"Doctor, I've also heard of that ancient relic. You actually managed to find even that?"
Luvia whispered from the sofa.
Doctor Schneider nodded:
"Its characteristic is that when these hairs are brought close to one's head, they will automatically attach to the person's own hair. This characteristic is ineffective for people with no hair on their heads, or for those whose longest hair is less than 0.1 inches (approximately 2.54 mm). Once attached by these hairs, one's luck will become incredibly bad. The longest record is of someone who lasted until the 13th day before being killed by misfortune. The only way to get rid of these hairs is—"
"Shave off all your hair?"
Xia De asked, and the Doctor smiled helplessly:
"It's not that simple. The only way is to acquire good luck while the relic is attached to you. Any method will do, including your 【dice of destiny】. I remember the effect of your dice has a very high priority; the numbers rolled are not affected by lower-priority items' luck."
The Doctor said, then saw the cat behind Xia De's head and reminded him:
"This thing is also effective on long-haired animals, Xia De, watch your cat."
Xia De immediately turned and grabbed Mia, holding her firmly in his arms.
Mia looked very happy.
"Doctor, but this only brings bad luck. What about good luck?"
Dorothy grasped the key point.
"It's simple. First, attach another person's hair to your own hair. It must be black and naturally black, not dyed. Then, attach 【the unfortunate's hair】 to the other end of that person's black hair. 【the unfortunate's hair】 only works on hair that is still growing on the scalp, so it won't affect the other person's hair. And because it's attached to the user's hair through another person's hair, it achieves a kind of ambiguous reversal. This state will last for about 10 seconds, during which the user will have extremely strong luck. After the time is up, the relic will fall off on its own."
"What's the price for manipulating destiny?"
Luvia asked cautiously, and the Doctor shook his head:
"For at least half a year, the user will be extremely susceptible to attacks by evil spirits, and the deceased around them will also be very likely to return as evil spirits, but the specific time depends on the user. Do not underestimate this side effect; the records say that after using the relic, one should absolutely not approach haunted houses or similar areas for a short period. This is the relic's own side effect, and besides that, there is also an absolute equivalent destiny: whatever good luck is gained, an equal degree of misfortune will be paid. This misfortune has a delay, but it will definitely manifest."
"No problem, I'll use this."
Xia De said. If he were to use the dice in violation, not only would he have to bear the cost of further damage to the dice, but he also wasn't sure if the good luck brought by the numbers would necessarily fall on the landmark he chose.
However, the good luck brought by the hair was continuous over time. He didn't need much, just to hit once within a few percent probability. As long as he was fast enough, he wouldn't have to worry about using the relic but not getting the desired effect.
"Xia De—"
The Doctor looked at him but didn't stop him:
"The Academy has already sent word; they are investigating. I can't stop you because I also want to save Priest Augustus, or at least know what happened to him and bring his body back. Go, Xia De, and be sure to stay safe."
"We'll wait for you here. No matter what happens, you must come back and tell us by 5 PM."
Dorothy said.
"I once divined for Priest Augustus; he definitely did not die in Middlesburg. Xia De, be careful."
Luvia also whispered, then looked around at everyone and asked:
"But do you have black hair here?"
"Yes, I have a strand of black hair from a friend."
Xia De nodded slightly. Luvia knew that Xia De's relationship with the Witch's maid was unusual, so she raised an eyebrow and said nothing. Dorothy, knowing even more about Xia De's close relationship with "her" Grand Aunt and an even better relationship with that maid, simply glanced at Xia De and said nothing.
He retrieved Tifa's hair from the study. He asked Dorothy to help him tie it to his short hair near his right ear, which required quite delicate skill.
Afterward, the four of them went downstairs together. The Doctor did not follow them; he didn't want the demon in his heart to glimpse more secrets. However, before they parted, the Doctor gave Xia De a wooden button. It was an alchemy item he made himself, which, when used, could distort one's facial features by distorting light, thus creating a certain degree of disguise.
