As Luke looked at the towering stack of chips in front of him, both Tony Stark and Dr. Ethan were left speechless.
"Man, if I hadn't been watching from over here... I would have definitely suspected you were cheating. Can you explain how you did it?!" Tony exclaimed, still in shock after a full minute.
It was truly unbelievable.
For four straight hours, Luke had not lost a single hand.
If a professional gambler had been watching, they might have demanded a search for hidden cards.
"I didn't expect... my luck seems to be running a bit high," Luke muttered softly.
To be honest, he felt a bit bewildered at that moment.
Although he had always had a vague sense that he had been unusually lucky since arriving in the Marvel world, he hadn't been entirely sure until now.
After these four hours, Luke was starting to feel more certain.
He was just lucky—very lucky!
Winning consistently for four hours in a game based purely on luck was something he wouldn't have imagined possible without incredible fortune on his side!
"Your luck is simply unscientific!" Dr. Ethan couldn't help but sigh as he processed the situation.
Luke smiled sheepishly. After all, he hadn't anticipated being this lucky.
Could it be that he actually had a hidden advantage, an extreme stroke of luck?!
"Tony, if I win so much money from your friends, they won't have any objections, right?" Luke asked, half-joking.
Tony Stark shrugged, "It doesn't matter if they have opinions, but your luck has certainly opened my eyes today. Have you always been this lucky?"
"No, but I've been quite fortunate recently," Luke replied honestly.
"That..."
"Tony!"
Just as Tony seemed ready to ask something further, a voice interrupted him.
Turning towards the sound, a burly bald man approached.
Luke recognized him immediately—Obadiah Stane, a shareholder in Stark Industries.
At that moment, Obadiah appeared rushed. He didn't even acknowledge Luke and Ethan but headed straight for Stark.
"Listen, Tony. You can't decide to shut down the weapons manufacturing department without consulting me. You'll bring massive losses to Stark Industries!" Obadiah said, his tone firm.
Stark didn't seem surprised by his arrival or the nature of his complaint.
"Aren't you at the press conference this afternoon?" Tony asked.
"I was, but you didn't discuss it with me!" Obadiah replied angrily.
"I've already told you that the terrorists who captured me used weapons manufactured by Stark Industries! Do you understand? My intention in manufacturing weapons is to fight crime, not to aid criminals!" Tony was careful in his response.
"Fighting crime? Tony, we're businessmen!"
"Maybe I used to be a businessman, but I'm not that person anymore."
"Are you saying you want to be a hero, Tony?"
"Isn't that a possibility?"
"Tony, you're being unreasonable!"
Obadiah cursed under his breath and stormed off. It was clear that the two hadn't reached an agreement.
As Tony watched Obadiah leave, the joy that had been on his face faded, replaced by a serious demeanor.
"Tony, are you in any trouble?" Ethan asked, concerned.
"The first thing I did when I returned to New York was hold a press conference to announce the indefinite shutdown of the weapons division. However, the shareholders have some objections," Tony explained.
"I heard about that. I'm surprised you'd make such a decision," Ethan said with a hint of admiration.
"There's nothing surprising about it," Tony replied, lost in thought. After a moment, he bid farewell, "It's getting late. I'll head out first. Enjoy yourselves!"
This surprised everyone.
Looking at the time, it was around eleven o'clock at night.
Ethan asked curiously, "I thought with your personality, you'd stay and play until at least early morning. You're leaving at around eleven?"
Tony smiled and sighed, "This party is just for you to celebrate. I originally planned to say hello and leave, but I didn't expect Luke's luck to be so astonishing."
"So I held you up for four hours and wasted your time?!" Luke joked.
Tony Stark shook his head with a smile, "It's not a waste. I just plan to go back and work on the steel armor."
"Is that the device we created in the cave today?" Ethan inquired.
"Yeah," Tony nodded. "The materials and time were limited in the cave; I can make a better version now."
"Okay, I'll play for a while longer and then leave," Ethan said.
With that, Tony Stark departed first.
Ethan remained at the party, continuing to enjoy himself.
As for Luke, even though Ethan enthusiastically invited him to stay and keep playing, he decided to leave.
After all, Luke had come here primarily to resolve his financial situation.
Now that he had done so, he wanted to return to studying the magic book.
...
Before going home, Luke exchanged his chips.
He wasn't oblivious to the fact that, after calculating his winnings, he had amassed a total of three million dollars.
This was the result of the wealthy players realizing something was amiss, but since Tony Stark couldn't just leave, they restrained themselves.
If the game had gone normally, he could have earned even more.
While over three million might be pocket change for those rich individuals, for Luke, it was a life-changing sum.
Tony Stark seemed to have anticipated that Luke would win a large amount and had likely prepared for that, so he had arranged for the exchange in advance.
After taking some cash for personal expenses, Luke exchanged the remaining chips for checks.
With the money secured, the next steps became easier.
He found an open store and purchased a computer and a smartphone. Once he got home, he focused on reading the "Complete Collection of the Supreme Being."
The computer translated the text in the book, and this time he was finally able to understand what was written in it.
Beginning with the first chapter, it introduced the origins of magic, the relationship between the human body and magic, foundational knowledge of magic, and how to practice.
The book was packed with content, even covering biology, geography, mathematics, and other subjects.
If he hadn't known it was a magic book, Luke might have thought he was reading a textbook.
Though the writing was somewhat dry, he persevered and continued reading intently.
As he engaged with the material, he noticed something unusual.
It felt as though a switch had been flipped within him, and he was slowly absorbing energy from the surrounding environment.
This situation...
According to the book, it meant that he had officially begun his journey into magic practice.