As the first rays of sunlight streamed through the bed windows the following morning, Andrew woke up in an unfamiliar setting. Quickly, he remembered that he inherited the store from Master Gonde just yesterday. It was also then that his "Strongest Casino Owner" system awakened.

Some of the furniture around him were familiar. Yesterday, he had moved all his furniture into the store, relocating from his small shack.

He descended the stairs and discovered that the space within the store-turned-casino had expanded more than fivefold. It now resembled a luxurious gambling hall, its walls adorned with gold and silver accents, and the floor covered with plush red carpets. Asian-style dragon statues, embellished with gems, emerged halfway out of the walls, their bodies curled into S shapes.

Andrew rubbed his eyes, convinced he was still dreaming. Yet, as he ventured deeper into the area, he couldn't deny the reality of the transformation.

Curious to see if the exterior had changed as well, Andrew stepped outside. To his astonishment, the exterior remained unchanged, appearing as it had just the day before. It seemed the system had not only expanded the interior but had done so without altering the outside.

The sign outside still read "Gonde's Enchantment."

It was then that the Strongest Casino Owner system spoke up. "Owner, your casino signage must stand out to attract attention from a distance. It's time to rename the store to better represent its new purpose. A name that will draw a crowd from all over the world."

Andrew nodded, eager to embrace his new role as a casino owner and please the system. He pondered over a suitable name, his thoughts drifting to the dragon bones he'd discovered earlier. A name struck him: "Dragon's Fortune Casino." The name evoked a sense of excitement, mystery, and wealth, capturing the essence of what he thought a casino should represent.

With a simple command to the system, the sign that once read "Gonde's Enchantments" transformed before his eyes. In its place, a stunning new banner unfurled, proudly displaying the name "Dragon's Fortune Casino" in gold, ornate lettering. The sign seemed to exude an irresistible allure. It stood out in this small corner alley of the business district, beckoning passersby to enter and try their luck at the games within.

Andrew was satisfied with the change. He went back inside and refocused his attention on studying the Anti-scrying rune. He felt that mastering this rune would prove useful for enchanting and creating more anti-cheating equipment for his casino in the future. He knew it was a more practical choice than wasting his time learning the Indestructible rune.

"Baby steps," he thought to himself.

**

Inside the store, Andrew hunched over the bar counter, meticulously redrawing the Anti-scrying rune. Despite his best efforts, he had yet to successfully inscribe one. Even the slightest mistake in the drawing would result in a failed rune. Sighing, he glanced up at the entrance outside the alley.

The sun was already setting, and not a single customer had walked through the door.

It couldn't be helped. The shop had been closed while his master was bedridden, and many people who passed by today ignored the sketchy casino situated in the business district. They were suspicious as to why a casino was in this area rather than the red-light district, and they certainly didn't trust this no-name establishment.

As the evening approached and the sun dipped below the horizon, a sense of helplessness washed over Andrew.

It seemed that there would be no guests today.

But just as he got up to close for the night, a voice came from the entrance.

"Unbelievable, there is actually a casino that I never heard of in this city."

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A chubby man, clad in blue mage robes with gold inlays, said as he stood in the doorway. His name was Louie Pendleton, and he was an 11th Circle divination mage

Louie Pendleton had a notorious reputation in Star City's casino scene. He had been kicked out of numerous establishments due to his divination and scrying magic. With his abilities, Louie could scry and find the dice hidden beneath cups or accurately predict the outcome of card games. When faced with anti-scrying runes, he would simply switch tactics, using his divination skills to foresee the future outcome of the dice rolls.

Casino owners in Star City quickly grew wary of Louie's antics, realizing that they were losing a fortune whenever he stepped through their doors. Over time, he had been banned from almost every casino in the city, leaving him with no place to indulge his passion for gambling.

Now, standing at the entrance of Dragon's Fortune Casino, Louie couldn't help but grin. Here was a new establishment, one that hadn't yet blacklisted him.

"Finally," Louie said, rubbing his hands together gleefully, "a fresh hunting ground for my skills."

Andrew, who had been observing Louie from behind the bar counter, raised an eyebrow. The Strongest Casino Owner system granted him the strength of a 12th Circle mage. Andrew could already tell that this mage was an 11th Circle mage. It seemed Louie was up to something, but Andrew decided to invite him in. As an enchanter, he knew that the runes engraved on the Sic-Bo cup were strong enough to deter an 11th Circle mage's scrying magic. However, he was unaware his first patron was also skilled in rare divination magic.

"Welcome to Dragon's Fortune Casino. My name is Andrew, the owner of this establishment." Andrew said, a sly smile on his face. "Why don't you come in and try your luck?

"Greetings, my name is Louie." Louie said as he stepped inside, his eyes scanning the lavish interior. Inside, he noticed the casino's size was much larger than its exterior suggested.

"This place has spatial enchantments. Impressive," he thought to himself. Many of the bigger casinos paid a fortune for the same enchantments so he was honestly impressed to see the same enchantments in this tiny casino.

He admired the unique design of the casino's interior, the plush red carpets, and the green felt gaming tables. The style was unlike anything he had seen before.

As Louie took a seat at one of the three tables, he couldn't recognize the materials the tables were made of, but he could sense they were derived from a creature as powerful as himself. He cast a glance at Andrew, trying to discern his rank.

To his surprise, he couldn't detect any hint of Andrew's magical abilities. This meant one of two things. Either the owner was a normal human, or his rank was higher than Louie's. Given the enchantments in the casino, Louie deduced that Andrew was no ordinary human.

Louie decided to play it safe as he observed the Sic-Bo table. He noticed runes etched onto the dice cups and knew they must be anti-scrying runes, even though he didn't recognize them. He looked at the boxes on the table, puzzled by their arrangement.

"This doesn't look like any gambling game I've played before," Louie thought as the numbers written on the tabletop.

Andrew, noticing Louie's confusion, decided to explain the game. As Louie listened, the rules seemed familiar to some of the dice games he had played before, like Even Odds Dice that he had seen in the city bars sometimes.

"The objective of this game is to predict the outcome of the roll of three dice," Andrew said, his voice confident and welcoming. "There are various betting options available, and you can place your bets on any combination you believe will win."

Louie nodded, taking in the information. "Interesting," he thought. "This game might be different, but it still relies on predicting the outcome of the dice. I should be able to use my divination magic here."

He asked the owner about the buy-in for the Sic-Bo game. "What's the amount do I need to buy in?" he asked.

"You can buy-in using any amount of silver." Andrew replied.

It was the silver buy-in table for Sic-Bo, and he didn't want to intimidate his first customer by requiring them to play at the gold buy-in table. The three Sic-Bo table had a difference buy-in currency, whether it was silver, gold, or mana crystals.

In Star City, the common people traded with copper, silver, and gold coins, each denomination having an exchange ratio of one hundred to one.

Mana crystals were a currency that mages and knights frequently used, as they held vast amounts of energy. The price of one mana crystal varied every day, and currently, it was 170 gold. Although high-ranked mages and warriors could produce their own mana crystals, it was a time-consuming process, and mining was a faster and more efficient alternative.

Besides their value as currency, mana crystals had other uses. They could power magic tools for ordinary people, be used to create enchantments, serve as a compact energy source for magical transportation vehicles, or refill someone's mana pool in an emergency.

An ordinary family could lead a comfortable life for a month with a single gold coin.