Chapter 143

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 22, 2025

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“The festival is going splendidly!”

There were tons of food and sights to see.

Ulan and his gang lost track of time as they wandered through the vibrant streets. Noa was having just as much fun.

‘I didn’t realize it looked this different from the game…’

It was buzzing with life! It made it even easier to get lost in the festivities. Just then, someone suddenly grabbed the hem of her dress.

“Hey, check this out.”

A hand shining white in the light.

It was Delia. She pointed toward a small stall tucked away in a corner.

With heaps of merchandise and dice piled up, it was easy to guess what was going on there.

“Isn’t that a little cute?”

“Huh? What?”

“That brooch over there.”

Among all the items piled high on the table, there was only one that looked like a brooch. Noa made a weird face.

“…Delia?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Just checking, but you’re not talking about that spider-shaped one, are you?”

A brooch shaped like a spider.

The silver-crafted body adorned with eight dangling legs was somehow very off-putting to her.

Must be a misunderstanding, Noa thought. But Delia shattered her assumption.

“That’s the one!”

“Y-You think that’s cute?”

“Yeah! The legs are just… so numerous and cute!”

Noa couldn’t wrap her head around that taste.

She smiled awkwardly. Then Ivella, who was walking alongside them, made a distasteful face and chimed in.

“You really have no eye for beauty.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“If we’re talking cute, that’s definitely the best one.”

Ivella pointed to a rabbit plush.

It looked pretty high-end.

It was clear it used vibrant silk, and those bright red jewels for its eyes were a dead giveaway.

‘Of course, it’s not exactly cute either…’

But still better than the spider brooch.

Noa nodded in agreement while Delia was shaking her head.

“Boring! Tacky! Not fun!”

“What?! That’s a hundred times better than a spider?! “

The two girls were soon bickering.

Just when it seemed to quiet down, it started up again. Noa, sensing the impending chaos, tried to slip away.

But it was a futile effort.

“How about you, Noa?”

“What do you like the most?”

Just as she tried to leave, they fired those questions at her.

Guess the escape was in vain.

With a sigh inside, Noa browsed the pile of products spread over the table. Then suddenly, something caught her eye.

“I think that one’s alright.”

Her finger pointed at a particular item.

Upon seeing it, Ivella and Delia wore puzzled expressions.

“Huh? That one…?”

“Isn’t that just dice?”

Two small dice.

Other than being crafted from gold and gems, they looked plain ordinary. But she liked those? Just as they were confused, Noa explained her choice.

“Because that one looks the most expensive!”

“…….”

At that response, both of them clamped their mouths shut.

They simultaneously recalled a fact they’d forgotten. Noa had always been obsessed with money.

In fact, she loved the gold coins they received as a reward more than the outing permission they won in mock battles.

“Speaking of which, what about Laurea?”

“Huh? What?”

“We were just discussing which item you like the most over there.”

“Oh, well…”

As she scanned the merchandise, she trailed off.

It seemed there was nothing that caught her attention.

“Everything’s pretty similar, but if I had to choose, I guess that one’s the best.”

“Which one?”

“That ring on top.”

The moment she finished saying “ring,” Ivella and Delia whipped their heads around in unison. There, glistening under the light, was a gold ring.

『Ring of Radiance』

A ring imbued with magic that radiated light.

But the fact that it had magic wasn’t really the important part. It was the existence of a ‘ring’ among the countless items that mattered.

For one reason only.

It was the significance of receiving a ring from someone special.

“……”

As soon as they realized that.

All three looked at each other.

It didn’t take long for them to realize they were all having the same thought.

In that instant of awareness, the three girls turned around simultaneously toward Ulan, who was at a nearby stall, eating stir-fried meat with Ian.

“Hey, Ulan.”

“……?”

“How about we try that?”

Ivella started the conversation.

Delia and Laurea chimed in.

“The dice throw thing, you know.”

“There’s something we want to get.”

Three pairs of eyes, sparkling like stars.

Faced with those eagerly expectant stares, Ulan looked bewildered.

“Then why not just go throw it yourself?”

“Ugh, I want to do that too, but it’s prohibited by doctrine, you see.”

Laurea sighed and elbowed Ian. He quickly answered as if he understood what was going on.

“That’s right. Gambling is strictly prohibited in the Holy Nation as one of the Ten Commandments.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Who would’ve thought there’d be such doctrine?

Ulan nodded as if he understood.

After finishing off all the meat left on his plate, he turned around.

“Got it. Then let’s give it a shot.”

