Chapter 133: Deadly Draw
As Lukas ate, he let his eyes wander around the cafeteria.
That was when he spotted a table on the far side of the cafeteria which seemed to have drawn a small crowd around it.
A loose ring of passengers stood there, with some leaning over the shoulders of those in front, and others craning from a slight distance.
At the center of the gathering, two people sat opposite each other across the table, and between them, a third person occupied the position of what appeared to be a referee or judge.
Whatever they were doing, it held the attention of all those around them.
He could hear the murmuring from where he sat, the voices of the passengers rising and falling with whatever was happening at the table.
However, he couldn’t see the game being played, as there were people in the way, blocking his view.
He watched in interest for several minutes as he ate, before shifting his view to the landscape outside.
By the time their plates were clear, Akira was already sitting back with a heavy-lidded expression. She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, stifling a yawn.
"Since a certain someone," she lifted her brows at Lukas, "didn’t let me sleep much last night, I’m going to bed. Don’t make noise when you come in."
Melody smiled and stood with her. "Same. The bed’s been calling me since we boarded."
She glanced at Lukas, then at the crowded table across the cafeteria, then back at him with a knowing smile.
"You don’t need to follow us," she said. "Go satisfy your curiosity."
He chuckled at that, saying nothing.
He watched them make their way out of the cafeteria together, then stood, making his way to the crowd around the table.
He drifted closer until he could see past the outer ring of spectators.
Two players sat opposite each other across the table, they were nonchalantly glancing at their cards, then at each other, but it was clear to everyone watching that they were concentrating hard, even as they tried not to look like it.
Between them, the dealer was shuffling a deck of cards, moving them between his fingers like it was a performance.
And on the table between the two players sat a stack of gold coins that Lukas estimated at somewhere between three and four hundred.
He turned to the person standing beside him. "What’s the game?"
The man glanced at him. "Deadly Draw."
Lukas shook his head. "Never heard of it."
The man actually turned to look at him, an expression of genuine surprise on his face. "What do you mean you’ve never heard of it? What guild are you from? You guys didn’t play it in your guild?"
Lukas shrugged. "I never joined one."
"Ah." The man made a sound of understanding, glancing at the ongoing game, before looking back at Lukas. "Alright. I’ll explain it to you."
His words made it seem like he was being reluctant but judging by the wide smile on his face, one could tell he enjoyed being the knowledgeable one.
"Deadly Draw is a simple game on the surface. The dealer deals the full deck face down, and the players take turns selecting cards until they each have four. Then each player puts three of those four on the table."
"The cards are matched against each other with your first against their first, your second against their second, and your third against their third. The card with the lower value wins each matchup."
Lukas frowned. "Lower?"
"Lower. Win two out of three matchups and you win that round. Win the most rounds overall and you win the game. There’s no limit on rounds, so you either agree on how many before you start the match, or you keep going until both players agree to stop."
"Deadly Draw sounds like winning is based on luck," Lukas said. "You don’t choose which cards go where?"
"You do, actually. You have four cards and you place three. Which three you put down, and in what order, that’s the strategy. You’re trying to read your opponent, figure out what they’re likely to play, lose the rounds you can afford to lose and win the ones that matter."
"But the card selection is still random."
"It is," the man agreed. "But here’s the other part."
He lowered his voice slightly, though with the crowd noise around them it was barely necessary. "Cheating is allowed. Actively encouraged, actually."
Lukas looked at him.
"If you can switch a card, hide a card, or swap what you put on the table, basically anything that changes the outcome in your favor, that’s legal."
"The only penalty is getting caught. If your opponent catches you, you forfeit that round. If they don’t catch you," he spread his hands, "who’s to say you didn’t win fairly?"
Lukas nodded. "What if someone has a skill that lets them see through the cards?"
The man shook his head. "The cards are made by [Artificers]. Each one is inscribed to block conventional methods of seeing through them. Whether by [Mage Eye], or any detection skills, that kind of thing."
He paused. "But if someone has an ability that still works despite that, it counts as skill rather than cheating. The [Artificers] can only account for what’s known."
Lukas looked at the table with fresh interest.
A game of luck, reading people, controlled cheating, and skill working against protection built by specialists.
Whoever had designed Deadly Draw deserved to be commended. In a world like this, it was very... interesting.
Even the rules themselves were part of the strategy.
He turned back to the table. Two cards were already open, and both men had won one each. Only the two remaining cards were face down.
The crowd held its breath as each player reached for their cards, and after a pause, lifted them face up.
Both cheers and groans filled the air as the winner was decided. Money began changing hands as bets were honored, while the winner placed his hand on the stack of coins, sending them to his spatial ring.
Lukas had to admit, the entire game looked fun.
So he turned to the man with one final question.
"Can anyone join?"
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