Shounen [Webtoon] DICE by Yunhyunseok

[Jammin]

Well if i remember right Tabein didnt give dontage the dice he just found it by accident. Why is tabein obliged to tell any one any thing really? He is not and neither does it wants to much it seems

He may not have given them to him but he knew full well that Dongtae had the dice though. A decent human being would have been like. "There are a few things you really need to know about those DICE...." but instead he didn't say a thing. Inaction is an decision in and of itself. And in a way he's more responsible for this second spreading of the DICE than Dongtae because he never gave him any warnings about what happened the first time.

Dongtae couldn't have known the risks. He was like a kid handling a stick of dynamite and thinking it was a sparkler. And Tabein is like someone who walked by, knowing full well what it was, and didn't say a word.

 

[kendama]

Spoiler

Exactly. It is also a matter of self-interest: the second spreading is sure to draw Mooyoung's attention. There is no point in changing schools and lying low if you let another innocent idiot spill the beans.

I understand that Taebin may not care much about other people. He seems to despise everyone (save perhaps for Eunju and Dongtae, whom he seem to have grown to respect) as hypocrites who only like him for his looks. So he may not care that they are hurting each other in their search for Dice (and that is a despicable attitude in itself, although I can understand that it arises from his past experiences). However, that does not justify his inaction.

I cut Taebin some slack because he has reasons to be suspicious of other people. He is also still a teenager. And as I said, he deserves some praise for not becoming drunk with the power of Dice. But his lack of sympathy for fellow human beings will be his undoing if he doesn't reform soon. He should take a leaf out of his girlfriend's book.

However, I am confident that he will reform gradually. I think he, Dongtae and Mio might act more in concert from now on, as they seem to be the only Dicers who have been able to retain some sense of morality. Not coincidentally, they have all been targets of bullying and thus have experienced the worst of human nature, which probably constitutes their greatest strength now. And so has Eunju, if we go by her scar.

Spoiler

Oooh, Mooyoung has arrived! And it seems Time Pause doesn't work against other Dicers with the same skill.

I'm mostly curious about what Taebin said… A Rankers cannot become allies. So he has a reason to keep information from Dongtae and Mio. Apparently, he sees any A Ranker as a potential threat. And what he said about Mio and Dongtae is good advice, too, because if the only ones Mooyoung is trying to kill are A Rankers, if they don't use their skills and lie low, Mooyoung won't find about them. Well, he wouldn't, because it is too late for Dongtae now.

And what's that "Hunt" Taebin referred to!?

Aaaargh!! I wanna know!

The Dominoes Arc has started. I fear it is probably the climax and thus the series is going to end soon. But I'm not complaining, this manhwa is seriously on another level.

I was going to pour some praise on Eunju, decent until the very end, but I'm getting more and more concerned about Mio. She is seriously annoyed at the lack of reciprocation for her attentions on Dongtae's part, and I think she might do something ugly… like allying with Mooyoung. Although I have to say, her quest is possibly the most difficult one of all. Given how helplessly in love Dongtae is with Eunju, Mio's chances of spending quality tiime with him in his house are next to zero, even less so now that Eunju has apologised to him. I mean, the first thing Dongtae did on re-entering the classroon in this chapter was to check on Eunju, and not seeing her there was enough for him to space out for a second.

And now, with chapter 46, we have some very obvious developments.

I'm impressed that Sungchul is being given more importance, since he was just a side character no one cared about. Then again, it is fitting, since he is just a fair weather friend who only approached Dongtae when he had become a Dicer.

I knew Dongtae's guild would collapse, I'm amazed even that he had the authority to control the crowd that much. But to think that X would intervene personally do destroy it… however, Sungchul will have to use all his cunning, because he has no hope of punching Dongtae or confronting him openly now.

Mr No-eyes getting the invisibility skill… that's definitely dangerous. It's the only skill I can think of that can confront Time Pause.

Much as I like Silent Sky's Edited Mangas, I welcome Lone Manga heartily. Their script needs a proofreader, but it is otherwise readable enough. I hope they are able to produce chapters in a weekly basis, 'cause I can't get enough of this series.

 

[Son-Derling]

hm
wondering what that symbol might mean
invisibility? transformation?

