Chapter 2136: Chapter 2136

There were no light sources in the vicinity. Instead, the moss and grime in the corners of the ground and walls emitted a faint glow. The light was dim, casting vast swaths of shadow and darkness over the town's street, making the already dilapidated and bizarre lane appear all the more dreadful.

Jenkins pushed himself up and checked his belongings, confirming that both his sword and his backpack were accounted for. He strapped the sword to his back again, then slipped a hand into his pocket, where, just as he expected, he found a fifth round coin.

This one was made of a yellow gemstone material, the same size as a Sin Coin. What Jenkins considered its face was, predictably, stamped with the emblem of the Uncrowned King. The reverse side of the gem coin bore the image of a single green leaf, which he guessed represented the elves.

"What in the world are these for?"

He returned the coin to his spirit.

Although the last Mysterious Realm had been entirely about playing cards, he had still used three of his abilities: Uncrowned King, Psychography, and Summon Sacred Unicorn. Counting those he had used in the first four realms, Jenkins realized he had already gone through nearly half of his powers. He couldn't help but worry about what he would do if he reached the ninth floor with nothing left.

The feeling was unnervingly similar to being in a card game and worrying about running out of cards in the tenth year.

"Forget it. No point in overthinking," he muttered. "I should figure out what's going on here first."

Grabbing his gear, he turned and walked a few steps through the five-way intersection, arriving at the true base of the tower.

In the material world, a place of this size would be comparable to a small country town.

Standing beneath the tower, he noted that while the five streets were similar in appearance, they differed greatly in their details, proving they weren't just mirrored copies. After a moment of observation yielded no new clues, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked to the wooden door at the base of the tower. A middle-aged man in a grayish-blue cap and blue, pocket-covered coveralls was waiting for him.

At his feet sat a small, grimy cloth bag tied shut with a red string. The man himself showed no external signs of mechanization, which made Jenkins momentarily think this Mysterious Realm had escaped the Difference Engine's invasion. But he quickly noticed that the buttons on the man's clothes, the oil lamp in his hand, and the shovel leaning beside him were all crafted from a familiar metal—the unique alloy forged by the Difference Engine.

Perhaps the Difference Engine had left only a fraction of its power in this Mysterious Realm, but its presence was undeniable.

He asked without preamble. The man answered at once, his voice rough and forceful:

"Starting from this clock tower, once you leave this town, you'll see the gate."

He glanced at the five streets radiating around him.

"You don't mean to say these five streets are only part of the town, do you?"

"That's right. There are more crossroads at the end of these streets. This place is much larger than you think."

Jenkins took a deep breath. Things were getting more complicated. While the size of a Mysterious Realm wasn't always proportional to its difficulty, every large one he had ever encountered had, without exception, been extremely challenging.

"To move about the town, you must follow the rules," the man stated.

"I am the bell-ringer of this town, and it is my duty to inform you of the rules. The most important one is this: you must use this to move." Chapters fırst released on Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

He picked up the grimy little bag at his feet, untied the string, and pulled out a single die to show Jenkins. It was a twenty-sided die, blood-red, and no different in size from a normal one.

"Look closely at the flagstones beneath our feet. Before each move, you must roll a die and then advance along the stones according to the number rolled. When you reach an intersection, you may choose any direction you wish. But remember, you must follow the number on the die. Absolutely no cheating, and certainly no wandering about freely. This place is far more dangerous than you imagine. Only by following the die's guidance will those dangers leave you be."

"What kind of dangers are here?"

Jenkins glanced back down the street behind him.

"The people who live here?"

"You don't need to know that."

He gestured for Jenkins to take the die and examine it, then continued speaking.

"After each roll, if you stop on a stone beside the door of a house, you may choose to knock and ask the person inside if they need your help."

"And if there's no door?"

Jenkins could indeed see that some of the dilapidated houses lacked doors entirely.

"Then you walk right in."

"Why should I knock? Wouldn't it be better to just keep moving?"

"Knocking gives you a chance to obtain new dice. If you run out of dice before you've left the town... I think you can guess the consequences."

The bell-ringer's tone was cold. Jenkins nodded, understanding. He lowered his gaze to the die in his hand. It wasn't made of metal, stone, or even bone; it felt more like solidified blood.

