Alea Iacta Est

Like most good stories, this one starts on a Friday afternoon. The heat is intense, although the university's computer room is well air-conditioned. In the air lies the smell of dust and sweat, the eyes of the students glued to the monitors. Most are in the final spurt of their project, in 2 weeks is the deadline. Alexander, who had already started his project at the beginning of his university career, lies halfway relaxed in his chair. He has to hand over the project before the end of the lesson, he has already been through the debugging phase for 2 weeks, but wanted to be on the safe side. His project has to do with his deep wish to be able to shrink. He has created a VR game in which you start as a normal big person, but with the ability to get smaller. Via a NervGear, which sends electrical impulses to the brain, the user would be able to virtually feel, smell and see his environment. It is probably the best way for him to live his dream. Only his girlfriend and Sarah know about his fetish. His girlfriend knows because he trusted her and Sarah because she is on the same forums as Alexander. She once briefly saw the logo of the forum's app on his cell phone and later spoke to him in private. She shared the desire to shrink and was enthusiastic about Alexander's game, which didn't contain any direct sexual elements as it should be accessible for everyone.

As planned, Alexander hands over the project at the end of the lesson and sets off for the main gate of the university campus, where Sarah is already waiting for him. They are both off on Fridays at about the same time, while Pamela and Jiro are only off 3 hours later, making it a habit for them to go out together. Markus Uni is on the other side of town, so he is mostly alone. When Alexander opens the big oak door, a fresh breeze greets him, which is a real pleasure at 27 degrees outside and 1000 degrees inside. He goes to the campus gate and sees Sarah from afar. Her long pink hair is difficult to overlook. She also wears a neon pink shirt and white jeans. Hung over her shoulder, she carried her laptop bag, which is far too small for such a big bag. According to Sarah, the reason for the oversize is simply that she can carry pens and paper with her. Alexander knows better. Sarah wants to feel small and since she's only 1.54m tall anyway, she usually puts on bigger clothes to simulate a shrinking process. It even looks good with her and you don't see her full breasts like that.

Sarah embraces him as a greeting and asks Alexander if he would like to take a detour to stop at the occult stuff store. Alexander, a rational, logical person who strictly rejects almost any superstition, agrees. Not because he believed in this stuff, but because he is also a hopeless optimist. If this shop were to sell a shrinking potion, he would have taken it over long ago. They've been there a few times before, but it always seemed like the same old stuff was there and Alexander believes that it won't be any different today. For him, it's just another hokum business.
Alexander is glad that Sarah and Pamela get along so well, because he was afraid when Sarah approached him that Pamela might get jealous, but she found Sarah very sympathetic and talked to her about the whole thing and even developed insider jokes about shrinking.

Despite their quiet entry, an elderly gentleman emerges from the back of the shop and greets the young students. He seems friendly, like the nice grandpa from across the street. Each time he wears a pair of old linen trousers, which had also seen better times, a leathery brown shirt and a beret. Sarah disappears into the back rows of the shop, while Alexander silently looks at all the objects individually on the shelves. From "magic wands" to "crystal balls" you can find everything here. There is even a shrunken head on one of the lower rows. Alexander begins to yawn as he is pulled by the suddenly appearing Sarah at the elbow. He asks her where she wants to go, but instead of an answer she simply points to a passage Alexander has never noticed before. Surely it is in the back of the shop, but Alexander is sure that this passage, with its black frame and the ornate signs on it, would not have gone unnoticed. "Say Alex, has this ever caught your eye?" whispers Sarah. Alexander denies this and feels uncomfortable when Sarah pulls him through the passage. It looks just like the room on the other side, with the difference that it's more packed in the rows of shelves and there's a certain tension in the air. Sarah and Alexander stay close to each other and sneak through the rows of shelves until Alexander noticed quite a big cube. Sarah gets scared when Alexander stops abruptly and looks at the cube. On closer inspection, the cube looks like a cube that is also used in Dungeons&Dragons, more precisely, a D100, a hundred-sided cube, about 5cm tall, quite heavy, in a dark purple tone and the numbers in silver-white color. As if hypnotized, Alex takes the cube and makes his way back to the cash register. Sarah tries to stop him and asks what he has. Alexander shows her the cube and continues wordlessly.
"Do you like it?"
"I don't know, but I want it. It has somehow something... special. I don't know either."
"Do you mind if I take a look around then?"
"No, no, I'll just ask how much it costs."
So Alexander and Sarah separate and Alexander looks at the cube more closely. There where the 100 should be, is a sign, which reminds of a 0. Arrived at the old man, Alexander puts the cube on the counter and asks for the price. The old man smiles and answers:
"Everything you have.
Alexander couldn't do anything with such an answer.
"Is there anything special about this cube?"
"Here everyone finds exactly what they want."
Again such an answer. Alexander thinks about it and tries it differently.
"How does the cube work? Does one have to throw it or read it in a special way?
"Clever question. Unlike most dice, it is usually not thrown, but rotated. You put it up with the number you want and rotate it."
"And then what?
"Then it is activated."
"Activated? Does it start to glow? And what does this sign actually mean?"
It points to this null-like sign.
"This sign resets the change."
"Change?"
" If you found the Cube, I'm sure you want it too."
Alexander just doesn't get smart about the man. But Sarah arrives to save him and asks him how much the cube costs. Alexander quotes the man:
"Everything I have."
When Sarah looks at him questioningly, he shrugs his shoulders. She then puts her hand in her pocket and pulls out a wallet and digs around in it.
"I have exactly 6,57€ with me. That's all I have at the moment. And I'd like the dice."
"All right, but the cube can only be bound to one at a time."
The seller takes the money and puts it in the cash register. Sarah presses the cube into Alexander's hand and said:
"Happy bday!
"Isn't that a little premature for a birthday present? And cheap too?"
"Nah, imagine if I'd had more, he'd have asked for more."
Alexander agrees with her and the two of them set her on her way home. Sarah examines the signs on the way and tries to find out where the cube could have come from and finally gives up.
"Looks like my history studies were in vain."
Laughing, the two arrive at the building in which the shared flat is located. It's a big yellow house, with 5 floors, but only two of them belong to the university, which in turn rents them out to students. Their shared flat is fortunately on the 2nd floor, because the elevator here hasn't worked for quite some time.