Chương 64: Long Distance Travel

"Express magical carriage to Undercraft City!" an attendant called out. I made my way over with Healer Melon, each of us carrying a pack. My spatial pouch was at my side, but I didn't want to be seen using it in the open.

"Two, gold class," Healer Melon said and handed over our tickets. There was no platinum class. At that point, it would have been private transportation.

"Please be welcome at the front, with our other esteemed riders," the attendant said. The magical carriage was huge, about the size of eight regular magical carriages stacked four in a row and two high. A standard magical carriage was already quite big. This long distance transport was massive. This was purely long-distance passenger transportation. If spatial storage transported goods, elite guards would secure them in armored transport.

Silver customers were in the back, crammed in as tight as possible while still having seats. Guards, attendants, and other personnel of the magical carriage rode up top, where there was a better view but more swaying. The front was for gold-class passengers—four to a table, facing each other with a window, for sixteen seats. We were the first to arrive. I took the seat near the window while Healer Melon took the seat next to me. We stored our packs in the compartment above us.

The seats could recline, allowing us to sleep on them. There were also two showers and two bathrooms that gold class passengers would share during the two-week trip. The silver class only had one shower and one bathroom for all forty-eight of them. While I didn't want to waste money, I wasn't about to travel in such miserable conditions if I could help it.

"Welcome, I am Anna, one of the Gold class attendants. If you need anything, let us know. Everything is complimentary. Would you care for anything to drink before our departure?"

"Ice water."

"A Murky Tornado if you know how to make one," Healer Melon said.

"I do and will make sure it is properly made. Please give me a moment," she said and left.

"I could get used to this," I said with a smile.

"What is a Murky Tornado?"

"An alcoholic drink. I never liked riding these things. I am going to get completely smashed on the trip."

"What, really?"

"Yes, magical carriages are pure evil."

"I have noticed nothing wrong."

"They have gotten better, but I remember back when they were much newer. They constantly shook. Swerving everywhere. You needed healing to survive a trip. Absolutely horrible. That is why I plan to drink lots of Murky Tornados to stay calm." I didn't understand his stress and just shrugged. The server brought our drinks to us as other passengers boarded. Healer Melon's drink was dark brown and green and seemed to spin about in his glass. He took a long sip and let out a contented sigh.

"Going soft?"

"Yes. I need this, Justin. These things are cursed."

"These seats taken?" a man came over and asked.

"No, all free," I replied, and he sat down with a much younger-looking woman.

"Dustin Danger Dagger, and this is my wife and manager, Venessa Dagger."

"Healer Melon," my adult companion said while taking another big sip of his Murk Tornado. It was already halfway gone.

"Justin Burnstock," I replied.

"Any relation to the new Duke of Burnstock Duchy? Dereck, I believe it was?"

"A distant relation," I replied, not being entirely honest.

"Ah, sorry if I am being nosy. I like to chat. I am a professional Luck Master."

"Luck Master? I don't think I have heard of that profession."

"I gamble for a living and teach Luck-related skills."

"Luck…that isn't a thing, and there are no luck skills."

"Ah, but let me prove you wrong, young man," he said and pulled out a deck of cards. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Your mother wouldn't want you to pick up a gambling skill," Healer Melon said before waving the attendant for another drink.

"Don't worry. Just a small demonstration."

"Then give me the cards. If luck is real, then you will win more on average over several draws." The man's smile faltered for a second.

"But I suspect you have card-handling skills combined with social skills."

"Ah, dear, you have a knowledgeable one here," his younger wife said while leaning on her husband and kissing his cheek.

"Bah, I will get a luck-based skill one day. Just have to believe," he replied.

"Training such a skill would be a nightmare. Perhaps a weapon that only activates half the time, and you need a skill to increase its activation."

"A student at the College of Advancement?"

"I am applying when they open enrollment in six months."

"It is not easy to get in."

"It isn't. So, a gambling tournament?"

"Yes, Pulse Strike is a System-recognized game. Some say it is from the dawn of the System itself, but it predates the Eldarin Empire at the very least. Fast-paced, 2 to 8 players, and lots of money combined with skills. Want to learn?" I looked at Healer Melon, who was already working on his second Murky Tornado as the carriage took off.

"Just for copper while I am learning."

"Of course. Not looking to take your money. It would damage my reputation as a professional. Few people want to go up against a professional," he replied with a grin.

"Not even to learn?" I asked with a bit of surprise.

"Many people look down on Pulse Strike, but you need math, quick thinking, and being able to read people." He pulled out a thick deck of cards.

