Chapter 2: Dice

“So it’s fine as long as it becomes related, you say?”

“I see.”

“It might be possible.”

“But how exactly do you intend to connect checking skills in advance to rolling the dice?”

A glint of curiosity appeared in the old man’s eyes.

It seemed I had caught his interest.

“This die doesn’t have a zero, right?”

“As you can see.”

“That means no matter how bad the result is, I’ll still get at least one skill.”

“Because the minimum is one, right?”

“Hmm… I will definitely receive at least ‘one’ skill…”

“Doesn’t that mean that for that guaranteed ‘one,’ whether I roll the die or not doesn’t really matter?”

“I don’t think so.”

“That may be true for that ‘one’ skill, but what about the others?”

“They are related, aren’t they?”

“The result changes depending on the skills obtained.”

“No, no.”

“I will not allow borrowing one skill in advance.”

So that didn’t work.

Well, that was expected.

If it worked, it would have been a bonus.

That was all I was hoping for.

The real play comes next.

My next proposal will truly split my life into heaven and hell.

“I guess that’s fair.”

“Then how about this?”

“If I borrow a skill in advance, then if any number other than six comes up, I will only get that one borrowed skill.”

“In other words, the possible outcomes are only two.”

“Either I roll a six and get six skills, or I roll anything else and only get one skill.”

“How about borrowing under those conditions?”

The old man froze completely upon hearing my words.

Well?

Did it work?

“…Heh, heh… hohoho!”

“How interesting!”

“It seems you understand quite well what kind of being I am.”

…

“So, what’s your answer?”

“Very well.”

“I shall accept that proposal.”

Yes, it worked!

Now all that’s left is if that skill I’m imagining actually exists.

I’ll definitely make this old man regret it.

“However, if any number other than six is rolled, you will receive zero skills.”

“And in addition, I will assign you six negative skills.”

“Negative skills are like shackles that burden your life.”

“You will receive those instead of skills.”

“…Huh?”

“Though, that alone would be unbalanced.”

“For risk, there must be return.”

“For high risk, high return.”

“If you roll a six, the number of skills will be doubled to twelve.”

“And I will grant you two additional unique skills.”

“Normally, a Hero only has one unique skill.”

“You will have two more added.”

“That should be more than enough advantage, don’t you think?”

I really hate this old man.

The way he does things is underhanded.

More importantly, why is he escalating things without my consent?

That kind of attitude really pisses me off.

Should I beat him up?

No, calm down.

I was planning to roll a six from the start.

From that perspective, all he’s doing is increasing the number of skills I’d get.

Thinking of it that way, it’s not entirely bad.

I have an ‘ideal.’

That ideal is ‘happiness.’

It means walking the path of my ideal.

Even if my current situation isn’t ideal, striving toward it is something noble.

It’s an act that makes me feel truly alive.

So even if I were in a situation where I could only save either my father or my mother—

I would choose to save both.

Even if that resulted in everyone dying.

Because that is my ‘ideal.’

And that is my ‘happiness.’

So when I’m in trouble, I decide based on whether something aligns with my ideal or not.

I don’t consider risk.

Because trials are inseparable from ideals.

Like an elderly couple who have been together for years, ideals and trials stay side by side.

They cannot be separated.

So there is no need to think only about the trial itself.

And now, there are two paths.

One is to simply roll the dice normally as if nothing happened.

The other is to accept the old man’s gamble and risk carrying an enormous handicap if I lose.

I think.

As I always have.

Which path is closer to my ideal?

“There’s no need to even think about it.”

“Well?”

“Will you still do it under these conditions?”

“Hmm?”

He’s enjoying watching my reaction.

But the one who will enjoy the final reaction… is me.

“Fine.”

“But on one condition.”

“You and anyone related to you will not interfere in this gamble in any way.”

“Very well!”

“Very well indeed!”

“Then let us proceed to selecting skills.”

“I look forward to seeing what you choose.”

The gamble I proposed took an unexpected turn, but it was mostly accepted.

However, seeing the old man acting so excited compared to when I first arrived dampened my mood.

No, wait.

Is this part of his strategy?

Is he trying to wear me down by showing me the utterly pointless sight of an old man getting excited?

I see.

It’s effective.

My internal “hatred for old men” meter slowly but steadily rose.

After finishing his excitement, the old man suddenly turned serious and looked at me.

“Now then, choose.”

“You can obtain a skill by touching the selection.”

“Do not press the wrong one.”

An enormous list of skills appeared in midair, enough to fill my entire field of vision.

Looking closely, they were categorized into sections.

Even though there were already more than enough to overflow my vision, each category seemed to branch into even more subdivisions.

“…That’s a lot.”

Heh… it’s been a while since such an interesting boy appeared…

I have watched many people select skills here over the years as an intermediary, but this situation is unprecedented.

Well, that’s only natural.

I am a being from a world one level higher than theirs.

Perhaps because they instinctively sense that, everyone who comes here obeys me.

They shrink before me.

So when I tell them to roll the dice and choose skills, they start within ten minutes.

Another factor is that they assume they have no right to interfere with the process of rolling the dice and receiving skills.

Occasionally, someone finds my existence irritating and argues with me for a long time.

But in the end, they always roll the dice as I say.

They have no other choice.

I thought this boy would be the same at best.

But now that things have unfolded…

He has made my heart race this much.

The skill list I showed him earlier—

That is a true list containing every skill that exists or has ever existed in any world.

A Hero can obtain many skills.

But even so, the number of skills on that list is dozens of times greater.

However…

Even with such an overwhelming number of skills, the number of skills that can perfectly overcome this situation is fewer than the fingers on both hands.

There are many skills that can be somewhat useful.

