(Jamie)

When I exit the bathroom, Cole is fast asleep on the bed. It's been two weeks since Max left us due to the complications between his father and my patron, and my newest teammate's grown semidecently. He's taken on two Classes – Thief and Martial Artist – and has gained roughly fifteen to twenty Stat Points total.

I'm not doing so bad, myself. I've gained several Skill and Class Levels, mostly by fighting the Golems while Cole practiced in a cleared-out section of the field nearby, as well as figured out how to take on Knight, which simply required Squire, a Swords Mastery Skill, and a Shields Mastery Skill.

Cole has become a bit more tame about his desire to have sex with me, though even after two weeks, I know he still wants to, and I'm now considering relenting and doing stuff with him. He's cute, he's smart, he's intelligent, and he's not a bad guy.

I'm still hesitant, though, because of his life before meeting me. Is he too naive, when it comes to sex? Or no?

Thinking about that, I walk to my desk and decide to try out my Paladin of Hope Skill, the Die of Mystery. I know Itimar told me not to, but…

If I get a good bonus, I'll probably start something with Cole, but not all the way.

"Die of Mystery," I trigger the Skill, and a twenty-sided die appears in my hand, each face covered with a violet or gold question mark. "Let's see what you say, shall we?"

Something good, and I'll allow something to happen with Cole. Something bad, and I'll put it off longer. Something really bad, and maybe he shouldn't be in my harem.

I roll the die, and it bounces across the table several times, then lands, spinning so the question mark is resting properly, when viewed by me, the dot facing me.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… +1 Anal Penetration! +2 Oral Dick Stimulation! +1 Sexual Stamina!

The die fades away.

I didn't even have Oral Dick Stimulation, but when I check my Skills, it shows it sitting there, at Level 2. Anal Penetration went up a Level to Level 3 as well. I also have Sexual Stamina now as well.

It's almost as if the Die of Mystery wants me to do something with Cole. Those bonuses were totally geared towards sex, and that was what I was wanting to know about.

I summon and roll the die again.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… You cannot orgasm for 24 hours.

I summon and roll the die again.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… You cannot orgasm for an additional 24 hours.

The hell? Why is it focused on sex right now? Is it… because I'm thinking about sex? Or wanting to know what to do for sex? Let's try this…

"Die of Mystery," I trigger the Skill, the die appearing in front of me. I grab it. "What about my Loot Drops?"

I roll the die, letting it bounce across the table.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… You will not obtain automatic loot from kills for the next 30 hours.

Interesting. It seems to react to what I'm actually wanting it to give me something on. Let's try this.

"Die of Mystery," I summon the die for the fourth time, then roll it, focusing on a single thing.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… +17 Wisdom!

So it can even affect Stats. My thought for that roll was that I wished for a change to my Stats, and it increased my Wisdom by seventeen, confirming that it does, indeed, determine the effect based on what I want it to do.

In other words… the person who rolled and pinked everything was likely thinking about something pink when he rolled the Die of Mystery.

And Trickster's followers probably know about this little nugget of information involving the Skill, even if others don't. If it can increase a Stat, it can likely decrease them as well, which means that many probably won't roll the Die of Mystery while focusing on Stats.

Let's try another roll for sexual things, and see how hard I get hit again.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… You may orgasm again +2 Cum Production! +1 Sexual Stamina! +1 Sexual Recovery! +3 VIT!

That was definitely a good roll. But, uh… what the fuck does "Cum Production" do, exactly?

I pull my up Skills, then that one's information.

Cum Production Level 2 Passive Increases the recovery rate at which you can produce cum again, allowing you to release your load sooner; also increases the size of your cum loads and how many loads you have, as well as how much cum you can store.

That… is definitely a sex-geared Skill. It's designed for having sex, and frequently. Let's check out the other new one.

Sexual Recovery Level 1 Passive Allows you to recover from having sex faster.

Yeah, it figures that's what that is. Those two Skills definitely work hand-in-hand, too.

What should I think about this time? How about something vague, like 'something good'.

With that in mind, I roll the die. It rolls clear across the table, nearly falling over the edge, then stops, turning slightly, probably so that it's facing me properly.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… Your tiredness has decreased.

My energy levels rise up a little, but not all the way up to full. That's a nice effect. I summon the die and roll it again.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… You become very tired.

My energy levels tank, way past what they were before. I'm going to take that as a sign and head to bed.

I shut off the lights and climb into bed, pulling the covers over myself, grateful that Cole doesn't hog them. He used to sleep on top of them, but now he's under them, like any reasonable person. He's mumbling something in his sleep, and when I listen, I smile a little to myself.

"Come on, Jamie," he mumbles. "Do it again. Ooooh… that felt good. No, no, back. Yeah. That's the spot. Oooh. Keep going."

He's probably dreaming about me scratching his ears. I reach over and gently scratch.

"Oooh," he mumbles. "Yeah, that's the spot."

I smile, stopping, and hear him whimper a little, a sad kind of whimper. He quickly resumes dreaming, though, and I quickly fall asleep.

"Jamie?" Cole whispers, nudging me.

"Hm?" I open my eyes, squinting in the bright light of the sun streaming into the room. "What's up, Cole?"

"It's almost noon," he says. "I didn't think you wanted to sleep the entire day away."

"Damn," I sit up, yawning and stretching. "That was a huge hit to my energy levels, I guess."

