The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"Good morning, Glenn." Sirius greeted him.

Grenfell raised his hand not too enthusiastically.

Next to him was the signed novel by Ms. Cumming that Sirius had brought him.Since he got it, he has always carried it with him and glanced at it excitedly from time to time.

Because of this, Grenfell has been in a very happy mood recently.It doesn't look like a normal state to be depressed and sluggish right now.

"What's the matter?" Sirius said slightly confused. "What happened?"

"When I came here this morning, I met a very annoying guy." Grenfell showed a mocking smile, "You know, some people are annoying before, and the older they get, the more annoying they become."

Siles distilled the message out of his words—and so, Grenfell met an old man within the Historical Society.If Grenfell can be so annoying, then that person's views are probably very extreme.

Grenfell didn't intend to go further on this topic, so he turned to say: "Okay, Sirius. Let's talk today..." He thought for a moment, "The non-essential additives in potions."

Grenfell himself was a potions master, Sirius had heard him say so.

However, as a student of Grenfell, Siles never tried to make potions.According to Grenfell, potion making is a very random process, and even he cannot guarantee that every time he makes potions, he can get the same results.

The ingredients for potion configuration include main ingredients, auxiliary ingredients (star dust), and pleasure, these three are necessary.Non-essential are additives that cause the final effect of the potion to mutate in a random direction.

During these few meetings with Grenfell, they were all discussing knowledge related to making potions.The questions and ideas raised by Siles could occasionally even catch Grenfell's eyes.

Of course, this also made Grenfell want Siles to be a researcher, not a technician.

"Non-essential additives in potions ... over the last 400 years, people have tried a lot of them. Some are deterministic, some are not," he said.

Siles asked: "You mean, even if the same material is put into the potion, it may lead to completely different mutation results?"

Grenfell nodded.

Siles was a little surprised and said, "Then, the effect can only be known after the potion is made and tested by yourself."

"Yes." Grenfell said, "Every year, the Historical Society will update the list of additives made by potions, but the impact of most of the additives is uncertain.

"Some have already been determined, such as Ed's Tongue - that is a species of violet. Adding this herb to the potion can make the potion a healing medicine that cannot enter the ritual time."

Siles was slightly taken aback: "Can't enter the ritual time...healing medicine?"

"To put it simply, the potion has lost its original effect." Grenfell said, "but it has obtained a very powerful healing effect. This potion has been used by the third corridor and the Knights of the Church of the Past, and also The military police of the Principality have ordered a large amount."

Siles said, "That's not a potion anymore." He couldn't help but say, "How can a potion have such an effect?"

Grenfell said: "Some people speculate that this may be due to the power of time in the potion, which restores the limb to a healthy state. The power of retrogression... They guessed so, but they couldn't prove the correctness of this idea. "

Siles nodded.

Grenfell then said: "So, people suspect... Of course, in the field of potions that I specialize in, some researchers believe that potions should not only be used for ritual time, but also have other complicated effects .”

Siles thought for a moment, and then said: "I see. They hope that they can gain the power of the ritual just by relying on potions, rather than people going to reproduce what happened in the past.

"Like... a harmless sealed item?"

Grenfell was stunned for a moment, and then immediately said: "You're right! A harmless sealed item! It's so strange, I didn't think of this way of describing it before! Yes... potion, sealed item!

"Siles, you are such a genius! As you said, since Ed's tongue can make the potion into a healing potion, why wouldn't there be some other additives to make the potion more effective? !"

Siles nodded slowly.

He suddenly realized that the power system of this world had fallen into an interrupted, chaotic, and very immature state, perhaps because of the fall of the gods of the Silent Period.

The use of power is still developing, the veins of the system are still being established.Any revelator has the potential to go down in history simply because of their few bursts of inspiration.

What Siles said gave Grenfell a huge amount of inspiration suddenly, and he murmured some terms that Siles had never heard before, probably the names of some added materials.

After a while, Grenfell jumped up and said, "I have to go to the laboratory! Sirius, I'm afraid I will be researching this subject for a while, maybe we will meet again after a while.

