"Are you sure these aren't pirated rhode cards? Why do they look so new?"
Beside the card table, Xia De said with a frown, holding Mr. Darkness's special cards. The table where they were playing cards was specially customized for rhode cards players in the tavern. Although the tabletop was wiped clean, one could still see wine stains that couldn't be removed after years of use.
"I just exchanged for new cards at the Prophet Association recently; the old ones were quite damaged."
Mr. Darkness skillfully shuffled Xia De's deck, and Xia De nodded.
Since the rhode cards were first issued hundreds of years ago, special cards circulating for many years would inevitably be damaged. Therefore, the Prophet Association also provided a replacement service. For a fee based on the card's value, the Prophet Association would collect cards that were over eighty percent intact and replace them with brand new ones.
This also prevented differences in the newness of special cards and decks, which could allow players to identify cards by their backs.
After shuffling each other's decks, the game officially began. The young bartender dealt cards to them, while the sturdy bartender kept score.
The first card was face down. Among the next two face-up cards, Xia De had Flower 3 and Sun 7, while Mr. Darkness had Sun 9 and Moon 4.
"There's no reason to fold in the first round."
Mr. Darkness said with a smile. He was probably genuinely bored and very enthusiastic about playing cards. With his thick fingers, he directly flipped over his face-down card, sun 3, making his total 16 points. He raised an eyebrow, signaling Xia De to reveal his card.
Xia De wasn't nervous at all and casually flipped over his face-down card. sun 11, exactly 21 points.
"Good luck."
Xia De said with a smile, then signaled the bartender to score.
In the second round, Mr. Darkness's face-up cards were Moon 9 and Moon 7, and Xia De's face-up cards were star 3 and star 13.
Their face-up card totals were both 16, which meant a similar risk of busting on the third card according to rhode cards rules.
"Do you want to fold?"
Xia De made a gesture of invitation.
"Of course not, what about you?"
Mr. Darkness asked. Under the gaslight of the tavern, both seemed to be smiling.
Of course, Xia De wouldn't fold either, so he used his hand to flip over his face-down card. sun 1, totaling seventeen points.
Mr. Darkness picked up his Moon 9 and gently flipped open his face-down card. star 13; it was obvious without even calculating that he had busted.
"At least I've got one less 13."
He said with a slight ease, stacked the three cards, flicked them to the side of the table, and then motioned for the young bartender to continue dealing cards.
In the third round, Mr. Darkness had Flower 9 and Moon 1. He directly flipped over his face-down card, Star 9, totaling 19 points.
He gave Xia De a smug smile, while Xia De narrowed his eyes at him, then looked at his own face-up cards, sun 1 and star 11.
His finger rested on his face-down card for a moment of hesitation before he said:
"Fold."
Xia De flipped over his face-down card, sun 13.
His brow furrowed slightly. Folding wasn't because Xia De guessed he would definitely bust this round, or because he lacked confidence in his luck. It was because, just as he was about to reveal his card, a voice in his mind reminded him that the other party was actually using Miracle.
The traces of Miracle were very subtle, with no sound or light effects. If Xia De's perception hadn't been unusually sensitive, he wouldn't have even noticed the traces. His hesitation just now was actually to give the voice in his mind some time to determine what effect the Miracle had.
And when Xia De's hand touched the target of the Miracle, which was Xia De's face-down card, she indeed gave him the answer:
【Your face-down card has been swapped by him.】
"Card swap? Spatial displacement ability?"
【Not spatial; I cannot tell you what it is exactly.】
Having played cards for so long since coming to this world, Xia De finally encountered someone who would cheat while playing cards. After losing twice in a row, Mr. Darkness resorted to foul play.
"How despicable!"
Actually, Xia De using Blood Echo while playing cards, or his previous attempt to draw the Moon Dance Festival, could also be considered cheating. But he didn't expect someone to be even more excessive than him, directly swapping someone else's face-down card.
The rules for gambling in the tavern were the same as those for regular rhode cards competitions among ordinary people. Xia De knew his opponent was cheating, but without evidence, he couldn't report him because he couldn't prove his claim.
Under normal circumstances, two Ring術士 playing against each other would not involve cheating. The effects of Miracle or Spell would either be immediately discovered by the onlookers, or no one except the caster themselves would be able to detect them.
But this didn't mean Xia De had no way to deal with it.
"After the cards are dealt, I'll turn my face-down card into 【Genesis · Balance】. If he dares to change cards, I'll let him experience Miracle backlash."
Unlike 【Carson Rick Southern Folk · Moon Dance Festival】, which is only useful when placed in the deck, 【Genesis · Balance】 can appear wherever Xia De wants it to, anytime and anywhere, regardless of whether it's in the deck or not.
Furthermore, while the Founding series of cards typically has no supernatural properties and behaves like ordinary playing cards, susceptible to the effects of Miracle and Spell, 【Genesis · Balance】 is different.
After the events of the Evil God's arrival night, this rhode cards, as Luvia said, seemed to have found its way of use by Xia De. Although it didn't grant Xia De the power of The Chosen like Iluna, and the power it displayed had nothing to do with ancient gods, as a card, this miraculous card does not accept any Spell or Miracle effects other than Xia De's.
