They were still in groups of three or five. They walked in swaggering, carrying an entirely uninhibited air.
That air was actually quite different from the common explorers seen in the Ashless Lands. However, considering they were explorers hired by the Lamifa Chamber of Commerce, Siles wasn’t surprised by their behavior.
He glanced over and happened to make eye contact with the leader of this explorer squad. Seeing him, the man subconsciously scanned the area around Siles. Noticing Chendo wasn’t there, he revealed a subtle smile.
However, he didn’t seem to have any intention of talking to Siles. He just walked to the side with his companions and sat down, then pulled a stack of papers from his pocket, lowered his head, and began to read.
…That paper?
Siles suddenly frowned slightly. He said to Andy, “Hold on a moment.”
Andy didn’t seem to mind, just watching his actions with curiosity.
Siles got up, walked over to the explorer, and asked in a low voice, “Excuse me…”
“Oh, it’s you,” the explorer said casually. “But, don’t think you can get a single benefit out of me just because you’re that guy’s old flame.”
Siles stayed silent for a moment before realizing the “that guy” he was referring to was Chendo.
He sat across from the explorer, weighing his tone as he glanced at the stack of manuscripts. Then, he said, “It seems you know Chendo?”
“Of course I do, everyone does.” Once the conversation opened up, the explorer didn’t hide anything. He casually folded the manuscript, tossed it aside, and said, “I worked with him once. Of course, his personality isn’t exactly likeable.
“If you can make him docile and obedient, then I’ll truly admire you, sir. Though, with your capabilities, I’m not sure who’s taming who.”
He smiled, carrying a hint of vulgarity.
Siles couldn’t help but frown. He dropped the topic and shifted gears: “You were hired by Madame Eugenia Berd, weren’t you?”
The smile in the explorer’s eyes abruptly froze. He asked in disbelief, “How did you know?!”
Siles didn’t answer the question. He merely said, “You were hired by that lady to come to the Ashless Lands to find the Non-existent City. Is this the clue you found?” He pointed at the manuscript.
“…You really are like a prophet,” the explorer said in a gloomy tone. “Yes, that’s exactly it.”
Prophet. These two words caused a subtle ripple in Siles’s heart.
He hesitated for a moment between the topics of “prophet” and “mysterious manuscript,” then decided to follow his original train of thought.
He said, “However, you probably don’t know that recently at the House of Hales, explorers have been dying mysteriously due to reading a manuscript of unknown origin.”
The explorer looked at him in surprise, then looked at the manuscript. After a moment, he said thoughtfully, “Are you… are you warning me because of Madame Berd?”
Siles felt he didn’t need to answer this question. Of course, confirming that this explorer squad was indeed hired by the noblewoman was to resolve Siles’s own suspicions and to pave the way for the subsequent conversation.
“It’s because I am also looking for the Non-existent City,” Siles said.
The explorer looked at Siles for a moment, then nodded and said, “Albert Milne.”
“Siles Noel.”
Albert said with great interest, “So you’re the one who invented that card game! That’s impressive.”
Siles: “…”
How terrible. He wasn’t famous for his academic achievements yet, but he was already famous for an entertainment activity.
Siles couldn’t help but pause slightly, then just shook his head without saying anything.
Albert clicked his tongue in boredom, then asked, “You mean this manuscript is used to harm people?”
“Yes,” Siles said. “But what I’m more curious about is, where did you get it?”
He had been very curious about this matter. On their very first day at the House of Hales, they had encountered a victim. However, that person was ultimately already dead. And Miles’s investigation seemed sluggish, yielding zero progress.
Searching for a suspicious person among the thousands of explorers at the House of Hales was like finding a needle in a haystack.
After finding the tavern owner Andy to gather information, Siles had originally planned to consider heading to the heart-shaped canyon to investigate. Of course, it was just a backup option. With Chendo absent, Siles leaned towards cautious and conservative actions.
The dice evaluations were his trump card. This trump card was indeed powerful enough, but its nature was also unclear, and Siles didn’t want to use it lightly.
Therefore, he still intended to look for clues inside the House of Hales.
And this explorer who suddenly appeared seemed to hold some information that surprised Siles.
…The manuscript, and, the prophet.
Albert said, “A mysterious young explorer.” He thought for a moment, “Claimed his name was Karl.”
