After washing off and changing out of his guard's robes he took his ticket and headed towards the nearest bank.
The streets were grey as tall skyscrapers blocked out the sun. A slight rain began to fall. For some reason District 16 always had large amounts of rainfall. The drain system was overhauled long ago to facilitate the excess amount of water.
Ardent passed these large drain vents on the side of the road. His dark colored hoodie becoming wet. He passed by crowds of people going to and from work. District 16 had close to 2 million residents. Most of the population these days worked in factories supplying many luxuries.
The most sought after product on the market was the Virtual Reality chips. This allowed people to escape reality and visit the many digital worlds crafted for pure entertainment. Ardent always wondered what this technology felt like but he could never afford such luxuries. His weekly payment was only 1,000 credits. While the VRC would cost up to 300,000 credits.
A factory worker on the other hand would only make 600 credits a week at most. So he was slightly above the average person in terms of wages. But it was still tough.
Ardent finally reached the District 16 Coalition Bank. He looked up at the grand structure. It looked similar to a cathedral from the old days. Eight years ago around the year 2430 the Coalition started focusing on more architectural relics for important buildings. Thus resulting in exquisite and detailed buildings popping up all over the place contrasting starkly against the backdrop of the matt grey skyscrapers.
Passing under the huge pillars he entered the bank and walked up to one of the reception desks.
"Good evening, how can I help you sir?", the elderly woman asked.
Ardent forced a smile, "Cashing in my ticket." He handed the woman the ticket he had received from the guard at the prison.
The receptionist smiled and took the ticket, examining it closely. She noticed the Coalition stamp on the back and nodded, "Looks legit." She then scanned the dot code on the bottom and asked Ardent to put in his bank details, spinning a small tablet around to face him.
Ardent pulled up his sleeve revealing a black digital watch and placed it against the tablet. A soft ding sounded out and a green light lit up confirming his bank details.
The woman smiled again, "Alright sir, 1,800 credits have been transferred to your account. Have a nice day."
Ardent turned around without another word. He received an extra 800 credits for participating in the execution. This was to compensate them for the mental toll the job takes on them.
Taking a moment he looked outside. The slight rain had already turned into a downpour. He liked the rain. It felt purifying. As if it would wash away all the evil.
Walking into the street the flood beat down on his back soaking his clothes immediately. He walked for about 30 minutes until he reached an alley way tucked between two tall buildings. This created a shadow that made the alleyway dark.
He snuck through a backdoor and into a small room. A big man with huge muscles stood nearby. The two of them nodded at each other. Ardent walked past him and through another door. His footsteps left a trail of wet puddles behind him.
The new room was quite spacious. Many tables were set up with a lot of people gathered around cheering. A small band was up on a stage playing some soothing but rhythmic music.
It was an illegal gambling site. Ardent liked frequenting this place. Playing different games and trying out different strategies. He could also win big if he got lucky. He was always good at deceiving others. But unfortunately last time he had lost pretty big so he owed them quite a bit of money. 3,000 credits to be specific.
With this last paycheck he had finally gathered enough money to pay them back. He definitely didn't want to owe money to people of this sort. It could land him in some trouble. So he was here to pay the debt.
Ardent walked up to a well dressed man at the bar. He was currently being poured a tall glass of alcohol by the bartender. This man was dressed in a dark red suit with a black tie. His leather shoes were perfectly polished and his black hair was slicked back. His dark black eyes glanced over at the arriving youth.
"Mr. Sayas I have attained your money. I can pay you back now."
Roy Sayas smiled and took a sip of his glass, the amber liquid quickly disappearing.
"It seems today is my lucky day. I made a bet with Otis that you wouldn't run. He will definitely be upset at this." One of the nearby guards approached from beside holding a small tablet. Ardent stretched out his left arm, his watch making a small ding sound as the 3,000 credits were transferred.
Ardent was dismayed, he only had 300 credits left in his account. This should be able to last him another week. Forcing a smile he looked up at Mr. Sayas. "Are you up for another game."
The well dressed man smiled interestingly, "Hmm bold are we. You just paid off your debts and plan to take up another bet."
Ardent remained silent, with a simple smile he stared back up at the man. Roy laughed, "Which game young man?"
"Obviously The Prospect Gauntlet.", Ardent spoke confidently, "300 credits. Are you in."
The Prospect Gauntlet was a card game based off a previous event during the Era of Chaos. Basically they each received three level 1 prospect cards and a bunch of play cards, buff cards, and de-buff cards. They each took turns trying to out maneuver each other and take out the other player's cards.
If they gathered 7 prospect cards of the same level they could sacrifice them to receive a prospect card of a higher level. But if they didn't land on the correct color the sacrifice would be in vain and two of their Prospect cards would be removed.
Roy looked at his empty cup and placed it on the bar and stood up, straightening his suit. "Let's go."
The two of them went into a private room and sat down at a small table. Two guards sat nearby watching silently. The dealer approached and reminded the two of them of the rules.
The first person to obtain a level 3 card or kill the opponent's strongest card would win. He then dealt out a stack of cards to the two players after shuffling them.
Ardent picked up his stack glancing quickly not showing anything on his face. He had played this game many times before. He just had to force his opponent to set up his card evolution and strike when he least expected it.
Thirty minutes passed and many cards were lined across the table in different sections. They had went back and forth for awhile but now Roy Sayas had the upper hand, with 6 of his cards prepared at level 2. Meanwhile Ardent only had 4 level 2 cards and the fifth on the way.
Roy laughed, "It seems you are about to lose. Are you sure you don't want me to lower the bet."
Ardent smiled but didn't respond. His formation was set up he was just waiting for the right opportunity. Finally it happened.
Roy used his play card and summoned the Gauntlet. Preparing his evolution. The wheel spun. Both of their eyes locked onto it as it went round and round. And then, it landed on black. Roy squinted his eyes with joy and handed his seven level 1 cards to the dealer and received his last level 2 card.
But before he could say anything else Ardent summoned the Gauntlet. "I will now sacrifice all my level 1 cards and three level 2 cards in exchange for a level 3 weapon."
The dealer was shocked. This was madness. If he sacrificed all his cards and didn't land the small chance of acquiring the weapon then he had no chance of coming back. The game would be lost instantly.
Roy scratched the back of his head, "You got some balls kid. I didn't expect you to be going for this strategy."
Ardent responded, "I could never beat you straight on. I needed to aim for the weapon to have a shot. Now all I need is luck."
Silence and understanding hovered in the room as the dealer quietly spun the Gauntlet. It spun again. Ardent needed to land on a red space with an even number. It was about a 25 percent chance.
The two players watched hesitantly as the ball spun round and round. This was it. Finally it stopped.
Ardent lowered his gaze slightly as Roy shrugged.
The ball had landed on black.