"Normally, you have a professional dealer, but I won't cheat you. It isn't worth the hassle. Let's run through a practice round, then we can play with copper."

"In Pulse Strike, there are 100 cards, labeled 1 to 100. Based on skill levels, they say. If you have a number, it means another person doesn't have it. Each person gets four face-down cards. These are your private cards. Don't share them. Then there are three community cards we can all use. Everyone puts in a starting amount called an ante into the pot the final winner will eventually get. Same ante each round you stay in. Play starts with one player and goes clockwise," Dustin explained as I listened intently.

"There are three phases in each round of play. The first phase is the bid phase. We each choose 1 to 3 cards to bid on and wager chips on, and these are then called the bid cards. Players reveal and discard bid cards. The highest sum of values on bid cards wins all the money wagered. If no one wagers money, then they win the main pot, and the round ends. You can bid no cards, but if you don't wager the most money to stay in the round, you are automatically out.

People only do that if they have a good hand they don't want to break up for the final round."

"Then comes the second phase, called the strike phase, and another ante into the main pot from all players remaining. The dealer adds a new community card, so there are now four cards in the community. You can swap, changing out one to three of your private cards for another in the deck. Raise, forcing people to match your bet to stay in the game. Fold, drop out of the round. If you raise, you can't swap, but you can match a raise and still swap. Same turn order."

"Why is it called the strike phase?" I asked.

"The betting. Everyone is trying to figure out what other people have for the last phase, the showdown phase. Players put in the final ante. If you don't have the money, you automatically fold. That is why some people raise big in the strike phase to get people to fold, and why everyone carries around a reserve amount of money to pull out, just in case, but you can only raise what you have on the table for the round."

"The showdown phase is simple. After the ante, everyone who is still in reveals their cards. The best pulse chain of four cards wins using any combination of your private cards and community cards. Six possible hands, with a maximum score of 400 points. For tournaments, points play a role as well, so people want to stay until the end if they can rack up more points, even if they lose money on the round." He then pulled out a sheet of paper and filled it out. Perfect Sum: 4 cards summing to exactly 200.

Scores 400 points. High Quartet: 4 cards with consecutive values (e. g., 45-46-47-48). Scores sum of cards × 2 (e. g., 186 × 2 = 372 points). Triple Peak: 3 cards of consecutive values + 1 highest card. Scores sum of 3 consecutives × 1. 5 + highest card (e. g., 50-51-52 + 80 = 153 × 1. 5 + 80 = 309. 5 points). Dual Core: 2 cards summing to 100 + 2 other cards. Scores 100 + sum of other 2 cards (e. g., 60+40 + 30+20 = 150 points). Spread: 4 cards with values differing by at least 10 (e. g., 10, 25, 40, 60).

Scores sum of cards (e. g., 135 points). High Pulse: Single highest card. Scores card value × 2 (e. g., 90 × 2 = 180 points).

"So, ready for your first round of Pulse Strike?"

"Sure," I replied, and we both got our copper coins. He dealt the cards. In the community pool, there 17, 23, and 91. I had 2, 44, 59, and 97.

"Rounds move quickly. We ante up now. Let's keep it one copper," Dustin said, and we each put in one copper to the main pot.

"Now, take the covering cup and place any cards and money in it for the bid phase. There are two compartments if you want to confuse people. The right one is the official bid, while the left is a decoy." We placed our bids. I put in 97 and 3 copper.

"Now we reveal. You won the bid phase. I put in a 62 and 1 copper. So, we discard our bid cards, and you get the one copper."

"Now to the next phase, the strike phase, ante up another copper to the main pot," Dustin said, and I did.

"I am choosing to swap, discard one card, and get another card."

"I will swap as well," I said, getting rid of my 2. I got 83. That could combine with the community card of 17 and make 100. I had a dual core hand.

"Now, the final round, a last ante into the main pot, and then we reveal in order of play." We both put in the last ante and then revealed our hands.

"I have a dual core, and 91 and 59 for 250," I said.

"A good hand. I have a spread. 17, 42, 64, and 91 for 214," he said.

"You win the main pot, and if this were a tournament, our scores would go up by that much. The person with the highest score after 100 rounds normally wins the main prize pool everyone pays into at the beginning. In larger tournaments, each table plays 100 rounds, with the top two players advancing and the final winner receiving the entire tournament prize pool. Very cutthroat."

"I think I understand the game."

"Excellent. Now let's see if I can't make you a professional before this trip is over."