“Karl,” Siles said in a low voice. “Him again.”
“You know him?”
“Last year, around this same time, he was peddling treasure maps at the House of Hales. This year, he has appeared once again,” Siles said.
Albert said somewhat dismissively, “There are people like that every year. Karl is just a very common fake name.”
Siles nodded, thinking this was also possible. Although they were both called Karl, it might not be the same person.
After pondering for a moment, he suddenly realized a problem: “This Karl… are you sure he was only selling this manuscript?”
“What?”
“Before coming to the House of Hales, I heard someone here was selling a very old version of a map.”
As they chatted, Andy came over with drinks and set them on their table. Hearing Siles’s words, he couldn’t help but correct him, “Mr. Noel, the situation is like this.”
They looked at Andy.
Andy seemed to enjoy this and said, “Someone indeed claimed to have obtained an even older map. But that’s already outdated news! They have all set out to look for related clues!”
Albert didn’t seem surprised, just muttering, “Just as I thought.”
Siles frowned slightly and asked, “When did this happen?”
“A while ago.” Andy thought about it. “I’m not too sure about their exact departure time, but… it seems it was right around the Day of Antinam’s Birth.”
Around Divine Birth Day, Siles thought. Alfonso and Emmanuel seemed to have left around that time as well. Could they have been together?
It wasn’t impossible.
Siles asked again, “The explorer who claimed to have the older map, did he set off with them?”
“Of course.” Andy shrugged.
He didn’t say any more and quickly returned behind the counter.
Albert sighed, “As expected. By the time those rumors spreading wildly in the Ashless Lands prompt someone to actually seek out the truth, it’s already too late.”
This sentence made Siles narrow his eyes.
Albert Milne was clearly a deeply experienced explorer, comparable to Mary before she was hired by Lanmere. He looked to be in his thirties, in the prime of his life, with bright eyes, short neat hair, and an air of complete self-assurance.
Even so, he still used this rather lamenting tone to say, “There is never enough time in the Ashless Lands.”
…Similar things must have happened many times for him to develop such a thought.
Wait, prophet? Why would he know the concept of a prophet?
Perhaps…
Siles pondered for a moment, then said, “You know Alfonso Carte, don’t you?”
Albert revealed an extremely shocked expression. He looked at Siles almost in disbelief and said, “How did you know?” He paused, “I can understand the business with Madame Berd.
“After all, the Lamifa Chamber of Commerce announced that matter publicly, so some explorers were bound to know or hear about it. But, Alfonso? You… how could you possibly know? That was ten years ago!”
Yes, ten years ago. In that instant, a hint of melancholy arose in Siles’s heart.
Ten years ago. What a distant time. If calculated by Earth’s standards, He Jiayin had just graduated from college back then, hesitating over how to make a living.
And in the distant Fisher World, on this strange land shrouded in mist, there was also a group of people, just as confused and lost.
Siles sighed slowly, “Because of the prophet.” He paused, then explained, “I once learned the concept of the prophet from Alfonso. It’s a very unique concept. If you didn’t know him, you couldn’t possibly know of this term.”
Albert finally understood. He showed an extremely complicated expression, then said, “So, you… you are the prophet he was looking for?”
Siles paused, then said in surprise, “What?” He thought for a moment, “No, that’s not what I meant. I just wanted to ask…”
But Albert couldn’t be bothered with Siles’s original intention. He just muttered, “Oh, it’s truly unbelievable. But, you really do seem like a prophet. Knowing of Madame Berd in advance, knowing of my friendship with Alfonso…”
Siles: “…”
Wait…!
He said, “This is just reasonable logical deduction.”
“Oh, logical deduction,” Albert shot him a weird look, then said, “Do you really believe that? The existence of fate is very illusory.
“But no matter what—sir, no matter what, how could you know of Madame Berd, and how could you know Alfonso?”
Siles hesitated for a moment, then said, “Coincidence.”
Albert snorted, carrying a bit of that rough, uninhibited vibe that couldn’t be bothered with nonsense. He said, “So, first you knew about Madame Berd, knew about the existence of this expedition team, and then you knew about Alfonso, knew about the tribal ruin he once discovered…
“Alright, let’s say it’s a coincidence, as you say. But what’s the result? All this information just happened to be used here, used to win my trust, making me believe you really are that prophet, making me willing to help you…
“Honestly, sir, do you really think this is just a coincidence? Fate… there are no coincidences in fate, according to what that tribal ruin said.”
