In the cave, Luo En toyed with the twelve-sided die engraved with serpentine rock in his hand, a complex look in his eyes as he regarded it with a mix of love and hate.
To defy fate and overturn Olympus, to drag that Divine King father from his throne, was akin to a gambler's wildest wager with slim odds of winning.
But for a gambler, without a stake, there's no seat at the table, let alone a chance to win big from a small bet.
And these badges were the chips that Hecate had promised to give to Luo En before.
To be more precise, it was this "Dice of Chance" that had offered them to him...
Of course, everything has a price.
In order to obtain these chips of various specifications and values, Luo En had to complete the corresponding oracles issued by the twelve-sided die.
Through half a month of exploration and research, he had roughly deciphered the operation rules of this object:
First, the oracles issued by the die are divided according to difficulty. Currently, there are three types.
The first type refreshes every morning at dawn, with a one-day deadline. The danger level is below his strength and is defined as a "Task." Usually, anyone with a brain and hands can easily complete it, and the reward is a bronze badge;
The second type refreshes every Monday, with a one-week deadline. The danger level is comparable to his strength and is defined as a "Trial." It's relatively challenging and requires caution to safely clear, with a silver badge as the reward;
The third type has an irregular refresh ti and deadline. Its danger level far exceeds his strength and is nad "Blasphemy." These are typically fraught with danger and require risking life and limb, an almost certain death sentence, with a gold badge as the reward.
Based on the standards of the rewards, this sowhat resembles the gold, silver, and bronze dal rankings at the Ancient Greece Olympic Gas.
However, Luo En, who once worked at a gaming company, is more inclined to categorize them according to their refresh ti and difficulty levels, calling them "Daily Chapter" - "Weekly Chapter" - "High-Difficulty Chapter."
Usually, at the refresh ti, the twelve-sided die will be randomly cast three tis. The emblems of the Twelve Olympians that appear determine who will be targeted.
For instance, today's "Daily Chapter" selected three targets, which are the God of Light Apollo, the Divine King Zeus, and Queen Hera.
However, as ntioned before, the difficulty of the daily task is quite limited, and the scope of selection and standards for completing these tasks are relatively broad.
Cursing from afar, spitting at the deities' temples, stealing the divine offerings… such thods are all feasible.
If one doesn't want to use their brains, targeting their protected beings also counts.
For example, poaching so seafood to make soup without praying is considered disregard for Poseidon, the God of the Sea; deliberately trampling flowers, plants, and crops is an insult to Deter, the Agriculture Goddess; shooting down a few birds for barbecue is an affront to Zeus, the God of the Sky...
As for killing pigeons, swans, or laurels corresponding to the symbols of the gods, that usually counts towards the completion of the task.
Moreover, facing the three options of the "Daily Chapter," Luo En doesn't need to complete all; finishing just one of the three further lowers the difficulty.
Theoretically, as long as one is not foolish enough to court death, aggressively seeking trouble from demigod heroes, hidden bosses, top-tier Magic Beasts, or the divided spirits of the gods, the "Daily Chapter" poses no threat to him.
As for the "Weekly Chapter," it's quite mysterious. The outco of the specific directives and mission objectives varies greatly depending on luck.
For instance, this week's options either require confronting those insane dogs of the Atlantean Guard, expose oneself to great danger or unnecessarily handicap oneself to escalate the difficulty of escape. A slight mishap could cost one their life, living up to the challenge of the "Weekly Chapter."
By the way, although only one completion per week is mandatory for the "Weekly Chapter," within the week, one can voluntarily take on more intensity and achieve multiple objectives, with a maximum of three.
Of course, the risk factor increases dramatically, and the price paid is correspondingly severe.
Luo En struggled back and forth for a week and barely managed to accomplish two tasks right under the noses of the Atlantean Guard, but he almost ended up looking like a sieve from the Orichalcum secret arrows.
Had it not been for the precaution of leaving himself several escape routes, his seventh day death ritual might have already passed.
And finally, the trigger chanism for the "High-Difficulty Chapter" is still unclear. So far, Luo En has only encountered it once, which was the "welcoming gift" the twelve-sided die gave him after his ascension to demigod status...
Since it's called a "High-Difficulty Chapter," the content invariably has elents of "inhumanity" and "torture."
Whether it's desecrating Athena, going solo to Apollo's Temple, or facing off against the Atlantean Guard... each of these tasks is certainly a high-end challenge.
If Luo En hadn't been tough as nails, struck into the deep sea by his Divine King father, thoroughly trained by Hecate, and raised by Circe as a Magic Beast for sixteen years, yet still able to hop around alive and kicking, and developed strong vitality and high adaptability, he reckoned that out of ten other demigod heroes who ca along, eight would be easy prey.
Fortunately, such "High-Difficulty Chapters" seem to require a unique triggering chanism, spaced at least a month apart, so for now, he didn't have to worry about successive waves of troubles.
After gathering his thoughts, Luo En pinched the furrowed brow and then opened his eyes, gazing intently at the two silver badges and the serpent-patterned orichalcum twelve-sided die in his hand.
High risk, high reward.
They had him fight tooth and nail to complete the oracle's task, and the badges they sent down were not just decorative items to be looked at.
They were the chips for a turnaround, the opportunity to leverage the dangerous situation at hand.
Taking a few deep breaths, Luo En rubbed the twelve-sided die with serpent patterns and murmured under his breath.
"Bless , Dice Mother, don't fail this ti. Give Hers' blessing; I need to make a quick getaway, or Athena and Zeus would also be fine. If all else fails, even Ares would do, just blow the enemies away!"
With that, he steeled himself and tossed the die in his hand.
The gray-green twelve-sided die rolled several tis on the ground before coming to a leisurely stop, revealing the pattern of a few rose petals.
At the sa ti, one of the silver badges on Luo En's hand vanished, turning into silver divine runes that surfaced above the bronze altar in his mind.
"Aphrodite's Grace": The Goddess of Love and Beauty grants you attraction to the opposite sex, lasting one week."
"..."
Luo En was at a loss for words, cursing under his breath.
Are you kidding ?
With the situation this dire, what use do I have for this BUFF? Am I to hope that the Imperial Guard of Atlantis are all gay? And then offer myself to them?
After muttering to himself for a bit, Luo En took another deep breath, managing to muster a forced, twisted smile on his stiff face.
Don't get angry, don't get angry, there's still one more chance.
Take a stab at it, maybe my bike will turn into a motorcycle!
Psyching himself up, Luo En picked up the twelve-sided die off the ground, gave it a shake, then, with a resolute heart, tossed the die that would decide his fate once more.
The gray-green dodecahedron bounced unevenly on the rocky ground, rolling into a depression before finally coming to rest, revealing a pattern of flas.
At the sa ti, the last token in Luo En's hand disappeared, manifesting as an oracle upon the bronze altar.
"Hephaestus' Blessing": You gain one-ti repair (Demigod quality or lower) of a damaged creation."
Oh, co on, are you and your wife ganging up on ?!
At a critical ti like this, what use do I have for the Craftsman God's blessing? To repair my own tomb in advance, or to carve an epitaph before ti?
Seeing such unlucky draws from among the Twelve Olympians, Luo En could no longer hold back, his face filled with the desire to cry as he stared at the damned twelve-sided die in his hand.
Buddy, this is a complete and utter loss.
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