Den of Everdreams

The Den of Everdreams was nowhere near as luxurious and huge as some of the grand casinos back on earth that Linkin was used to. However, it could be considered as a decent size business considering how far behind this world was technological wise.

It had a simple interior decoration and since the building did not have any slot machines, it appeared that the number and variety of games to play were incredibly lacking.

"Welcome to the Den of Everdreams, esteemed guest. Please enjoy your time in our establishment." A polite young woman by the name of Asa greeted Linkin as he entered the building. She was a normal human with good looks, which was perfect when it came to greeting customers.

As Linkin walked around the casino, he found that there were only seven different games!

'That one is similar to blackjack, while the area across from it resembles Cho-Han. As for the other ones... I have no idea as they're being played using some strange magic. I'll stay away from those since magic is still too much of an unknown area. But, I should be able to use them to my advantage.'

Linkin took a few minutes to scout out the place. However, since he did not want to draw too much attention to himself right away, he decided to play some of the magic-based games and used some chisai to bet. Of course, he lost every single chisai in the process.

Linkin released a sigh and shook his head giving off a look of disappointment at his bad fortune. He stood up from his seat as he went over and sat down at one of the other magic-based games. He repeated this process until he visited all five magic-based games and lost a total of 2 daisai.

There were some individuals who noticed Linkin's horrible losing spree and simply shook their head. They had seen plenty of people come into the Den of Everdreams with a few reisai and leave empty handed due to their bad luck. It seemed as if Linkin was another one of those individuals.

'That should do it.'

Linkin smirked inwardly, however, he had a depressed outer facial expression. He knew that if he went straight for the blackjack or Cho-Han like games and continuously won, there was no way he could possibly make it to 1 tousai before being kicked out or even worse. Therefore, he made sure to put on a good show for everyone to see.

'Although I hate giving away money, in this case, the end justifies the means.'

Linkin sat down on a tatami mat at one of the open spots where people were playing a game called Riza-Azir. In this world, Riza-Azir was the name of the game that resembled Cho-Han.

'The rules seem to be the same as those back on earth.'

In simple terms, Cho-Han was a game played with two six-sided dice that was all about evens and odds. Players had to decide whether to bet even or odd and if they were correct, then it was their win. As for how the casino itself made money off the game, it would collect a percentage of the winning bets. So ultimately, the casino did not lose a single chisai from Riza-Azir!

The dealer of the Riza-Azir game was one of the casino workers. He held a bamboo cup in his hands and placed the two six-sided dice inside. After shaking the cup, he overturned it and slammed it onto the small wooden board in front of him.

"Place your bets." The Riza-Azir Dealer said.

Everyone was provided with two wooden plates when they sat down at the tatami mat. One of the wooden plates had "Riza" written on it while the other had "Azir". Riza represented a person placing a bet on even numbers and Azir meant that someone was placing a bet on odd numbers.

After someone made a decision, they would set the wooden plate of their choice down in front of them. Once a person placed their bet, it could not be changed. They only had five seconds to make their choice, otherwise, it would be considered as their loss.

The round passed by with some lucky winners and some not so lucky losers. After it was over and the winners, as well as the dealer, collected their appropriate winnings, Linkin was finally able to officially join the game.

"The bet is set at 5 chisai." The Riza-Azir Dealer called out.

There were three different Riza-Azir mats. The first mat was for casual people and the bet was set at 5 chisai. The second mat was for those who were willing to risk a bit more and the bet was set at 2 daisai. As for the final mat, the bet was set at 1 reisai! Only wealthy merchants or nobles could afford to play at that kind of table.

Everyone placed their chisai out on the area in front of them. After all the bets were confirmed, it was time for the game to begin.

"All bet amounts have been set. I shall begin." The Riza-Azir Dealer said.

'Now, it's time to take my first step towards that final mat.'