An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Abigail explained, "The more the merrier, right? I'm just here to amp up the excitement for everyone.

"After all, betting adds some thrill to the mix. Let's have fun with a few rounds while we watch the tournament matches. Doesn't that sound like a blast?"

She was busy counting the treasures handed over by the surrounding martial artists. Despite her pleasant words, she couldn't hide her greedy expression.

After all, she was a bookie, not running a charity. There had to be some perks involved, or else why would she be so eager?

"I'm just watching your back, kid. I don't want you to lose all those celestial stones you brought along in a bet," Dustin reminded him.

In a casino, the odds were always stacked in favor of the house against the players. Even with a slight edge, the house always won as long as there were plenty of betting rounds.

So, the casino wasn't sweating bullets about players pocketing some cash, but its biggest concern was an empty house.

But with Abigail's betting pool, the house had no upper hand. If someone had eagle-eyed observation skills and luck, they could rack up wins back-to-back.

With everyone else jumping on the betting bandwagon, just a few wins could clean out Abigail's stash of celestial stones.

After all, this was a risky move. She could either hit the jackpot or go bust.

Abigail winked and leaned close to Dustin, whispering, "Don't sweat it. I've got a trick up my sleeve. I won't be walking away empty-handed tonight."

If she was going to run this betting pool, she damn well had confidence in winning. After all, she knew taking a risk without that certainty was just plain foolish.

He smiled and said nothing. Soon, he began rallying the martial artists to place their bets.

The battle rings were cleared ten minutes later, and the second round began.

eight battle rings hosted different match-ups, the martial artists began betting

a beast.

Number 10 is just a scrub. Trust me, Number

Number 36. He's my senior and a fully

peers, he's undefeated. I guarantee he'll come out

chatter continued, the crowd buzzed with

A select

most people

rushing to place their bets. Instead, they preferred to sit back and see how

up. Trust me on this one. Bet on Number 68. I've got a gut feeling

The man was

Ruby narrowed her eyes as she observed the man,

she didn't have much left to bet. Another

68 fighter? He's got a big name in the martial world. They call

and mastered body forging technique. He's like a human tank,

him. Betting on him is like picking

that good?" Ruby's eyes

notch above in skill. If Miles gave Number 68 such high praise, that contestant

me, this bet's a lock!" Miles thumped

pulled out her sword and

Ruby, you're one brave friend." Miles gave her a thumbs-up. He then confidently placed his darksteel sword on the table as his

at five celestial stones. If they won this bet, they could recoup all their previous losses. However, another wrong guess would result in a

But she refrained from discouraging them. She believed that firsthand experiences often imparted lessons

this time. The bustling crowd made her uncomfortable, and she preferred to avoid the

the other hand, Dalen went all in. He placed all the celestial stones