I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-13

**Jackpot!**

Ch-13 **Jackpot!**

—

Casino Hudson.

The other name for the Golden City, Arcana, is *the City of Pleasure.*

And this place was one of the three major casinos operated by Hudson, the landowner of Arcana.

Its grandeur and splendor knew neither day nor night and endlessly tempted people inside.

The advantage of Casino Hudson was that even *outsiders* from other cities could enter without any special procedure.

No identity checks.
The only thing required to enter was **money**.

Also, because this place stood at the pinnacle of Arcana’s nightlife, many people visited Casino Hudson while concealing their identities.

—

“Did you say this house deed is worth only 8,000 gold? What nonsense is that! It trades for at least 15,000 gold even now!”

At the front desk where they screened incoming guests,
a man shouted furiously, and the bespectacled clerk inside the counter shook his head.

“The actual market price around District 5 is 7,800 gold. Eight thousand is already generous. But unless you make up the remaining 2,000 gold, entry is not possible.”

“No matter what, how could—!”

“Security.”

At that moment, several burly guards rushed in and subdued the man instantly.

“W-what! I’m a customer!”

“Without a 10,000-gold entry deposit, you are *not* a customer.”

“Gah!”

A guard lifted him and hurled him straight into the air.
He flew several meters, crashed, and rolled on the floor in a heap.

Watching that, the people nearby covered their mouths and snickered.

“Tsk tsk, where does a beggar think he’s going?”

“Ugh, pathetic.”

“District 5? Isn’t that a rat hole? I can practically smell the rot from here!”

Rich citizens dressed in beautiful gowns, elegant tuxedos, suits, or golden turbans symbolizing great wealth.

The moment they saw a shabby-looking man trying to enter, their brows instantly knit.

They sneered and mocked him.

This was Arcana.
Here, **only money** came first.

But my attention wasn’t on them—it was on the guards.

These were no ordinary guards.

**【Lv. 6】**

Warrior-class, or knight-class powerhouses.

By setting, every one of them was a formal knight of Arcana City.

It might seem strange that honorable knights were working as casino guards, but in this game world, each “great city” functioned as its own kingdom.

Which meant every city had completely different rules and customs.

Arcana operated by Arcana’s own law.

—

“Welcome.”

And most importantly—
the next in line after the man who got thrown out was **me**.

Isabella and I could also be tossed aside by these guards just like that man.

“To enter the casino, you need a deposit of 10,000 gold. Of course, we also accept collateral.”

The clerk behind the glass wall smiled pleasantly.

A 10,000-gold deposit.
But the cash I had didn’t even reach 300 gold.

*‘I spent 50 gold washing up and buying clothes.’*

Exactly 250 gold remained.

You couldn’t walk into a casino with bloodstains on you.

Cash was nowhere near enough.
What remained was collateral.

*‘Even entry deposits categorize your level.’*

I had plenty to put up as collateral.

As Isabella mentioned, even that dagger would fetch at least 30,000 gold.

The clerk possessed a high-grade skill that let him assess the *value* of all items.

Only with 10,000 gold—or collateral equal to it—could you enter, and even then, the amount of your collateral determined your level.

Collateral wasn’t treated as in-game currency.
It simply measured an entrant’s “class”—whether someone could casually hand over valuable assets without hesitation.

“Sir? Do you not have anything?”

The guards stepped forward.

“If not, move aside quickly!”

“Can’t you see the line? Let us in already!”

“Damn beggars, wasting our time.”

The people waiting in line exploded in irritation.

Two slow customers in a row—these people were dying to get inside and spin slots even one second sooner.

The clerk looked me up and down.

*‘Cheap clothes made from low-grade materials, bought for 13 gold at the market. Nothing else that looks valuable. The woman with him is fairly good-looking, but nothing special.’*

He sighed internally.

Today seemed to be full of unqualified customers.

People who should be playing a street game on a market mat, not entering a casino.

Too many unqualified customers dragged down the casino’s reputation.
Casino Hudson was known for having the loosest rules among the three major casinos—but even so, this was too much.

*‘We need to show some authority.’*

The previous guy got thrown out, yet this one still insisted?
Only the stubborn remained.

Perhaps a harsher lesson was needed.

Beat him half to death in some alley, and he’d never dare return.

“Secu—”

“I’ll use this.”

Just as the guards were about to pounce, I lightly placed an item on the counter.

The clerk examined it and tilted his head.

*‘This is…?’*

He couldn’t quite tell, so he used his **Appraisal** skill.

His eyes bulged so far they nearly shot out.

“······I will escort you to the VIP room. We sincerely welcome you to Casino Hudson.”

Both the clerk and the approaching guards folded their hands politely.

“Please follow me to the guests-only entrance.”