"If there is anything urgent, come to the antique bookstore in the west city to find me. Behind it is my residence and laboratory. You don't need to disturb my experiment at other times. I will write to you when I have the results of my research."

Saying so, he hurriedly bid farewell to Siles and left Room 177.Siles was surprised by his decisiveness, and could only say "contact me later" with him.

Grenfell's figure disappeared behind the door, and after a while, he suddenly poked his head out again, as if remembering something, and said to Celes with a serious face: "Cilles, my student, are you The only genius researcher I have ever met."

Siles thought to himself, that's because he came from another world, and he has countless open and complicated information and fictional power systems as the knowledge base.

He was a little curious about what Grenfell wanted to say.

Grenfell continued: "So...about your subject, or any other inspiration that might be useful. No matter how hard it is, no matter how many people are against," he said solemnly, "please just keep going. That will Saved many, many people."

After finishing speaking, he waved his hand towards Siles, and left in a hurry.

Siles stood there in a daze, not understanding why Grenfell brought up his subject again.He pondered for a while before thinking of a possibility.

Perhaps it had something to do with the man Grenfell had met this morning.Grenfell may disappear for a period of time in the future, and he is worried that Siles will be suppressed and excluded during this period.

Or... because of the appearance of that person, this kind of pressure may have appeared, and with Grenfell's temporary departure, this kind of suppression may become more exaggerated?

As far as his subject is concerned-to remove the spiritual pollution of the revelator-this is of course no problem.However, when he first mentioned the theory, he opposed the will of man to the will of God, and believed that the will of man could resist the will of God.

This is enough to make some senior officials of the Historical Society very hostile to him and his subject.They may think that the ultimate goal of Siles is to overthrow the authority of the gods.

Siles couldn't help sighing, pinched the bridge of his nose with a slight headache, and turned his thoughts to his subject.

At the end of September, he once conducted an experiment to verify that "borrowing the power of the past self" can help the revelator compare his current state with the past state, so as to confirm where the affected part of himself is, so as to eliminate contaminated part.

Many revelators are polluted without knowing it, so they miss the opportunity to eliminate the pollution, and can only watch themselves sink in the mud.If there is an opportunity to make them realize the difference between before and after pollution, it may be a very good solution to pollution.

A ceremony, a time track.an anchor.Let them know themselves.

This is the most compromise solution that Siles can think of.The best way is of course to improve one's will as much as possible, but Sirius doesn't know how to improve the will of the enlightener.

After that experiment, Siles conducted two more experiments in the past few weeks. The total number of revelators participating in the experiment was about ten, randomly selected, and the final result was as expected.

Because unlike the first experiment, the time rails used by the two revelators are closely related to them, so in the two subsequent experiments, less than one-third of the people showed a significant degree of pollution. reduce.

The other third had a vague sense of a difference, but the level of pollution did not change.The final third feels like nothing.

Of course, the sample size is too small to be convincing enough.

However, after learning of such results, Director Bello seemed to want to promote this method of "self-reappearance" on a large scale within the Historical Society.Last Saturday, he said that a result would be discussed next week.

The idea of ​​such a large-scale promotion may have to be discussed and resolved by the elders.

But Grenfell's attitude...

In the past few weeks, Grenfell didn't tell him much about the project. It seemed that the matter just passed away. It was enough for him to study hard and come up with a result that could handle the past.

However, the situation seems to have subtly changed.

...just because of that high-level that suddenly appeared?

Maybe Grenfell didn't know what the situation would turn out to be, but that person appeared.And that brings some...not-so-good news.

Siles narrowed his eyes slightly, then stood up, went to the corridor of the research department, and found Director Bello.

Director Bello was alone in the office, dazed in a daze, as if someone had come to talk to him not long ago.After Siles walked in, he looked at Siles with a helpless sigh.

His expression immediately made Sirius understand.

He sat silently opposite Supervisor Bello.

Director Bello was silent for a moment, and then said: "I'm sorry, your project has been frozen." He paused, "One option is that you can let other people take over your current research results, and the final result of follow-up research When the results are published, your name will also be included.

"But you can't participate in subsequent experiments. And... during the short-term research process, your name will not appear in the subject."

