Above the Gray Fog, inside a palace that resembled the dwelling of Giant.
Klein tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the weathered long table, his thoughts swirling around the strange die.
"It allows me to be influenced without me noticing or feeling anything unusual... This is similar to the '0-08' from back then, except one is right in front of me and the other is hiding behind the scenes... It is definitely Sealed Artifact, and one that is close to the top level. Even if it is not a '0' level artifact, it is a very special existence within the '1' level..."
"I have no power to interfere with Fate for the time being, but I can't just passively deal with it either. As time goes by, Sealed Artifact of similar levels often cause more serious damage, which may affect the people around the fat Apothecary, such as me and the passengers on the ship..." Klein thought hard for a while, but had no clue, and decided to return to the real world immediately.
He didn't know how to seal the die or how to weaken its influence, but he knew someone else did.
This person is none other than Will Auceptin, the " Mercury Snake," who was still in his mother's womb and in the fetal stage!
Entering the master bedroom, Klein took the origami crane from his wallet and unfolded it on the table. He glanced at the surface, still bearing traces of wiping, picked up a pencil, and wrote down a simple question:
What should we do with that die?
He folded the origami crane back to its original shape, put it in his wallet, and then went to the servant's room and tapped it three times with his fingers.
This doesn't contradict Gehrman Sparrow's character, because he's a refined Lunatic. Of course, Klein's main concern was that Door Opening the door rashly would accidentally run over and kill the unfortunate fat Apothecary Darkwill, which was something he learned from the " Death Is Coming " film series.
In addition, Klein was also worried that Door Opening directly would reveal something offensive.
Given Darkwill's apparent preferences, he found himself in an extremely dangerous situation from which he couldn't escape, only able to wait until after death, with a considerable probability of deciding to have one last good time... Klein thought to himself, when he heard the fat Apothecary weakly reply:
"What is it?"
"It's good that he's not dead..." Klein carefully Door Opening, leaned forward slightly, looked at Darkwill and the open ring box in front of him, and calmly asked:
"What time is it?"
"Isn't there a wall clock...?" Darkwill still looked listless.
"I was asking about the dice," Klein added succinctly.
"Still 3 o'clock..." Darkwill answered instinctively at first, then turned his head and jumped up, "You believe me?"
Klein did not respond, lest the other party recall the scene of Gehrman Sparrow being Fooling the dice just now.
He turned around and said in a flat tone:
"Bring the dice outside."
"Good!"
"OK!"
Darkwill and Harry the owl exclaimed in surprise, almost simultaneously.
One raised its arms, and the other spread its wings.
When the portly Apothecary carefully brought out the ring box, Klein pointed to the coffee table and said:
"Place it on top."
As he spoke, he sat down on the sofa next to him, rested his elbows on his thighs, and leaned forward to examine the strange die.
From the outside, this die has nothing strange about it in a mystical sense. The only difference between it and its normal counterparts is that even the three dots are red.
Klein cautiously refrained from touching them, straightening up slightly to look at the fat Apothecary Darkwill sitting opposite him and the fat owl Harry perched on the top of the chair back:
Please describe the specific situation.
Darkwill, no longer hiding anything, said with a smile that looked more like a grimace:
"This is an important Sealed Artifact within our organization, and my mission is to deliver it to the designated person on Oravi Island."
"But as you've seen, it's very dangerous; it can rotate on its own, even when there's no space available!"
"When it turns to 6, the holder will be lucky enough to succeed at anything they do, just like I fooled you with a rather lame Lies before."
Don't mention this... You'll get a real beating for that mouth of yours someday... Klein listened expressionlessly.
Darkwill continued:
"A number 1 indicates that the holder will be extremely unlucky and unable to succeed in anything. Even if I tell you everything without hiding anything, you still won't believe me..."
"Two o'clock should be a milder form of Misfortune, so why would it lead to me being struck by lightning...? It's incomprehensible!"
"3 and 4 o'clock represent normal bad luck and good luck, this can be confirmed. 5 o'clock corresponds to 2 o'clock."
You're not unlucky enough, otherwise I would have already beaten you up... Klein thought for a moment, then calmly gave the order:
"From now on, you will take turns monitoring this die. Tell me immediately when it lands below a 3."
"Us?" Darkwill was momentarily at a loss.
"Including me?" The owl on the top of the chair back behind him raised its right wing.
Klein leaned back on the sofa, crossed his right leg, and said calmly:
This helps maintain energy and focus.
After saying that, he gestured with his chin towards the owl:
"You go first."
"My name is Harry," the owl muttered.
Harry... Klein suppressed a laugh and turned to Darkwill, saying:
"Go ring the bell and call the waiter over. From now on, we'll be using the delivery service."
Before arriving at Oravi Island, you must stay in the living room at all times and cannot go anywhere else.
Even if you want to go into the restroom, you have to be in a state of 3 or 4 o'clock.
"If you really can't hold it in, I'll give you a bucket."
Listening to Gehrman Sparrow's methodical instructions, the portly Apothecary Darkwill gradually calmed down and was no longer as fearful as before.
His biggest concerns were twofold Gehrman Sparrow's Greed might be triggered, leading him to commit murder and robbery; and second, that this somewhat insane and ruthless adventurer might be frightened by the dice and decide to terminate the commission and cease providing protection.
But now it seems that Gehrman Sparrow is not afraid, and is even quite confident!
Darkwill secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and thought to himself:
"His performance just now was really professional..."
And I'm not afraid at all!
"He was able to forcefully break free from the influence of the dice and accept my explanation. No wonder he's a powerful adventurer who can easily hunt down ' Sweet-Talker '! He must be a pirate general-level expert!"
Darkwill stood up, walked to the door, and rang the service bell.
