Jenkins's attention was currently fixed on the table in the middle of the attic. Just as the file on B-11-1-0299 had described, it was a round wooden table. Its flawless lacquer and exquisite craftsmanship made it stand out starkly among the discarded furniture, and anyone who saw it would imdiately understand that this table did not belong here.
"Is this it?"
Jenkins wondered, blinking his eyes. As expected, he saw a dazzling spiritual aura. He studied the table with great interest, but a simple visual inspection revealed nothing peculiar about it.
In the end, MrMagic was late. The eting had been set for nine in the morning, but it was ten past nine before the group heard the sound of her hurried footsteps ascending the stairs.
If they hadn't all been acquaintances, the other four would not have waited. MrMagic knew this, so she offered a sincere apology and explained the reason for her delay:
"I left ho at seven, but I ran into so trouble on the way... I entered a strange place and only just managed to escape."
Only Jenkins and Hathaway had any idea what she was talking about. Hathaway had heard Jenkins's descriptions of the Doomsday Illusion, and Jenkins himself had been in and out of it multiple tis.
He was a little stunned. A worry he had long harbored was finally becoming a reality—the doomsday world was drawing closer to the real world at an accelerated pace, and the most concrete evidence of this was that more and more people were accidentally stumbling into it.
"I need to speed up the process with those rituals," he thought.
Just then, he heard Hathaway announce that their ga could finally begin.
Once all five participants were gathered in the room, a warm, yellow glow began to seep from the surface of the round table in the center of the attic. The light grew brighter and brighter until everyone was forced to shut their eyes. When they opened them again, the cramped attic had transford into a warm, dry, and spacious room. The flickering flas in the fireplace cast a gentle light upon the ga components on the table. Surrounding the table were six plush chairs, and on the floor were a tea set, desserts, and an assortnt of food and drinks.
"Six chairs? Why is there an extra one?"
Only Hathaway knew the rules. She told the others they would understand once they read the rulebook.
Jenkins even noticed a soft cushion, about the size of Chocolate, placed on the tabletop directly in front of one of the chairs. He chose that seat and placed Chocolate on the cushion, and the cat imdiately let out a contented purr.
Not only had the environnt beco more comfortable, but the table itself had expanded to an astonishing size. The original round table had been hollow underneath, but now, a thick tablecloth concealed a solid base. There was no telling what was hidden beneath it.
The size of the room had changed, and all the cluttered furniture had vanished. The walls and floor were now styled in a pleasant, comfortable manner, and the walls were adorned with oil paintings depicting scenes of heroes fighting dragons, which fit the current atmosphere perfectly. The door, of course, was now impossible to open, but a simple window had appeared on a side wall that previously had none, allowing the group to gaze out at the streetscape of Nolan.
After everyone had chosen their seats, the whirring of gears and chanisms sounded from within the table. A hidden compartnt rose up next to each person, containing a rolled-up parchnt scroll tied with a silk ribbon. Once the scrolls were removed, the compartnts retracted. A quick check revealed that each parchnt was inscribed with the sa text in an elegant, flowing script. This was the rulebook.
"If every B-class Extraordinary event were as friendly as this, our lives would be much more pleasant," Jenkins heard Mr. Hood, who was sitting to his left, remark with a sigh.
He felt the sa way. After everything he had been through, this was probably the most amicable adventure he had ever encountered.
The parchnt scroll was long, covered in densely packed ga regulations. The very first section provided the background story for their ga:
[The year is 1867 of the Universal Calendar, an age of steam and industry. On the western coast of the material world's main continent lies the bustling city of Nolan. Five adventure-loving youths living in this city have gotten to know each other through correspondence. They have arranged to et on April 19th of this year for a pleasant and thrilling adventure.
They have agreed to et at nine in the morning and then set off together for the derelict hospital on the outskirts of Nolan. Your story begins at this very mont...]
"Isn't that date today? And the location is Nolan, too. How imrsive," Mr. White Cat exclaid as soon as Hathaway finished reading. He was clearly intrigued by this sort of ga.
Only Jenkins felt a faint sense of foreboding, especially after the ntion of a "derelict hospital."
"Alright, let's select our identities according to the rules," Hathaway said, interrupting Jenkins's thoughts and directing everyone to the next step.
The characters in this adventure were not themselves; otherwise, such an undertaking would be aningless.
So, each of them took out a pen they carried and signed their real nas at the bottom of their respective rulebooks, indicating their acceptance of the terms.
When they all looked up again, the sound of turning gears emanated from beneath the vast table once more, this ti accompanied by a sound like a steam engine's whistle—even though it was impossible for such a thing to be under the sealed tabletop. A small wooden tray rose from the center of the table, holding two D10s—ten-sided dice—cast in bronze.
Because the table had expanded to such a surprising size, reaching the dice would have required soone to stretch their arm out and lean ungracefully over the surface. In the end, Jenkins had to use his cane to slide the dice over to Hathaway.
"According to the rulebook, each of us will roll the two dice in turn. The first roll represents the tens digit, the second the units digit. Based on the two-digit result, we will select one of the one hundred preset characters to play the ga as. This character is a real person who exists in Nolan."
Hathaway explained. Seeing that no one had any objections, she picked up the two dice and rolled. Both rolls ca up as zero, but that didn't an her result was zero. On the contrary, it represented 100.
"Although the rulebook says the assigned character isn't related to the size of the number, I imagine the highest number must co with so extra luck," MrMagic, seated beside Hathaway, said with a smile.
Hathaway made no comnt. After rolling the dice, she picked up the character information that appeared in another hidden compartnt that rose up to her left.
It was a lustrous silver plate that looked like a work of art.
After a single glance, Hathaway's hand began to tremble. Jenkins was certain that if she hadn't been wearing a mask, the expression on her face would have been grim.
Reviews
All reviews (0)