The Dark Organization (1)
Yorahan felt his chest tighten.
'It's not wrong.'
He had traveled to many towns, and his ideas had never been popular with the masses.
'But someone understands. If someone empathizes, then it isn't wrong.'
Even if they weren't human, he thought it didn't matter as long as hearts connected.
"Thank you. Not only for saving my life, but your words have been a great comfort."
"You're welcome. The Seeker's ideas are truly admirable. There's nothing logically wrong with them either."
That was where Yorahan's dilemma lay.
'If everyone shows a little consideration, suffering disappears. There's no contradiction. So why can't they reach it?'
Because human life itself is full of contradictions.
'Persuading them is why I exist. Yes. I'll start again. From this village.'
Yorahan asked, "I hate to impose, but may I stay here a while? I'll help however I can."
"Please don't say that. Teach the Hwa many things. They will listen."
The Hwa aided humans.
So long as the teachings of someone presumed to be a Buddha were passed down through the lotus lineage.
'This one is different. Not like the humans who tormented us.'
Words from his predecessor floated into his mind.
—Lutia, you must still believe. Humans do wrong, but they are a race that ultimately finds the right path.
Maybe this man…
"Get plenty of rest. Your body must still be weak. I'll tell the children."
"Thank you."
Because he'd overheard the Hwa's earlier conversation, Yorahan added, "Oh, and you don't need to be so kind to me. I'm used to hardship. Ha ha!"
Lutia smiled. "I see."
She probably realized that this was the very small act of consideration he had preached.
"All right, I'll head back for now. I need to unpack and check my notebook."
Yorahan returned to his hut.
"Phew, luckily it didn't get wet."
He grabbed his notebook, used as a diary and memo pad, and lifted the tent flap—
"Ah! You scared me!"
Armand was standing right in front of him.
"You."
"Ah—yes."
When the man shoved his face forward with a fierce look, Yorahan's heart tightened as if he'd been caught doing something wrong.
"You're staying in this village?"
"That's right. I promise I won't be a nuisance. I can assure you."
"You know about the Hwa, don't you?"
"Ah—no! I have some sense of them, but not in detail… I'm certainly not a bad person—!"
"No matter what you say, I don't trust a human's word."
Yorahan fell silent.
"I'll be watching you all day from now on. When you eat, when you go to the bathroom, when you sleep. Got it? The moment you step out of my sight, think about what will happen."
"The bathroom too?"
It felt harsh, but if what the Hwa had said was true, he understood.
'A race that can't refuse others' demands? If they go this far, it's not a lie.'
"Well?"
Yorahan stared at Armand's burning eyes for a moment, then said resignedly, "All right. If it makes you feel safer."
And so… the strange cohabitation began.
Melkidu, inner track.
Shirone's party had entered here from External Track 321, the Pilgrim's Village.
There was another entrance at External Track 122, but it wasn't the recommended route.
"We arrived faster than I expected," Nade said as he looked over the scenery of Sector 7, the first stop on the inner track.
"This is… not exactly a city?"
To be precise, it was part of a city.
Gray buildings stretched endlessly along the horizon, each district walled off.
Iruki said, "They divided the cylindrical structure into 197 sectors. If the external track has non-player areas, this might be operated directly by administrators."
Eden agreed. "Right. Things that strengthen dice or cause system variables are under administrators' control. But… it feels awfully blatant."
Shirone moved on. "Think of it as getting closer to the core. Since no messages are popping up, missions probably only occur under specific conditions. The hidden mission we're looking for will be that kind of thing."
Nade said, "Getting information on the bribe is important, but the most urgent thing is using points. We currently have about 206 million points. We need to reserve 50 million for the bribe, so our resources are limited—and that 50 million is the minimum."
Iruki nodded. "Hmm. Assuming it's best to save Crime Points, let's estimate reinforcement costs and item prices."
They entered the municipal office and came to a fork marked with a big 7: one way for system operations, the other for shopping.
"One side is system work, the other is a shopping area. So, dice reinforcement and item purchases."
"Let's handle system work first." No one objected—Curtis had advised them to prioritize reinforcing their dice.
"Welcome. I'm the administrator for Sector 7."
A woman in a neat suit sat at the desk—an odd sight for a place called a murderer's haven.
"Uh, so…"
"You must be new. Welcome. This is where you apply to reinforce Crime Dice."
