My first con

The pressence of magic makes things complicated but at the same time gives leeway to crap I could never pull in a modern, magic less world seeing as it made intelligence only second priority people are much more naive.

I thought long and hard about what I'm going to do and how this may be a chance for me to make an honest living, then I laughed at the idea of it, me? Really? No I'm going to crash this village, nay I'm going to destroy this country and it all starts with a little trick.

First what you need to do is get three cups if you got any plastic, non transparent ones, that would be good and if not get a wooden one have a small hole in the center and cover it with sheets. Next is three balls and you know that game where you shuffle the cups and have the other guy choose which one has the ball. You can pretty much deduce what happens next, hide the two balls and show one and shuffle the three cups each having a ball and whenever one gets chosen just slightly press the hole and lift the cup revealing that there was nothing beneath it.

Through a bit of practice and sleight of hand you can now be able to shuffle at fast speeds that no one will suspect a thing, just of course throw some matches to make sure the victim thinks there's a chance of winning and keep them playing.

Now parlor tricks aren't enough so I also made a miracle drug. Modern science ain't a thing here so me selling placebos cannot be disproven so I decide to go to the black markets which thankfully still exists here and I sell my "Forbidden magic blood" which is really just tomato juice added with some salt but I put the condition that it will only make you taller if you jump 30 times a day which just naturally stretches the spine and improves posture I read but I'm a cautious man so I made sure to add" it's for teenagers" which just naturally get their growth spurt but my miracle height inducing drink will take the credit.

Now with no money how do I get the necessary items for these? Usually I'd just steal it from houses with no people home but I'd never know if it's a magician's house so I'll improvise.

I found a large leaf which can more or less act as my cup with just a few adjustments like rolling it and tying it using a rope thankfully my house had. As for the ball a stone will do and hence parlor trick one commences.

I scavenge my burnt house and saw that a table was still standing so I used that and moved it near the exit of a market since it's where people with some change left usually pass after feeling good about haggling with merchants.

My first customer arrived curious about my whole routine so I briefly explained to him and gave a trial. First I made him lose but since there was no wager it didn't demoralise him as he tried again and again and in his third try got it right. Now the customer is feeling good about his abilities and took the bait where he wagered half a quil and I wagered the book I stole. Bad wager? Well probably because I intentionally made him win the book probably twenty times the value then he played again and lost but it was fine for him winning the book and all.

He played around twenty rounds and lost fifteen of it but he still felt pretty good for himself. As we played more and more curious people played and for a day I garnered about 20 quil which was good considering that's 40 rounds from just 3 people.

The next day more people gathered and I became more lenient in letting them win and put my losses to the minimum which is negative 20 quil but all of this is to develop the game. People won't think it's rigged as long as they win and they might even brag getting money more than they bet and eventually become much braver in betting.

Am I a bad person? Without a question. After a week of getting people hooked in my little arcade I decided to close up shop before they become bored I best keep my brand fresh and fun but short so next time I return people will make the most of it knowing that I won't be there long.

In the whole week I played, I won about 60 silver quil but had I not invested in my brand I would have had about 100.

Now people are probably sick of the cup game so I did another rigged game this time involving actual quil coins and it's basic premise is we each stack coins of any number we one from 1-5 and so will the other and the one who reaches 50 wins. Now its something like that number game you can't lose like this.

First to 10

Player1: 1

Player2: 4

=5

P1:5

=10 Winner is Player 1

Get it? Now there is a trick to this and it's that you must always get 4 to win. Say I play a 3, if you play 1 and you get 4 there is no way I can win. If I play a 1 then it's 5 and you can just play a 5 as well and that's 10, if I play 2 that's 6 and playing a 4 wins... And so on.

Now to pull this off I needed two things. One is susceptible players who can't do basic addition and two is a trusted name so that people won't think it's rigged or try to understand how I rigged it.

I just used the height of 50 quil so that there would be no need for adding as well as putting the condition that if the stack falls whoever put the coin losses so that theres a second option of winning which people can use if they are confident in their stacking skills and underestimate the enemy and while they focus on that I do the math in my head. And I used to say math didn't help anyone, guy who bought 300 watermelons in my teacher's example I'm sorry for what I said.

