Chapter 374

374.

Thump- thump-

After dressing up, the group finally entered the underground casino, Shadow, and stood at the top of the stairs.

Whoosh-!

Looking at the staircase automatically moving downwards thanks to the mana stones, Chelsea murmured softly under her breath.

“Seems like they’ve got quite a lot of money. Just looking at how the entrance stairs are built tells me that much.”

“Couldn’t agree more. Look at the ceiling.”

Kal looked up at the ceiling and let out a whistle.

The ceiling was gleaming as if coated with gold, encrusted with expensive-looking jewels that sparkled like stars.

Between the jewels, the glowing mana stone lamps captured everyone’s attention.

“They’re flaunting their wealth too openly, making it look tasteless.”

“Agreed.”

Upon hearing Betty’s words, Juen nodded in agreement.

“What are you thinking about, Leo?”

Chloe asked while standing at the forefront, addressing Leo who was lost in thought.

“I’m thinking about this underground casino.”

More precisely, he was thinking about Rodia’s treasury located beneath this place.

According to Rael’s information, a labyrinth led to Rodia’s treasury.

‘Leo, he mentioned that this casino was built above that labyrinth.’

When Leo asked Laerel what was inside the treasury, she shook her head.

‘I don’t know exactly what Rodia left there. But I do know that it’s a reward obtained from a hero dungeon, much like Seirun’s Cometes.’

Leo recalled the Cometes resting in his subspace—a currently unparalleled magical staff possessing the mana of both Luna and Seirun.

Given that it was a relic left by Rodia, the leader among the Heroes of the Cataclysm, it might just rival the Cometes.

‘First, we need to get through the casino to reach the labyrinth.’

Clunk-!

Thump- thump- thump-

The staircase stopped.

The group proceeded down the corridor.

Unlike the grand entrance, there wasn’t a single mana stone lamp in sight, and only a door at the end of the corridor, through which light seeped out, was visible.

“Welcome to Shadow.”

“Welcome.”

The guards by the door greeted the group and opened it.

Whoosh-!

Everyone slightly winced at the bright light.

And as they looked at what lay within, they were all left speechless.

The interior beyond the door resembled the lobby of a grand ballroom.

From the hall beyond the foyer, the beautiful tunes played by an orchestra could be heard, while immaculately dressed waiters moved around gracefully.

“The atmosphere’s different from what I expected.”

Chloe tilted her head in confusion.

Having anticipated something illicit with the mention of an illegal casino, the group looked visibly relieved.

Leo moved towards the reception counter in the lobby.

“Hello, esteemed customer.”

The neatly dressed woman manning the counter greeted with a warm smile and bowed.

“Would the customers kindly present any item that can verify your identities onto the counter?”

Upon hearing the guide’s words, the group took out their Lumeran school IDs from their possessions.

After carefully examining the IDs, the guide reached below the counter and placed nine small boxes on top of it.

“These belong to Mr. Luke, Mr. Austin, Miss Betty, Miss Juen, Miss Iliana, Mr. Kal, Miss Chelsea, Miss Chloe, and finally Mr. Leo.”

Placing each student ID on their respective boxes, the guide smiled.

Perplexed, the group picked up the boxes, stowed away their IDs, and proceeded to open them with a click.

“Is this a card?”

“Looks like platinum.”

“Wow, what’s embedded here? Is it a diamond?”

“The class leader’s is different in color. The class leader’s card is black.”

“These are membership cards of our establishment. All of you are confirmed as Lumeran students. Mr. Luke, Mr. Austin, Miss Betty, Miss Juen, and Miss Iliana are Platinum tier members. Meanwhile, Mr. Kal, Miss Chelsea, and Miss Chloe are Diamond tier members.”

Upon hearing this, everyone looked amazed.

“What about the VIP tier?”

At Austin’s question, the guide smiled and said,

“Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers exist.”

Upon hearing this, Iliana’s face slightly soured.

“Question: Why is the class leader not in any tier? And why am I Platinum while they’re Diamond?”

“The hero students are given Platinum membership by default. Further upgrades to higher tiers follow reputation and school performance.”

“So why is Kal Diamond?”

Iliana pointed towards Kal.

“Mr. Kal Thomas has previously proven the world of God’s Blacksmith and is hence given Diamond membership.”

“…” Iliana frowned. “I’m the only second-year student on par with the first-year students.”

“Hey! Don’t talk to me like that!”

“Shame on you! How dare you insult a Diamond with a Platinum membership!”

“You! Over there!”

Seeing Kal provoking her, Iliana flared up and lunged at him.

Kal dodged, escaping while taunting her.

“Take this!”

In response, Iliana threw off her high heel.

The heel, twirling like a boomerang, struck Kal’s temple accurately.

“The reason Mr. Leo Flove isn’t in the VIP tier is because we don’t dare rate someone of your caliber. Such figures are referred to as ‘King’ here.”

“What kind of people receive the King tier?”

Upon Juen’s curiosity-driven question, the guide, after a moment’s thought, brightly replied.

