Lukas watched as the dealer began cutting, splicing, and flipping the deck with skill, creating an entertaining show for the spectators to watch.

He noticed the design on the back of the cards. It was filled with interlocking lotus shapes, but underneath it and barely legible were what looked like several runes.

Lukas couldn’t be too sure, but that had to be part of the protections the Artificers had put in place.

After what felt like an eternity, the dealer placed the deck face down on the table and spread it out. It sat like a line between Lukas and Trent, dividing them in place.

Silence filled the air. It was time to choose.

Trent still had his confident smirk on his face as he gestured to the cards. "Ladies first."

Lukas kept his expression blank, but couldn’t stop his eyes from narrowing slightly. Was this confidence? Or was it a bluff?

He elected not to comment. The more he spoke, the more Trent would be able to figure him out. He needed to stay silent for longer, and when the time comes, engage in conversation.

’Let Trent keep winning verbally. Let’s see if his confidence is real or not.’

Lukas reached into the pile and drew a card towards himself, not breaking eye contact from Trent.

Due to the inscriptions on the back of the cards, the design on the face of the cards stuck out a bit. They weren’t noticeable visually but if one ran his fingers over the surface, they would be able to feel the bumps.

"Trying to look cool, huh?" Trent chuckled at that, picking a card for himself. "It’s not working."

Lukas still didn’t break eye contact, reaching towards the spread deck and pulling another card towards himself.

Trent did the same, but this time he said nothing. He’d already seen that his taunts were not working, but Lukas couldn’t tell if it was getting to the man. Only time would tell.

Still not breaking eye contact or blinking, he took turns picking, and soon, he had all four cards face down on the table.

The dealer swiped the deck off the table, before gesturing to them both. "Select your cards."

Lukas picked his cards, lifting them slightly to look at what he’d gotten. His eyes narrowed at it, then he glanced up at Trent.

Trent also had his own card in front of him, with a superior smirk on his face. Before, the smirk had just been simply confident, but now, his smile said he was sure he was going to win.

He glanced down at the back of Lukas’ cards, then back up at his face. "Guess who’s losing this round?"

Lukas said nothing, eyes on his card. What kind of person is Trent? Someone who’d play their weak cards first, then their strong cards last?

’Judging by his demeanor, he seems like the type to utterly crush his opponents without giving them a chance to recover. Which means he should play his best first. Then I’ll...’

He glanced down at his cards, picked his best three, and placed them face down on the table, with his weakest first and his strongest next.

It was the last pair of cards that would decide the winner of this round. Trent’s weakest card against his second best. If all goes according to plan, then he should be able to win.

"Ready?" The dealer nodded, before gesturing to Lukas. "Flip."

Lukas flipped his card over. A nine of diamonds. His weakest card.

Trent flipped his card over, the smirk still in place. It was an eight of diamonds. Trent wins the matchup.

Lukas immediately stopped the frown that was about to appear on his face. ’What is this?’

The eight of diamonds shouldn’t be Trent’s best card. So why had he played it first? ’Did I make a mistake in my assessment of the man?’

Just then, Trent reached forward and flipped his second card, not breaking eye contact. "You’re too weak to be my opponent, kid," he said. "It’s an insult to ask me to play against you."

The crowd oohed, muttering filling the air.

Lukas looked down at Trent’s card. A six of spades. This time, he let the frown slip through.

’No. I didn’t make a mistake. It had to be something else.’

A realization occurred to him as he flipped his card over. It was a two of spades.

It couldn’t be a coincidence. In every matchup, both his and Trent’s cards were always in the same suit. Which meant one thing.

Trent had a way to see his cards and was merely trying to show that he was two steps ahead without saying it.

But there was only one way to confirm that.

Lukas reached for the third card and paused. Then he looked up at Trent and finally spoke. "This matchup decides who wins this round. Do you think you’ll win?"

Trent chuckled. "Do you think the sky above our heads is blue?"

Lukas stared at him for a few seconds before flipping his card over. It was a three of clubs.

"Ha!" Trent laughed, immediately reaching forward and flipping his own card. It was an ace of clubs. "You lose this round, kid."

Lukas didn’t change his blank expression but inside, he nodded to himself. It really was as he suspected. Trent had a way of seeing his cards.

If the game had gone the way he’d predicted, he would’ve won this round. But since it didn’t, he’d confirmed one thing. The question that remained now was how.

How did Trent see his cards?

Lukas glanced up at the spectators around them. Was someone noting his card behind him and relaying the information to Trent?

There was only one way to find out.

They returned their fourth cards and the dealer packed them all back into the deck, shuffling them once more.

"Still not giving up, eh?" Trent leaned back in his chair. "Well, it wouldn’t change the outcome anyway."

One after the other, they both took turns picking out their four cards. Lukas left his cards face down on the table.

Then the dealer spoke. "Select your cards."

This time, Lukas kept his eyes on Trent as he picked up his cards. He lifted them slightly off the table, putting his palm underneath them.

As the cards were faced down, nobody, not even Lukas himself knew what was on the face.

That is, until Lukas felt the card. Due to the numbers sticking out slightly on the card, he felt what each one was, placing them back down on the table.

Then he pushed the three he selected for this matchups forward.

"What?" Trent scoffed. "Not even bothering to check your cards?"

This time, Lukas smiled. "I don’t need to put in that much effort to defeat you, Mr. Trent."

"I see." Trent said, his smirk fading slightly, a serious expression on his face. "You’re gambling blind? I don’t know whether to call it stupidity or confidence."

"Call it whatever you want." Lukas said calmly. "However, I’m a bit... concerned. What is it to you whether I play blind or not? Shouldn’t you be trying to win?"

Silence filled the air.

Then Lukas chuckled. "It’s time for the reveal, isn’t it?"

’Bingo! I was right.’

"Ready?" The dealer gestured towards Trent. "Flip."

***

A/N: We really do have a lot of bonus Chapters queued up, so let’s start with this.