Chapter 55 : Towards the Finale (4)

“One ancient power core is 1.5 million gold. If we need thirty of them…”

She’d usually had nothing to do with math, but this time, her instincts did the calculation for her.

45 million gold.

A jaw-dropping amount.

Even if you cleared out an entire Spiked Hyena Nest using a “Dimensional Distortion” skill.

Even if you gathered loot with every ounce of your soul.

You’d max out at 1 million gold a day. 

With two people, that’s 2 million.

No matter how godlike Yoo Seoyeno’s control was, there were physical limits.

Monster respawn rate and quantity. 

That was the ceiling.

Raids were an option too, but those had limited entries.

The conclusion was clear.

There was a hard cap on how much gold you could earn in a day through normal methods.

But then.

“I’ve got an idea,” Yoo Seoyeno said.

There was a subtle confidence in her expression.

“Not just regular hunting? You mean something else?”

“Yeah.”

Yoo Seoyeno nodded lightly.

So calm. 

So matter-of-fact.

Rydel was momentarily at a loss for words.

How in the world were they going to get 45 million gold?

Yoo Seoyeno pursed her lips slightly, as if thinking, and then whispered in a small voice.

“It’s a little… risky.”

As if sharing a secret.

“But it’s doable.”

Risky? 

Doable?

Rydel’s head was filled with question marks.

The viewers were no different.

「Wait, there’s actually a method?」

「Even if you combine both their assets, it’s not even 10 million gold, right?」

「And raids are limited too」

《‘BabyPunch’ has donated 1,000 won!》

I’m telling you, the devs made this just to be farmed until the server shuts down. 

There’s no way to earn that much in such a short time.

「Fr fr, this is the truth」

「It’ll take at least 1–2 weeks, minimum」

「The server shuts down in a little under a month, and they want you to cough up every last bit of gold before then, lololol」

The viewers also came to the same conclusion—There was no obvious solution.

“Let’s go.”

In contrast, Yoo Seoyeno’s tone was firm.

That small hand suddenly felt dependable.

Rydel, too, nodded solemnly.

If Yoo Seoyeno said it would work, then it probably would.

There had to be a method—something no sane person would ever imagine.

With a more relaxed pace, Rydel walked alongside Yoo Seoyeno.

***

“S-So… this is the place you brought us to…?”

Rydel’s voice trembled like a bleating goat.

They were deep underground in the Pixel Wars streamer server.

In a space that seemed to have a musty odor, there sat a massive spinning wheel.

On the wheel, several numbers were marked.

You insert gold into the machine, and if you hit the right number, it multiplies your money.

“There’s a machine here that increases your gold if you land on the right number.”

“Silver Hair-nim, we usually call that gambling.”

「☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️」

「A literal casino LOL」

「Why is Silver Hair at a gambling den LMAO」

「If she can see the future, I’ll give her an upvote LOL」

Rydel could barely hide her shock.

Gambling.

The one absolute truth of the universe—its end was always ruin.

Wouldn’t it be smarter to just go to a normal hunting ground?

Even if it was slow and boring, a methodical grind would be a hundred, no—a thousand times wiser.

Yes, they were at a disadvantage.

No matter how broken their skills were, they were still only two people.

Compared to large clans who could sweep multiple hunting zones, they were lacking.

But that didn’t mean it was impossible.

Even for massive clans, the astronomical sum of 45 million gold was a heavy burden.

And no one even knew what the final reward was.

Disputes could arise if all the gold had to be given to the clan leader.

They were all streamers—no way everyone would willingly hand over their entire fortune.

In other words, even big clans couldn’t win this event effortlessly.

Meanwhile, Rydel was different.

If the two of them managed to farm all 45 million gold through hunting, she planned to give it all to Yoo Seoyeno.

She didn’t feel any regret.

After all, she’d already received so much.

If she thought of it as simply giving back what she got, her heart felt at ease.

Which is why it still seemed better to sweat it out and grind properly in the field…

“AAAAARGHH! THIS IS A SCAM, I SWEAR!!”

A loud scream rang out.

A burly-looking male avatar was yelling in front of the wheel.

It was The Rune Slayer Argon.

He had conquered the Lava Zone, but in the casino, he was just a small, helpless man.

“Didn’t you say if I bet on one, it would duplicate my money?! That I’d never have to work again if I just bet on one?!”

“Well, bro… there’s supposed to be a flow to it…”

Beside him, another man who appeared to be a clan member was drenched in sweat.

He, too, seemed to have lost a considerable amount of money to gambling.

“I was just trying to make twenty million gold and leave… Now our clan’s gonna end up on the streets…”

Argon slumped to the ground.

His eyes drifted toward his dark red magic sword.

The look in his eyes screamed “How much could I get if I sold this?”—the gaze of a gambling addict.

He stared at his beloved sword for a moment with trembling eyes.

Then, his eyes locked with Silver Hair—and with Rydel standing beside her.

For a moment, an expression of shock crossed his face.

His face clearly said: What the hell are those two doing here?

“Ahem!”

In a hurry, Argon dusted off his disheveled outfit and cleared his throat awkwardly.

He quickly stood up.

