Chapter 3504

The Great Elder of the Hermit Group, Mr. Davis, and the Keeper Mr. Meloni, whom Xia De was familiar with, received him together by the largest campfire in the camp. The chocobo was led away, and it was estimated that it would get a sumptuous meal. In this way, it earned its second breakfast after running in the forest for half an hour.

The Hermit Group had recovered well after the Battle of Vista Forest at the beginning of last winter. Most of the camp that was destroyed at that time had been repaired, and Xia De even felt that the number of hermits living here was much higher than before the Year-End Festival.

After simple pleasantries, he did not beat around the bush and told the two believers of the God of Luck about the things that happened on Fatumunster Island in the past month.

Even though they were living in seclusion in the forest, they had heard of the rumors of the "Infinite Snake," but they really didn't know about the covert actions of the 【Cult of Misfortune】:

"Yes, misfortune and luck conflict with each other. In the distant ancient times, the predecessor of the 【Vista Hermit Group】, the 【Cult of Luck】 or the 【Cult of the Holy Tree】, was indeed the enemy of those believers of misfortune.

But after my Lord left in the Fifth Era, our power became worse day by day. In today's era, the 【Cult of Misfortune】 is still a well-known illegal ring warlock group, but we have lost the name of the past cult and are almost completely forgotten by people."

Speaking of this matter, Mr. Davis was also quite emotional:

"It has been a long time since anyone asked us for help because of those believers of misfortune. In fact, those believers of misfortune don't look down on us now. But we still have a lot of information and data about them here. Mr. Watson, what exactly do you want to ask?"

First of all, of course, is the most critical one:

"Is there any intelligence about that 【God of Misfortune】 here?"

The two hermits looked at each other:

"Of course there is, but not much. Do you want this information to... no, don't answer. Reason tells me it's better not to know the answer to this question."

Mr. Davis instructed the Keeper on the side to get the information for Xia De. Xia De himself would not explain that he was about to meet that god:

"'Mr. Misfortune' has had many records of divine descent, right? I have friends in the Orthodox Church, but the divine descent records they queried are mostly in the Fifth Era, and the Five Gods Church did not have the current influence and control in the Fifth Era, so their records of such old things are not clear."

"We do have data from the Fifth Era here. This belongs to the content that leaders of the Hermit Group of past generations would not easily look at, but you are very lucky; I have seen it. Although that god is called an evil god, He is not like other evil gods who cause regional destruction once they descend. Generally speaking, the divine descent of that Great One does not cause much movement."

"Then what is the purpose of that evil god's divine descent generally?"

Xia De asked with concern. Mr. Davis reached out to warm himself by the fire and sighed heavily:

"Since you ask this way, I almost understand the reason why you came to us—may fate bless the people living on the distant island.

As mortals, we cannot understand the purpose of gods, and no one dares to speculate at will. You can view the data at will, and you can find the answer yourself."

Mr. Davis's current caution is also reasonable. The 【Vista Hermit Group】 has lost the protection of gods and has also lost the name of the past cult, so it is better not to easily intervene in these things related to gods.

However, when Xia De talked about the Chosen One ritual, the Seven-Act Story, and the "Dice of Fate," Mr. Davis thought for a while and nodded again:

"Although the cult has even changed its name, we still exist after all, and some things have been passed down from ancient times. Let's go, Mr. Watson, I will take you to see it. I know what you need."

The warehouse used by the hermits to store important items is in the basement of the small church that is integrated with the big tree. And the entrance stairs to the basement are clearly located on the north side of the interior of the small church. Except for a wooden door used to separate the ground from the underground, this warehouse looks like it has no protection.

Of course, it just looks like it doesn't.

The area of the underground warehouse is unexpectedly larger than the area above ground, and the walls are full of traces of protruding tree roots. The huge area is mainly to accommodate some troublesome relics, and there are only five or six boxes stacked together and three shelves for storing divine items.

The boxes and shelves are arranged around a small shrine embedded in the stone wall. The shrine enshrines a holy emblem of an Old God with extremely powerful miracle elements. If Xia De sacrifices such a holy emblem in the 【Holy White Hall】 of his own attic, he will get a chance to contact the holy emblem of the Ancient God and receive a blessing.

Of course, he also knows that the hermits will not give this holy emblem to him.

