#203

“By any chance, were the functions of the Sacred Relic also determined by rolling dice?”

[No, the Dice God shared sufficient Divine Power. If only the previous player hadn’t attempted such a reckless gamble…]

“What did that human do?”

[He created a ‘Random Box’ that contained a button to win the game instantly upon pressing it.]

“…That actually got created?”

As a god obsessed with randomness, the Dice God possessed the Divine Power to create Random Boxes.

The result was either a dud or a reward; the smaller the price paid and the rarer the reward, the more abysmal the probability of drawing it became.

These rewards had the characteristic of being ‘anything’ possible, as long as it fell within the scope permitted by the System.

‘I once pulled out the Saintess’s heart with that.’

It was a sudden idea that occurred to him after observing the phenomenon where, if a famous Sacred Relic was pulled from a Random Box, it would vanish from its original location.

Could he kill someone simply by opening a Random Box that required the organs of a living human as a reward?

So, he tried purchasing a Random Box where the reward was the ‘heart’ of one who believes in Order, and since the Saintess’s heart was the third thing he pulled, the Saintess died pointlessly.

That scene was preserved as a Clip, and ‘Death Gacha’ ascended as the Dice God’s new meta.

‘I haven’t been that lucky since then.’

After pulling over a thousand times without getting what he wanted, it became boring, so he simply abandoned the Random Box meta.

After repeating the experience of spending time playing the game only to get nothing and fail, he grew tired of it.

Even when he won, it didn’t feel like a victory.

Anyway.

The important thing was that Random Boxes were not structured to create items from nothing.

‘Does that mean a button that allows one to win the game instantly actually exists?’

[…Most of the Divine Power I was granted was paid as the price for that Random Box. Including the Divine Power to create Random Boxes.]

“You’re completely screwed, then?”

He must have failed to set a limit on the price, thinking it would never be created in the first place.

In a situation where all his Skills vanished, leaving him with nothing but a single Random Box with an incredibly low chance of instant victory.

‘If it were me, I’d throw the game.’

“I assume he opened it and got nothing?”

[No, an unidentified button appeared.]

“A button appeared?”

“Are you talking about the Account-Deletion Bet show the Dice God player put on?”

‘Account-Deletion Bet?’

“He broadcasted it in the group chat, saying he opened a Random Box and got a button he didn’t recognize, so he was going to press it. He even said where he’d be pressing it. He told everyone to come watch if they wanted to.”

“You went too?”

“No? Are you crazy? I’d never go where my Main Body would be exposed. But those who could send clones or followers probably went to watch. I heard House Lizard went with his Main Body.”

“The result?”

“Diceman served as a vivid example of what happens to a player when they hit Game Over.”

…Did he say that when you hit Game Over, your ego as a player vanishes and you become a mindless lunatic?

I frowned.

“Then why is this die in the Capital Church?”

He said other players were spectating.

Was that player captured by the Capital Church too?

“Before that lunatic did the Account-Deletion Bet, he had reported that a gathering of heretics would be held here. The Heretic Inquisitors stormed in suddenly, and it was chaos.”

“…Seriously?”

[Yes, that is correct. While reporting it in advance, he even submitted me as evidence. Claiming I was a Sacred Relic from which a power deviating from Order could be felt.]

‘This guy is a complete psycho.’

Did he want to give the middle finger to the other players one last time?

What was he going to do if nothing happened after pressing the button?

Was he planning to just naturalize into Order?

“Everyone suspected that someone else had taken it, but seeing as it’s in the Capital Church, it seems the Heretic Inquisitors found it.”

“No, the Dice God player submitted it to the Inquisition in advance.”

“…Why? Because he didn’t want the Sacred Relic stolen?”

“Who knows. For all that, it’s just a die with no Divine Power left.”

I demonstrated the die rolling unnaturally three times.

After hearing the explanation about the ‘true random number generator,’ Pandemonium tilted his head.

“It tells you a number at random? Then isn’t it just a die?”

[Correct. I am nothing more than a mere die!]

“Exactly. I don’t know where to use this, or if there’s even a place to use it. There’s quite a bit of divine power remaining, so I’m thinking of keeping it until I can chew it up…”

“Wait. I have a suggestion.”

Pandemonium spoke with a serious expression.

“How about we decide what to do next by throwing the die?”

“…Why should I do that?”

