Chapter 466: Delivered Promise

Watching Mr. Riddle eat, Xia De wasn't worried that he would eat too much and hurt his stomach; the healing effect of 【Satiating Food】 on stomach problems was excellent.

But Mr. Riddle didn't eat all the food, but after eating one-third, he asked Xia De for a wooden box, poured the remaining food into a plate, and then put it into the box, looking like he was preparing to save it for later.

After all, having eaten biscuits for an unknown amount of time, no one could stand it.

And tasting normal human food again made Mr. Riddle, whose spirit was on the verge of collapse, become much more energetic. Coupled with Xia De's appearance, he had a conversation partner again, and this gentleman's mental state improved significantly.

And before starting the gambling again, Xia De asked Mr. Riddle about the origin of the god summoned by this gambling table. The middle-aged man who had stayed here for a long time gave the answer:

"This is the holy emblem of the god."

He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robe. Although there was still blood in his eyes, at least his speech didn't tremble.

Asking Xia De for paper and pen, Mr. Riddle drew a complex pattern in Xia De's notebook. It was probably because he hadn't written for a long time, his hand was shaking:

"Every time I fall into a deep sleep, I dream of this symbol, and I hear someone urging me to continue the gambling, as if as soon as I close my eyes, these corpses will whisper in my ears. I even have a premonition that even if I find other ways to leave the Terror Castle, as long as I don't finish the gambling, I will hear this sound continuously for the rest of my life, until I return here and sit back at the table."

After drawing the holy emblem, Mr. Riddle returned the pen to Xia De, then lowered his head and closed his eyes to pray to 【Mr. Ring】. Because he already knew that 【Mr. Ring】 was 【Ouroboros】, the circular holy emblem he finally drew on his chest was, as expected, an abstraction of Ouroboros.

Xia De smiled at the "God of Gambling" holy emblem in the notebook, thinking that with this, he could look for clues about this god at the time point of the Sixth Era.

Prepared to gamble with the god again, Mr. Riddle took a few breaths and sat back in the chair on one side of the square table. With the shaking of the kerosene lamp and the re-lit candlelight, the other half of the room was illuminated, allowing the black-robed figure to reappear.

Cracks appeared on Xia De's body surface again, and Mr. Riddle let out a painful muffled groan. The air became a bit sticky, and every breath had to use the strength of the lungs to obtain oxygen. Although it looked like a human form, the space it occupied was much larger than what was seen.

"I found your story."

Xia De whispered behind Mr. Riddle, telling the data he saw:

"When you were 32 years old, you went to sea with the fleet, from the East Continent to the South Continent. During the voyage, you encountered a storm at sea. In the storm, you encountered..."

Xia De paused, and Mr. Riddle covered his head and lowered his head, actually picking up the words:

"Sea Monster - Eight-Footed Sea Siren!"

With the reminder, he also recalled this memory.

Mr. Riddle put his hand on the third groove in front of him. After taking his hand away, the third card appeared as expected. In the pattern on the card, Mr. Riddle was clinging to a wooden board on the rough sea surface, and behind him, dense tentacles stretched out from under the sea level, entangling the ship and dragging it into the sea.

The gilded card name was 【Deep Sea Monster】.

"However, how did you survive this time?"

Xia De asked curiously. The data only said that this gentleman was one of the few survivors of that accident:

"Could it be that the sea monster wasn't interested in you?"

The middle-aged man wearing a brown robe covered his head in pain:

"At that time, I was carrying a wooden statue I borrowed from a friend, which was the statue of the god 【Lord of the Scarlet Spiral】. I think the sea monster probably didn't want to offend the god, so it let me go."

Hearing the familiar name, Xia De raised his eyebrows:

"Your life is truly extraordinary."

"I just want to know more things and write down the secrets of the world."

Mr. Riddle shook his head violently, as if he wanted to drive away something he couldn't see. And in the groove opposite the table, the light flickered, and the third card representing the witch appeared.

Six grooves of different colors gathered the light from the front of the six cards on the table to the center of the table. Three witches joined forces to fight against the undead, the dragon, and the ocean monster covered in tentacles.

With only four cards, it was unclear which side had the upper hand, but with the melee of six targets, it was clear that Mr. Riddle's side was at a disadvantage.

