Dice and Gifts

In this seemingly endless land, who knew how many forks there were, or how many crossroads.

Ruger stood at one such unremarkable crossroads. Before him was a large boulder, and sitting atop it was someone who could curse him with filthy insults without making him so much as frown.

"Possessing an Oddity is the dream of many people," the Half-Man said.

The little Kobold smacked his lips. Even using the few remaining hairs on his head to think, he knew the Half-Man was absolutely telling the truth.

But this thing was hard to obtain. He was still using his mental power to read the little stories recorded on the Demon Dice. One of its former owners could be called exceptionally tragic. That person had used the dice many times and had fortunately never encountered a five or six. Everything had gone smoothly when it came to using the Oddity, but in the end, he had been set up and captured. He was trapped in a deep pit cast from metal and stone, imprisoned there until death. During that time, he had to roll the dice at regular intervals according to the will of his captors.

Endless imprisonment and torture. During that period, he had accidentally traded with demons and gained powerful vitality, making him difficult to kill. In the end, during a trade with a Stench Demon, he completely transformed into a monster, intending to use the immense power gained from the deal to resist. He ultimately failed and died, yet the dice said that he had succeeded—he had finally obtained the death he sought.

Ruger felt that he might never be bored again.

The tiny dice seemed to contain an inexhaustible supply of stories—one life after another, long or short, each one harrowing. Especially when viewed as the current owner of the dice. Yes, he had already decided to accept this gift. As long as he did not use it recklessly, as long as he was careful and only used it at critical moments in desperate situations, there should not be much of a problem. But when he thought of that, he could not help smacking his lips and almost laughing, because everyone in every story had said the same thing.

"What an interesting little Kobold."

The Half-Man had been silently watching from the side, seemingly enjoying Ruger's internal struggle.

"That is only part of the gift. You must personally participate in the creation of the complete gift. At the same time, you will be helping me do something," the Half-Man said.

Ruger's eyes lit up.

The thing he had long anticipated had finally arrived. He liked getting benefits for free, but he did not like others constantly offering him benefits unprompted. That made him uneasy, and he would have to keep spending energy thinking about it with the brain he already lamented every day was not enough.

"You may bind the dice to yourself and use it to preserve your life. There is no need to worry too much. During the first few uses, the dice rarely bring misfortune. Even if you truly trade with a demon, you will not die so quickly. It understands the human heart better than most people," the Half-Man said.

"It's alive?"

"Yes and no. It is an Oddity. Though it is merely one of the more ordinary Oddities, it is still a unique Oddity, the only one of its kind in this world."

The Half-Man's words reassured Ruger somewhat. Not because of that unreliable explanation about Oddities, but because he was still useful. As long as he remained useful, the Half-Man would not easily let him come to harm.

A fragment even smaller than the Demon Dice, emitting a faint multicolored glow, floated before Ruger.

"This is another component of the gift: a peculiar spatial fragment. Leave your Arcane Imprint on it. Only then will you be able to touch it."

Ruger did as instructed. After several attempts on the peculiar fragment that constantly shifted between solid and insubstantial, he barely managed to leave his Arcane Imprint.

He was equally decisive. As soon as he finished the Arcane Imprint, he directly kissed the dice, completing the strange succession and becoming the new master of the dice. Now, only he could roll this joke-like Demon Dice that had changed the fates of countless people.

"Very good, but now is not the time to roll it. Put away your dice and take this fragment. It will guide you to find something. Bring that thing back, and we can begin trying to complete this peculiar gift."

Listening to the Half-Man's words, Ruger actually sensed a trace of anticipation in that flat, indifferent tone.

After some thought, Ruger took out the bottle of dark green potion the Half-Man had given him and drank it. The injured parts of his body immediately began to itch, and his throat started itching as well. He began coughing uncontrollably, eventually coughing up blackened blood. He felt as though new fur was about to grow on his body.

That really was some good stuff, he thought.

The spatial fragment upon which he had successfully left an Arcane Imprint with the Half-Man's help seemed to have formed a subtle connection with him through the imprint.

He reached out to try to grasp it, and the multicolored fragment actually drifted closer to him.

"Go. Remember, bring the thing back," the Half-Man said.

Ruger nodded. The moment he grasped the fragment, a vague guidance emerged in his heart. It seemed not far from here.

Feeling the numb itch all over his body, his steps grew faster and faster.

Following that vague direction and choosing different passageways, he wound through turn after turn until he was unexpectedly led onto a familiar path.

His expression did not change. The numb itch on his body had already eased considerably. His walk had made his entire body warm, while the potion's powerful effects had thoroughly swept away his injuries.

He continued onward, following the guidance all the way to the Saint Lord's great cave.

Big Silly Hum was not at the entrance. Meanwhile, Bald Tooth, the Kobolds' new king, was snoring soundly inside the great cave. His belly, whose fur had not yet fully grown in, seemed a little cold, and in his sleep, he tugged over his grass skirt to cover it. Ruger walked in with a solemn expression. For some reason, after not seeing him for several days, Bald Tooth had become even more afraid of Ruger. Startled awake, he saw Ruger and immediately leapt up in fright.

Ruger waved for Bald Tooth to stay quiet, then followed the guidance in his heart straight to a pile of broken bones.

He looked at the somewhat familiar bones before him and the traces remaining on them.

Gray Longneck Saint Lord's nest? Then the thing I'm supposed to find can't be that egg, can it?

Probably not. I already fed that thing to the little worm. It should not be guiding me back to the nest.

As he thought this, he refused Bald Tooth's offer of help and began digging. Given the size of that enormous snake, the pile of bones was astonishingly large. Searching blindly would only exhaust him to death, so he carefully sensed the guidance as he dug.

"What are you doing?" He suddenly turned his head.

Bald Tooth jumped, forcibly holding back the urine he had already released halfway.

"Go outside and keep watch for me. Come back after I leave." He turned back and continued digging.

The guidance in his heart was nearby.

His hands paused. He looked around again. Bald Tooth had already left, and there was not a single figure nearby.

A peculiar sense of being watched. Before, he had thought it was because of Bald Tooth.

"What an interesting little Kobold. You appear to be a Wizard Apprentice. Do not be surprised, nor need you panic. You awakened me, and as this is our first meeting, I can give you a small gift..."

An inexplicable, emotionless voice sounded in Ruger's mind.

But Ruger's surprise was not because someone had suddenly spoken to him.