Chapter 100 - 98: Reversal of Cause and Effect

Chapter 100: Chapter 98: Reversal of Cause and Effect

[Roll the corresponding point value to have three wishes granted for free].

This was the message on face [1] of the die. Even now, Chen Qi still couldn’t recognize the writing on it.

This seemed highly illogical. After all, Chen Qi already knew what the message meant.

But Chen Qi’s brain simply "refused to recognize" the writing. If he wasn’t staring directly at the face of the die, he couldn’t even recall the basic shapes of the script.

And even then, it was just the outlines. No matter how intently Chen Qi stared at the die, he still couldn’t make out the specific structure.

The same was true for five other faces of the die: [14], [15], [17], [19], and [20].

Except the situation was even worse; Chen Qi couldn’t even begin to guess their specific meanings.

In all the time he had possessed the bronze die, Chen Qi had tried countless times to decipher it, attempting to glean even a single phrase from it.

Unfortunately, Chen Qi had clearly overestimated himself. No matter what he tried, the writing on the die showed no reaction whatsoever.

Even when he infused it with Spirituality, the writing remained completely unresponsive.

After trying everything he could think of, an idea suddenly occurred to Chen Qi.

’If someone went to the trouble of leaving a message on the die, they must have wanted it to be seen by Latecomers.’

’The script is so peculiar, and future Wishers might not even be from the same Intelligent Race. How could the messenger ensure their words would be correctly interpreted?’

’This led Chen Qi to a new theory: what if you had to roll the corresponding number to read the message on that face?’

’Or maybe, you had to roll a high enough number to read *all* the messages.’

’For example, rolling a 17 might let you read the text on faces [14], [15], and [17].’

Of course, these were just his theories.

Face [1] clearly didn’t fit this pattern. Chen Qi had understood its meaning the moment he got the die.

But even after rolling a 4, he still couldn’t recognize the writing itself.

Although this roll had been forced by the circumstances, a part of Chen Qi was eager to test his theories.

······

The die, wreathed in rainbow light, reappeared in the real World.

Chen Qi could only watch as the die tumbled across the ground, completely unable to intervene.

’17, 18, 19, 20...’

Chen Qi cheered the die on in his mind. ’Come on, you have to pull through for me this time.’

However, the die seemed determined to spite him, wobbling indecisively between low numbers.

In that instant, Chen Qi felt like his blood pressure was about to skyrocket.

Thankfully, the earlier Xuanxue ritual seemed to have had some effect. The die reluctantly settled on an 8.

’Phew, at least it’s not the worst possible outcome.’

’An 8 is an 8. It sounds auspicious enough.’

The die vanished from the real World once more, and the knot of anxiety in Chen Qi’s chest finally loosened.

’An 8. That’s enough!’

’Once I make a Wish during battle, my opponent will face a Dimensionality Reduction attack.’

A flood of inspiration filled Chen Qi’s mind; he already had ideas on how to use this Wish in combat.

’For instance, increasing the power of his next attack by 80 times.’

’Or just instantly stacking 18 negative BUFFs on an opponent.’

To put it bluntly, if he knew how to kill an Apostle, Chen Qi would be tempted to go find one for some practice right now.

For someone who can make a Wish at will, forcing an opponent into a fatal mistake during combat was far too easy.

As long as the Wish was well-phrased, killing a much stronger boss would be as easy as reaching into a bag to grab something.

This 8-point Wish was the trump card Chen Qi had prepared for himself.

He had to admit, the bronze die was truly generous. Having no time limit on the Wish was incredibly fair.

Perhaps because his "payment" was high enough, Chen Qi was now enjoying a little VIP service.

He wouldn’t even need to speak his next Wish aloud; he could simply express it by infusing it with a bit of Spirituality.

It was convenient, fast, and successfully avoided the problem of having to suddenly shout out a wish in the middle of a fight—an issue with a cringe factor that was off the charts.

······

’Ah, I feel so much more secure now.’

’Finally, I can proceed with my own plans without being disturbed by external threats.’

Chen Qi calmed himself. Now that he had an ace in the hole, the feeling of oppressive, dark clouds hanging over him completely vanished. His mood was now incredibly bright and clear.

The investigative verification of the Blood Salt case would still take a few days; it wasn’t a case that could be solved so quickly.

Chen Qi planned to use this leisure time to properly address his own problems.

After the two major vulnerabilities had disappeared, the 23 minor ones were only left because Chen Qi had other plans for them.

But this didn’t mean Chen Qi was free of hidden dangers.

On the contrary, Chen Qi had another major, blatant vulnerability—one he had simply grown so accustomed to that it was easy to overlook.

······

’What is the true nature of the game character, Jomoya Chris?’

’By inheriting this game character, what exactly did I inherit?’

That’s right. Chen Qi’s biggest vulnerability right now was this very persona.

Chen Qi hadn’t forgotten the "guidance of an incredibly familiar behavioral pattern" he felt when he first inherited the game character.

Chen Qi had just been using the persona for a long time; it didn’t mean he identified himself as Jomoya Chris.

Chen Qi still cared deeply about his original identity. A persona that you could put on but never take off? That was unacceptable.

······

’Ever since learning about the existence of resentful spirits in the Chaotic City, I’ve begun to suspect the true nature of this game character.’

’Could this so-called inheritance of the original game character actually be the resentful spirit of Jomoya Chris possessing my body?’

’This trip to the Royal Capital has allowed me to confirm a few things.’

’Since Martial Artists can achieve massive power boosts by simulating the Life Magnet Fields of other lifeforms...’