The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

It is very bad behavior to gloat.So Alfonso just gloats for a second.

He quickly restrained his expression, and discussed several topics he had conceived with Siles very academically.When the explorers around the restaurant heard the technical terms that popped out of their mouths, they all cast puzzled and astonished glances.

In total, Siles listed three possible directions.

One is to continue to study the influence of gods on the development of Fischer's world literature, which is a continuation of his previous research on wandering poets; the other is to return to literature itself, focusing on the development of "human literature" in the late Silent Period.

The third is a possible research direction that he has just realized recently, that is, comparative literature.He got some relevant information about Middleton's Silent Period literature from Foster Longey, and realized that it was not the same as Const's literary theory development.

Considering that he has mastered different languages ​​through puppets, it is a good choice to study the literature of different countries and conduct comparative analysis.

Now Siles is more interested in the third direction, but Alfonso raised an interesting question.

"Now the development plan of the withered wasteland is in full swing, and the exchanges between countries are indeed more frequent. However, the fog still isolates many people's curiosity about foreign countries." Alfonso said.

Siles nodded, this is indeed the current situation in Fisher's world.They stand at the inflection point of history, but when the future will come is still unknown.

Alfonso said: "So, even if you can write this paper, for some people, they will think that you are making it up. After all, they don't know how foreign literature is." .”

Siles thought for a moment and said, "But that's exactly why I conceived this paper?"

"You can first present your academic views in other places, such as academic exchanges, newspapers or journals, and build a small-scale discussion heat, and then you can write a complete paper. said Alfonso with considerable experience.

Siles thought about it.

Alfonso said: "That dissertation of the wandering poet brought you a good reputation, and I guess many people think you are a future academic star in the history of literature. I know some historians also appreciate your discovery.

“But I think that this paper may surprise many people. They will be surprised by your youth—by the way, you said that you have now become the dean of the Department of Literary History at La Mifa University. It deepened this emotion.

"I think you can be more...steady. This is not to say that I am not optimistic about your topic choice. I think it is quite interesting and may even lead the academic trend.

"But precisely because of this, don't you think that this can be published as a book, or carried out in the form of a larger topic? Measure this topic by the standard of annual academic tasks—you only have half a year, right?— — I think it's a bit short-lived."

Alfonso's statement is to discuss this issue from two aspects: on the one hand, literary comparison is a new field for Siles, and his thesis may not be able to convince the public; on the other hand, he does not have enough time To complete this huge project.

Furthermore, Alfonso was unaware that Siles had mastered numerous languages ​​through the puppet.In his view, if one wants to make literary comparisons, the first step is a rather cumbersome translation process, which is difficult to complete in one step and requires time and manpower.

This will obviously be on the minds of others as well.No one could have imagined that Sirius had mastered the power of the gods.

...the power of the gods.He still had to think about it when discussing ordinary academic topics.It made him feel a slight sense of separation.

"...I understand." Siles said, "After I become the professional director, I am afraid that there will be many academic exchanges waiting for me to participate, and then I can put this topic on the bright side."

What he thought of was actually the internal communication of the college that Professor Bright had mentioned to him before, and he was looking forward to the materials kept there.But this matter cannot be mentioned to Alfonso, it must be kept secret.

Alfonso nodded in agreement, and said, "As for the two directions ahead of you... To be honest, I agree with you to continue to study the influence of gods on literature."

Siles was a little surprised, he asked, "Why?"

"Because it's relatively simple." Alfonso shrugged, "You have to complete this thesis before the end of the year, and you obviously have a lot of... er, secrets related to the old gods and the followers of the old gods. This seems much easier.

"It's like your previous topic of wandering poets. Of course, I know that your focus is on the literary value of wandering poets, but people obviously pay more attention to the point that 'wandering poets are followers of Lygardia'.

"To be honest, people will always pay attention to the topic of the old gods, which is inevitable. Therefore, I think it is very feasible for you to simply write a paper on the secrets of the old gods."

Siles: "..."

He fell silent for a moment.

As for information related to the old gods and in the field of literature, he really has a lot of information.However, those are obviously things that cannot be made public.

Alfonso's statement was half-joking, half-serious.With only half a year left, Siles doesn't have many choices.