Yes, the six skills are most likely: time pause, teleportation, seeing through opaque objects, invisibility, telekinesis and flight.

if you are right it must be invisibility

 

[kendama]

Spoiler

Oh, I am pretty sure. That design of an empty suit for invisibility is not new, I think it was first used by a famous film (from the 60s or 70s, I don't remember) called The Invisible Man. And it was invented - not associated with invisibility - by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte. The one I am not entirely sure about is the see-through vision, but that's the only thing I can guess from that picture showing an eye.

Spoiler

have a first thing to say about chapter 47:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

No, Daewoong had me really on the floor laughing! He is just too silly to be a credible enemy! And the tricycle scene could be just out of a Charles Chaplin film!

Then again, he and Sungchul met. That's a scary combination, because Sungchul seems to have brains. I wonder which power he will get. Since a stupid spoiler I read already told me who is going to get psychokinesis, that leaves Flight and the See-through vision (I know, abilities can repeat, but I'm guessing the author will try first to show all of them in different people before starting to repeat). If Sungchul gets flight, the two would be fearsome opponents.

Cloaking is even scarier than I thought, because it costs fewer points than Time Pause. Dongtae had better watch out. Well, with Mooyoung around, Daewoong is the least of his problems, anyway. By the way, it makes total sense that Daewoong got Cloaking, as he seems to have maxed out Endurance and thus is the one character that can take on collisions with cars and the like.

Another thing that occurred to me: as Dongtae's not getting quests any longer, this means his Time Pause has become useless, because he has no more Dice points to spend. This means he is as good as a B Ranker, now, and I'm sure his enemies will realise that eventually. The asymmetry is pretty against him: unlike Mooyoung, who used Taebin to keep getting Dice even after he became an A Ranker; and Daewoong, who seems to have amassed a big stock of Dice points by slavedriving his minions, Dongtae doesn't have a back-up source.

I think he will use Eunju's Dice when they are in a pinch, but the most he can get from them is 18 points, or three minutes of Time Pause.

I think Daewoong, Sungchul and other A Rankers who have a grudge against Dongtae will either find a gruesome fate in Mooyoung's hands, or run to Dongtae and Taebin for help in the end.

And by the way, nice touch that Mooyoung and Dongtae use the same kind and colour of hooded coat. I bet Eunju will mistake one for the other in a crucial moment!

As for the Dongtae's appointments, I really hope they don't overlap, or if they do, that Dongtae chooses to go and meet Mio. I mean, he did not make a promise to Eunju, he just asked whether he could go, so no hard feelings if he doesn't show up, and Taebin will be there anyway. In the case of Mio, although she was the one who put the words in his mouth, he did not object, so he has a duty to go. But if he fails her, well, "hell has no fury as a woman scorned".

The only worse thing than not showing up would be to show up and invite Mio to go to Eunju's recital with him. If he does that, I'll actually hope that Mio does something really horrible to him in return.

However, Mio is getting creepier and creepier. Sending a morning note to Dongtae is okay, I guess, but appearing one hour and a half in advance for a date (she didn't even take a book with her!) is a big danger flag for a psycho in the making.

About chapter 48: it's just a prelude to what is coming.

So Mooyoung is losing no time, and has already assembled all A Rank Wannabes to undermine Dongtae's rule. Not subtle, but quite believable. This also ensures that Mooyoung will have all future A Rankers under his watch, so it will be easy to hunt them down in his quest to become the Top Ranker.

These people are so screwed, but I guess they had it coming. The entire moral structure of this manhwa revolves around the concept of letting go of one's own humanity in exchange for the possibility of attaining a perceived ideal. The students don't realise that there is no difference between preying and being preyed upon other than one of opportunity. The moment they decided to trample other people in their search for Dice, they became targets for stronger Dicers like Mooyoung. And even if they do attain their ideal, they will have changed so much in the process that the coveted prize may be the worst punishment.

The exchange between Mio and X illustrates that beautifully, and adds a dimension I had not noticed before: this manhwa is about the eternal dispute between competition and cooperation. It's clear that the author supports the latter, and again Eunju represents that in a metaphorical level: as a choralist, she is a person who relies on others, and let them rely on her, to achieve something that none of them can achieve alone, for a choral is the most complete example of cooperation and interdependence. Contrast that with the reclusive X, who brings out the worst instincts of mutually destructive competition out of people, epitomised in Mooyoung, who has decided that he doesn't need anyone else and companions are just tools to be crushed when they have outlived their usefulness.

