Rebirth: Rise of the Slave Master

Chapter Eleven: Old Man Snake Eyes

Aside from a short streak of petulance over his injured pride, Huang Rong didn’t really have any complaints about the outcome of the match. If Theo had relied purely on his raw statistical advantage, he could have easily destroyed the lower leveled opponent, but that would have most likely left behind some doubts and bitter feelings in the man’s mind. Only after really seeing Theo’s skills would someone like the martial arts nerd be satisfied.

Huang Rong: Then I will see you in the morning, Theo big bro. 4:00am! Don’t be late!

After promising to tell Huang Rong all of his secrets at the gym later, and explaining that he had something very important to do, Theo finally managed to get the overly insistent guy off his back. He was surprisingly chatty and energetic for someone who looked so quiet, and didn’t take any time at all to warm up to the concept of becoming fast friends with the guy he had just threatened to decapitate.

Theo didn’t really understand the way Huang Rong’s brain worked, but there was nothing wrong with having a contact in another city... just as long as he didn’t have to share his loot or experience.

Theo: I’ll be there.

With that, Theo silenced his message alerts. He didn’t need the strange woman from the desert bothering him either.

Theo was Level 9, and he could easily take on any of the regular class quests. His original class had been Warrior, a pretty vanilla but powerful class that received a number of skills designed to inflict heavy damage at close range. In terms of sustained, raw damage, there wasn’t anything that could win out over his old choice. It had made a perfect match with the War God archetype he acquired later.

If it weren’t for his current circumstances, Theo wouldn’t hesitate to pick it all over again. As it was, he was determined to follow a different path.

Starting in Oasis, choosing the human race, grinding up his persuasion skill… even his early kill of the [Desert Serpent King] and [Desert Serpent Queen]... all of it had been to gain the cursed class!

Oasis was as lively as it had been at noon, but an air of revelry had replaced the hustle and buslte. Braziers set atop the high buildings had burst into flame, like hundreds of twinkling stars, and the people below gathered enmasse around every restaraunt and cantina in the open square. The smells of grilled meat and flowing wine filled the streets, and people laughed and shouted uproariously at the troupes of traveling performers who sang and danced on ramshackle stages.

It was a scene brought to life by those who risked their lives in the harsh deserts, with big hearts and even bigger pockets, but a city with high walls would always cast long shadows. The back alleys and gutters of the desert jewel were anything but dusty and forgotten, and the place crawled with all manner of unsavory customers. Theo pulled up the hood on his poncho, covering his distinctive features. Only an unsuspecting target would willingly go around showing their face in a place like this.

Without the [Stealth] skill, Theo’s footsteps were heavy on the stone streets. Although his size couldn’t serve as much of a deterrent on the crowded streets, it was the gleaming spear on his back that warned anyone with untoward ideas that this was a wolf with fangs. Several slippery handed orphans wandered by, but upon taking one look at this armed and Neutral-aligned player, they quickly forgot any plans they might have to pick his pocket.

Theo didn’t stop until he arrived at a long, low building sandwiched between the ground floors of two tall residential structures. The outside was heavily decorated, almost nauseatingly so, with garish colors and scattered posters. Half of them had been torn down or pasted over, and a few even had flecks of blood scattered across their fronts. If Theo had taken the time to read through them all, he would find they possessed all the charm and eloquence of a men’s public restroom.

Beneath a sun-beaten saffron awning, a crowd of rowdy citizens were gathered in front of a pair of heavy wooden doors. The glossy brass studs that adorned the outside seemed to transform the simple entrance into an impressively sturdy bulwark.

On either side of the door stood a large, armed man that kept the crowds at bay with their intimidation factor alone. The one on the right was tall and muscular, with a barrel chest that threatened to erupt from his tunic. He had piercing yellow eyes with a prominent brow and a broad, flat nose. His hair was a mess of stiff, rust-colored bristles with thick sideburns and furry little tufts at the end of his pointed ears. A half-beastman… a race that players couldn’t pick, and one which certainly didn’t have a pretty origin story.

The man on the left was shorter and heavyset, bald, with a golden beard that was braided like a rope and hung down to his rotund gut. It was a massive Dwarf that stood almost as tall as the average human. Both of the men were wearing matching suits of leather armor, and carried large, viciously curved falchions that had obviously seen their fare share of use.

Forget about those puny serpent princes, this was what a legitimate bouncer should look like!

Unfortunately, Theo couldn’t see their stats with his current [Perception] skill, but he assumed they were somewhere around level 50. If he tried to cause any trouble in this place, his only option would be to run away. He simply couldn’t land a blow on these guys with his current skills.

Without bothering to give the bouncers another look, Theo muscled his way through the crowd and pressed a hand against the door. The two guards narrowed their eyes as he approached, with the half-beastman nodding at the spear and saying, “Try showing that thing around here, and I’ll have to add it to my collection,” his voice was deep, with the subtle undertones of a big cat’s roar.

A cold glint flashed in Theo’s eyes, “I don’t suppose you’re talking about this charming smile of mine?”

