Chapter 21
Chapter 21 -The Luxury of a Cup of Coffee (3)
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Translator: HH
-Gong-jnim! This is a straight . Kill him .
“Die . ”
-Ah . Gong-jnim . He’s bluffing . Ah, you poor thing . Call him out and kill him .
“Call . ”
-Dang . He has the same cards as Gong-jnim . But what can we do? Gong-jnim’s two pairs are the highest? Heehee . This is fun . Let’s keep on going until we die, Gong-jnim!
“Raise . ”
-Wow . He’s trying to get a full house? Gong-jnim . Don’t worry . I just looked under the table to see the cards . He won’t get a full house . Trust me, and go!
“All in . ”
About 30 rounds of poker continued .
“······ . ”
The guy opposite of me trembled . Venomous Snake . The one-eyed hunter was burning up .
“Shit! This is a scam!”
The Venomous Snake burst up . Boom! The table shook . Other hunters raised their cups like they expected this . Fortunately, we were able to avoid spilt coffee . Mm . Good timing .
“It doesn’t make sense! It’s already been 30 rounds but this guy hasn’t lost once . Even bluffing doesn’t work . This is a scam! I don’t know if it’s passive, but he’s using a fucking skill! It’s a scam! A scam!”
“Do you have proof?”
I sipped my hot chocolate . It was cold now, and became a weak chocolate latte . This was tasty in itself as well .
“I might be an expert at poker . I’ll feel wronged if you accuse me like this without any proof . Look upon me nicely, sunbae-nim . [TN: Sunbae-Term for addressing someone with more experience than you in a particular subject]
“Hey, is this really a F Class hunter?!”
The Venomous Hunter shouted while looking around him .
“How is this a F Class hunter! I’ll believe it if you say the Association lied about it after taking some side money . He’s at least a B Class!”
“Wow . How’d you know? That I’m not a F Class?”
“Right? I knew i… . ”
“Actually, I became an E Class Hunter yesterday . But I was busy clearing the 10th floor yesterday and I wasn’t able to let the Association know . ”
“…”
I smiled .
“Thank you for judging me so highly . And Mr . Master . You’re out of chips . ”
“Eh…”
The Venomous Snake turned away and plodded away . To the out zone . It was where the people without any more chips sat .
“Welcome! Chen-mu Master!”
Heretic Questioner, who had been out first, brightly smiled .
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“I thought it was about time for you to be out . So I ordered another expresso! You don’t need to refuse . Drink as much as you want . ”
“I don’t like espresso…”
“Yes! I know . Being picky is bad!”
“Fucking zealot…”
The Venomous Snake sat down in the out zone looking like he was gonna cry .
Now, there were 3 hunters left in the game . Me . The Witch of Black Dragon . And unexpectedly, Crusader .
“Mm . ”
Crusader looked down at her cards and wrinkled her forehead . She was the vice leader of the Civil Militia . A hunter famed for her righteousness . The Civil Militia was a guild established to protect the capital of the first floor . They were like the police . And I heard she donated all his wealth to an orphanage or something . [TN: I thought Crusader was a guy but we learn she’s a girl in this chapter! Korean…tsk tsk tsk . ]
“I lose . ”
Crusader placed her cards down with a sigh .
“I thought I had a pretty good poker face . Kim Gong-ja . Do you have a clairvoyant skill?”
“Maybe . It could be clairvoyance or telepathy . Try guessing . ”
“Newbies these days . ”
The Crusader smiled bitterly . She bowed and moved to the out zone .
“Hey! How could you give up so easily!”
The Venomous Snake shouted in anger at her . The surroundings of his mouth were messy, like he spilled his espresso .
“You should stick next to him like a hunting dog even if you think it’s not gonna work! Are you gonna leave that con-artist be!”
“Con-artist . That’s too much to the new hero . ”
“He’s obviously using a skill!”
Crusader shrugged her shoulders .
“I knew from the beginning . ”
“Huh? What?”
“It would’ve been weird if I didn’t know . Would a newbie really suggest a game of luck without any preparation? The fact that he challenged us to this game means that he was letting us know he could use a skill and get away with it without being caught . And we accepted that challenge . ”
The Venomous Snake gaped with his mouth open .
“T, That’s how it was?”
“Chen-mu Master…it’s good that you work hard for martial arts, but use your head . ”
Crusader looked at the Venomous Snake pitifully .
“From the beginning, we had nothing to lose . If we win, it would be awesome . But even if we lose…like the newbie said . He’s going to apply to all the guilds here . And that’s a pretty good result in itself . ”
“B, But . We have our pride! How are we gonna be treated the same as…”
“Does pride feed you?”
The Venomous Snake was left speechless .
“Espresso feeds you! Here, Chen-mu Master . Drink up!”
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“Fuuck…”
In the end, the Rank 2 player was left, the Black Witch .
And me .
It was us two .
“…”
The Witch focused on her cards and spoke .
“It’s a relief . ”
“What?”
“Since you can get us . ”
The Witch bet her chips . Raise . She raised the bar . Was she trying to provoke me?