The opposition between X and Eunju is now so clear that her loneliness in the end of the chapter is just another sign that X is currently winning the battle.

As for Dongtae, we all know where this is going. He is trying to live up to his commitments to both girls, going first to Eunju's recital and then meeting Mio. No problems there, that's a reasonable strategy.

Which obviously means that it will fail. I'm guessing something will happen in the chorus competition that will prevent Dongtae from leaving in time to meet Mio. And given that Dongtae is wearing that blue coat, I'm guessing Mooyoung will find Mio on the verge of crying and entice her into betraying Dongtae.

Right now, I'm most curious about Taebin and what he might be planning.

 

[Son-Derling]

wow 2 chapters (48 and 49) released together this time!
i KNEW there had to be a change in rules...the system did not make sense with it having limits here already (Only one A rank ability and so on)...waiting for those changes now!

 

[kendama]

Spoiler

So, about chapter 49.

Hmmm, so that Wannabe with the rat face now has become a cult leader. He was the one I knew would get psychokinesis from reading the raws. Mooyoung sure plays his cards right.

The change in rules was first announced by Mooyoung when we had the flashback with Taebin, so no surprise there. Of course, exactly what the new rules will be is the crux of the matter.

I'm feeling sorry for Daewoong. The author has succeeded in making him almost nice to my eyes. In the end, he is just a secondary school bully. He has his heart in the right place, trying to have no part in the cult. I hope he escapes and teams up with Dongtae later, as Dongtae is going to need a tank character, most likely.

I cannot believe how blinded these people are. Can't they see that Mooyoung is being deliberately vague in telling them that "an incredible thing will happen" when the final Die is activated? Can't they read between the lines that something dangerous is probably hidden behind that language? Then again, it is true that greed and ambition can make people blind.

And now they are going to try and trap Dongtae. He is vulnerable, because he doesn't have Die points to activate Time Pause. So I think either Eunju will give him her Dice, or they will succeed in capturing or doing whatever they want to him. Of course, there's also the possibility that Taebin will intervene.

In the end, though, the whole plot around Mooyoung is almost certainly a clever diversion by the author. Because he is violent, strong, clever and heartless, we tend to think of him as the villain to be defeated. However, in actuality he is just someone who knows more about Dice and thinks he can use this knowledge to become the Top Ranker. In other words, he is just another cog in the mechanism. The true enemy is X, who definitely knows what Mooyoung is trying to accomplish and probably has something in store for him.

Metaphorically speaking, it's unlikely that anyone working inside the world X created can defeat him. At least without some sort of external help, I mean. And the only person who has been primed by the author to supply that (metaphorical) help is probably Eunju, who is X' antithesis.

Well, waiting for the next chapter!

So, chapter 50.

As usual, a great chapter, although I must say that the author's recycling of generic poses and faces, and avoidance of drawing eyes for side characters, is a bit distracting at times. The art is beautiful (my favourite manhwa in terms of both art and plot), but he should get himself more assistants so he could introduce some diversity of faces and body positions.

Well, in this chapter everything is going downhill for Dongtae, as expected. But I am surprised Mooyoung is placing his bets on him. As X pointed out, he has no points to use Time Pause: even with his strength, agility and night vision, there is at least one A Ranker (the Wannabe, now a cult leader) in the enemy side.

And for the record, the person who has approached Mio is almost certainly Taebin. We can tell it is not Mooyoung because his jacket has white vertical stripes. I wonder whether Mio will end up an enemy or an ally: she has shown remarkable tenacity and sobriety in face of Dongtae's unrelenting love for Eunju. Many girl characters in this kind of series would have started plotting something ugly against the protagonist by now. And she has no right to complain: she is trying to conquer him in full knowledge that her rival is the sole object of his attention. If she feels rejected, she only has herself to blame.

I was also interested in Mooyoung and X. Clearly, the two are relaxed while talking to each other. Mooyoung doesn't seem to mind he is playing to X's tune, and X doesn't seem to mind that Mooyoung is trying to become the Top Ranker.

People who dislike Eunju will be happy, I believe: she is probably going to be left out of the incoming chaos. Dongtae will face Mooyoung's minions (I'm betting on unexpected help from Daewoong). Taebin and Mio are going to plot something (and I feel the two may end up together, paving the way for Eunju x Dongtae). Mooyoung is going to watch and Eunju will probably only appear in the end of the Domino arc, devastated for losing the chorus competition, but thankful to Dongtae for his efforts to help her.