In simple terms, this choice is to kick Cilles out of the research ranks of this topic completely.Even if the final result will bear the name of Siles, but I'm afraid it's just an "inspiration provider" and a "pioneer".

By analogy, he cannot be the "first author" of the finalized paper, or even just a member of the "thanks list".

Director Bello seemed to understand the essence of this choice, so he paused for a long time before continuing: "If you are unwilling...I mean...such a choice...then this project will be suspended indefinitely ...frozen, or rather."

Siles listened quietly.

Director Bello added: "As for the large-scale promotion of that ceremony...it's unlikely in the short term. Of course, in the long run..."

"If my name and theory have nothing to do with this subject, then this ceremony can be promoted, right?" Siles asked in a low voice.

Supervisor Bello's eyes trembled.After a while, he said, "Yes. Professor Noel, that's right, that's right."

Siles remained silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Supervisor Bello said.

"No, it's not your fault." Siles said calmly, "It's my negligence."

He overlooked a problem: In this world that truly has gods, the concept of foreigners from the earth is too out of place.

Before he himself knew it, he had stepped into the minefield of some big shots.He's pushing the boundaries of those guys.

Now it seems that he can still study this subject peacefully for a few months, which is a bit unbelievable.

Of course, he couldn't help thinking that maybe they just wanted to see him work on this subject—either the results or the problems.In any case, a "knowing the heights of the heavens and the depths of the earth" young enlightener...

After he got some results, sure enough, this topic did not belong to him.

He had already been mentally prepared before. After all, since he raised this topic, countless people have warned him and reminded him. After he learned what happened 14 years ago, he had a premonition.

but……

Siles couldn't help feeling a little dull in his heart, and he sighed silently.

"Then, your choice is..." Supervisor Bello's voice was a little soft.

Siles thought for a while and said, "Let other people take over this subject."

Director Bello didn't seem to realize that Siles' answer would be like this. He subconsciously widened his eyes and asked, "What... what do you mean?"

"Let others continue to study this subject." Siles said, "This subject is enough to benefit all enlighteners, and it shouldn't just be stagnant and interrupted like this."

"You...I really didn't expect that you would be willing..." Director Bello said incoherently, "You are really a noble person...too noble..."

His voice slowly softened, and his eyes were almost sad.

No, Siles thought, he just made an appropriate choice.

Siles certainly felt regretful and dissatisfied at losing the right to study this subject.Before coming to Supervisor Bello's office, he did not expect that the situation would suddenly develop to such an extreme point.

However, this is the reality.He is not really a 24-year-old fledgling young scholar.The stranger from Earth is old and mature enough, he knows what choice he should make at this moment.

Angry because of dissatisfaction, refusing others to intervene in his research results?

This is a subject that is practical enough to save countless lives.Siles could not let ordinary, innocent enlighteners lose a chance of life just because he contradicted the ideas of some great people.

He asked back: "If I agree with this plan, who will take over this subject?"

Director Bello said, "Ms. Bonita Aston. You know, she's been working on soul-related topics."

Siles breathed a sigh of relief. "That's no problem. I'd love to have Ms. Aston take over my subject."

Director Bello hesitated again and again, and finally said: "Professor Noel, I think, maybe I can fight for you..."

"No, Director Bello." Siles shook his head firmly, "There is no need for that."

When the matter developed to this point, there was no need for Director Bello to get involved.

Supervisor Bello seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he gave up in vain.

He sat there, after a while, and said sadly, "Do you understand? That feeling of powerlessness... like when my wife died... like when she was tortured and I couldn't do anything..."

Siles remained silent.

"Please forgive my incompetence." Supervisor Bello said softly, "I'm afraid I will leave the Historical Society after a while."

Siles was taken aback, and he wanted to say something.

Supervisor Bello shook his head and stopped Siles from speaking.He said: "Even if you don't care, or you are noble enough to not care about them... But I have felt a lot of negative emotions over the years."

Siles said, "I can understand, but..."

"I should have left the Historical Society when my wife passed away, when I couldn't do anything for her to leave..." Supervisor Bello said, "Your incident made me make up my mind."

Siles sighed, but finally said nothing.