However, this alchemy item only lasted for half an hour and could easily be seen through by Ring術士, so it was only meant as a backup item for Xia De.
After thanking the Doctor, Dorothy and Luvia escorted Xia De to the hidden wall. Neither of them was surprised that the other knew about this secret.
"In any case, be careful."
They didn't say much more. Xia De placed the cat clinging to him into Dorothy's arms. Because Mia had lived with the blonde Writer for a few days, she was unhappy but didn't try to escape.
"You two go have lunch first; I'll probably only be back in the evening."
He turned around. Luvia placed the metal box containing blood on the ground, fished out the hair from the blood, and tied it to the long black hair on Xia De's side of the face.
The feeling at this moment was very strange. Hair itself has no sense of touch, but when 【the unfortunate's hair】 came into contact with Tifa's hair, Xia De actually felt that his own hair "sensed" an extremely cold chill.
The whisper in his ear became even more distinct. Xia De could even discern that it was a woman recounting her tragic life in an ancient language.
Xia De said nothing more, quickly walked into the hidden wall in front of him, and without stopping, felt for the statue in the center of the circular space:
"May the cracks of origin protect me in the infinite Space."
A thick white mist immediately surged, enveloping Xia De. He once again entered the world shrouded in white mist, and on the blurry path ahead, two dilapidated wooden signposts stood upright.
At the same time, the mental pressure brought on by his use of the relic suddenly lessened; even the whisper in his ear became faint:
"You must not be suppressed by this Space."
【Outsider, you have entered the "Space Labyrinth."】
【Message from the Old God "cracks of origin":】
【Existing Space Signposts: 2.】
"Sacrifice this white stone crystal."
Time was short, so Xia De immediately held the white crystal stone upwards in his hand. It silently disappeared from his hand, as if it had merged into the thick mist.
【New information obtained, can search for new…】
"Southeast!"
【Old God - cracks of origin, has accepted your sacrifice.】
【Randomly linking Space Signposts.】
【Link successful, existing Space Signposts: 3.】
Xia De immediately reached up and plucked the blood-stained black strand of hair dangling from the side of his face, feeling relieved only after confirming that it hadn't stuck to Tifa's long hair.
Although it wasn't under containment conditions, those black hairs were motionless, as if they were "dead."
"Are there still whisper elements?"
Xia De himself could no longer feel the elements.
【Yes, but very faint.】
Xia De nodded. This indicated that low-level relics would be suppressed in areas with residual power of the Old God.
He did not touch the third wooden signpost that appeared on the path in front of him, but instead stepped back to the hidden wall in the basement. Walking out of the wall, he handed the dangerous relic to the anxious girls, and only then did he officially begin another long-distance adventure.
Touching the statue again, he returned to the 【Space Labyrinth】. He stepped onto the blurry path in the white mist. The newly appeared third signpost was also obliquely stuck in the ground, with a wooden arrow nailed to the dilapidated wood, crookedly inscribed with the number three.
Xia De placed his hand on the signpost:
【cracks of origin will guide you in the direction.】
The white mist dissipated.
Xia De stood still. When the white mist completely cleared, what appeared before him was a circular Space identical to the one behind his own basement wall.
The statue of the Old God 【cracks of origin】 stood quietly in the center of the Space, emitting light as Xia De looked at it.
In the circular Spaces in Saint Delan Square and Coldwater Port, Xia De had placed some distinctive markers to indicate the location. However, in the current Space, there was nothing inside except for the statue.
"I was still hoping to find some property or relic left by previous people in a place like this."
Xia De thought to himself, looking at the wall facing the statue. He summoned the Destiny Ring behind him, controlling the spiritual light of the core Ling Rune 【Time-Space】 to shine on the wall. The wall disappeared silently, but there was a faint light outside.
"What?"
The light should have been at a relatively distant position, so the opening of the wall did not trigger any reaction.
Xia De waited for a few seconds, making sure he heard no approaching footsteps, before quietly stepping out of the circular Space into the outside world.
