Lord of the Mysteries

As the captain of the Future, Cattleya knew of the latent dangers that Frank Lee had better than anyone else. She knew that this first mate’s strange ideas would at times be about truly terrifying and crazy developments. If it wasn’t because those “creations” had yet to be proliferated and lacked the necessary elements, Cattleya believed that the world would be different.

Of course, if there came such a day, she would finish off Frank Lee ahead of everyone else by feeding him to the fishes!

With him lacking godhood, many things will be limited in scope even if they’re considered a success. It’s impossible to distribute out and bring about a greater disaster… Just advancing to Sequence 5 wouldn’t result in any qualitative changes, and Frank has been holding back greatly in recent times. He’s been focused on researching plants that can survive and grow through the absorption of monster corpses in the darkness… As her thoughts swirled and changed in her mind, Cattleya finally made a decision.

“How much do you wish to get for it?”

She had a vague feeling that The World Gehrman Sparrow was recently in need of money.

“8000 pounds. If you can replace it with large sums of gold coins, you’ll receive a discount.” Klein secretly heaved a sigh of relief as he answered using The World.

At the thought of how Frank Lee could be able to afford this sum, and how he wouldn’t reject a Druid’s Beyonder characteristic, Cattleya pondered for two seconds and said, “Deal. Give me a week to gather the amount.”

“No problem.” Klein got The World Gehrman Sparrow to retract his gaze.

After the trip to the primitive island, if not for having garnered the attention of the existence hidden in the depths of the cathedral, he would’ve given himself a perfect score. In less than half a night, he had obtained an invaluable Card of Blasphemy, a mystical item with not less than 10,000 pounds, as well as a possible total of 16,000 pounds. Furthermore, no taxes needed to be paid. It was faster than robbing a bank!

Unfortunately, that primitive island has vanished. Otherwise, I can always pay a visit when I’m lacking money… Klein’s thoughts wandered as he watched Miss Justice look at Mr. Hanged Man and ask with a tone of anticipation, “Do you have the fruits of the Illusory Chime Tree?”

Audrey actually had some inkling to the answer. This was because Mr. World had obtained so many Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristics recently, and Mr. Hanged Man was suspected to have had a private partnership with him in the past week. It was unlikely that he had obtained nothing.

I can figure out certain clues from Mr. Hanged Man’s satisfied and confident state… Audrey felt increasingly confident in her ability to observe others.

Alger chuckled and said, “I was just about to tell you that I’ve already obtained the fruit.”

Excellent! Audrey held back and didn’t act overly agitated.

This meant that she had gathered all the ingredients for Hypnotist. All she needed to do was wait for her Psychiatrist potion to completely digest before she attempted the advancement.

And it wouldn’t take too long! Having already become an “Aunt Agony” in the aristocrat circles in East Chester County, Audrey thought with great certainty.

To be frank, if she hadn’t deliberately guided the topic of conversation, Audrey wouldn’t have imagined that the aristocrats that all looked beaming with decent demeanors suffered immense stress. They had pains that others would find impossible to imagine. The changes of the times and the trends of society made them worried about the futures of their families and self. Of course, this was also related to them not being powerful aristocrats, as well as the limited resources they held on hand.

These matters made Audrey truly understand the concept of a facade. She understood that faced with different targets, everyone wore a different facade.

After concluding such situations, she had instantly digested a significant amount of her Psychiatrist potion as her progress clearly sped up.

Perhaps, in two weeks, more or less. In short, before I return to Backlund, I should be able to become a Hypnotist… Audrey looked at Alger with bright eyes and asked, “What do you want in exchange?”

Having advanced to Sequence 5 recently, and having obtained the “key” to the door of demigods, as well as being about to possess a potent mystical item, Alger was lacking in money the most at the moment. Therefore, he said without any hesitation, “2,000 pounds.”

“Deal.” Audrey agreed with relatively great ease.

This amount of money didn’t need a reimbursement for she could easily afford it herself.

After completing the transaction, Audrey couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. She finally didn’t feel like she was falling behind in the Tarot Club.

During this period of time, she had watched Fors become a Sequence 7, and watched Mr. Hanged Man approach the level of a High-Sequence Beyonder. She also saw Mr. World finish off one Sequence 5 Beyonder after another, producing their corresponding Beyonder characteristics again and again. Yet, she remained as a Psychiatrist, a Sequence 7 Beyonder. She couldn’t help but feel stressed as she became a little anxious. She relied solely on Placating herself, and Susie’s counseling, to prevent any emotional problems from happening. Now, she had finally taken a step forward towards becoming Sequence 6!

As the delighted Audrey increasingly enjoyed the gathering, she heard Ma’am Hermit say to Mr. World, “I can provide an answer to that drop of blood from the Mythical Creature.”

“Do you wish for a private communication?” The Fool Klein controlled The World Gehrman Sparrow with piqued interest as he asked.

If it’s solely an exchange of information, I’ll make a killing out of nothing! he thought with anticipation.

Cattleya looked around, and after a few seconds of thought, she shook her head and said, “There’s no need.