They sat in silence for a moment.

Siles suddenly said: "Director, please explain to me. Why is it at this time?"

His research on the subject has been going on for about two months, even though he has achieved some results, but...why is it at this moment?

That big man... didn't he know about Sirius' subject before?

"One of the elders... lost his temper because of your subject." Director Bello said in a tired tone, "I proposed to promote your ceremony within the All-Historical Society at the meeting, but he suddenly refuted and said attack.

"He seems to think that you are too young and have little qualifications. Even if your subject is really meaningful, it should not be done by you. Besides, you have offended the gods—according to him.

"In the morning meeting, no one refuted his point of view with his firm attitude, and hoped to keep your project. Maybe they felt that this is just a project, and good progress has been made, and another researcher would not No problem... so in the end..."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully.

An elder who hadn't noticed the subject of Siles before... at this morning's meeting?Then, this elder is very likely to be the old and stubborn old man Grenfell met.

Siles said: "Can you tell me his name?"

Supervisor Bello hesitated for a moment, and finally he said, "Yes. That elder's name is Clarence Dwight."

Siles was startled, then confirmed, "Dwight?"

Director Bello nodded, and said: "As far as I know, Elder Clarence Dwight has deep qualifications in the Historical Society, and has personally led some of the subjects." He hesitated, and then said, " He himself has a very close relationship with the research department."

Siles nodded slowly, thinking to himself, no wonder this elder can directly intervene in the internal affairs of the research department.

But what really caught Sirius' attention was not the elder's status in the Historical Society.

Dwight?He thought that the surname of Horatio, the president of the Chronicle of Suffering Society, was also Dwight.

He couldn't help asking: "Is this surname common?"

Director Bello didn't seem to understand his confusion, so he said, "It's not common. As far as I know, there is only one Dwight family in Lamifa City."

Then, Sirius thought, this Mr. Clarence Dwight is the elder of Horatio Dwight?

No wonder Horatio is the revealer, no wonder Horatio's character is like this... Family background?So why did he become interested in believers' "self-restraint"?

A majestic... revelator who is conservative enough, trusting enough to believe in the gods?

A thought faintly came into Siles' mind.

Director Bello said: "I can understand your thoughts...but I think, even if you know the name of the elder..."

Siles was slightly startled, and then said: "You don't have to worry, I don't mean to be hostile to him."

Even if there is, he can't beat such a seasoned enlightener now.Even Grenfell could only angrily complain to him about that annoying guy.That probably should be someone of the same level as Grenfell's teacher.

However, Siles at least knew one of the elders who targeted him.Remember first.

Supervisor Bello showed a forced smile, and then sighed wearily.

He said: "Perhaps I am presumptuous to bring up such a topic, but..." He paused, "Do you think the power of the revealer actually brought disaster?"

Siles said: "I don't think so." He looked into Director Bello's old and cloudy eyes, "Power is just power. The person who uses the power determines whether it is good or evil."

Director Bello was silent.

Siles said: "You have developed the concept of the purity of potions, haven't you? I think you also like such power very much."

If it weren't for this, then the young director Bello probably wouldn't have studied it in depth.It is enough to regard the revelator as a profession, a force available, rather than participating in research projects.That was boring enough, boring enough.

After being silent for a long time, Edward Bello smiled, and said in a low and hoarse voice: "Yes...Professor Noel. You remind me of things when I was young."

He murmured: "Before my wife left, when I was not the head of the research department...Those things. Those past. That is the source of the power of the Revelator."

Siles looked at him with a little belated hesitation.

Director Bello laughed.All that remained of his old face was wrinkled skin.He said, "Forgive me, Professor Noel. I cannot bring you more. I cannot keep this subject for you."

Siles was slightly startled, and then sighed: "Please don't blame yourself, Director Bello." He thought for a moment, and then said, "I can understand your difficulty."

Director Bello shook his head silently.

Siles didn't know what to say.

After a while, Director Bello said: "If you want, after this matter is over, you can participate in other projects in the research department. You can rest assured about that."

Siles nodded, thinking to himself, it might take a while.

He thanked Director Bello for his kindness, bid farewell to Director Bello, got up and left.

