The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

Siles' novel seemed to be an instant hit.

On the first day on the shelves, the first batch of [-] copies were sold out; in the following week, a total of nearly [-] copies were sold, which is an incredible number.

Benton specially invited Siles to dinner in one of the most luxurious and expensive restaurants in Atherton Square.He said excitedly: "You are really a genius novelist! Professor Noel, I am not talking nonsense! The market has proved your worth!"

Siles nodded politely, without showing exaggerated excitement or agitation.He even has a subtle... sense of unrealism.

His hopeless novel really became popular in Ramifa City?

In recent days, he could even see some students holding his novels to read, or hear some students discuss certain plots in the novels in La Mifa University.Moreover, when he was in class, he also received a long-lost reverence.

... You know, these students who are about to be overwhelmed by his stern attitude and heavy homework have never looked at him like this before!

Siles felt incredible.However, if you really want to say that you are not happy, that is impossible.At least the dividends of the income on the account are real.

"The Revenge of the Rose", a single book is priced at 5 marquis coins, which is moderate.Of course, if you compare the price of the earth horizontally, this price is very expensive.

But in Fisher's world, paper books are still expensive after all, and the cost of a single book is about 4 marquis coins.

A book earns 1 duke coin, and they have now sold nearly [-] copies, which is a net profit of [-] duke coins.Siles had collected five hundred-dollar bills in a few weeks, and that was not the end of it.

... The speed at which he got rich really made Siles feel a little suspicious.

"You are now a popular novelist in the city." Benton drank some wine, his eyes and expression became more excited, "Can I ask, when is your next novel going to be published?"

Siles thought for a while and said, "It's already in preparation. Maybe it will be finished by the end of the year."

"That's great!" Benton said immediately.

Although expensive, this restaurant is really worth the money.Benton paid for the meal directly, and said sincerely: "Professor Noel, you can be said to be my cash cow. Of course, there will be the publication of that travel book... Oh, what a blessing."

Benton's straightforward words made Siles feel a little uncomfortable.

Benton thought for a while, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it to Siles.

"What is this?" Siles looked at the few words on the business card and couldn't help asking.

"A gathering of some famous novelists in the city." Benton said, "only novelists who have sold at least [-] copies can get this business card, such as Ms. Antonia Cumming. Your novel will definitely reach this in two days." Standard, so I will give you this business card.

"If you're interested, you can take a look at it on a weekend afternoon."

Siles thought to himself, I'm afraid I only have time on Sunday afternoon.

He thanked Benton, and then returned to Ramifah University in a hired carriage.

It's September 9st.Tuesday.

Just two weeks have passed since he discussed the publication with Langmeer and Benton.

He shared lunch with Benton before returning to school.After finishing the evening public elective class, Siles immediately focused on a very important matter.

——Deep Sea Dreamland.

The last time he was there was on the 8th and 29th of August.Calculated according to the interval of 30 days, tonight and tomorrow night, he can go to explore the deep sea dreamland.

Siles had already figured out what to do in the next two explorations.

During this time, the power of Akamala always protected him.Siles has always had a good quality of sleep, but occasionally suffers from insomnia or dreams, which is natural.

However, since he went to the deep sea dreamland and picked up those dream bubbles from the sea, sleep has been a pleasure for him.Just go to bed and fall asleep immediately, and will automatically wake up in the morning.

No matter when, he can have a comfortable enough sleep.

Siles—at least for a moment, he could understand the fanatical followers of Akamala who studied how to sleep and dream better.

According to rumors, Akamala will bestow any believer he likes, as well as all good people, a beautiful and magnificent dream.

It's a pity that Siles never had any sweet dreams.It seems that the effect of Akamala's power on him is to allow him to have a comfortable and peaceful sleep.

He didn't know if it was because Akamala had fallen, or because he hadn't lived up to the rumored standard.

In any case, this power did give him a little help.Of course, research on deep-sea dreams continues.

At night, Siles lay down on the bed with a complicated and expectant mood.It is already the end of September, and the weather is getting colder and colder.Siles put thick quilts and furs on the bed, so that he could live a good winter in this world without heating or air conditioning.

Only then did he understand why Eric would emphasize at the Ernestine Fair that people in the West City would buy cheap furs for the winter at that time.

