Path of the Slayer B3 56. Bets & News

“He spent forty quadrillion credits on reviving a damn ratkin!” roared one of Douglas’s associates across the card table from him.

As a Challenge Floor Administrator and the Diamond Castle Master, Douglas did his best to uphold some decorum no matter who he was around or where he went across the Realm Verse System. Even when he felt like bursting out in outrage as well, the Demigod calmly placed down a card and tapped his finger for the dealer to flick another card in his direction.

Under the bright spotlight, seven other players checked their cards and requested a replacement from the dealer or folded. After all remaining bets were placed, the dealer flipped her own cards, and over half the players let out a mild groan of defeat.

Douglas sighed as he watched the dealer’s finely manicured hand sweep up his chips and slip them through a slot in the dealer’s box.

Sharply scented cigar smoke wafted through the air. Ice-cold drinks upheld on trays lowered into view.

Douglas looked past the dazzling smiles of the beautiful servers. He had enjoyed such fun a while ago, but he only returned to these locations because of the high-Grade company. Being among fellow Demigods and sometimes the occasional newly arisen God was worth the entrance fee and the losses he suffered playing these games.

There was no cheating the dealers.

All the dealers were God Grades at an establishment like this. That was part of why he enjoyed coming back. Getting close to godliness and ludicrous amounts of credits made his Path of the Mercenary stronger.

It was also another source of funds when other Demigods and even some Gods reached out to him to learn of happenings at the Crossroads Citadel Realm. The best part? Such dealings were approved by High God Baldwin’s office as long as Douglas brought back info to tell his elders. It was a win, win scenario, yet Douglas didn’t feel like a winner.

He felt like a fool.

“Let me get this straight, Doug,” said Demigoddess Pyra, Path of the Pyro, her every word sparking out her orange-painted lips. The cards singed slightly in her grasp, but the magic of the establishment fixed the damage immediately once she released them. “Are you telling me a little nobody Pathwalker strutted in and strutted out of your Domain with a Pathwalker item worth forty quadrillion credits? And his friend is your Diamond Castle Champion? And their backer is Dragon Princess Melody Eclipse? And another one of their friends can achieve the Spirit Blaze technique!”

“That’s what I said,” Douglas muttered, folding for this round.

He didn’t like his luck, and the way the God Dealer smiled patiently unnerved him. Other players followed his example, while Pyra and one other associate stayed in the round. The dealer flipped her cards, and it turned out Douglas and a few others shouldn’t have folded.

“Those on Path of the Nemesis are in a riot right now,” said Demigod Corvin, Path of the Raven, the only other person who was as knowledgeable as Douglas about multiple happenings. The darkly dressed and feathered man looked across the table at their associates. “Their High Goddess is missing. Some gossip came through from the Dragon Supremacy that she went into a special Realm to face the Dragon Princess.”

“Melody Eclipse is a Level Locked Veteran,” Pyra hissed, saying the obvious.

Douglas held his tongue as another round of card exchanges and chips being placed down played out. More drinks came around. Snacks as well. Douglas stopped one Demigoddess on Path of the Hostess to grab a unique cigar that could only be found here. He was fortunate that one remained before it reached him.

The Demigoddess Host cut and lit the cigar for him as he doubled down for this latest round. The Goddess Dealer smiled a twinge before revealing her side of the game – her cards were worthless.

The players cheered or applauded. They had played boldly in this round and came out winning, earning back some of their losses. Douglas smirked a little as he rolled the smoke around in his mouth before letting it out.

It tasted like the tears of a billion lowly Rankers.

“I come to believe Arden the Nomad isn’t a plant,” said Corvin, leading the conversation forward. Douglas along with the more attentive players fell silent while trying not to look like they weren’t eager to hear more from the Demigod Raven.

“Bull!” Pyra hissed, spitting sparks across the table. “Every move this little brat makes looks like a burnable plant. He literally came from one of the furthest corners of the Dragon Supremacy. We know he met the Dragon Princess herself–”

“And put his knee in her crotch while wooing her, apparently. But that’s hard to believe,” said one player.

Douglas also found that hard to believe.

Pyra ignored the interruption, too incited with the current topic. “He’s got to be a plant. Seeded. Nurtured. Groomed. He must’ve gotten the best of the best training the Dragon Supremacy could provide, and we all know the Dragon Supremacy has it all.”

Another round played out with an equal number of winners and losers. Pyra lost this one, but she didn’t seem to care. “I hear rumors they have secret Realms that contain most of those on Path of the Ninja. I bet you Arden the Nomad came from there! I hear some say his Path of the Artificer Warrior sounds false! What proud Pathwalker would hide their Path unless he’s a Ninja?!”

Pyra slapped the table as her hair combusted. “We’re dealing with a damn Ninja! That’s why he’s shaking things up! You can never let a Ninja just do whatever they want?!”

“Oh my System, this again. Path of the Ninja isn’t really a thing anymore. That Path got wiped out in the last Cycle,” groaned a different player.

“That’s what the Dragon Supremacy wants you to think! That’s why Arden the Nomad’s getting away with whatever the hell he’s doing. Nobody’s realizing he’s a freaking Ninja!” Pyra growled.

“Maybe we should settle down and let Corvin share his thoughts?” Douglas prompted, trying to move past this silly Ninja nonsense. The only thing that would be sillier would be Arden the Nomad being the Slayer, but that was too ludicrous.

The Slayer was contained.

“Path of the King,” Corvin said, stunning everyone at their table and at the nearest tables. It hadn’t slipped Douglas’s notice that he recognized multiple players sitting as close to his table as possible.