“I can only provide two forms of payment. One, a single glance at the Wheel of Fortune card. I believe you know what this Card of Blasphemy that was created by Emperor Roselle means. Two, it’s to provide the means to regain a certain amount of strength during one’s weak stages.

“Please pass this message to that Angel, and ask if ‘He’ is satisfied with such a payment.”

Provide the means to regain a certain amount of strength during one’s weak stages? Queen Mystic has guessed that it’s related to the Snake of Fate? That doesn’t make sense. An Angel includes a Sequence 2 Soothsayer… Can’t The Fool have an Angel from the Fate pathway serving “Him”?

I’ve no idea if Will Auceptin knows the way to become the corresponding pathway’s Sequence 0. If “He” is unaware, then taking one look at the Wheel of Fortune card would be an irresistible temptation. However, it’s unlikely. “He” has lived for so long, and he’s a Sequence 1 at that. It wouldn’t be so terrible to the point of only now grasping the ritual to becoming a god…

Heh heh, I wonder what Roselle looks like on the Wheel of Fortune card… It has a snake with the emperor’s face and other animals? Klein casually thought as he deliberated and made the fake person, The World, say, “Okay.

“If a transaction is ultimately made, you will need to pay an additional amount.”

“What do you want?” Cattleya asked cautiously.

The World Gehrman Sparrow said with a hoarse laugh, “I want to meet Queen Mystic. Don’t worry. The matter is very simple. There’s just something that needs her help.”

After a moment of silence, Cattleya said, “I can only try my best to facilitate it, but I can’t give any guarantees.”

Upon hearing their conversation, Audrey suddenly found it surreal.

Has the Tarot Club already matured to such a level?

Aside from Mr. Fool, from us only being able to exchange basic knowledge in mysticism and Sequence 9 potion formulas, it has developed into transactions involving Cards of Blasphemy and the blood of Mythical Creatures…

It hadn’t even been a year!

It’s like a dream… I’ve also matured significantly… As Audrey sighed, The Hermit Cattleya continued looking at The World Gehrman Sparrow and said, “There’s some news regarding the Marauder pathway mystical item you want.”

As she spoke, she requested Mr. Fool’s help to conjure an item that resembled a tweezer.

This tweezer was grayish-white in color, as though they were formed from two finger bones. Apart from that, it was relatively ordinary.

Cattleya introduced, “It’s called Broken Finger. It can enhance the stability and agility of your wrist and fingers. It allows you to easily steal items in the pockets of your target without being discovered. The negative effect is kleptomania when worn. It costs 500 pounds.”

It corresponds to Sequence 9 Marauder? Hmm, there’s a slight premium involved… Klein considered for a moment and said, “Alright. Let’s close the transaction as soon as possible.”

This way, he could investigate the region dug up by Hazel in the sewers, so as to eliminate any hidden risks.

After the conversation between the duo ended, Fors asked with the intention to express interest in a purchase so that she could use it when the need arose.

“I need a cursed item from an ancient wraith, as well as its remnant spirituality. Please help me take note.”

After she obtained a positive reply from the members, The Moon Emlyn sized up his surroundings and leaned back into his chair, and he said to The Sun Derrick, “Does your City of Silver have the Beyonder characteristic that corresponds to Sequence 5 of the artificial vampires?”

He didn’t wish to call the fellows covered in puss as described by The Sun as Sanguine; therefore, he changed the way he phrased his question.

From his point of view, since there were often mutated vampires appearing around the City of Silver, then obtaining one or two Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristics wasn’t too difficult.

Furthermore, they clearly lack the potion formula of this pathway as well as an Artisan. Their retention of these Beyonder characteristics depends only on luck. Time needs to pass to determine if they would corrupt the items surrounding them, transforming into Sealed Artifacts… Emlyn convinced himself that he was helping the City of Silver instead of asking for The Sun’s help.

Derrick was stunned as he answered in complete honesty, “Yes.

“But Mr. Moon, do you wish to be covered in pus?”

Ah… Emlyn’s expression froze as he was momentarily unsure if The Sun was mocking him or warning him.

Upon seeing this, Derrick hurriedly added, “Many of them have serious levels of mental corruption, and without the potion formula, our City of Silver wouldn’t waste the effort to cleanse such problems.”

Is that so… This will be troublesome… Emlyn nodded slightly and said, “Got it.”

He didn’t involve himself in possible transactions, preparing to seek advice from the upper echelons of the Sanguine to figure out the matter regarding the mental corruption of Beyonder characteristics.

With the transaction segment coming to an end, the Tarot Club’s members began their free exchange segment.

Audrey looked straight at Gehrman Sparrow and said with some hesitation.

“I would like to know where the Mentor of Confusion characteristic came from? If it involves certain secrets, you can choose not to answer.”

She was making the preparations to convince her father, Earl Hall. It was also to avoid any unnecessary troubles. After all, Beyonders from the Black Emperor pathway might have certain connections with the military and royal family.

Klein secretly laughed as he made The World answer, “It comes from a curly-haired baboon.”