In fact, Siles himself was gradually leaning in this direction.That saves a lot of time.

"...I see. Thank you for your suggestion, Alfonso." Siles said sincerely.

"It's nothing, professor," said Alfonso. "I think you can surprise the academic world again."

Surprise about the Old Gods?Siles shook his head helplessly.

The topic of the thesis has come to an end for the time being.In the afternoon, they walked around the outside of the Mayne Station.

Alfonso pointed out the direction to Siles.They need to start from Main Station and walk west for a long time.Near the mist—Gainesd was already there—there would be a smaller village where they could rest for the night.

"So we can wait for Mr. Cindor there," said Alfonso. "The time is right."

Siles nodded, he paid more attention to another question and said, "Shall we walk there?"

"Yes, Professor. I know you don't know how to ride, but that's not the point. The point is, the dealers won't be happy to rent horses to us if we're honestly going to Gainesdale, or even Mist words.

"Cheating is not an option, and we don't have our own horses. So, walking is the best way. We may have to walk for a while."

"I see," Sirius said.He thought to himself, thank the church of the past, thank Antinam. [Natural Boots] can help him a lot in this matter.

"So, take a good rest in the afternoon and evening." Alfonso's tone became more relaxed, "I hope tomorrow will not be too stuffy."

"hope so."

After roughly understanding tomorrow's route and destination, Siles and Alfonso returned to their respective rooms in the hotel.Siles put his consciousness on the No. [-] puppet and told Cendo where to meet them the day after tomorrow.

The little puppet jumped on the large map, and then patted an area of ​​Eternal Land with its small wooden hand.

"Okay." Qin Duo said, he was having lunch on the boat, "There is only the last small area left in the central area, and we can check it out in the afternoon. Maybe we will set off for the northeast in the evening."

Of course, Cindor ultimately had to rely on Tau's canoes to get to that area quickly.

He has already selected an isolated island near the fog, where he intends to first use [Akamala's spectacle frame] to observe the situation in the fog.

The Praia family's ship was already waiting for him nearby.In the past period of time, the Playa family can be said to have provided quite strong help for this journey.

And the results are gratifying.

The puppet jumped onto Qindo's shoulder, and then watched the chart that was about to be completed with him.

This is the first version of the sea chart that Garrett Gielgud handed over through the puppet before, but now there are traces of modification.The area originally covered by gray-black clouds and neatly circled by thin lines has now been filled to the brim, leaving only the area in the northeast.

"...I think the captains will flock to this map," Cindo whispered.

And this is a good thing, at least it will greatly reduce the dangers of sailing on the Folio Sea.

Of course, it's not without danger.There are still several dangerous areas marked on the sea chart. There may be whirlpools, reef groups, mutated creatures, and fierce and crazy aborigines.

But in any case, after the Silent Period, this ocean, which was almost regarded as a forbidden area, was gradually discovered and proven.Human beings in Fisher's world have gradually stepped out of the haze and fog of the Silent Age, at least in the secular world.

And the mysterious side of the world?

They are working on it.

After confirming the situation on Qindo's side, Sirius' consciousness returned to his body.He locked the door, drew the curtains, and took out the piccolo from the luggage, intending to communicate with the dice.

Originally, he also considered doing this in the morning.But at that time he was not sure when Alfonso would come to find him.He didn't think it was necessary to risk being interrupted, so he decided to do it now.

"Good afternoon, Dice," he said.

"Good afternoon, Keeper." Piccolo's beautiful voice appeared in the room, "I even think I miss you a little bit. You know, I always look forward to chatting with you."

"We're chatting right now." Siles said objectively.

Piccolo was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay, Keeper. What do you want to talk about? Oh, by the way, I was just about to tell you about something that happened a while ago. You've started to value the attribute of spirituality, haven't you?"

"Yes." Siles whispered, "Spirituality is a fluctuating attribute, and it can better reflect its own state."

"That's true, that's true." Piccolo hastily echoed, "And...although I don't like to say this, but some people have high spirituality and low will, so you have to be wary of such people. Such people are quite easy Become a Follower of the Old Gods."

"It reminds me of a clown," said Sirius. "He seems to be high in spirit and low in will."