There was a strange, musty smell in the air. Listening carefully, the wind blowing through the treetops and the final wails of summer insects in early autumn were the only sounds.
The light came from above the other side of the current room, and it was natural sunlight.
Xia De then lit the light on his fingertip and looked around, finding that it seemed to be an abandoned basement. Animal droppings and various worthless garbage were scattered on the ground, and cobwebs hung all over the corners.
The Moonlight even disturbed the bats resting in the darkness. Those creatures tried to attack Xia De, but after a flash of Moonlight, they fell to the ground.
"Whose basement is this? It smells terrible."
There were no stairs leading from the basement upstairs; the two were connected by a trapdoor. There might have been a metal or wooden ladder originally, but now there was nothing.
Although the distance between the ground and the basement was not more than ten meters, Xia De chose 【Frog's Leap】 instead of spatial movement because he didn't know what the situation was like above.
"Hey!"
After a light jump, his hand gripped the edge of the basement's square entrance, which was the edge of the floor opening. Still hearing no human sounds, he used his arms to pull himself up, allowing his head to rise from beneath the trapdoor.
This kind of pull-up like movement was effortless for Xia De now:
"Where exactly is this?"
With a curious mind, he finally saw everything around him. The ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, and rusted, even decayed, metal furniture was piled haphazardly against the walls. Near the right side of the ground were some traces of past fires, but that was at least a year ago.
The Space on this floor was surprisingly circular, with walls made of rough gray square stone bricks, showing no traces of the Steam City era.
Looking up, a spiral staircase ascended, and a slender but seemingly very sturdy metal rod extended from the top of the tower to the ground, as if to facilitate descent from the highest level to the bottom.
"A tower? A bell tower or a lighthouse? From its appearance, it seems to be neither."
The sunlight came from directly ahead. Inside this rather large tower, there were no longer any traces of human use. The door at the bottom of the lighthouse had been removed, and the bright sun shone from outside into the first floor of the lighthouse, then through the square opening in the floor into the basement.
Xia De used his arms to pull himself up. After his upper body had completely emerged from the basement, he first placed his legs on the dusty ground, and then climbed up entirely.
As he stood up, he brushed the dust from his clothes and hands. Because of his movements, some grainy floating dust appeared in the sunlight streaming in from the front door. This appearance practically told Xia De that this was an area far from human settlements.
"I hope it's not too far from a City. I hope this is Middlesburg."
Xia De thought to himself, then remembered that he nominally believed in the righteous god 【Mr. Dawn】, so he quietly prayed to Mr. Dawn again.
The sunlight streaming in from the doorway was a bit dazzling. He raised his arm to shield his face and, instead of exploring this long-abandoned old tower, walked into the light at the doorway.
The wind blew through the treetops, allowing Xia De, who had lived in the Steam City for a long time, to finally feel the breath of nature after a long absence. Before him was a forest, and the old tower behind him had almost completely merged with the forest. The period when this place was abandoned was probably far more than 100 years ago.
Tree branches had already reached the outer wall of the old tower, and vines connected the towering trees to the stone walls. Moss, weeds, and various plants Xia De didn't recognize covered the ground. Looking up, small birds flew out of the old tower's windows, clearly having lived inside the tower for several generations.
"The air is really nice, but what was this tower originally used for?"
He thought to himself.
He didn't immediately embark on a night exploration, because he found a metal plate nailed to the stone wall at the entrance of the old tower. The metal plate had a few blurred words engraved on it in an official format, explaining the situation here:
【First Legion of the Royal Army of the Delarion Kingdom - Windy Path Third Brigade - Tower No. 12 abandoned due to frontline position shift, nearby camps have been completely dismantled. Hunters, lost travelers, and illegal immigrants active in Sicar Mountain can move northwest at 11 o'clock to find the mountain path, approximately 30 minutes' walk to reach the southeastern suburbs of Middlesburg.
Royal Army of the Delarion Kingdom, Logistics Support Bureau
common era 1765】
