An Arrogant Gambler

"Okay, for real now." Maya was hardly amused as she sternly looked at him.

He raised an eyebrow at her disbelief but kept silent. Whether she believed him or not was up to her. He couldn't exactly demonstrate his powers "safely" until Transcendent's Honor was completed, so there wasn't any way that he could prove it to her.

"Then... how did you get this powerful. Are you sure that you didn't use any shady methods? You haven't become one of those evil warlocks right?"

"I'm sure."

"Sponsorship or blessings from a God?"

"Nope."

"Perhaps you were strong before, and through some horrible turn of events, you lost your powers? Your true strength was suppressed by some dastardly villain until just recently, like in the novels?"

His hand gently landed on her head and he stroked it while lightly chuckling, "You have such a wild imagination."

"Ugh, then what is it!"

"I guess you could say that it was dumb luck."

"Luck... That's stupid because there's no such thing. There must be been a reason behind it all. Maybe you came across a divine artifact from the Primordial Era???"

"You don't believe in luck?"

"That's not how business or politics work. There is always a reason behind every little thing, with most being calculated." Maya began lecturing with confidence in her beliefs.

"You do have a point, and I don't truly believe in luck also. The spinning of a lottery wheel can also be explained through math and science if you use the right amount of force and focus."

"Then why—"

"Because you're forgetting about the factor of 'chance'. I believe luck is just how people explain something unpredictable happening despite the insurmountable odds.

Even if you spin that wheel thousands of times with just the right amount of force to always land on a massive fortune, there will always be factors to lower your chances. A simple gust of wind to move the wheel just a little bit further despite it being a calm day, a twitch in your muscles that throws you off, and countless other unpredictable factors that may or may not occur, no matter how small they may seem.

Luck is simply the chance that something might happen, that's either in your favor or isn't. There is always a reason behind luck and fortune no matter how much someone wants to deny it, but whether or not this reason happens or not is up to chance."

".....How philosophical of you."

"Still don't believe in chance? How about we make a bet?"

"Hoho, I'm intrigued."

Kyren stopped walking and smugly folded his arms. Maya didn't notice until she was a few steps in front and she turned back. They stared at each other as competitive sparks flew.

"If you win, you can have me do any one thing you want, no matter what it is. The same goes for me if I win."

"That seems reasonable, but before I accept, what are the contents of the bet?"

"I shall take on some of the characteristics of a dragon for thirty whole seconds. It will be characteristics that will allow me to stay in these clothes, so horns, scales, hands, and claws. What do you think the chances of someone noticing me are?"

"Pffft, HAHA!! That's completely ridiculous!!!"

They were still in the tension-filled streets with an overflowing number of people, carriages, and mounts moving about. And because of the intensity of the situation, everyone was constantly checking their backs and looking around.

It was unthinkable that not a soul would notice a humanoid dragon with the horns of a devil in thirty seconds! It was simply impossible!!

"Why, scared you're going to lose?"

"You're insane! When somebody sees you, what will we do?!"

He shrugged and continued his arrogance, "Leave it up to chance and deal with the consequences later."

"How do I know that you won't cheat? You're worlds stronger than me, so how will I notice?"

"..."

<I can have the system oversee the bet.>

'Do that then.'

<Then please sign here.>

*Shwooom* *Ting*

A magical piece of paper materialized in between the Maya and Kyren through a divine light. Only they could see this heavenly anomaly so not a single head turned from the blinding golden glow. Letters started forming on the paper in metallic gold ink. The paper hovered there and presented itself to Kyren, beckoning him to sign it.

He didn't question anything and skimmed the contents over, not caring to read in amazing detail. It basically said that he wasn't allowed to interfere in any way with the results of the bet, and he mustn't half-ass his dragon transformation. He also wouldn't receive any outside help whatsoever. He didn't even read over the consequences of violating any of the terms because he didn't need to.

Maya finally snapped out of her daze and yelped in surprise, "Is that a Divine Contract!?!"

She barely controlled her voice so no one paid any attention to her, but it was beyond difficult to hide her astonishment.

"Yes and no."