Because La Mifa's winter is too cold.

He fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the pillow.In his sleep, he appeared again in that world of deep sea and mist.

Sea surface, isolated island, fog, doll, starry sky.His leather shoes stepped on the soft red mud again.

Still walking around the isolated island circle and circle.Occasionally his gaze caught the giant doll.He noticed invisible threads wrapped around the doll—yes, invisible.

He couldn't help thinking, since it was an invisible thread, why would he know there was a thread there?

Since it was shrouded in fog, why did he see all this?

The next second, he thought, yes, this is his dream.His dream connected this place.God's Paradise?Will this be God's Paradise?

But since it is a paradise, why is it so withered, lonely, and silent?It was as if the days of Paradise had passed away in a long dead silence.

Step by step, he walked steadily and firmly towards the center of the isolated island.The soft red mud sank one clear footprint after another behind him.But after a while, the footprints will slowly disappear.

It was as if something had erased these footprints, or as if this was a wound from the red mud on the isolated island, and now the wound was slowly healing.

Finally, he stopped in the middle of the island.Once again he found the will to control his body at this moment.

Before coming here, he had already thought about what he was going to do.

When he came here two times before, he saw bubbles in the deep sea, and picked them up from the sea himself.These two discoveries woke him up.

Therefore, he cannot waste the opportunity.Any new discovery could make him leave this place.

He first went to different corners of the isolated island, picked up different bubbles, and observed them carefully.

Sea water is sea water, and dreams are dreams.It was hard for him to describe the feeling.It's like when you look in a mirror, instead of reflecting your face, the mirror reflects something else.

And when he focused and observed carefully, he could clearly see some pictures in the dream.When he is not concentrating enough, or when he is more casual, he can only see some mixed and messy pictures.

Because there are too many bubbles in those pictures and dreams, the mixed pictures together form this deep and boundless ocean.

He stood up and stared into the distance silently.The fog did not block his vision, but he could feel the distance, the distance... the endless distance and ocean.

It seems that the only land is the isolated island where he is now.

So what exactly is an island?What exactly is red clay?

He had some guesses, but he couldn't come up with a result.So he didn't pay too much attention to this point, he lowered his eyes, and was about to study those dream bubbles in depth, when suddenly, he stopped.

He thought of a problem - the sea is boundless, front and back, left and right.

So, what's next?What will be at the bottom of the sea?

He hesitated.

Because he entered the dream state these two times, he actually wanted to verify the related functions of these dream bubbles.For example, can he really use the power of Akamala?Can he manipulate the content of dreams?Can you enter other people's dreams?

These questions require enough dreams to accumulate.

However, this quiet sea, this silent island, this standing puppet, this empty starry sky... all made him feel an indescribable and heavy feeling, as if there was something condensed and covered in substance. Around him, and he was shuttling in such a frozen world.

He was eager to know the nature of this place—this deep-sea dream, not its function.

So, finally, he decided to satisfy his curiosity.He lowered his eyes, looking through the dream bubbles in the deep sea, and the dreamlike scene was gradually moving away from him.

The closer he got to the depths of the ocean, the more he felt the darkness and oppression around him.It seemed that there was a sufficiently dignified and sufficiently deep atmosphere covering his heart, and that feeling even made him lose his mind.

For a moment it seemed to him that he was in a grave, surrounded by dead bodies.

... dead bodies.

He saw it!

He saw... the deep sea.seabed.The rugged seabed, the darkness that cannot penetrate the light.It seems that everything is melting at this moment, and everything is condensing here.But he saw it.

In the depths of the ocean, the... ruins of cities and civilizations.

... Siles suddenly woke up.

At four o'clock in the morning, he lay flat on the bed, with his eyes open, feeling confused and deeply disturbed.

In the depths of the Ocean of Dreams he saw the ruins of buildings.It should be said that the entire seabed is covered by such ruins.Countless collapsed buildings, abandoned land and broken mountains and rivers.

He didn't know how to describe how he felt when he hurriedly saw that scene.It was shocking and moving that overwhelmed all negative emotions.

He seemed to have seen the end.He seemed to see the corpse of civilization.