“Clear the way! Move aside!”

Their attitudes transformed instantly, and the guards moved with perfect discipline.

They pushed aside anyone blocking the path, opening an entirely new route.

A spectacle like the parting of the Red Sea.

“VIP?”

“What… what is that…?”

Everyone standing in line stared in disbelief as we ascended through the *guest-only* entrance rather than the general one.

—

The highest floor of the casino.

As we stepped into the area reserved only for VIPs, Isabella looked at me with a sour expression.

“······What exactly did you hand over?”

“The Tear of the Fairy Queen. A talisman.”

I answered as if it were nothing extraordinary.

Her confusion only deepened.

“A talisman? Isn’t that an artifact used to refine weapons? But no matter how good a talisman is, receiving treatment like this for just one—”

“It’s impossible.”

Even the finest talisman rarely exceeded a value of 1,000,000 gold.

Judging purely by “market price,” a Teleport Book would be more expensive due to its high demand.

However—this was Casino Hudson.

*‘Hudson. He’s definitely one of the players.’*

Gamers had flowed into the game and become NPCs.
Thinking they were real NPCs, I had mistaken their interference for “game freedom.”

But if they weren’t NPCs, then Hudson—the owner here—was almost certainly synced with a real human being.

*‘Hudson is collecting talismans. Naturally, he would drool over a rare talisman.’*

Hudson was a noncombatant.

Weak in both combat power and talent, he sought to become stronger through talismans.

Some talismans removed weapon requirements or granted talents to those born without them.

Naturally, **The Tear of the Fairy Queen** perfectly met those conditions.

Under normal circumstances, you would have to kill about **ten thousand** of the raid-level monster *Knight of the Fairy Queen* before one might drop.

Furthermore…
it was likely one of the talismans Hudson coveted most.

*‘Among all variables, he’s the easiest one to deal with—and the best at eliminating trouble.’*

I was curious about their stories as NPCs-now-players.
About the information Hudson possessed.

And among those I had identified, Hudson was the most approachable.

But before meeting him—

“I should spin the roulette first.”

—

**Whirrrrrrr!**

A large pearl spun atop the great circular wheel.

The roulette had numbers from 1 to 50.
Players bet on high, low, odd, or even, and won if the pearl landed on their chosen category.

“Go in! Go in!”

“Stop, come on!”

People roared in excitement, eyes glued to the pearl.

*Ting! Tiding!*

It bounced unpredictably all over the wheel.

Then—it landed precisely on number **48**.

“He hit it again?”

“What the hell is that guy?”

All eyes shifted to one spot.

In front of one man stood a mountain of gold.

“He started with 250 gold—how much does he have now?”

“Already 1.32 million?”

“No. He just bet ten gold bars, so now it’s 1.42 million!”

“Insane. Is he a god of gambling?”

Three hundred 100-gold coins stamped with the Central Bank emblem.

Twenty gold balls, each worth 1,000 gold.

One hundred twenty-seven gold bars, each worth 10,000.

A total of **1.32 million gold** piled before him.

That amount wasn’t unusual for a VIP room—
but the problem was that he had begun with *only 250 gold.*

*‘As expected of Golden Grace.’*

I smiled faintly.

1.32 million gold was the amount **before** the bet.

A 100,000-gold bet succeeded, bringing it to **1.42 million gold**.

A true jackpot.

Thanks to **【Golden Grace】**, which revealed the highest-probability outcome.

Golden Grace showed the odds whenever money was involved.
The more samples available, the more accurate it became—
and no place had more samples than a casino.

The dealer’s face stiffened in shock.

It wasn’t just me who won—
everyone who bet *with* me also won.

And not by a small amount—
they swept up winnings in **thousands-fold** amounts.

By tomorrow, I would probably be blacklisted by every casino.

“So, sir, um… any more than this is…”

The dealer, having taken a tremendous loss, looked near tears.

Soon the guards gripped my shoulders.

This was their way of saying: *You’ve won enough. Leave.*

Even with VIP-level collateral over 1,000,000 gold, this loss was too great.
They had tried to find out what trick I was using, but they couldn’t discover anything.

“We will let you keep your winnings. However, you are no longer permitted to enter Casino Hudson.”

They had no choice but to send me out.

The guards surrounded me.

If I tried to stay, I might lose not only my winnings but my life.

Isabella glared sharply at the guards.

“Enough. He is my guest.”

At that moment, a man descended from the upper floor and spoke to the guards.

They straightened instantly and bowed.

The surrounding people began murmuring as if the situation was familiar.

Ignoring them, the man approached me directly, extended his hand, and spoke.

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Hudson, the owner of this casino. If it’s not too presumptuous… may I invite you for a cup of tea?”

…Hudson.