“If there’s no random element in the choice, you’ll just pick the most rational option, right? The option you think is best in the current situation. Right?”

“Obviously.”

“But what if the opponent knows you too well and can predict what you’ll choose?”

Pandemonium rattled off a series of points about strategy games.

If you attack a place that is obviously a strategic point, the opponent will have prepared for it, turning the game into a contest of strength rather than strategy. Therefore, one must occasionally make a choice that catches the opponent off guard.

“So you’re saying we should use a diversion?”

“If you want to be technical, it’s more like a wild card… Anyway, it’s true that we’re in a disadvantageous position. Since we won’t be moving separately, it’s practically like playing chess with only one piece.”

“And?”

Pandemonium suddenly hung one of the unconscious people upside down in mid-air.

“Look.”

As he loosened the belt, the wide-legged top flipped up, exposing the bare skin.

“What am I supposed to look… Gah!”

The skin of the hanging person’s belly rippled strangely.

Something was inside.

“I found this while farming earlier. I don’t know what it is, but Bonaparte probably planted it.”

Pandemonium continued as he tossed the infected person roughly aside.

“I didn’t deal with it because I thought you’d be horrified. The moment whatever is inside dies, they might be able to detect our location.”

“…Good call.”

I rubbed my arms, which were covered in goosebumps.

What the hell did he put inside a person?

I didn’t do things like that when I played Witopia!

“But aren’t you disgusted by that? You were jumping around saying maggots were gross…”

“It’ll be gross once it bursts through, right?”

“…Isn’t it grosser while it’s inside?”

“It’s fine as long as it has a human shape.”

‘Did he remove his sense of disgust specifically for human shapes?’

So that I wouldn’t hesitate when killing people?

I suddenly felt an urge to chew up the War of God Assistant.

“Anyway, as long as Mother God’s side is targeting you, I think the most important thing is that our location isn’t exposed. That’s why I’m saying we should move quickly to an unpredictable place. Somewhere Mother God likely wouldn’t have prepared for.”

‘…That makes sense.’

Right now, we are in the Apostle’s Hall.

The reason we came here was that the ‘Pioneer of Civilization’s’ Sacred Relic, the answering coin, told us there was a Sacred Relic here.

But even without that reason, there were plenty of reasons for ‘Fabio’ to head toward the Apostle’s Hall.

He might have rushed here to check on Casimir’s safety, to retrieve something he left behind, or to kill Nyapoleon.

If the options are limited, the process might differ, but the answer could be the same.

I asked Pandemonium.

“Then where would be a good place to go?”

“Call Armageddon and go to our territory…”

“Let’s keep that as a last resort.”

“Hmm. I wonder? The most meaningless place in this situation?”

Valentine’s prayer room came to mind, but I crossed it off the list, thinking it wasn’t a good place to build a barricade.

Now, what should I do?

As Pandemonium suggested, roll the die and hide anywhere.

Do not overexert until the Heavenly Punishment vanishes and Pandemonium is in peak condition.

Since the other side likely acquired any useful Sacred Relics with clearly known locations in the game, excavate unknown Sacred Relics.

Use the ‘Answering Coin’ to find specific locations.

Since they must have lured Casimir out of the Apostle’s Hall, there will be traces of movement.

Capture at least one of Nyapoleon’s Units to gauge their strength.

The Barrier of Oblivion basically exists in the Main Hall.

Unless one’s mental defense Skill is outstanding, they won’t be able to approach it rashly.

If I were Nyapoleon, I’d want to deal with the Units in the bell tower.

Especially since the Unit that rang the bell is Athanas?

Wouldn’t he want to bring him back to his mother’s embrace by any means?

I said it was a last resort, but I think it would definitely be an unpredictable move.

Rather than blindly waiting for the Heavenly Punishment to disappear, wouldn’t it be better to go somewhere the Power of Order cannot reach?

Right now, I could even ask the coin for a specific location.

Then, once the Heavenly Punishment is gone, strike Mother God again.

I explained the six options to Pandemonium.

Pandemonium’s face contorted at the part I expected.

“…Remove number 5. Why did you even put that in?”

“For starters, my pinky finger is with Athanas.”

“What? Then we have to go retrieve it immediately!”

‘I think it’s fine because they can’t get enough biological data from just that, but…’

“Anyway. We do whatever the result of the die is, right?”

I threw the die before Pandemonium could squawk any further.