“The King tier is given to individuals with statuses and reputations equivalent to those of kings of a land.”

Everyone was momentarily speechless, but Chelsea and Chloe nodded in understanding.

“True. Mr. Leo’s the President of Lumeran School’s Student Council.”

“Externally, his status compares to the head of a renowned hero family or even royalty.”

With the two shrugging behind them, Leo asked,

“So, what’s the benefit of having a high tier?”

Shaking the card, Leo questioned as the guide smiled.

“Depending on VIP tiers, there are different accessible areas in our store. King-tier members, however, have no restricted zones.”

“Alright, so can we enter the underground levels?”

“Underground…? This place is in the basement already?”

“I mean lower than this.”

Leo tapped the floor lightly.

Upon hearing this, the guide who had widened her eyes grinned.

“We can’t provide any answers based on my authority. I recommend arranging a consultation with the master of this establishment.”

“How do we arrange the consultation?”

“To have this consultation, pay 100 million points in one lump sum.”

“Can we convert Silver into points?”

“Yes, conversion is possible. 1 point is equal to 1 Silver.”

“Cough?”

“Huh?!”

“Is that… 10 Million Gold?!”

Indeed, it was an astronomical amount.

Kal’s fatigue recovery potions sold for 5 Silvers a bottle.

With 10 Silver making 1 Gold, it was impossible not to be shocked.

Everyone was left with stunned faces.

“Are there other ways?”

“One option is to participate in the events held at our establishment and earn points.”

“Do you mean gambling?”

“Gambling is one way, but there are boundless methods to earn points here. After all, this is… within the shadow of the world.”

Faced with the guide’s somewhat eerie smile, everyone gulped.

Kal crossed his arms.

“Considering we each received 2000 Gold as an allowance, there seems to be no real way around this.”

As he said this, Kal glanced at Chelsea and Juen.

“What’re you looking at?”

“Why not borrow from the rich girls?”

“Are you unaware how much 10 Million Gold is to anyone?”

Scratching his head after Chelsea’s words, Kal replied,

“Oh, right.”

As everyone was pondering, the guide continued.

“Why not enjoy yourselves inside for now? Platinum-tier VIP customers will receive 10,000 points, Diamond tier will receive 20,000 points, and King tier will receive 50,000 points.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes widened.

“Can we exchange this money before we leave?”

“Of course.”

Listening to the guide’s cheerful affirmation, everyone was left in awe.

Just by entering this place, they obtained money that was far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

“Perhaps asking other students for help could be a way.”

“That could work, but it’s uncertain if they’ll accept. After all, in this place, the Master here is the law.”

Betty shook her head as Luke suggested.

“First, let’s go inside and think. I haven’t eaten breakfast and I’m starving.”

Looking at the buffet setup in the hall, Iliana added,

“Yeah, let’s eat first, then think!”

After parting from the group, Leo wandered inside the casino.

Under the dazzling lights, various games were taking place.

Cheers of jubilation and cries of despair filled the air.

Here, one could glimpse the depths of human nature and essence.

Thump- thump-

As Leo moved forward, he suddenly looked upward.

‘It feels like someone’s watching me.’

From the mana stones embedded in the ceiling, he felt a gaze.

They must be surveillance mana stones, and someone was observing him through them.

While it’s usually almost impossible to sense a gaze via magic, Leo’s senses were incomparably sharp.

Leo stopped in front of a certain room.

The black door had a gold crown pattern embedded in it.

Beastmen, who appeared to be doormen, blocked Leo’s path.

“This is a space only accessible by ‘King’ tier members.”

Upon hearing this, Leo took out his card from his pocket.

Seeing it, the doormen bowed down and opened the door.

Stepping inside, Leo narrowed his eyes.

Under dim lighting, faint silhouettes could be seen.

There wasn’t much movement.

“Welcome, esteemed guest.”

Then, a loud voice rang out from the side.

‘That voice…’

Embedded in it was subtle malevolence.

Turning his head, there stood a girl with a black rabbit ear headband, bowing.

“I’m Rabbit here, here to serve our esteemed guests…”

When the girl lifted her head, her attire seemed unusual.

She had eyes like a serene lake.

And snow-white hair that brought out the black rabbit ear headband she wore.

But what stood out more than the headband were the actual ‘cat ears’ it adorned.

The girl dressed in a black rabbit outfit froze upon seeing Leo.

Looking like a broken cat, the girl hesitated as she tried to blurt something out.

Leo questioned the girl, Ar.

“So, what are you doing here?”

At the question, Ar didn’t hesitate to try to run away.

But Leo reached out and caught her tail.

“Don’t touch a lady’s tail, y-you know!”

Ar fluffed her fur and snarled at Leo.

“So, what exactly are you doing here?”

“I’m working!”

“Why?”

“To pay off debt!”

“…”

Letting out a deep sigh, Leo asked cautiously about the debt in this place.

“Gambling debt?”

“Yes!”

Seeing Ar’s unapologetic demeanor, Leo muttered to himself,

“Our school’s students shouldn’t be idiots like you.”