Knock, knock, knock. 

Seo Jun-ho was lying on the bed watching TV when a courteous knock came from the door. When he opened the door, there was a gentleman wearing a full suit. 

“Hello. I am the general manager of this hotel, Raul Pamalta.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I have come to deliver a certain item on behalf of Mister Shim, the Korean Player Association’s President.”

“Ah.” The auction invitation. Seo Jun-ho held out his hand, and the manager smiled as he gestured with his finger. Then, the employees that were waiting behind him appeared with a suit, a pair of shoes, and a watch. 

“Mister Shim said he’d like you to wear all of this when you go to the auction. Even your shoes, necktie, and watch have all been prepared.”

The gift was sudden, but it made sense. Considering that the auction was invitation-only, it only made sense that they had a dress code. Seo Jun-ho nodded and accepted the invitation, and the manager bowed at 90 degrees and disappeared. 

“Hm, but the fashion’s a little…”

He couldn’t tell what the material was made of, but the suit had a faint purple hue that screamed ‘expensive’. 

“…Wait, it’s not just the suit. The shoes are dragon leather.”

Seo Jun-ho quickly called Deok-gu.

– “Hello? Oh, you got it?”

“Yeah, just now, but isn’t this too much?”

– “Too much? That’s the bare minimum so that people won’t look down on you.”

“…I mean, I’m just going to an auction, why would they look down on me?”

– “You’ll understand later. Also, that suit’s made of silk from a silkworm queen. It costs about 1.5 million won per suit.” 

(TN: ~135k USD)

“Wow.” Seo Jun-ho looked at the suit with new eyes. 

– “From now on, if people look down on you, it’ll affect my own image.” 

“What are you saying?” He didn’t understand, but there was a chuckle from the other end of the call. 

– “You’ll understand later.” 

“…That’s no fun. Anyways, thanks for the clothes. Do you want me to buy any souvenirs?”

– “Nah. Just get some liquor at the Duty Free shop.”

“A’ight.”  

Seo Jun-ho hung up and carefully put the clothes in the corner of the room. He checked the date. 

The auction opens the day after tomorrow. 

There were two days left. 

Blood would be spilled all over the city. 

“…Well, that’s what they’re planning.”

Seo Jun-ho’s eyes glinted coldly. 

* * *

No city transforms as much as Las Vegas from day to night. During the day, it was a busy city like New York, but when night fell, the LED signs of the casinos and clubs glittered, tempting tourists. 

Seo Jun-ho looked up at the brightest building among them. 

“MGM Grand Hotel.” Tomorrow night, the auction would open in the hotel’s Grand Garden Arena. 

Mayweather and Pacquiao had their match* here. Though kids these days might not know. 

(TN: Boxing match between two world champions that happened in 2015. The hotel and arena are a real place.)

Today, he was just planning to check out the hotel. He was wearing a casual suit, and the first thing he noticed when he entered the hotel was the casino. 

“A casino.” He’d never been to one before. Obviously, he’d never gone as a kid, and when he became an adult, he’d been too busy hunting monsters. It piqued his curiosity, but when he got close to the entrance, an alarm went off. Right away, a number of male players in suits approached him. 

“Huh? Mr. Seo Jun-ho?” 

The person at the front looked at him with recognition, his eyes wide. 

Do I know that guy? Even after seeing his face, Seo Jun-ho didn’t recognize him. As he tilted his head, the man laughed heartily. 

“Haha! It’s okay if you don’t remember. We didn’t meet for long.”

“Where did we meet?”

“Why, we met at Insa-dong with Princess-nim.” 

“Ah!” He exclaimed, finally realizing who it was. It was the player who had been escorting Gong Juha. He shook his hand in a friendly gesture. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. I’m Seo Jun-ho.”

“No worries. I wouldn’t have recognized me either. I’m Ha Inho of the Dokkaebi Guild.”

A princess and a servant, they were a match made in heaven. 

(TN: The characters ‘Gong Ju’ and ‘Ha In’ from their names mean ‘princess’ and ‘servant’, respectively. ‘Gong’ and ‘Ha’ are real surnames.)

Ha Inho looked around. “I didn’t think we would meet in a place like this.”

“I heard a huge auction is going to be held here, so I came to take a look.” Inho grinned at that. 

“Really? Actually, my team came down to the 1st floor because of the auction as well. We received a commission from the hosts to act as security.”

It was the Dokkaebi Guild, after all. At such a big auction, they needed someone with that level of skill and reliability. 

“Ah, were you thinking of entering the casino?”

“Yes, but the alarm went off.” Seo Jun-ho shrugged, and Ha Inho laughed.

“You may know this, but players are very different from normal people.”

“That’s true.”

“After the world changed, the casino industry suffered huge losses because of players.”

“Because they used their physical abilities and special skills to cheat.”

“Exactly. It started with X-ray vision, then mind reading, then foresight and et cetera… There are so many skills you can use in a casino.” Ha Inho casually started to lead Seo Jun-ho somewhere. “So, their solution was to separate casinos for normal people and players.”

“So… there’s a casino made specifically for players?”

“Bingo. You catch on quick.”

Ha Inho opened a large hardwood door with a clack. At first glance, it didn’t seem much different from the outside, but Seo Jun-ho quickly realized. 

“They’re all players.” The hundreds of people in the room were all players. 