Cannot wait for the next chapter!

 

[shaheer]

Its really amazing to see Mu young being so confident on Dontage. And equally annoying to see him holding up on Mio. He should really have some courtesy. Dontage i doubt is that level of daft to not see that Mio has feelings for him. He should make things a bit more clear.

 

[kendama]

Chapter 51 was great, but not much to comment on plot, as it was mostly a prelude to the main battle.

So the hunt does involve killing... I was surprised, I thought just Mooyoung was more vicious than the usual Dicer. And the author is relentless in his scathing moral assessment of his Dicer characters: he makes a point putting self-denial sentences in their mouths: "He died, I feel kinda bad, but I didn't do it myself."

It has always been clear to me that X's main tactics is to offer denial opportunities for the Dicers. "Touch her boobs just a little. While you're fighting, it just happens that an onlooker is badly hurt. Drop the lightener accidentally while the floor is soaked with petrol." These clever sentences, combined with the reassurances that they can always refuse quests, lure the Dicers into a sense of moral security, while gradually getting them to accept more and more vicious quests, till we reached the point where they are actually trying to kill people and still think they can somehow come out clean.

(And there are people who criticise Eunju as a hypocrite just because she refuses to use Dice...)

Well, in any case, Mooyoung was right: those Dicers are small-timers. Ratface was just stupid enough to go all out: he really ought to have added points to his intelligence. Now he has not many Dice points to use and Dongtae is unscathed and in a really bad mood.

(By the way, he can get really scary. He made a really nice "I'll kill you" face in this chapter. Those bastards had better not involve Eunju is their machinations if they treasure their life.)

I have rarely felt so satisfied to see a traitor punished. Sungchul had it coming, and if felt particularly refreshing to see his glee to have become an A Ranker turn to frustration when the skill proved useless. And incidentally, it is now clear that Dongtae has added points in strength. With maxed out agility, he has a chance against the B Rankers.

It is ironic, though, that Sungchul fulfilled the quest even without harming Dongtae. In other words, all that stupid ambush was unnecessary: the quest was just to disband the guild, all Sungchul needed was to make Dongtae realise that he had lost his followers. Well, he will have time to ponder his stupidity when he regains consciousness.

The fight now can go anywhere. Dongtae is outnumbered, has no Die points and lost his mobile phone. Because everyone around is a Dicer, X can still sense Dongtae and hear him, but I'm not sure that Dongtae can activate Dice (should he lay his hands in some) without a phone of his own. I'd say the odds are against him - there are bound to be B Rankers specialised in strength and agility, and Ratface still has a little fuel left for more psychokinesis. So I am still waiting for Daewoong to join Dongtae in the fight.

I was wrong about Mio. It's just some silly flirting. Still, there must be a reason for that to be in the plot, so I'll just wait... at the edge of my chair.

 

[shaheer]

This was the first time i saw Dontage angry. SRSLY i never thought he can be this scary he is like a walking cannon ball the way he slammed the guy .... wow..
There is a saying in my language which paraphrase to never pi$$ off people who are calm, cuz when you do you are in for a living hell. That pretty much sums it up.

 

[Son-Derling]

oh we have a new dedicated Manga Editor out there!!!
chapter 52:
http://dicescans.blogspot.de/2014/08/dice-ch-52-complete.html
chapter 53:
http://dicescans.blogspot.de/2014/08/dice-chapter-52-complete.html

chapter 54 will be out this week there too according to the owner of the webside:
(see here: http://dicescans.blogspot.de/2014/08/an-ch-54.html )

also with chapter 62 the first season was ending...so 9 more chapters for us to read...until season 2 beginns around the first weekend of september

 

[kendama]

Chapters 52 and 53 are... magnificent, perfect, words fail me.

The irony of Gilma complaining that he and the others are not things is precious.

Dongtae's hour or rage is breathtaking.

The big moral grey of his decision to accept the quest is wonderful.

So is his striking similarity to Mooyoung when he was necklifting Gilma.

Mio's backstory is touching. I particularly liked that her eyes are not a product of Dice, they had always been beautiful.

Just read the chapters, slowly, and appreciate them. Nothing I can write does them justice.

Just one thing: GILMA STILL HAD GAS FOR A FINAL ATTACK!? WTH!? Oh well, Dongtae will either dodge or use time pause, and then... Gilma might die. Is Dongtae going to cross that bridge?

