Chapter 2769

In the solidified dream, a moment felt like eternity. The lady admiring the moon held Xia De in her arms, listening to the "other me" beside her ear saying things like "the power of the curse has been triggered" and "you have gained some insight into time," and then gradually felt herself being driven away by this dream.

So she looked at Xia De for the last time, and when she opened her eyes on the seat, the young man was no longer in the seat beside her, leaving only the silver ring lying there, shining brightly.

She picked up the ring and clutched it in her palm, sitting in the dark performance hall looking at the empty stage, feeling an immense sense of loss in her heart for no reason.

(Little Mia is running...)

On the other side, Xia De certainly did not return to the late autumn of 1854. Although Miss Helena Carter's conjecture and approach had some merit, if it were so easy to go to the future, the stability of time in the material world would be too poor.

Xia De, who had fallen asleep in the dream, felt dazed, as if he were not leaning against a large tree, but against something soft. But when he woke up again, he found himself standing in a familiar white fog:

"So, did this succeed?"

The glowing white fog filled every corner of his field of vision. Xia De was all too familiar with this situation:

"It doesn't look like it succeeded... Where is this again?"

【Outlander, you have entered the "Fate Casino."】

"She" beside his ear laughed softly. Xia De blinked, suspecting he had misheard. Although this was the first time he had heard this name, combined with this naming style and the surrounding environment, it was hard for him not to think that this was a place similar to the 【Space Labyrinth】, 【Earth Core Furnace】, or 【Holy White Hall】:

"Fate... Casino? Wait, the Ancient God of Fate, 【Mr. Ring】, is also known as 【Ouroboros】, so that 【Ouroboros Ring】 wouldn't be..."

He took two more steps forward, and the sound of dice falling and colliding, *dang-lang-lang~*, gradually became clear. Continuing forward, the sounds of countless people arguing and shouting came from the white fog.

Those sounds did not make Xia De feel too noisy; instead, they were like background noise that didn't make him pay too much attention.

Continuing to walk forward, the white fog gradually dissipated, the surrounding walls rose, and a table appeared not far in front of him.

And when Xia De arrived at that table, the hall had taken shape. The four golden walls, together with the ceiling and floor, enclosed an area that looked larger than St. Deran Square.

Countless tables were densely and irregularly arranged here, but because there was still white fog lingering, Xia De could see individual figures at those tables and could hear what seemed to be countless people shouting here, but he could only see the table in front of him clearly.

The table was rectangular with curved corners, and the surface was covered with a green cloth. Judging from the squares drawn on the cloth, this was clearly a standard Rod card gambling table.

"It really is a casino. But the problem is, even if there's no referee, there needs to be at least one opponent to conduct a game."

Thinking this, he arrived at one end of the long table, and then, from another blurry gambling table near this one, a figure walked out of the fog:

"Everyone who comes here looking for a turning point in fate leaves behind a shadow of themselves, and the opponent for those who come later is one of those who once won something from this casino."

The figure said. After arriving opposite Xia De, Xia De saw that it was a thin, tall old gentleman. The other party's attire clearly did not belong to the steam age of the Sixth Era, and the other party was indeed not human; he was more like a mixture of memories, shadows, spirits, and other things Xia De couldn't name.

And the old gentleman pressed his hands on both sides of the tabletop:

"What you want to win from here is a chance to return to 1854, right?"

Although he still had some doubts about this place, Xia De nodded:

"Yes, as long as I win, I can go back, right?"

"No need to be so anxious. Since it's a gamble, besides the prize, you also need your own stake."

His eyes scanned Xia De:

"The key hanging on your chest, or the sword with a scabbard you are holding, can both serve as a stake. Don't say this casino is unfair; what you want is to precisely locate a future point in time without endangering the stability of time."

Xia De nodded in agreement, but did not take the key. That key belonged to the long-haired Luweiya, and he couldn't take the risk.

Therefore, he placed 【Nightwatcher】 on the table:

"Are we playing Rod cards? What are the rules?"

The old gentleman pressed his hands on the table, and then a complete deck of cards appeared under his hands:

"This is your first time here, and I am certain you will come many more times, so let's keep it simple this time."

"Draw a card, we'll bet on size. A higher number wins. With the same number, Sun is greater than Moon, which is greater than Star, which is greater than Flower. King is greater than Queen, and they are greater than any number."

"Alright, that's simple."