A subtle sense of powerlessness welled up in Siles’s heart.
He wanted to say that this was all information he already knew, and he was just applying it rationally right now. He knew so much information, could every single piece possibly be used in the future? Was every single piece arranged by fate?
He didn’t really believe in this… highly metaphysical, mystical notion. Even if this world indeed had supernatural powers, but… if fate could truly be arranged, that would be a bit too terrifying.
Therefore, Siles just stayed silent for a moment and skipped the topic, simply saying, “I don’t think I am a prophet.”
Albert’s look was as if saying: Sure, whatever you say.
Siles asked instead, “So, you met Alfonso and the others ten years ago?”
This wasn’t “seven years ago.” Alfonso and the others did discover that tribal ruin ten years ago, but for various reasons, they delayed announcing the news for three years.
Therefore, when Albert mentioned the time point of ten years ago, Siles realized that Albert was indeed an insider.
Truly surprising, Siles couldn’t help but think.
He had always wanted to find an insider to learn about the issue of that tribal ruin. He thought the insiders had all gone missing, but now there was a sudden light at the end of the tunnel.
He waited for Albert’s answer.
“Yes,” Albert said. “But, perhaps we should change to another place to talk about this.”
He glanced at Andy behind the counter, showing a look of obvious distrust. Andy said loudly, “Alright, alright! Gentlemen, you can go outside to talk. But, Mr. Noel, please remember, you still owe me a piece of useful information!”
Siles said, “Of course, I’ll be back in a while.”
He looked over at Mary’s side, confirmed they would continue staying at Andy’s tavern, and left the tavern with Albert. They walked from the second floor to the first, speaking in low voices amidst the noisy sounds of the explorers playing cards in the central clearing.
Albert said, “Ten years ago, I was still an inexperienced explorer at the time… Anyway, I was still a bit soft-hearted back then, so when I encountered the heavily injured Alfonso and Emmanuel, I saved them.
“By the way, the night before last, I heard your conversation with Andy, mentioning Alfonso and the others. But I wasn’t sure of your identity, so I didn’t take the initiative to talk to you.”
His attitude really took a 180-degree turn. Siles was even a bit caught off guard. He couldn’t help but wonder, Is the identity of ‘prophet’ really that important?
Albert continued, “They were grateful for my help… or perhaps they just didn’t think too much about it at the time, so they told me what they encountered.
“Of course, when I first found out they had actually discovered a tribal ruin, as someone who had just arrived in the Ashless Lands not long ago, I couldn’t help but wonder, why didn’t such a good thing fall into my lap? Hahaha!”
He laughed heartily, probably genuinely treating his past state of mind as mere conversational fodder.
Siles remained silent, not offering many opinions on this matter.
After a while, Albert said, “Then, I learned about the existence of the ‘prophet’.”
“…What exactly is the prophet?” Siles felt somewhat confused.
“I’m not sure how Alfonso put it to you,” Albert said, then paused slightly, as if hesitating on how to phrase it. After a moment, he finally decided, “He found these concepts on an old piece of parchment.
“And in fact, it wasn’t just the concept of the ‘prophet’… I should say, that tribe believed they had received a ‘divine revelation’, and they recorded all that content on that torn parchment.
“Due to the erosion of time, when they got that parchment, the content on it was already somewhat damaged, and many parts were unclear.
“But the general gist was that the world sank into darkness, and at some point in the future, a prophet would appear, and he would bring change to this world.
“…That’s it.”
Siles thought, What a familiar ‘savior’ complex.
He didn’t doubt the authenticity of this story. Rumors about a “savior” in a primitive tribe sounded quite normal. It was just that the religious atmosphere of this world didn’t lean in that direction.
He couldn’t help but ask, “So, where is that parchment?”
“Burned,” Albert said. “Ten years ago, when they left that tribal ruin, it was burned. I never read that parchment either, just heard them relay parts of the information from it.”
Siles was slightly taken aback and said, “Did they think it was dangerous?”