After this card is revealed, Darkness will suffer Miracle backlash. At this point, Xia De, with his other hand lowered, will change the card again, moving 【Genesis · Balance】 into his palm and restoring the original face-down card, thus eliminating any worry of being discovered.
While he was thinking, the fourth round had already begun. Xia De's face-up cards were Moon 6 and star 10. He placed his finger on his face-down card, then looked at Mr. Darkness opposite him, who was currently checking his two cards and had not yet used Miracle.
【Do you want to change the face-down card to Genesis · Balance?】
She seemed very interested in this matter.
"Wait a bit longer. I want to give him a surprise when he's completely unprepared."
In a way, Xia De was also quite petty.
But this time, Mr. Darkness did not change cards. He had changed cards in the third round because Xia De had won the first two rounds, but his Miracle probably couldn't be used at will, and with so many Ring術士 watching, the risk of exposure from repeated use of Miracle was very high.
Thus, they reached the 8th round. At this point, both players' decks were nearly halfway through, and in terms of score, Xia De was leading by 8 points due to luck. Mr. Darkness hadn't changed cards since the third round, but when he saw that both players had 17 points face-up in the eighth round, Xia De knew the other party was going to cheat again.
"It's starting! It's starting!"
He stared intently at his opponent, amused by his own emotions at that moment. But then, suddenly, a hand fell on Xia De's shoulder from behind.
Turning to look back, it was Princess who had placed her left hand on Xia De's shoulder. Because she was wearing a mask, Xia De couldn't see her expression, but he could see her shaking her head slightly:
"Mr. Watson, your luck has always been quite good."
As she spoke, she again reached to touch the ruby earring on her right ear.
【The ruby relic is taking effect.】
She whispered a reminder in his mind.
Xia De sat up straight and looked at the cards under the light in front of him. He had always liked the back design of rhode cards:
"What is the relic's effect?"
【Don't change cards. Just flip over your face-down card and see.】
Xia De opened his face-down card, sun 3, totaling 20 points. The middle-aged man with severely everted eyelids on the other side looked at the flipped card in surprise, obviously not expecting this result.
"You—"
Of course, he couldn't say, "Why wasn't your face-down card swapped?"
"Your luck is really good."
He hummed through his nose with his mouth closed, then flipped over his own face-down card, totaling 23 points—a bust.
Mr. Darkness pinched his lip with the nail of his right index and middle fingers. He was starting to get nervous.
【Regarding the effect of the relic held by Princess, I can only guess, but it's probably to prohibit Miracle effects from taking hold.】
"Prohibit Miracle effects? Princess's earring, is it such a powerful relic?"
Xia De frowned slightly, watching the dealer continue to deal cards.
【This is just a guess, and of course it can't prohibit all Miracles. But based on my perception, the relic's grade is probably above Sage-level.】
"What? That ruby earring... what exactly is Princess's background? But since she's still helping me, I don't think there's any need for too much suspicion."
He thought to himself, stacked the three cards that had been played, threw them aside, and then turned to look at the Golden-haired girl standing behind him again:
"After we leave here, where's the next stop?"
"Do you want to go see the sea?"
Her voice came from behind the mask, sounding a bit muffled.
Once Mr. Darkness's cheating method failed, the outcome of this card game was already determined. Even though the game of drawing an entire deck tested skill more than ordinary play, Xia De, relying on his luck, ultimately won easily with a 23-point lead.
The middle-aged man who cheated in the card game did not renege. After the game ended, he took the 9 pounds Xia De had paid in advance from the bartender, then sat back at the small round table against the wall to continue reading his newspaper, not saying a word to Xia De during that time.
The onlookers gradually dispersed. This incident would likely become the talk of the tavern for the next week or two.
And after paying the broker's fee, Xia De naturally obtained the Poet Grade relic, 【Universal Currency】.
Under the gaslight, upon closer inspection, the outer rim of the coin was engraved with very fine text. Translated, it meant 【Equivalent Substitute, Equivalent Luck】.
"If I choose to use this coin, can the dice of fate deflect the misfortune it brings?"
【Of course.】
"Then who is the target of the deflection? Is it deflected back to the coin? Deflected to me, the one who used the coin? Or deflected to the entity that created the coin?"
【Do you want to give it a try?】
She asked, chuckling softly in his ear.
"I'm just kidding."
Xia De quickly stuffed the coin into his pocket.
Of course, to prevent it from getting mixed up with other coins, this coin was stored separately.
"I have nothing else to do here. Before we leave, would you like me to buy you a drink?"
After the card game, Xia De, in a good mood, asked his companion. After this game, his favorability towards Princess had greatly increased.
"Do you want a drink too?"
Princess asked in return. Xia De thought for a moment:
"I think I'll just have a glass of iced fruit juice."
"Then I'll have a glass of fruit juice too."
She said, then motioned for Xia De to choose a seat. Both were wearing masks, but they would definitely have to take them off to drink, so it was best to choose a more secluded spot:
"Mr. Watson, you seem very skilled at playing rhode cards. Why don't you take this opportunity to tell me about your rhode cards experiences?"
She carefully chose a topic for conversation in the tavern, asking Xia De in a relaxed tone.
The gaslight shades on the wall were a bit dirty, giving the faint yellow light a somewhat ambiguous glow. For Xia De, this feeling of becoming familiar with a stranger in just a few hours was very strange.