The man turned around and slowly fetched a book from the top shelf. Lucas did his best not to give any tips about his true desire but nonetheless, almost as if he had his soul seen through by the owner, he grabbed precisely the book that Lucas felt a strong urge to get no matter what.

He turned and showed him the book. It was quite old but extremely beautiful and, just like respectful antiques which Lucas was quite often fond off, it was well preserved to the point that the only thing that gave away its ancient origin was the lettering style and the fact that the pages were, albeit almost unnoticeable, slightly yellowed.

It had a crimson leather cover that made the book seem like it had its cover made out of solidified blood. On the edges and corners of it, a layer of gold and tiny golden pins gave the whole aesthetic a vibe of royalty and mystery to the point that Lucas felt a slight pressure that made him slightly dazed just from looking at it.

He had the feeling that if he took the book in his hands right now, something incredible would happen. Unconsciously, his hand stretched out slowly and tried to reach for the object. The owner noticed this and smiled, quickly retrieving the book right before Lucas's index finger could touch the corner of the thing.

Lucas snapped out of his dazed and laughed embarrassedly. The owner chuckled and spoke.

"These books are quite special. They are antique books that are, as far as my knowledge goes, unique in this world. Most of the times, the customers do not even notice the existence of the top shelf. The rare times they do actually notice it, they quickly shrug it off as an old man's hobby and forget about it. However, aside from yourself, none had ever become so attracted to them as you have and this further enhances my belief that these books are more than what they seem."

"Special? More than what they seem? What precisely do you suspect these books to have? Magic?" Lucas laughed awkwardly trying to shake off the feeling that the book before him was indeed supernatural.

"Precisely." The man said mysteriously.

Lucas's mind shook a bit as his heart skipped a beat. His body began to involuntarily tense up as wild ideas began to form and his powerful and imaginative brain flared up with fantasies.

For all of his life, aside from the times where he was either busy or distracting himself from reality with things he enjoyed, Lucas always felt that life was quite dull. Yes, he knew that his worldview was still not wide enough for him to say that life was boring per se. Rather, He was most of the times awfully bored and sometimes even reached the point of thinking that his existence was just a prison of the thing he hated most, Boredom.

His dream was to be able to travel the world so that he could always be busy with learning and experiencing. And as many could guess from his mindset, all of that was just so that he could keep himself from getting bored. Being bored, at least to him, was just as if one lived a living death.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Due to his many years worth of reading and his extremely well-developed taste for the fantastical, No other thought could emerge in his mind aside from a single extremely hopeful desire.

"Could this be my chance to escape this boring reality for good?"

He then immediately saw himself wielding the power of a god as the book flashed with colorful lights. The earth trembled and quaked at his commands and the wind flowed in the direction he desired. No harm could come to him as he was invulnerable and no one could oppose him as the might was all his. He was invincible!

After a few seconds of fantasizing, Lucas's mind returned to reality. He coughed to try and create a distraction before continuing the conversation.

"And what kind of bet do you have in mind?"

"Well...since this is such a special occasion I shall make a special wager," The man said, "The book's value is unknown since I happened upon it by chance and did not pay much for it despite the feeling that it is invaluable. That considered and the fact that you are quite a good company for a stormy day like this one our wager shall be like this,"

"If you win, you can take the book. If you lose, you buy another bottle of wine and drink it with me." He stated.

The butler-looking owner extended his hand with a playful and somewhat mysterious grin on his face, his eyes slightly squinted as a genuine interest sprouted in his face.

"How does that sound?" He proposed.

Lucas kept silent for a good while. His mind fiercely running as he struggled to come to a decision. On one hand, he had to consider that buying a single bottle was already his limit, since it was expensive enough, and spending anymore was something he could simply not do without facing a consequence later on. On the other hand, an immeasurable feeling of loss and grief sprouted on his mind every time he considered rejecting the wager. After a good five minutes, Lucas grabbed the man's extended hand and shook it with gritted teeth as he said.

"How will we decide this then?"

The man placed the book on the counter after putting a cork in the bottle they had just opened and place the items they had just consumed previously in the dishwasher and trash can respectively in accordance to their nature. He then opened a drawer beneath the counter and grabbed a small black metal box with a golden spades symbol.

~pop~

He opened the box with a slight sound and revealed its contents. Inside the box was, placed in between a red protective material, a black deck of cards with beautiful golden engravings that showed the suit and number or symbol of the card. With a practised move he dexterously drew the deck and began to shuffle it.

"This deck is quite special and pretty expensive," The man laughed, "It is made of obsidian tiles that have been carefully polished and engraved with gold and it has been in my family for at least one hundred years.

"And it is precisely with this expensive thing that we'll play a good round of blackjack."

"Blackjack?" Lucas inquired astonished by the simplicity of his challenge.

"Yes, Blackjack. The first one to accumulate three victories wins the wager. Simple no?" The owner smiled.

"Too simple. What's the catch?" Lucas questioned.

"No catch. I figured that if we are to decide a wager, we should do it in an entertaining way." He replied.

"Okay then, Its a deal then!" Lucas laughed as a grin arose in his countenance.