Chapter 299

Am I always this unlucky or what?

Upon hearing the lethargic youth’s inquiry, Leon, whose face had been filled with surprise, suddenly became serious and hastily inquired:

“Yes! My luck has never been good. No matter how well I plan, something always goes wrong when I carry out tasks. Moreover, I always seem to encounter inexplicable dangers. Even watching a play could lead to an anomalous item going berserk… Do you have any leads, Senior?”

“Leads… It’s more like experience rather than leads…”

The lethargic youth tossed the sour apple in his hand, slightly tilting the picture frame on the side of the stairs. With a heart-wrenching expression, he said:

“If I’m not mistaken, our situations are probably similar. We’ve both angered the will of the world due to certain matters and have become disliked by this world.”

“Disliked by the world? What does that mean?”

“To put it simply, it means inexplicable misfortune and setbacks.”

Glancing at the picture frame slowly slipping off its nail and falling towards the stairs, the lethargic youth pulled Leon forward a step, sighing as he said:

“I don’t know about your situation, but mine involves leaking too much about the future, erasing some things that were supposed to happen, and causing many changes in the direction of the world. Thus, I’ve been abandoned by the will of the world.

For example… do you know the Aquarius Director? Did the Bureau Director tell you that my core anomalous item, the dice that can calculate probabilities, was made with his help?”

“She did mention something…”

“If the Bureau Director told you about this, she didn’t just say ‘something’; she definitely said a lot.”

The lethargic youth said helplessly:

“She also told you to be cautious around me and not to fully trust me, right?”

“Uh…”

“It’s fine; what the Bureau Director said is correct.”

In the midst of the heavy wooden picture frame crashing down and breaking the stair railing, the lethargic youth explained to the somewhat awkward Leon:

“The Aquarius Director’s goal has been revealed by you. Now, all the members of the various branches already know that he plans to infiltrate the Watchtower Palace. However, I was actually the first to know about this goal, and one might even say it was a plot we hatched together. The Bureau Director was right to warn you about me.”

“Huh?”

“Ah, mainly because I’m unlucky myself…”

After letting out a deep sigh, the lethargic youth muttered with difficulty: “After the anomalous item was created, the Aquarius Director asked about my abilities, so I told him. He became interested and said he wanted me to help him with a small favor.”

“The Aquarius Director’s mastery of anomalous creation secret arts is quite profound. Countless people from the Clearing Bureau have used his anomalous items. His connections rival those of the Honorable Taurus. When such a big shot kindly asks for your help, would you refuse?”

“…”

If it were me… facing a director with high prestige and status who can create anomalous items, I would probably agree…

“Right?”

Avoiding the broken railing falling to the side, the lethargic youth pushed Leon’s back and led him down before the floating stone staircase collapsed. Tom then said grimly:

“The Aquarius Director had a ritual anomalous item that could temporarily boost Leon Value. He forced a lot of True God flesh into me, temporarily changing my race. He even forced me to drink his blood, cut open my arm, and stuff his rotting flesh inside, and planted one of his fallen teeth in my forehead…”

Pointing to the strange scar on his forehead, the lethargic youth gritted his teeth and said: “After torturing me thoroughly, he forcibly increased my Leon Value to nearly 70 points. Then he forced me to use the dice to help him calculate how he could replace the next ascender and become the new ascender to reach the Watchtower Palace.”

“And under duress, I helped him raise his original 12% chance of seizing the palace to 66%. But because of this, I’ve been disliked by the world and now constantly run into bad luck… Hey! Is there anyone up there? The stairs suddenly collapsed, and we can’t go back!”

Unaware that the person asking below was the mastermind behind the destruction of nearly fifty meters of stairs, the people above who heard Tom’s inquiry quickly responded:

“We’re trying to figure something out… How’s your situation now? If you’re uncomfortable, please continue downward. Our Marcellini Family head is also below; he can help you get up. Also, here’s the token needed to continue downward; catch it!”

Following the somewhat muffled shout from above, a bright silver cat paw badge was thrown down. After bouncing twice among the remnants of the collapsed stairs, it landed perfectly into the open palm of the lethargic youth.

“Alright, I’ve got my badge. Let’s keep talking as we walk.”

Attaching the badge retrieved with the sour apple to his collar, the lethargic youth continued walking downward with Leon while explaining:

“This world favors humans. Compared to demons who turn the entire earth into lava, evil gods who want the sun to never rise again, moon children who intend to hollow out the moon and the earth, or ancient beings who wish to freeze everything and return to the Ice Age, we humans are the gentlest creatures for her. We even consciously maintain her stability.

Therefore, anything that poses a danger to humans and the world, or could disrupt this stability, will be invisibly repelled by the will of the world. Since the will of the world cannot directly kill us, it uses indirect methods to make us, these destabilizing elements, endlessly unlucky, aiming to either eliminate us or expel us.”

“…”

Wait… it can be like this?

“Don’t worry; this aversion from the world isn’t entirely bad.”

Looking at Leon’s somewhat astonished face, the lethargic youth pulled out another apple from somewhere and handed it over, saying with a complex expression: “The wheel of fate is equal for everyone. It’s impossible to stay at a low point forever. So, we who are disliked by the world, if we can endure the bad luck bestowed by the will of the world, will experience a surge in destiny.

However, after the surge comes an even more violent decline.

Compared to others whose destinies only have minor fluctuations, our destinies are like increasingly intense wave lines. The rewards we gain and the crises we encounter will continuously grow until, at a towering peak, we become gods surpassing everything, or at a fatal valley, are sent to the world of the dead by unexpected misfortune.”

Either “become a god” or “become a ghost,” right?

Feeling that Senior Tom wasn’t lying to him, Leon pondered for a moment and couldn’t help but ask:

“So, what about you, Senior? What’s your current situation?”

“I can’t become a god, but I won’t die… Generally speaking, I won’t die.”

Pointing at the apple in Leon’s hand, the lethargic youth seriously suggested: “If you’re willing to believe me, carry more apples with you. When you notice your luck worsening, eat one and throw away the core. This thing can save your life in critical moments.”

(End of Chapter)