(Although I must say, I would have loved it if the gate Dongtae knocked down had crushed the bastard in chapter 52.)

 

[shaheer]

pretty amazing chapter (54) it seems the guy behind all this will step in soon. An all out war to come.... pretty exciting i must say. I wonder what the new dice will give dontage. Hope he will get some kind of upper hand otherwise he s screwed when the other guy steps in

 

[kendama]

Great chapter as always.

And I have to say it: it seems that being pinned to a wall is Gilma's talent. The bastard really doesn't learn: what business does he have messing with people far more powerful than he?

And when did Dongtae get so strong? At the end of the Eunju chase he had maxed out agility, but his strength was at best a little above average. Now he is cracking concrete with his bare fists just like Taebin? I thought he had stopped getting Dice the moment he became an A Ranker, but maybe he managed to fulfill a few more quests afterwards before he ran dry.

And wow, the author used Pieter Brueghel's painting to guide him in drawing the Tower. It is a favourite painting of mine. The metaphor is clear: in Tarot, the Lightning-struck Tower is normally ominous, my mother tells me. But the final panel intrigues me a little: so Mooyoung, Mio and Dongtae are the ones who have a greater chance of becoming Top Ranker? What about Taebin? I mean, Mio isn't even an A Ranker yet (and her chances of fulfilling that particular quest are diminishing by the minute).

Well, I believe Dongtae with take the mysterious Die from Gilma, so we will see more of it soon.

And speaking of becoming an A Ranker, the trend for quests seems clear: X identifies a genuine desire on the part of a given Dicer and turns it into a quest. We knew that already, but in these past two chapters I've noticed that this kind of "poisons" the wish. It's a bit like going to bed with a partner and receiving payment in the morning afterwards: the partner is essentially calling you a prostitute. Ditto with X: be it Mio's wish to spend time with Dongtae, or Dongtae's wish to beat the traitors black and blue, by offering a material reward, X removes the spontaneity of it: at a certain point, the Dicer will ask themselves "Am I really doing this because I want it, or just because X made it into a quest?" And because X just identifies a basic inclination of the person, he can bend it a little and generate quests that resemble their desire, but carry it further: Byungchul might have nurtured animosity against the school, but I doubt he had seriously considered soaking it with fuel and lighting a fire. Dongtae probably felt sympathy towards that large-breated girl in chapter seven, but I doubt he had thought of asking her out or touching her boobs. So the person will end up believing they want to do something horrible.

The psychological mechanisms explored by the author are fascinating.

Although I do believe Dongtae will end up with Eunju, seeing Mio carrying out the planned date on her own felt bittersweet. I would have liked to see the two going to those places together. Still, Mio has risen in my estimation now that I know her backstory and see that she bears no grudge against Dongtae and remains calm. Eunju was right, Mio is beautiful.

Dongtae's desperation to give Eunju some solace, even if only by sending two girls to the competition, was touching. That he was ready to overlook their role in the treason and ambush proves her importance to him (as if proof were needed). He is such a nice fellow that I do hope Taebin and Eunju break up soon. I really want to see his face when she kisses him for good!

Well, as usual, I cannot wait for the next chapter.

 

[Jammin]

Despite not usually being one who wants to see characters just cut lose but I have to admit I want to see Dongtae just beat these idiots to within inches of their lives. It's pretty much been established that these morons aren't to be reasoned with. He tried reason. Didn't work. As much as I hate to see it this is the time to resort to violence.

If they are not going to behave themselves because it's the right thing to do, then he needs to make it so they behave themselves because "he said so". Ruling others with fear is very much against his gentle nature, but if he's going to keep these guys under control he needs them to be afraid to mess with him.

---------------------------------------------------

I really feel for Eunju. Even without knowing whatever it is that she's hiding about herself it's clear there is something tragic there and she's trying so hard to hold her life together in spit of the weird things going on around her. That being said I'm 100% on the Dongtae x Mio ship. Mio is so much like Dongtae that I can't help but root for an ending where everything is returned to the state it was before the dice and Dongtae gets together with Mio as their original selves.

It just seems to me that if Mio and he had found each other before the dice neither would have felt the need for them.

