Everyone by the table seemed unnerved from what vash just said. Yet, he kept sitting calmly with seemingly no awkwardness about his own words and leans back on his chair. Looking at the admin with an calm and casual gaze through the eyes of his mask.
All the other members as equal were unnerved from his words, even xero. The all stared at him with a doubtful gaze, questioning his words silently with their eyes.
The admin though, gulps slightly as he tries to track back the situation and says.
Admin:"well, that Was certainly an .... Unnerving self-depiction.... You seem to have some knack to sound like that, I assume.. Zyric-ssi.... Gulp~..... Anyways, let's just say that we heard nothing and start our game."
The admin calms down and adjusts his mask and gets back to his polite, elegant and mischievous way of talking, as he responds back with a playful but uneasy tone.
Admin:"So, before we start the game. Let me explain you about the reward and loss first."
His sudden track back on the conversation brings a sense of relief on other members as he talks about the poker topic once again, which made everyone catch their playful and dark mischief once again.
Vash didn't react to his sudden shift of attitude and just responds back in a polite and playful manner.
Vash:"Oh, well... That's certainly an intriguing way to talk about the game... Usually people start by telling rules, don't they?"
The admin cuckles softly and responds while holding his wine glass slightly up from the holder under the base of the glass, and just as he bought it near the holder... All the other members did too. Vash though, didn't do it. Seemingly confused even though his body was eerily calm and unshaken.
Admin:"Just think of it as a game of luck..., Or... Is it that you are new to this game as whole?"
Vash crosses his arms and lets out a slight sigh.
Vash:"it's not that I am new or anything, it's just not very common to play without rules... Usually you make rules like, getting three victories in three out of n rounds means you win and stuff.... So, it's just kind of weird to directly hear the reward and no rules."
All the 12 members looks at vash like he had said something completely unnecessary thing.
The admin clears his throat and continues.
Admin:"Zyric-ssi.... Poker isn't played like that anywhere. I think you're new to the game as whole. So, I guess I do need to explain the rules for you. Though, I think it's good to hear the rules again. It's not like you're the only new member today, the other new members also hear to the rules and types very carefully."
He smiles politely and was about to explain the rules to play the cards as xero suddenly started laughing loud while pointing at vash and holding his stomach.
Xero:"HAHAHAHA!... Thi-.. This guy was telling me it's illegal to play at my age... Ha.. Haha... Hahaha, he doesn't even know the basics of playing poker cards. Hahahaha!!."
He suddenly stops laughing and looks at him with a flushed psychotic grin that touched both his ears.
"But that's good,... It'll be an easy food for us."
The admin clears his throat and gives xero an warning glare, to which xero clicks his tongue and looks away, annoyed. Silently mumbling: "kusoyarō"
The admin looks back at vash, who's still sitting calm, despite giving such an embarrassing answer, it was like he did it knowingly. The admin starts to explain the rules. However, vash was sitting straight, arms folded like observing everything in the room. No seem to catch on his behavior as they thought that he might be nervous and stiffened because of that.
Admin:"So, in poker we play three types of games. First is community card, second is stud and third is draw, and do not think that they are the only type of pocket to exist, there are more types of poker but we play only in three,but the common thing in every type of poker is the concept to play, just like hold'em every other type of poker needs the combination of cards that will either gain you profit or make you a loss."
"To further explain it, let me break it down one by one for you."
"Community Card Poker: we clutch private hole cards while sharing a public board of face-up cards. Each of us receives two concealed cards, then wages war across a flop of three."
"Stud Poker: There's no shared mercy in this game. Cards arrive in measured revelation—some hidden, others exposed to the table's gaze. We receive seven cards total with three facing down and four facing up through successive betting streets. you need a good memory to play this one and then it's another version is Five-Card Stud, it's a leaner, more brutal game of stud."
"Draw Poker: It tests your initial judgment to the end. Hands are dealt complete and concealed; we may discard and draw replacements. Five-Card Draw is the best example for it. Variants like 2-7 Triple Draw or say lowball, where the weakest hand triumphs elevate the cruelty."
"So, zyric-ssi... Do you understand how it is played?... If yes... I'd like to tell you one more thing... You can tell about your card if you want, or maybe bluff about it, or.. Maybe just don't say anything and.. Cheating is allowed too. Just don't get caught doing so."
