Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Gwent Cards
Wait, something’s not right.
When did George become so “open”?
In these four days, he had only fed himself twice, the last time being yesterday. Although he wasn’t as shy as during the first time, filled with moral guilt, he still wasn’t much better; while feeding himself, his face turned red and he continually awkwardly averted his gaze.
Jima pondered while eyeing George’s face with suspicion. His expression remained unchanged, as if he were discussing something utterly ordinary. Jima started to doubt whether the George in front of her was the same person.
George said, “It’s already morning; you haven’t eaten yet, right?”
Jima took half a step back.
This guy in front of her definitely wasn’t George! That innocent virgin might have fed himself without blushing or racing heart, but there was no way he could enjoy being fed in such a short time.
“I won’t eat,” Jima said, growing alert and ready to flee. “What do you want?”
The surrounding sailors quietly watched the two, not knowing what was happening.
George looked up, giving her a strange glance:
“Alright, I admit it. I didn’t want you to watch, and I arranged with the kitchen beforehand to have them prepare breakfast for you.”
So it was meant literally; I was scared thinking that shame tactics had no effect on the innocent virgin.
Jima sighed in relief, saying, “Oh, I thought you meant feeding me.”
“Feeding?”
“Yeah, you were feeding me.”
George, stacking coins, had a tremble that knocked a silver coin onto the ground.
Everyone’s gaze suddenly became ambiguous. A bald sailor bent down to pick up the coin and chuckled:
“You two are quite close, huh?”
George’s expression immediately tightened, growing unusually serious. But Jima keenly noticed his face slightly reddening in the dim light.
Ah, trying to cover up his shyness with seriousness again. That innocent virgin still couldn’t resist the “teasing” attacks—thank goodness.
Jima sighed in relief and said, “Make way; I want to sit too.”
Saying this, she moved towards George, and the sailors consciously stepped aside to give her a path.
George said, “We’re gambling; it’s inappropriate for minors to watch.”
“You’re an adult now?”
“I just turned adult two days ago; I can gamble now.”
Jima kept George’s birthday in mind.
“I’m mature for my age.”
Without further ado, Jima plopped herself down onto the dirty bedding next to George.
The sailor who had originally been sitting on the bed stood up on his own, seemingly out of respect for George, as if seeing him as their leader.
George helplessly said, “Jima, I really don’t want to see you sitting here.”
“I’m bored; I just want to watch the paladin gamble.”
One of the sailors took the opportunity to speak up:
“Boss George, I see the succubus lady isn’t small anymore; at this age, she could be getting married already.”
“Right, back in our hometown, people are already starting families with big bellies.”
George placed the last silver coin on the neatly stacked pile of coins and sat back. He raised his head, his cold gaze sweeping around.
The rowdy sailors instantly quieted down.
Jima looked at the stack of coins in front of George, high and neat, perfectly symmetrical. It seemed that a considerable amount of the sailors’ hard-earned cash was contained within.
Heh, it seems even the brave can bully the common folk.
George raised his hand and asked, “Is anyone interested in an arm wrestling match? We can have ten people.”
The sailors exchanged glances.
The three strongest sailors quickly bowed out. No matter how many people would join, they probably couldn’t match up against the three strongest.
They all shook their heads.
“Then how about Gwent?” George took out a worn deck of Gwent cards and placed it on the table. “I only knew the rules before; I started to delve deeper into Gwent after becoming an adult.”
Jima realized this was the deck they had taken from the temple’s storage at the start of their journey. Unexpectedly, all this time, George had kept it. It seemed he really loved gambling; once he became an adult…
This time, the sailors all showed relaxed smiles. Gwent requires both luck and skill. During the long journey, many sailors were Gwent experts, all sharing the belief that their luck was just a smidge worse than their skill.
The sailors nearly scrambled to get in front of George, saying, “I’ll play, I’ll play!”
“You’re all talk; let Little Bug come!”
“My luck is just right; I’ll play!”
In the push and shove, they selected a sailor named Little Bug, who had a lewd appearance, with two slick, waxed mustaches hanging over his chin. Wearing a green headscarf, he grinned as he sat down in front of George and said:
“Paladin, don’t blame me for being impolite. I won’t hold back at all when it comes to everyone’s hard-earned money.”
