in everything without even thinking ahead.
“What will you do, Player Kang Jinhyuk?”
They were asking whether he’d call the raise or fold.
Well, what should he do?
Jinhyuk absentmindedly fiddled with his hand.
“Huhu. Contractor, my hand is exceedingly strong.”
Alice von Ataraxia smiled confidently.
“My hand isn’t bad either. Come in, if you think you can win.”
“Same here.”
“Mogiii Mogii!”
“My win rate is 33.25%. Yup.”
Everyone claimed they held the strongest hand.
Hmm.
Not sure how strong their cards really were, since they didn’t even seem to know the ‘H’ in Hold’em…
Poor souls.
This kind of bet was unbalanced from the very beginning.
[The Eye of Gluttony sees through the opponent’s hand.]
Jinhyuk was already reading everyone’s thoughts thoroughly.
What hand each person had.
How much they would bet, who was bluffing, who was fishing—he knew it all.
‘Teresa has K and Q. Orun has pocket tens…’
For those two, it’s not a bad situation.
Goguma had 9 and Q of clubs—very fitting.
Andrea had 10 and 9.
Frey had A and J.
Chun Yoosung had—KK.
‘Whoa, pocket kings.’
Second-best hand after AA.
The guy really had disgusting luck.
And pitifully, his opponent happened to be Jinhyuk.
Lastly, Alice.
The great Matriarch’s hand… was 2 and 7.
Apparently, the prideful vampire just assumed whatever she held must be the best.
Did she really think this was a battle of bravado, not wits?
‘Seriously like a kid left by the river.’
Outside of combat, she had no clue how the world worked.
[The ‘Luck’ stat is at maximum.]
Jinhyuk glanced down at his own cards.
AA.
The best hand in existence.
Unless something crazy landed on the board, this had the highest chance of winning.
But with so many people all-in, there was no need to leave it to luck.
‘If I can see everyone’s hands through my Luck stat, I’ll clean house regardless.’
Jinhyuk calmly covered his perfect hand.
“This is scary—how do you even play like this? Let’s not get too heated on the first hand. Since we’ve started, let’s take it easy and enjoy.”
The game had only just begun.
⁕
About three hours later.
“…This is impossible.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“The probability of such a one-sided loss is 0.0015%. Yup.”
“Hahaha. F**k.”
Sighs filled with despair and grief escaped from all sides.
It was the only way to describe a perfect defeat.
They had all their cherished belongings stripped away, down to the last one.
Especially when an ace on the board met Jinhyuk’s royal straight flush—“I want to speak to the manager” practically burst out of their mouths.
Jinhyuk, wearing a crown encrusted with flashy jewels, took a long sip of wine.
“Phew.”
It was the wine called *Tears of God*, once traded for thirty-five top-grade magic stones in the Tower’s greatest auction.
A masterpiece aged 1,800 years from only the finest grapes, hand-selected by a master vintner.
With it, he cut a premium steak using the demonblade *Ryu-hwa* that he had won from Chun Yoosung.
Then—
BOOM!
Chun Yoosung shot to his feet.
“This is ridiculous! It’s not like you could see everyone’s cards… 100% win rate?! Are we supposed to believe that?!”
Killing intent flowed like a torrent.
Even without a sword, it felt like a blade was pressing to one’s throat.
“Now, now. A true man knows how to accept defeat gracefully. Are you saying I cheated?”
“You’re the kind of guy who would. You could have a skill or Unique Ability involved for all I know.”
‘Flinch!’
I almost gasped in panic, but barely held it in.
Admitting it would’ve been a confession.
His instincts were disgustingly sharp.
“Ahem! Ahem! Please don’t throw around baseless accusations. And I don’t intend to keep all this for myself either. I’m not a scumbag. I’ll be generous—if you just accompany me to the place on this map, I’ll return half of it.”
There was a reason for this game.
The Hermit’s Village they were about to visit was filled with places and individuals unknown even to the Tower’s oldest veterans.
To minimize variables, he needed strong support.
“If that’s the case… couldn’t you have just asked us to go with you?”
“Exactly. If you’d asked, Mr. Jinhyuk, we’d have gone…”
“Mogiii Mogii!”
“Hahaha. Well, that too, but I was raised with impeccable manners. I must always ask for others’ consent.”
Definitely not because something humiliating might happen there.
Definitely not because one might have to throw away their human dignity or pride.
…No. It was purely because, as a youth of the Land of Courteous Etiquette, his conscience pricked him.
“Suspicious…”
Chun Yoosung’s brows furrowed into a deep V.
But he had no choice.
Losing ‘Ryu-hwa’, his beloved sword, would be the greatest blow.
And so, with nods all around, the raid to the Hermit’s Village was formed.