"Yes. How much?"
"The standard Crime Dice are two six-sided dice. Reinforcement is divided into two types: increasing the faces, or increasing the number of dice." The administrator pointed to the price list on the table. "It varies by tier. In Sector 7 you can only do basic reinforcement. Please check."
The party looked at the price list.
'Raising a six-sided die to seven costs 10 million points. Raising a seven to eight costs 100 million? The jump is insane.'
Increasing the number of dice was worse.
'Going from two to three dice costs 100 million points. From three to four… 1 billion points?'
Considering the key on the standard route cost 10 billion, these were enormous sums.
Nade glanced at Shirone. "This is serious."
"Yeah. Curtis had one eight-sided and two six-sided dice. So he spent as much as 210 million points on reinforcement."
That exceeded the points Shirone had.
The administrator interjected, "Reinforcement is very important. No matter how good an item is, if your Crime Dice are weak, your efficiency drops."
Eden asked, "But why did Curtis reinforce like that? Wouldn't it be more effective to turn all three dice into seven-sided dice?"
Iruki propped his chin. "…It's about doubles."
"Doubles?"
"Yes. No matter how many dice you have, if the same number appears on two dice, a double trigger activates. Right?" The administrator nodded.
"Yes. That's correct."
"So the more dice you have, the higher the chance of getting a double. With three dice, two matching among three is enough; with four, two among four. On the other hand, increasing the faces actually lowers that probability, because you increase the number of possible outcomes that can prevent doubles."
"That's it. It's a small probability difference, but in Melkidu, where dice are everything, it can make a huge difference—worth paying an extra 80 million points. So mindlessly increasing faces isn't always best. The number of dice is more important."
That's the orthodox view, at least.
'We don't care. Or rather, Shirone doesn't care. He can manipulate any number.'
Shirone thought the same. 'Hmm. If we're going to pay 100 million to get one more die anyway, the difference between having two and three dice is on another level. So going 7,7,7 for three sevens might be one point better in total.'
It was only one point, but someday that one would become a thousand and decide victory or defeat.
Iruki asked, "Any recommended builds?"
"There are pros and cons to every build. It depends on the user's style and which items they mainly use. For example, an item called Bonanza takes the cube of the difference between the highest and lowest rolls. In that case, a dice set with asymmetric balance tends to yield higher numbers probabilistically."
"Hmm, we need to know items too. But I hear it's not more efficient than Wind God."
"It turns additive bonuses into multiplicative effects."
"Heh heh, Wind God is a high-end item. Some players use a few top-tier items, while others gamble on many low-tier items. For the latter, Bonanza is quite cost-effective."
The administrator continued, "So the hints I can give are statistics-based. Among Melkidu's 3-dice users, the most common build—17 percent—uses 8,6,6. That shows player tastes are diverse. The 8,6,6 build is good for stable tactics and has synergy with many items. However, here the limit is 7,6,6, so if you want to upgrade from 7 to 8 you have to go to departments in Sector 40 or above."
"I see." Iruki nodded.
"There are two entrances to the Pilgrim's area on the external track: 122 and 321. But if you enter through 122, you'll be traced back from Internal Track Sector 197 in reverse. In that case, because you might buy expensive items early, you could miss truly necessary items or make costly mistakes in reinforcement," Eden explained.
"But if you already have the items or are a veteran whose dice are fully reinforced, going in reverse shouldn't matter."
"Exactly. This structure is designed to prevent beginner luck. If you're lucky enough to enter the inner track early and buy certain items, the snowball effect widens the gap."
Nade grumbled, "A game about killing people and yet it's annoyingly rational about this. Is it telling us to die fair and square?"
The administrator took it as a compliment. "Thank you. The pass-track strategy you mentioned was once popular. You have to flow back through 197 sectors, but you can still buy items and, after a full loop, you hit Sector 321 and fall into a high-difficulty zone. Of course, to use that strategy your skills must be exceptional… but—"
Shirone thought the second-cycle strategy might be worth trying.
The administrator continued, "Is that enough explanation? Then I'll help with reinforcement. There are two ways to reinforce. One: pay the full points. Two: get a discount."
They blinked. "A discount? Like a holiday event?"
"Hoho, no." The administrator gave a chilling smile. "Of course—the dice."
Curtis's words suddenly came to mind: on the inner track, dice are king.