Behind Little Bug, the sailors were pooling their money, and soon a bag the size of two fists landed on the table, producing a clattering sound of coins.
George said, “As long as there’s no cheating, I’ll match whatever you put down.”
Jima felt that George was very confident; she believed this guy had already researched Gwent strategies to trick these poor sailors. She looked at him with pity.
Little Bug stepped onto his chair, grinning, and said, “Sir, this is nothing compared to praying or swinging a sword, heh heh.”
But he was cautious, pulling out a small handful from the large bag, determined to test George’s mettle.
The task of shuffling the cards, oddly yet understandably, was given to Jima.
Compared to the risk of Jima helping George cheat, the sailors were far happier to see a beautiful and charming dealer.
Jima deftly shuffled the cards over and over with her nimble fingers, while Little Bug retracted his lewd smile and focused intently on the cards in Jima’s hands.
Hmph, if I knew how to cheat while shuffling, I’d definitely give George some good cards.
Once both sides had shuffled their cards, George casually picked up a hand, while Little Bug and the sailors appeared much more anxious. They held their breath and huddled behind Little Bug, wide-eyed, staring at his hand.
From their expressions, it was clear that Little Bug was having bad luck with his cards.
“Damn it, I should’ve been the one to go.”
A red-haired sailor whispered.
Two minutes later.
“Four Bluecloaks, stacked attack power.” George said, “With four cards of the same high attack, my overall attack power is twice yours.”
The rules of Gwent are very simple. Each card has attack power; at the end of the round, the attack powers of both sides are compared, and whoever is larger wins.
“Are you sure?” Little Bug asked incredulously.
“Sure.”
Little Bug suddenly revealed a smile and slapped down a card depicting ashes: “Hahaha, Burn! Destroy the card with the highest attack on the field; all your four cards will be burned!”
“What? Aren’t you supposed to burn just one card?”
“Not at all! That’s the rule.” Little Bug turned to the others and said, “Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah! That’s how it is.”
It really is that way; did George not even know some basic rules?
Jima looked at George with confusion.
George spread his cards and said, “Alright, I lost.”
“Won! Won!”
“Quick, bring back the money!”
Cheers echoed throughout the entire hold, and someone picked up Little Bug and gave a passionate kiss on his lewd face.
Jima leaned in close to George’s ear and whispered:
“Did you really not know?”
“Really, I only understood the literal rules and misunderstood that card’s meaning.”
“So you really are a novice.”
“Yeah.”
Jima suddenly understood, “You wanted to return the money to the sailors but didn’t want to hurt their pride?”
“No, I wanted to win. Don’t disturb me; let me think carefully again.”
Jima was certain George was speaking the absolute truth. Because in the next twenty minutes, the neatly stacked metal coins that George had accumulated decreased by half.
The sailors celebrated loudly while the poor Little Bug, with a face wet from kisses, was thoroughly excited. George’s invincible image before the sailors had already collapsed, and the awe in their hearts was washed away by excitement and greed. Little Bug provocatively said:
“Paladin, don’t get carried away; it’s common for novices to lose all their money. If we accidentally win all your money, the captain will definitely punish us.”
“Yeah, yeah, Paladin, you really should stop gambling!”
“The captain’s whip hurts!”
George said, “I promise, if the captain punishes you because you win my money, I will intervene immediately.”
“Alright, it’s a deal!”
Little Bug happily squatted on his chair.
Jima shuffled and dealt the cards. He drew a hand, took a glance at it, and his eyes brightened, whistling at Jima saying:
“Good lady, thank you!”
“Hmph.”
Jima glanced at George’s hand; he had just pressed his cards onto the table, and she only saw half a hand, not too good nor too bad, making it hard to win.
Little Bug placed his hand on the table, and the sailors, seeing his cards, excitedly shouted, “Raise! Raise!”
“This round is certain to win!”
Little Bug pushed the entire money bag forward and said, “Paladin, you remember what you said, you would definitely match, right?”
“Right.” George pushed forward half of his remaining money, “If that’s not enough, I still have three hundred gold coins on me.”
“That’s enough, that’s enough.”
Little Bug’s breathing grew heavy; his face turned as red as a monkey’s.
Jima felt displeased and quietly asked George, “Do you have confidence in winning?”