“Yes. This is a casino for players. You’re allowed to use your skills however you wish because the dealers are also players.”

“But… doesn’t that mean that higher-level players are at an absolute advantage?”

A higher level meant higher stats and a better understanding of one’s skills. But Ha Inho looked a little embarrassed as he tilted his head. 

“That’s… not necessarily true. The skills you use in combat are quite different from the skills you need in games.”

“Nooooooo!” 

Seo Jun-ho turned at the sound. It came from a girl who was holding her head in her hands. An elegant frame and wavy, red hair. Someone you can’t forget after meeting once.

“…Isn’t she with you?”

“Our Princess… has no talent for games.” Ha Inho looked at Gong Juha with the face of a parent looking at their child who was playing instead of studying. “Then, we’ll be going back to our patrol.”

“Thank you for taking me here.” Ha Inho waved goodbye, and Seo Jun-ho started to walk around. 

A Player Casino… First, he’d check out what games they had. Most people would go to a casino to play roulette, slots, baccarat, poker, blackjack, and so on. But this place didn’t have those kinds of games. 

Rather than a game of chance or wits… it’s gambling based off of a player’s skills. It would be more accurate to call it a game center than a casino. Though, based on the chips that were passed around, it was merely another casino. 

“I-it was definitely number two! Is this a scam?” Seo Jun-ho walked toward Gong Juha, who was vehemently denying the truth. The scam she was talking about was a game where you had to guess which out of the three cups had the ball underneath. 

“Is this fun?”

“I already lost 10 million won, do you think I’m having—Huh?” 

(TN: ~90k USD)

Gong Juha instantly recognized him as she turned around. Her expression quickly softened, and her eyes went wide. 

“Wow, it’s Mr. Snake head!” She exclaimed. 

“…It’s Seo Jun-ho.”

“What’s up? Did you come all the way here because you wanted to become my subordinate? I’m touched!”

“Of course not.” Seo Jun-ho looked at her with an absurd expression and took a seat. 

“Ahaha, it’s a joke. A joke. So, what brings you here?”

“I’m participating in the auction tomorrow. I had some time so I came to look around the casino, and Mr. Ha Inho brought me here.”

“Ah, I see.” She looked down at the band on her left arm and shrugged. “Well, let me know if anything happens. I’m the captain of security here.”

“……” He didn’t bother asking if it was okay for her to gamble during work hours. 

“Oh, I heard that Korea became a special safe zone thanks to you.”

“I was lucky. The Shadow Brothers did most of the work.”

“In this industry, luck is also a skill.” 

Seo Jun-ho smiled faintly and nodded. “Thank you. Anyways, is this game hard?”

“Ugh! Don’t mention that.” She glared at the dealer. Having nowhere else to look, the dealer innocently looked at the ground. “His hands are really fast. I heard that he was active on the 2nd floor but retired and became a dealer.”

“You don’t know who he is?”

“How would I? They’re all wearing masks.” Just as she said, all the dealers wore pure-white masks and matching gloves. It was easy to tell why. 

To hide the dealers’ identities and skills.

Seo Jun-ho raised his hand, and a waiter brought him chips to trade. He only bought about a million won’s worth of chips and pushed out ten. 

(TN: ~10k USD) 

“You’re going all-in? This guy’s hands are really fast. It would be better to bet higher after you get used to it…” She remarked.

“Did you lose 10 million after doing that?”

“……”

He hit her with the facts, and Gong Juha turned away, looking hurt. 

She’s sulking. But because of that, it was quiet now. 

“Shall I start?” The dealer asked. 

“Yes.” The dealer flipped the cups to show him the ball was in the middle and started shuffling them. Seo Jun-ho looked surprised. 

…He’s super fast. The dealer’s hands left afterimages as he mixed them. There were only three cups, but it looked like there were six. 

Tap! The dealer finished shuffling them. 

“Please choose.” His voice was confident.

“Oh, I got it.” Gong Juha seemed to have cooled off as the cups were shuffled. She advised him. “I think it’s the one on the left. I think I really got it this time. Oh, should I bet now…?”

Seo Jun-ho turned to her. “I think it would be best if Team Leader Gong stopped gambling from now on.”

“Huh? Why?”

He couldn’t finish the sentence after seeing her innocent face tilted to the side. Because you really suck. He picked the cup in the center. 

Next to him, Gong Juha muttered that it was the one on the left and Seo Jun-ho laughed. The dealer flipped the cup in the middle to reveal the ball. 

“Congratulations.” The dealer stacked ten more chips to Seo Jun-ho’s pile and pushed it toward him. He’d doubled the amount in no time at all. 

“W-wow! What is this? Is this the so-called beginner’s luck? It really was the middle!” She exclaimed like she was the one that won, and then gave her two cents again. “But you should stop. You’re supposed to stop gambling after you win.” She looked bitter as she added, “…Of course, I couldn’t stop because I didn’t win.”

“What’s with that sob story?” He was about to get up when two new players sat next to them.

“Hey, Bones. Wanna play against me?”

“Don’t call me that.”

Seo Jun-ho watched them from the corner of his eyes and sat back down. 

…Why are they here?

He’d never met those two before but ironically knew them better than anyone else. 

The Watchdogs. He’d seen them in the fiends’ memories. The skinny man and the delinquent woman were sitting right next to him.