OBS Chapter 3589 The Ring of Miracles
Chapter 3589 The Ring of Miracles
Chapter 3589 The Ring of Miracles
As for the four remaining murals on the wall, whose vibrant colors didn't change upon closer inspection, they all depicted stories of ancient gods from ancient legends—
A beggar sits on the street, tossing dice and watching passersby; a blind girl with her eyes closed stands alone on a snow-covered cliff, playing music for the mountain; a young man places an ice flower beside his lover's sickbed; and finally, a group of people surround a stone table, seemingly playing cards.
The mural depicting a blind woman playing music appears to be covered by another layer of imagery, but this other layer is not yet fully formed.
The first three paintings were probably not painted by snakes, but rather the temple itself was waiting for a new story to replace the old one. It's a pity that the change of the murals did not reward the person who caused it, but if the temple had continued to exist, the candidates could have judged whether a new story was beginning to emerge by the colors of the murals.
Shad stared at the mural in the cemetery for a long time before looking away. People from the church and the Society of Prophets were recording these murals, not only recording the magical phenomena, but also some of them were hand-drawing them. After all, no one knew whether recording these strange murals in different ways would produce different effects.
The witch's followers were doing the same thing, of course. Just as Shad was lamenting, Chairman Le Norman came over again:
“Little Beren has already been sent down the mountain. It’s best if she doesn’t stay here. However, although she seems to be normal now, even if the tests come back normal, she probably won’t be able to live a normal life.”
He meant that the church would not allow such "resurrected" individuals to live as ordinary people. After all, even Shad did not know whether the use of that feather would lead to other consequences, not to mention the girl's connection with the snake, which no one dared to say had been completely severed.
Children who have been exposed to intense elements through various coincidences and accidents in their early childhood are destined to have a very high chance of becoming ring sorcerers when they grow up.
Once she awakens in the future, she will likely be immediately absorbed by the church or the Society of Prophets. Of course, if Shad speaks up now, she might also become a nun in the [Spiritual Order].
But he glanced at Sister Daphne, who was "looking" at the murals not far away, and offered no advice. He had already won the girl's freedom; there was no need to further restrict her future with a past name. She should walk her own path in life.
“I know, that’s fine, it’s also to protect others.”
As Shad spoke, Chairman Lenormann looked up at the mural Shad had been gazing at. At that moment, Mr. Mortis, the "clown," approached. He first greeted Chairman Lenormann, and then the masked man asked Shad:
Can I ask you a question?
"Please say."
"What were your reasons for choosing to pay such a huge price to save that little girl? Was it just out of kindness?"
Shad then looked at the ouroboros emblem not far away:
"I want to prove to that snake that fate can be reversed."
"So if it were to gain another life, would you still trade with it?"
Claire looked at Shad, who then laughed:
“I am merely a mortal ‘caller of gods,’ not a true god.”
Yesterday, Chairman Lenormann had already mentioned the temple's other functions, the location of which was the altar beneath the ouroboros relief. It was only after approaching the relief that Shad noticed the golden holy emblem inlaid in its very center—a combination of a deity and a holy emblem.
After candidates unfold their snake molts in front of the offering table, they can then use their dice points to "exchange" items, including "snake molts," "snake fangs," and "snake eyes."
Shade knows the function of the "snake molt". If someone other than the candidate obtains the snake molt, they can not only know their own fate but also obtain the "fate die". The snake molt holder helps the candidate complete the story, and the holder's actions can also slightly increase the number of dice points obtained by the candidate they support.
The "snake fangs" are meant to fix one's fate, but they are more than just weapons. While being hit by a snake fang won't improve one's luck in the short term, and will reduce the score on the fate dice after completing the story, stabbing oneself with a snake fang beforehand can prevent misfortune from befalling them.
Xia De hadn't expected this usage before.
The final "Snake Eyes" are something that Shad has not yet encountered. When Stella unfolded the snake's molt to obtain this information, she only knew that by looking at the murals in the temple through the "Snake Eyes," she could find clues to the story that was about to unfold.
Of course, these snake eyes must have another function besides the chosen one's ritual; Shad guessed that it was related to assisting in divination.
The temple only offers these three types of exchanges, and at least these are the only three items the three candidates present have encountered so far. The "prices" of the three items naturally differ: snake slough is the cheapest at 5 points, snake fangs are 10 points, and snake eyes are 15 points. Unlike the "Mr. Snake" from before, the temple cannot split the dice to convert the average points into coins of fixed value, but it can directly reduce the dice rolls for trading.