 

[kendama]

I believe the structure of this story is for Dongtae x Eunju. If it changes to Dongtae x Mio, I'll be very surprised. My reasoning is that regardless of the similarities between the two, this story has a moral gravitation centre around a person who was rescued by Dice (Dongtae), and a person who recognises Dice for what they are (Eunju). In summary, I think Eunju's existence is a plot device for Dongtae: she is supposed to be a symbol for him of what it means to be good. Right now, she is his only reason to fight.

While I have warmed up to Mio, Dongtae's feeling for Eunju are genuine: he loves her, has always loved. It may fit it beautifully in our minds that people with similar backgrounds end up together, but who is to say that, below the surface, Eunju isn't similar to Dongtae? Morally, they seem to be on the same page. I'd find it awkward if in the end he is not rewarded for his efforts by earning her love. In a sense, it would make the story neater. If he doesn't, what was the purpose of Eunju in the story?

I believe Mio will end up learning something about herself. Her personal journey is different from Dongtae's. And who is to say that the two would have fallen in love with each other if they had known each other before? Actually, it happens just as often that in situations like that, the partners try to use each other as an emotional crutch. Dongtae fell for Eunju because she treated him with humanity, and now he has the opportunity to do it to her in return.

I am not fond of "back to square one" endings. I think they defeat the purpose of the characters' struggle. I know there is no poetic justice in real life, but this is fiction, and everything in this story points to poetic justice in the ending, so I'd prefer if it remained consistent. I would be left with a taste of "so the ugly kid cannot win the beauty after all" if everything ended as it began. I'd prefer this to transcend beauty, and Dongtae to achieve what he wants - Eunju - by doing what she herself says is her goal in life: working hard with what she has been given. Dongtae has been given a heart worthy of hers, and he is struggling towards that end, I wouldn't like it to be thwarted.

----------------------------

In an unrelated matter, have you noticed that the mysterious Die seems to have changed since its first appearance back in chapter 48 or so? I was reading recent chapters again and noticed that when Gilma showed it to Daewoong the number in the visible face was 1. In more recent chapters, it is 2?

Either this has no meaning, all faces are numbered 1 to 6 and it is just a coincidence drawing by the author, or it has meaning.

If it does, it probably has to do with Gilma's saying that the Die will change every time a new A Ranker is created until there are "enough". I don't know how much is enough, but between chapter 48 and now, one A Ranker has indeed been created: Sungchul. Did the number change in response to his entry in the A Ranker tier?

If that's the case, I'd say the meaning of this has to do with Mooyoung's goal. Maybe his goal is to kill a representative of each A Rank skill? We know he killed three people when Taebin escaped: a Flyer, a Psychokinetic and another one whose skill we don't know. Taebin has Teleportation, and Daewoong has Cloaking, to Mooyoung's own Time Pause. So Mooyoung just needs to kill two more to achieve his goal, if that logic is correct.

And maybe the Die will indicate a 6 when there is one representative of each skill alive at the same time? And maybe that is what Mooyoung is trying to prevent? If that is the case, Dongtae is not a target (his skill being the same as Mooyoung's, his death wouldn't change the situation), but Taebin, Gilma and Daewoong are. Right now, only a See-through Vision user is missing (Mio?). But that wouldn't explain why the number is still 2: maybe it has something to do with being "Chosen", as Gilma alluded to in chapter 54 and when he said Dongtae was a special target for the Hunt?

Just random ideas, couldn't resist.

 

[Jammin]

I'm not so sure. The Dongtae x Eunju relationship is definitely a huge part of the core of the story but it's hard to really draw conclusions without knowing what they mystery's about her really are. She gives the impression that she's a really nice girl but also troubled by something we don't know about. The story could go a lot of different ways depending on that and where the story ends up taking her. As she is I like Mio more, but I can understand feeling the opposite.

I'd also be inclined to agree that it shouldn't be about ugliness or beauty but i think the way to avoid that isn't to put the ugly kid with the pretty girl or vice versa it's to put characters that match together and make sure to statement that appearance is irrelevant to it. Like the set up i could imagine for Mio and Dongtae would be them both choosing to walk away from what the dice has given them. The same could work with Eunju and Dangtae if Eunju asked him to revert to his old self at the very end. But I feel like it would have more impact with Mio, at least with me, since they both used the dice to fix themselves. To see them both realize at the end that they were never really broken would be a powerful moment.