Just as he returned to the sofa area, the sharp voice of Harry the owl suddenly rang in his ears:
It's changed, it's changed!
"2 o'clock!"
Suddenly, Klein leaped up from the sofa without warning and ran to Darkwill's side.
Bang!
As a gunshot rang out, Klein grabbed Darkwill's arm, pulled his arm back, and flicked his wrist, throwing the chubby Apothecary to the other side.
At this moment, a bullet hole appeared in the wall corresponding to where Darkwill had originally been standing.
Was it Sailor's gun accidentally discharged? Or did it ricochet off somewhere while shooting at seabirds or other targets? Either way, the probability is very low, so... Klein turned to look at the fat Apothecary:
Are you injured?
Darkwill shook his head in lingering fear:
"Fine."
In the following period, Klein resolved about a dozen accidents, including a ceiling chandelier suddenly falling, a slipping repairman's hammer heading straight for Darkwill's head, and a fat Apothecary nearly dying after choking on a fishbone.
These may not seem like particularly impressive tasks, but for Klein, they require intense mental concentration, making fatigue inevitable.
Fortunately, the dice rolled to 4 on their own, finally ending that disastrous hour.
No, if this continues, something might happen to me while I'm rescuing people... Klein dismissed the captain who came to apologize and said to Darkwill:
I'll sleep for half an hour first.
"Keep an eye on the dice. Wake me up immediately if there's any problem."
The fat Apothecary and the owl nodded simultaneously, like chicks eating.
Leaning back on the sofa, Klein quickly fell asleep through Cogitation, hoping Will Auceptin had already responded.
When he awoke from his dream and saw that he was in a dark and desolate plain, he breathed a sigh of relief and followed the familiar road until he reached the depths of the black spire.
On the raised ground surrounded by tarot cards, rows of silvery words have appeared, densely packed and numerous.
Klein stopped and quickly browsed through the pages:
It's called the ' Die of Probability '.
"It is the highest-level Sealed Artifact within our school, and I believe it can reach the '0' level standard."
"It controls the probability of every event. At point 1, it amplifies the probability of being unfavorable to the target to the extreme. At point 2, it significantly increases the probability of being unfavorable. This does not mean that point 2 is necessarily safer than point 1, because once the probability increases, anything can happen. Point 3 amplifies the probability of being unfavorable to some extent, and points 4 to 6 are the opposite."
"Even for someone like me who can reset processes to some extent, it's an extremely dangerous Sealed Artifact. Using it, one could kill Demigod, and of course, one could also kill oneself."
I understand, your battle with the Die of Probability is like the clash between the god Save-Lord and the God of Dice (Note 1)... Klein thought to himself, then continued reading:
"The ' Die of Probability ' has a living characteristic, always putting its holder between bad luck and good fortune, and it can easily die from an accident if it is not careful. When it becomes sufficiently awake, it will gradually bring the people and things around the holder under its control, Manipulation the probability of their behavior."
"Although I haven't confirmed it, I suspect that given enough time, it could influence the entire world, making the actions of all living beings determined by the number it rolls—except, of course, the gods."
Simply put, it's about digitizing the entire world... This, this is definitely in the category of a "0" level Sealed Artifact, extremely dangerous! It's terrifying... Klein couldn't help but frown, eagerly reading on:
"To truly seal the ' Die of Probability ' is quite complex. Simply put, it involves using a specific Sealed Artifact to isolate it from the Spirit World, the Astral World, and the real world. You can give it a try."
"Haha, I'm laying my cards on the table. I discovered long ago that you can resist my premonitions, and perhaps you can use that to seal them away."
"There is another way, but it can only temporarily reduce the impact. However, it is enough to successfully deliver the ' Die of Probability ' to the person who can seal it."
"The method is to take advantage of its living nature and use effective means to frighten it. This will make it obedient, no, quiet for a period of time, about 12 hours, and then it will continue."
"The more times you threaten it, the less it will be affected. After more than a week, it will hold a grudge against you and Manipulation your probability of success."
"Finally, thank you for your help, your dear friend Will Auceptin."
As expected of the " Snake of Fate," it has indeed discovered my special abilities... Throwing the " Die of Probability " onto the Gray Fog should seal it... But the problem is, this "0" level Sealed Artifact with living characteristics might affect that mysterious space above the Gray Fog, driving me out and becoming its master... This kind of thing cannot be answered by Divination; it can definitely fight back, just like "0-08"... Klein rejected the idea of using the Gray Fog.
In a flash, an idea suddenly came to him.
Klein quickly snapped out of the dream and woke up, saying to the fat Apothecary Darkwill:
"I have a way to suppress its influence."
"What method?" Darkwill asked in surprise.
Klein didn't answer, picked up the " Die of Probability " with the "4" facing up, and went into the restroom.
What was he going to do? I remember that in some folk customs, the way to deal with evil spirits was to throw feces... Ugh... Darkwill didn't want to think about it anymore.
Upon entering the washroom and locking the bedroom door, Klein immediately began the ritual, summoning himself. Then, he ascended above the Gray Fog and brought out the iron cigarette case.
Then, he picked up the " Die of Probability " and opened the cigarette box, inside which lay the " Eye of All-Black " from the Marionettist.
In the dim light, Klein's face was deeply shadowed, and his gaze was deep and reserved as he brought the " Die of Probability " close to that eerie eye, which contained the Beyonder Characteristic of the " True Creator's " spiritual pollution.
He slowly parted his lips into a kind smile, and whispered to the dice in his hand:
"Come, let me invite you to a concert."
Note 1: " Save-Lord " is a homophone for "save/load," meaning to save and load data.
P. S.: Starting today, I'll resume updating twice a day.