The shrine embedded in the wall is wrapped in a circle of tree roots, and golden candlelight is lit in front of the shrine. Although the basement itself is also very bright, the golden candlelight almost divides an independent space in the vicinity. Entering the range of the golden candlelight gives Xia De a feeling of entering a cathedral.

The three shelves wrap this space illuminated by golden candlelight just right, forming a semi-enclosed area in the basement.

"Compared to the church on the ground, this is more like your church."

Xia De said, and Mr. Davis smiled:

"Yes, not all ordinary members of the Hermit Group believe in my Lord. The church on the ground is just to give everyone a place to pray. This is where we, the remnants of the old era, truly pray. Please wait a moment."

He said and came to the front of the shrine to start praying with his head bowed. Although Xia De is not a believer of this Old God, since he is asking for help, he must be polite, so he also closed his eyes and prayed a few sentences like "God of Luck bless." In a world where gods truly exist, saying more good words in his heart does no harm.

After the prayer, Mr. Davis pulled open the hidden drawer under the shrine, while Xia De looked sideways at the "Manual of Fate" that he controlled and could only be seen by himself.

The text on the manual said that because Xia De participated in a prayer ritual to the "God of Luck," his luck would be improved in a short time before leaving this area.

Mr. Davis took out three items from the drawer under the shrine and handed all three items to Xia De in front of the holy emblem: a silver holy bell, a golden die, and a chess piece carved from wood. Looking at the style of the chess piece, it should be a "King."

"The die and the chess piece are given to you. The holy bell is the private property of the cult, and I have no right to make decisions, so please return it to us after the story of fate ends."

Xia De nodded:

"No problem, but are the die and the chess piece given to me directly? It's better to count it as a transaction. I don't want to take your things for nothing."

Mr. Davis shook his head slowly:

"For these items, giving them a secular price is blasphemy. Besides, you helped us a lot during the Battle of Vista Forest, and we haven't been able to thank you well."

He didn't give Xia De a chance to refuse:

"This holy bell is a holy object passed down from generation to generation in the cult. According to records, it existed at least in the Third Era. Ringing the holy bell can dispel the misfortune imposed by those external forces for yourself. Although it cannot work on gods, the data says that in the Third Era, it even briefly repelled the legendary evil spirit demon—the Misfortune Demon, Fanalus.

We lend this to you to fight against the Cult of Misfortune. Although our strength no longer allows us to intervene in the story of the Chosen One, since the drama of fate has begun, we who believe in the God of Luck cannot really do nothing. My Lord has left, and we who remain cannot let Him be shamed."

That silver holy bell did not look like it was cast from ordinary metal silver, and it itself emitted a soft and cold radiance. The surface did not know how it had been treated, and now it presented a flowing texture close to liquid, which reminded Xia De of solidified moonlight.

The holy bell could just be held in one hand by Xia De, but the bell body was not completely smooth, and extremely fine, complex, and sacred patterns were engraved on it. These patterns were not completely chaotic but were composed of ancient runes, intertwined oak branches, and wing patterns.

The top of the bell converged upward to form an exquisite thorn-shaped handle, and the clapper was a teardrop-shaped black crystal, polished as smooth as a mirror.

This is a quite powerful divine item, and it is probably the most powerful divine item of the 【Vista Hermit Group】 besides the holy emblem.

Xia De expressed his gratitude and solemnly promised that after the story of fate ended, he would personally send the holy bell back.

"As for this die, sorry, I don't know its specific origin either, but it must be something passed down from the previous era."

Mr. Davis smiled apologetically:

"But after hearing you mention the 'Dice of Fate' today, as well as the misfortune die you obtained from an unknown existence, I think I know that this golden die has been kept here by us, waiting for whom."

The die that Mr. Misfortune gave to Xia De was a twenty-sided die, while the golden die that Mr. Davis gave to Xia De was a normal six-sided die. The manifestation of miracle elements represented that this was not an ordinary item. As for whether this was the die mentioned by the 【Clown Troupe】—

He unfolded the "Manual of Fate" in front of Mr. Davis and threw the die, and it seemed to be "sucked" into the book. So, on the blank page, there appeared sketches of three brass-colored twenty-sided dice (three-act story), one silver twenty-sided die (gift from the evil god), two black iron six-sided dice (Infinite Snake), and one golden six-sided die.

This means that the die given by the hermits indeed has similar properties to the die given by the evil god. Xia De smiled. Although this die only has numbers 1-6, it can be gifted, and at the very least, it can allow Stella's final points to increase by 1. The Outlander is not greedy.