“Hm. Player Kang Jinhyuk.”
After Hold’em ended, Rick Hennessy approached Jinhyuk.
“Ah, thank you for dealing so well. That was a fun game.”
“I’m glad to hear that. But… do you have a moment?”
Rick’s voice was different from usual.
No longer relaxed from the game—his expression carried solemn weight.
Something was up.
“Alright. Let’s talk over there.”
After asking the others for a moment, Jinhyuk moved aside.
On the terrace with a clear night view, he brewed the freshly acquired coffee and handed it to Rick.
“Thank you.”
Rick sipped cautiously and widened his eyes.
It must’ve suited his taste more than expected.
Jinhyuk had used special beans and a special machine just for this.
“So, what did you want to say?”
“You know that after you conquered Olympus, there’ve been major changes in the Tower, right?”
“Ahem. I did cause a bit of a scene.”
“Hahh. The entire Bureau was turned upside down. Not just me—every other administrator has six months of guaranteed overtime.”
Rick sighed deeply.
Then, he added one more line.
“I didn’t bring you here to complain. There’s something important I need to tell you. We had an unwelcome guest early yesterday morning.”
“An unwelcome guest…?”
“You’ve probably met them too. I’m talking about the ones known as ‘Operators’.”
“…!?”
This time, it was Jinhyuk’s expression that changed.
He hadn’t expected Rick to bring up contact with an Operator on his own.
‘If Rick was working with them, he would’ve hidden that fact at all costs…’
So all the suspicion had been for nothing?
Or had they realized Jinhyuk was already onto them and decided to act first?
Either way, it made his head spin.
“Judging by your reaction, I take it you know who they are.”
“I’ve run into them a few times.”
“The one I met was known as ‘Coffindance’. He used an unfamiliar, bizarre power and effortlessly bypassed all of the Bureau’s security.”
Naturally.
No matter how tight security was, you couldn’t stop the ones who designed the whole system.
“…So what did he say?”
“He expressed great concern about a single faction monopolizing three crowns. With the 50th floor restriction lifted, he warned that administrators would now be responsible for everything.”
The top priority of administrators was to maintain balance and peace within the Tower.
But now, everything was on the brink of collapse.
Coffindance had perfectly understood that—and struck where it hurt.
“…So the administrators are going to turn hostile toward us.”
“Bendivia and I opposed it… but most of the others have either sided with Coffindance or chosen to turn a blind eye. Veteran Corporation will face many disadvantages going forward. For example…”
Rick whispered in a barely audible voice.
“They might release ‘Apocalypse’ at your next destination.”
Short words—but the weight was immense.
This was incredibly important intel.
Just identifying ‘Apocalypse’ drastically reduced the possibilities of where the enemy would move next.
“But… are you sure you should be telling me internal info like this?”
“Hmm? Did I say something? I was merely mumbling a review of delicious coffee.”
Rick shrugged.
“Haha. No… nothing. I must’ve misheard.”
Jinhyuk slightly revised his evaluation of Rick.
At the same time, he felt like he’d just sold the world’s most expensive cup of coffee.
⁕
That night.
Vrrrmmm!
A gate opened, splitting space wide left and right.
[Tower ??F. Entering Hidden Place: ‘Hermit’s Village’.]
A gray sky and a cold wind welcomed the members of Veteran Corporation.
“So this is the place Mr. Jinhyuk said we should be cautious about…”
“It certainly… doesn’t seem like a normal floor.”
Teresa du Laurentia and Chun Yoosung muttered warily.
The eerie mana hanging in the air was deeply foreboding.
As if the entire floor was a ghost town, a heavy fog had rolled in.
“There’s a village up ahead. Should we head there first?”
Andrea pointed in one direction.
The fog blurred the view, but scattered glimpses of what seemed to be a village could be seen.
“Yeah. Ah—wait a sec…”
Just as they were about to move, Jinhyuk stopped them.
“Now what?”
“Going in like this is basically announcing we’re from another floor, you know?”
That place was a trash heap where the most terrifying and merciless criminals in the Tower gathered.
Marching in all clean and fresh-faced like this—they’d be butchered in seconds.
If they were entering a tiger’s den, they had to look the part.
“Don’t tell me…”
Chun Yoosung, traumatized by past cosplay, instinctively took a step back.
Experience paid off—he sensed his fate.
“Exactly. That ‘don’t tell me’.”
Jinhyuk smiled sweetly.
[Subspace Inventory is opened.]
Various outfits and makeup kits spilled out in heaps.
So indecent that even passing criminals might mistake them for allies.
“You all promised, right? To do exactly as I say.”
From now on, they weren’t Veteran Corporation.
They were the Veteran Pirates.