“I’m from Ukraine . To be exact, I’m from where Ukraine used to be . With the war, after I lost my family, I suffered a lot . As you know . A woman living alone outside or in this tower is tough . ”
“I suppose so . ”
I gladly accepted her provocation . Re-raise . I raised the stakes .
“…”
She hesitated for a moment and tapped the table twice . It was that she was accepting victory . The Count spread the cards out as the dealer .
“So what are you trying to say?”
I rubbed my chin, pretending to contemplate .
“Everyone in the tower . And especially the first generation . It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t have a heart-breaking story . I’m an ordinary orphan as well . ”
My cards was one pair .
“…this top is like my hometown . ”
Her’s were a flush .
“In the tower, people don’t ask where you’re from . No, we made it so it was like this . The fact that I’m from Ukraine . That Chen-mu Master’s from China . That you’re from Korea…that isn’t important in our tower . ”
“Is that so?”
“Yes . Thanks to the blessing of the tower, we can understand each other . Here, we’re all equal . At least…more than the outside world . ”
If this went on, I would lose .
But I raised the stakes higher composedly .
“People outside consider here a trash can . ”
“Even roses bloom in trash cans . ”
The Witch signaled a call .
“Kim Gong-ja . The moment the clock in the sky shows [00:00:00], the media will pour out articles about you . You’ll start a life different from before . I hope you deal with it wisely . ”
“Sounds good . ”
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Another card was flipped over on the table .
“I’m not bragging, but I like attention . I like it when people compliment me and are jealous of me . It’s the truth . That’s all there is to it . ”
Now my cards were two pair .
“…You’re honest . I guess you’re the exact opposite of Sword Saint . ”
Her cards were still a flush . I had the shorter hand, but .
“All in . ”
“…”
“I’m confident . ”
I lifted my eyes from the card to look at her .
“I’ll tell you all now while we’re on the subject . I don’t want to be treated like you because I just cleared the 10th floor . The 20th floor . 30th . 40th . 50th . And the 100th . I’ll subjugate them all . No matter how long it takes . ”
“…”
“I know you consider the tower special . I respect that . I don’t plan on uselessly fighting with all of you . But I think of you as my opponents . ”
Who would be the first to climb the Tower?
Who would be called a hero?
To be remembered by people, to be complement, to receive jealousy . To build the gold tower that everyone saw .
“I want to see the world beyond the tower rather than within the tower . ”
So I was going to climb the tower .
“Refugees . Famine . I don’t have time to worry about that . Honestly . If you need my name, just use it . However many times you want . Just support me in climbing the tower . ”
The feeling of subjugating the tower . I wanted to feel it again . I had only tasted in once…but I felt like I was addicted to it .
Because that’s how amazing it was .
“…Sight . ”
The Witch sighed after a silence .
“I thought wrong . You’re not the opposite of the Sword Saint, but exactly the same . ”
The Witch pushed all the chips in . Clatter . They all gathered in the center of the table like a small mountain .
All in .
“Is that a compliment?”
“No, it’s a curse . Greedy people . ”
The last card was flipped . The opponent cards were a flush . Mine were…Full House .
“It’s a compliment . ”
I smiled .
“Thank you . ”
It was my victory .
“Then as promised, I hope I’m treated the same as the rest of you . ”
“Can I expect that the more authority you have, the more jobs you’ll have?”
“Hm? Isn’t the job of a hunter to climb the Tower? Don’t worry . I’ll continue doing the job of a hunter . ”
“A lazy newbie…”
The Witch bitterly smiled .
-Mm . Kim Zombie is a bit lazy . If there was a skill for laziness, he would’ve reached S Class .
‘…Are you really going back to Kim Zombie as soon as the game ended?’
-Of course, you mutant zombie! Gong-jnim my ass!’
Bae Hu-ryeong flew around in excitement .
-Zombie! Zombie! Zombie bastard! Wow, I didn’t know I would miss this so much! I’m never gonna bet with you lazy ass again!
‘Pathetic…’
How was the person that was called the Emperor of the Sword this pathetic .
I inwardly clicked my tongue and stood up .
“You’re leaving already?”
“Yes . The 11th floor is opening soon . I have to get ready now if I don’t want to be behind others . ”
“How are you gonna prepare if you don’t know what’s on it?”
Mm .
‘It wouldn’t be bad to give them a hint here . ’
Since I was going to be treated like them, it wouldn’t be bad if they were in my debt a bit . I organized my thoughts and spoke up .
“It’s a [Play] . ”
“Hm?”
“The theme of the 11th to the 20th floor is [Play] . ”
Everyone looked at me with flashing eyes . It was obvious why . With even the smallest hint, you could move faster than others . The information I was giving them right now was priceless .
“They gave me a hint as a reward for clearing the 10th floor . ”
It was a lie .
I still hadn’t gotten my reward for the 10th floor yet . I guessed I would get it when the clock hit 00:00:00 . But I still knew what would happen now .
Knowledge of the future . There was no reason not to use it .
“I don’t know any more than that . ”
“…Thanks for sharing . ”
The Witch nodded her head .
“I’ll definitely return this favor . ”
I was looking forward to it .