[Beginner Persuasion] was used successfully! Warrior Kruger’s attitude of Player Theo improves slightly!

The beast-like man leaned in a little, hot breath pouring over the twin rows of his sharp teeth, “I wouldn’t mind adding your head to my collection, either… human.”

“Hmph…” Theo turned his head with a smirk and pushed open the doors.

He could hear the bouncers push aside a few of the shouting men and women who were trying to sneak in behind him. One of NPCs had actually shouted something about being Theo’s older brother. As he tried to cross the threshold of the wooden doors, Theo was suddenly met with a strange resistance, like a thin layer of cellophane.

Warning! You are entering a 19+ area: Gambler’s Den. Adult-only activities may take place within. Do you consent? Yes/No?

Theo swiped the ‘yes’ button on the pop-up and continued inside.

The inside of the building was everything one would imagine from a proper den of iniquity in a city like Oasis. There were dozens of men and women lounging around on luxuriously colored sofas and cushions, with tendrils of sweet, spicy smoke grappling for any empty space above the floor. The dull thrum of hushed conversation washed against the yards of muslin fabric which hung from every rafter of the vaulted ceiling.

What stood out more than anything was the sound of the rolling dice.

A circle of well dressed patrons had gathered around an open space in the center of the den. Most of them were clutching onto handfuls of small purple tickets, and calling out to a few scantily clad women who were seamlessly weaving through the crowd. Each of the women was wearing little more than enough to preserve her dignity, and not a single one of them wasn’t a stunning beauty. If only there was more time... Theo could only cough and try to clear his head of the alluring opportunities.

At the head of the circle sat a high-backed chair not unlike a combination throne and recliner. Seated therein was a thin, almost skeletal man, wearing simple gray robes. His head was bald and his skin was weathered and mottled. Long nails tipped the ends of bony fingers which wrapped around a pointed chin, resting on the bridge of his beak-like nose. The beady black marbles the man called eyes were locked on the circle with rapt attention.

Old Man Snake Eyes.

Every class in Dream World Online had to be earned from a quest, and that quest would be given by an NPC commonly referred to as a class trainer. Most of the class trainers hung around in obvious, easy to find locations, but a few of them were either difficult to locate or dangerous to approach.

These were where hidden classes came from.

Just like in the case of the Slave Master, hidden classes were by no means more powerful or effective than the regular classes. After most of the game’s secrets became common knowledge, public opinion decided that they were primarily niche picks for those who wanted to try something different.

For the Slave Master class, Old Man Snake Eyes was the class trainer. A Slave Master himself, he was a devious old goat that lied, cheated, and manipulated to keep himself near the top of the massive criminal syndicate, Castle. His slaves were numerous and well trained, and his infiltrators could very well be your most trusted subordinate, at least if the rumors were to be believed.

With this kind of mentor, one could easily imagine how the Slave Master’s got such a bad rap, not that they needed any help in this regard.

“The first step of the class quest…”

Theo had already sold off all of his junk loot, that was anything the players wouldn’t buy, to a pawn shop for a few extra coins. Combined with the money he started the game with, it was barely enough to afford a bowl of meat stew and a loaf of bread.

In order to initiate this quest, Theo would have to win a certain amount on the games here in the Gambler’s Den. The first guy who discovered this quest was a total gambling addict who spent almost every penny he made here. He was a man who truly lived for the dice!

If one was pondering the ramifications of letting 19-year-olds gamble, they need not worry. The bets were taken and paid in the form of tickets, which could only be exchanged at the Gambler’s Den. What’s more, all of the available items would automatically bind to your character. Once you bought the tickets, your money was gone. It was like a prize counter at a video arcade!

The developers were the only real winners here.

Theo approached one of the scantily clad women, who seemed to win out against the various smokers with her rich, perfumed scent. This was definitely a tactic to attract your attention and get you to spend more, and it seemed to work even on the NPCs. The game-obsessed Theo on the other hand spared no time to ogle the woman’s various assets, as he was completely absorbed in his quest. The woman didn’t seem to care, as he didn’t look too much different from those hazy-eyed gamblers.

“I think it was… five hundred tickets?” Theo muttered, looking at the measly two tickets he’d received from his his current life savings.

Of course, Theo wasn’t going to waste time and money on a game of random chance. This wasn’t the real world after all, it was a virtual one. With the help of the system, anything was possible. He reached into his inventory and retrieved a small round pellet, sneakily swallowing it whole.

You have consumed [Serpent King’s Left Eyestone]. Ingredient effect discovered!

You have contracted a curse! Visit a holy man to have this foul magic dispelled!

[Midas fasciitis - Curse]: Charisma reduced by 50%, HP will not recover while the player has any amount of currency in their wallet or bank. Luck +777 when attempting games of chance. Games that are partially determined by skill, or that are under the cursed player’s control, will not be affected.

Curses were, in the most simplistic terms, magical diseases. They would have debilitating effects that crippled your stats and continued to haunt you even after death. There were only two ways to remove a curse, with the primary way being holy magic. The Expert-tier [Remove Curse] spell could be learned about the time a player reached level 70, so curses were pretty much unheard of at this point in the game. If you were unlucky enough to get one, you’d have to pay a high leveled NPC to cast the spell for you.