Xia De also took out his own deck and placed it on the table. However, the old gentleman did not ask Xia De to shuffle or check the deck, but signaled Xia De to say with him:

"In the name of Mr. Ring, conduct a fair gamble. May the Ouroboros bless me in the inconstant fate."

Only by swearing in the name of an Ancient God could there be no cheating.

After this, Xia De flipped over the card at the top of his deck. Although he remembered that the top card was the Star 12 【Great City Player · 1853 Tobesk Champion】, after flipping it over, it was a normal card, "Flower 11."

As for the old gentleman opposite, the card he flipped over was Moon 7:

"You win."

He shook his head:

"Beginners always have beginner's luck. Congratulations. I look forward to you coming again next time and bringing a more valuable stake. Fate Casino welcomes people like you who possess inconstant fate."

"But how exactly can one enter this place?"

Xia De was puzzled. He put down his hand cards, and the old gentleman, who was pressing the edge of the table with both hands again, smiled:

"When you are ready to use everything you have to seek the possibility of a turning point in fate, the 【Fate Casino】 will certainly open its doors for you. Or, the Ouroboros will point the way for you."

(Little Mia is running...)

Reality · Sixth Era, General Calendar, autumn of 1854, 16th day of the Month of Withered Leaves, 2:07 AM, Kingdom of Carcen-Rick, Vesta City, Accordion Hotel.

The red-haired girl waiting for news in the hotel was already looking a bit restless. When Iluna received the news and left half an hour ago, she was already worried about Xia De's situation. Soon after, news came that Xia De's side was safe, but calculating the time, they should have been back long ago.

At this time, besides her, there were Miss Bell and two mid-level witch followers in the hotel, but she didn't want to tell them about her worries.

The neighborhood in the east of the city seemed to be on fire, and the golden lightning that had streaked across the sky not long ago had long since disappeared. She was already regretting agreeing to stay behind instead of letting Flora stay.

It was just that there was no way to deal with the anxiety, but she decided that if there was no news by three o'clock, she would leave the hotel and go into the woods to find them herself.

Returning to the sofa from the window, she wanted to pick up the book spread out on the coffee table, but felt that even if she picked up the book, she was in no mood to read it. Just at this moment, a silver-white light appeared beside her, and then a letter floated out from that flash of light.

She recognized this as the letter-sending method of Professor Pigman, the "Bai Yin Guardian" and principal of St. Byrons, and the short letter read:

【Professor Dannister, come to the principal's office to see me. There is an urgent matter I need to discuss with you. It will probably take five minutes of your time.】

Below was the signature and the red principal's seal, and inside the envelope was a fiery red feather. This was a feather from a Sage-level relic called the 【Piercing Bird】, which was the most commonly used spatial item in the academy. Unfortunately, the effect of this relic only allowed the person who triggered the feather to appear around the relic, rather than performing spatial travel at will.

"It's two-thirty in the morning now. What important matter could there be at this time... Is it about Amelia?"

So she said goodbye to Miss Bell, grasped the feather, and appeared in the corridor on the fifth floor of the academy's main castle. After reaching out to let the fiery red bird that wanted to beg for food return to its cage, she spoke a few words to the students guarding the relic, and then knocked on the door of the principal's office.

The door to the principal's office was silver; this was a door personally crafted by that "Bai Yin Guardian," and its sturdiness within the academy was second only to the academy gate and the library gate.

And behind the door was not an ordinary office, but a spiral staircase leading upward. Because the principal's office was not a single room, but the entire east tower of the academy's main castle.

There was no need to climb the stairs; after stepping on them, they automatically rotated upward. And behind the door at the end of the stairs was the principal's office. As for the other areas of this tower, they were the principal's private rooms.

The room was lit by gas lamps, the brass table clock in the corner ticked away the time, and several decorative oil paintings hung on the office walls. But those were not portraits of the academy's past principals, but landscapes of various parts of the academy—these oil paintings were actually portals that could directly connect to the locations described in the pictures.

The pet mouse was lying on a purple cushion in the corner of the desk with its eyes closed, and the principal in formal attire was waiting for her behind the desk:

"Good evening, Professor Dannister. Sorry to trouble you. Please sit down."

The red-haired girl was already very familiar with the furnishings of the principal's office. She nodded, removed her illusion disguise, and sat on the chair outside that imposing desk:

"Good evening, Professor Pigman. Where is Amelia? Is it not about this? You wouldn't call me over so late just to discuss next year's academy budget, would you?"