The real characters corresponding to those three witch cards were probably all 13th-level witches like Miss Feilian.

"Sir, what else have I experienced?"

Mr. Riddle asked again. Xia De saw that the situation on the table was not good, so he could only choose the most powerful creature involved in the data provided by Luweiya:

"You once encountered a demon!"

"A demon?"

"Yes, a strange evil spirit left over from the Third Era. That was your experience when you were 25 years old. Think carefully, Mr. Riddle, the inverted cross~"

"Cross?"

"Think carefully, the inverted cross you brought out from the ancient ruins. Stone, entangled by chains."

"Oh, I remember!"

Mr. Riddle looked down at the table, then slowly put his hand on the fourth groove. While Xia De showed a surprised expression, this gentleman added many situations Xia De didn't know:

"That was many years ago. I followed ancient legends and obtained a stone inverted cross in an ancient ruin excavated deep in the mountains of the West Continent. What happened later was truly terrible... I forced myself to forget this matter. So I had this experience."

The data Xia De saw still only had a small amount of text records and a pencil sketch of the inverted cross:

"Mr. Riddle, if you once encountered a demon, how did you survive?"

The answer might also be helpful to Xia De.

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and took his hand away from the groove.

The fourth card appeared. On the card, Mr. Riddle was carrying a suitcase, running out of an old house with a terrified expression. Behind the gate of the dilapidated house as a background, a pair of scarlet eyes were staring at him.

The gilded card name was 【Shadow of the Demon】. Seeing that this record was also true, Xia De had greater doubts about the record that this gentleman died at the age of 62. It was actually a miracle that he could live until now.

The middle-aged man in the brown robe seemed to be lost in some kind of contemplation, and it took a long time for him to say again:

"In the mansion, the inverted cross was inserted into the ground, awakening the sleeping terrifying demon... Yes! I once helped a witch find ancient data. As a reward, she used a red-hot seal to leave an indelible mark on me, and that mark helped me expel the demon! Seeing that it couldn't get close to me for the time being, it left."

As he spoke, he rolled up the sleeve of his right hand. On his right arm, a disgusting burn scar was revealed in front of Xia De.

That mark looked like a scar at first glance, but looking closely, it looked like several complex runes overlapping together. The dense lines and charred flesh marks made Xia De feel a bit disgusted.

After obtaining the other party's consent, Xia De reached out and touched the scar. After his fingers touched it, the sound in his ear immediately prompted Xia De that he felt extremely slight whisper elements.

"Extremely slight? The branding seal used by that witch is a powerful anti-demon relic! Otherwise, it's impossible for even the marks left by the seal to have this effect!"

Xia De was shocked and hurriedly used the notebook he carried with him to record this complex symbol. After returning to his own time point, even if he couldn't find the relic seal corresponding to the brand in the Sixth Era, analyzing this symbol might be able to obtain an effective means to fight against demons.

Just this one gain was enough for this trip.

And in the moment of their conversation, in front of the black-robed god opposite the table, a card also appeared in the fourth rectangular groove. On the card, naturally, was a witch. The fourth witch was standing in the temple, holding the holy emblem with both hands and praying.

Judging from the roughly one-fifth of the pattern exposed by the holy emblem on the card, it was exactly the appearance of the holy emblem in Mr. Riddle's dream.

The black light flowed out from the groove of 【Shadow of the Demon】 along the thin grooves on the table, and through the overlapping grooves, converged with the other seven beams of flowing light in the center of the table.

The chaotic brilliance was even stronger, and a strange darkness appeared above 【Shadow of the Demon】. The demon's form was that darkness, and the lit scarlet eyes made it look like a human form.

Its body gradually overlapped with the surging undead tide. With the roar of the demon, the two completely merged. The demon's volume increased by at least double, and it rushed toward the center of the table with the dragon and the sea monster.

"Shadow of the Demon and Undead Resurrection interacted!"

Xia De thought in his heart.

Although Mr. Riddle had only three monsters left on this side, the demon with darkness as its form was actually able to suppress the witches while fighting one against two. It manipulated the darkness, cooperated with the dragon's breath and the sea monster's tentacles, and almost in one contact, beat the witches back steadily.

