Chapter 4: The Gambler

“Eh, you’re pretty strong, traveler,” an unfamiliar voice remarked in Kayla’s direction.

“Guildmaster,” Kayla said in surprise.

“Guildmaster?…” I muttered.

“He’s Rion Skyfrost, the guildmaster and leader of this town,” Kayla explained.

“Ehh…” I said, eyeing the man who looked to be in his early thirties.

“Ah, sorry about the wall,” I added, glancing at the crumbling section behind us.

“Don’t worry about it. The loser of the duel covers all the damages,” Rion replied.

“I know this is sudden, but I’d like to speak with you, traveler along with your companion,” Guildmaster Rion continued.

This might be a good chance to learn more about this world, I thought.

“Sure, why not.

But keep it short, I still need to accompany these two somewhere,” I said.

“Reimei and Lily, you two should come as well,” Rion added, heading toward the Guild without slowing down.

I followed him as the guild members greeted him with respectful nods each time he passed.

Reimei and Lily fell in step, while Janbo trailed a few paces behind.

After climbing a short flight of stairs, we arrived at our destination.

The room was lined with bookcases filled to the brim, making it feel more like a small library than an office.

“You’re probably wondering why I called you here, traveler,” Rion began.

“A little. I’m guessing it has something to do with what happened earlier,” I replied politely.

“I checked your registration record. Kayla listed your specialty as a potential Tamer,” Rion said.

“But after witnessing your performance earlier, that clearly isn’t the case,” he continued.

“What do you mean by that, Guildmaster?” Reimei asked.

“Tamers don’t have the ability to boost their own strength.

They fight solely through their beasts,” Rion explained.

“And your companion… he’s no ordinary spirit wolf.”

No wonder this man’s both the guildmaster and the leader of this town… he’s sharp.

God Chaelon never said I couldn’t reveal I’m not from this world… but still, I’d better be careful.

“Traveler,” Rion suddenly said, his gaze locking onto me with piercing intensity.

“You’re not from this world, are you?”

I froze.

“Your stats are unusually balanced. You have an ability that can raise them even further,” Rion continued.

“And that gray spirit wolf with you, he’s like the companion of one of this world’s gods.”

“Chaelon, the God of Luck and Fortune… the last remaining god of this world,” Lily said.

“Last?” I murmured.

“The other three gods sacrificed their power to keep this world from collapsing after the Great Devastation,” Lily explained.

“Eleon, the God of Hope and Renewal.

Atreya, the Goddess of Faith and Resolve.

Velmira, the Goddess of Love and Memory,” Rion listed.

“What’s the Great Devastation?” I asked.

“It’s the name we gave to the cataclysm that happened a hundred years ago,

after the sudden appearance of the djinns a century before that,” Rion answered.

“Djinns?” I repeated, trying to recall if they matched the myths from my own world.

“Djinns are powerful beings that rule over the granting of wishes,” Reimei explained.

“They’re also the children of God Chaelon, born from the collective wishes of all living beings in this world.”

“But only a handful of wishes can be granted among the countless voices," she continued.

Rion’s eyes narrowed.

“So, Raki… what do you think happens to all those countless wishes that go unfulfilled?”

“What do they become?” I asked, a bit curious.

“They become curses,” Rion replied in his grave tone.

“Curses that exist only to destroy the wishes of others”, Rion added.

“Djinns aren’t inherently good or evil, they simply fulfill wishes, governed by pure chance,” he explained.

“That’s what most people believed… until they discovered that the Luck status influences it.”

“And the only way to increase luck…” Rion paused, his gaze locking with mine,

“…is by stealing it from other beings.”

I frowned.

“How can they take someone’s luck?” I asked.

“By ensuring that person’s wish never comes true,” Rion answered without hesitation.

“God Chaleon gave luck equally to all living things.

But some beings through sheer malice or greed, hoarded more than their share.

In doing so, they surpassed even the djinn and bound their powers, claiming them as their own.”