"Oh...you are wrong. The clown does have a high level of spirituality, but his will is not as low as you imagined." Piccolo said, "at least not the rather low value in the running group script. "

Siles narrowed his eyes slightly, and he said, "Because of the identity of 'clown'?"

"You can say that." Piccolo skillfully turned his body around, so that his voice also gave off the feeling of... lingering three feet around the beam, "You also understand the special nature of the circus. And The clown, he became 'the clown' without knowing it.

"He couldn't get out of it, like that lady astrologer. But it did protect him. Fate always feels strange, doesn't it? You must feel that way too. Fate always Give a person both the good and the bad."

Siles agreed with Piccolo on this point.Fate is neutral, cruel, and tender.Fate has never favored anyone, nor has it been deliberately cold-blooded to anyone.

Even though Siles had mastered the power of fate, he tried his best not to interfere with the fate of others.Those with power should be more cautious.

His thoughts wandered around on the matter, and then he returned to what he really wanted to ask about the dice.

He said: "So, the setting of the running group plot and running group roles is not completely reliable."

Piccolo, which had been spinning in circles, suddenly stopped, and then coughed guiltily.

Piccolo fell silent for a while while Sirius waited patiently.

In fact, this question had already appeared in Siles' mind when he began to doubt the identity of Detective Jon.It happened that the dice mentioned this matter today, so Siles decided to ask carefully.

Regarding the identities of Detective Jon and Tramp Bourne, two character cards that appear in the running group plot at the same time, but are the same person in the real world, is this possible?

Not impossible.After all, the original running game has become the real real world, in which of course everything is possible, maybe it is just one person with two identities.

However, this incident made Siles confused about the authenticity of the plot and setting of the running group.

No...nor should it be authenticity, but integrity.This information is indeed true, but it also conceals some important relevant information.

Earlier, he had lamented that these running group characters seemed to have their own secrets.

The mystery of Dr. Chester's life experience, the businessman Ranmir once participated in the Stardust business, the circus was hired by the followers of the old gods and came to Lamifa City, and the archaeological site Herman Grove went to is a scam……

It should be said that these things seem to be related to certain essences of this world, such as the existence of followers of the old gods, information such as star dust, and so on.

Combined with Jon's relationship with Bourne, Sirius has to suspect that this concealment is deliberate.

When the script of this running game appeared on Earth, Dice—or Antinam—deliberately hid some of the information directly related to Fisher’s world, making the script look ordinary The story of the confrontation between human beings and evil gods.

And if this information is filled in, then the script will appear fuller and much more real.

From another point of view, if Siles still treats the characters with the rigid and thin information in the original script after coming to Fisher's world, then his investigation of many things will also be difficult. Not so well.

Take Detective Jon as an example, this detective can be said to be quite sharp and rational.If Siles had treated him more arrogantly, or had discovered the problem with the magnifying glass one step earlier, the detective might have disappeared into the crowd long ago.

...where the script is weak, it's like a crossroads.Whether it can be discovered or not, and whether a correct response can be made after discovery are quite complicated issues.

The dice still did not speak, and Siles pondered for a moment, then said: "You once said that I was a chosen one. So, this selection is related to this running game?"

Piccolo finally let himself drift around in a circle again.It said: "Yes... I thought I could push this question to Anti-Nam and let him answer it. It turned out to be my turn... Oops."

Siles: "..."

He suddenly became a little curious about the relationship between dice and Antinam.

Piccolo added: "When we're looking for a... suitable candidate, we're looking for someone who's 'conceptually relevant' to hold the power of destiny. You should be able to understand that.

"So, we found that the identity of the secret keeper of the running group game on the earth is very suitable for our needs. So we decided to make a fuss around the running group game.

"Based on what happened in Fisher's world, we conceived a rough and simple running group script, and then I took it to Earth. Among the people playing this game, to be precise, among the game's keepers , to find the most suitable one.”

"And you picked me," said Siles.

"... yes." Piccolo said hesitantly, "uh...although I'm not sure if I should say this at this time...but...Keeper, are you going to be angry about this?"

Siles thought for a while, and said in a calm tone: "No."

Siles himself is calm and rational.He is seldom really angry or angry.In addition, the timing of the confession is also very important.