"A die can only be thrown once. I can give you ten."

He shoved the bag into Jenkins's hands. Inside were the other nine dice.

"If you run out before you manage to leave the town, then you will remain. Find a house at the spot where you stopped and settle in. The town... welcomes you."

"After knocking, how do I get extra dice? I can't just rob them, can I? I am a gentleman of honor."

"After you knock, the residents of the town may offer you tasks. You can choose to ignore them and continue on your way, or you can help them. They will give you what you desire."

"Sounds a bit like Monopoly," Jenkins thought, feeling his pocket and retrieving a Blasphemy Seed.

"So, are you selling dice?"

From what he could see of the street's length, if his luck was poor, ten dice would barely get him down a single lane, and the town was obviously much larger than that.

"One of these for ten dice."

But Jenkins didn't make the trade with a Sin Coin. He put the Blasphemy Seed away and instead pointed to the sword on his back.

"How about we barter?"

"That sword, thirty dice. The cocoon wrapping it, seven."

Jenkins, of course, had no intention of trading away his newly acquired weapon. Instead, he used the extra cocoon and some other trinkets from his backpack to trade for ten more dice, bringing his total to twenty.

He didn't trade for more, not because he was being stingy, but because this Mysterious Realm had only just begun. He wanted to learn more details before making any major decisions—especially since the town's residents also had dice.

"Speaking of which...?"

Jenkins began, his eyes scanning the tower door behind the man. The door was merely leaning against the frame, as if it had been torn off its hinges and propped against the clock tower wall. It looked so fragile that a single cough might send it crashing to the ground.

"Since you're the town's bell-ringer, you must have more information about this place. Is any of it for sale?"

The bell-ringer sized up Jenkins, then slowly shook his head.

"I don't care what feud you have with the machine that invaded this place, but no one—no one—is to pry into the truths of this town. This place is far more terrifying than you can imagine, Savior. You shouldn't waste your energy here. This place... should be allowed to slumber forever."

"You know I'm a Savior? Hmm? You've seen the Difference Engine? You're not one of its minions or a prisoner?"

Jenkins asked, realizing the man's tone was not that of someone aligned with the Difference Engine.

"I am no one's prisoner. I work only for this town."

The man was telling the truth.

"But its power has indeed affected this place. That doesn't matter. It has set some traps for you, but that has nothing to do with me."

The bell-ringer continued, pulling the conversation back to Jenkins's task. "As you proceed, do not attempt to defy the guidance of the dice, and do not make any loud noises that might disturb the town. Otherwise, you will likely never leave. All you need to do is escape. Do not do anything superfluous."

Jenkins sensed something very wrong in the man's words. In all the Mysterious Realms he had experienced, the hosts had always encouraged visitors to take risks and seek rewards. This was the first time he had ever heard one actively discouraging an intruder from exploring.

Perhaps these were simply the rules here, and the bell-ringer had no choice but to say them, but a shadow of unease crept over Jenkins's heart. This place might not hide a complete Beast of Calamity like the puppet theater, but it was likely no less dangerous.

The World Tree had told him about the completely unsealed calamities. The Mythical Witch and the Devouring Moon Spirit Cat had both appeared. The World Tree itself, the Cataclysm of the Third Epoch, and the peculiar Paradox Worm didn't seem like things that would be hidden in a place .

"What is the most dangerous thing here?"

Unable to puzzle it out, Jenkins asked the bell-ringer directly. He had expected a vague, cryptic response, but to his surprise, the man answered plainly.

"There are many dangerous things in this world. I know what you're worried about. That machine did throw some troublesome things in here, but the dangers within this town are no less potent than those. I have said it once already: you should not probe into what this town contains. You only need to know that what you don't need to know is none of your concern."

"Troublesome things" must have referred to the power of a Beast of Calamity, while the real danger was the power the town itself concealed.

"What are these 'troublesome things'?"

Jenkins pressed, and the man answered with the same unsettling honesty.

"A worm. It lives in blood."

"The Scarlet Ephemera?"

Jenkins was stunned. He never imagined that thing would appear here. But a second later, an even more shocking thought struck him.

"Are you saying that the things in this town are even more terrifying than a fragment of the Scarlet Ephemera's power?"