The other way was to break the curse naturally, with each curse having a specific cure available somewhere in the world.

Midas fasciitis, also known as the gambler’s curse, gave its target impossibly good luck but also made them completely unable to enjoy their ill-gotten gains. Those who tried would slowly decay over time, unable to regenerate HP or heal any of their wounds. It wasn’t unnatural for those with this curse to be covered in seeping wounds and festering bruises. In a sense, your greed would literally consume you piece by piece!

Thankfully, Theo was well and truly broke at the moment, without a penny to his name. The curse would only have the benefit of letting him cheat free-handedly without anyone the wiser.

This was the true purpose of the [Serpent King’s Left Eyestone]. Any player below level 10 who consumed it would be instantly stricken with the Midas fasciitis curse. If that sounded a bit too niche of a use, it’s probably because it was. This item was integral to successfully completing the Slave Master class quest.

Theo quickly put his tickets into the betting pool and watched as a short, sweaty man in a white coat deftly rolled a number of six-sided dice around his outstretched fingers. After flashily collecting them and presenting them to the audience for inspection, he placed the dice in a cup at his side and shook vigorously. His movements were clearly played up to incite the crowd’s anticipation.

The game itself was beyond simple. The cup was first placed upside down on the floor with the dice still inside. Then, the audience members would place bets on either high, low, or even. The dice were revealed and the face-up numbers were added together and compared to the previous roll. Those who guessed correctly won.

For instance, if the previous roll was thirty-two, and the current roll was thirty-three, anyone who guessed ‘high’ would be a winner. With six dice being used, the possible outcomes ranged anywhere from six to thirty-six, and the payout was determined by the odds you would be right. Hypothetically, if the previous roll was thirty-six, there was a 97% chance for the number to be lower. Obviously, the payout would be minimal if you guessed that.

A tall wooden sign off to the side had the low and high payouts for each number clearly listed so no calculating was necessary, but Theo didn’t have to think at all about where to place his bet. Of course, he bet on ‘even.’ After all, it always paid out at thirty times what you put in.

“Even!” the short man yelled at the top of his lungs.

The crowd booed almost unanimously, with a few men even throwing their drinks on the floor in outrage. Only a nut who loved long shots would bet on even, but in a flash, two tickets had now become sixty. Theo might have felt a rush if he hadn’t already expected this outcome, but how could he possibly lose with his ridiculous 782 Luck pushing the odds in his favor?

It was just a shame that the maximum bet you could place was three tickets, or he could have ended this part of the quest in only two rounds. He wasn’t even paying attention to the dice on the floor as he placed his second bet with one of the women who came to bring him his winnings.

“Even!” the man called after another roll, his eyes flashing in surprise.

Again the crowd roared with dissatisfaction, with the poor NPCs having no idea what was about to happen.

“E - even!” the third time it happened, the man with the cup was shaking.

Several of the more inebriated gamblers shouted loudly and called for a change of dice, but were quickly silenced by a single gesture from Old Man Snake Eyes. Anyone who dared to accuse the crime boss of cheating in his own Gambling Den would end up cashing in more than their tickets that evening. Theo couldn’t help but grin, watching as several of the other gamblers started placing bets on even.

This time the dice were rolled… “Low! It’s low!” a voice ripe with relief filled the room.

The game might have been stopped if Theo made it seem too unrealistic, so he spent the remaining rounds placing bets at random, winning regardless of what he happened to pick. It wasn’t until he had accumulated just over five hundred tickets that a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. The force of the massive paw was enough to drop a weaker man to his knees, but Theo only turned his head while several nearby gamblers swiftly distanced themselves.

A tiny clearing popped up in a matter of seconds.

“Lucky you, big winner,” came a low grumble, “seems like you managed to catch the master’s eye.”

It was the half-beastman warrior, Kruger.

Theo snorted and shrugged his shoulder, dislodging the man’s hand. Since this was all part of the quest, he knew that he wasn’t going to get roughed up unless he resisted. That said, Theo still had the pride of a War God. Although he had to go with the guard one way or another, he couldn’t help but take offence at the notion of being man-handled.

“And to think... I was just feeling a hot streak coming on,” he replied with a sigh, before shaking his head and nodding, “lead the way, Garfield.”

While Kruger let out a disapproving growl at these words, his AI didn’t actually register it as an insult. He tilted the tree-trunk that served as his neck and motioned with his head to a tall, ornate door behind one of the muslin curtains. It was stained-black with straight, vertical planks and a gleaming silver plaque that read: “Entry Forbidden.”

“This way, human.” Kruger said.

Apparently, the word ‘human’ was enough of a comeback to leave the warrior satisfied.

A quick glance at the dice ring showed that Old Man Snake Eyes was still sitting in his chair, his gaze never once moving from the outcome of the game. It seemed like he hadn’t taken any interest in this situation whatsoever, but Theo knew he was very much aware. Those little black eyes had been watching his every move since the moment he walked through the door.