Wednesday, 1349.
In the vast, majestic castle in the Nation of Disorder, Casper sat at the head of the table, resting his head on his arm.
To imitate being a powerful and mighty figure, he needed some rituals that his followers could use.
The first and foremost was an honorific name that they could use to address him.
The second was the amazon delivery service.
The last and one with the least importance was the secret deed ritual.
An honorific name, eh? Casper thought as he started drawing inspiration from Klein's name.
"The Omniscient Emperor that rules over Nihility."
He started, quickly making up a second line.
"The King of Larp and Hypocrisy.
"The Incorruptible Ruler of Order and Disorder who reigns over Chaos."
The first line referenced his knowledge of the novel and how he was no one, having no loved one, and no ties in this world.
The second line was homage to him acting as a God in front of both the Tarot Club and his own unnamed organisation.
The third line tied himself to the Nation of Disorder and how he hadn't gotten corrupted the moment he arrived in this world.
The moment Casper pieced all the lines together. The Nation of Disorder shook, the ritual now pointed to him.
Now that's one thing done, Casper thought as he exited the place.
…
With nothing to do until the telegraph arrived, Casper had finally gained a moment of leisure.
After a while of roaming around his room aimlessly, Casper decided to touch grass.
He headed toward the nearest public park, mostly because he didn't want people to call him a disgusting basement dweller.
The walk wasn't long — past a newspaper stand, around a corner where a butcher argued with a customer, through a narrow lane that smelled vaguely of smoke before he finally reached the park.
It was quite modest. A few trees, worn paths, and benches that threatened to collapse if someone a little too heavy sat on them.
As Casper walked, he became vaguely tranquil.
Soon he reached the center of the park where a crowd of men formed a circle — spectating something.
"I bet four pence on Finch!" One shouted
"Me too!"
"Me three!" Another cried.
Pushing through the crowd, Casper found himself standing at the edge of the circle.
There were multiple tables which were painted black and white, on it were games of chess being played.
Suddenly, Casper had a ludicrous idea…. maybe there was a way he could make some fast cash — he was going to hustle them.
He spotted the arbitrator sitting on a bench nearby spectating the game and walked up to him.
"How much to join?" He asked.
The arbitrator turned his head up and gazed at him. He was no older than sixty, with gray hair, he wore small rimmed glasses and held a calm demeanour.
After a while of studying him, he slowly muttered, "Two Soli. For every match you have to bet some amount of money, no lesser than two pence."
Casper nodded before handing two Soli to the old man.
As he turned to walk away, "Don't hustle them too hard, kid," the old man added.
Casper stopped before turning around with a devious grin, "I won't."
…
A messy haired man scratched his head, his eyes bloodshot. "Again! Again! Please, one more try, I'll win. I'll bid ten pounds this time!"
The gambler said hastily, the words tripping over his lips.
This gambler was none other than Casper. For thirty minutes he was deliberately losing to everyone here, losing over four pounds.
"Heh heh. Did you hear that Regus? He's betting again. When will he learn to stop?"
One man shouted, talking to his friend. "I know Derus. This way he'll probably go bankrupt… Should we stop him?" he asked after a pause.
"No need, this is free money for us," saying that, he said loudly, "I bid 2 pounds that Casper will lose."
Hearing his confident tone, the others too placed large bets.
Listening to them, Casper flashed a smile before it was hidden by a frustrated groan.
Soon, the match began.
Casper switched up his strategy. Playing white, he started with the Queen's Gambit — his most favourite opening.
"Wait a minute," Derus muttered, the man who had bet two pounds against Casper. "That's… a real move."
His astounded tone caused others to chuckle, not realising that they were playing against the greatest player in all three worlds.
The game continued. His opponent, blinded by his supposed incompetence, focused entirely on attacking recklessly.
Casper calmly developed his pieces, securing his position, and then saw the fatal flaw.
He executed a sharp, decisive maneuver, forcing open the board around the opponent's king.
A gasp went through the circle. The move was too complex, too deep for a "lucky" novice.
"He… he saw that!" someone yelled.
His opponent's grin was wiped from his face as he stared at the board in utter disbelief. That one move now forked his queen and rook.
Begrudgingly, he sacrificed his rook, allowing Casper to get ahead in material.
As their match continued, the crowd suddenly quietened.
"Hey, is there a chance he's been hustling us? There's no way that in a minute he got this good."
One of them raised a question.
The silence was the loudest sound in the park. The men looked from the increasingly dire chessboard to Casper.
He moved his Bishop, threatening the King, a forced check.
The opponent had only one legal response — blocking with his Queen.
Casper moved his Knight, a final, brutal blow. Checkmate.
It was over in two more moves after the silence began. The sequence was quick, clean, and utterly inescapable.
"Twelve pounds," the man rasped, his eyes bulging as he realized the full extent of his bet. "Twelve bloody pounds!"
But that was only his bet. Since everyone in the crowd bet against Casper, and lost. None of them gained money nor could they keep their money, instead it all went to Casper.
The arbitrator — the old man — moved forward smoothly, collecting the debts.
"Thirty two pounds and eight pence." The arbitrator announced.
The crowd erupted in a furious murmur.
"He was hustling us!" Derus shrieked, pointing an accusatory finger. "He's been playing us for fools for thirty minutes!"
Regus grabbed Casper's shoulder. "Give back the money, you little cheat! You threw those games!"
Casper merely raised an eyebrow, his previous 'frustrated groan' replaced by a genuinely arrogant smirk.
He shrugged, gesturing to the defeated opponent. "Ask him. Was that chess, or did I cheat?"
Seeing the man offer no rebuttal, Casper continued, "You bet your money on a feeling, a certainty that a loser would keep losing. That wasn't a gamble on the game, it was a gamble on your own arrogant assumption. The only foolish thing I did was give you all the confidence to bet high."
Saying that, he grinned haughtily.
____
A/N - There won't be any chapters tomorrow. I'm sick as hell, after writing this chapter I literally went into a coma for four hours 🥀
Anyways, leave some reviews, I want to know if you guys are liking the story and if I need to improve in some areas. By the way, the lion cooked his science exam. I'm getting my math marks tomorrow, so wml, let's hope I don't get cooked. This is my comeback arc, I cannot fail!!