“Actually, I’m not entirely sure what they thought,” Albert said. “They seemed to want to keep it a secret ever since, and instructed me to do the same. I did just that. Before you, I haven’t mentioned this to a single person.
“From another angle, Emmanuel didn’t seem to believe much in the existence of the ‘prophet’, but Alfonso and I were different.”
Siles nodded slowly.
Albert shifted his tone, “The ‘prophet’ is a very fascinating concept, don’t you think? In this world, a god related to fate has never appeared. But the prophet is precisely that. The prophet is fate.”
Siles said, “Perhaps so.” He then asked, “Aside from that parchment, did Alfonso obtain anything else? Perhaps… a fountain pen?”
“Oh, sir, you actually know about that thing’s existence.” Albert’s gaze was full of amazement, making him even more convinced that Siles was the “prophet”.
Siles didn’t know how to defend himself either, thought for a moment, and simply remained silent.
Albert’s amazement only lasted a moment. He said, “Yes, of course, there was indeed a fountain pen.”
“What was it used for?” Siles asked, then suddenly paused. “…I understand. To write down those ‘revelations’.”
Albert nodded.
Siles fell into deep thought.
He felt a very subtle point—Alfonso and Emmanuel determined that the tribal ruin was unrelated to the Non-existent City. Just looking at the information he now possessed, the two indeed had no connection.
But, why was Professor Cabel so interested in the tribal ruin Alfonso announced? Why did even Hoodoka’s followers seem to have had a rift over this matter seven years ago?
…Was that tribal ruin related to Hoodoka? Or perhaps, related to Menavaca?
Siles couldn’t think of a possibility.
After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Mr. Milne, where did you meet them back then?”
“That canyon… that, heart-shaped canyon,” Albert said. “I forgot what it’s called. When I first arrived in the Ashless Lands, at the House of Hales, I saw a heart-shaped canyon nearby. I thought it was pretty interesting, so I went to check it out alone.
“That was pretty bold. The me of today wouldn’t dare do such a reckless thing. But ten years ago, I was different. I met them near that canyon.
“I suppose only explorers new to the Ashless Lands would be interested in that place. I went to look again later, and it was just an empty canyon, somewhat unusually shaped, nothing interesting about it…
“…Sir, why aren’t you speaking?”
Siles snapped out of it and said, “Apologies. I just realized a problem.”
Albert looked at him suspiciously.
“There is indeed a mistake on Barnett’s version of the map,” Siles murmured. “But, Barnett’s map isn’t the only map in the world… What if that explorer really obtained an even older map?
“If he didn’t belong to the faction of masterminds behind the scenes—yes, Karl was the one—this explorer really just obtained that map by coincidence, and there was no heart-shaped canyon on that map.
“Then the explorers would realize that this is the ‘mistake’. They would set off to that place to investigate.
“…So, that’s why Alfonso and Emmanuel said they were wrong.”
At this point, Siles stopped.
Albert looked at him in confusion, seemingly completely failing to understand what Siles was talking about.
Not far away, the explorers were still playing cards noisily. They joked around, an excited, thrilling emotion on their faces. But… it was just a matter of these few days.
Some stayed here to continue playing cards; some set off for the heart-shaped canyon with an unknown future; some attempted to investigate and clarify everything that happened in the past.
…Siles felt once again that for this world, the importance of “information” was unparalleled.
He sighed slightly, then asked, “Did you ever hear Alfonso say how they found that tribal ruin?”
Albert shook his head.
Siles wasn’t surprised either, so he said, “Perhaps we can head back.”
Albert shrugged, “I’m fine with whatever. So to speak, I can’t look at that manuscript anymore. Sigh, Madame Berd’s commission still hasn’t made any progress…”
Siles said, “the Non-existent City is a lie.”
Albert blanked sharply, staring at Siles almost blankly.
“Someone is using this rumor to send explorers to their deaths,” Siles said. “They are fueling the flames behind the scenes, making people obsess over the treasure in this rumor. The more they do this, the crazier people become, ultimately stepping into a dead end.”
Albert was stunned for a moment, then muttered in a low voice, “That’s not a good thing.”
However, his expression didn’t look exceptionally shocked, just somewhat surprised when he first heard it. Indeed, rumors in the Ashless Lands were a mix of truth and lies, and no one knew how much gold they held.
