CHAPTER 5: GAMBLING HOUSE

The gambling center was a mansion that, from the outside, gave the impression of being an old style.

For an old style, the garden with carnivorous plants gave it an innovative air.

He could not define it precisely, and less so when the building blended with some unique qualities.

It wasn’t every day one saw windows from hell, or was it? Although they were mirrored windows that would serve as defenses for any outside attack, the connection was visible.

“I think we’d better go,” the babysitter muttered, even more tense.

Was the babysitter afraid of the architecture? Or was it the guards and the incoming guests?

It was odd to see a humanoid dolphin walking down the driveway drinking what he assumed was water, or whatever dolphins these days drank.

The curious thing was that the dolphin was holding a human woman by the waist.

Watching the babysitter pull the car into the parking lot to deliver it, Zack smiled and forced his mind on the babysitter.

There was resistance at first and he immediately repelled it, then the babysitter became submissive, realizing it was him.

Recognizing that the babysitter was submissive, Zack moved the rearview mirror and smiled at the sight of the babysitter’s face, then waited for the car to make its last moves.

—Young master, the car won’t move if you don’t drive it. —The babysitter said.

He had not suppressed the babysitter’s mind and allowed him to communicate openly.

The car won’t move by itself? Hesitating at such an idea and looking at the controls, he simply pushed it with telekinesis and, reaching in, pulled out the keys.

Tossing it to the waiting attendant, he opened the back door and, putting on the baby carrier, tucked his big head body in.

“Nice design,” He muttered as he saw that his main prison was resting comfortably in the baby carrier.

—I don’t think that’s a good idea. We should get going. —The babysitter said, and realizing he wasn’t backing down, he hesitated. —Do you even know how to play?

Walking over as he settled his big-headed body into the baby carrier, Zack smiled as he realized that everyone recognized his superiority.

The parking lot was not that far from the entrance, and some attendees were checking the invitations before entering.

“Of course,” He replied to the babysitter and, realizing the babysitter was fidgeting, he calmed down. “I’ve played pin the tail on the devil, heavenly poker and space blackjack.”

Pin the tail on the devil was a bloody game of demon-related planes, and he had to admit they were wild.

Heavenly poker was unmistakable because if he got caught cheating, he would have all the heavenly beings chasing him.

But he loved space blackjack.

—Space blackjack? It’s... Well. I guess. —The babysitter replied.

The babysitter was curious about the blackjack he played, but didn’t ask, as if he was understanding something.

Did he understand that it was a transcendental game? He liked to play with other transcendentals and in the Astral Realm, where space had no form, playing space blackjack was a challenge.

The babysitter kept silent, and he approached the attendant.

—You have the invitation in...

Ignoring the babysitter, he raised his hand, and a card appeared in the eyes of the attendant, who accepted the invitation and approved the pass.

Waving his hand, the card disappeared.

—How did you do it? —the babysitter asked curiously.

Was he curious about being let in? It was simple.

“I gave him what he wanted,” Zack muttered, and smiling, added. “At least what his mind wanted.”

As he entered the room, he saw the attendants and by using the mental force, he could perceive the minds of the inferior beings and the ineffective defenses.

Mediocre and insignificant defenses enough that he could enter their minds and read memories as if it were a child’s game.

A fun one.

Being guided by an attendant, the bustle of the main hall reached his ears, and when he put his foot down, he stopped.

It was subtle, but at times there was a brief moment when everything stopped and....

“Five seconds I was standing here...” He murmured, smiling somewhat excitedly.

Searching through the classic gaming tables, roulette wheels and poker tables, he stopped at a most traditional blackjack table.

There he saw a Heavenly being... No, it was not a heavenly being; it was a half-breed.

—Be careful, young master. This gambling house belongs to the Supervillain Big Monkey. —The babysitter warned and in a simple tone, he detailed. —He has multiple talented individuals who can cheat. And rumors speak of one can move fast.

“And one can stop time for five seconds,” He muttered as he looked at the half-breed of a heavenly.

Was he the son of some Archangel or Seraphim? The half-breed had the silver hair of some angelic beings, and his eyes were silver.

The half-breed had excellent looks and stood out immediately, as did the ability to stop time.

—Stop time? —the babysitter asked in disbelief.

There was another brief pause and by the look on the woman’s face at the table, the situation turned bad for her immediately.

Even though he was limited, he was a transcendental being who still had a connection to the Astral Realm, at least his main body.

The Astral Realm was not affected by either time or space and thus, even if his physical prison was affected, there would be a difference in the connection.