But skills that perfectly match this situation in every aspect are naturally rare.

I watch the boy desperately scanning through the skill list one by one.

His concentration is remarkable.

But how long will it last?

Even I would need years to fully and accurately grasp every skill.

“Hoho…”

There is an interesting saying in that world.

“Blessings upon those who overcome trials.”

This gamble is a ‘trial’ for the boy.

Whenever someone tries to gain something, ‘difficulty’ inevitably creeps closer.

Like red threads tying fate together, it naturally entangles itself.

I look forward to seeing how he overcomes it.

If he rolls anything other than six, perhaps I will keep him as my servant.

As a reward for entertaining me.

“Hohoho…”

Since then, I had been scanning through the endless list of skills.

I simulated in my head how to roll a six, desperately thinking while reading through each skill.

After all, my life would be completely divided by this.

There’s no way I could afford to slack off.

And now, I had finally reached the last section.

That meant I had gone through all the skills.

And in this final section—

This is it.

▼ Luck

[Luck] LV1

Increases luck.

The higher the level, the more situations influenced by luck resolve in your favor.

[Luck] Max Level

The pinnacle of luck.

A skill for those loved by fortune and blessed by the goddess of fate.

[Messenger of Luck]

One loved by the goddess of fortune.

An embodiment of luck and her messenger.

[Misfortune] LV1

Decreases luck.

The higher the level, the more situations influenced by luck resolve unfavorably.

[Misfortune] Max Level

The pinnacle of misfortune.

A skill for those hated by the goddess of fate and loved by ill fortune.

[Messenger of Misfortune]

One loved by the goddess of misfortune.

An embodiment of misfortune and her messenger.

[Wanderer of Fate]

A peculiar being loved by both the goddesses of luck and misfortune.

The world and fate cannot leave them alone.

They simply wander through endlessly swirling events.

[Observer of Fate]

A peculiar being abandoned by both the goddesses of luck and misfortune.

The world and fate will never involve them.

They merely watch the swirling events from the outside.

“Heh… hehehe…”

My lips curled up without thinking.

It’s here.

It’s here.

I’m definitely going to win.

“I’ve decided on my skill.”

“Oh… finally?”

“Let’s see, what did you choose?”

The old man smirked as he looked at me.

That kind of smile is the kind that looks down on fools making foolish decisions.

This is exactly why I hate old men.

They’re so underhanded.

But I’m probably wearing a similar grin myself.

After all, the skill I chose was—

“[Thought Processing Power] Max Level.”

The old man’s foolish grin vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp gleam in his eyes.

The carefree attitude from before disappeared completely.

It even felt like the air had tightened.

“Oh?”

“I thought you might choose [Luck] Max Level after staring at the luck section like that.”

“There’s no way I’d rely on something as intangible as luck at the last moment.”

“And besides, I believe that ‘possibility’ doesn’t exist in this world.”

“Tomorrow’s weather, human actions, even the result of a die—”

“If you gather all the necessary data and calculate it correctly, there’s nothing that can’t be predicted.”

“You said I could practice as much as I want, right?”

“That means I have plenty of time to analyze the information and the patterns.”

“And I also have Potential Boost as a unique skill.”

“With enough practice, it’s possible to throw the die with perfect precision.”

“Hmm… not a bad way of thinking.”

“For now, I suppose you pass the first stage.”

He said that in a very condescending tone.

Well, whatever.

I’ll ignore it for now.

“I’m going to start practicing.”

“Very well.”

I picked up the die, moved away from the old man, and began silently practicing throwing it toward the white ground.

“I’m going to start practicing.”

The boy said that and moved a short distance away before beginning his practice.

There was a strong light in his eyes as he left.

It was almost as if he intended to kill me with his glare.

Though, directing such a gaze at an old man is questionable.

Still, it is a good gaze.

“Very well.”

The skill the boy ultimately chose was [Thought Processing Power] Max Level.

Not bad.

No, rather, it is a good choice.

Suddenly summoned as a Hero and forced to roll a die—

Amidst such chaotic circumstances, he has calmly assessed the situation and chosen the optimal move.

However…

When someone makes such a safe and optimal move, it stirs my competitive spirit and mischievous nature, even at my age.

This ‘trial’ will not end so easily.

“Huff… huff…”

My body feels heavy.

Well, of course it does.

My life is literally on the line.

This is truly a gamble between heaven and hell.

The die I had thrown hundreds, thousands of times in practice now felt incredibly heavy.

Even gravity itself felt heavy.

It’s fine.

My calculations are perfect.

My body has perfectly memorized the movement needed to roll a six.

There are no uncertainties.

“Now then, shall we begin?”

I couldn’t respond.

If I made any movement other than the one required to throw the die, it felt like all my effort would scatter into nothing.

Instead, I nodded.

Understanding my agreement, the old man gave the signal.

“Now then, we shall begin the skill-selection dice!”

“Roll it, boy!”

“The die you throw from this very moment will determine the result of this gamble!”

“Inhale—”

I took a deep breath.

At that moment, all the weight I had been feeling transformed into heat.

Hot.

My body became lighter as that weight turned into energy.

Right now—

—I feel like I can do it.

I inhaled, and as if continuing that breath, I gently tossed the die high into the air.

It wasn’t a special throw.

It was the same throw I had practiced countless times.

The die fell.

Slowly.

It felt like slow motion.

But the sight of it falling was exactly the same as during practice.

This will work.

And then—

Just as the die was about to hit the ground—

“Now, if I recall correctly… the ‘promise’ I made was that neither I nor those associated with me would interfere in the gamble… was it not?”

That voice reached my ears.

And at the same time—

Thunk.

The ground where the die was about to land suddenly caved in with a loud sound.