And the rumors related to the Non-existent City were just a bit longer-lasting and had caused more deaths. To the explorers of the Ashless Lands, that would probably just become future conversational fodder.
Moreover, they would most likely scoff at the stupidity of those past victims.
Siles sighed inwardly.
A moment later, they returned to The Clinking Glasses. The situation inside the tavern was as usual, but the two dead-drunk explorers from earlier had already left.
Albert separated from Siles, returned to his companions, and without a word, downed a glass of beer in one gulp. Then, he shoved that manuscript into his bag, his gaze gloomy. He seemed to be planning to go settle the score with that guy, but he was waiting for Siles.
Siles walked over to the counter.
Andy’s eyes sparkled, seemingly genuinely very interested in the information Siles was going to provide. He asked, “Sir, please speak quickly.”
Siles weighed his options for a moment. He did possess a lot of information, but what exactly to say was another question. It was also best not to mention information related to this current investigation.
He looked over at his companions, then said, “Noel Cards.”
Andy clapped his hands, “Oh, now this is fresh news. This is the game you invented, do you have some insights?”
“The true name of Noel Cards is Fate Cards,” Siles said. “Furthermore, a secret is hidden within the cards… a secret related to the gods.”
Siles referred to a very simple secret, namely that Timiafa consumed Elco. Perceptive individuals might be able to glean this directly from the initial rules of the Fate Cards, but the vast majority of people would probably just scratch their heads in hard thought.
Andy’s eyes gradually widened in shock. He said, “Wh-what? What secret?”
Siles said in a low voice, “My companions and I are not the inventors of this deck of cards, so I cannot say for certain what this secret is.
“However, perhaps while playing the cards, one can slowly understand the meaning of this secret. Gambling with money won’t work; that would be considered an ‘insufficiently pious act,’ and it would be impossible to discover its true meaning. The inventor of the cards must have expected this.”
Andy’s eyes flickered, falling into thought.
Siles watched him, suddenly realizing that even though he was careless when he said the word “secret”, he had practically become a person keeping a “secret”, because he actually knew what the answer was.
…He became a Keeper of Secrets again.
Siles’s thoughts lingered on this matter for a moment, then he tossed aside the related ideas.
He opened his pocket watch and glanced at the time, finding it was already nearly ten o’clock. The morning’s conversations had yielded a lot, especially the talk with Albert. Of course, the matter couldn’t be resolved so easily.
He nodded politely to Andy, then regrouped with his companions and subsequently left the tavern.
Before long, Albert caught up. His companions didn’t follow, seemingly planning to act separately.
Albert said, “I plan to go find that explorer. What do you say, want to come along?”
Siles agreed to Albert’s invitation. However, a group of five moving together would be somewhat conspicuous.
Chester took the initiative to say, “How about Alva and I go stay at the inn on the third floor for a while?”
He naturally meant Audrey’s Inn. That innkeeper lady was a past friend of Alfonso and Emmanuel.
Albert seemed to know about this too. He said, “Audrey?” He added casually, “That lady is indeed trustworthy. If Isherwood hadn’t died, she and Emmanuel probably would have married long ago.”
Chester and Alva looked at each other in dismay.
Siles thought about it, then said, “Mary, why don’t you go with them? Albert and I will go find the guy.”
In his view, Chester and Alva were in more danger; after all, they had already been targeted by the masterminds. Siles himself actually was too, which was why they needed to stick together.
However, he could afford Albert the most basic trust. At least Albert knew the concept of the “prophet”.
Doctor Chester seemed to harbor slight doubts about this arrangement. He looked at Siles as if wanting to say something, but finally just said, “Professor, please stay safe.”
“I will,” Siles said.
After splitting up, Albert asked Siles with great interest, “So you’re also a professor?”
“Yes,” Siles replied, but didn’t elaborate on his profession. He asked instead, “Do you know where that explorer is?”
Albert shrugged, “Can always find him. I need to settle the score with him.” He cracked his knuckles.
Siles was noncommittal, just saying, “I’m more hoping to get some information out of his mouth.”
Albert said, “Then it seems our goals don’t conflict.”
They found the explorer who had sold the manuscript to Albert among the group playing cards in the central clearing on the first floor. He looked like a relatively young man. Siles frowned slightly upon seeing him.
