Alkia Kingdom Reborn

Alkia 9: Gamble City

Bumili ako ng isang black cloak. Lahat ng pumapasok sa Gamble City ay nakasuot ng cloak para hindi makilala. May isang portal sa bayan na puwedeng gamitin upang makapunta sa underground city. May dalawang NPC illegal contractors na nagbabantay sa portal na iyon.

Suot ko na ang cloak at naglakad na ako patungo sa portal. It looked like an ordinary house with big double doors. May dalawang lalaking nagbabantay sa pinto. Nang makalapit ako sa kanila, agad na inilahad ng isa ang kanyang kamay na tila may hinihingi. A bag of gold.

Ibinigay ko ito sa kanya. Ngumisi sila at pinagbuksan na ako ng pinto. Napansin ko ang kulay asul na portal na agad bumungad sa 'kin. I entered the portal.

Iniluwa ako ng portal sa isang hindi pamilyar na lugar. Malamlam ang liwanag na nagmumula sa bilog na buwan. May mga stalls na nagkalat. May iba't ibang pasugalan.

Mayroon ring iba't ibang building ng mga pasugalan. May isang table na pinagkukumpulan ng maraming players. Nanonood sila sa isang one-on-one match—chess.

I walked on. Someone's bragging about his crystal bow. I actually wanted it. May dalawang player na humamon sa kanya. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang pinagpupustahan nila. At kakaiba ang dalawang player na iyon. Pakiramdam ko, magkasabwat sila. Tiyak na may balak silang mandaya.

"Mind if I join your little game? It looks fun," sabi ko nang makalapit ako sa kanila.

"What are you going to bet with?" the player with the crystal bow asked. May mga special items ako pero hindi nito matatapatan ang crystal bow ng lalaki.

"My level. Level 188 XP if you bet your crystal bow," I answered. They were shocked. "And how about you two?" tanong ko sa dalawa. Tiyak na mga archer din sila dahil interesado sila sa crystal bow.

"Purple gemstone," sagot ng isa.

"Gold ores," sagot naman ng isa. Mukhang lugi ako kapag natalo ako. Pero kapag nanalo naman ako, ayos na rin.

"So what do you think?" I turned to the crystal bow guy.

"Because you challenged me, I will be the host and I get to choose the game. You know that every bet is absolute. When the game begins, backing out is an automatic lose," he answered. We nodded.

"Then follow me," he said. Sumunod kami sa kanya. Pumasok kami sa isang building. We entered a private room. Umupo kami sa isang round table. May isang set ng barahang nakalagay sa gitna ng mesa.

"The game we'll play is named 'I Doubt It'," he said.

I was not familiar with the game. Bigla akong kinabahan para sa level na itinaya ko.

"It's an easy game. The dealer will shuffle a deck of cards and will distribute all the cards to all the players. No card will be left on the table. It doesn't matter if one player has one card less than others. The one who gets the ace of spades leads. To play, the person announces the number of cards he or she is playing. He will state the rank of the card he'll play, place it face down on a pile on the table. The first player must play aces, the second player must play twos, the third player must play threes and the thirteenth player must play kings. After kings, aces are played again and the process restarts. The players can choose to pass a play. But remember, the player can tell the truth or lie about the rank of the card he played. If another player doubts that the cards played were the right rank, he or she can call a challenge by saying the word 'doubt.' The card played will be flipped for checking. If the player lied, the entire pile will enter his hand. If the player was telling the truth, the person who called 'doubt' takes the whole pile. The winner will be the first one to have no cards left in his hand," he explained. "Do you have any questions?" he asked.