Siles wondered if he should call on Ms. Bonita Aston, but he gave up.

When he was leaving the corridor of the research department, he bumped into his assistant, Aneurin.Aneurin didn't seem to know what was going on.Siles took him to room 450 and told Aneurin everything that happened in the office.

Anuilin looked shocked and sad, and he said almost sadly: "I don't understand...why would someone..."

"Time is always complex," Siles said. "Its power can bring wisdom, or it can bring stubbornness."

Aneurin was silent.

Siles said: "Don't be so sad, I will participate in other experiments in the research department, and I still need you to be my assistant. Are you still willing?"

Aneurin immediately said: "Of course. Professor, sooner or later they will regret treating you like this." He said this with a vow.

Siles smiled instead.He was not so naive, but he also felt a little comforted by Aneulin's words.He said goodbye to Aneurin and left the Historical Society.

He has realized that the earliest days when he was only amazed by the power of the Revelator will never return.

He was not disheartened, but he was also a little bit discouraged, so he walked along the avenue near Atherton Square for a while.The rain started pattering down again, and Siles found a restaurant to shelter from the rain and eat.

In the lively restaurant, he heard the guests discussing the October market.

He thought of what Ms. Mapa said in the map store yesterday, and Alfonso, Emanuel, and even Professor Kabell and his teaching assistants who were in the Land of No Embers and whose safety was unknown.

After dinner, he went to the arcade district.

Even though it is rainy, the October market is as lively as ever.This is already the fourth day of the October market, and many people already know where they should go and what to buy.

Siles didn't know that much, and he browsed the merchandise casually under the dim and dirty glass arcade.

Soon, he came to the performance area near the upper left corner, where he met a man who was setting up a stall alone, dressed in rags, and looked embarrassed.He was wearing a suit of clothes that were easy to move, but already tattered.

Siles walked over.

"Good afternoon," he said, "what do you sell here?"

The man raised his head, gave Sirius a lifeless look, and said, "I'm from the Land of Never Embers. Everything here is from the Land of Never Embers."

Siles looked down at the goods on the booth.

There are some items of unknown origin, but Siles is afraid to buy such things. Maybe it is the time track that has gone out of control, or something that is polluted by the old gods.

Finally, he set his sights on a few notebooks on the side of the booth.It looked like people's travel notes, but some of them were dilapidated, as if they had been bitten by some wild beast.

The stall owner noticed Sirius' gaze and introduced, "This is the notebook of my companions."

"Your companion?"

"They are already dead." The stall owner replied dryly, "I will sell these things to make up for the travel expenses back home."

Siles was slightly taken aback, and he asked, "Is there a map here?"

"Map?" The stall owner was stunned for a while, and after a while, he said, "I have a map of the Everland here. All my companions are dead, so I plan to go home. This map is very important to me. It's useless to say..."

As he spoke, he hit his thigh with his fist, as if trying to convince himself to make up his mind.

Finally, he said, "You can get this map from me, but you'll have to buy these notes too... I mean, since you're going to the Everlands, these things will be useful to you."

What else did he want to say.

But Siles has already asked: "How much are these notes in total?"

The stall owner was stunned for a moment, and then said ecstatically, "Fifty duke coins... no, thirty!"

Siles didn't counter the price, and took out three ten-coin bills from his wallet, and handed them to the stall owner.The stall owner looked a little surprised, and a subtle meaning gradually lit up in his numb eyes. He seemed to want to regret it, thinking that he had lowered the price.

But in the end, he still accepted the price, pushed those notes to Siles, and took out a folded parchment from his dirty pocket.

He said, "I bought it from a merchant, and I heard it came from a powerful explorer..." He muttered, "But, alas... after all, the Everlands don't belong to me. "

He handed the map to Sirius.

Siles opened it up a little and took a look.He saw thick pencil marks on the paper, marking routes and special places, and an inscription in the lower right corner.That wasn't the language of the Principality of Constance, but it was indeed a name.

If you translate it by syllable, it should be...

Cindo Playa?

Siles thought, is this the one who drew this map?A mighty explorer?

