CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39 "LUCK OR SKILL (2)"

He didn’t wait for luck or mistakes from others.

He seized opportunities, making bold plays, initiating new stacks, and quickly extending existing ones.

He learned from Owen’s efficient strategy, adapting it to his own understanding of the game’s flow.

Ray took calculated risks, reading the discard pile, anticipating what cards his opponents might hold.

With each turn, Ray’s stacks grew. His movements were precise. He wasn’t relying on chance; he was actively shaping the game in his way towards the win.

Jill and Warren watched him with growing alarm; their earlier sneers replaced by genuine bewilderment. They saw his stacks rising, seemingly out of nowhere, faster than their own.

Then, with a confident flourish, Ray laid down his final card. It was a perfect fit, completing his thirteenth stack.

"I win," Ray declared, the words calm, definitive.

A stunned silence descended. This time, there was no disbelief about luck. Jill and Warren stared, their faces darkening with a mix of shock and utter frustration.

They had watched him play, seen his calculated moves, and understood that this wasn’t a fluke.

Owen, however, broke into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. His eyes held a newfound respect as he looked at Ray’s stacks. "Well played," he simply said, a genuine note of admiration in his voice.

The NPC announced, "Congratulations, Mr. Ray. You are the winner of Round Four!"

The weight of the new loss settled heavily on Jill and Warren.

The first round had been 1,000 coins, the second 10,000, the third 20,000. This round’s bet had been a staggering 30,000 coins, and they had just lost it.

Almost instantly, a green, glowing notification flashed across Ray’s interface.

[CREDIT: +60000 coins]

Ray suppressed a grin. ’Sixty thousand coins from a single game.’ He knew this was nothing in comparison to his 7 million coins, but he understood their value, then.

He looked at Jill and Warren, whose faces were now truly grim. Their arrogance had cost them dearly.

Jill and Warren were utterly silent, their faces still had grim disbelief.

The realization that a young boy, barely half their age, had not only bested them once, but twice, while they’d been busy looking down on him, was a bitter pill to swallow.

The air around them was heavy with their unspoken frustration and humiliation.

Owen, however, was clearly impressed. He turned to Ray, a genuine smile gracing his lips. "That was an excellent display, young man," he said, his voice holding a warmth it hadn’t before. "Care for another hand? I’d enjoy playing longer with you."

Ray politely declined, shaking his head. "Maybe if there’s another chance to meet you, Mr. Owen, but right now I can’t, unless I lose this round."

Owen’s smile widened. "Then I’ll make sure you lose this round," he chuckled, showing a friendly challenge in his eyes.

Ray responded with a light laugh, and the NPC, seemingly amused by the exchange, began to shuffle the cards for the final round.

It was Owen’s chance to start this time.

The bet for this round was a staggering 40,000 coins. As the cards were dealt, the tension was palpable, but it was a different kind of tension now.

For Jill and Warren, it was the crushing weight of their mounting losses and shattered arrogance. As for Ray and Owen, it was thrill of genuine challenge.

Owen began, playing with his usual masterful precision. He laid down cards with an almost effortless grace, quickly building impressive sequences.

Ray met his plays with a focused intensity, carefully considering each move.

He knew winning against Owen need more than just luck. Ray had to push himself to actually win for the third time.

Jill and Warren, after just a few turns, seemed to lose all hope.

They watched Owen and Ray exchange with smile while their own cards feeling inadequate, their earlier confidence completely evaporated.

The contest unfolding before them was a healthy, high-stakes duel between two sharp minds, and they were merely spectators to their own impending financial ruin.

As the round progressed, Ray found himself constantly on the back foot. Owen was relentless, his stacks growing at an alarming rate.

Ray was making clever discards, seizing every small opportunity, but it felt like he was merely delaying the inevitable. ’I might actually lose this one,’ Ray thought, a bead of sweat tracing a path down his temple.

Owen was just too good.

Then, with a move that seemed to defy logic, Owen discarded a crucial card, one that Ray desperately needed.

It was a card that would complete Owen’s own nearly finished stack, yet he let it go. Ray’s eyes widened.

He quickly snatched it up, then played his own final card, an Ace of Spades, completing his last stack.

"I win," Ray announced, the words almost a whisper of surprise, more to himself than to the others. He looked at his completed stacks, then at Owen.

Owen let out a soft sigh, a gentle smile playing on his lips. "I really enjoyed playing with you, young man," he said, his gaze warm.

"However, it seems I can’t keep you here since you have important things to do." He extended his hand across the table. "I hope we’ll meet again and continue our competition."

Ray grasped Owen’s hand, a genuine smile breaking through his earlier concentration. "Thank you, Mr. Owen."

First the NPC congratulate Ray for his win then the notification of his win and rewards bombarded.

[Congratulations, you have completed the challenge: The house of cards]

[Rewards are calculating...]

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.

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[Hundred thousand coins have been credited to your account.]

[You have unlocked passive skill lucky one.]

This skill can only be used with passive skill search, only once a day.

As their hands parted, Ray felt a familiar shimmer, and the table, the hall, and the bewildered faces of Jill and Warren faded.

He was transported out of the mini-game, back to the bustling hub of safe zone.

Ray thought about the last round in his mind. He knew, with absolute certainty, that he had been on the losing end.

Owen’s play had been flawless, almost unstoppable. That discarded card, the one that secured Ray’s win, had been a deliberate choice by Owen.

’But why? Why would Owen deliberately lose such a high-stakes round?’ The question lingered in Ray’s mind.