IBHJ Chapter 841

"A game?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yup. The connection point will be the prize. If you can beat my game, the Black Grail is all yours. Oh, and you can't say no. I've already put this connection point inside a bubble. Even that mage's magic can't touch what's inside," Seventh Seat said with a smile. Her laughter sounded cheerful, but there was something unsettling and eerie about it.

Gray and Ayaka quickly glanced at their watches and, sure enough, they'd lost contact with Chaldea. This time, the loss of contact was way worse than what they experienced at the Romania and Nordic connection points.

"How is this possible...?"

Ayaka was dumbfounded, while Gray couldn't help but think, "Not again."

It seemed like every time they ran into a Council member, they'd lose touch with Chaldea.

The other party was an unknown entity. Shirou didn't do anything rash, instead asking, "So, what kind of game did you have in mind?"

As soon as he finished speaking, laughter echoed from Seventh Seat, who was still shrouded in fog. The laughter was bright and cheerful, not at all what you'd expect from a Council member with such terrifying power. It sounded more like a young girl running through a garden.

With a snap of her fingers, a die appeared in front of everyone. She was holding a die too, and asked, "Ever played tabletop role-playing games?"

"Tabletop role... playing?"

Except for Shirou, who was a transmigrator, everyone else looked confused. Shirou, on the other hand, seemed puzzled. Not only did this member of the Council not attack them outright, but from the looks of it, she wanted to play a tabletop game with them?

Gray couldn't help but ask, "Um... What exactly is a tabletop role-playing game?"

"What? You've never played a tabletop RPG before?" Seventh Seat asked, sounding confused.

Gray and the others all shook their heads.

"Oh... No wonder. No wonder I never get any sacrifices at my doorstep. Have tabletop role-playing games gone out of style? Damn online games, damn information age, leaving me hungry all the time!" Seventh Seat grumbled, then pointed at the group and said, "Listen up, tabletop role-playing is..."

She explained what a tabletop role-playing game was. Simply put, it's a tabletop game where players take on the roles of characters. It's a pretty popular type of tabletop gaming. Usually, the game has three to five people, with one person as the game master and the others as players.

When playing a tabletop role-playing game, common game props include maps, dice, and rulebooks. Depending on where the game is played, tabletop role-playing can be divided into "face-to-face" and "online" sessions.

And it was clear that Chaldea didn't play tabletop RPGs.

"Do you understand?" Seventh Seat asked.

Gray shook her head. "Not really..."

"What?! You're even dumber than Goetia? With such poor understanding, how do you expect to beat the Council, to beat us? Or are you saying you don't want to defeat us at all, and don't care about saving humanity?!" Seventh Seat ranted.

"Um... Well..."

Gray and the others were left speechless by Seventh Seat's interrogation.

Shirou sighed, "Seventh Seat, that doesn't seem like something you should be saying."

"Why not? I don't give a damn what happens to the Council. As long as I can fill my belly, that's all that matters. If that guy hadn't told me that joining the Council would let me eat my fill, I wouldn't want to deal with that bunch of weirdos..."

Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind me asking, Seventh Seat, what exactly do you eat...?"

"Souls, of course. Whether it's human souls, the souls of this planet's gods, or the souls of Heroic Spirits... They're all food to me!"

The whole place went dead silent as soon as she finished speaking.

Just as I thought! Shirou sighed. He had initially believed that Seventh Seat could be persuaded to join their side, but it was clear now that her stance was totally opposed to theirs, just like Surtr!

"Listen up, I'll explain the rules one more time. If you still don't get it after that, it's not my problem," She said patiently, and went over the tabletop RPG rules again.

"So basically, we're using this connection point as the map, we're the role-playing players, and you're the game master, right?" He asked.

"Exactly," She nodded. "And since it looks like none of you have played before, let's change the rules to something you can wrap your heads around. We won't use those D4, D6, and other dice. Let's go with a 100-point die instead, and your basic attributes will be tied to your basic abilities. For example, if your Magic Resistance is A+, then magical attacks with a roll of 90 or lower will all be nullified. And let's say your Noble Phantasm is [Avalon], attacks against it with a roll of 95 or lower will all be nullified."

