Gambling was a slippery slope, especially once they tasted victory. For those lacking restraint, it was easy to get sucked in.
“Congratulations on your wins! Here’s your stash of celestial stones.” Abigail beamed as she handed over the winnings.
“I just bet with my darksteel sword and get five celestial stones, right? Can I redeem it?” Ruby asked.
“Sure.” Abigail nodded and motioned for someone to retrieve Ruby’s sword, which had been used as a bet earlier.
“Not so fast!” Miles intervened just as Ruby reached for her sword. “Ruby, hold up. The real action is yet to unfold.
“If you redeem now, we’ll have less to play with later, meaning fewer wins. Let’s stack up some more celestial stones first, then redeem your sword. Sounds good?”
“Hmm…” Ruby hesitated.
He reassured her, “What’s the matter? Trust me, betting with me is like finding cash on the sidewalk. Win a few more rounds, and we’ll have enough stones to make a breakthrough.”
“Okay, Miles, I’ll go along with your suggestion.” She chuckled and ultimately decided against redeeming her sword.
With ten celestial stones in hand, cashing in the sword would leave her with only five. It would cut her potential winnings in half. So, she opted to bide her time a little longer.
She thought, “Just three more wins… no, just two more, and I can redeem my sword.”
Watching the two of them get pumped up, Abigail kept smiling. She stuck to her mantra that customers were always right. After all, she had long learned about human greed.
When faced with such immense gains obtained effortlessly, most people couldn’t resist and quickly became ensnared.
She wasn’t concerned about gamblers winning. Instead, she feared they wouldn’t continue to bet.
She was sure she could get them to cough up their winnings as long as they kept playing. But it came at a heavy price.
After a heated battle, the second round of matches officially wrapped up.
As expected, Dustin’s bet on Number 36 cruised to victory. Even with his opponent pulling out all the stops, their efforts were in vain.
“Congratulations again, Sir.” Abigail handed the celestial stones to him.
At this point, most of the celestial stones in her box had been exchanged.
Some were won, while others were traded for various treasures. She had incurred a loss, but it was still within an acceptable range.
“Kid, if you keep at it, you’re gonna burn through your stash of celestial stones,” Dustin warned.
“No sweat, I’ve got a few crates of them tucked away,” Abigail said with a laugh and shrugged off the concern.
Celestial stones weren’t exactly a rare find for the Mystic Arts Order. They had a whole mine brimming with them that could last for decades.
A few crates of celestial stones were peanuts for someone like Abigail, the Grand Sorceress of the Mystic Arts Order.
Her primary mission this time was to use celestial stones to purchase various rare supplies. But to her, just trading with stones seemed like a rip-off.
On the other hand, setting up a betting pool like this was a savvy move. Not only could she score rare treasures from different factions, but she could also save a ton of celestial stones.
So, why would she spend money when she could get what she wanted for free?
