Temple of Fate

"So I have a terminal illness?" he asked, picking up the phone to confirm.

The doctor said, "It's not a terminal illness. There's still a chance of a cure through surgery, although the risks are slightly higher. If Mr. Xiao has enough funds, I suggest you use nanotherapy, which can be performed very safely."

The problem is that there aren't enough funds. Three million! I've worked myself to the bone for three years and only earned a little over three hundred thousand. That's all he has. It's enough to pay for the surgery, but a 5% survival rate seems a bit unreliable. It's not just a nine out of ten chance of death, it's a nineteen out of ten chance!

If that Balrog Lord character were still alive, he might have a chance to earn 3 million within a year. But now he has to start from scratch, and there's no way he'll have time. You know, it took that Balrog Lord three years to level up. Even if he gains experience and levels up his character to a Skeleton-level boss within a year, he still won't have time to make money.

Wait a minute! Xiao Yu's eyes suddenly lit up. He remembered what Dark Rod had mentioned to him before about the game company holding the strongest BOSS event.

The prize for the shortlisted winners is two million, while the top three winners can receive thirty million, twenty million, and ten million respectively. Although the chances are slim, he feels he has a fighting chance. If he wins the grand prize, he can survive, and not only that, the remaining money can change his life forever.

In comparison, surgery seems really unreliable, but if I really can't make any money after a year, I might have no choice but to opt for surgery.

Xiao Yu's mind raced. He recalled Merlin's words from before. At the time, he had only thought the man was a charlatan, but now he suddenly realized that his words had come true. He had indeed encountered a calamity, but according to Merlin, this calamity was called the "Soul-Shocking Tribulation." It seemed frightening but was actually harmless. As long as he went with the flow, he would turn the danger into safety. Did that mean he would eventually win the grand prize?

At this moment, he was in utter despair, just like Hitler when the Third Reich collapsed. He instinctively placed his hopes in mysticism, hurriedly entered the game, and sent Merlin an email from the login screen. "Hey, are you there?"

Merlin (Astral Plane Wizard): "You need something from me."

"How exactly did you calculate that terrifying ordeal you mentioned?"

Merlin (Astral Plane Wizard): "Why are you asking this? There's still a year left. Even if it doesn't appear now, it might appear in the future. Even if you want your money back, you'll have to wait a year."

Merlin spoke in a roguish tone, leaving Xiao Yu speechless for a moment.

"I don't want money, I just want to know how you calculated it."

Merlin (Astral Plane Wizard): "How did you calculate that? Wait, are you really facing some kind of calamity?"

Xiao Yu was furious and laughed, "What do you mean it can't be true? You predicted a calamity, do you think you wouldn't know?"

Merlin (Astral Plane Wizard): "This is a secret that cannot be revealed; I'm afraid I cannot tell you."

Xiao Yu immediately sensed something was off; this guy's words were rather vague, and he quickly became suspicious. "Do you even know how to tell fortunes?"

Merlin (Astral Plane Wizard): "Don't ask me if I can tell fortunes or not. What's wrong with you?"

Xiao Yu was speechless, but still recounted his experience of having a brain tumor.

Merlin (Astral Plane Wizard): "Holy crap, it's this bad. Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have lied to you."

"Well, seeing how unlucky you are, I won't try to fool you," Merlin seemed a little embarrassed. "Actually, my fortune-telling is real, though not the kind of family secret technique. I learned it from an online course, and I've done it a few times before. Overall, it's quite accurate. Last time, I saw you had a 'Possession a ghost' debuff, and since I know Spirit Expulsion, I just fooled you for a bit. I guess that debuff must be from your equipment. Check it yourself if you don't believe me."

Xiao Yu opened his equipment inventory and, sure enough, saw a staring icon on the bearskin coat.

Manst's Whisper (Unavailable): Wearing this robe, you will hear the whispers of Manst Moonwalker from time to time.

The effect has turned gray, indicating that the debuff has disappeared due to the previous Spirit Expulsion.

Upon hearing Merlin's explanation, Xiao Yu nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. What was this? Just when a glimmer of hope appeared in his heart, and he thought that this ordeal would pass without serious harm, fate dealt him another blow.

When Merlin saw that he hadn't responded for a while, he sent a message: "Don't be sad. My divination technique is actually quite accurate. I've done it a few times, and the success rate is about 70%. Besides, the person who taught me divination seems to be quite capable. If you don't trust me, you can try it with that person again."

After saying that, Merlin sent over a website address.

At this point, Xiao Yu had no choice but to try anything, no matter if it was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor or a charlatan from the underworld, he couldn't let go of any hope as long as there was a glimmer of hope.

Xiao Yu hurriedly entered the website address.

System message: Logging into 'Temple of Fate'. This website is a professional technical training website. Please register an account and log in to enter.

Xiao Yu quickly registered an account and then logged in.

System notification: Identity verification in progress, verification successful. Welcome to the Hall of Destiny, Xiao Yu. A woman's voice echoed in his ears, and the next second he found himself in a beautiful hall.

This was a grand hall filled with an air of mystery. There were no statues of gods enshrined there. In the center of the hall was a huge solar system instrument. The dome of the hall was painted with densely packed star maps, and the floor beneath his feet had a pattern resembling a magic circle of six-pointed stars. The walls were painted with all sorts of mystical strokes. Sunlight shone through the stained glass windows, reflecting colorful rays of light. Xiao Yu knew that all of this was just a virtual world constructed by a computer program, but he still couldn't help but feel a mysterious atmosphere.

In the center of the main hall was a tent (which Xiao Yu found somewhat amusing). A woman walked out of the tent, wearing a magnificent golden cloak, a hood over her head, and curly hair that cascaded down her shoulders. Both her hands were adorned with enormous rings, giving her the classic look of a female prophet (charlatan).

"Welcome to the Hall of Destiny. I am Kara, the Blind Eye. Have you come here to find your destiny?"

"Of course, otherwise what else would I be here for?" Xiao Yu said bluntly. He didn't come here to be fooled, so he had no interest in guessing games. He had already heard Merlin's Prophecy and didn't want to be fooled again. Compared to the outcome of the prophecy, he was more interested in whether these divinations were reliable or not. Therefore, he directly explained the reason why he came here.

He even revealed all about his brain tumor diagnosis and his decision to participate in the ultimate BOSS tournament.

Finally, he bluntly stated, "So things are quite simple. My only chance of survival is to finish in the top three in the competition. According to Merlin's divination, I should be able to succeed, but only if his divination is truly reliable."

"I don't want to question anything, I just want to ask you one thing: does divination really work, and are the results of divination truly guaranteed to come true?"

"If I told you that the divination result would definitely come true, what would you do? Would you strive for victory, or would you completely relax, since the divination result is a close call and there's no danger, and you don't have to do anything? Would you do nothing?"

Xiao Yu was taken aback. He hadn't thought of that before, but now that he thought about it, even if it was stated that he would be fine, he would still try his best to achieve the best outcome.

"Heh, just as I thought. Like many others, you don't truly believe in fate. Wanting to know the outcome of the divination is simply to get the answer you want."

"You haven't answered my question yet," Xiao Yu said, dissatisfied.

Kara didn't answer his question, but smiled slightly and pointed to the tent. After the two went inside, they found the tent to be very comfortable. In the center was a low Persian table with various divination tools such as tarot cards, tortoise shell coins, and crystal balls on it. The two sat down on the cushions on either side of the table. Kara was silent for a moment, then suddenly began to tell a story.