As soon as a decision was made, they headed straight for the stall.

“Oh, welcome!”

Meanwhile, Thalis greeted them with a slightly reluctant expression. But the awkwardness faded pretty quickly.

Even if they were the talk of the town, a customer was still a customer. So, he wrapped up his explanation of the rules with his signature friendly smile.

“The entry fee is one gold coin.”

“O-One gold coin?!”

Noa’s eyes went wide.

Delia tilted her head in confusion.

“What’s surprising about that?”

“It’s way more expensive than I thought!”

“Expensive?”

“Of course! I mean, seriously, who charges ten thousand won just to throw some dice….”

“Ten thousand won?”

With Delia looking confused, Noa quickly shut her mouth.

She realized her mistake.

It must have been the relaxed atmosphere from enjoying the festival that made her that way. Just as she was about to keep quiet, Laurea pulled out a silver coin.

“I’ll cover the entry fee.”

“I’m very sorry, but change will….”

“It’s fine. I can throw it ten times anyway.”

There was no particular need for the coin.

Thalis’s face brightened up at her generous reply. He hurriedly grabbed the silver coin, fearing Laurea might change her mind.

“Understood. Please write down the number you estimate will come out on the dice.”

Thalis handed out a note and pen.

Ulan took them and looked at the piles of goods before suddenly stopping.

“So, what do you want?”

He’d only heard there was something they wanted, but not what it was. As Ulan asked, the three girls spoke up in unison.

“I want that ring!”

“Definitely, I think the ring would be the best!”

“Of course, it’s the only choice!”

Once they finished their responses, a heavy silence descended over the area.

“……”

Soon, Noa and Ian’s faces hardened.

They sensed something was off.

Meanwhile, Ulan tilted his head in confusion.

“But there’s only one ring.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, it felt like a bucket of cold water doused their atmosphere.

Afterward, the three glared at each other.

Couldn’t endure the cool air settling in, maybe?

Noa and Ian stepped in to mediate.

“L-Let’s secure the ring first!”

“Right! We can decide who takes the ring later.”

That much was true.

Ulan nodded, and the cold mood lightened up a bit as well. As they said, getting the ring first was the priority.

They then quickly wrote down their number.

『18』

To obtain the Ring of Radiance, the sum of all the dice must be ‘6.’ Realizing this, Ulan casually tossed the dice.

Clunk! Rolling away!

The result was a fail.

Two 4s and one 5. The three girls who were watching couldn’t help but sigh.

“Aw, that’s too bad. It’s hard to get the highest number.”

Thalis added in comfort.

With a face that showed he didn’t care at all.

At that moment, Noa, who had been closely watching the dice, narrowed her eyes.

‘Wait a minute, something was off…’

The way the dice moved seemed odd.

It felt a little too unnatural, as if they had flipped to another side in the blink of an eye. But since there was no evidence, she couldn’t just call it out.

“Let’s try again.”

“What’s the number?”

“I’ll stick with this one.”

Ulan firmly insisted on ‘18.’

Thalis nodded silently and stepped back. At the same time, he wore a wicked grin inside.

‘Go ahead and roll as much as you want. It won’t come out.’

Even though the master had reached a level of power, it didn’t mean the specially made dice were going to change.

And not surprisingly, the result was a bust once more.

“Ugh, this really isn’t easy.”

Ivella sighed.

Thalis chuckled with satisfaction.

Each time he threw the dice, it made his win more certain.

On the other hand, Ulan, with a blank face, picked the dice up and tossed them into the air.

‘He doesn’t give up, does he?’

Just then, as he smiled at that thought, the dice that rolled across the table suddenly stopped.

And in that moment.

Thalis’s laughter came to an abrupt end.

“…Huh?”

A dazed voice slipped out.

All the top faces of the dice were pointing to ‘6.’ In disbelief, he found it hard to speak.

“Wow! He succeeded on the third try!”

Ivella shouted out in shock at Ulan’s performance. Delia and Laurea followed suit in amazement.

“Ulan sure has good luck!”

“Come on, hand over the ring!”

Laurea reached out toward Thalis.

But she didn’t get what she wanted. Delia and Ivella blocked her way.

“Why do you want to take it?”

“Because I was the first to call it!”

“Order doesn’t matter!”

“It does! So, you two can just grab that spider and rabbit instead!”

The three girls instantly began squabbling.

Just when it seemed they were about to start throwing punches, Ulan suddenly interjected.

“We’ll deal with the ring later.”