“Depends on luck.”
“So that means you have no confidence.”
“Your point is valid.”
Jima sat up straight in displeasure. If it’s not your own money, just wasting it without care.
This time his hand was indeed good. One card had a doubled attack effect, along with a bunch of attack cards whose powers stacked together, and one high-attack hero card.
“Now, my attack power is five times yours,” Little Bug tightly gripped one card and said, “It’s your turn.”
“Burn.”
George played his first card, and Little Bug burned his highest attack card.
“Haha, I was preparing for this move!” Little Bug placed his highest attack hero card in the graveyard, “So I countered with a high-attack hero card.”
The sailors cheered in joy together.
“Burn.”
George played his second Burn card.
Little Bug’s four high-attack cards with equal attack power all went into the graveyard. His attack power dropped significantly, now ten points lower than George’s.
The lively hold suddenly fell silent, as Little Bug widened his eyes, biting his hand.
Jima couldn’t help but curl her lips in satisfaction.
Someone couldn’t refrain from saying:
“He actually has two Burn cards; isn’t he afraid of burning his own cards?”
Burn is an indiscriminate attack card; having too many can easily clog the hand and prevent plays.
George remained unflustered; he only had one card left and said, “My turn ends; it’s your turn.”
Little Bug suddenly threw back his head and laughed heartily, “Hahaha, Sir, you’re still too young; I’ve seen plenty of decks with two Burn cards! Doctor! Help!”
After saying this, Little Bug laid down a “Doctor card,” reviving his hero card. With the high-attack hero card, the score was flipped.
Little Bug opened his empty hands toward George and said, “Sir, my turn has ended; you only have one card left, and I guess it’s a hero card, right? Even if it’s the highest attack hero card, it won’t help; I’ve calculated it very clearly.”
The sailors were already starting to cheer in advance, lifting Little Bug up and shouting, “Awesome! Little Bug is awesome!”
Some were even excitedly patting Little Bug’s back.
Jima felt a tingle in her tail. She thought Little Bug was being overly excited and might be in a late stage of hyperthyroidism. Out of kindness, she planned to give Little Bug a few “reverse teases” to drop his desire.
“Burn.”
George played his third Burn card.
Though the sound was small, the entire hold quieted down at an astonishing speed. The sailors stared blankly at the Burn cards on the table, suddenly frozen, releasing Little Bug. He fell to the ground, crawled onto the table, wide-eyed, staring at the Burn card in disbelief, personally retrieving cards from the graveyard to examine them.
“Three… Burn? How could you have such a deck?”
George said, “I won.”
The sailors, watching their hard-earned money not only slip away but also lose even more, could only feel bitterly helpless, unable to utter a word.
“Yay! All the money is mine now!”
Jima cheered, gathering the coins in front of everyone.
George remained expressionless, extending his hand and meticulously stacking each coin before raising his head to ask, “Anyone else want to play?”
“He cheated and got lucky!”
Little Bug shouted out the sailors’ sentiments, “As long as you play steadily, you’ll win eventually!”
“Gamble!”
“Keep gambling!”
The sailors, with wild eyes, shouted, eagerly redistributing their money, betting in small amounts, little by little.
Ten minutes later, Little Bug was almost shoved off his chair by the sailors, thrown into the ground.
“I told you I had good luck; had I been sent in earlier, it would’ve been over sooner!”
An old sailor sat in front of George, snapping his fingers one by one.
The coins George had won had already piled up to his chin.
Thirty minutes later.
The old sailor followed in Little Bug’s footsteps, being thrown to the floor by the broke sailors.
The pile of coins in front of George had formed a pyramid, reaching up to his eyebrows.
“Looks like I’m having good luck today.”
Jima, observing from the side, shook her head and said:
“There were a few times you relied on skill to crush them.”
Across from her, Little Bug raised his reddened eyes and hoarsely asked, “Paladin, are you really a novice?”
“Not quite,” George said, “I studied the Gwent rules carefully in the last couple of days.”
“So how many times have you played before?”
George said, “I don’t want to answer.”
Little Bug felt deceived and clenched his fists, saying:
“You must answer.”
“My first match was with you.”
The room fell silent once more.
“Really?”
It was not disbelief in George but disbelief in their own ears.
“Really.”