... Siles thought incredulously, but why did it appear in the deep sea dream?Why is it eternally preserved by the power of Akamala?Or... is that the background of this world and all human dreams?

What kind of secrets are hidden in this world that was once completely shrouded in fog?

Siles was puzzled, and after waking up, he thought about it until dawn alone.It was the rising, hazy sunlight that woke him up.

It was almost October, and the weather was getting colder. The morning air became chilly, and even the sunlight seemed weak, tremblingly illuminating a corner of Celes' room.

He got up and took a shower, then went out.He went to the cafeteria to have breakfast first, then took a public carriage, and arrived at the Historical Society at nearly eight o'clock.

It was Wednesday morning, and he had come to meet Grenfell.

In the space behind the door of the Historical Society, some enlighteners noticed the arrival of Siles and cast flattering glances.

Over the past two weeks, Siles has performed several experiments again.He would talk to the revelators and try to make sense of their dilemmas and self-confusion.

Some of these revealers who participated in the experiment can trigger the judgment of the dice, and some cannot.Even the latter, after their conversation with Siles, their mental state seems to be much better.

As for the revelators who triggered the dice judgment, there were three in total; two of them obtained successful judgments, while the other one...failed.Because after he triggers the judgment, the only options available to Siles are the points of failure.

The enlightener looked determined, with a cold expression, and his will was as high as 70 points, which was the highest among the three enlighteners who triggered the judgment.However, Siles could only give him the result of failure.

This means that, based on Celes' current strength, it is impossible for him to solve the pollution of the old gods that the revelator was subjected to-it is indeed pollution from the old gods, not pollution from the patrons of the past.

If it's the patron's pollution, it's better to solve it.

Such a revealer, under today's conditions, is doomed to failure, with no possibility of escape.This incident deeply regretted Sirius.

On the contrary, the other party thanked Siles.Because he felt that he was much better.The pain and madness that tortured his soul have weakened a lot.

Such a statement made Siles feel even more sorry for him.Because, Siles didn't know whether the other party could still get real relief and relaxation.

...In any case, although such an experiment made Siles realize that he is not omnipotent, the various results have caused an uproar within the Historical Society.Compared with the turmoil when Siles first proposed the three elements, it is even bigger and more eye-catching.

Because, any of the revelators who participated in the Siles experiment, their state has not deteriorated, and most of them have improved a lot, and a few, even almost got rid of the pollution, and the detected pollution degree is only sporadic It's half o'clock!

This almost drives those revelators who are plagued by pollution into madness.

When Siles first put forward his own theories and topics, people may have looked on indifferently, or they may have thought that he was trying to gain fame and grandstanding.But now, facts speak louder than words.

But Siles did not intend to continue such experiments.His purpose of proposing this topic is to come up with a feasible and universal method—a ritual.He didn't mean to make himself a "specialized doctor".

Teaching a man to fish is worse than giving him a fish.Those revelators he healed may be affected by other pollutions in the future.By that time, will they still be lucky enough to wait for Siles' judgment?

These revelators must learn to rid themselves of the pollution, not Celes here to help.

After several experiments, Siles clearly realized the role of human will in fighting pollution.At the same time, he also noticed numerical problems.

A revelator with a higher will may carry more serious pollution, which in turn requires a higher will attribute to get rid of these pollutions.

And the higher the will, the less room for the enlightener to rise and improve. It is very likely that the will will be more and more difficult to improve, and it will be more difficult to get rid of that serious pollution.

And so far, they have not been able to find a suitable way to enhance the will of the enlightener—permanent improvement, not a temporary improvement like [Silent Heart].

However, Siles still had some ideas about how to solve the mental pollution.That is related to a project he participated in at the Historical Society, and it is likely to be a way to save the country with curves.

Because of the expansion and in-depth research on the subject, Siles has also spent more time in the Historical Society recently.In addition to a full day on Saturday, he now also spends a full day at the Historical Society on Wednesday.

This is something that can't be helped, and Sirius knows it too.

In room 177, Grenfell was already waiting for him.

"Good morning, teacher." Siles greeted him.

"Good morning, Sirius." Grenfell held up the book in his hand, "Seriously, don't you consider changing the ending? Although Miss Gwen and Ludwig talked about love, but their Why hasn't the enemy been completely resolved?"

