The Ferocious Elderly Man

Gourmet Gambling City, Labyrinth of Desire.

The "Slot Machine Tree" appeared before everyone. It was a tree over eight meters tall. At a height of slightly more than one meter above the ground was a target, with an electronic sensor display mounted on it. The display could show ten digits, from zero to nine.

Gamblers could wager any amount. The ten digits from zero to nine represented the multiples of the wager returned. The wager had to be at least two hundred thousand. "Zero" went without saying: it meant the entire wager was kept, which meant losing it all to the casino. If the digit was "one," half the wager was returned. If it was "two," the entire wager was returned. If the digit was "three" or higher, that meant three times the wager would be returned.

This was a gambling game that relied entirely on strength. The greater one's strength, the higher the multiplier one could hit. The multiplier was naturally determined by the Slot Machine Tree's system.

Many people had questioned the Slot Machine Tree. What if the casino tampered with it to swindle gamblers out of their money? Wouldn't that be seriously unfair? The underground organizations had conducted special tests regarding this matter. Some powerful and famous Gourmet Hunters had indeed managed to hit numbers higher than "three," proving that the casino wasn't cheating gamblers out of their money.

A man over three meters tall, with a sturdy build that could even be called obese, walked up to the Slot Machine Tree. Beside it was a service desk, and behind the desk sat an elderly man specifically responsible for collecting wagers. The old man wore a benevolent smile. "Sir, how much would you like to wager?"

The enormous man took out a one-million Gourmet Coin and placed