MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 718: The Golden Die Of Eternity

”I might have something,” Anthony began carefully, his eyes flicking to Vega, then to her parents. ”Something that could help increase Vega’s chances of awakening a higher-rank Human Bloodline.”

At his words, the atmosphere shifted instantly. The air of warmth, happiness, and love that had moments earlier flowed so naturally between parents and daughter seemed to freeze in place, the harmony suspended as though pierced by an unseen blade. Anthony’s declaration struck them like a thunderclap, reverberating in their ears and minds, impossible to ignore.

Almost at once, three pairs of eyes snapped toward him. Golden, black, and purple, they locked onto him in unison, unblinking, sharp, as though they sought to pierce into his very soul. It was not the gaze of idle curiosity, nor even casual disbelief. Rather, it was the searching, probing look of people who needed to know if his words were truth or folly, if he had spoken in jest or dared mock them in a moment so critical.

Before Amara or Klaus could voice a response, Vega spoke first. ”This isn’t the time for jokes, Ant,” she intoned, her voice steady, yet carrying a faint tremor of incredulity.

Anthony remained silent, his gaze calm, and seeing his stillness, Vega continued, her expression softening with a trace of conflict. ”It’s not that I’m doubting you or anything,” she said more gently, ”but my parents have more power, more connections, and far greater reach than you. Besides, you were only informed about my situation barely three days ago. We spent those entire three days together. Tell me, where would you have found the time to discover something, anything, that could actually increase my chances of awakening a higher-ranked bloodline?”

Her words were not cruel, nor meant to wound. She did not dismiss him out of arrogance or disdain. Rather, she spoke only the truth as she saw it, an undeniable reality. Klaus and Amara indeed possessed infinitely more influence and resources, but even they had failed to find a solution. To her, Anthony’s claim seemed less like a promise and more like misplaced hope.

Anthony, however, did not bristle. He recognized the truth in her reasoning and felt no anger at her skepticism. She was not scorning him, but merely stating facts, pure, logical facts. Her view was, of course, understandable. How could she possibly know about his hidden advantage, the secret that separated him from all others, the mysterious, overpowered System that served as his eternal cheat?

Amara and Klaus’s eyes remained fixed upon him, their gazes piercing. Within Amara’s golden eyes, a faint flicker of something stirred, a glimmer of hope, subtle and fragile, like a dying ember struggling to ignite once more. But she dared not cling to it, for fear of disappointment crushing her spirit anew.

”Explain what you mean, Anthony,” Klaus finally said, his deep voice cutting through the silence with weight and finality.

Anthony exhaled slowly, unfolding the arms that had been crossed across his chest. His expression remained calm as he began to elaborate.

”As I said before, it might help, emphasis on the word might, please. I don’t want to give anyone false expectations. I’m only trying to help here, nothing more.” His lips curved faintly, a small, almost secretive smile. ”But rather than explain, why not simply show you?”

With that, he raised his hand.

Instantly, a pair of golden dice materialized upon his palm. They gleamed with celestial engravings of stars and constellations, each marking glowing faintly with a soft, ethereal golden aura. The dice were no ordinary trinkets, for the pips upon their surfaces shifted constantly, never showing the same number twice in succession, as though probability itself bowed to their will.

The atmosphere within the living room seemed to shift in response. The very air grew heavy, solemn, as though it too bent in reverence before the regal presence of such an artifact. It was not mere energy that radiated from the dice, but an ancient majesty, an authority that commanded awe.

Anthony did not bother to explain its function. He knew without doubt that beings like Klaus and Amara possessed methods, abilities akin to appraisal or perception, that would reveal the truth in an instant.

Words were unnecessary. Proof spoke for itself.

He extended one die to Amara and placed the other in Klaus’s hand. As he had expected, their eyes widened almost immediately. Their faces betrayed the realization dawning upon them: they understood exactly what they now held.

[The Golden Die Of Eternity

Category: Relic of Fortune

Lore:

Forged by a forgotten Existence of Games who wagered his very being against Fate itself, the Golden Die endure as fragments of his victory, objects that defy probability, bending and reshaping fortune’s immutable threads.

Effect:

Boosts the wielder’s Luck stat by +1000%.

If multiple Golden Die of Eternity are owned, their effects stack multiplicatively, transforming the bearer into an impossibly fortunate existence.

Example: One die grants +1000% Luck. Two dice = +2000%. Three dice = +3000%, and so forth.

Duration: Lasts 24 hours upon activation. Vanishes from the River of Creation after use.]

Their hands trembled as they absorbed the impossibility of what they were seeing. Both had, of course, long ago considered the possibility of artifacts that could boost luck, desperate for any solution to aid Vega. But the most potent objects they had ever encountered increased luck by a mere 10%, and none were stackable with similar or same relics.

And yet here, in their palms, lay something beyond comprehension. Anthony had presented them with a relic that granted an overwhelming 1000% increase in Luck. It was a number so ridiculous it seemed almost insulting to reality itself. Even one cursed with the most abysmal misfortune would, with this artifact, find themselves wrapped in fortune’s embrace.

But the most staggering revelation was not even that. No, the true miracle lay in the die’s ability to stack. Two die, used together, would not simply double but compound, elevating their daughter’s chances with a staggering +2000% increase to her Luck.

Their minds reeled as the implications sank in. For all their vast power, for all their dominance, neither Klaus nor Amara had ever been able to control the fickle, elusive concept of Luck. It was a force that eluded even them, untouchable and untamed. Artifacts that touched upon it barely scratched the surface. Yet here... here was something that seized Luck itself, chained it, and forced it to obey.

Amara’s breath caught, her golden eyes shimmering with disbelief and rising fervor. ”Where... where did you get this?” she whispered, her voice trembling. Hope, once a fragile flicker, now roared within her like wildfire, blazing so fiercely it seemed it could burn sun and star alike.

”I bought it,” Anthony replied simply, a calm smile curving his lips. He spoke no lie, for indeed, he had purchased it through his System, using nothing more than his monthly points.

Klaus’s gaze hardened, though his hand clenched tightly around the die. His voice, deep and edged with warning, came forth.

”Do you understand what you hold in your hands, Anthony? Do you comprehend its worth? If even the faintest rumor of this artifact spreads, you and your family would be wiped out overnight. This is not something one can simply buy.” His black eyes remained locked upon the Golden Die of Eternity, as though straining to peer into its depths, to unravel its secrets and perhaps replicate its design for himself. But no matter what technique he employed, the mystery of the die resisted him utterly, cloaked beyond reach.

Amara, however, took a different approach. She activated her ability, Cause and Effect. For a long moment her pupils gleamed, searching, calculating, tracing unseen threads. Then her lips curved, and a radiant smile blossomed across her face. Though she received no precise feedback, the faint signals she sensed were enough. The artifact had, without question, altered fate’s flow. Her daughter’s chances of awakening a higher-ranked bloodline had already increased.

For the first time in many years, Amara dared to hope fully, openly.