But would a really strong explorer have the time to make such a map?Could it be that this explorer was scammed by an unscrupulous trader... Siles thought a little bit dumbfounded.

Siles put these harvests in his bag, thought for a while, and asked, "Did you just come back from the Land of No Embers?"

"Yes." The stall owner said, "Are you planning to go to the Everland at this time? I advise you to wait until after this winter. You know, the recent explorers of the Everland are as crazy as crazy." I'm chasing those unbelievable legends."

Siles said, "A city that doesn't exist?"

The stall owner gave him a surprised look, and then said: "I didn't expect you to know this. That's right, this rumor has attracted countless people to Gladstone recently.

"Of course, I don't know much about the specific situation. When I left, people were looking for more detailed clues."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully.He thanked the stall owner and left the stall.He failed to find other explorers from Land of No Embers setting up a stall, so he came to the performance area in the upper left corner.

The canopy has been set up, and the light in the whole area is getting darker and gloomy.

Suddenly, Sirius frowned.

He saw the clown performing and the two tents, one big and one small.At the same time, he also heard some strange and suspicious voices.

He couldn't help but glanced at the small tent.

The faint gazes of the people around, as well as the smiles on the faces of some caring people, all showed the true intention of that small tent.Most people, especially the men, watched the clown's hard work absently.

But their attention could not help but be attracted by the small tent.

There were also some young ladies and older ladies who hurried through the performance area with shocked and disturbed expressions.

Siles frowned deeply.

Such occasions...the West City does exist.He had never seen it in Dongcheng.But, no matter what, such a place, such a scene, appeared openly at the birth fair in October...

It's also incredible.

When Siles saw the two men walk into the small tent, he felt even more subtle unease.

He thought for a while, walked around the opposite side of the small tent, and walked to the door of the big tent.He heard a noise coming from inside, and smelled a familiar smell of meat.

He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized where he had smelled it before - the food town.

At this moment, a businessman with a big belly hurried out from the depths of the big tent.With the smell of meat on his body, and a suppressed anger on his face, he glanced at Siles in a hurry, confirmed that he had never seen this guy before, and walked away swaggeringly.

Siles watched his leaving back and recognized this guy at that moment——Bill Beaumont.A person in charge of Grayson Foods, and the person in charge of Food Town.

He still wears the brooch at his neckline.The pattern of the brooch is still a balance falling from one end.

How could he be here?

"...Damn it!" A furious curse came from the depths of the tent, "We don't expect to do this in this kind of place... Don't you think... crazy! Really crazy!"

A woman, wearing a long dress embroidered with stars, like an astrologer, also walked out angrily.

Seeing Sirius, she couldn't help but slow down her pace, and she asked, "Who are you?"

Siles hesitated for a second, then said: "I plan to explore the Land of Never Embers during winter vacation. I heard that you are from Land of Never Embers?"

"Oh." The woman's expression softened for a moment, but the next moment it became complicated again, "You don't need to ask us for news, we are just living in the land of no embers, earning some money, hoping to return to our home soon hometown……"

"...Since you know that we are here to make money, why are you making such a fuss!" A tall and thin man chased after him, "Heidi, don't you know..."

"Of course I know! Of course I know that it makes money! We do it all outside!" The woman named Heidi suddenly burst out, and she asked sharply, "How can you make money in Land of No Embers? Planting money is completely different from earning this kind of money in Lamifa City!"

The clown ended the show.

The animal trainer who was waiting on the side led the large lion-like animal forward.

The clown is coming to the big tent.He paused at the small tent with his head poking around, then shook his head regretfully, and muttered, "It's useless...it's really useless..."

At this moment, the thin and tall man completely sank his face: "Don't tell me these useless words! We have already agreed! Even if you think this matter will make us be targeted by the official Konstantin, but you think the name Will the businessman agree to our withdrawal!"

The astrologer Heidi turned pale at this moment.

The clown shook his head beside him and whispered, "It's too late, it's too late."

Heidi then gave a bitter smile and said, "Yes... Maybe I realized it too late." She gave the tall, thin man a deep look, and then left.

The tall and thin man ignored her leaving, but looked at Siles: "