If the dice suddenly popped up and said, "Keeper of the Secret, congratulations on being chosen, let's save the world together" shortly after he crossed, then he might really have some subtle anger and anger. baffling.

But now, he has understood Fischer's world so deeply, he has been so intimately close to the essence of Fischer's world.He lives, works, and loves in this world.In a sense, he settled in this world.

As far as Siles is concerned, it's up to him to save the world now—well, I can't say how gracious it is, but he's willing to.

It can only be said that he still couldn't help but feel a little dumbfounded because of the dice statement.

Who will be entrusted with the important task of saving the world depends on how well the game is played.Dice and Antinam can be said to be quite...brave.

Of course, an idea also appeared in Siles' brain.

Perhaps for Dice and Antinam, it doesn't matter who this identity is.They selected the best secret keeper among them, but it doesn't mean that this person has to be reliable enough.

When he came to Fisher's world, when he was impregnated with the power of fate, he would naturally become the god of fate.

Siles can rely on his own will to get rid of the successive erosion of the power of fate and dreams. This is his own strength—as the dice say, will is always his most powerful weapon—but others may not be able to do it. to this point.

This "time traveler", as long as he is honestly eroded by the power of fate and becomes the god of fate, this may already meet the requirements of Dice and Anti-Num.

In other words, it was Siles who was doing too well, rather than the choice of the dice being too childish.

...Of course, this also means that this practice is likely to destroy a human soul.This seemed cruel, and one had to rejoice that it was He Jiayin who became Siles Noel.

Piccolo seemed to be greatly relieved, and it quickly said: "Sure enough, I know that you are a very noble person. Sometimes, I even think that it is the power of fate that chose you, not me.

"You are destined to come to this world, you are destined to become the god of destiny, and you are destined to become the savior of this world. On the contrary, Fisher's world will feel lucky because of this. If it wasn't for you..."

It lauded Sirius at length, and Sirius listened almost absently.

After a while, Piccolo stopped talking, and said honestly: "In short... indeed, the running group script only provides some rough information, not the whole picture."

Siles asked, "So, Jon and Bourne?"

"You have already guessed it." Piccolo replied slyly, "I cannot say that your guess is wrong. However, people's ideas may change in a short period of time, which is also a very common thing."

These words made Siles have a lot of associations.

The dice seemed to imply that there were still some inaccuracies in Sirius' guess, but on the whole, Jon and Bourne did have a specific connection.

In the run-and-run scenario, Bourne the Tramp is the downright villain.He stood on the opposite side of the church of the past, and secretly cooperated with those followers of the old gods in an attempt to resurrect the gods.

However, Detective Jon, whether in the running group plot or in the real world, he can be regarded as a good guy.

What changed Jon's perspective?

The ritual of "self-reappearance" may be a factor; however, the self-reappearance is, after all, just a person's past.Jon's past already has Bourne's shadow, and it is impossible for Jon to change just because of this ceremony.

So, there must be other factors.

In the slightly stuffy room, Siles came to this conclusion.He thought that since he got the confirmation from the dice, he might be able to chat with Jon more frankly.

Jon has also shown his attitude through those family files - he is willing to cooperate with Siles.

...But having said that, if Jon's identity is directly revealed, won't this keen detective really be frightened by him?

Siles smiled a little.

"I see," said Siles. "I have one more thing to ask you."

"what?"

"'Father'."

Piccolo was silent for a while, and after a while, it said dryly: "Is your father? In our arrangement, your father has been..."

"Father of the Old Gods," said Sirius.

Piccolo stopped talking, then jumped up suddenly, and knocked on the table with the flute body.That hurt a little, but Piccolo just seemed like he was trying to express his own incredibleness.

"Sometimes I marvel at your ability to get information," Piccolo said.

"Thank you," Sirius said.

Piccolo gave a rare sigh, and said, "It's not for me to tell you, Keeper of Secrets."

Siles was taken aback by the answer.

"... Anti-Nam will tell you," Piccolo said, "about the long past, about the distant history...that's his domain. He'll be happy to tell you those stories. And I, I think I don't take a position on this matter."

Dice's tone was rarely so serious.It seemed to be implying something, but it was difficult for Sirius to understand it from its veiled attitude.He couldn't help frowning.

