After watching the race for a while, the gloom on Celia's face finally vanished.
She seemed to have forgotten those unpleasant matters, even starting to cheer for the most ferocious and hideous creature below.
Ansu, meanwhile, glanced at the scoreboard, pondering which horse he should place his money on for the next race.
"If it were me, I'd bet on that one!" Celia leaned in with a smile, pointing at the winner of the current race. "That one really catches my eye. I think it's very handsome!"
Ansu saw that she was pointing at the winner of this round, a horse named "Monster."
Its body had been modified into a near-chimera, retaining a horse's sprinting speed while possessing the ferocity of a shadow wolf. Its back was covered in deformed tumors grown from flesh magic, and long, thin tentacles were even writhing out from them...
"Hand... handsome?" Ansu thought to himself that the Lady Witch's aesthetic tastes were as twisted as ever.
"Is it not handsome!" Celia's eyes were full of passion for her "extreme modification" career. "I think this method of fusion is quite interesting. If I were the one doing the modification, I would...!"
"Stop, stop right there..." Ansu felt a headache coming on. He cut off Celia's sudden burst of inspiration and turned his gaze back to the betting slips.
"However, this Monster is indeed a tournament favorite..."
The main gameplay here was naturally guessing the outcome. There were win bets, exactas, and trifectas... Among them, the most profitable was the trifecta, which required picking the horses that finished in the top three in the exact order. If even one position was wrong, the entire bet would go down the drain.
"It's just that the odds are too low." Ansu looked at the scoreboard again. Since Monster had already won two consecutive races, it was the most popular horse. The current odds had dropped to 0.6... Even if he put in ten thousand pounds, he wouldn't earn much.
"Then what are you thinking?" Celia had never bet on horses before. She was surprised to find that Ansu was picking from the horses that had no reputation at all.
"Lady Witch, if you're going to play, play for high stakes." Ansu gave a confident smile. "I'm going all in!"
"Hmm... then how much do you plan to bet?" Celia asked.
"One hundred thousand pounds."
"One hundred thousand pounds!" Celia blinked in shock. "Are you crazy?"
Seeing that Ansu still had that smile on his face and seemed serious, she poked his forehead in annoyance. "How did I not notice before that you're actually a little gambling addict! Betting one hundred thousand pounds at once, and on the horses with the lowest odds no less. What will you do if you lose it all?"
"Didn't I say it? I inherited my old man's talent. I have an eye for horses, trust me!" Ansu said with a grin. "Anyway, just wait for the good news of the money rolling in!"
"Maybe you should bet a little less..." Celia watched helplessly as Ansu's gambling addiction seemed to take over.
Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, she suggested, "How about you split a portion of it and bet on Monster?"
That way, the loss would be smaller, and Ansu wouldn't feel as much pain later.
"No, I'm going all in!" Ansu pulled out the check he had already prepared, looking exactly like he was possessed by the God of Gamblers. "Lady Witch, I suggest you place a bet with me. That's the only way to maximize your profit."
"I won't!" Celia curled her lip. "You've been blinded by those high odds. I'm more clear-headed than you. I'm betting on Monster!"
"Oh..." Ansu looked at the Witch's determined and persistent expression and suggested with a smile, "How about the two of us make a little bet as well?"
"Us?" Celia frowned. "Bet on what?"
"Let's bet..." A scheme gradually formed in Ansu's mind. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said enticingly, "Whoever wins can order the other to do one thing, and the other person cannot refuse no matter what. How about it?"
"Fine!" Celia chuckled, clearly believing she was certain to win. "If I win, then you have to agree to that idea I mentioned yesterday."
"Hmm?" Ansu blinked.
"The one about hiding you in my manor and not allowing you to go out without my command!" Celia gave a cold snort. "What? Are you afraid? Don't dare to bet with me?"
"Who's afraid of whom!" Ansu let out a fake, disdainful laugh. "But don't think you're the only one with victory in your grasp! If the Lady Witch loses, you have to promise me one thing too!"
"Of course." Celia laughed nonchalantly, her curiosity piqued. "But what do you want me to do?"
"I haven't thought of it yet..." Ansu pretended to think for a moment. "Well... if I win, let's talk about it later. I'll hold onto the favor for now. But the Lady Witch must not go back on her word when the time comes."
Celia rolled her eyes. "I value my promises very highly."
"That's good..." Ansu's smile deepened.
Celia did indeed value her promises. Therefore, this would be a solid insurance policy for the future.
If Ansu's delay plan failed, having such an insurance policy might prevent the "Total Failure" ending from becoming as tragic as the little black room and memory cleansing...
Though it likely wouldn't be much better...
When the current race ended, the horses were taken away one after another to rest, including the popular consecutive winner "Monster." At this time, more and more gamblers were placing their bets on it.
Ansu, however, was focusing on the new horses being brought in to replace those that had finished.
To be able to compete on this killing field where rules were non-existent, most of the horses had decent potential, each looking more ferocious than the last. Ansu's eyes quickly scanned this batch of horses and landed on one that looked significantly more ordinary and much easier on the eyes.
"Don't tell me you're planning to bet on this 'Radish'?" Celia took one look and shook her head decisively.
"Its condition looks so stable; it probably only had a small amount of monster blood injected. Its form is decent, and it might perform well on a regular racecourse, but it won't work here."
"I haven't decided yet..." Ansu observed for a moment and then looked at the scoreboard.
Odds of 5.2, ranked dead last.
Radish, just how disappointing are you...
Ansu grumbled in his heart, almost wanting to give up on it.
Since it was halftime, many snack vendors swarmed in to hawk their goods, and the noise of the scene died down a bit.
Ansu took this opportunity to open his system interface.
Cheat, activate!
I'm going to become the God of Gamblers.
I'm going to become the King of Horse Racing!
【10 minutes later (May 19, 10:12), consumes 10 points】
【Beginning simulation...】
Blackness quickly flooded Ansu's vision. After the countdown gradually disappeared, Ansu arrived at the racecourse ten minutes into the future.
To his surprise, the scene that should have been very noisy had fallen into an eerie silence.
Ansu looked toward the center of the track and widened his eyes in astonishment, because the championship favorite, Monster, had gone out of control.
The blood vessels on its body had burst, and black, filthy blood was seeping out of its skin. This blood-covered monster was frantically attacking its owner, who was trying to restrain it.
And on the track at this moment... chewed-up corpses were everywhere. Those horses had likely all died at the hands of the rampaging Monster.
As for the final champion of this race...
Ansu silently looked toward Radish, who was being patted by its owner.
The gamblers all around were cursing loudly like madmen. "What the hell is this! All the other horses were bitten to death by Monster! Only one trash horse is left! It only survived because it ran the slowest!!"
"It doesn't count! This time doesn't count! This is bullshit! How can it win the championship just by strolling to the finish line?"
The atmosphere at the scene spiraled out of control. After all, most people had bet large sums of money on Monster.
Furthermore, even if not everyone had bet on Monster, those who bet on other horses or played the rankings had lost everything because Monster had directly trashed the entire game!
Only the most useless horse was left in the entire field. What rankings were there to speak of??
Seeing the scene getting more and more chaotic, the managers of the underground casino couldn't sit still either. They immediately sent out a large number of gang members to maintain order. Fights broke out in many places in the stands, and the gamblers were beaten until they wailed.
No matter how unwilling they were, rules were rules. You play, you pay.
Ansu withdrew his gaze and looked once more at Radish, who had won the race for no apparent reason. The fact that this horse, which hadn't undergone much modification, could win was truly because it ran the slowest...
A remake of the Tortoise and the Hare, huh!
Rate on N.U.
