Twenty Sided Dice

Above the blue waves, a three-masted merchant ship is slashing the wind and waves, heading west to the New World. They set off from the Iron Water Port in the "Old Continent" Star Country, and they needed to go through a full nine-month voyage to complete a round trip to Ximu Town in the "New Continent". There are only two islands on the way to stop for supplies, but in order to avoid pirates, each stop will not last more than a day, and then you have to rush on the road. So all in all, this boat is always going through a very tough journey.

This big ship is called the Lucky Soth. It is sixteen years old, and it can be regarded as an old ship - but it is well maintained. It has encountered many maritime disasters, but in the end it has survived safely. Seafarers are superstitious, believing that the ship is protected by the **** of the sea, and are willing to board such a ship in search of work. Owners like to see this, too, but take advantage of the South's lucky reputation to underpay, resulting in the ship's seafarers earning less than other ships. Because of this, crew members on this ship have come and gone all the time, rarely staying for long.

There are only two people who have been with the Lucky South so far, Captain Siegel, whom all the crew respects, and little Siegel, who is loved by most.

These two people are not in a father-son relationship, they just have the same name but different surnames. Captain Siegel-Marin is a tough old seaman who believes in the **** of storms (rootless storm), and observes the commandment of celibacy at sea, so he has never married or had children. Little Siegel was found in the hold of the ship on its first voyage, wrapped in a swaddle and abandoned in a tank used by sailors to fish for squid. The baby stinks all over, and a puddle of thick, dark ink nearly suffocates him. The sailor reported to the mate, and the mate reported to the captain, who went down to the cabin and saw him. Despite being embarrassed and starving, the baby smiled at the captain, which kept him alive.

The child had very rare black hair and black eyes, which the crew said was dyed by squid ink. The old captain had another theory about this: "The **** of storms has a squid saint, and this must be the child he sent! You can't throw him into the sea, it is a blasphemous gift and will cause disaster. For the sake of Everyone's well-being, I'll take care of him." The crew nodded, taking the old captain's words—just as he believed in his storm predictions—so Siegel-Squid became the baby's name.

Before he was six years old, Siegel hadn't even set foot on ground that wouldn't shake. He breathes the sea breeze, drinks the sea water, plays with the sea waves, and earns a bite to eat in the storm until now.

The child, now 16 years old, was sitting on the head of the ship, bobbing up and down as the merchant ship broke the waves. He was baptized by the sun and sea breeze all day, making his skin dark and shiny; year-round labor and eating sea fish made his muscles compact and vigorous. Passengers say he moves like a vigorous leopard. What I like most is his agile black eyes. There are few things in the world that can escape his observation. This talent becomes more and more obvious with the increase of age and sailing experience. Sometimes he can even surpass the old captain. Earlier forecasts of incoming storms. Usually he is responsible for looking out on the mast, and few pirate ships can avoid his sight and approach the Soth. The crew privately assigned him the title "Bosun", although the appointment was not formally approved by the ship's owner.

It is impossible for the passengers on the Soth not to notice this strange child. There are only two reasons: 'black hair and black eyes' and 'jumping up and down'. They would ask the seafarers about the child, and the seafarers were always happy to answer, either for a tip by making up stories, or just to hear a few exclamations. But as I said before, the seafarers here are rarely long-lived, so the stories they tell about Siegel are all from someone who heard it from another. Facts are quickly misrepresented as stories, and stories are exaggerated into legends. So although Siegel never leaves the ship, he still has many versions of the "legend" around Iron Water Harbor and Ximu Town.

Earlier, because of these legends, every time Siegel landed on the shore, he was welcomed by shop and tavern personnel, and everyone rushed to see this "child who came out of the squid's belly". Siegel has no intention of correcting these different versions of the "legend," much less adding to it. He often entered a strange dream that was too absurd to mention to others: a world made of steel and lightning, where people ate poisonous food with relish, donating their souls to the glowing gods in their hands every day. He wandered in this world in a daze, then was caught by a firebird and flew into the vortex in the void.

Every time the squid has such a dream, she will wake up sweating profusely and panicking. He often prayed to the "God of Storms" or the "Squid Saint" and asked about the meaning of the dream, but no one ever gave him any answers.

The life of a seaman is very hard and monotonous. Siegel can adapt to the hard part, but he can't bear the monotony. He loves adventure, fighting the wind and waves, and the ocean. He learned to sail, steer, dive and observe the stars. Everyone said he would be the best sailor, and the old captain held him in high regard. But Siegel was thinking of something else. He envied those virtuous and powerful warriors, elegant and noble knights, mysterious and amiable priests. Deep down in his heart, he felt that he should not be just an ordinary sailor, and he wanted to go to the New World to try his luck. He had never told anyone about this, for fear that others would laugh at him for his wishful thinking. Siegel secretly mentioned it to God when he was sitting on the bow of the boat, looking at the horizon alone.

Today, "Squid" is in a very low mood, looking listlessly at the junction of the sea and the sky, dangling his legs unconsciously. Siegel didn't bother to correct the nasty first mate on deck telling the passengers his wrong life story. On other days, Siegel would have spat at his lunch for revenge, if not kicking the first mate. The two never saw eye to eye, and Siegel thought it was purely because the first mate hated him, and he always ordered himself to do some very hard work in front of everyone.

"Squid, come down quickly, the old captain wants to see you!" Chef Deville squeezed out of the hatch with a big belly, so he swayed on the deck like a hard-boiled egg. He shouted loudly: "After meeting the captain, don't forget to come to me to help quickly, there is still lunch to do!"