"I see, so you'll quantify all the Noble Phantasms and abilities for judgment? And it's a 1-100 point scale, which is easier for tabletop RPG newbies to understand," Shirou nodded, then turned to Seventh Seat. "If you don't mind me asking, what happens if we lose?"

"Do you even have to ask?" she laughed. "Your souls will become my dinner! I've been starving for ages, and no matter how many souls there are, I can devour them all. Oh, and just so you know, if I eat them, even Servants and Heroic Spirits will be completely erased."

As she spoke, the sound of her swallowing saliva could be heard from the fog, showing just how hungry she already was.

Then...

With a snap of her fingers, virtual panels appeared in front of everyone. "These panels convert your ability parameters. Take a look for yourselves. But don't worry, even though I want to eat your souls, I have my principles. I'm fair and just, and I won't cheat like that stinking fox."

Hmm? In other words, among the Council members, there was one who was a fox or a fox-like enemy? Shirou silently analyzed the information in his mind, then looked at his own panel. And when he saw his panel, he wanted to smack this Council member upside the head. She had nerfed him so badly! Take his [Skadi's Blessing EX] for example, if he rolled 50 or below, it would fail. And then there were his Noble Phantasms. When used, he had to roll 50 or above for successful activation. It meant that if he rolled lower, they wouldn't activate at all.

After looking at his panel, Shirou couldn't help but complain, "You've totally nerfed me, haven't you?"

"Your abilities and Noble Phantasms are too game-breaking, this is for balance," Seventh Seat said.

"Balance, my ass! My Noble Phantasms can fail to activate? You call that balance?" He loudly questioned.

Damn it. He couldn't believe it. His Noble Phantasms could actually fail to activate?

In a game purely based on player skill, it wouldn't be a big deal, but tabletop gaming relied heavily on luck. And when he considered his absolutely dogshit luck, it would make any luck-based games a nightmare. He glanced at his panel again, and sure enough, his Luck stat was only 1!

If there was even the slightest chance of failure based on Luck, he could forget about using his Noble Phantasms altogether!

"Quit whining. The panel can't be changed, end of story. At most, I'll give you some compensation. What should I give you? How about this?"

Then, Shirou saw that he had gained an additional Noble Phantasm.

[Hollow Tree Filled by a Remnant of Light EX: When rolling 95 or above, destroy all obstacles.]

"This can destroy any obstacle, even when facing a boss, it can be destroyed in one go. How's that, aren't I being fair?"

Shirou's eyes widened in disbelief. "..."

Fair my ass!

95...

You're asking me, with a luck of 1, to roll a 95...

Shirou was in despair.

But it was better than nothing. At least she had pretended to try.

However, even though this connection point had turned into a tabletop RPG, there was no doubt that it was extremely dangerous. Once they lost, their souls would be devoured by Seventh Seat!

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your true name?" Shirou suddenly asked.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked, sounding confused.

"You can't expect us to keep calling you 'Seventh Seat' or 'Hey, you,' can you?"

"Fair point. Okay, I'll allow you to directly address me by my supreme name. I am the unifier of all things, Yog-Sothoth!" she declared.

"Y-Yog-Sothoth!?" Gray looked at Seventh Seat in shock.

"What's the matter, Gray? Do you know her?" Artoria asked.

"W-We're doomed... She's one of the Outer Gods!" Gray said, trembling.

"You're absolutely right. That's exactly what I am! So fear, tremble, despair, and then under my great name, offer your souls as sacrifices to me!"

Shirou sighed. "While I'm a bit surprised, I don't feel any despair or shock at all, Abigail Williams."

"Huh?" She was a bit stunned, then the thick fog around her dispersed, revealing her true appearance.

Everyone looked over and was surprised to see a golden-haired girl with a strange keyhole on her forehead, wearing a black dress, looking at him with an odd expression. "How do you know my name? Are you also a resident of Salem?"