“We… do we have to play?” Lillian’s voice was very low.
As one of the Crowned Ones, she understood the essence of this game all too well. It was always like this—cloaked in the guise of a fair match, yet with thorns and chains buried in the shadows of every corner.
It seemed to offer a choice, but in reality, the moment the first rule was written, the outcome was already nailed to the bulletin board of fate.
The masked man did not answer.
He simply reached into the inner fold of his black robe and took out four cards, placing them face down.
“Please, take a seat.” The voice behind the mask was flat.
There was no inquiry, no discussion.
The four people silently pulled out their chairs.
The most excited among them was Elvia. At this moment, she actually possessed a physical body and was no longer a nebulous Spirit Body.
After sitting down, she could not help but repeatedly rub the rough edge of the table with her fingers. She curiously pressed the back of her hand, which had suddenly become warm. Her eyes were wide, as if the entire world had just been unwrapped from its packaging, appearing so new that it was dizzying.
She did not feel even a hint of a sense of crisis.
“Aren’t you worried at all?” Jiang Ming whispered to Elvia.
“What’s there to fear? You’re Jiang Ming, after all,” Elvia said meaningfully.
Jiang Ming pressed his palm to his forehead, somewhat at a loss for words.
Once the four of them were settled, the masked man’s fingers brushed over the backs of the cards in sequence.
He flipped them.
On the cards were a doctor, a warrior, a mage, and an archer.
The masked man’s fingertip touched the first card.
Immediately after, countless pale gold branches grew out of the void on the card. Pure white flowers bloomed on the tips, and petals began to fall.
[Identity: Flower Healer]
[Trait: Your Spiritual Sense resonates with the essence of life. You can see the color of pain and hear the whispers of weakness.]
The card floated toward Elvia and hovered in front of her. She reached out curiously, and the moment her fingertip touched the surface of the card, those pale gold branches seemed to come to life. They spread fine points of light along her fingers, merging beneath her skin.
She let out a soft cry of surprise, feeling a strange, warm current slowly flowing through her body.
The masked man’s finger moved to the second card.
Flip.
The card face was a heavy deep gray. In the center was the phantom of a massive tower shield that was covered in battle scars yet still stood towering. There were countless white marks left by intersecting slashes and stabs on the shield’s surface.
Behind the shield, the blurred silhouettes of countless figures were faintly visible.
[Identity: Unyielding Iron Wall]
[Trait: You are not the sharpest spear, but you are the most insurmountable line of defense. Your will is the barrier, and your persistence is the law.]
The card flew toward Elvira. She did not catch it immediately but instead stared at the scarred Great Shield on the card. The deep gray light was almost tangible, carrying the cold hardness of metal and the scent of blood and fire.
She reached out, and when her palm touched the card, she seemed to hear the sound of armor rubbing and heavy breathing from a distant battlefield.
The third card flipped under the masked man’s fingertip.
The card face had a deep violet base, like the purest canopy of heaven at midnight. Countless fine points of light, stars, runes, and flowing arcane geometric figures slowly circled, appeared, and vanished within this deep purple.
In the center, a half-open eye composed of stardust and mercury stared indifferently ahead. Reflected within the eye was a miniature of the flowing river of stars and the birth and death of laws.
[Identity: Starry Firmament Sage]
[Trait: You glimpse the trembling of the threads of rules and listen to the underlying whispers of the operation of all things. Knowledge is your scepter, and wisdom is your crown.]
The card floated toward Lillian. She did not look at the card but stared directly at the masked man. There was no joy from receiving a gift in her crimson eyes—only cold insight and scrutiny.
The last card flipped.
The card face was a pure matte black, like a starless and moonless eternal night. An extremely thin, sharp silver-white line pierced from the top left corner to the bottom right, slicing through the darkness.
[Identity: Truth-Piercing Archer]
[Trait: Your gaze can pierce through mist, illusions, and disguises to point directly at the core. Calmness is your bowstring, and insight is your fletching.]
The card flew toward Jiang Ming. He reached out and caught it steadily. The pitch-black card was cold to the touch, and that silver-white line seemed to burn slightly against his fingertip.
“Observer… Truth-Piercing Archer…” Jiang Ming repeated in a low voice.
As the four cards found their masters, the light gradually faded, transforming into four thumb-sized emblems branded on the backs of their hands. Elvia had the pale gold branch, Elvira the deep gray tower shield, Lillian the violet starry eye, and Jiang Ming the pitch-black arrow mark.
The masked man took a step back, tucking his hands into his sleeves once more.
“I am the Secret Keeper, the guide of this journey,” the masked figure spoke slowly, his voice sounding as if it came through a fog. “And you are heroes from all over, commissioned by the King to find the legendary Golden Fleece.”
He explained the rules in detail.
“The game has a total of 20 rounds. Once 20 rounds have passed, you will arrive at distant Colchis. There, the never-sleeping Evil Dragon entrenched at the end of fate awaits.”
The Secret Keeper leaned forward slightly, his robe sleeves brushing over the table.
“Now, Argo, set sail.”
He gently pushed the 12-sided die toward the four of them.
“Please roll for your journey.”
The four people took turns taking the die, shaking it, and throwing it. The points settled on the table and, after a brief calculation, transformed into the distance the ship traveled across this sea of Void Construction.
And the moment they finished rolling the die, they could feel the movement of the ship.
“Your ship sails on the boundless sea. As far as the eye can see, there is only the sky and deep blue. But… is that really all there is?”
The Secret Keeper’s tone rose and fell with rhythm, full of narrative cadence. Except for Jiang Ming, the other three subconsciously looked toward the sea that had been sketched out by his words.
These overly familiar lines made the corner of Jiang Ming’s mouth twitch slightly.
“Secret Keeper,” he suddenly looked up, his voice cutting through the atmosphere, “I want to activate a Perception Check.”
As the Truth-Piercing Archer, he possessed an innate advantage in Perception Checks.
The Secret Keeper nodded silently and took out a 20-sided die. The die tumbled—10.
It was a middle-of-the-road number.
Adding Jiang Ming’s own talent modifiers, the final result was: 13.
The check was a success.
“Your intuition is as sharp as a blade, and your gaze pierces the mist on the sea like a hawk.” The Secret Keeper’s speaking speed slowed, each word seeming to spread out a picture. “You look into the distance and discover several small boats lingering by your wake. Not far, but not close.”
“You see the skull emblems painted on those sails clearly. You know that those who come are not friendly.”
Before he finished speaking, his tone suddenly tightened:
“And at this moment, the small boats begin to accelerate, closing in on your ship’s hull.”
“Combat Round, start.”
Jiang Ming was stunned.
‘What kind of wretched luck is this?’
However, thinking about it, it was still somewhat acceptable. After all, if he really rolled a critical success, what if he saw Cthulhu in the ocean?