"But how do I meet Antinam?" Sirius asked, "I've considered Paradise. I mean..."

"Oh, I understand what you mean, you don't need to continue talking, so as not to attract the attention of 'Shadow'. He has always wanted to know where Anti-Nam... stores his power." Piccolo lowered his voice decently, It's like whispering.

Siles nodded and asked, "So how should I get there?"

"Actually, you have already got relevant clues." Piccolo said.

Siles was a little surprised: "Really?"

"Yes," said Piccolo, and then fell silent, as if that was all it could tell.

Siles was silent for a moment, looking deeply at Piccolo.

Piccolo shook slightly, as if trembling.It played a lilting ditty for Siles in a low voice.

Siles: "..."

Sometimes the degree of humanization of the dice makes him feel... artificial intelligence must have a future, after all, even something as illusory as the power of gods behaves quite like a human.

He smiled helplessly and said, "Okay, dice. I'll think about what clues I found."

Piccolo immediately said triumphantly: "You will definitely find out... In fact, you are already very, very close to Anti-Nam."

Siles was somewhat skeptical about this.

In the deep-sea dreamland and the darkness outside Kanyo Farm, no matter how he thinks, no matter how he thinks, it is difficult to grasp that subtle "feeling".And the dice said he was close.

This kind of statement will make him feel that the clue is actually within his reach, but he has never realized it.

...Maybe he should continue to change his thinking and ideas?Perhaps with the human brain, it is difficult to understand the situation in the Dark Sea.

But then again, he couldn't take the initiative to welcome the pollution of the old gods, and then let himself enter the thinking mode of the gods.That's obviously pretty stupid too.

...However, at this moment, Siles looked at Piccolo, and suddenly had a subtle idea.

He didn't rush to think, but turned to say: "I'm about to go to an oasis in the mist. I'm afraid that place has something to do with 'Shadow'. Do you know about it?"

Considering that the "Shadow" might be spying on the real world all the time, Sirius didn't make his words too clear, especially about the grave bag.

Piccolo seemed to ponder for a while, and then suddenly realized: "Oh...you mean that place. Don't worry. 'Shadow' has already regarded that as a failed attempt, and he should not pay too much attention to it.

"...Actually, it is impossible for a god to become a breeding ground for His birth, that's all I can say. Of course, that...'thing' is still a terrible thing for human beings."

"Yes, so I plan to solve it early." Siles said, "There are always some followers of the old gods who want to use this thing."

They were talking about the body in the grave bag.

Piccolo moved up and down like a failed sit-up, but it did try to show its approval.

After talking about these topics, the time is almost up, and Dice has to leave.After Dice bid farewell to him and left, Siles allowed himself to immerse himself in the question just thought of: Why can Dice be so humane?

After all, dice are a collection of divine powers.In a sense, it can be said to be more divine than a god.

The old gods of this world clearly possessed terrifying, twisted and insane powers.This power is reflected in those cruel and bloody histories, as well as in the actions of those crazy followers of the old gods.

Many people are polluted by the old gods, and many people have mental breakdowns and even physical mutations.

But the dice turned out to be fairly harmless.Not only is it harmless, it's even...too friendly to humans.

...yes, friendly.Siles thought of the word.

Dice are just the power of the gods.And "Shadow" is also a god.Siles could understand that, as members of Fischer's civilization, Antinam and Dice would want to fight against the "Shadow".

However, if compared with "Shadow", Dice and Anti-Num are too... "normal" in the human sense, right?It's not even that much like a god, but like a human being.

Some people once suspected that Anti-Num was also a human being, but a stronger enlightener who had mastered the power of the gods.Those experiments and methods of reviving the power of the old gods are also to some extent doubts about Anti-Nam's divine authority.

...Is it because of the birth of Antinam and Dice, based on Fisher civilization?Siles could only think of this possibility.

Therefore, for this world, Antinam and Dice have always maintained goodwill in a positive sense.

...but the birth of the old gods was also based on the Fischer civilization.The old gods were not so friendly.

Siles frowned involuntarily.He thought that he still had to meet Antinam as soon as possible.

