Chapter 375

375.

“We came here to investigate, but what should we do now?”

At Chloe’s question, the group’s gaze naturally turned to Kal.

Chloe, Chelsea, and Iliana, who had been close friends with Kal since their first year, had great trust in Kal’s information-gathering skills.

Even the first-years had heard Kal’s name quite often.

This wasn’t because their mentor was close to Kal.

At the start of their enrollment, the first-years hadn’t paid much attention to Kal, who was considered the weakest among the second-years with the lowest grades.

But by now, among the first-years, the name that came up after Leo and the top students of the department was none other than Kal Thomas.

The reason was simple.

“Go to Kal Thomas if you need information,” was the phrase often repeated by the second-year mentors.

The current first-years were different from the seniors.

In Lumeran, a school operating under a survival system where those without qualifications must leave, the first-years were given a grace period of one semester.

However, this didn’t mean the competitive system of Lumeran had changed.

They had to achieve good grades and leave a positive impression on the professors in order to gain more guidance than others, and increase their survival chances after the first semester.

Lumeran’s academic evaluation is multifaceted. Even though there’s absolute judgment, relative evaluation also matters. To leave a positive impression, students must follow their professors’ preferences when studying. In addition, it is helpful to predict the scope of exam questions, as well as preparation for practical exams and projects.

In this regard, Kal’s information was extremely useful. Kal had proven the value of his information since his first year.

Through his amicable personality, he established relationships not only with students and seniors but also with associate professors and even formed deep ties with the staff of Lumeran.

It wasn’t for nothing that Duran and Abbad, the dormitory managers of Nobles, picked Kal first during the dormitory selection.

In particular, it was evident that Duran, who paid no attention to those without ability, recognized Kal despite his lack of combat skills.

That is why, in terms of investigation, Kal was the most reliable.

The party all turned to him, and Kal made a wry face.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Someone among us needs to take charge here.”

Juen was delighted to have her mentor Kal lead in this situation.

At the sight of her enthusiastic junior, Kal replied indifferently,

“Is there really something to command?”

“Huh?”

“If this were a labyrinth or a bizarre situation due to a Hero Dungeon, we might be able to do something.”

Kal glanced around the casino.

“This is a casino crowded with regulars. Sure, according to Leo, there seems to be something under the ground.”

Kal shook his head.

“To go down, we need to gather 100 million points.”

“So, are we going to just wait until this event begins?”

At Betty’s question, Kal smirked.

“Of course not. If we know the event details ahead, we can devise a strategy, right? The regulars who often visit this casino must know what it’s about. Hence, all we need to do is gather information from them.”

“How do you get friendly with them?”

“Playing games together would probably help, wouldn’t it?”

Chelsea asked, and Kal shrugged.

“Shouldn’t we avoid recklessly dissipating our points?”

“Given that our target is 100 million points, don’t you think the points we have in the ten-thousand range are almost meaningless?”

Iliana tapped her VIP card, and Chloe replied.

“Chloe is right. We shouldn’t spend it all, obviously, but game participation is needed for information gathering. Besides, we also need information about the Azonia students.”

As Kal mentioned, the Azonia students who entered Uargela disappeared from here.

“Finding out where the Azonia students went could be very beneficial for exploring the Hero Dungeon.”

Lil nodded in agreement with Kal.

“Maybe enjoying ourselves, as Leo suggested, isn’t bad. Let’s disperse and gather information.”

“Our Class Leader has already ventured deep inside, so let’s move too. Let’s go, Austin!”

Iliana took the lead.

“Luke.”

“Yes, Chloe-senpai.”

“Join us.”

“Understood.”

Chloe, with her mentees Betty and Luke, entered the casino.

“Should we head in too?”

At Chelsea’s words, Kal inserted his hands into his pockets and followed behind her.

“But isn’t this casino illegal?”

Juen frowned.

“Then wouldn’t the dealers be cheating us or something?”