The great battle that broke out above the table really opened Xia De's eyes. The witches of the Fifth Era manipulated flying light bullets to create strange light and shadows, and the roar of the monsters almost shattered his eardrums. Not only the light and shadow effects and sound, but the heat and even the explosion of energy caused by the air vibration could be perfectly experienced by Xia De and Mr. Riddle at the table.

It seemed that as the number of cards increased, the realism of these battles was also getting stronger. Now it just made Xia De and Mr. Riddle feel shocked. When all twenty cards were complete, Xia De found it hard to imagine what kind of situation would appear.

The time of this journey was more than half over. Mr. Riddle was deeply trapped in memories, while Xia De didn't want to waste time. The addition of the demon made the advantage of the battle tilt toward Mr. Riddle's side. Xia De took this opportunity to say the remaining two pieces of data together:

"Mr. Riddle, when you were 35 years old, during an exploration deep into an underground cave, you and your partner accidentally fell into an underground abyss, and in the abyss, you found a locked door. Behind the door was a black one-handed sword that could absorb life force. Can you recall this matter?"

Mr. Riddle covered his head and shook it a few times. After painful groans, he put his hand on the fifth groove. After letting go, the card showed a terrible black rune sword locked in a dark room by several silver chains connected to the wall. An old metal door on one side of the dark room opened a crack, and outside the crack was the light of a torch and Mr. Riddle's terrified face.

Card name - 【Cursed Sword】.

The phantom of the rune sword appeared above the card, and the demon shadow laughed wildly and picked up the sword, rushing toward the witch in front. A new witch also joined the battle. Currently, Mr. Riddle's side was fighting three against five, and that terrible magic sword seemed unable to offset the disadvantage brought by the number of people.

"What else? What else have I experienced?"

The man covering his head asked eagerly. He also knew that the current situation was unfavorable to his side. But the life experience of the other party that Xia De found was only these, and he had no other choice:

"Mr. Riddle, when you were 29 years old, when you were investigating in a primitive tribe in the Northern Continent, you once got lost in the wilderness while being chased by a cannibal tribe. You encountered an inn opened in the unmanned wilderness, and finally discovered that the inn itself was a huge terrifying cannibal creature."

The sixth card. On the card was an abandoned inn. The terrified Mr. Riddle stood behind the window on the second floor, clenching his right hand and knocking on the glass. Card name - 【Cannibal House】.

This time, no new monster appeared above the card, but on the side of the square table close to Mr. Riddle, the phantom of the big house shrouded all the monsters summoned because of Mr. Riddle's life experience.

This shadow brought new light. In these lights, the bodies of the demon, the sea monster, and the dragon became larger. Not only that, their bodies could better resist the witches' light bullets, and when attacking, strange light would also emerge from the three monsters, bringing special strike effects.

The black-robed god remained motionless, and light flickered in the sixth groove in front of him. But this time, the card that appeared wasn't a certain witch. On the card was a gray stone altar.

The phantom of the altar appeared behind the five witches, and the connected light and shadow provided them with new power. At the same time, the light and shadow of the altar were also confronting the phantom of 【Cannibal House】, consuming each other's power.

The five witches stood together, their fingertips converging into one place. The dragon, the demon, and the sea monster charged at the same time. The wriggling tentacles provided protection, the dragon's breath opened the way in the light, and the rune sword in the demon's hand was the most powerful weapon.

Those lights finally collided with the monsters' bodies. The giant wind caused by the energy collision almost blew Mr. Riddle at the table off the chair.

Xia De supported him behind him, his eyes looking at the temporarily stopped battle. Three monsters against five witches. In the current state, the god's side occupied a clear upper hand.

"Cough cough~"

Mr. Riddle coughed loudly. The huge mental pressure and physical pressure brought by gambling with the god had already caused blood to seep from the corners of his mouth. By now, the gambling was more than half over, and looking at the strange light and shadow reflected on Mr. Riddle's weak face, Xia De fully understood why he was called the "Legendary Fortune Teller."

Seeing that his body couldn't hold on, Xia De whispered:

"Mr. Riddle, let's stop here this time. I'm leaving. When I come back next time, I will bring you victory. If you really can't hold on, maybe I can find a way to win outside the gambling table."

