Chapter 3841: The Special Rules of Fate

"Why not let her stay the night? I believe such an invitation would not be refused."

After Claire gave Xia De her handkerchief, she left the mountaintop alone with a smile and a hint of shyness. Xia De was left standing at the edge of the cliff, watching the sunset, when Winnie's voice came from behind him.

Xia De did not turn to look at the maid:

"Winnie, I am not the kind of person you think I am. Besides, Claire is mostly feeling regretful about everyone leaving today; I don't want to take advantage of her emotions."

The Ice Maid, whose entire body refracted light under the sunset, smiled:

"Yes, yes. Then, shall we continue to enjoy the scenery here, or head back now?"

Only then did Xia De turn around:

"Let's head back now. I'll take you with me."

For the Ice Castle to establish a connection with No. 6 St. Deran Square, Winnie needed to visit the place first. So, that evening, Xia De used the Crystal Slipper to take Winnie back home.

The house was very quiet. Dorothy was rushing to finish a manuscript in her apartment, Galina and Leisia both had important matters at the Yodel Palace, and Luvia was still on Fatumunster Island. Therefore, besides Little Mia, there was no one else at home.

"Is this No. 6 St. Deran Square?"

After being restored from her toy state, Winnie curiously looked around the house. Xia De then gave her a brief tour. Winnie evaluated the place from a maid's perspective:

"It seems that the Duchess's maid is quite skilled at cleaning."

Xia De had already eaten with Claire, but Winnie still prepared dinner for Xia De and the cat. Xia De invited Winnie to sit down and eat together, and after a brief hesitation, she sat opposite him.

The two chatted about the history of the house. After dinner, Winnie cleaned the kitchen and dining room before leaving. She temporarily placed the door connecting the Ice Castle to No. 6 St. Deran Square on the side wall of the kitchen in Room 1 on the second floor, which would make things more convenient.

After seeing Winnie off, the house was, for the first time in a while, left with only Xia De and Little Mia.

Back in the familiar home, the cat lay on the back of the sofa, enjoying the leisure of the night. But seeing Xia De stand by the living room window to watch the moon for a while before heading downstairs, the cat quickly followed.

"May the fickle and ever-changing Fate protect me on the stage of Fate."

In the first-floor kitchen, Xia De prayed softly while controlling his Fate Ring to reveal a corner. Although he did not have a "Fate" Spirit Rune, under "Her" reminder, Xia De let the miracle—【Star】—bloom with golden light, and then the hidden door finally appeared.

Counting this one, the number of doors in the house had reached eight—the basement was Space, Earth, and Darkness; the first floor was Fate; the second floor was Knowledge and Time; the third floor was Death; and the attic was Light.

Some of these doors did not require Spirit Runes to appear due to their special acquisition methods, and the one before him was not acquired by the Outlander; it had already existed before he arrived in this world.

After all, the letter left by the astrologer Euclid a hundred years ago clearly mentioned that during the three months he lived in this house, he had heard the strange sound of dice rolling at night (Chapter 1088).

"In other words, before I arrived here, this place was already connected to Death (the edge of life and death on the third floor), Space (the hidden area in the basement), and Fate."

The Outlander thought to himself. At this moment, under the influence of the incantation and Spirit Rune, the door had appeared. This was the normal state of the door; its appearance during the War of Fate was actually abnormal.

The condition for entering this door was to know one's own fate, which was certainly no problem for Xia De. So, he opened the door and entered the white fog behind it.

"Meow~"

Little Mia followed at Xia De's heels and darted in, but in the white fog, she was immediately scooped up by Xia De and placed on his shoulder:

"That's right, you also condensed the fate of 【Promise】 at the Upper Spring, so of course you can enter here too."

The casino was taking shape deep in the white fog, and the empty gambling table was inviting Xia De to approach. This was Xia De's third time at the 【Fate Casino】, but because this was the only time he had entered through the proper channel, the information this time was the most comprehensive.

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

【Here, you can gamble with any of your own possessions to attempt to obtain a turning point in your fate.】

【You have obtained additional information.】

【Sacrifice one drop of divinity, and your win rate for the next gamble here will increase to 99/100.】

【Sacrifice three flawless Fate Rings, and your win rate for the next gamble here will increase to 99/100.】

The information Ms. White left for Winnie did not contain this additional information that only Xia De could know. And since Xia De had not used proper methods the first two times he came here, he could not hear such additional information then.