I think in the end something like that is probably going to have to happen in order to avoid sending out the message that if your not popular and handsome/pretty the only way to be liked is to find magical dice and become handsome/pretty. It's not the dice that made Dangtae special after all, it's what he's chosen to do with it. And I think that's something that is likely to be underscored at the end in some way or other.

 

[shaheer]

For some weird reason i think Mio will die in the course of the story unfolding idk why. As for her being A rank i think that will happen when she gets to Dontages house completing the quest. This wish of her prolly has the most of her aspiration and would give her a big pointer prolly a A rank dice. Prolly Dontage will feel like a douche for holding her up and might invite or sth idk.

 

[kendama]

@Jammin:

I see where you are coming from and if done right, I guess it could work.

I have a slight problem with this scenario, though. It is not something that arises spontaneously from the story: other than natural sympathy towards a fellow human being, Dongtae doesn't have feelings for Mio. The author would have to change his mindset completely, make him give up on Eunju, start liking Mio and then do the reversion to the original state. It would feel just a matter of convenience, something contrived to make that statement. It might have worked if early in the story, Mio and Dongtae had been friends or at least knew each other.

I think Mio was introduced in the story as a way to state that beauty won't necessarily solve your problems or uncertainties. Just as Dongtae cannot conquer Eunju just by becoming a Dicer, Mio cannot shake off her feelings of displacement by becoming pretty. They need to work hard, find out what they really want and remain moral in order to achieve happiness.

I also believe that a reversal might be seen as a naïve conclusion. The fact is that appearance does make things easier in today's society. If we went back to an ugly Mio and an ugly Dongtae and they dropped a line like "beauty doesn't matter", many readers would consider the story hypocritical or detached from reality. At least to me, it makes more sense that what you do with your attributes is what really matters. I would be more satisfied if most immoral Dicers met an ugly end (not necessarily death) because they have ugly hearts behind their pretty faces, but Mio and Dongtae achieved happiness (he with Eunju) because they didn't let the Dice change them in the end. Their improved bodies would be a just reward for their fortitude of mind, and it would be clear that they only earned that happiness because they deserved it through their hard work. The author seems to imply that when he makes Eunju say to Dongtae: "you haven't changed at all". They would be fulfilling Eunju's ideal, not X's quests.

 

[Son-Derling]

the blog will release chapter 55 today, chapter 56 on saturday and chapter 57 on monday.....according to that update from yesterday:

http://dicescans.blogspot.de/2014/09/an-ch-5556.html

 

[kendama]

Spoiler

Chapter 55 is out. It is an interlude chapter, not much to say about it.

So Mooyoung can use teleportation, too. An idiot spoiled it to me some time ago, but it is always nice to have confirmation.

And the S-Ranker is the one who has all abilities? Mooyoung must be pretty close...

And oh wow, the black-haired hag turned on her companions. If anyone had ANY doubts that X deliberately used malice in setting quests, this chapter must have put them to rest.

As for the Strange Die, the faces have no meaning, but I wonder how many A Rankers must appear for it to be activated.

The art in this chapter was beautiful. Dongtae is growing more and more desperate. I wonder what will happen now.

As usual, on the edge of the chair, waiting for the next chapter!

Well, there is only one thing in need of commentary in chapter 56... other than Mio punching a seven-year old, that is.

Ooooh, so Eunju was the one who asked Taebin out. Well, that shows she is more assertive than some have expected.

Maybe the author is paving the way for an estrangement between Dongtae and Eunju... and many will be overjoyed if that is followed by the beginning of a Mio x Dongtae ship. As I said above, if the author does it well, anything is acceptable, although I still think that Dongtae x Eunju makes more sense given the structure of this story.

In any case, Eunju had no commitment with Dongtae, didn't know he was interested in her, he made no move, so there was really nothing in the way between her and Taebin. I don't think it detracts from her character in the least.

Of course, Dongtae is excused if he thinks differently, gets fed up of being friend-zoned and decides just to be good friends with Eunju. But he was the one making assumptions the whole time: in his mind, it was Taebin hitting on Eunju, and he did his best to ignore the fact that she was the one attracted to him.

In any case, it will be a great fault of Eunju's if she clings to Taebin, but she seems to have a problem letting go of things. The choir illustrates that beautifully. However, I was touched by her drive to be part of a team, and her passion for cooperative work.

Well, I predict that Dongtae's attachment to Eunju will start to wane now. I can live with that, the reason is plausible.

However, this begs the question: where the heck IS Taebin?