That difference translated into this world’s time and was five seconds certain.

—We should retire, young master... I think I got confused... I shouldn’t have brought you here. If anything happens to you, your mother....

“Calm down, babysitter,” Zack interrupted, stealing a glass of wine from a waiter, took a drink and explained. “It has a limit, and it doesn’t stop the time of the world or the universe. This building is a small pocket dimension and fits the limit of the ability of the heavenly half-breed.”

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The babysitter’s body senses were impressive.

Zack could already read the minds of those present and even get a glimpse into the minds of the guards who should be standing watch, but with the babysitter’s body, he could comprehend his surroundings with a greater ease than his infant body.

Perhaps it was nowhere near his level before he was a prisoner. Still, it was nice.

Too bad that, if he pushed himself too hard to investigate, he would eventually have to leave the body.

However, playing around a bit was never a bad thing.

Moving to the part of the exchange to convert the babysitter’s savings into money from inferior beings, he grinned even wider.

It was going to be fun.

******

“Congratulations, you just won again!”

Zack again heard someone’s shout next to him and as he turned around, he could see a woman with those meat bags approaching.

This was the fifth time it had happened and although it had influenced the other women’s minds before, this time he thought it was a waste of energy.

“Stay away,” He commanded haughtily, wagging his chin for her to go away.

That woman felt wronged and stuck out her chest trying to make those bags of meat and drugs stand out.

But it would not work on him!

The house wanted him to give in to the drugs, so he would lose his winning streak? Impossible, he was happy to be winning.

—We should exchange the money and leave, young master. —The babysitter said and slightly cautiously, he warned. —There are too many stares.

Of course there are stares!

That humanoid dolphin who entered so confidently now wore a tragic look after losing his fortune at poker.

Envy, surprise, desire to murder and rob him... All in one.

How could he not be excited?

—Is this enough to buy the medicine? —Zack asked the babysitter.

There was no answer, which meant he needed to win even more.

“Shall we go on?” Zack asked his poker buddies, who were at the same table.

Three of the players belonged to the house and one of them could curse to affect luck, the second could steal luck and the third could give luck.

The others were innocents involved in this conflict between him and the house that was losing too much money.

The group combined.

One would steal his luck and the other would curse him to leave his luck for the floor, while the third would give luck to the croupier so that she would give good cards to her partners.

All while holding a telepathic encrypted conversation that was easy to intercept.

“I... This...” The croupier, who was a woman with golden eyes and blonde hair, hesitated being stunned.

She was the lucky one and could move extremely fast enough that he couldn’t see her.

She used that speed to move the cards, with no one noticing her.

“I’ll take care of it,” the heavenly half-breed said, smiling as he approached.

The smile was calm and there was some relief among the others, while the gazes of some thugs relaxed and some of the more sly ones smiled.

—Go away. The boss told me to finish him off and get everything back. I’ll take care of it. —The heavenly half-breed said to the group through a mental connection.

Then he gave him a smile as he waved his hand, drawing all the cards.

“Mister guest, how about we play another game?” The half-breed asked and smiling at him, seeing his nod of interest, he explained. “Blackjack. One game only. The house will match the sum and whoever wins will take all.”

Take all? How much was all?

Inferior minds tended to put different names and values on papers and all he understood was that the more tokens he gathered to trade, the better.

And now the croupier was giving him the opportunity to get more tokens!

“I accept,” He replied and moved all the tokens forward.

He could sense the babysitter flinch at his actions and increased caution, but he smiled as he looked at the croupier, who kept smiling.

“Excellent. Classic blackjack it is,” the croupier replied and shuffled the cards.

The half-breed couldn’t stop smiling looking at him like he was an idiot, and it annoyed him quite a bit.

Since he could play a little with the time of a tiny area, did the half-breed think he was superior to him? Superior to a transcendental being?

It annoyed him enough to want to teach him a lesson, and so he smiled when the half-breed dealt him the card and then asked for another, then another, to get to the third.

All without seeing the cards and the smile he gave the half-breed made him nervous, and he was wary for a second, but...

“Begin.”

There was a five-second time mismatch, and they both turned the card over at the same moment.

Even though he asked for three cards, he got twenty-one, while the half-breed got six points, making the workers’ expression change.

The heavenly half-breed’s smile immediately disappeared.

“How... Is it possible?” The half-breed asked hesitantly, with a tremor evident in his voice.

He stopped time five seconds in the entire area and changed the cards to favor himself... Such was the idea the half-breed had.

Unfortunately, no matter how many objects the half-breed would use to mentally protect himself, in front of him, it was a childish game.

