I'll Beat You in Three Rounds

The thing Mike had brought out looked like a piece of handiwork made by an apprentice craftsman. It had no artistic flair whatsoever.

The only thing the white porcelain cat sculpture had going for it was probably its overall shape.

It looked somewhat aloof.

"Haha, Thor, I can tell from your expression that you're a little disappointed, right?" Mait said with a mysterious smile, seemingly unsurprised by Thor's reaction.

He waved his index finger twice in front of Thor. "Here's the first piece of advice from an elder who's spent more than a decade traveling around doing business: never let appearances deceive you."

He set the White Porcelain Kitten on the dining table and gently stroked its head.

"I'll demonstrate it for you myself." Mike pulled out another object, a regular dodecahedron die. "You know how dice work, right? We'll roll them and see who gets the higher number. I just stroked the Cat God and received a brief blessing. I'll definitely beat you in the next three rounds."

With that, Mike held out a hand to Thor, inviting him to go first.

Thor picked up the die, thinking, Is Mike a cheat, or just a highly skilled gambler?

He didn't control how hard he threw it, tossing it casually into the dish Mike had set out.

The number facing up was 10.

That was already a very high number.

Mike smiled confidently, picked up the die, and tossed it just as casually.

The die struck the dish with a crisp clatter.

When it came to a stop, the number on top was 11.

Just a little higher than Thor's.

Thor said nothing. He picked up the die and tossed it again.

This time, it landed on 6.

Mike tossed his just as casually.

The die traced an arc through