Chapter 3: Dice②
“Fohhh—! Hohohoho!”
“I didn’t mention it before, but this space itself possesses ‘consciousness’!”
“That dent in the ground was the intervention of the space itself.”
“You said ‘those associated with me,’ didn’t you?”
“A good viewpoint, but space does not fall under the category of ‘persons.’”
“Your final step was lacking!”
“Hohoho!”
The white old man laughed cheerfully, his voice filled with childish delight as he spoke to the young man.
He spoke to the young man who should have been in despair over what had just happened.
The old man looked at the young man.
He wanted to see what kind of face he was making.
He wanted to see the shape of his despair.
But the expression on the young man’s face was something that should not exist in this moment.
No, it wasn’t impossible.
But it was not something that could be connected to the current situation.
It was the kind of expression that made one wonder if he had gone mad from despair.
That’s right—
He was smiling.
That smile slowly turned toward the old man.
The moment he saw it, a chill ran down his spine.
Impossible.
It had to be a bluff.
The old man could only convince himself of that.
“Look at the number that came up.”
“What is it?”
“Can you see it?”
“The number on the die.”
And just like the old man had done earlier—
With a voice full of enjoyment and innocence, as if savoring the old man’s despair—
The young man spoke.
Urged by him, the old man slowly turned his gaze toward the die.
Toward the die that had fallen into the dented ground.
And the moment his eyes landed on it—
His eyes widened to their limits.
Sweat began pouring down like a waterfall.
His gaze wavered as he unconsciously muttered in shock.
“W-why…?”
“Was it luck?”
“Did something unexpected happen, and yet you still rolled a six through sheer fortune?”
“But even then, that doesn’t explain why you didn’t show even a hint of shock.”
“At the very least, something unexpected happened.”
“Any human would show some reaction.”
“And yet you showed almost none.”
“As if…”
“As if you knew… in advance…?”
Impossible.
And yet, that impossible answer was the only thing that could explain the situation.
That contradiction gave rise to turmoil within the old man.
Meanwhile, the young man listened to the old man’s voice with a blissful expression, as if he were listening to his favorite music.
If possible, he even wanted to record it and store it in a music player.
“‘The space has a will,’ huh.”
“Old man, did you forget the skill you granted me?”
The flow of sweat on the old man’s face intensified.
And as the sweat increased, his face rapidly turned pale.
He remembered.
His own mistake.
“…‘[Appraisal] Max Level.’”
I’ve done it.
The old man couldn’t help but think so.
He had never imagined that the skill he granted would be used against him in this gamble.
The [Appraisal] skill was only temporary.
It would disappear automatically once the young man was sent to the other world.
That’s why, for the old man, removing granted skills one by one was nothing but a hassle.
—And because he avoided that hassle, he lost.
It was his own carelessness that had been lacking.
The old man deeply regretted his own words and cursed his own negligence.
“But…”
Even so, doubt remained.
“But there’s no way you could predict how this space would act…”
“No, prediction is possible.”
“But the amount of information required to reach that prediction is immense.”
“It spans the world that encompasses all worlds, and even beyond that.”
“Even I would hesitate and say it’s impossible if I were told to do it.”
“And yet… you’re saying you did it?”
The young man, still wearing the same smile, spoke to the shaken old man.
The words he spoke were the same ones the old man had told him earlier.
“‘The result is everything,’ right?”
The number on the die was ‘6.’
“Isn’t the number of skills I can choose kinda low?”
“That one was special.”
“You’ll choose your actual skills from this one.”
“Ehh?”
“Then can’t we just use that one instead?”
“You brat… don’t push your luck too far…”
Whoa, the veins on the old man’s face are twitching.
He was just panicking and sweating buckets earlier.
Even if he makes that face, I won’t forget.
More importantly, is his blood pressure okay getting that worked up?
After overcoming the dice trial, I was now selecting skills with the old man, who had been amusingly flustered earlier.
But the skill list I saw before was apparently special.
The one I’m looking at now is significantly smaller.
I memorized some good-looking skills earlier, but that turned out to be pointless.
“Don’t get so worked up.”
“Want some?”
“Strawberry pumpkin burdock melon bread.”
“Don’t offer something you already ate and threw up to someone else!”
Tch.
But he’s right.
That thing was miraculously disgusting.
The cloying sweetness that stuck to your tongue combined perfectly with a muddy bitterness.
The texture too—
A crispy exterior paired with a sticky interior—
It maximized physiological disgust.
It was the kind of food that made you want to rinse your mouth with muddy water.
When I remembered the taste later and threw up again, I thought it was a curse.
Heh…
I’ll make sure you taste it too, old man…
“Alright, I’ve decided on my skills.”
“Have you?”
“Then I’ll send you off.”
So it’s finally time for another world.
I haven’t decided how I’ll live yet.
But for now, I plan to focus on improving my abilities.
I’ve always admired games like this.
Well, who knows what will happen.
But since I won the gamble, it’s a good start.
The transfer began, and the ground started glowing.
This light—
It’s the same light I saw at the convenience store.
Well, more importantly—
“Heh heh heh!”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
“Take this, strawberry pumpkin burdock melon bread!”
“‘Transfer’!”
I used a skill to send the pitch-black rainbow bread in my hand straight into the old man’s mouth.
Amid the old man’s agonized scream—
I was enveloped in light and transferred to another world.
“Cough, cough…”
What a dreadful parting gift.
It’s like all the disgusting things in the world were gathered and condensed into one.
Still, this time was very meaningful.
That boy was so absorbed that he didn’t notice, but several years have already passed.
This space is isolated from the world, so time itself may not be an issue.
But there might be some discrepancy in the summoning location.
Well, if that happens, it happens.
Mistakes are also part of the ‘world.’
There’s nothing wrong with that.
Besides, someone like him will be able to enjoy that world no matter where he ends up.
The old man glanced at the die the boy had rolled.
Perhaps it was a lingering sentiment, like after a festival has ended.
Yes—
Thinking back on it, it was enjoyable.
That gamble with him.
As he stared at the die, he felt a slight sense of nostalgia.
He had even ended up letting him keep the Appraisal skill he originally intended to remove.
“Hoh?”
Was the die always like this?
Feeling a slight sense of discomfort, he reached out to it.
The moment his hand touched the die—
The face showing ‘6,’ which should have been facing upward—
Gradually—
As if it had always been that way—
As if waking from a dream—
Slowly changed into ‘2.’
His body froze, unable to comprehend what had happened.
And the moment he understood—
Heat surged through him.
Whether it was anger or humiliation at being completely fooled, he couldn’t tell.
“Y-you little brat…!!”
The festival wasn’t over yet.