Albert immediately threw a punch straight at the young man’s cheek. Caught off guard, the man took the hit and flipped the card table right over. The surroundings abruptly fell silent.
Albert said gloomily, “Karl… Hah, is your name really Karl? Young man, you sold the wrong thing to me.”
The young man still had the excited flush from playing cards on his face. Seeing Albert now, he was completely stunned. After a moment, he shakily begged for mercy, claiming he was just blinded by greed.
He had bought this manuscript from an explorer named Karl. Subsequently, he heard about what happened in The Clinking Glasses—the dead man, the manuscript, the statue. Terrified, he hurriedly resold the manuscript.
Albert asked coldly, “So you mimicked that ‘Karl’s’ name and sold this thing to me?” He angrily pulled the manuscript out of his bag and threw it on the ground. “Got a lot of nerve, young man.”
The young man shivered. After a moment, he suddenly shouted, “What else did you expect me to do!”
Albert was about to say something, but Siles reached out to stop him, then asked in a low voice, “That ‘Karl’, where is he?”
The young man suddenly became wary, “Who are you?”
“Siles Noel,” Siles said simply.
“Oh, you invented the Noel Cards.” The young man seemed to suddenly have trust in Siles.
The surrounding explorers were also spectating this scene, discussing among themselves and commenting on Siles’s young and handsome appearance. This made Siles frown slightly. But he had no time to think about these things now.
The young man seemed to mutter something dismissively, then said, “Second floor, that mysterious Ashless Lands specialty shop.”
…Ashless Lands specialties. Siles was slightly taken aback.
He suddenly recalled that in the room of the dead circus leader, his companions had found some Ashless Lands specialties and souvenirs. But in reality, what need did a circus permanently stationed at the House of Hales have to buy those things?
Unless, someone had given those things to them.
Just as he was pondering this, the surrounding explorers each let out exclamations, and then, someone unhesitatingly ran upstairs. The rest also snapped to it and all followed. In no time, a large chunk of the central clearing was emptied.
The young man cursed something under his breath, stood up, dusted himself off, and wiped the blood off his face.
Albert said, “This isn’t over yet.”
“Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor!” The young man widened his eyes. “Why don’t you go settle the score with that Karl?”
“Didn’t you claim your name was Karl?” Albert glared at him coldly.
The young man wanted to say something but ultimately fell silent.
Siles suddenly said calmly at this time, “The other explorers have all gone upstairs.” He looked at the second floor. Even in the ritual time, without wearing Akamara’s Eyeglass Frame, the fabric was just ordinary slightly glowing fabric.
He thought, this group of explorers… indeed found joy in the card games, but at their core, they were still explorers.
Albert cursed, then strode upstairs, saying, “Let’s go! We need to head over too! I fear that Karl isn’t even there, but we still have to make a trip, don’t you say?”
Siles hesitated.
He was almost certain there was a problem with that specialty shop. Now that Chendo was absent, he should maintain caution and stay as far away from such dangerous places as possible. Even if he had the power of dice evaluations, he was still flesh and blood, capable of being injured or dying.
However…
Siles pondered for a moment, then ultimately followed in Albert’s footsteps.
His consideration was that he hadn’t expected this Karl to directly blurt out the existence of the second-floor specialty shop. Now that a swarm of explorers was running over, it would definitely alert the enemy. If he went over now, blending into the crowd, he might even discover some clues.
…He couldn’t possibly stay in a safe place forever, waiting for clues to automatically appear. Albert’s appearance had already solved some of his confusion, but he couldn’t always expect pies to drop from the sky.
Ten minutes later, Siles felt a slight sense of regret over his previous decision.
He had always been rational and calm, always. If he hadn’t been trapped in this dark room right now, that is.
However, this regret only flashed through his heart momentarily. He quickly calmed down.
Ten minutes ago, he and Albert had gone to the specialty shop on the second floor. Blending among the explorers, he heard an explorer loudly arguing with the shopkeeper.
It seemed quite a few people knew about the recent string of deaths at the House of Hales. It was just that, prior to this, no one knew of any relevant clues, and naturally, no one was interested in investigating the matter.
Explorers in the Ashless Lands couldn’t be bothered with other people’s lives, at least before such crises affected themselves.
But right now, a clue had appeared. So the angry explorers—perhaps still carrying a bit of that self-righteous energy from the card tables—swarmed in, questioning the shopkeeper.
