Chapter 1153: Three Thousand Gold Coins

After seeing Asher’s win, other experienced players invited him to their boards. Asher didn’t back down; he always staked the highest amount of money he had, never betting less. After a while, chess players simply began avoiding him, as no one liked losing money at the end of the day.

Asher didn’t say anything. He moved on to poker. Here, the chips were gold coins, as poker players only dealt with gold coins. Not even silver was allowed. In poker, various cheating skills and abilities were permitted, as long as they weren’t obvious. If you couldn’t out-cheat your opponent, then it was your loss, and nobody else’s concern.

Since cheating was allowed, Asher cheated his way through. Why play the honorable and fair player when cheating was permitted? He cleared the tables yet again, always going overboard with his betting.

He went from one game to another. As long as it was a board game, he was there. After about six hours, he stood up and stretched his body as though he were exhausted.

He wouldn’t deny it; he had enjoyed himself. The Frontier wasn’t so bad. The atmosphere wasn’t exactly as gloomy as he had expected it to be. Instead, it was filled with smoking, sex-addicted gamblers, and people who seemed to have nothing better to do than waste their money.

He couldn’t help but smile. Back in the Thalvorn Empire, he had barely played any board games physically, if he had played any at all.

"I will be retiring for today," he spoke with a small smile as he turned and walked away, having suffered a single loss across the various games he had played.

The Cadets could only watch speechlessly as the Tenth Sun, who had entered the Frontier that day, walked into their den and left with a total of three thousand gold coins. Some of them couldn’t help but wonder whether the saying that Wargraves were all brawn and no brains was a lie.

Stepping out of the entertainment area, Cadet Parker followed behind Asher with an astonished expression on his face. Yes, the Tenth Sun was talented, but just because someone was talented didn’t mean they possessed a strategic mind or exceptional innate intelligence.

Asher suddenly came to a stop. He turned toward Cadet Parker and returned the gold coin the man had lent him.

"Thanks for the gold coin, Cadet Parker," he stated in a flat tone.

Cadet Parker collected the gold coin. He remained speechless for a moment as he stared at the money he had lent Asher. Not to sound entitled or anything of the sort, he understood that he hadn’t won the money himself, as he would have lost against everyone the Tenth Sun had played against. But wasn’t it basic human decency to at least give him something more than the money he had lent out?

However, he didn’t say anything. The moment the thought arose in his mind, he instantly killed it. He wasn’t the type to have expectations of others or rely on someone. Although the Tenth Sun might have been the stingy type, it had nothing to do with him.

Thus, gazing directly into Asher’s eyes, he nodded as he spoke. "You’re welcome, Cadet Asher."

Asher stared at the man for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Pffttt! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" His laughter echoed across the hallway.

Cadet Parker became confused by what Asher was laughing at. He couldn’t help but look behind him, wondering whether something funny was happening there, but he saw nothing. It took him a moment to understand that Asher was laughing at him.

Asher wiped the small tear from the corner of his eye as he spoke. "I apologize for laughing. Seeing your reaction and expression was just too funny," he stated.

Asher waved a hand, and the next moment, a heap of gold coins totaling three thousand appeared on the ground. It was the total amount of money he had won in the entertainment area.

"You said I should consider you my personal tour guide for today, right?" he asked with a small smile. "Then consider this your payment. After all, it was all won with that single gold coin you gave me," he stated.

Cadet Parker was speechless as he stared at the small-sized hill of gold coins. He didn’t know what to say. One moment, he had considered the Tenth Sun stingy, and now the boy was giving him three thousand gold coins as though it were nothing.

Yes, it was probably nothing to the Tenth Sun, but still... this amount of money was something he had never seen in his life.

He had been there for nine months, meaning he had only ever earned ninety gold coins. Now, he had received thirty-three times that amount, a sum that would have taken him twenty-five years to earn, provided he didn’t die or quit before then.

He couldn’t help but bow as he spoke. "I thank the Tenth Sun for his generosity." His tone was filled with gratitude, as he instantly began referring to Asher as the Tenth Sun instead of Cadet Asher.

Money indeed made the world go round.

He wouldn’t dare reject it or pretend he didn’t want it, only to collect it later. Since the Tenth Sun was giving him money, he would receive it.

Asher smiled and replied, "You’re welcome. Besides, I was just joking around with you earlier when I gave you back your gold coin." He paused for a moment before adding, "I’m not the stingy type, especially toward someone like you, who approached me with zero ulterior motives," he stated before turning around and walking away.

This was one of the rare moments when he didn’t feel awkward hearing someone thank him.

However, before he could go far, Cadet Parker spoke.

"Tenth Sun, since you are new here, don’t you at least need a few gold coins?" he asked.

He knew that Asher didn’t need money for anything, but it was always good to have money on hand at all times, just in case something happened. That was one of the reasons he always kept one gold coin for himself out of the ten he earned each month.

Asher’s steps came to a stop at the question. He didn’t turn around, wearing a simple smile that Cadet Parker couldn’t see, as he had his back toward the man. His hand rose, and he used his thumb to flick something behind him and toward Cadet Parker.

Cadet Parker’s hand moved on instinct. His hand blurred as he caught what the Tenth Sun had thrown toward him. His eyes left the Tenth Sun and shifted toward his palm. Looking at his hand, all he saw was a platinum coin.

Cadet Parker couldn’t help but give a weak smile. This single platinum coin was worth a third of the three thousand gold coins in front of him, as one platinum coin equaled a thousand gold coins. Yet, the Tenth Sun had given it to him at that moment to prove a point: he had never needed the gold coin he borrowed earlier, and he didn’t need to take anything from the pile of gold coins.

Cadet Parker waved his hand, causing the gold coins to vanish into his space ring. He stared in Asher’s direction and sighed before turning and walking away, deciding not to disturb the Tenth Sun anymore. He understood that the Tenth Sun wanted to be alone.