The thing with this game is that it's highstakes, all or nothing and you can lose as much as 45 quil in just a game if the enemy keeps playing ones but it's that thrill that drunkards who hate their lives seek.

I could go on to describe all the gamblers who played my game in just one stereotype, bearded, dead eyes, and always thinking their lucky and ofcourse I threw some games off and some bastards actually ran off after winning the 50 quil but I estimate they'll be back having the feeling of getting money that easily after all is a good one.

Pretty soon I'm earning 300 silver quils per day and a bonus of around 5 bronze quil for my tomato juice but I'm sure it will catch on. The problem was this is my second week and I have about 10 days to pay back the remaining 98k and I am stumped.

The next day I've started being more aggressive as first thing I did was sell information to the scholar I stole from about his missing books and he paid the good amount of 50 quil for the capture of the poor guy who I wagered that book to.

I then bought about 5 cheap slaves costing me around 2,000 silver quil but I taught them my tricks and due to some magic casted on them they were forbidden from leaking it or disobeying me.

Now I've ran all the simulation and there is just no way for me to pay my debt which is why I'm going to spend all the money I've earned in bribing the chief and if that doesn't work I'll pay off some mercenaries to kill the loaner.

My deadline arrived and the only amount I can get was 15,000 which means I'm dead if this chief don't do pay offs.

Morning of the first day of the second month I knock in the chief's mansion which was relatively large compared to middle class ones but only second to what I would assume is the tycoon's.

A courteous maid opened the door and seeing my high-class garments understood I came for the chief and yes I went shopping a bit.

Now slaves are a symbol of wealth and the better looking the slave is the wealthier the man so I had a choice of which slave I was going to take. The safe choice is my best off which is a battle prisoner so he had a fit body even after the poor treatment he recieved and bringing him would make me look like a high middle class citizen but I needed to look more respectable so I made the risky choice of choosing my most malnourished and ragged looking slave which at the very least makes me look cheap.

I found it like a trend that the greediest merchants had the most ragged looking slaves probably from giving them very little because they want it all for themselves and if I want to bribe the chief I must look like I'm one of those greedy, wealthy scums and that not honoring my bribe would cause him a lot of trouble.

I enter the mansion and pull the collar I put on Claudia my slave quite harshly showing my scummy attitude. I named her Claudia because she reminds me a lot of my dog Cloud who like her was ragged but powerful. Best dog fighter I ever bought.

As I reach the Cheif's throne room I politely bow and introduce myself.

"It's a pleasure make your acquaintance , I am Spade Escroc"

"Likewise, I am Garret Gargandon"

"Chief Gargandon, I'm just a small time peddler who wish to make my goods available to other towns so I humbly request your permission to leave these gates"

"Well let's cut the crap boy, denied!"

"E-excuse me?"

"I have no patience with you greedy scum with your mistreatment of slaves and dark schemes to escape your debts!"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about sire but perhaps a small gift can clear the misunderstanding"

I then throw a bag filled with coins to a guard near beside him.

"How generous of you, now leave"

"W-what? I'm afraid I'm quite confused sire"

Damn I never expected him to just take the money and not help me in exchange.

"Let me explain it to your sad excuse of a mind then. You are just some thief's son who thinks you can get away with stealing from our scholar and attempting to bribe me, a high official! Your lack of morals or common sense disgusts me so the next time you come knocking you'd best make sure you don't go stealing from my son and blame my guard for taking it! "

Goddammit I never calculated the possibility of the scholar and town's man to be connected and now I have lost all chances of getting anything from this man.

I decide to take my leave and just cut my losses knowing that taking the bribe of 5,000 coins from the guard would further ruin me. Atleast I didn't give all the money I had...

When we leave I take off the collar from Claudia and give her decent clothes that doesn't make it too obvious she's a slave. She is one of my middlemen after all.

As I visit the spots I left for the slaves to gather money I was surprised to see a man beating my slave and that the 10,000 I left him as capital was now all lost.