Messy Chinese sentences were scribbled on the yellowish-brown goatskin.
ā2nd August. This goes deeper than I imagined. History sure is something that can be manipulated easily.
ā5th August. I witnessed the abilities of a High-Sequence Beyonder today. It was scary indeed. Thereās a qualitative change that has happened to them in a particular aspect, it was as though theyāve transformed into a deity. Itās no wonder that we describe them as āDemigodsā, though I think calling them āLegendary beingsā is more fitting.
ā6th August. Thereās something strange going on. Why would the Seven Major Churches adopt such a strange attitude towards the potions? At the low to middle Sequences, they not only provide the main ingredients to those who managed to advance, but theyāre also generous enough to share the formulas and demonstrate the process needed to create the potion. They would also explain in detail if a ritual is needed to create the medicine, yet finished potions are the only things they provide to those who are advancing to the higher Sequences.
āThis isnāt logical. Shouldnāt they keep the formula a secret for the lower Sequence potions and give the candidate the completed potion since itās relatively easy to gather the necessary ingredients and create the potion? As for the higher Sequence potions, shouldnāt they share the formula and make the promising members search for the ingredients due to the difficulty of obtaining the main ingredients?
āThere must be some hidden secret to this.
ā9th August. The events of the past two days have made me feel uncomfortable. I started the Industrial Revolution with my own hands and personally ushered in the Age of Steam and Machinery, but this will create the conditions necessary for the Evil God to descend upon this world?ā
What does he mean? The conditions necessary for the Evil God to descend upon this world? Klein knitted his brows, his index finger tapped on the edge of the ancient table.
Did Mr. Fool encounter a difficult problem? Anything that can trouble him must be something of another levelā¦ Audrey looked at the leader obscured by the thick fog and interpreted his state through his body language.
Klein was indeed pondering over the problem related to the upper echelons, but he didnāt arrive at an answer. He considered the possibility of using divination to gain some sort of revelation.
Yes, it would be impossible to divine something of use with such simple sentences. Iām not a prophetā¦ What if I divine with the statement, āthe conditions necessary for the Evil God to descend upon this worldā? It feels too riskyā¦ The Evil God might not be as horrifying as the Eternal Blazing Sun, but its abilities might be much more mysterious. It might be able to trace the divinations back to me. Thereās also no way to divine how large of a risk Iāll be taking if I were to divine that statement. After all, just divining if something poses any danger is dangerous once it has deities involvedā¦
Iāll keep this question in mind and put more effort into observation.
The arrangement of the Churches regarding potions is indeed mysterious. I wonder what kind of secrets theyāre hiding? Perhaps Iāll receive some hints about that once Spirit Medium, no, Spirit Guide Daly is made Archbishop or a high-ranking Deacon and enters the core of the Churchā¦
Roselleās description does make me look forward to the power of High-Sequence Beyondersā¦
Many thoughts flashed through his mind before Klein stopped tapping on the edge of the ancient table and looked at Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Sun.
āYou can start your discussion freely now.ā
Alger immediately said, āMr. Fool, Miss Justice, I received a new piece of information. Rear Admiral Hurricane Qilangos infiltrated Backlund to complete a difficult mission. He might stay for an extended period of time and create an appalling tragedy. Also, I know that this incident involves a very important item, an item that would allow Qilangos to quickly become a High-Sequence Beyonder.ā
āQuickly become a High-Sequence Beyonder? Does he not fear losing control of himself?ā Audrey asked, adopting the posture of a Spectator.
Qilangos was only a Sequence 6 Wind-blessed, so there was still a Sequence between him and Sequence 4.
Alger had expected this question. He answered honestly, āThatās why the object is important to him.ā
āOf course, those are simply my deductions. The information I received goes like this: Qilangos believes that once he completes the commission and obtains the object, he will be the equal of Nast, the King of the Five Seas. The Four Pirate Kings would then become the Five Pirate Kings, and the Seven Pirate Admirals will be reduced to six.
āThe average person might not aware of this, but as Beyonders, we should know that Pirate Kings are either High-Sequence Beyonders, or are able to reach the combat strength of a High-Sequence Beyonder with the use of Beyonder boats and mysterious items. For Qilangos to be acknowledged as their equal, he must reach standards that are close to that. Thatās my deduction.ā
All I know is that the King of the Five Seas, Nast, is a Sequence 4 Beyonder, but Iām not sure of the name of his potionā¦ Klein listened on silently, not giving his opinion.
The Sun, Derrick Berg, didnāt understand anything The Hanged Man said. He didnāt know who was who, but he still listened attentively. He felt a new door had presented itself in his world.
Pirates? The place they live in has seas that are mentioned in books? Then, the environment these people live in is very different from the City of Silverā¦ They donāt seem to be very worried about the curse or the attacks of the Things of the Dark. It definitely makes me very curiousā¦ But, Mr. Fool once instructed me not to ask about the secrets of others. Itās a very rude gestureā¦ Derrick thought in his heart, once again observing The Hanged Man and Justice.