“Huh? Why?”

“We still have seven throws left.”

Having just done it twice, Ulan explained they still had seven opportunities left. He then wrote down the next expected number and handed it over.

『15』

Simultaneously, the dice were tossed.

The three dice clattered on the floor, all landing on ‘5.’ At this, Thalis’s eyes bulged wide.

‘W-What the heck!’

The dice were made to ensure no same numbers would come up—how could this be happening?

Thalis was unable to shake off his shock.

Meanwhile, Ulan, completely unfazed by Thalis’s reaction, swiftly wrote down the next number.

『12』

Again and again, Ulan’s predictions hit spot on. Faced with near-miraculous skills, Thalis’s complexion turned pale.

Five.

As soon as Ulan gripped the dice for the first time, he sensed something odd.

‘Each of them has a different weight.’

It was a very slight difference, but with heightened senses, he couldn’t be fooled.

Yet, Ulan thought little of it.

Dice can have different weights, right? So he threw the dice casually, and the result came out.

“『4, 4, 5』”

Failure. Ulan furrowed his brow.

He felt a new sense of unease.

‘Wasn’t that just…’

The dice moved unnaturally.

They should have slowed down and stopped exactly, but for a brief moment, they flipped to a different side once more.

‘What the heck is going on?’

With such doubts, Ulan made his second attempt.

Staring at the dice in his hand, he seemed to come to a resolution and tossed them once more.

Clunk! Rolling.

While the dice were rolling, Ulan cranked up his senses to the limit.

And in that moment.

Ulan’s domain unfolded.

In a slow-motion flow of time, only Masters could grasp, he made the sum of the dice come to ‘18.’

‘This should work.’

But once again, it was a fail.

As he let go of the spirit, the dice bouncily shot off and changed their numbers. He frowned at this strange phenomenon.

Soon came the third challenge.

Ulan promptly found a solution.

‘If they bounce around as they like…’

He just had to ensure that wouldn’t happen.

Afterward, just like before, he expanded his domain and nudged the dice to land on his desired number, then carefully pressed down on the three dice with his finger.

Thump! Crack!

With a slight sound of the table groaning, the dice buried themselves inside. From then on, the dice wouldn’t move on their own.

‘Alright, that’s settled.’

From then on, every time Ulan threw the dice, he unleashed his Master’s domain, and the numbers stayed on target.

And the result?

Including the Ring of Radiance, he collected a total of eight items. Most of them were expensive jewelry worth more than one silver coin.

“Then I’ll take all of them.”

“……”

After staring at the statue-like Thalis, Ulan gathered all the items and turned away.

A little later.

From the direction where the stall used to be, a noise resonated, followed by a loud scream.

“Someone just collapsed!”

“Hey! Student! Snap out of it!”

Thalis had passed out after being completely drained. But this was nothing worth noting for Ulan and his friends.

They had already left the scene.

6.

After sweeping up all the goods with one silver coin, Ulan and his crew returned to the main road. Their mission was accomplished, and it was time to enjoy the festival again.

But then.

“Hey, Ulan.”

“……?”

Noa suddenly spoke up.

With a curious expression.

“What on earth did you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“The dice you threw earlier.”

Ulan had thrown the dice ten times.

And among those, he had hit the mark a whopping eight times, even consecutively. That was no coincidence.

“Yeah, it was a bit strange.”

“Did you use a special method or something?”

As soon as Noa finished speaking, the other party members also looked at him, curious. With everyone’s eyes on him, Ulan answered nonchalantly.

“I tossed them until I got the numbers I wanted.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Sure it is. If you use a domain.”

“…What?”

Noa blinked in confusion.

It wasn’t just her; Ivella, Delia, and Laurea looked just as shocked at the unexpected answer.

“Wait, is that allowed?”

“Well, if you want to get nitpicky, there’s no rule against it. Nothing says I can’t use my domain.”

Laurea shrugged, as if she’d already lost interest in the subject of curiosity. More importantly, there was an even more pressing matter for the group.

“Then let’s decide gradually.”

Who would take the ring.

As soon as her words dropped, the atmosphere shifted to a chilling state in an instant. It was about to be the start of the ring tug-of-war.

Then, suddenly.

“Excuse me for interrupting.”

Ian hesitantly stepped in.

With a suspicious glare.

“Is that ring even real?”

“…What?”

“It looks a bit small for a ring.”

The ring was indeed much smaller than expected. She even tried to put her finger in but couldn’t get any of them on.

Perhaps due to the shattered expectations?