He couldn't help sighing, thinking, is it necessary for him to go to Merlin Town himself?However, there was no response to the letter to the "mother" in Merlin Town, and it was as if Antinam was not there.

After thinking for a while, Siles shook his head. He believed that the most important thing now was the oasis in the mist.

He thought about what might happen next, and then sorted out his belongings.Tomorrow will be a long and hard journey, he thought.

In the evening, Alfonso knocked on the door again, and went to dinner with Siles.For dinner they chose the tavern where they had met yesterday.

The tavern was still lively, and Siles heard some interesting news.

What caught his attention in particular was that an explorer mentioned the circus.

The explorer spoke Kansas. He seemed to have just arrived at the Main Inn, and he was drinking with his companions while chatting loudly.

They mention the circuses encountered in some of the great stages in the more central regions of the Never Emberlands.And he showed a feeling of dissatisfaction. He said that none of those circuses had clowns, so they were still some kind of circus.

His companion didn't seem to be interested in the matter, and just played it off.

The explorer immediately said angrily: "But you also met the clown in the circus at Hales House. That is the real clown. Don't you think that is quite powerful?"

"Of course the clown is powerful. But Hales House has been destroyed, have you forgotten?" His companion said absently, "Who knows where he died."

This made the explorer quite angry. He said: "I just saw that clown not long ago! He wandered alone in the land of no embers. I really don't understand why other circuses are not willing to recruit this clown." clown."

"Because it's a clown...it's just a clown." His companion was still perfunctory, "If you ask me, why do you pay so much attention to a clown?"

These words made the explorer choke, and he didn't seem to know how to answer this question. After a while, he showed a trace of suspicion: "Could it be that I have been polluted?"

"Oh, really?" These words finally brought his companion back to his senses and looked at him, "Then you can use the ritual of 'returning yourself'."

The explorer nodded, but this time it was his turn to be a little absent-minded.They stopped talking about clowns and moved on to other things.

... Siles looked away from them.

The clown.he couldn't help thinking.

He doesn't even know his name.For a long time, compared with other running group characters, this clown's sense of presence is not very high, and he has only had contact with Siles three or two times.

However, Siles was still impressed by the Joker.The clown seemed to know something, but he... wasn't sure if he was pretending to be crazy or really crazy. In short, he couldn't communicate with Siles normally.

That's a bad question.However, thinking of the merchant card that the clown once handed him, and the possibility that the clown had contact with Mr. Xia, Siles also had to pay attention to this issue.

He thought that after returning to Ramifa City, he might be able to ask Ms. Heidi if it was possible to contact the clown.

The two days at the Main Station seemed to have ended so peacefully. On the morning of Monday, July 7, Siles and Alfonso embarked on a journey to the oasis in the mist; and Cindo also arrived near the mist in the northeast of the Folio Sea.

The journey to the small village was quite tedious, and they were just walking through what seemed to be an endless wasteland.Therefore, Siles quickly turned his attention to Qindo.

Qin Duo's expression was quite serious. He stood on the edge of the isolated island, wearing [Akamala's spectacle frame], and stared at the fog in the distance.

The puppet sat on his shoulder, also looking into the distance.However, Sirius couldn't see anything from the puppet's vision.

He could only see that it was a relatively wide fog, almost covering the sky and the sun.Standing on the isolated island very close to the fog, he even felt that the surroundings were gloomy and gloomy.Not the storm, but the effect of the mist.

In the ocean not far away, occasionally some strange-shaped marine creatures can be seen churning.Some "fishtails" that can almost be called terrible and terrifying will make waves.

After a while, Qin Duo suddenly reached out and took off his glasses.

"...many people," he whispered. "No, I don't even know if that could be called a human being."

The puppet turned its head and listened quietly.

"They fell into an eternal intoxication and carnival. During the time I watched them, they just drank wildly, ate meat...or ate each other. Their limbs and flesh seemed to flow continuously dynamic growth.

"They were scattered on different isolated islands, but some islands that were closer were also connected with ropes, as if to make it easier for them to walk back and forth. They were all naked, and they danced when they talked.

"Some people have mutations similar to marine life. These people seem to be eaten more often. People will show expressions of wonder and admiration after eating their meat.

"...they ate and drank day and night. Occasionally, they dug out of the island... star