He gives me a curious look, and I explain my experimentation with the Die of Mystery last night, leaving out the part about me thinking about him when it was relating to the sex stuff, instead stating that I was simply thinking about sex at the time. He listens intently with every word, his ears perked up and his tail swishing from side to side, his excitement about the sexual results quite clear.

When I finish explaining it to him, he asks if I can show him the Die of Mystery, so I summon it. After he examines it, he asks if I'm going to use it.

"Might as well," I say. "I already spent the 50 Mana on it."

"What're you gonna 'guide' it with?"

You.

I roll the die, and it bounces four times, then stops, spinning so the question mark faces me properly.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… Your target gains +1 to all Level 1 Skills!

Cole gasps when that notification appears in my vision, then looks at the fading die, then at me, then gasps again.

"I just-"

"I know."

"How?"

"It's the Die of Mystery," I shrug. "Did it affect Primal Instinct? Or was that left alone?"

"It gained a Level," he nods. "You have such a powerful Skill, Jamie."

"I'm aware," I summon the Die of Mystery once more. "However, a bad effect can be… bad. If I were focusing on something like 'I want Cole to gain a Skill Level' – what I had just guided it with – and rolled a bad roll, it could have lowered Skill Levels – possibly even removed a Skill. I'm going to try rolling it without a guide."

I roll the die.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… No effect.

"It didn't have an effect," I say. "I suppose it makes sense that it can have a 'no effect', considering whose followers have this Skill. Die of Mystery."

I roll it again, without a guide.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… To gain a Level!

"What?"

"What?" Cole cocks his head to the right, and I read out the message. He laughs. "That's funny! It can decide to do that?"

"Apparently," I say. "It seems that it can add to its own Levels as well. That's interesting, and good to note. Another unguided roll. Die of Mystery."

I roll the die.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… That everyone within a 50-yard range of you loses half of their total wealth. -27,816 Gold Royals

Damn. That won't affect me too badly, considering how much money that actually is, but… it'll definitely affect anyone within that range, considering what the Skill is and is rumored to have done. It seems to only hit the highest value one's worth, considering that most of my money wasn't in gold royals, but gold crowns, yet it still hit me as royals, taking out half of my total value in it, rounded only through that, and not through lesser coins.

"What message did you receive in your vision?" I ask as Cole stares at a message in horror.

"'The Die of Mystery Demands Payment'," he reads out. "'Minus 317 Bronze Feathers'."

"That was… an especially bad roll," I say. "Unguided. Ouch. Die of Mystery."

I roll the die again.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… Your thirst level has been restored.

That… okay. I guess that could be considered a neutral bonus? I summon the Die of Mystery again, thinking about my party as I roll it.

The Die of Mystery has Decided… You will meet the next member of your harem soon.

The fuck?

"What's that face for?" Cole asks. "You look… I can't actually describe that expression."

"The Die of Mystery," I say. "Has decided it's going to be a fortune teller. We're not going to use it for awhile, okay?"

"Okay?"

"Let's just hope its result is just referring to… never mind. Not gonna say it out loud."

Referring to someone already wanting to be a part of it… like Adam or Caleb. I definitely don't need more people. Though considering who this Skill stems from and what little I know about him… it could be serious about adding a new member to my harem.

Is that a good result, or a bad one?

"Let's head out for lunch," I suggest, and he nods.

We make our way out of the inn, ignoring the people wondering what the hell the Die of Mystery is and why it decided to charge them half of their wealth, then make our way into the streets.

As we walk, a voice reaches my ears, a voice speaking in English, not Common, and no one is able to understand him. Most of the people in this region don't stem from Earth, if they're a newbie, so that doesn't surprise me.

However… the voice sounds familiar. Is it someone I know? Please tell me it's not who I think it is.

"Please," the boy sounds scared. "I can't understand you. Why are you so angry at me?"

Yeah… that's definitely him. I rush forward, seeing him with my own two eyes after a few moments, leaving Cole behind in my haste. He'll catch up to me.

He's got platinum-blond hair, electric-blue eyes, and is dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a tee, and looks both confused and terrified. I'd be, too, if I suddenly appeared in a different world and people were grabbing me, several obviously with ill intent.

"GET YOUR HAND OFF MY BROTHER, OR I WILL END YOU!" I roar, and the street goes silent, not a muscle moving among the crowds. "I MEANT NOW!"

Immediately, a circle forms around my brother, people realizing that I discovered this before they could hide him away and use him against me.

"Jamie?" Nick asks as I walk up to him. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," I say. "Ignore the assholes."

"What did you yell?" He asks. "Have you been working out? You look furious. Understandable. A bunch of people were hurting me. But what's going on? Where are we? What happened? I'm so confused. Why were they treating me like that?"

"People have issues with me," I state. "They probably wanted to try to use you against me, as we're clearly brothers. Unfortunately for them, WHOEVER BRUISED MY BROTHER BETTER GET THEIR ASS FRONT AND CENTER THIS MOMENT!"

I switched back into Common for that, startling my brother. I glare around at the crowd, taking note of who is more scared as Cole approaches.

"Whoa," he says. "He looks almost like you."

"This is one of my younger brothers," I tell Cole. "And I'm starting to lose patience. If the people who harmed my brother do not step forward now, I will severely lose my temper. Do we want that?"

Five people step forward nervously. My blade forms on my hip, and I draw it. They try to flee, and lose their hands. I sheathe the sword, glaring at the rest of the crowd.

"Don't attempt this again," I state, then look at Nick, switching to English. He looks scared. "This world's different from Earth, and yes, it's real. Let's go get something to eat, Cole and I were on our way there when I heard your pained voice."