100. One Week Before the World League (4)
League Casino was a massive casino representing the United Kingdom.
It had been established three years ago, and rumor had it that it had surpassed the market capitalization of Las Vegas Sands.
The reason was obvious.
Because the World League, humanity's greatest sport, was being held in the United Kingdom.
From lodging facilities to card games, slot machines, pachinko, flats, and so on.
A place had been created where everything related to gambling could be enjoyed legally.
"Waa."
The guild members who had arrived looked around like country bumpkins visiting Seoul for the first time.
It was so crowded it was practically bursting.
Not just players, but people from all over the world who had come for League tourism were gathering in one place.
"Look over there! There's a player shop too!"
Yoo Jia seemed excited from traveling abroad for the first time in a while, pointing here and there as she reported what she saw.
'Player shop?'
Baek Jinwoo's gaze turned.
'Hooh.'
From a quick glance, it looked like they were making and selling things in a luxurious style, like a high-end department store.
Since theft was a possibility, everything was elegantly listed on golden cards.
If you bought something there, would the owner handle the transaction personally?
"That's not a bad method, is it?"
"Right?!"
Pulling out a notebook, Yoo Jia busily wrote something down.
"Rather than selling it in a marketplace, if you brand it and create the impression that it's luxurious, it'll be easier to raise the price too. This kind of thing needs to be benchmarked immediately."
Heh.
As expected of a businesswoman.
Even while on a trip, she was studying.
"Guild Master, this way."
As if he had done quite a bit of research, Hwang Juwon stood at the very front and guided them.
Winding through the maze-like paths while pushing through the crowds, they arrived at a single secretive sign.
"This is it. If the outside area is for ordinary tourists, then the inside here is for players and the rich."
"Ooh."
Yoo Jia exclaimed in admiration.
"So this is what it felt like."
"You have to put down a 1 billion deposit to enter, but we were going to spend it all anyway."
"That's right."
"Then let's go in. Everyone brought their passports, right?"
"Yes."
"Yep!"
There were only two things needed for entry.
A passport, and a credit card.
And not just any one, but a VIP card capable of guaranteeing 1 billion.
"Welcome."
As soon as they entered the room, neatly dressed staff members greeted them with bright smiles.
They each split up and received guidance from the staff.
"You must agree to use the entire 1 billion for internal betting. Also, the maximum amount you may take out from here is 100 billion per person."
Oh, these guys.
They really had thought this through.
They allowed betting, but they would not allow payout ratios beyond a certain limit.
'Even if you get lucky, they're saying you can only take up to 100 times your money.'
Fair enough.
'From their point of view, they also need to prevent an irregular like me from coming in and cleaning them out.'
"If you agree, please sign here, Player Baek Jinwoo."
Perhaps because they had dealt with many important people, the staff showed no change in expression even when a national representative player arrived.
They simply responded with the same smile as always.
Well.
In a place like this, even more famous players might be here.
Maybe Rachel was here too?
Scribble, scribble.
As soon as he signed, they handed him an entry pass.
The casino VIP room had been prepared deep underground.
Was it to ensure airtight security?
All sorts of muscular men were surrounding the area while carrying weapons.
Swipe.
The moment he entered, Baek Jinwoo looked around.
The room was vast.
About the size of the Seoul Olympic Stadium, maybe?
It was a massive hall, large enough to hold around 100,000 people.
At the center was a space where people could bet on the League like sports betting, and all around it, delicious food and alcohol were being provided without limit.
And there were many people as well.
From famous pop singers to rather familiar overseas influencers, corporate executives, tycoons, and more.
But what stood out the most was, of course....
'The players.'
As expected.
They weren't the only ones who had come here. Quite a lot of famous players from all over the world had gathered here.
'Shusuke's over there too.'
With his sharp eyesight, Baek Jinwoo was even able to spot Takahashi Shusuke, whom he had once faced before.
It felt like only yesterday that he had threatened that guy, but now he was chatting away with a bright smile, as if he had not a care in the world.
"All right, everyone gather around."
Hwang Juwon took the lead in the betting.
Apparently he had enjoyed sports betting since long ago.
"This is similar to horse racing, you know? Predicting individual wins and losses would require the groups to be assigned first, so instead, the betting is done on who will win overall or what rank they'll place."
Hooh.
Well, if it were done by win-draw-loss format, there would be too many issues like match-fixing.
In that case, betting by players directly involved in the League would probably have been completely restricted.
"Of course, the payout for a United Kingdom victory is low. It's 1.24. That means even if you bet 1 billion, you'd only make 1.24 billion."
"That's stingy, really stingy."
"Well, most people are investing in the United Kingdom, so it can't be helped."
Naturally, the five famous powerhouse nations had the lowest odds.
The United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, Russia, and Taiwan.
'Rather than invest there, I'd rather not bet at all.'
Then what were the odds for our country?
South Korea : 24.001
"It's 24 times."
"That's lower than I expected?"
"Seriously. It should at least pay 100 times."
These guys.
They're a little too greedy.
Even 24 times would already be 240 billion….. and yet they still wanted to take the full 100 billion…...
'We should take it.'
Baek Jinwoo grinned.
"That can be handled by combining folders."
He pointed at the LED board.
There.
Compared to the odds for the United Kingdom winning at 1.24, the odds for the United Kingdom coming in second were 3.14.
Quite a lot higher.
"Since the bracket is apparently determined by preliminary-round scores, if we just get the top score, then the probability of meeting the United Kingdom in the finals would be the highest, right?"
The bracket was not decided by luck.
It was designed through the system's calculations so that the best teams would meet each other last.
And even if they were unlucky and met the United Kingdom in the group stage?
