Capítulo 1: Prologue 1 - Stay
Leonar was sitting at a splintered wooden table, his body practically hanging over it, as if the surface was the only thing keeping him in place.
The dim light of the place, barely enough to distinguish the shadows of empty bottles and worn cards scattered around, made his glassy and tired eyes squint with effort.
The atmosphere of the gambling house was dense, laden with the smell of cheap liquor and tobacco smoke that clung to the clothes of regular gamblers.
Loud laughter and shouts of euphoria or frustration mingled with the sound of chips clashing, while waiters barely attended to customers ordering another round of drinks.
The walls, covered with stains and old posters of betting promotions, matched the sticky floor from spilled alcohol.
Leonar, however, was absorbed in his own world.
His head rested heavily on his arm, while his other hand clumsily held his phone, checking the screen from time to time.
Each glance at the digital clock in the corner of the device slightly increased his heart rate.
6:00 PM was the key time.
Time seemed to stretch, the hands moved too slowly for his taste, but he knew he had to be patient.
'Come on...', Leonar thought as he stared at his phone.
Finally, the time came.
It was 6:00 PM.
Leonar lifted his head with visible effort, ran a hand over his face as if trying to clear the haze of alcohol that enveloped him, and stood up staggering.
He walked with unsteady steps towards one of the betting tables, the one closest to the wall and furthest from the curious gaze of other players.
Without saying a word, Leonar sat down and watched the roulette spin for a few seconds.
Then, without hesitation, he took most of his chips and placed them on black.
The other players around him looked at him with a mixture of surprise and skepticism. But Leonar paid no attention to any of that.
All that mattered was the result of that bet.
The roulette began to slow down, the sound of the small metal ball bouncing in the slots increased the tension in the atmosphere.
Finally, the ball fell into place.
Black.
A tense silence filled the room, followed by an outburst of surprised murmurs.
With that play, Leonar had won $100,000,000.
The eyes of all present were fixed on the roulette and then on Leonar, who remained motionless with a poker face.
The croupier blinked a couple of times, incredulous, before looking at Leonar with distrust.
"Impossible..." exclaimed one of the nearby players, rising from his seat. "How did he do it?"
"He must be an awakened one," muttered another, his voice trembling. "There's no other explanation."
The croupier leaned forward, squinting.
"Do you have any explanation for this?" he asked, trying to maintain composure. "It's rare for someone without abilities to make such a play..."
"No idea, I guess it was luck."
"How can we be sure?" insisted another player, still incredulous. "This isn't normal!"
"Well, you can check for yourself," replied Leonar, in a more serious tone. "My body doesn't store mana, it's impossible for me to use magic. And I'm not wearing any devices."
The murmurs grew in intensity, the disbelief on the faces of those present was palpable.
How could an ordinary person achieve such a feat without help?
Was it really luck?
The croupier, however, wasn't convinced.
"I'm going to follow the protocol," he declared, his tone severe. "I need to make sure everything is in order."
Leonar sighed, resigned.
"Go ahead," he replied, keeping calm. "I'll wait."
A few minutes later, the door of the gambling house opened, and a group of suited men entered. Their movements were precise and coordinated, indicating that they were accustomed to these types of situations.
One of them carried a small, rectangular device, while another held something similar to a metal detector, though clearly more advanced.
"Please extend your arm," said one of the men, approaching Leonar.
The tone of his voice admitted no argument, but Leonar, maintaining serenity, extended his right wrist.
The man placed the device on Leonar's wrist, which emitted a slight beep while analyzing.
A couple of seconds later, the device's screen showed a clear result.
Negative.
There was no trace of mana in his body, just as he had said.
The man nodded slightly, showing no surprise.
"Now, stand up," asked the second man, holding the other device.
Leonar obeyed, standing up calmly.
The device was passed around his body, emitting a soft hum, similar to that of a security scanner.
The man thoroughly checked, making sure there were no hidden devices or any kind of prohibited technology.
After a few moments, the humming stopped, and the man nodded to his companion.
"All clear," he said, storing the device.
One of the men approached Leonar and, in a kinder but firm tone, said: "Please, come with us. We need to talk about your prize."
Leonar nodded, gathering his things before following the suited men. As they headed towards the exit, the murmurs of those present intensified.
However, something in the men's attitude made Leonar frown.
It wasn't the first time he had won big, and he knew that normally they would take him to an office or a private room to give him his prize, but this time everything seemed different.
"Don't we usually go to a special room for this?" Leonar asked, maintaining his casual tone as he followed them.
One of the men, without turning to look at him, responded dryly:
"Just follow us. This is... a special procedure."
Leonar raised an eyebrow, noting the vagueness of the response.
Something wasn't right.
Still, he decided to follow them, curious to discover what was happening. He walked behind them down a hallway that led him to a less crowded part of the casino, away from the hustle and bustle of betting and games.
Suddenly, one of the men stopped and took out his phone.
He answered a brief call, speaking in a low voice. Leonar barely managed to hear some words, but nothing that made sense to him.
The man hung up and, without giving explanations, signaled the others to continue.
"What's all this?" Leonar inquired, starting to get impatient. "This doesn't seem normal. What's this about?"
Before they could answer, a rumble shook the place.
An explosion resonated from inside the casino, strong enough for everyone to stop in their tracks.
The sound echoed through the hallways, and dust began to fall from the ceiling.
"What the hell was that?" muttered one of the men, looking at his companions with concern.
"We need to see what happened," said the group leader, with a tone of urgency. "But you," he pointed to one of the men, "stay with him. Don't leave him alone."
Leonar watched as the rest of the group quickly moved away, heading towards the source of the explosion.
He stayed there, with the only man who had been ordered to watch him.
The situation was becoming increasingly strange, and Leonar couldn't help but feel a growing unease.
'This is too weird,' Leonar thought, as his gaze moved between the man watching him and the dark hallway where the others had disappeared.
'Did a monster get here?' Leonar wondered, feeling the urge to go see what was happening, and more because his instinct was screaming at him.
However, when he tried to move forward, the man stopped him, putting a firm hand on his chest.
"Stay here," he ordered, his tone cold and authoritative. "Don't move."
Leonar looked at him fixedly, his irritation growing with each second.
"What are you saying? If there's a monster loose, we need to move. I'm not going to stay here waiting for something to attack us."
"Calm down," the man replied, without changing his expression. "You're safe here. Don't worry about what's happening. Let them handle it."
Leonar's patience ran out.
"Are you crazy? I'm not going to stay here to die if something goes wrong."
The man didn't seem to flinch at Leonar's words, but his voice hardened even more.
"I told you to stay calm. Don't make this more difficult."
Leonar felt a pang of alarm run through his body.
Something wasn't right, and every fiber of his being was screaming at him to get out of there.
Without thinking further, he turned around and started running, determined to find a way out before it was too late.
"Hey!" shouted the man, starting to chase him.
Leonar didn't stop.
He ran down the hallway until he reached a side door, yanked it open, and slipped inside before slamming it shut behind him.
Panting, Leonar looked around.
He was in a room full of targets, with bullseyes and training dummies arranged in rows.
The place was silent, but his heart was beating hard in his chest, every sound amplified in his mind.
As he searched for an exit, something strange happened.
A voice, cold and unknown, resonated in his head, as if someone was speaking directly into his mind.
"What...?" Leonar muttered, confused, turning around, looking for the source of the voice.
But there was no one else in the room, just him.
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