Far From Vanilla: Modded Game Reincarnation

What is a demon exactly?

I turned into one when I was reincarnated into this world, but I did not come out of a womb from a parent, instead I awoke in a field of grass in the clothes I wore when I died.

I have some sort of purpose as to why I was summoned in this world, like the others that came before me. As curious as I am, I cannot ask the Journal directly, as I don’t have any more questions that I could ask him. 

Even if I had something I needed to know from him, I cannot afford any new information right now, with even the payment of the questions themselves being a mystery.

How do I pay in exchange for information? Does he take money or something else that counts as currency?

When I thought that, the Journal responded. “In your world, scenarios like this often are orchestrated like this…” 

I listened intently, the contents of the condition annoying me. In exchange for learning how to create transactions between us, I needed to fulfill a task for him. 

A quest.

Or a challenge, something difficult and entertaining enough for him to reward me. 

I also needed to complete the task while being able to also adhere to a strict set of objectives, bonus tasks if you will. They aren’t required, but by completing everything and getting a perfect score, the quality of my answer will be even greater.

My first task was simple, but not easy. I blinked myself back to reality, the world returning to me slowly. I found myself on a chair directly in front of a card dealer. 

This was a poker table. We're playing this world's version of Texas Hold em. I didn't bother learning the name of the game because the rules are practically the same, or if I remember correctly.

There is one aspect of it though that I like the most.

I have been on this part of the building for the past couple of hours. It's definitely either very late into the night or very early into the morning. Regardless of the time, the casino itself was still bustling with activity.

After playing my way through tables, steadily gathering money while maintaining a fifty-fifty win-rate, I found myself in this seat eventually. It took some time, but it was well worth it.

I had amassed quite an amount of money, totaling about thirty gold coins in chips alone. I had forgotten how much of my own money I had sunk into this place before the games, but I think I put everything I was carrying into them.

But it wasn’t a concern, I was good at this kind of thing. I’ve played my fair share of gambling games back on earth, and thankfully, the game mechanics from there also apply to here.

Including ways to beat the house and so I've been steadily increasing my net profit.

Furthermore, the gambling system in this casino isn’t as advanced as Earth's as they rely on the human element. They've switched dealers a couple of times already, because for some reason, tonight was full of heavy bettors.

Myself included.

“Man–” I yawned into my hand, speaking out loud for the other players to hear. I was no match for these guy’s in terms of stamina. Compared to them, I’ve only been on this chair for two hours at most, while they were here since this place opened. 

Just look at their mountain of chips! My own pile was pretty sad compared to theirs.

“This hand will probably be my last.” I stretched my neck muscles as the dealer began handing out the cards. “I’m tuckered out.”

I actually was tired, but there were more important reasons as to why I had to voice out my fatigue. For starters, my table was full of experienced players; two, I had to keep up appearances…

I am the new-comer, someone who is aggressive. My strategies have varied throughout the night, and so I needed to keep my unpredictability.

 And three, my cards are the worst. What is this?

I sighed inwardly, looking stoic on the outside as I flicked the corners of the card to see their values. I had nothing but a high card.

But strangely enough, I didn’t lose hope and folded immediately like other games because of all the players on this table. I don’t know their names, so I’m just going to give them codenames instead…

Since I have a good grasp over their play styles.

Alice is a cautious but very experienced player. She plays with good hands and has a decent poker face, but her eyelid habits are dead giveaways. She twitches ever so slightly on favorable and very unfavorable hands. It’s a matter of guessing which is which.

Charlie, unlike Alice, is very conservative. If he had the chance, he’d draw out the game. He’s good, just slow. I’d argue that he was a novice with a lot of money, but compared to everybody on the table, he has the most wins.

And lastly, Dana. She is a combination of both Alice and Charlie, with both their strongest characteristics. She’s smart, steady, and strategic, and her poker face is near impenetrable. She’s the layer that I need to keep an eye on.

Luckily for me, I’m not the only one with this idea.

I looked at the pot and it was five gold coins worth of chips for the final round. The community cards were seven of diamonds, ten of clubs, and a king of clubs.

I then looked at the corner of my cards again, just to see if I was hallucinating. I wasn't. “How pitiful.” 

The pathetic-ness of them were plain enough for even the journal to see.

I looked over the dealer, not making a change in my face at all since the reveal. He was wearing a mask, a mask capable of hiding everything on his face, but through the slits in his eyes, I could tell he was looking at me.

“Perhaps you’ve trampled upon the toes of others you shouldn’t have. How will you handle this?” 

Physical violence has happened in this casino but everytime, it was handled, but not in the way you’d think. Regardless, there is no need for violence on my end yet, for the game is not over.

While luck is also a defining factor, the ultimate dictator of the match is the players playing. I may not have the best cards on this table, but that doesn't mean I’m hopeless.