It didn't matter.
Since they were allies anyway, after taking similar points there, they could simply absorb overwhelming points elsewhere.
Now then.
[South Korea : 24.00]
[United Kingdom : 3.14]
If these two folders were combined?
[Total : 75.361]
An absurd payout of more than 75 times was created.
If they bet 11 billion, they could win 829 billion.
"Even if we lose, it's only 11 billion, and if we win, isn't that just right for pocket money?"
Baek Jinwoo said with a faint smile.
Really.
It was moving in a strange way.
To think the day would come when he could look at 829 billion and call it pocket money.
For reference, those payout figures had already been calculated after taxes.
If things went exactly as he said, that was exactly what they would receive!
"I've decided!"
Yoo Jia shouted.
"If we win this, I'll build you a magnificent SKY headquarters next to Yoobaek City!"
"Ooh!"
"SKY headquarters?"
"This is getting me fired up!"
The guild members clasped hands together.
"Even if winning the championship is difficult, it's still worth trying."
"Right. Gambling is supposed to be about having fun with small amounts of money."
Whether 11 billion could really be called a small amount was questionable, but the players here were people qualified to think that way.
'That's true.'
These days, even Baek Jinwoo no longer felt that 11 billion was real money.
"Will all of you be placing your bets with this exact configuration?"
The dealer in charge muttered in surprise, and it was right then that a commotion broke out.
"You've got guts, don't you?"
Step, step.
Because a man came walking over from the distance, clapping his hands.
"Huh."
"Th-that person is."
Judging by how shaken the guild members were, he had to be someone very famous…...
'Ah, Xenos?'
That was right.
The person who had approached was Xenos from the United States.
Since he had already memorized his face through searches, Baek Jinwoo recognized him right away.
Ranked number one in the United States.
One of the Five Emperors.
'Wow.'
Baek Jinwoo was glad to see him.
Even now, the memory of his chats—always flattering him despite being 32 years old—still lingered in his mind.
"Are you the national representatives of South Korea?"
At that moment, Xenos and Baek Jinwoo's eyes met.
Baek Jinwoo's lips curled up slightly, while Xenos ran his tongue over his lips.
For reference, on Baek Jinwoo's shoulder sat the Interpreter Bird he had received from Jasim.
"By any chance."
"…..."
"Would it be improper of me to ask for a brief private conversation right now?"
Thirty-two years old.
Xenos was gentlemanly.
He politely asked Baek Jinwoo for a private talk, and the ones who were more surprised by that were the guild members.
'Ooh.'
'That stiff, prideful Xenos is acting like that?'
'Guild Master really is on a different level.'
'So one of the Five Emperors really does think the Guild Master is God Ji-nu.'
The guild members looked back and forth between Xenos and Baek Jinwoo with eyes full of admiration.
Baek Jinwoo nodded.
"Sure."
* * *
Xenos and Baek Jinwoo moved to a corner of the room.
"I'll be honest."
It was Xenos who spoke first.
"I did some digging into your background."
"..."
"On the very day the world changed, you got into a traffic accident. Then you woke up three years later. Don't get too angry. Any of the Five Emperors who knew you would probably have looked into that much."
Well, it wasn't as if he was angry.
He had expected it to some extent.
If Baek Jinwoo had been in their position, would he not have done the same?
'I should think of it as fortunate instead.'
That they knew and still left him alone.
Honestly, if they had been just a little more underhanded, they might have decided they needed to crush the threat in the bud and tried to deal with him.
For now.
'Xenos is 100% convinced I'm God Ji-nu.'
He did not know why.
That was just the feeling he got.
Otherwise, would he really have approached him like this and said such things?
"And why are you telling me that?"
"Just because."
Xenos answered immediately.
"Be careful, God Ji-nu."
"Of what?"
"Not all of the Five Emperors are favorably disposed toward you."
"...."
"You're independent. You're not cooperative when it comes to sharing information. And you're too outstanding. Naturally, that makes you a target of caution. Rachel doesn't seem to think that way, though."
"There's something I'm curious about."
"Ask."
"Why are you 100% sure I'm God Ji-nu?"
"Hmm."
Xenos closed his eyes slightly and thought for a moment.
"To be honest, it's not that I'm certain. I just trust Rachel."
"Rachel?"
"Yeah, because she's certain. Rachel's insight in real life is not that of an ordinary person. She believes you're God Ji-nu, and she sincerely wants to build a relationship with you."
"For someone like that, she hasn't contacted me at all."
"That's because she doesn't know your intentions."
"...."
My intentions?
Xenos smirked and continued.
"Have you ever contacted Rachel first?"
"..."
".....You haven't, right?"
In truth, he had not given it much thought.
If anything, he had only been thinking about growing stronger without letting the Five Emperors discover him…..
"Rachel is exactly like that. A dog waiting for its master."
"…..."
"She's probably panting like a dog, waiting only for you to contact her. So, what do you think? Do you want to meet her?"
"Right now?"
At Baek Jinwoo's words, Xenos smiled broadly.
"Rachel, Sugoi, Moscowman, Baekcheon…... They're all here. They're watching this place from a true VVIP room that ordinary people don't know about."
"That's insane."
There was a VVIP room inside the VIP room?
At this rate, was there going to be a VVVIP room too?
'Hmm.'
Meeting the Five Emperors, huh.
Baek Jinwoo was curious too.
To see in real life the faces of those he had grown attached to over five years?
Just as he was thinking it over—
KWA-A-A-A-ANG!
That was when an explosive roar loud enough to tear through his eardrums rang out from the entrance.
"What the hell is that now?"
Baek Jinwoo frowned.
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