Siles blinked, and then said, "Don't you think it's easier for readers to remember the sequel to this book?"

"...So you have plans to write a sequel?"

"No." Siles was very frank.

Grenfell: "..."

As a student, he is good everywhere, but he is on the road of writing... It seems that he has taken a wrong path.

Grenfell was deeply sorry.

Siles sat across from Grenfell, and said, "Teacher, I got a business card for a novelist party—I heard that Ms. Cumming will also participate in such a party."

Grenfell was absent-minded at first, but when he heard Ms. Cumming's name, he immediately regained his energy.He rummaged through the cabinet, took out a book by Ms. Cumming from the drawer, handed it to Siles, and said earnestly: "Siles, Ms. Cumming's signature is up to you!"

Siles took it and couldn't help but say, "Teacher, didn't you go to Ms. Cumming's autograph session before?"

He still remembers the incident vividly.

Grenfell was embarrassed, and could only say, "Not in line."

Siles laughed inwardly, nodded his face, and said, "I will try my best to get Ms. Cumming's signature for you."

Grenfell looked very relieved.Then, he said: "I heard that you are no longer going to continue the experiment next week?"

"Not ready." Siles shook his head.

"This is a good choice." Grenfell said, "I didn't expect your experiment to be so effective, which makes you the most popular figure in the Historical Society these days. I suspect that even some other Revelation organizations have heard of you. reputation.

"I'm afraid you should pay more attention to safety. Of course, I believe that most of the revelators want you to live well, and finally can research a definite result. It's just... there are always some people who don't think so."

Siles said seriously: "I will, teacher."

"It's good that you have this sense of safety," Grenfell said. "If something really happens, you can either come to the Historical Society or the church of the Church of the Past on the East Side, or go to my antique bookstore on the West Side. It's just that Buildings protect you."

Siles nodded.

Grenfell said instead, "Let's talk about your project, then. How's it going?"

"I have joined another project in the Research Department, which I think will help me. If you remember, sir, we discussed this topic a long time ago."

"What?" Grenfell was taken aback.

"The Order of the Revelator."

Grenfell suddenly realized, and he said with interest: "The subject of studying the soul of the revealer?"

"Yes. I think that the higher the level of the enlightener and the stronger the soul, the more they can resist pollution." Siles said, "Of course, correspondingly, when they are really polluted, they will also be able to resist pollution." It's getting worse."

Grenfell nodded: "This idea is very reasonable. This topic itself has attracted a lot of attention within the Historical Society. Of course, it is not as good as you are asking for trouble - you really shouldn't mention the human will and the will of the gods. things, let me tell you.

"However, what does this have to do with your subject?"

Siles said: "Last week I had a conversation with the researcher on that subject, Ms. Bonita Aston. She hoped that by some means, she could detect the soul strength and attributes of the revelator.

"And if this can be done, it can also help the revelators determine their ability to withstand pollution."

Grenfell nodded thoughtfully.

Siles and Grenfell explain Ms Aston's theory.

Ms. Aston's research was finally divided into two parts, the first was soul strength, and the second was soul attributes.Theoretically speaking, the existence of both is beyond doubt.

The strength of the soul affects the size of the ritual power; the soul attribute affects the bias of the ritual power, that is, which types of rituals are easier for an enlightener to use.

The latter is very easy to verify, as long as you find out a few representative ceremonies and let the enlightener use them once, you can draw a conclusion.

However, the strength of the soul is very complicated.

This is the term Ms Aston named it.To be precise, the strength of the soul is determined by the two aspects of spirit and will, and sometimes it is also affected by the state of the body. This is a fluctuating value.

In Ms. Aston's research and measurement, the same revelator may show completely different soul strengths at different points in time-specifically, even when he uses the same ritual, he can also show completely different soul strengths. different forces.

The power of the ritual is the manifestation of the strength of the soul.But what measures the soul strength of a revelator?

Grenfell said: "I can see her thinking. Our progress on the path of the Revelation has always been like groping in the dark, with no signposts and no way back.

"So, she hopes to artificially divide the boundaries and stages, so that the revelators can understand which stage they have reached. However, measuring the strength of the soul... can it really be done so easily?"

Siles considered his tone for a while, and then said: "I doubt this too. However, the general division is indeed possible.

