Chapter 1230 – A Lucky Man

It wasn’t like she needed them anyway. When was the last time her Dragonflight had done anything for her? Their only role in her life had been to try to control how she acted and limit her freedom. Her family had been the worst, constantly forcing her to do this and do that while growing up, and then the second she was about to be fully grown, her parents went and killed themselves with the excuse that it was all for her sake.

Yrelstromoz found the sentiment disgusting. She’d never asked them to do anything. They were the ones who wanted their daughter to continue the useless Legacy they’d wasted their lives on.

From the beginning, she had just been living her parents’ dream, and when she insinuated she didn’t care about trying to reach S-grade or whatever, they never listened. They were too caught up in their own fantasy, and besides, how could they even know her? She barely saw them once a decade, and that was an optimistic estimation.

They had been too stuck on their Paths and a useless pursuit of power. A Path Yrelstromoz saw no need to mimic. She already had power. She was already a True Dragon, a pinnacle being in the multiverse. It was more than enough for her to experience the world as she saw fit and live life the way she wanted.

She refused to be bound by traditions that held no meaning for her, or by expectations rooted in the past. Instead, Yrelstromoz embraced the present, reveling in the freedom she had earned through her own innate strength and choices. The world stretched before her, vast and uncharted, a canvas for her ambitions and desires. Filled with weak beings fit for her entertainment.

Her recent act of slaying a dog from the United Tribes had been entirely premeditated to finally get the damn Dragonflight off her back. It had worked wonders, and she was officially thrown out and had been left alone for a good while.

Of course, Yrelstromoz knew that she’d made some people mad, so lying low for a while only made sense. She also found it funny to prove that if she were the one in charge, she could indeed choose to be a peaceful dragon, even if she found herself surrounded by prey. Just imagining her aunt and the other old morons who wasted their time risking their lives for no good reason, seething at her suddenly turning a new leaf after leaving, was riveting.

As for the United Tribes, she didn’t expect much from them. Sure, they had some impressive members among their ranks, but did they truly dare confront a True Dragon? She thought not. If they wanted to deal with her, they would have to find someone of a far higher level, at which point she believed that the Lumenflight would intervene. Even though she was not a member anymore, she was still a daughter of the faction, and those old coots were obsessed with protecting its members.

All in all, officially leaving the Lumenflight had proven itself a brilliant decision so far, and the freedom she felt as she continued to travel was unprecedented. Most recently, she’d settled down on a small planet known for its vacation spots, and she’d quite enjoyed herself so far.

The resort she was at consisted of a massive complex with plenty of entertainment all over. She mostly enjoyed the local casinos and bars, even if the alcohol was far too weak for a B-grade to find any real satisfaction. Then again, if she could find good alcohol, it would mean the establishment catered to B-grades, at which point this wouldn’t be a very good place to lie low.

From her scans, the most powerful people were around peak C-grade. Decent, sure, but compared to her, it didn’t really matter if they were at the beginning or the peak of C-grade. Killing them with a single attack remained effortless, and so far, she’d yet to encounter a single person not dying to a single subtle attack.

Alright, sure, she was lying low, but some morons still had to bother her, especially when she was just trying to enjoy herself. Especially men liked to approach her, which was understandable, as who wouldn’t be drawn to her noble self, but how could she ever look at inferior beings like that with anything but disgust? It was only fitting to punish them for their arrogance.

And annoyingly so, it appeared that today would be the same. Yrelstromoz was just enjoying herself alone at one of the card tables, having a pretty good run so far, meaning the dealer wouldn’t need to experience an unfortunate accident like the one who robbed her yesterday.

A man walked over and sat right next to her, not even throwing her a glance initially. He put down a hefty stack of chips and looked at the dealer. “Let’s hope the heart of the cards is in my favor today. I’m feeling fairly lucky.”

“I can only wish the gentleman luck,” the dealer answered with a smile as she dealt the cards. Based on that brief interaction and the way he handled his cards, she already suspected this human was new to these kinds of places.

Perhaps he was one of the people who believed it possible to fool the house without throwing out the rules entirely. Sadly for him, there was no way around the system skills that allowed the dealers and casino operators to ensure cheating was impossible, even if a god had been sitting at the table. Only the ones who were dealt the cards could see what they had, and the cards would only be “revealed” once actually dealt. Counting cards could help, but usually they used infinitely generating decks and mostly true random card dealing, making it effectively impossible.

Yrelstromoz was sitting out a few hands, ready to enjoy the show as the newcomer was robbed blind… except that didn’t happen. He just sat there with a silly smile as he won round after round, and when the dealer did win, he never lost too much.

“I guess I am really lucky today!” the human laughed, as he asked the dealer to hit him again, only to hit another twenty-one.

Yrelstromoz narrowed her eyes, her interest piqued. There was something off about the ease with which he was pulling win after win, yet her keen senses detected no indication of cheating or concealed skill usage. She leaned back in her chair, her posture relaxed but her mind suddenly much more attentive, observing the human with growing curiosity.

Perhaps he was simply fortunate, or perhaps there was more to him than met the eye. Either way, Yrelstromoz decided she would stay at the table a bit longer to see just how far his luck—or whatever it truly was—could stretch.

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After another few wins, he finally turned to her. “Is the lady not playing?”

Yrelstromoz looked at the human, only noticing now that his eyes weren’t very customary for his race. They had a bestial look to them, likely from some sort of skill. Besides that, there was nothing notable about him, besides maybe his strength, which put him in mid-tier C-grade. Decent for an inferior race, but still pathetic.

She met his gaze, a faint smirk on her lips. “Sometimes it’s more entertaining to watch than to play. But I suppose if you’re going to keep winning like this, maybe I should join in and try my luck as well. Who knows, maybe it’s contagious.”

Her tone was light, but her attention was razor sharp, searching for any tell that might betray his secret. It wasn’t often she encountered a human who brought an air of mystery to the table, and that alone made the evening suddenly more engaging.

“The more the merrier,” the human chuckled as she joined him for a few hands… only to find herself on the losing end once more. Yet he somehow kept winning, making her slightly frustrated as she kept looking for any trace of how he did it.

Even the dealer looked surprised, even if they weren’t quite suspicious yet. They trusted their skills and didn’t believe cheating was possible. It shouldn’t be possible, but this man just kept proving himself far too lucky.

“Fortune really is in your favor, huh?” she asked the human with a tilted head.