Other members of the Prophet's Association who possessed serpent sloughs also tried it, but they couldn't see any information on the offering table. It seemed that "points exchange" was an action only candidates could perform. Even Shad tried it, but even the "Handbook of Destiny" couldn't display the information the candidates saw here.
"I'm not qualified~ I'm not qualified~".
He thought to himself, but at that moment "she" suddenly smiled.
"What are you laughing at?"
She then asked:
Think carefully about what Luvia Anastasia said when she shared her destiny with you.
"Noble Fate" is the power that Shade received in a dream after being injured by long-haired Luvia while "eavesdropping" in Xiaquan, as a way of expressing her apology—in fact, even without expressing apology, the long-haired girl would probably have shared it anyway.
"Luvia said at the time, 'It can't shield you from those annoying little disturbances of fate, nor can it help you defeat powerful enemies, but it is a symbol of status, which will be very useful in your journey ahead.'" (Chapter 3270)
Shad looked at the back of his right hand:
"A symbol of status?"
She didn't speak again, but Shad understood. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to him for the time being, then summoned the "Handbook of Destiny" again, making sure only he could see it, and finally rested the back of his hand on the pages of the large book.
As a purple glow emerged in the dim candlelight, a large amount of information appeared on the pages:
[Snake Slough: Points 5]
[Snake Tooth: Points 10]
[Snake Eyes: Points 15]
[Snake Blood: Points 20]
[Snake Heart: Points 25]
[Divine Spell - Transform into a Serpent: 50 Points]
[The Miracle Ring That Turns Fate Around: All Points]
Shad blinked as he looked at the seven messages in front of him:
"Seven points? Does that mean that every time someone completes a scene, the candidates will see an additional piece of information?"
As he looked at different entries, "she" would explain their meaning, so Shad looked directly at the last one.
Her voice remained gentle:
[Stranger, the ancient god, Mr. Ring, is watching you.]
[A message from the Ouroboros:]
This is a one-time exchange item. A miracle will be achieved after using the Miracle Ring, and the method of achieving the miracle depends on the total number of points spent.
It seems that Luvia and Bella's prediction was indeed correct; enough rolls of the fate dice could indeed trigger miracles. They just hadn't expected that this step needed to be taken in the temple.
Besides the "Ring of Miracles" which can only be redeemed once, the "Divine Spell - Transform into a Serpent" can also only be redeemed once. When Shad wanted to know the specifics of this divine spell, "she" only said:
This is a divine spell that transforms one into a snake.
"How is this different from the Transfiguration - Snake?"
She smiled gently:
[Aside from the divine version of Polymorph allowing the caster to better utilize divination, prophecy, and curse-type powers during the transformation, there is no difference.]
"Is this worth 50 points? I might as well learn Transfiguration myself. The reward for the Whispering Hills quest is Transfiguration - Serpent."
[Aren't other redemption options also available outside of the official channels?]
As for "snake blood" and "snake heart," the former serves as ink, allowing the written content to guide the trajectory of fate. This is somewhat similar to the effect of "The Puppet Master's Script" and "The Spinning Wheel of Prophecy," both of which can, to some extent, write and guide fate. However, the extent to which snake blood can exert its influence depends on whether the written content is inherently easy to achieve.
"Could this snake blood be the ink that Luvia wants to research? Probably not. If snake blood could be used to write words and create one's own destiny directly on a snake's molt, the price wouldn't be 20 points."
The function of the "snake's heart" is somewhat abstract:
[After consuming snake heart, one can briefly sense the trajectory of fate.]
This sounds like something only useful for professional fortune tellers, and it might even improve one's divination talent.
While Shad was reviewing this information, Stella came over and asked him if she wanted to exchange for anything:
"It'll probably be a long time before I can enter the temple again. Should I use points?"
Claire was already with Shad, and she expressed her thoughts:
“These three items are too expensive, and we don’t need them right now. We can definitely find more snake molts on the island, and besides, doesn’t Shad still have one? Shad has already obtained the Snake Fang from the Association, and we don’t plan to turn it into a weapon for the time being; as for the Snake Eye, it is indeed very powerful, but 15 points is too many.”
I noticed that the old man from the Prophet's Association didn't change anything; I felt it was unnecessary.
Shad also felt it was unnecessary; not only Stella, but he also needed to save his own points for Dorothy and Lacey.
However, one of the three candidates did not think so.