“It wouldn’t be that simple.”

Kal shook his head.

“Even though it’s illegal, it’s impossible to run such a large-scale casino solely with underhanded methods. It requires trust to be viable.”

“That’s so strange. To think there’s even talk of trust in a place like this.”

Juen curled her lips.

At that moment, Iliana stood with her arms crossed, staring intently at the spinning roulette wheel.

“How is this game played?”

“You don’t know?”

“Of course not. How would a refined young lady like me know about such things?”

“I thought someone like you would have had lots of experience.”

“What exactly do you think of me?”

Iliana squinted and approached the nearby exchange counter, converting her points into chips.

“Let’s see how it goes.”

Chink- Chink- Chink-

Iliana arrived at the roulette with a stack of chips and declared.

“Ah, this young lady has arrived. This is no place for tender young girls like you.”

A middle-aged man, who looked like a noble, spoke while puffing on a cigarette.

Smiling brightly, Iliana asked,

“Uncle, could you teach me how to play this game?”

“It’s not difficult. To guess correctly between black and red is simple, but you can also choose specific sectors or even a single number. You just place your chip where you want.”

Hearing this, Iliana exclaimed in awe and placed a chip on one of the roulette’s betting areas.

“Because the Class Leader’s eye color is red, let’s go with this one!”

A short moment passed, and the roulette’s spinning stopped — the ball landing in a red slot.

“Oh-oh, this is how it works.”

“Young lady, you’re not that unlucky. Although it’s not that easy.”

The middle-aged man chuckled and took another look at Iliana.

Still, he didn’t doubt that soon her clear and innocent face would turn into one of despair and desire.

That was just how casinos worked.

“The fun part here is watching the corruption of such pure young women.”

Other guests, too, watched Iliana with a leery eye.

But…

“Because I’m in Class 5 with the Class Leader, I’ll bet between numbers 1 and 18.”

Win.

“Since the Class Leader is 16 years old, I’ll bet between numbers 13 and 24!”

Win.

“Since the Class Leader…”

Win.

Even as she kept reducing the probabilities and increasing the stakes, Iliana kept winning continuously.

“The Class Leader…”

“Who is this Class Leader?!?”

Every time Iliana mentioned it, everyone gulped, and those around her who had expected her to cry began murmuring.

“Wh- who is that girl?”

“What is a ‘Class Leader’ anyway?”

“It’s gotta be a fluke. Surely, she’ll lose everything soon and cry.”

“Since the Class Leader is number one, I’ll bet on number 1!”

Finally, Iliana extended her hand to guess the roulette’s most profitable bet — betting on a single number.

Everyone scoffed.

With a probability of 1/36, while winning this would bring a 36-times reward, it was considered almost impossible.

Especially since this girl had been winning continuously.

Soon enough, only Iliana was playing the roulette.

Expecting her to finally falter, the entire crowd watched as the roulette began spinning.

Zoorrrkkk-!

The roulette started.

Tokk, tokk dok-dok!

“The player has won.”

Zoorrrkkk-!

To everyone’s surprise, the roulette ball dropped into slot number 1, and Iliana quickly amassed an enormous win.

“100 million points in no time!”

Iliana smiled happily, and the other roulette players who’d watched her in shock began to speak.

“Wh- she’s the Goddess of Luck!”

“Indeed, the Goddess of Luck!”

“Great Goddess, please bless us! Which one next?”

Anyone who frequented the casino eventually ended up losing vast sums of money here.

Being aristocrats doesn’t mean they have endless wealth.

Similar to most gamblers here, they sought a fast fortune in gambling.

Creating all sorts of ridiculous superstitions while engaged in gambling, the appearance of the extremely lucky Iliana was surprising.

As Iliana saw the gathered people around her, praising her, she asked thoughtfully,

“Has anyone seen any Azonia students come here a while ago?”

Among those present, a beastman male raised his hand.