He grabbed an extravagant pen that also appeared alongside the contract and signed it. It somehow felt like he was writing on a hard surface despite it being in mid-air. There was also an empty circle next to the signature and he pressed his thumb on it. As soon as he felt the prick, he pulled back to find a small amount of his blood staining the paper.

This was one of the player services exclusive to them. It was called an "Immortal Vow" and it was frequently used by players in many situations. This function could be better managed at the Immortal Shrine's mini shrine, the Shrine of Judgement, but it could still be used outside.

"W-What- When- How-"

"Do these terms look acceptable to you before I submit this?" He ignored her confusion and presented the paper to her by willing it to move in front of her.

"I g-guess..." Now she was convinced that some divine being was backing him.

"Good, then shall we proceed?"

She calmed herself down and got serious. There was no way that she could lose now. A slight nod of her head was all that he needed to start.

[Desire of Lady Luck: Embrace of the Divine]

[Desire of Lady Luck: Bad Omen]

[Gene Transformation: Focused Transformation]

Everything about him changed in the blink of an eye with only his silhouette staying the same... for the most part at least. Massive purple horns that were twice the height of his head sprouted out of his skull and formed a devilish crown. His skin turned into gleaming metallic black with scales and his muscle mass increased greatly. At first glance, one could mistake him for a demonic dragon, especially with the smug expression. His presence, however, didn't change, just his appearance.

Maya was taken aback by how he was going all out. Why was he so confident? It didn't matter though because he was bound to lose. She could already imagine what she was going to force Kyren to do.

"Look over there!!"

Maya giggled at how fast he was already being pointed out. It hasn't even been three seconds!

"A fight?! Where!!"

"Yikes, they're really already going at it."

"Wait, they're famous young masters of high noble families!!"

"I wonder who will step in this time."

"Watch out! They're peak B~grades!"

The crowd's full attention was suddenly diverted to a rather extreme and abrupt fight between a warrior and a mage on the other side of the street. Their bodyguard escorts also joined in and soon turned a whole portion of the street into a battlefield. Buildings were instantly destroyed under the sudden onslaught and everything was beginning to get dangerous.

Hardly anyone left and instead started chanting! These

Maya looked off into the preoccupied crowd with a hint of horror and bewilderment. Her eyes were wide and her heart was pounding as she couldn't believe what was happening. It was as though they were invisible!

Her gaze slowly shifted over to Kyren. She looked at him as though an extra head popped up on his shoulders. She could tell that he was making a devilish and triumphant smile under his mask that made an icy chill crawl up her spine.

"Where are those warriors that come out of those portals? Don't they usually stop these kinds of things?"

"Yeah, where are they? This one is especially destructive so this couldn't have gone unnoticed."

No gate was going to appear for the next eighteen seconds, because first of all, he didn't want this timely distraction to end, and second of all, it would be considered him getting involved with the surroundings and incur the violation punishments. Using mana would also end the same way.

The seconds ticked by and explosions of magic and collateral damage could be heard off in the distance. Debris and dust began to fill the street, therefore making it harder to see the fight and Kyren himself. People were starting to realize that this fight wasn't going to be stopped anytime soon so they began backing up or fleeing.

As these excruciatingly long seconds passed by, Maya's complexion became more grim and ashen as the blood drained from her face. This was the first time since a terrifying dragon assaulted her home that she felt some fear towards Kyren.

There was no way for him to have noticed the conflict early on because it was just way too sudden. It was as though the two high nobles saw each other and proceeded to duke it out immediately, therefore making it impossible to predict that this would happen. No one was allowed to give him help also, otherwise, he would be punished by Divine Law. He was so confident that he would win and there was nothing or no one to help him, meaning he had some sort of blind trust in his luck.

She was realizing that he could either predict the future or his luck was just that frightening. That was of course a good thing, but she couldn't help but feel conflicted.

He could've gotten fortunate this time, but something told her that he was just that lucky. If they were to do another one of these little "bets", some other heaven-defying miracle would occur. The fact that all these people still haven't noticed a menacing humanoid-dragon after a whole twenty-eight seconds told her that his luck was absolute.

Wasn't this just too overpowered!?!

As a politician, she knew first hand how too much power could corrupt the weak-minded, or even the strong-minded sometimes. The reason why feelings of fear and concern were still growing inside of her was because she didn't want anything bad to happen Kyren.