The Demigod Raven folded for this round, steepling his talons in front of him. His next words were low and cryptic. “There is a belief that the Dragon Supremacy has somehow revived that dead Path, and that with the arrival of another King, the Dragon Princess is going to make a move to complete their long-held mission. Domination of all the Realms.”

Douglas shook his head. “It can’t be the Path of the King. Why would the Dragon Princess risk him if that was true? There were multiple points where such a Pathwalker could’ve died, and there can only be a few on Path of the King or Path of the Queen.”

Pyra scoffed. “Why would she even want a Pathwalker like that gaining as much power as he’s getting? That’s a threat to her establishment.”

“Or part of the process of growing the Dragon Princess. We all know that half-dragons on the Path of the Dragon have a habit of hoarding … or consuming … what draws their attention most,” Corvin argued darkly. “Maybe she’s ripening Arden the Nomad until he reaches his peak. Then she’ll devour him, consuming his Path of the King as some ritualistic power move that’ll push the Dragon Supremacy even further into their plans.”

“System, dammit, I hate the Dragon Supremacy. They’re already poised to win the Grand Generational Passing. How much more do they want?” grouched another player.

“Domination of the entire Realm Verse,” Corvin insisted. “And Arden the Nomad is at the center of it all. The way he acts. The way he makes demands of those higher than him. And the way he defeated two Nemeses and the entire Defiled Covenant at the Crossroads Citadel. It has to be the Path of the King.”

Corvin folded again, and another round played out, though most of the players were distracted by the Demigod Raven. Douglas won a round while chewing on Corvin’s words.

“No, I think that’s too outlandish,” Douglas muttered.

“Ha, so he’s a super secret Ninja!” Pyra gloated.

“No, he’s a ripening sacrificial King,” Corvin rasped.

“He’s a card of the System,” said the Goddess Dealer.

Pyra and Corvin stopped glaring at each other and looked sharply up at the Dealer. Douglas and the other players did the same while players at different tables leaned slightly in their direction. 

The Goddess Dealer carried on while passing out another round of cards. “It doesn’t matter what his Path is. There’s been multiple reports that he’s unusually favored by the System. The price for having him assassinated is by far one of the largest seen across the Realm Verse, hitting the amount of credits it would take to remove a scion close to the forerunners. Though part of that might be because of the Dragon Princess meddling. Still, there’s no doubt that the God-Queen herself is involved. How else would he have a Pathwalker Revival Token? When was the last time such an item had been seen in use?”

Douglas couldn’t recall.

The Pathwalker Revival Token, regardless of its level, was worth forty quadrillion credits because it was that unique. The rarity itself was far more important than the Level and Quality. It made Douglas sick to his stomach to think that Arden the Nomad could’ve bought his seat at the Central Diamond Castle and evicted him.

That amount of credit was more powerful than a Demigod Grade.

And he used it to revive a freaking ratkin Veteran.

“Also, the services for those on Path of the Seer and Path of the Scout have skyrocketed lately,” the Goddess Dealer added calmly as the game continued. “Enjoy what you know for cheap now, because the next time you pay a Scout or Seer to track Arden the Nomad, it’ll cost you more than a Demigod’s worth. It’ll be expensive for even me, a Goddess.”

Douglas schooled his expression as his fellow players grumbled and groaned at that. He felt their gazes landing on him. If it hadn’t been for buying his own Scout with corruptive resistances, Douglas wouldn’t have known what he knew right away.

High God Baldwin wouldn’t have passed the information down quickly enough for Douglas to compete with other Demigods in the information market.

If I had forty quadrillion credits, rising prices wouldn’t bother me, Douglas thought, another wave of revulsion twisting him up from the inside. He kept it off his face.

“Alright, let me get this straight,” said a male player, one of the newest associates at the table. “His Path of the Artificer Warrior is obviously a lie. He could be a Ninja or a King. Or hell, maybe he’s Path of the Ninja King. And he’s favored by the System and the Dragon Princess for reasons we don’t know. He’s certainly a tool. But he could be a sacrificial lamb that’s getting fattened up. And every service we have to track or put a bastard like him down is through the roof.”

“Yes,” the Goddess Dealer answered plainly.

“Is it too late to place bets on him being a major part of the Grand Generational Passing?” the new player asked.

Douglas paused to look at him. Something about the new guy seemed off. Very off.

Everyone was picking up on the strangeness as well. Corvin, Pyra, and the other players followed Douglas’s inquisitive stare.

It was the Goddess Dealer who confirmed the strangeness with a tilt of her head and a squint of her eyes. “You’re … a Veteran.”

“Ha! Got me! I’m Level Locked, too. Hi! The name’s Adrian. Path of the Defiled Covenant.”

Every Demigod at the table flared their power.

Usually, everyone used their Domains to hold back the weight of their power and energies as a courtesy extended for the occasional rich Veteran walking about. But there were unwritten rules where certain tables should be reserved strictly for Demigods, and everyone that was at this establishment was usually made aware already.

Still, something like a Defiled Covenant Veteran shouldn’t have slipped their notice so easily. A special item or magic must’ve been involved that could exceed the limits of the Grades.

But Grades existed for a reason, and a little light bullying should get the Veteran scurrying out from their table – especially a defiled one. Nobody wanted one of their kin around. Douglas and the others worked together to press down upon the disgusting ant.

Adrian sat calmly in his seat while looking over his cards with a smile. He remained unbothered by the power flex of Demigods in the Level 200s while he was Locked at Level 101.

That should’ve been impossible, yet one by one, the Demigods lost their annoyance and glanced at each other in confusion.

“I’m also the Covenant Prince, by the way. You might want to stop flexing on me or you’ll regret it,” Adrian said, placing down a black-gold chip that was worth more than all the chips of every other player at the table.

Combined.