He exhaled heavily.

“Yet, having more luck isn’t necessarily a blessing.

Those who gathered too much became something else entirely…

something that can only be described in one word…. a Demon.”

His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper.

“Selfish creatures who will never be satisfied until they consume everything.”

“There are twelve of these demons scattered across the world,” he continued.

“Each sealed in place by the boundaries created by the three gods, Eleon, Astreya, and Velmira.”

I swallowed.

“So that’s why most beings in this world only have one luck?”, I stated.

“Exactly,” Rion confirmed.

“Luck is meant to flow through the cycle of life and death.

But since those twelve demons hoard the majority of this world’s luck, every child born after the Great Devastation is granted only one.”

Just hearing it made my soul tremble.

Twelve demons holding nearly all the world’s luck… and here I was, thinking I could make a difference with a measly one hundred.

“Traveler,” Rion said suddenly, his eyes softening, “if you need any knowledge about this world, I’ll gladly share it with you.”

He spread his arms as if presenting the entire town.

“For this is the place that preserves the world’s memories, Elira.”

World’s memories? I thought.

Does he mean… its history?

“But aren’t you a little too young to know about events from hundreds of years ago?” I asked.

Kayla suddenly entered the room, pushing the door open.

“Don’t be fooled by his appearance, Sir Raki.

Guildmaster Rion is over three hundred years old.”

“That’s right, Raki,” Rion said with a faint smile.

“I’m more than three centuries old… and the fourth being with the highest Luck status in this world.” His voice grew colder.

“I am the Ice Demon… Rion Skyfrost the demon who seeks all the knowledge in existence.”

“And…?” I prompted, recalling that my mission was to restore the natural flow of Luck in this world, not to hunt down demons.

“Aren’t you even the slightest bit afraid?” Rion asked, quite surprised.

“Of course not,” I replied with a smirk trying to hide my actual emotion.

“If you’re a demon who craves knowledge, then you’re probably more interested in me than anything else in this world”, I said, teasing Rion.

Rion chuckled, the sound echoing like distant frost breaking.

“So, you’re not really from this world, Raki?” Reimei asked.

I gave a simple nod.

There was no point in hiding it now, not after what Rion had said.

“So he’s not a tamer?” Kayla blurted out, earning another laugh from Rion.

“Of course not, little Kayla,” he replied.

“He likely has the same ability as God Chaleon, a gambler.”

“A gambler?” Lilly tilted her head.

“He who wagers the fate of the world on chance,” Rion explained.

“It’s the power to use Luck itself to obtain anything you can possibly imagine.”

“If you’re so strong and know so much, then why aren’t you the one fixing this world, Rion?” I asked.

“I can’t,” he said simply.

“Remember the boundaries I mentioned earlier? They also restrain me… I’m bound just like the demons.”

“Meaning Guildmaster Rion cannot step beyond the boundary,” Kayla concluded.

“Besides, it’s not like the Guildmaster is doing nothing, he’s fixing this world in his own way,” Kayla said.

“Is it the same for the other demons?” I asked.

“It is,” Rion replied, “but their legions can still cross the boundaries.”

That means I won’t have to worry about running into another demon until I step into a different boundary.

I should probably spend some time getting used to my power and learning more about this world, I thought.

I glanced at Reimei and Lily, who both looked like they wanted to cut the conversation short but were holding back.

“Rion, let’s continue this later. I need to accompany these two first,” I said, recalling my earlier commitment.

“Reimei, Lily go with Kayla and wait for me at the Guild entrance,” I instructed.

Once the three of them left, only Janbo and I remained with Rion.

“Phone,” I said.

I quickly opened the Divine Gacha and pulled out a hamburger steak.

“This is payment for the information earlier… a cuisine from my world,” I said, handing him the dish.

Rion’s eyes sparkled as he accepted it, clearly intrigued by food he’d never seen before in this world.

“You’re quite an interesting being, Raki,” he remarked as I slipped out the door with a grin.