The Master Die

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The supposed Zombie-Dragon Riva was done cleaning the object she received from the dying Victor.

The thing was about the size of half a thumb and looked almost round with its 20 sided shape. There were elegant runes carved on each of its sides.

There was something uncannily familiar about it. Riva was certain she had seen it somewhere before. Not just once but countless times. But she couldn't remember!

Why had Victor given her this thing even at the cost of his life? What was it again, that he told her in his final moments?

'We were all at fault for trusting in that relic and for succumbing to our greed. Not just us. Never trust a relic!'

He must have been speaking openly back then because he had already triggered the contracts penalty. He basically admitted that the events of three years, including her death, had something to do with those relics.

Then there was the 'not just us' which implied that he wasn't just referring to her former companions. He was likely including the factions behind him and the people behind the extermination force. Looking at the rest of his final statement, Riva was pretty sure that he didn't want to trust either one. In fact, she had sufficient reason to believe he twisted his latter words to hide their true meaning from the woman that was observing their conversation.

He said 'They're not meant for mortal hands.' And he handed this thing that was likely a relic over to her. But he knew of the fact that she was no longer mortal and even acted contrary to his next statement ''Riva…, I won't count on you.'

He died to give her that strange object, obviously unwilling to let it fall into the hands of those who captured him. How was that not counting on her?

Thus she could reverse the rest of his final words too: 'You're nothing special.'

What the fuck was he implying? She might not be your run-of-the-mill person, but she wasn't conceited enough to call herself 'special'. The only possibility she could think of was that she might have had a special property in relation to the relics. Something from her past that she couldn't remember.

Then there was Victor's final sentence: 'You will become but a chess piece in their game.'

The way he talked before indicated that he also meant to say this sentence in reverse. He hoped that she would be able to resist the temptations of the relics? It was safe to say that 'their game' hinted at the true nature of these relics, but Riva could hardly agree with him.

She had little idea how the system tied in with everything or if it was related at all. But one thing was for certain. She had long been part of a game. A game someone else invented!

This thought triggered something deep in Riva's memory. Games! Games directed by one and played as a group… This thing in her hands was part of a game! A polyhedral dice! A D20!

With her memories also returned the understanding of the runes on its surface, they were numbers!

Riva played with it in her hands.

<System? You there?>

[Affir— Error!]

At first, the window looked normal, but it didn't last before it glitched and displayed another error.

Sigh~

This thing was as trashy as ever. It started misbehaving after the dungeon collapsed. Before that, it worked just fine, well as fine as you could expect from this heap of unreasonabilty.

She would have thought that something on the battlefield had blocked its functions but if it did it should have recovered by now. Thus she had to consider the things that changed about herself. They were easy to count. The prime suspect obviously being the 20 sided die!

Riva again mustered its surface with skepticism. She couldn't be certain, but this was as good a bet as any.

She bit her thumb and skillfully executed the taming ritual. After she drew the rune on the die by using her blood, she closed her eyes and searched for a connection. It was far easier than she expected.

She was incapable of taming a single living thing but a probably highly sought-after relic didn't pose a problem.

[Taming of Master Die Successful] A normal, non-glitched system window popped up to inform her.

[Reality Interference upgraded]

[Skill checks added]

[Skill 'Luck of the Game Master' unlocked]

A few more windows followed the first.

<Aren't you going to ask me to name my newest tame?>

[The Master Die is unique and cannot be renamed. If user insists, user can add a nickname]

<... Fate!> Riva responded after thinking a short while. She felt it was an adequate name. Every time she used it she would literally roll her fate.

[In what way are your names better than mine?] A system message commented.

<None of your concern, how about you identify Fate instead!>

[The Master Die, dubbed Fate by the User]

[A special source of unknown power not of this world, and yet to be comprehended. Known powers include its ability to manipulate reality based on its roles.]

<Short but scary description. Manipulate reality? Weren't you going on about something similar?>

[User is referring to reality interference. This is the system's ability to interact with the physical world]

<Like the inventory?>

[Exactly]

"Fuck! I nearly forgot. It's probably been too long but it's worth a try."

Riva opened her inventory and pulled exchanged the last object for Fate. She would continue inspecting this thing at a later time.

Without losing any time Riva reopened the wound on her finger and executed another taming ritual. This time Victor's dead body as her target.

She drew the rune on his chest. And quickly focused to establish a connection.

[User successfully tamed Unnamed Corpse. Does user want to name it?]

Riva ignored the message and bit Victor's corpse.

Mabe the idea that she would appear less mad if she communicated with the system via telepathy was flawed in its essence.

Riva was painfully aware that anyone happening upon her current scene would think she was a cannibal doing a dark ritual or sacrifice. At best they'd think she had a weird kink. What else would one think about a woman biting a naked male corpse with a purple glowing rune on its body?

Good thing she was hidden and made sure that there were no suspicious activities through her mana sense.

[User acquired Zombie minion. Does user want to name it?]

The message she had been anticipating appeared.

<Victor> Riva didn't feel like giving him a new name. The old one might have been a fake, but it was convenient enough.

The tamed Zombie Victor got up from the ground and bowed to her without a word.

Riva could feel their connection through it she observed two main emotions. Firstly unconditional loyalty and secondly, hunger.