 I took a sip of an alcoholic drink, this world’s version of whiskey, I was guessing, and I swirled the glass and marveled at the shimmer of the high quality glass. It looked that way, but I was actually looking at the reflection of the man watching us from above.

His gaze was disgusting on my skin. He seemed interested in the outcome of this match.

“Let’s begin, shall we?” The dealer spoke to everyone with a happy voice. He then motioned to Alice with his right hand to start. 

We’re playing clockwise, with Alice first, me, and Charlie, with Dana being the last. 

 Alice tapped the table with her two fingers, signifying a check. She did not use words. In fact, neither did anyone except me. Out of the five on this table, only I and the Dealer have spoken all night.

 Charlie readied to put forward ten gold coins worth of chips with a slight smirk on his lips. I could see him in the corner of my mind. 

 “He seems confident, child.” The journal whispered into my ear. His mental presence felt like a ghost talking doubt into my shoulder. 

 If I could answer the ghost in my mind, I would have. Since I couldn’t, I showed him.

 I put forward his bet, only guessing the number of chips into the pot without measuring it. Maybe it was greater than ten gold coins, either way It didn’t matter. What was important was what he did next.

 Charlie matched my bet with only a pause in his movement. I looked over to Dana, who was visibly shaking her head. She takes her cards and tosses them onto the dealer upward, revealing her hand.

 “A queen of clubs and diamonds, what a strong hand.” The journal guffawed, “To think that she’d be shaken by such audacity.”

It's a good thing that she was out.

 The dealer was then quick to turn a card for us, a three of hearts.

 Alice blinked for a second and matched the bet in her turn.

I turned to Alice and she looked back at me. 

Whatever was going through her mind, I definitely rang some bells. She was suspicious of me and perhaps my bluff. 

Credits to her, I did bluff my way into some scenarios, which I eventually lost, but the responsiveness was still evident.

 Who knows? Maybe my bluff would actually work this time?

But that’s on her to find out.

“All in.”

“Demon Child, you surely aren’t so foolish!” The Journal gasped, “How could you risk something like that? You have nothing!” 

That was true, but this is something I had never done before on this table. It was enough for me to bluff my way through, it was even enough to make the one next to me break out in cold sweat.

“All in…” Charlie frowned. 

But his pride was downfall on some hands, but he never learned each time. This was a fact Dana took advantage of regularly. Whatever was running through Charlie’s mind was a mystery, but his actions told plenty.

It was nothing but a bravado put up in a desperate attempt to look tough. 

In my eyes, I already won.

All it took was for Alice to do as I hoped. 

If she did, then that mountain of money would all be mine.

“Heh–” I chuckled, taking a sip.

Onlookers might be surprised, but the biggest gamble that I have presented was not the money on the table, but this final hand.

The dealer flips the river card, revealing an eight of clubs. 

“Tch–” Alice tosses her cards with anger. She leaned back on her chair and crossed her Legs and arms. She was visibly upset.

“How about you, gentlemen?” 

I looked over to Charlie as I slid my cards into the dealer’s hands. He did not turn them over and instead waited on the man beside me.

That was the feature I was hoping to leverage. On the final part of the game you would present your cards to the dealer alone and he would judge, but depending on the order of submitting the cards, you can do something like this.

“Fold.” I told him, driving the last proverbial nail into his coffin. “It’s better for you to chicken out at the last second, than to get squashed on the final turn.”

I basically need to convince this guy to give up. I needed to win this game through the sheer thickness of my skin.

So what's it going to be?

"..."

"You know I'm right."

His brows knitted into a sharp frown.

Gotcha.

He tossed his cards and sighed into both his hands. “Fold.”

Dana was easy to spook, Alice was tricky, but Charlie was outright easy. In a game such as poker, he simply isn’t suited for it, for when times get uncertain, he was the type of man to shrivel up and cower at the last second.

That, or I’m just that guy.

The dealer looked at Charlie’s cards and sighed in dismay, not hiding his disappointment. It was a Ten of diamonds and clubs. He could’ve made three of a kind.

But Charlie’s face was beyond even that of the dealers when he saw my hand. Two of clubs and Four of clubs, literal nothing and a high card.

I did not have the hand needed to win, but he lacked the courage to push blindly into uncertainty.

He didn’t even get to answer before a screen appeared before my eyes.

[ Quest Completed - Lacking Substance, Saturated Confidence ]

If he had only challenged by showing his hand before crumbling, instead of listening to me, he most definitely would have won. 

You simply miss every shot you don't take.

[ Author's note: I know nothing of gambling, it it's wrong, it doesn't matter cuz it's a filler chapter anyway. I needed a buffer to introduce the quest system. The explanation will be on the next chapter. ]