Lorne touched the thick head of hair that would make any programmer envious, muttering to himself.
According to the loopholes he had intentionally left, it wasn't impossible for him to offer some "misfortune," "frustration," "pain," or "curses" as negative concepts.
However, the more abstract and unquantifiable the stakes, the easier it was for the other party to manipulate them, potentially leading to a situation where he ended up shooting himself in the foot.
So, for safety's sake, he preferred to make some small physical sacrifices.
Compared to losing a few strands of hair, gaining a method to rapidly ascend to demigod status was a huge win.
After some mental gymnastics, Lorne stretched lazily and moved his pieces, engaging in round after round of trial and error and fierce battles on the chessboard.
To be honest, Hecate's tactics of exchanging pieces and applying extreme pressure were indeed hard to deal with.
But for this game, she was still a novice, and her offensive patterns and methods were limited to a few combinations.
Lorne, on the other hand, had thousands of years of accumulated chess experience and strategies in his mind.
Once he figured out Hecate's patterns and stabilized his position, he could formulate counter-strategies and launch a counterattack.
Finally, after sacrificing about thirty strands of hair, Lorne used a combination of "pawn promotion" and "pawn checkmate" to corner Hecate, leaving her with no way out.
"Checkmate!"
As he pushed the chariot piece, represented by a beast's head, forward, combined with the promoted pawn, he sealed off the last escape route of the enemy king.
Hecate, with no way to turn the tide, could only reluctantly topple her pieces and grudgingly admit defeat.
"Now, as per our agreement, it's time to tell me how to ascend to demigod status as quickly as possible, Goddess."
"It's simple. Drop your blood on the dice, silently recite your desire, and roll it. It will guide you."
Even though she was a gambler inside out, as a proper goddess, Hecate had the basic integrity to honor her bets, so hearing his wish, she straightforwardly revealed the method.
Use this?
Following Hecate's gaze, Lorne looked at the serpentinite twelve-sided dice in front of him, his eyes flickering slightly.
This item was an extra prize from his resurrection match.
It originally belonged to Hecate and was part of a pair.
"The twelve sides of the dice are not only engraved with numbers but also symbols corresponding to the twelve Olympian gods who rule Greece—the current order of the world.
Since you want to elevate your bloodline to demigod status, you need to seek opportunities within the world, and it will give you the answer."
Hecate twirled the other serpentinite twelve-sided dice in her hand, smiling as she explained.
"This isn't just an ordinary gift, it's a gift of fate."
"Really? Why do I feel like [fate] seems to have always disliked me?"
Lorne glanced skeptically at the twelve-sided dice on the table, his gaze filled with doubt.
Hecate neither confirmed nor denied, simply smiling and extending her fair right hand.
"As per our agreement, I've told you what you needed to know. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. If you don't need it, you can give it back."
After a moment of hesitation, Lorne quickly made up his mind.
'Anyway, I'm already at rock bottom, so any move I make now can only be upward!'
'What's there to fear? Why not go all in?'
In a flash of determination, the world seemed to widen before him.
Lorne immediately bit his index finger and, under Hecate's amused gaze, squeezed out a drop of golden-red blood, letting it fall onto the twelve-sided dice.
He closed his eyes, counted silently for a few seconds, and then decisively threw the dice onto the table.
The blood-stained dice rolled a few times before finally landing on a pattern of eight crossed crimson spears.
"Eight? The God of War? Well, congratulations on receiving Ares' blessing."
Hecate glanced at the dice and snapped her fingers with a light laugh.
At the same time, the twelve-sided dice on the table trembled and hummed, transforming into a streak of crimson light. It shot into Lorne's chest at lightning speed, merging with the dark curse mark Hecate had once engraved on him, disappearing in an instant.
—The mark was a circle, with a spiral labyrinth at its center.
—The labyrinth symbolized rebirth, and the spiral at its center represented thought and soul.
—Its name: The Wheel of Hecate.
At that moment, in the sea of Lorne's consciousness, a sound like the grinding of gears and mechanisms echoed.
The Wheel of Hecate, transformed into a labyrinth, began to rotate and reconstruct, turning into an ancient, mottled bronze altar.
As the blood-stained twelve-sided dice landed at the center of the altar, a rich crimson hue spread out, weaving into a bloody divine oracle.
—"Slaughter 100 golden-tier sea beasts to complete the divine ritual."
Lorne was a bit puzzled as he voiced the information in his mind and frowned at Hecate across the table.
"What does this mean?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you should have the bloodline of Ares, the God of War."
Hecate twirled the other twelve-sided dice in her hand, smiling as she posed the question.
Lorne thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, was forced to serve Ares for eight years after killing the god's dragon.
Later, with the mediation of the gods, the two sides reconciled and Zeus married Harmonia (the goddess of harmony and concord), the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, to Cadmus as compensation for his eight years of servitude.
According to the family tree, Lorne's deceased mother, Semele, was one of Cadmus and Harmonia's four children.
In other words, aside from Zeus, Lorne also carried the blood of Ares, the God of War, and Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and beauty.
Having received confirmation, Hecate smiled and offered further interpretation.
"The answer is simple. If an ordinary mixed-blood hero wanted to become a demigod, they would need to refine themselves over time, awakening the divine nature within them step by step to ignite the divine flame and achieve ascension.
But now, the [dice] has given you the shortcut you desire.
—Simply complete the offering to Ares as required, and it will allow you to temporarily steal the blessing of the War God's authority.
With the divine blood of the same origin flowing within you, you can gather enough divinity from both internal and external sources through this carnage and battle, thereby igniting the divine flame within you."
*Hiss~!*
Hearing Hecate's explanation, Lorne sucked in a sharp breath.
This gamble was way bigger than he had anticipated.
In a sense, this act was akin to bypassing Ares, the legitimate God of War, himself, and hijacking his divine authority for a while.
Although in various myths and epics, Ares is often portrayed as a punching bag, lacking much prestige among the twelve Olympian gods.
But that still depended on who was holding the leash!
'Sending a sixteen-year-old Gold-ranked warrior like me to NTR the divine authority of a legitimate Olympian god isn't just playing with fire, it is outright suicide!'
"You're really trying to make sure I die quickly, aren't you?"
Lorne complained, his expression darkening as he exposed the malicious intent of the unscrupulous creditor before him.
"Don't worry, Olympus won't notice what you're doing."
Hecate dismissed his concerns with a carefree smile, absentmindedly flicking the dice across the table as she spoke in an eerily meaningful tone.
"Because inevitable fate can never predict the random roll of the dice…"
Lorne's eyes flashed, his expression thoughtful, and the tension in his chest gradually eased.
After all, as a proper gambler, she wouldn't be foolish enough to destroy her own betting chip so easily.
At the very least, she would wait until he had created enough value, or enough amusement—before claiming her winnings.
If that was the case…
Lorne closed his eyes and began to think carefully for a moment, then suddenly opened his purple eyes, clenched his fist, and grinned with a hint of madness.
High risk, high reward—It's show time!
Ares, are you ready? I'm coming for you!