The Novel's Extra (101-200)

Chapter 195 - Hierarchy (3)

Floor administrators were existences summoned using the immense magic power condensed in the Tower. Some, such as Medea, Eirene, and Heimdall, were mythical heroes, and others, such as Luke and Simad, were my original creations.

Mythical hero or not, they were far from perfect. They had their own obsessions and desires as they possessed self-consciousness far greater than any human. This was also precisely the reason that they helped or hindered Players from climbing the Tower.

At any rate, TP was an important asset to the administrators as well.

"Raise."

Medea threw an additional 5000TP on the table.

"Call."

I put down 5000TP as well.

"Hmm~"

Medea rested her chin on her hand, keeping a poker face.

...I was currently playing poker without any complicated rules like the high-low rule. It was just the traditional Texas hold'em where the Player with the better luck and guts won.

Surprisingly, we were evenly matched in the beginning. I didn't get anything better than two-pair and I was often the one with a worse hand. I panicked a little thinking the administrators were scheming against me together.

But economies of scale and the law of large numbers finally played their part. Over time, as the number of rounds increased, I gained the upper hand.

"...."

And this was the result.

My opponents were Simad, the 7th floor administrator, Cadmus, the 5th floor administrator, and Medea, the 3rd floor administrator. Half of the money they had on the table was now in my possession, and the last two standing were Medea and me.

"How much did you win from me?"

Medea asked casually.

After two hours of playing, I had won quite a sum of TP from her, totaling at least 100,000. That was the reason Medea had abandoned her formalities and started addressing me more casually.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe 130,000~140,000?"

"...."

Medea silently bit her lip.

Then she threw a golden bill worth 10000TP on the table.

"Will you keep going?"

I smiled at Medea.

"Yes, of course."

I had no idea what kind of cards Medea had. In fact, I didn't even know the proper amount to bet and generally had no clue how poker worked.

Still, the only way I could lose at this point was if she cheated through 'card forgery'.

However, the cards we were using were made with great magic. Even I couldn't see through them with my Gift. Medea couldn't possibly forge cards like these. Well, perhaps she could, but the magic power needed to do something of that level would surely be noticeable.

"Really? Your must have a nice hand."

"...."

I put forward 10000TP in silence.

Currently, the money on the table was 148000TP. The bet was large enough that even Medea couldn't casually glance over it. Yet, she added another 30000TP on top of that.

"You calling?"

I finally started getting anxious... or not. There was really no reason.

I pretended to think long and hard, scratching the tabletop with my fingernails to fake nervousness. Then, with a sigh, I took out all the TP I had in my inventory.