āYou deduction is very reasonable. Of course, that could also be a mysterious item that could hold its own against a High-Sequence Beyonder,ā Justice replied with a smile.
The Hanged Man looked at the fog-enshrouded Fool, pondered over his words, before he looked at Justice and emphasized, āThere are two key points in what I said just now, the first being the fact that Qilangos will stay in Backlund for some time. The second is that the incident involves a very important and very mysterious object.ā
So, Mr. Fool, are you not tempted? There is ample time for you to send your adorer to Backlundā¦ Alger added in his heart but didnāt dare say it out loud. All he could do was beat about the bush.
Mr. Alger, you donāt need to emphasize this repeatedly, I know what you are getting atā¦ But my abilities do not allow me to interfere in these matters. Furthermore, I canāt leave Tingen without permissionā¦ Klein leaned back and thought in frustration.
Ignoring the adorer, I can actually find two relatively strong Beyonders to helpā¦
One is Daly, who has advanced to Sequence 6, but I cannot tell her everything. The most I can do is mention that Iāve gotten some information that Rear Admiral Hurricane Qilangos has infiltrated Backlund and is living at a particular street and what he plans to do. That way, Daly might directly enlist the help of the Nighthawks, making the situation very complicated and troublesomeā¦ If you guys cannot find anybody to help you when the time comes, then I can try that to prevent a tragedyā¦
The second person is Mr. Azik, but I cannot expose my identity as The Fool to him. I donāt have a proper reason to get him to interfere with this incidentā¦
Many thoughts flashed through his mind as Klein replied slowly, āIām aware.ā
Seeing how The Fool continued to not place much importance in the matter regarding Qilangos, he sighed and held back his disappointment. He started asking about the investigation Miss Justice conducted last week.
āā¦ In conclusion, we have more or less targeted the general area Qilangos will be at, and weāll soon start the next phase of investigations.ā Audrey first gave a simple summary, then with the attitude that she was doing something important, said, āWe need more information, preferably the hobbies and habits of Qilangos.ā
Alger recalled, āHe loves fish, especially fish from the sea. He would slice it and eat it rawā¦
āHe also likes hard liquor, and despises champagne, red wine, and the likeā¦
āHe will often look for women to relieve his needs whenever he heads to shore, and with his strong body, one woman will not be enough to satisfy himā¦
āHeās used to using cold weapons and avoids hot weapons.
āHe cannot be away from water for long periods of time. What I mean is that he needs to swim or dive once every couple of days.ā
ā¦
Audrey committed these facts to memory, creating an ample character of Qilangos in her mind.
āLetās hope that the investigation will be a success. Itās a pleasure working with you.ā She smiled after Alger was done.
āMy pleasure.ā All Alger could do was force himself to believe in Miss Justice, who had considerable power in Backlund.
Throughout the interaction, Klein seemed to be listening intently, but in reality, his thoughts had been diverted to another question. That was the question of how to deliver ingredients to Sun if he did manage to obtain them.
Now that he had a passable understanding of the field of mysticism, Klein instinctively followed the line of thought of using ritualistic magic. This reliance was natural given the successes he had when using ritualistic magic.
When I was previously flipping through the confidential information of the Nighthawks, I came across records of the Goddess bestowing holy items to her followers. There were also records of items descending in rituals involving evil gods or devilsā¦ Does this mean that I can ābestowā someone something when responding to their prayers, and transfer materials that way?
In previous attempts, I could only reply with thoughts containing pictures and voices. But that doesnāt mean that itāll always stay that wayā¦ There could be some new changes when I advance to Sequence 8ā¦
Thereās also something important to consider. Can I bring material from the real world into the world above the gray fog? Andā¦ Hmmā¦ Oh right, thereās often a step for 'sacrificesā in rituals involving evil gods and devils! Can I consider 'sacrificingā something to myself?
In that way, perhaps I can bring some material from the real world into the world above the gray fogā¦
If this attempt is successful, I can get items directly from Justice, The Sun, and The Hanged Man, and then bestow them to myself.
Yes, 'sacrificeā is considered a more advanced ritual, so I wonāt be able to learn of it for nowā¦
The most important thing to do now is to improve my abilities!
Klein reined in his thoughts, and once again listened in on the conversation of the other members. He listened as their discussion changed from Qilangos to the characteristics of particular monsters.
Some time later, he smiled.
āLetās end it here for today.ā
āBy your will.ā The Sun, Justice, and The Hanged Man stood up at the same time.
After severing the connections of the members, Klein quickly descended from the fog and left the mysterious space.
When he returned to his room, he dispelled the wall of spirituality and pulled back the curtains by the oriel window, allowing the sunlight to shine in.
There are two important things to do this week. The first is to get examined and advance to Sequence 8. The second is to make Flaring Sun Charms. Its powers might be even higher than that of Sequence 7 or 6ā¦ Klein looked outside with anticipation.
Tomorrow. I should be able to receive the report of Mr. Azikās paranormal disturbances tomorrow!