"Is this... a chance to make a wish?"

Almost any wish could be fulfilled in the 【Fate Casino】, provided one placed a bet and won.

Since the win rate could be increased so much, the chips put forward would likely not be consumed. Therefore, the casino's additional function could almost be directly regarded as a "Wish Spell."

However, this was still different from a Wish Spell. After all, if the wish Xia De wanted to fulfill was too grand, finding suitable chips would become a problem.

Moreover, what one sought in the casino had to be specific. For example, one could gamble on "traveling through time back to a specific moment" or "obtaining a relic with a specific function and name." But wishes like "I want to find a way to defeat the enemy" or "I want to seek a relic with a certain function" could not be fulfilled.

Of course, the wishes that could be fulfilled in the "Fate Casino" were not unlimited. For example, a wish like "I want to obtain a drop of divinity" certainly could not be achieved by defeating fate.

But even so, the additional value of the casino was high enough.

As for the one percent chance of losing, in Xia De's view, it was merely a manifestation of the fickleness of fate.

Fulfilling the additional effect required three Fate Rings. Although Xia De did not have them now, "Fate Beasts" carrying arcs or even rings would continue to appear all over the world in the future. As long as he had patience, he would eventually be able to produce three rings.

The problem then would likely be thinking about what kind of wish to make.

"This can also be considered a one-time miracle."

Xia De thought to himself, glancing sideways at the cat on his shoulder, and then pondered what kind of chips would be appropriate to make Little Mia successfully learn Ellie's skills.

"Since Little Liana and the others could master the correct method of evolution by living with Ellie, perhaps Little Mia can too."

He did not touch the gambling table but turned and walked in the white fog toward the direction he came from:

"Little Mia, are you willing to leave home for a while and go to St. Byrons to study?"

"Meow~"

It seemed the cat was not willing.

After walking out of the door on the first floor, Xia De went to organize the materials given by Ms. Sabel and the Prophecy Society, and then returned the relics he had taken to the War of Fate to their proper places in the basement.

In the fate story of the past three months, besides strengthening the 【Fate's Twenty-Sided Die】, Xia De's biggest gain in terms of relics was the 【Sure-Hit Pistol】 the doctor bought from Old John and the 【One-Shot Kill Pistol】 Theresa left him in the Fifth Era.

Added to the 【Kindness Pistol】 Xia De already possessed, placing the three guns in the gun holster gave Xia De the feeling that he had completed a collection.

It was just that these three guns still needed to be contained separately; otherwise, three relics of the same type might cause problems even near the Ancient God statue. This was Danister's warning.

"As for this..."

Xia De thought for a moment and left the small essence bottle, which was now glowing all over after last night, in the basement. During the War of Fate, besides drinking a mouthful of pink essence when summoning the Witch with the Sublimation Words, Xia De had been using other methods to recover his Qi throughout the entire war.

【Tea Extraction Method】, 【Dark Moon Grace】, Angel Elixir, Snow Mountain Water, Star Tears, and the all-attribute boost obtained after "Falling" had once again increased the recovery speed of his Qi, so the role of this essence bottle was no longer irreplaceable.

"I hope there won't be a time when I need to use it again."

Xia De said softly. It was not that he would never use it; if the time came when he truly needed it, he would definitely not hesitate.

【Are you that wary of "Desire"?】

"She" asked.

"It's not wariness, just the understanding that the other party is ultimately not a good person."

Xia De patted the cat on his shoulder and left the basement.

He did nothing else that night. After a simple wash, he returned to the bedroom with Little Mia to rest.

The cat lay very contentedly beside its own pillow, while Xia De fell asleep almost as soon as he pulled up the quilt. Home was always the place that gave him the most peace of mind. No one disturbed him that night, and even that Silver Moon Dream did not disturb his sleep.

"Meow~"

The cat meowed softly. It was not asleep; instead, after Xia De's breathing became even, it stepped on cat paws to his side and reached out its right front paw to pat Xia De's shoulder, a gesture very much like Xia De gently patting Little Mia's cat head.

Seeing that Xia De was truly asleep, the small cat leaned against Xia De's shoulder and also fell into a deep sleep.

There were no dreams that night, and all was well. ===== CHAPTER 3842 =====