“Ahem, ahem! Ah, excuse me. My little bro just really wanted to check this place out, so…”

“Wait, no, it was you who suggested coming he—mmph, mmph!”

Argon put his clanmate in a headlock, cutting off his words.

Watching the ridiculous scene, Rydel finally spoke.

“…Argon-nim, don’t tell me you too…?”

“…Yeah, well. I didn’t expect I’d have to sink this much gold into it, though.”

Argon sighed as he released the headlock.

They were in the same boat.

Argon’s guild wasn’t as small as Rydel and Yoo Seoyeno’s party, but it was still a tight-knit elite squad.

Even with a hidden class, they were severely outnumbered when facing clans with ten or more members.

In an event where you had to recklessly throw gold at the problem, it was inevitable they’d be at a disadvantage.

So, he thought: Maybe I can multiply my money through gambling, and ended up here.

“But still… I didn’t think you, Rydel-nim, would come here too.”

Argon looked genuinely surprised.

He’d assumed Rydel would just grind diligently in the field like always.

“Ah, no. It wasn’t me…”

With a look of injustice, Rydel glanced at Yoo Seoyeno standing beside her.

“…”

Yoo Seoyeno was intently observing the spinning wheel.

As if she had no interest in anything else.

The wheel spun round and round.

On it were four numbers: [1], [5], [10], [30]—each occupying a differently sized section.

The number [1] had the largest area.

If the ball landed there, you’d double your bet.

[5] yielded five times, [10] gave ten times the payout.

And [30], occupying a sliver as small as a grain of rice.

Landing on it meant a jackpot—thirty times the payout.

Naturally, the higher the payout, the narrower the space, and the lower the odds.

Especially the 30x slot—barely the size of a needle’s eye.

“Ahem! Silver Hair-nim, are you perhaps interested as well?”

“Yes. I’m going to give it a try.”

At Argon’s question, Yoo Seoyeno gave a small nod.

“Well, it’s simple. Just insert gold into this machine here, and the money gets deducted automatically. Then, you just place a bet on one of the numbers.”

Argon explained smoothly, as if he’d been there for quite a while.

“If your number hits, you get the payout. Simple, right?”

Having said that, Argon—who had apparently erased the memory of just losing all his money—pulled out what little pocket change he had left, gathered from who knows where.

“Ahem. Just showing you how it works, that’s all…”

He wanted to look cool and manly in front of the two women, but lacked the courage to make a bold bet. 

So, he placed his money on [1].

Naturally, everyone’s gaze shifted to the next player—Yoo Seoyeno.

Gulp.

Where would she place her bet?

As everyone held their breath, Yoo Seoyeno didn’t hesitate.

With her small hand, she took out a hefty-looking pouch of gold from her inventory.

And then.

She inserted the pouch—containing a whopping 200,000 gold—into the machine.

 Yoo Seoyeno’s Bet : [5]

“Two hundred thousand gold…”

Rydel, Argon, and even the viewers all held their breath.

It wasn’t an astronomical amount,but it definitely wasn’t small enough to call it a trial bet.

On top of that, she wasn’t betting on double—she went straight for 5x.

「You put 200k right on the 5x slot?」

「Isn’t Silver Hair pushing her luck?」

「Come on, 5x is just gambling at that point…」

「Is she about to show the heart of a beast????」

Rydel gulped without realizing.

‘But… if it’s Silver Hair.’

If it were anyone else, she’d have grabbed them by the collar to stop them.

But because of the gameplay Yoo Seoyeno had shown so far,even in a casino like this, there was that slight “what if?”

‘No, but seriously, this is absurd.’

Gambling was just luck. 

Skill had no place in it.

Even Yoo Seoyeno was no different from a total newbie when it came to odds.

Still, if it’s Seoyeno…Even so, even for Seoyeno…Skepticism and faith.

Two opposing emotions swirled together at once.

The viewers felt the same way Rydel did.

Rydel looked at Yoo Seoyeno.

Her expression hadn’t changed at all.

Poker face.

No telling what she was thinking.

Whirrrrr.

The roulette wheel began to spin.

Time seemed to flow slowly, as if it had stopped.

The roulette wheel, causing the viewers to feel their hearts race, gradually slowed down.

‘Please… please, 5…!’

Rydel desperately prayed in her mind.

Argon, too, stared wide-eyed at the number 1.

And finally, the roulette wheel, slowing down gradually.

Thud.

It came to a stop right on.

[30]

The dazzling golden number “30” glowed brightly.

In that instant, a cold silence fell over the entire casino.

Yoo Seoyeno had bet on [5], and Argon had bet on [1].

That meant both of them.

“Uhhhhh!!!”

Argon, who had been biting his lip, collapsed to the floor like a child.

His eyes were unfocused, and if you looked closely, he almost seemed like a corpse.

And despite losing the money, Yoo Seoyeno still had no expression on her face.

The 200,000 gold had disappeared in an instant.

Anyone else would have been shocked, or at least flustered.

‘No.’

Although her expression appeared blank, the slight upward curve of her lips.

A small, subtle shift that felt like a piece of a puzzle falling perfectly into place.

At that moment, when everything clicked and turned into certainty.

Only Rydel, who had been closest to her, could accurately read that almost imperceptible nuance.