All Zack had to do was mentally guide him, so that he would make him win and not himself, practically the same trick he used on the others.

So what if someone twisted his luck and favored the croupier? For him, it was for the best. After all, the others were helping him win.

“By cheating, obviously,” Zack replied and, smiling, he pointed out. “Even if you are a child of a heavenly and the previous woman, daughter of some divine being, you guys are nothing against me.”

He puffed out his chest proudly, retrieving the tokens as everyone stood silently admiring his incredible feat.

—Young master... Why did you reveal that you cheated? —The babysitter questioned in a trembling tone.

Why? Because this was the best part of the game!

The part where they realized that others were playing with them and it wasn’t them playing with others.

A few auras appeared from the guards and the threatening pressure was repelled by the force field he silently manifested.

Would they attack him? If they did, it meant he could play rougher and thus ask for compensation.

He needed a lot of wealth if he wished to purchase medicine and since he was a transcendental, he would surely require multiple medicines.

Which meant a great deal of expense.

“That’s enough,” said a sudden voice.

A handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes wearing a tight, quality suit looked up at him haughtily as people stepped aside as he walked.

The guards backed away from the aura of the boss he exuded, and that man gave him a smile.

—Jonathan the Formless. Last I heard of you, you became a babysitter. Don’t tell me that’s the child of...

Zack, hearing the voice suddenly in mind with a similar connection to the one he made, was pulled out of the body and the babysitter stood up, tensing his muscles.

There was no pressure and no trace of murderous intent, it was a calmness that was eerie, and the babysitter looked at the man who had just spoken.

It was obvious from the way he tensed his body that the babysitter wanted to move, but...

—Stop. —Zack ordered as he returned to his body and, looking at the man who had spoken, explained. —It’s a boy.

The man was wearing a tight-fitting suit and looked like an adult, but in his eyes he was a boy.

And how could he not be? The boy had a connection to the Astral Realm and the way he used the energy he obtained was childlike, naïve and so cute that it gave him a certain tenderness.

Zack had seen many mortals seeking a connection to the Astral Realm, and some tried to contact him, unaware of the danger.

This individual gave the impression that he would jump into the sun without realizing it.

“Come with me to the office. We can discuss calmly,” the boy said, smiling and without waiting moved.

The babysitter hesitated, perhaps wanting to leave, but....

—Let’s follow him. Let’s see what childish game he has planned. Then we’ll get your savings and my benefits back. —Zack said, looking up from the baby carrier the babysitter was wearing.

He was amused by that boy... After all, the danger wasn’t the babysitter whose job it was to clean up feces, it was him.

Even though the babysitter was tense, he obeyed and followed the boy out a door and then walked from behind calmly.

The walk was silent and Zack, who was in the baby carrier, watched the vipers coming out of the boy’s mind.

The boy was preparing a mental attack and those vipers, which were visible to individuals who used some kind of mental strength, surrounded the babysitter.

Did the boy think the babysitter would not notice? Since the jailer scolded the babysitter, he adapted to the mental attacks and strengthened his mind.

Now he would not fall for that childish attack.

“Come in,” the boy said as he opened an office door.

—Let him attack you. —Zack ordered the babysitter, who was tense and, seeing him hesitate, warned. —Or at least hide yourself, as you have done with me.

Perhaps the vipers were visible to someone like the babysitter, but the babysitter was no fool and had unique senses that would detect such attacks.

Besides, the babysitter was annoyingly strong-willed.

As Zack watched from the baby carrier, the babysitter walked into the office and just as the door closed, the vipers moved in, entering the babysitter’s mind.

“Ug...”

The babysitter let out a silly sound and froze as if the surprise attack had succeeded and the stupid boy, who thought he was a boss, laughed.

“So the rumors of your strength were a joke,” the boy said and smiling as he walked up to the front of him, gave him a look and muttered. “The son of the two most hated bastards on the planet... You’re worth millions.”

That stupid kid pulled him out of the baby carrier and, not caring that his head was tilted, gave him a look.

“Wehehe...” Letting out the evil, childish sounding laugh, Zack met the boy’s eyes and infiltrated his pathetic mind.

He was a transcendental, and that individual was a boy who couldn’t even be called psychic or psionic, as some liked to call himself.

He was a primitive boy who used a rifle and hit with the butt.

Zack crushed his futile resistance, overwhelmed him with the technique and finesse of a transcendental, and then opened his eyes, watching with the boy’s body.

“Pathetic,” He muttered as he saw his head tilt back.