"That's time."

[Gene Transformation: Focused Transformation]

He turned back to a normal human and closed the distance between him and Maya with a few long strides. A [Gate] soon appeared and Draconic Warriors rushed out to subdue the troublemakers. She stared into his mesmerizing deep purple eyes and her already deep rooting concern for him was washed away and she calmed down.

"*Siiigh* You're really frustrating you know? Seems like I can no longer deny the existence of 'luck'. I trust that you won't abuse your power?"

"My long-term plans require me to abuse my power, but I'll keep things under control so don't worry~" He winked and butterflies danced in her stomach.

"T-This is serious!"

"Not as serious as fulfilling my end of the bet."

"What w-will you do?"

"Umm," He pretended to contemplate even though he already knew what he wanted from her, "I'd like to borrow Ze for two things. She might get lightly hurt but it won't be anything serious."

"Oh... that's fine."

"What? Were you expecting me to make you do something dirty~? I can still change-"

"No, no, no! It's quite alright!" She could feel her cheeks burn from her unnecessarily quick response.

"Then that's settled. Let's get this business with the guild done with as soon as possible so we can continue our little date together."

He gestured into the direction they were previously headed and she followed along.

They easily ignored the destruction and angry yelling residents around them. Those nobles were getting a piece of their mind for sure under the watchful gaze of the Draconic Warriors, forcing them to cough up some cash for damages.

.....

The massive guildhall came into view and Kyren grabbed Maya's hand and pulled her into a nearby alleyway. Surprised by his sudden action, she looked at him questioningly.

"Before we go in, we need to change."

He tossed her a cloak that had no fancy appeal but was dense with abilities and effects.

"Why?"

"Let's just say that some people want me dead and it would be better if they didn't know our identities. You know, just in case."

"I'm not following what you're saying."

"Once I enter that building, there's an exceptionally high chance that we'll be swarmed by a large number of forces, although low. They'll probably try abduct or assassinate me quietly first."

"By who!" Her tone became possessive and unruly. Who in their right mind would threaten her lover?! A dead man that is.

"Just the Alvestine Empire and Archaic Church, nothing I can't handle. I just don't want them causing us problems down the road if they see your face."

Her mouth went agape as she began stuttering, unable to process what she just heard. What could he have possibly done to piss off the two largest human powers on the entire continent!!

"Haha, don't worry. It's all going according to my plan."

"How can I not worry!?! The Empire might not be a threat in your eyes, but I don't think you understand just how powerful the church really is!"

"Trust me okay?"

She grumbled and equipped the cape. Kyren used [Auto Equip] and changed his attire. He also put on a hooded cape that was similar to hers.

When he discovered the hidden feature in the system on aliases and personas, he adapted his plans accordingly. Things would be much easier if he could maintain the identities he planned to take on. He wanted to make sure each of his personas had a unique style, backstory, and specialization.

During his childhood, when he used to play video games much more often, he was always infatuated with stories and role-playing so this "alias system" was going to be a lot of fun for him. One of his many dream careers as a kid was to be an actor so he'd probably get super immersed into his rolls out of habit.

Kyren the Dragon Slayer was a happy mistake that he stumbled upon. It would solve multiple urgent problems that were bound to pop up down the line for his Lord Angevin persona, which he decided would be his main identity. There were at least two other aliases that he planned to take on, but that wasn't till much later on when he gained considerable power, resources, and influence.

Kyren would be a close combat warrior that utilized a large assortment of weapons and the Mega Berserker class. He would have a troubled past that involved dragons killing his family and he would be on the side of humanity and the other dominant sentient races, like a classic hero from the stories.

Lord Angevin, if he ever had to actually fight in this form, would use martial arts since the gauntlets and boots were compatible with his dragon form. Unlike the Draconic Animate Armor, the gauntlets and boots could cater to virtually any shape and size his limbs took on, so he could theoretically use them in even his continental dragon form, which was terrifying. As for history and background, he hasn't come up with anything yet except for him originating on the other side of the Void Chasms.

He couldn't wait to hold the world in the palm of his hands.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Hmm? It's nothing. I'm going to give you some instructions along the way, and again, stay close to me. Let's head inside."