Siegel jumped up from the statue of the bow, untied the noose from his waist, and threw it out with a swish twice. The lasso rubbed the chief mate's scalp across the deck and hooked precisely over the beam of the first mast. Amid the curses of the first mate, the squid swept across the foredeck with ease and stopped in front of the cook with agility and grace. With a flick of his hand, the noose was wrapped around the young man's waist again as if spiritual.

Several passengers applauded vigorously and cheered loudly, hoping to see more such circus performances. Siegel forced a smile, made an exaggerated hat-off, waved the non-existent long hat to the applauding passengers, then squeezed past the fat chef's stomach and went straight to the captain's room.

The respected captain is dying now. He can't even stand on the deck to command the sailing. He can only lie on the bed in the lounge, and he has to be served by others. The old man was in excruciating pain, and every joint of his protested loudly to strike—permanent strike. As the ship went up and down, the old captain was also subjected to round after round of torture, and the age spots on his face kept twitching.

"The storm also disappears." Old Siegel explained life and death to little Siegel: "until a new storm is born."

"I don't want to see you die." The squid sat quietly opposite the captain, helping the old man's hand and placing it on top of his head. The black hair was straight and hard, but when the old captain's large rough hand touched it, it felt as smooth as silk. "After you're dead, I won't like this ship."

"Then go on an adventure, go to the land to see, I have seen such an idea in your eyes." The old captain said: "The captain originally wanted you to be the next captain, but I rejected it, I recommend First mate. You wouldn't be mad at me, would you?"

"No." Squid disagreed: "He is good at giving orders, I am different."

"You deserve better, boy." The old captain tried hard to sit up, but only succeeded with the help of the squid. Little Siegel thought that the captain would mention "that treasure" again. After all, since he could talk and listen, the old captain always talked about it. The captain said that when he first became a sailor, a saint of the storm **** revealed to him the secrets of the world, allowing him to predict the signs of storms at sea. Then the envoy predicted the captain's life after that, and made him convert to the **** of storms, keep the precepts of celibacy for the rest of his life, and be unable to marry and have children. But at the same time, he was told that there was a secret about the wealth of the world that could only be passed on to and realized by his son. The old captain didn't understand this until he found little Siegel in the squid box.

Since then, the captain told the little squid about it and let him keep it in his heart. At the beginning, the child also dreamed of being able to travel across the entire New World, reach the end of the west, obtain endless treasures, and then live a life like a king. Even if he later learned that the New World was dangerous, only a few legendary powerhouses had ever been there—a journey that would never have been possible for a little sailor. But he still believes that he can accomplish this dream, as long as he finds an opportunity to exercise himself and improve his knowledge and strength.

But the captain knew that he was running out of time today, so he wouldn't repeat that old-fashioned story. Shakingly, he took out a small box from the dark compartment of the wall cupboard, opened it with the key from his neck, and handed it all to Siegel. Siegel took it curiously, and he saw that there was only one thing in the box, a pendant with a twenty-sided die.

The dice are only the size of a thumb nail, are all black, and are engraved with crimson dragon numbers, ranging from 1 to 19. Only the side where 20 should be written does not have a number, but a red symbol. The old captain had secretly asked many people, and no one knew what was written on it.

Siegel just glanced at it, but he understood the meaning of the symbol, which was "phoenix".

"It was found in the squid basket." The old captain took out the dice pendant from the box, put it on the squid's neck with his own hands, and said, "When you were young, you would cry when you approached this thing, and at night I will also be awakened by a nightmare. I originally wanted to throw this thing away, but after thinking about it, I hid it for you alone. Now I give it back to you, this is your thing." stopped on Siegel's chest. The young man didn't feel uncomfortable, and he didn't even want to cry. Instead, he felt a lot more peaceful, and his sadness was relieved.

"I'm gluttonous, addicted to alcohol, and like to gamble. Later, I spent all my savings on medical treatment, so I didn't leave you any legacy, except for one thing..." The old man coughed hard, which affected all the dramas on him. The painful joints made him twitch. The young man brought him a bitter medicinal soup, which contained poppy milk and soothing herbs, which could numb the pain. The old man tried his best to restrain himself, pushed away the potion, and said with the little energy left: "Son, that treasure does exist, you must believe me. I know there are many difficulties, and I can only help you with the last thing. .I told the mate that he wanted to be a captain on one condition, that is, he must find a good way out for you, at least as a knight's squire. Only in this way can you start learning and have enough ability to get to 'that place'. He If you can't do it, let the storm take his life! You were born on a boat, you don't know who your parents are, and you're not even an illegitimate child. Rat! Go there, there must be something you want, promise me!"

"I promise you, but I'm afraid I can't do it."

"Believe in my child, just as I believe in the **** of the storm, you will surely complete your mission!" The old man's face flushed with excitement, and suddenly he became younger. His eyes were wide and round, and staring out through the porthole of the room, he saw the wall of storms (Note 1) at the edge of the whole world recede, and a piece of the kingdom of God unfolded before him. An indomitable giant walked out of the kingdom of God, his body was surrounded by endless thunder, and his feet were held up by hurricanes. The giant's mouth opened and closed silently, but the captain understood him easily. The old man's face showed joy, as if he had solved the biggest problem in his life.

"Towards the storm! I want to go home!" the old man finally shouted.

Note: According to legend, the edge of the world is an insurmountable wall of storms that will shatter once you enter. Only pure souls can cross the Wall of Storms and travel to the kingdom of God.