“Yes! They were looking for information about the Hero Dungeon and Hero Hunters!”

“I-see.”

‘Hero Hunters?’

Iliana’s eyes narrowed.

While understanding the Hero Dungeon, as Lumeran also surveyed those dungeons, why Hero Hunters?

Iliana already knew from Leo and Kal that this casino acted like an information guild.

‘Could it be that Hero Hunters have emerged in this country?’

If so, they needed to be watched more carefully.

“One more question. I’ve heard a Coliseum opens here. Would anyone happen to know what has the highest stakes?”

“Speaking of the Coliseum… recently, the champion’s odds are the highest!”

“Champion?”

“Yes, it’s the rabbit!”

“…”

“What kind of story is this with a rabbit as the champion?”

Iliana’s face distorted in confusion.

“Goddess! Please place your next bet!”

At that moment, someone spoke with urgency.

Reflecting on this, Iliana crossed her arms.

‘All information about the Class Leader has been exhausted.’

After a moment of thought, Iliana grinned smugly.

“Number 1. Since I’m the number one swordsman in our grade.”

“Isn’t there a young master?”

“Do you see him as a swordsman?”

Iliana gave Austin a sidelong glance.

“Number 1!”

“Number 1 it is!”

The surrounding gamblers began betting on number 1.

Zoorrrrrrrkkkkk-!

The roulette spun again.

Tok, to-dok!

And this time, the roulette ball dropped into slot number 24.

“AAAAAAARRGGHHHHH!”

“What in the world-!”

Cries of despair echoed through the room.

“Hmm. Must be why things didn’t work since it wasn’t related to the Class Leader.”

“Indeed. It seems like anything related to Iliana-senpai would surely make even the Goddess of Luck flee.”

“Want to d*e?”

While teasing Austin, the staff arrived with a cart, collecting the massive chips Iliana had won.

Once the chips were loaded, Iliana pulled the cart towards the exchange counter, asking,

“Austin, do you know Class Leader’s three measurements?”

“…No, I don’t.”

“Maybe we should ask? If we’re lucky, we might really earn 100 million.”

Calmly chatting, the two left, leaving the guests behind who could only watch with a sense of despair.

*

“Hero Hunters?”

“Yup.”

In a room accessible only to those of King rank, Leo sat in a curtain-drawn room, narrowing his eyes.

Arga sat in front of him with her legs crossed, arms folded.

“I discovered Hero Hunters performing ‘Su-ua.’ They were spoken of by Lerwalyn’s Shadows, and we came here for information about them.”

Leo absorbed this.

Cherna Lerwalyn.

An acting wizard who is Chelsea’s and Abad’s aunt, Lerwalyn’s Shadow, known for burying countless traitors and Hero Hunters in the darkness.

Even during the winter vacation when there was no Full Moon, she had defeated a Hero Hunter using ‘Su-ua,’ calling Ar, who possessed the Su-ua ability inherited from Dorveman, the Student Council President of Azonia, and Aron.

‘The Hero Hunter at the time was said to have a fake Brave, right?’

Ar’s beloved sword obtained from the Hero’s World.

Through that sword, the usage of Su-ua was evident.

‘Maybe they are utilizing Aron’s Hero Record in Tartarus.’

A flicker of murderous intent crossed Leo’s eyes.

Sensing Leo’s aura, Ar’s tail stiffened.

Just as Ar narrowed her eyes in response to Leo’s killing intent,

Knock, knock.

A knocking sound came from the entrance.

“I’ve been told that the Student Council President of Lumeran has come to pay her respects.”

Leo looked at the entrance.

And upon seeing the man there, he tilted his head.

“Who might you be?”

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Delean Eburn.”

Delean smiled gently.

“I’m a Lumeran graduate, your senior. I came here to make you an offer.”

“What kind of offer?”

“Would you like to cooperate in conquering the labyrinth here underground?”