"No, no, I must win."

The weak man held the table, his voice weak, but his tone was unusually firm:

"Do you know why I have carried out so many adventures?"

The body had already felt a pulling sensation, which meant time was up.

"I don't know."

"To see more things, until my death, so that I didn't come to this world for nothing."

The middle-aged man answered without hesitation. Even if he lost part of his memory, he still remembered his original intention.

Holding the table, he stood up with Xia De's support. The candle opposite the table went out, and darkness descended again.

"Then if you die because of these adventures, will you regret it?"

Xia De asked softly, wanting to support him to the wall. The outsider admired such people. Perhaps some people thought that people like Mr. Riddle were lunatics and were deliberately looking for death, but Xia De knew that this world couldn't be without such people.

"Of course I will regret it, but I will still do it. I don't want to boast that I am a person with an adventurous spirit; I just want to see more and learn more. Even if I have long known what this means to me."

Hesitating for a moment, Xia De asked again:

"If you can survive all the time, but die in madness in your later years, will you not regret it either?"

Mr. Riddle turned to look at Xia De, his face pale and his mouth bleeding, but there was a very calm look in his brown eyes:

"As long as I have obtained knowledge, then even if I end my life in madness, I will not regret it. I am just an ordinary person, without the power of a witch. I won't have a second chance in my life to face such a great being. I want to challenge this great being, no matter what the outcome is, I must challenge Him fairly. With my life, with my adventures, with all of me."

Xia De nodded and let him slowly sit on the ground against the wall:

"Okay, I will help you win the gambling, in the way you hope. Mr. Riddle, do you know 【Infinite Change】?"

He suddenly asked, and the white fog had already appeared behind him.

"Sorry, I don't know. But if I can live and get out, I will help you investigate. Even if you might just be my fantasy, even if we might never see each other again after leaving the Terror Castle. But I will definitely help you investigate. This is my promise."

Facing Xia De's departure this time, Mr. Riddle was clearly much more rational. He tried to stand up, but unfortunately failed:

"Sir, thank you for your help. May the Father of Infinite Trees and Mr. Ring protect you and me."

He said very sincerely. It seemed that experiencing Xia De's second arrival made him more determined.

"Aren't you curious about my origin?"

Xia De turned and walked into the white fog, finally turning his head to look at him. Because this time he left actively, he wasn't forced to walk backward.

"Curious."

Mr. Riddle's figure already looked a bit blurry in Xia De's eyes:

"But this makes no sense. I will eventually figure it out one day..."

Xia De stumbled backward out of the bedroom door. Although he was walking forward just now, he suddenly turned into walking backward. The dislocation made him unable to control his footsteps and almost stepped on the cat walking back and forth at the door.

After standing firm and bending down to pick up Mia, he turned to look at the moon outside the living room window:

"So, Schluch Riddle studied and found the 【Infinite Change】 cards because of my guidance? Did he really fulfill his promise?"

A month ago on Saint Deran Square, when listening to Luweiya tell the story of 【Infinite Change】, Xia De didn't expect this to be a promise spanning five thousand years.

Although the third key hadn't brought Xia De more doubts about this world so far, doing things that communicate with the past and connect with the present so much always made Xia De feel that what he was doing was actually something that had been destined.

The arrival of the outsider didn't seem to have brought any changes to this world.

【Is that so?】

She chuckled in his ear; she was always like this.

After sighing for a long time, he went to carry the 【God's Gift Box】 from the basement to the second floor, washed his hands, and took out this week's gift from inside.

Perhaps last week's banknote printing plate was too strange, so this week's items were mediocre. It was a brand-new metal screwdriver, which looked quite good. You could probably buy one for 5 shillings in a city store.

"Sure enough, I still can't count on obtaining special items through this channel."

This week's requirement was to drink a glass of milk for breakfast, which wasn't a requirement at all for Xia De. He pushed open the living room window, intending to let the room ventilate before going to sleep. The night wind at the end of summer was still slightly hot, but he could also detect a coolness different from the midsummer.

"It's Monday, early morning, the 19th day of the Month of Flowers."

He looked at the night view and muttered to himself. Summer was really coming to an end.