"Uh, and one more thing before we start the game. This is not the poker that is played by betting money or luxury. For this game, or precisely saying... For this particular organization's poker game. You don't have to use money. The thing that you all have to bet here is.... Your body parts and organs.
He said the last sentence with a mischief coldness in his eyes. The new members seems to be devastated by the betting rule as he sat back in the chair and placed down his wine cup in the holder. Looking at him, everyone else too placed their cups in their holders, but nothing happened.. Vash waits for something to happen as everyone stared at him. He felt their gazes and just decided to do what they did. He placed his cup into the holder and the table suddenly open a square compartment in front of each person sitting around it, pushing a card with weird markings... Vash got a card with the mark "M" In a weird font that was both distorted and Royal ancient looking.
Everyone raised their cards up and so did vash. It seems to be that everyone got a pair with someone, the lady with black hair was paired with the little girl with pink hair. The red haired man got paired with the long haired freak, though the other 6 members got selected into a group play and xero got paired with vash Or zyric for here.
Xero had a lustful eyes on vash when he saw that he was paired with him. But, what vash observed was that admin didn't got any card or was paired with anyone. So he decided to ask him directly.
Vash:"You... Are not playing?.. I think everyone here play it."
The admin just waves it off and says.
Admin:"Uh, no, no... I only play when the members are odd numbers like 5,7,9 or 11. I am not a member of the game, just a host that keeps an eye here... I would definitely be playing with you all if there was even one less of an member with us... So, don't bother with that and continue playing. And one more thing, the cards that gave you a pair with another person also tells you what game you'll play. On the bottom right there's a alphabet written on it. C means community cards, S means stud and D means Draw, and the number besides S and D tells you the type of stud and draw you have to play. If you had got selected into a group of more than three, that would most likely means that you are playing in a Draw poker. Though, it seems like you're not in that bad luck right now."
Vash listened to his words and just sighs out. The roundtable suddenly cuts out a few portions and gave the paired members a separate small tables, and the group a big enough for just 6 people table. Xero and vash stood up and bought their chairs near the small table and sat across one another. Vash and xero placed the pairing card down in the center of the table,facing up, the letter on the bottom right showing S7. A compartment opens in the middle of the table, the pairing cards fell inside and a mechanical box comes out with the cards inside it. Shuffling it randomly at an blurring speed. After shuffling the cards, it throws one by one to both vash and xero, giving two cards facing down and finally one card facing up. The card in front of vash was a 4 of spades and in front of xero was a 8 of diamonds.
The box projected out a screen saying.
[Place your bet: |____|
Note: you can't change the bet after clicking confirm.]
Vash clicks text box and types "Nails", while xero types toes. He was surprised to see vash's bet of nails and points a finger at him.
Xero:"Ho-.. How did you place the nails as bet?!... They are not organs or parts!"
Vash just shrugs and says.
Vash:"If nails weren't body parts, why do they grow on your fingers and toes?.... And if they grow on a body part... They are a part of your body too.... Well, I am more interested in the bet... Usually the bet should be the same amount as everyone else's bets. But, it seems like that doesn't apply for when the bet is a part of your body."
Xero growls in annoyance at being lectured about why the nails are body parts, but he ignores it quickly and grins again, looking at him with the same smile as before. His eyes glinting with golden lust.
Xero:"What?... Already scared about betting a part of your body?... Onii-chan, you should've backed out when admin told you what you have to bet.~... But it's fine, I just love it when the opponent in front of me is in despair."
Vash stayed silent yet again, but looked at him through the slits of his mask. The cold glare coming out with rapid fire as he responds.
Vash:"Did I ask for your opinion?... This is why kids should stay out of gambling. Because, you all are just mindless brats who starts acting like superiority when you win a few times... As far as I remember, this place of men and women were connected three years ago, and the admin might've started this place around that time only,... Maybe he did this before the connection was become habitat but, that doesn't matter... Because the poker is played once every month, so that makes it 12 times a year... You're about 9 or 10...so you even if you've played ever since you were 5 or 4 ... Or hypothetically say 3 or 2 years old... That makes it about 7 to 8 years of playing, 84 to 96 matches for you..... You've barely left your idiot age, kid."
Xero went stiff, everyone went silent. It was easy to tell that no one expected him to say all that... Or maybe... No one has ever "dared" To say something like that to xero in their life. Because..... Xero frowns and looks at vash with pure hatred. He clearly didn't like being called a kid... And the doubt on his experience to poker.
Did vash just now made a big mistake?