"For example, you can only borrow the power of ordinary people without pollution, you can borrow the power of ordinary patrons without pollution, you can borrow the power of powerful patrons without pollution..."

"Not polluted?" Grenfell keenly grasped the point, "That is to say..."

"The strength of the soul of the enlightener can be determined indirectly through the [Shadow of the Old God] ceremony. What stage will be polluted and what stage will not be polluted, the latter is its level."

Grenfell thought about it.

Siles added: "Of course the premise ... is that there must be a decontamination ritual to ensure the safety of the measurement process."

Grenfell frowned: "You guys have made everything very complicated." He paused, and then said, "Let me sort out your thoughts and see if I understand correctly.

"If a revelator wants to test his soul strength, he needs to try different stages of rituals.

"Ordinary people, patrons...the patrons of different paths do have clear rank divisions, which is a good thing. We can also measure according to the rank divisions of patrons.

"...I'm glad you haven't touched the gods yet.

"Afterwards, use [Shadow of the Old God] to confirm the degree of soul pollution after using different rituals, and then confirm the strength of his soul.

"Before using the ritual, we have no way of knowing whether the revealer will be polluted after using the ritual, so he must first have a decontamination ritual to protect the soul.

"...then it all circles back to your subject."

Siles nodded and said, "That's true. Soul strength and soul pollution are interrelated."

"In the final analysis, you need a ritual that is powerful enough and applicable to everyone to protect the soul." Grenfell's expression was a little serious, "And this is something we have always been unable to break through."

Soul contamination - from the old gods, or from past patrons.The pollution made the revelators cringe, as if cursed by time.

"That's exactly what I've been thinking about for the past few weeks," Siles said. "It seems like we've gotten into a wrong place."

"Misunderstanding?"

"You just said that there is a ritual that applies to everyone." Siles asked back, "Do you really think that there is a ritual that applies to everyone?

"In my experiments over the past few weeks, I have found that the reasons for each person's contamination are different. Some may be rituals, some may be time tracks, and some may even just see certain words in ancient books .

"Everyone's situation is different."

Grenfell was lost in thought.

"When measuring the strength of the soul, we can use the level of the previous patron as a reference." Silles paused, "But when removing the pollution of the soul, what can be used as a reference for everyone?"

While talking to Grenfell, he was also trying to sort out his thoughts.He had indeed been inspired by the experiments of the past few weeks, and by Ms. Aston's subject.

At least, he found a direction.

In this conversation with Grenfell, he just hoped that Grenfell could evaluate whether his idea was feasible.

"Reference object?" Grenfell was slightly taken aback. "Wait, since you said that, it means you have found it, right? Don't be fooled, Sirius, I'm not your reader!"

Siles smiled and said: "I can't say that I have found it. I came here today just for this." He paused, and then said, "Teacher, I said before that you can prepare for the future in advance." Prepare yourself... Have you done any research afterward?"

Grenfell looked at him suspiciously, and said, "I'm working on this. First, it's okay to say hello to other people in advance, and then borrow their strength. But this brings a question.

"How do you know what rituals your future self will need? In the end, the rituals are still performed according to actual needs, and the past preparations may not really come in handy.

"That said, it seems superfluous. Of course, it does come in handy sometimes, at particular times. But—still like I said, you can't know what the future is going to be like.

"Secondly, if you borrow the power of your past self...it is indeed possible, but your past self is not necessarily stronger than your current self. Moreover, there were countless strong men in the past, why borrow your own?

"Prepare. Yes. But we can't predict the future."

Grenfell sighed.

Siles didn't seem upset, saying, "If we knew exactly what a certain moment in the future would be, what would we need to do? Our past selves serve as a point of reference when decontaminating our souls."

Perhaps this method cannot be used in actual battles, but it is very important in Siles' subject.

After listening to Sirius' words, Grenfell fell into silence for a long time. In the end, he slowly frowned and asked, "So... you mean, it's like going back to [Knowledge Box]?" ?

"Recovering your past self...recovering an unspoiled version of yourself?"

Siles nodded.

[Knowledge Box] was the first ritual he actually came into contact with, that is, the first time he came to the Historical Society and witnessed a ritual used by Carroll.