Siles observed while hidden in the crowd, confirming that the shopkeeper’s reaction was a bit too cold. He wasn’t sure if it was because the shopkeeper himself was a follower of the Old Gods, or if this was just the norm in the Ashless Lands.
In short, the explorers’ questions didn’t receive an adequate answer. After a moment, the massive crowd of explorers slowly dispersed. Some sighed in frustration and planned to return to the clearing on the first floor to play cards.
Siles also planned to leave at this time. But just as he was walking back, someone suddenly gave him a hard shove from behind.
Caught off guard, Siles stumbled. The thought that crossed his mind at that moment was how Chendo had always said he lacked vigilance, and looking at it now, it was indeed true.
He didn’t fall, but as he steadied himself against the fabric wall, his vision suddenly went black. Subsequently, he realized he seemed to be trapped in a dark room.
Setting aside his regret over his lack of vigilance, Siles felt a slight strangeness.
Having calmed down, he realized he couldn’t see anything. He subconsciously reached for Akamara’s Eyeglass Frame that always hung around his neck—and grasped empty air. In this dark space, he didn’t find the glasses he carried with him.
During this process, he walked around this dark space. Because he had no vision, he first chose to measure it with his footsteps. Soon after, he discovered that this was roughly a five-by-five-meter square space, extremely empty, with absolutely nothing in the room.
Where exactly was this? Why had he arrived here in just the blink of an eye?
After confirming this place posed no immediate danger, Siles continued to check the items on his person—nothing, absolutely nothing. The black umbrella, the shield fragment, the pocket watch, even his wallet, all of these things were gone.
He discovered this with some surprise. The surroundings were still extremely dark, and he couldn’t see a thing.
Such an environment made it extremely easy to panic. Siles forced himself to stay as calm as possible and think. He subconsciously pinched the bridge of his nose, then suddenly froze.
Wait…
He touched his own facial features and realized with astonishment that this was not Siles Noel’s face. This was… this was He Jiayin’s face. This belonged to that Earth novelist!
His face darkened at this moment. He formed a hypothesis about his current situation.
Someone had pushed him from behind, and this was an attack.
The masterminds behind the scenes very likely chose to detonate everything at this moment due to the exposure of the specialty shop. Choosing to attack Siles was to trigger panic among the other explorers, and the method of attack could be analogized to Doctor Chester’s encounter.
That steel-grey mist had perhaps also shrouded Siles at that moment.
But the difference between his situation and Chester’s was that Chester encountered this in the washroom, which was more enclosed and rarely exposed to the Stardust in the external fabrics.
However, Siles’s accident happened right in the hall. He had even accidentally touched those fabrics to steady himself. He was engulfed by the Stardust transformed from Hoodoka’s Divine Title.
Therefore, his most likely encounter now was…
He had turned into a statue in that instant.
At this moment, the thought in Siles’s mind was, I actually didn’t die.
…No, he actually didn’t die?
So where was this? His consciousness space? Did this world really have such a fantastical setting?
Siles felt a bit troubled and somewhat unfamiliarly touched his face. He hadn’t expected to manifest as He Jiayin here. It made him feel both familiar and strange, as well as a distant sense of intimacy.
He continued to ponder the possibility of this situation forming.
If he truly had become a statue, that meant something had gone wrong with his body. An ordinary person’s soul probably couldn’t continue surviving after separating from their “physical body,” so they would die immediately.
But Siles’s soul…
He didn’t know how high his spirituality was, but his Will…
It should be known that before leaving the house, he had specially used the [Silent Heart] ritual. He possessed a Will attribute as high as 97 for a short period. He guessed this might already be infinitely close to a deity.
Chendo, who possessed the bloodline of an Old God, had a Will of 99. And Siles was nearly on par with him.
…That’s why I can appear in this dark room, Siles thought. It was because his powerful Will attribute was sustaining him, searching for a final solution at this moment.
But this dark space… Siles felt a bit troubled.
He felt he could still perform evaluations. He suspected he could make a Constitution evaluation, and then he would be able to resist his current special state. However, he couldn’t perceive the outside world right now.
That is to say, he couldn’t sense the existence of “Siles Noel” right now, as if his soul and body had detached. Therefore, he couldn’t find a subject for the evaluation.
