🙡 Chapter 5.3 🙣

There is no use crying over spilt… dice?

 

Continuing the new trend in my life, I once again find myself in a weird place—this time I’m in front of a huge door to a... Casino? That’s what I deduced based on the characteristic air of hope, desperation, and luxury. And a giant sign hanging from the post above the door, saying “Casino”, with a huge drawing of dice and cards under it. 

Apart from thatm there was nothing—me and the entrance floating in a dark void. I looked around and shrugged, what else could I do but push the door open. They slowly opened with a loud creak, sign of not having been used in quite a while. The room was shrouded in darkness, the only thing I could see was a small cone of light coming from outside, and my long shadow.
“Hello?” I asked —the fact that I could speak surprised me for a moment, but I couldn’t remember why—and a dozen candles lit up in response, shining light on...

...a cobweb covered front desk, with a “Be right back” sign, that was so old paint was peeling off of it. 

 

I came closer to the abandoned reception, noticing glints of gold and silver reflecting the dim lights behind it. While I was appreciating the ornate columns surrounding the empty post,a window appeared

Winner! (Do not miss!) Click to receive a special offer!

Congratulations, you have a unique opportunity to become a new member of the casino! Do you want to become a member? The fools card Cost: 1 Gods’ coin The magicians card Cost: 2 Gods’ coins Available coins: Gods coins: 1

 

As I was reading the text on the semi-transparent window, I would occasionally see figures of beings playing games on thousands of gambling tables hidden in the dark, mesmerising glimmers of coins, fortunes being made! I knew I had to pay! I had to enter! No, stop, gambling doesn’t pay! What If I lose? 

 

Ding Ding ding! It seems someone won a big jackpot in the bag, laughter and excitement all around… 

 

I had to go in! But where do I have this Gods’ coin? It’s not in my hands… Have I lost it? It couldn’t be! I tried searching in my pockets... 

Only to realise I have no pants!

Nooo! So embarrassing! They can see my tentacles!

I could see the spiders, living on the “Be right back sign” giggling at me!

 

….

Wait a moment.

This is a  dream! It must be! After all, a moment ago I was just outside the forest gate! Also I’m now a tentacle monster, I don’t wear pants! I tried pinching myself.. And as expected I felt no pain.

 

This is the moment I expected to wake up, as this is what usually happens when you realise you are dreaming, but nothing happened. 

 

Instinctively, the second thing I tried doing, was materialising attractive scantily clad women. In spite of my best efforts however, nothing happened. Disappointed, and wanting to just get the dream over with, I put one of my tentacles to the side of my head, where ears would normally be, and whoosh—a quick flick of the tentacle and a coin appeared!

“Clap clap”

The spiders that laughed a moment ago, applauded, excited glimmers in all of their eyes.

I put it on the counter. With typical dream logic, it disappears the moment it touches the ornate desk. 

As a Fool-level member, you can access: The dice room - 100 points (any) to access for 1 minute

 

Available points: Red - 542 Green: 500 Gold - 124

 

Bwah, who cares, it’s a dream anyways, just go with the first one

Foolish member used 500 red points to open the dice tables for 5 minutes!

 

Candles above one of the columns lit up, and as a show of impossible geometry, it split, like a bacteria, and a new room appeared between them. 

“Wait a moment, you meant a Fool-level member, not a foolish member, didn’t you?! Damn it, no time to argue, I have only 5 minutes… let’s go!”

I was going to be all “let’s get it over with” but all pretense of being too cool for games was long gone now,I was quite excited to see what will happen next. 

I could see many different tables, all of them had some kind of a cup lying on them. I came to the nice, silver-plated one next to me

 

Table of Drunk soldiers

Not enough points. Cost: 676 gray points (iron) Available points: 0

 

Huh. Why am I broke even in my dreams? Is my subconsciousness trying to tell me something? I put my tentacles on my temples, trying my best to think about changing my bank account to full... Only for nothing to happen. Apart from time passing- the candles litting the room were half finished already!

I ran around trying to find a table I could afford (a difficult task in this body),

Table of King’s fate

Not enough points...

 

The candles around me were now wider then tall

Table of Spearman's sorrow

Not enough points...

 

The color of light in the room changed from yellow to dark orange

Table of...

Not enough points...

 

Even in my dream, enough sweat appeared on me that I had to dedicate two tentacles to wipe it out

Table of Drunkards’ babble

Do you want to play on this table? Required points: 478 green,  Available points: 500 green

Damn it no time! And what the hell do I do now?!

I was panicking—like a teen trying to hide the dirty websites, while hearing their parents open the door. I grabbed the inverted cup lying on the table, and found a few dice lying under it. My tentacles shot towards them, picking them up and rolling them, 6 tentacles at once… and nothing happened.

 

“What.. Why is nothing happening? What am I even supposed to do here?” I then remembered a glimpse of a pirate movie I saw with gambling, people in there put their dice in the cups, and then rolled didn’t they? I tried my best to put the scattered dice back in...

 

The candelabras started overflowing with molten wax

And in panic I hit the half full cup with one of my appendages, ejecting the contents again! Damn it!
I quickly rolled all of them inside, this time keeping the lying cup with one tentacle, while scooping everything in. In the dim red light of dying candle wick, I reversed the cup, and as I was about to see its contents..

 

I opened my eyes, awake in the real world.

Huh. What a weird dream…

 

New skill: Capricious fate!

… Wait what?! It was not a dream? Again?! Is this going to be the norm of this world, nothing is ever a dream, and there is never such a thing as rest?

I wondered, while looking around the surroundings… 

Wait wait wait.

Isn’t this… a cage?