THE OTHERWORLDLY RACE

Ptah had already left his friend's side, trying to avoid the creepy looks of other gamblers eyeing the winnings of his friend. He had said his piece and disappeared into the distance. Nuzar had played the game up to the tenth round. He himself was surprised about his winnings. He only lost a few times while playing the roulette-like game. Even the few times he 'lost' was purely intentional.

He started gambling with 40 Misrian bronze coins. Now he had with him around 1600 bronze coins. One thing he noticed everytime he wanted to place his bets was a strange sensation in his right eye. This same eye had troubled him a lot when he first transmigrated to this world. Anytime he thinks about a particular matter, he feels a burning sensation in the said eye. Even scrutinizing an object or situation puts a lot of strain in his right eye.

His eye patch that was meant to be around his eye wasn't there. The eye patch had the ability to suppress this weird sensation. The eye patch was an amulet made by his Mother, an Advanced tiered witch. He didn't want to wear the eye patch all around because it made him look like a weirdo.

Nuzar didn't know what to make of the situation. When trying to make some money from this 'generous' place, the pain gets worse with every round he played. Now that he had reach the tenth round he didn't want to push his luck any longer.

'Where's that dude' He said as he turned around to look for his buddy, only to see the eerie eyes of the other gamblers on him. ' This is getting Interesting'. He smiled to himself.

★ ★ ★

" Hey bro, do you know why I'm enthusiastic about patronizing this new Tower." Ptah asked. " Why ask.... isn't it obvious. Their goods would be cheap compared to the ones in the big cities." Nuzar shrugged.

" Yeah, you're right but your missing something. Well... I've forgotten that you've been paying attention to your sword practice these days. " Ptah shook his head. He turned his head slightly, giving furtive glances at the people around. " I heard that the owner of this place is Hanzo." Ptah whispered.

Suddenly, Nuzar felt a sharp pain in his right eye. "Aaargh!" Nuzar groaned, placing his palm on the eye . " What was that buddy?" Ptah was startled. " That name.....It.. rings a bell". Nuzar trembled.

" Come on, you got me scared... Hanzo is the new disciple of our master's rival. He's a prodigy in the field of medicine. He's..

"No- that's not it... I mean yes you're right but, that guy.....he was the one that led the squad of antique hunters who attacked me that day." Nuzar trembled in anger.

" That doesn't add up.... When I got there that day after getting a distress message from you I didn't see him there. I only saw four men... murdered in cold blood and none of them bore any resemblance to that arrogant dude ".

" Let's keep going, if we keep walking at this pace... the package would be sold before we get there." Nuzar urged.

....

" I never wanted to do this... but thinking about that incident gets me riled up. Ptah, I'm sorry.... what I'm about to do might get us in trouble but I must do it." He turned around and smiled at the other gamblers.

'Let the chaos begin' He smiled inwardly.

What Nuzar had in mind was to cause a scene so that he could see the boss of the Tower. Now his body was trembling not with fear...but excitement.

" Where do you think you're going!" A potbellied man groaned. The way he sounded and walked was reminiscent of a drunkard. His small legs were swaying wobbly. Even without being drunk, it would be a hard task for the small legs to withstand the weight of his upper body.

' Drinking and gambling, what a great match up.' Nuzar giggled. The man came at Nuzar, swinging his large clenched fists. Nuzar ducked the drunk swings easily and slammed the edge of his palm on the man's fat neck. The man's eyes rolled back in his head. He slumped and fell on the hard floor.

The other gamblers were jolted from their trance like state. They numbered in five. Their aura showed that they were weak basic tiered mortals. They surrounded Nuzar in seconds ready to attack him. They raised their weapons that ranged from bottle to knives against Nuzar. The young Misrian was ready to foil their attack any second.

" Hold it!" A bass voice shouted. The voice came from a guard in the tower. He wore an ancient Egyptian styled kilt and bronze chest piece. He had his short sword by his side in its scabbard and a scrap of cloth covering his face. He was the only guard wearing the native kilt. He exuded a lofty air. He was the head of the guards. The other guards wore ordinary clothes with wooden masks resembling the one Nuzar wore.

"How can someone win that much...he must've cheated." One of the gamblers complained.

"If he didn't cheat, then there must have been a glitch." Another complained.

"Hey, cool it. There wasn't any glitch and he didn't cheat. It was pure luck." The Head of the guards explained. The gamblers grumbled and left the scene noiselessly without throwing tantrum.

"Sorry for the trouble this scumbags might have caused you." The kilted guard smiled and bowed as a sign of respect. Nuzar frowned inwardly. This wasn't what he had expected. He wanted to cause a hullabaloo and leave the scene stealthily to look for the boss, Hanzo. Now his plans has been foiled.

"Thanks for your patronage, please leave a good review at the reception room". The kilted guard stretched his hand for a handshake. The moment Nuzar's hand touched the guard's hand the burning sensation he felt before came back but this time...it was worse. He quickly pulled away from the handshake.

Apart from the burning sensation he felt in his right eye, he felt an insidious aura, one that sent shivers down his spine. The kilted guard emitted an otherworldly aura. Nuzar's body subconsciously trembled... only this time it trembled with fear. Before he wanted to cause chaos and exact his vengeance against the boss of the tower, now his body was telling him to flee.

He turned around to search for his friend but Ptah wasn't in sight . He left the casino hall and went to the bar-like reception room. The room still reeked of alcohol and the partially clad waitresses were waiting for new customers.

'Looks like that guy meant what he said...he really did left me to my troubles.' He thought.

Since his friend was not there he walked out of the stinky place with large strides.