…An awkward situation. Siles evaluated this predicament.
He sighed slightly and simply sat on the ground. He tried to evaluate his current self, but didn’t know if it was because he couldn’t be considered a “human” right now, or for some other reason, he couldn’t successfully make the evaluation.
Hmm, maybe it’s because I’m basically a ghost now. Siles told himself a dry joke.
Not knowing how long he had stayed in this dark space, Siles even felt drowsy. At a certain moment, he suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion, and then some heavier, oppressive force seemed to suppress his Will.
He struggled to adapt for a moment before he felt he could catch his breath.
He thought, What’s going on? What happened?
Then he realized it was highly likely that the [Silent Heart] ritual had worn off. The four points of Will added by the [Silent Heart] could only last ten hours. In other words, it was already around four in the afternoon.
…Time passed this quickly? Siles felt somewhat surprised.
What was even more surprising was that he was actually still alive.
He thought thoughtfully, It seems the importance of the “Will” attribute is even higher than I originally thought.
But—he also thought helplessly, this dark, enclosed space truly left him at his wit’s end.
I need to be more cautious in the future, Siles warned himself. If… there is a future.
Just then, he realized, since it was already 4:00 PM, wasn’t Chendo about to return? At this moment, a subtle emotion rose in his heart.
Probably somewhere between guilt and unease. He felt he was about to die, which couldn’t help but make him feel guilty toward Chendo for failing to keep himself safe; and he also felt that it would be too cruel to have Chendo witness his death.
Just as this emotion appeared in his heart, he suddenly spotted a strange thing in this dark space. He thought sluggishly for a moment before realizing it was a point of light.
—Light?
Siles snapped out of it, staring at that point of light, unconsciously sitting up straight. Subsequently, he stood up and walked toward that direction. He stopped five meters away, unable to advance, but he could still see that point of light from afar.
Looking from afar, it seemed like… light from a lighthouse?
That light seemed to shatter this long-silent darkness.
Siles watched this scene in astonishment, thinking, Who is helping me? A vague but certain name appeared in his mind. But at this moment, without hesitation, he whispered, “Evaluate Siles Noel’s Constitution attribute.”
The familiar sound of dice rolling came—the evaluation was successful!
[Keeper of Secrets, Siles Noel (University Professor), is currently undergoing a Constitution evaluation.]
[Constitution: 75/…]
Siles was somewhat surprised to discover that his Constitution attribute was actually quite high. But he had no time for anything else now and quickly selected a suitable number from the displayed options.
[Constitution: 75/70, Success.]
[Congratulations, you didn’t really let yourself capsize. Of course, you being able to persist until this moment is exactly because “Will is your most powerful weapon.” The kind-hearted dice wishes for you to note that the term “capsize” shouldn’t be used lightly. It’s time to leave this awkward predicament!]
Siles had no time to pay attention to the dice’s prompt. At the moment the evaluation succeeded, he faintly heard the sound of something shattering by his ears. Then, his soul sensed a sudden, pulling sensation.
He felt the icy air and complex smells—the smell of blood, he meant. There were also the sounds of people crying and talking in low voices. He thought, What happened?
He felt his body was extremely heavy, and his eyelids were too. But there was a very warm presence beside him. After a moment, he finally felt the sensation of his freezing body returning to warmth.
He struggled to open his eyes, and then, in his slowly clearing vision, he saw a pair of emerald eyes.
He made eye contact with those eyes for a moment, then struggled to say, “Chendo…?”
A burst of pleasant surprise erupted in those beautiful eyes, mixed with a complex and profound emotion that Siles found hard to describe.
A familiar sound of rolling dice rang in his mind.
[Keeper of Secrets, Chendo Praia (Old God’s Scion) needs to undergo a Will evaluation.]
[Will: 99/100, Critical Failure.]
[Actually, you are very clear on what pushing force you are waiting for—fate’s approval, aren’t you? When Chendo obtained that Critical Success, he was destined to welcome this Critical Failure. You chose a “0” for him, so he will return a “100” to you.]
Siles didn’t even have time to realize what the dice’s hint truly meant. The next second, his vision darkened, and a soft, dry sensation pressed against his lips.
…He kissed him. Finally. Unable to hold back any longer.