The box of knowledge records all the research, various rituals, and historical records on the Revelator in the history of the Historical Society.It was an extremely thick book.

That is a very precious record, at least the current Siles is not enough to touch it.Of course, if he can really find a suitable ritual to remove pollution, that's another matter.

And this book can be carried by Carroll in the past because Carroll has the paper fragments from the earliest printing of the box of knowledge, so that the box of knowledge can be traced back to its original appearance-that is, paper.

This is the effect of the power of time on inanimate objects.

This kind of backtracking power is rare in the rituals that Siles has really come into contact with. The main reason is that the way of using this power is meaningless, and it must have the time track when the item was originally made.

Unless it's a heavy, hard-to-carry item like a box for keeping knowledge.

However, after Siles fell into a dilemma of thinking and had to carefully recall all the rituals he had been exposed to in the past, he suddenly realized that the ritual of [Knowledge Box] was not as simple as it seemed.

Past, present, Future.This can be said to be the three parts of time.

Generally speaking, when they use the power of time, they reproduce the power of the past at this moment, or in other words, the "past" appears in the "now".

But [Knowledge Box] goes back from "now" to "past".These are two diametrically opposed processes.

The reason why this way of using power is rare is essentially that people don't need to go back to the past.They just need to borrow the strength of the past.

However, in the matter of soul pollution, the situation has changed.

Grenfell said: "You hope..." He had a slightly skeptical tone, "Let the polluted soul go back and become an unpolluted soul? Is this really possible?"

Siles was taken aback for a moment - he really didn't think so.After all, items can indeed be traced back, but the soul, a living thing, how can this be traced back?What if I make a mistake?

But Grenfell's fantastic idea also surprised Sirius.

He said, "Master, I just feel that the past self can be used as a reference. Many tainted enlighteners have said that they can personally feel the presence of the object from which the power is borrowed.

"In this case, when you borrow the power of your past self, can't you also feel the state at that time?

"Many enlighteners, the reason why they are deeply polluted and unable to escape is because they are not aware of where their problems lie, and what has changed in their concepts and thoughts after they have been polluted. They are crazy but do not know .

"They need a comparison, an opportunity for them to look at themselves.

"And if they can use an item—a time track belonging to the past self—to allow them to anchor at a certain point in the past, their still healthy, unpolluted soul state, then it becomes a reference.

"An anchor that...even when they're crazy, they can stay sane."

Grenfell understood: "A ceremony." He was silent for a moment, "One, a ceremony to reproduce the past self?"

Siles nodded, and added: "Everyone's ceremony is different. For example, for me, it belongs to the ceremony of 'Sileus Noel'."

Grenfell said, "So you're saying there can't be one ritual for everyone?"

Siles nodded.

On the one hand, the conditions and reasons for the pollution of each revelator are different, and the strength of their souls is also different.On the other hand, this also involves the nature of the power of the revealer.

Potions, timelines, rituals.Purity, integrity, fit.These are the three elements and three dimensions of the Revelator.But the problem is that any of the revelators, they have no similarity to each other's power.

They may borrow the power of different moments in the past, they may borrow the power of patrons from different paths, they may have completely different ideas and ways of displaying power for different paths and different gods.

Overall, the powers of the Revelator are trivial and chaotic.They don't have a systematic, generalized rule that can frame all of them.

It is true that they all have three elements and three dimensions, but that is the expression of power, not the essence.

The essence is that they are all borrowing the power of time.Why are they polluted?It is because time not only brings strength, but also the will of the past.

At this point, every enlightener is the same, insisting on dividing their power into three, six or nine grades, that is, only the size of the power they can leverage.

In Ms. Aston's subject, she believes that the factors that determine the strength of the prying force are the two points of soul strength and soul attribute.

The results of these two points also vary from person to person, and there is no completely uniform standard.

Some people may be able to reproduce absolutely powerful power on the path of the sinful apostle, while at the same time, they can only reproduce very weak power on the path of the ascetic monk.

But he does involve two different power systems.

This is the problem with the chaos of the Revelator's system.They borrowed the power of different power systems, which in turn made their own power systems look messy, without a suitable dimension.

If one person is polluted by a gluttonous eater and another by an ascetic...these two very different kinds of pollution