Another Tarot Club Meeting

Above the Gray Fog, enormous stone pillars supported a grand and majestic divine palace.

Two crimson glows suddenly appeared beside the ancient, mottled Bronze Long Table, blurrily stretching into illusory figures.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool." Audrey smiled faintly and curtsied. "It's a pity there's no wine here, or we could toast to your successful attempt."

An attempt? Oh, she meant that ritual... Alice, who had lazily skipped trying it, thought without the slightest guilt.

"Your power far exceeds our imagination."

Hmm... If prayers can be heard, then the next time I wake up terrified from a nightmare, can I wake Klein up too?

As she looked at the respectful Alger, an ill-timed thought surfaced in Alice's mind. She smiled faintly and curtsied. "My congratulations on your success."

The dense Gray Fog around Klein remained as thick as ever. He held his right hand out slightly and spoke as though answering an ordinary question. "Very good. This shows that we are on a productive path. If you have matters to attend to in the future and cannot make it on Monday afternoon, hold a ritual in advance to inform me. Hmm, you only need to change 'pray for a good dream' in the incantation to the specific reason."

Alice resolved in her heart that she would definitely wake him up next time.

After Audrey submitted a diary entry and Alger stated that he had not obtained one, the esteemed Mr. Fool began his time of reading diaries.

Once Mr. Fool announced that trading could begin, Audrey impatiently asked Alger, "Where can I find the Psychology Alchemists?"

Alger shook his head. "Miss Justice, first, I don't know any leads. Second, I don't think you need to be in such a hurry to find the Psychology Alchemists. Your current priority should be digesting the Spectator potion."

After realizing that Mr. Fool had no intention of adding anything, Audrey nodded somewhat disappointedly. "I merely hoped to have ample time to prepare and approach them more naturally. All right, then when will I be able to digest the Spectator potion and end the acting? Is there any standard for judging it? I've hardly experienced irritability or heard murmurs lately."

Clearly, Alger did not know the answer either. The kind Mr. Fool offered a reminder. "At the Low Sequences, as long as you strictly act your role, you can completely digest it within half a year. One month is not impossible, either."

He looked at Justice and added soothingly, "When the time comes, you will naturally understand the signs of complete digestion. You won't need anyone to teach you."

"One month...?" Alice repeated in surprise. She knew that the Church's standard was three years, something she had learned from Dunn. If the Acting Method's effects were so exaggerated, why were the Churches unwilling to make it public?

"Half a year..." Alger repeated softly.

As a Spectator, Audrey curiously examined them before looking at Klein. "Mr. Fool, do you plan to add new members?"

"..." Mr. Fool fell silent. After all, Mr. Fool could not possibly directly say, My spirituality isn't enough to pull in another person.

"As a regular gathering, member selection should have strict standards," Alice said softly. "And matters such as review should, of course, be handled personally by Mr. Fool, isn't that right?"

"That's true." Audrey nodded in agreement. "We should have strict procedures, beginning with observation and recommendation, followed by assessment..."

"Concealment is our principle." Mr. Fool, who had let out a sigh of relief, delivered his closing remarks.

"I would like information related to the School of Life, or clues about Beyonders of the Monster pathway." After confirming that Audrey had nothing else to say for the time being, Alice stated her request.

"What is the School of Life?" That was Miss Audrey, who knew nothing at all.

"You're not a Beyonder from the School of Life?" Alger looked at Alice in surprise. Unlike Audrey, who knew nothing about the Supernatural World, Alger had assumed Alice came from the School of Life after learning that she belonged to the Monster pathway. He had deliberately ignored the few details that felt out of place.

"I became a Beyonder because of 'luck.'" Alice emphasized the word "luck," and Alger quickly understood what she meant—it had been an accident.

But what sort of accident could make someone become a Beyonder and even advance? She should be Sequence 8 or Sequence 7, not likely Middle Sequence... Of course, that referred to an earlier Middle Sequence.

His train of thought paused briefly, and Alger suddenly realized something extremely unreasonable: Alice was not very old, and she even retained obvious innocence. That was not a state a Wild Beyonder should have—there was a high probability that she had been well protected. Considering that she had become a Beyonder at an even younger age, if she did not belong to the School of Life, then there was a high probability that she had been discovered by the authorities.

That explained perfectly why she knew about the internal affairs of the Three Churches, and why she had been as surprised as he was by the effectiveness of the Acting Method...

But would an official Beyonder advance because of "luck"? Wait, where would the authorities get a Monster pathway potion formula?

At this moment, Alger did not consider the possibility that Alice had never experienced Sequence 9 or Sequence 8. After all, unless they saw such a thing in person, Most People would not believe it... Even if they saw it in person, they would find it difficult to accept.

The Hanged Man, deep in thought, did not answer Audrey's question, so Alice could only explain to Audrey, "It is a Concealment organization. I do not know much about it either. I only know that it primarily follows a master-disciple inheritance system and possesses the Apothecary and Monster pathways."

Paused for a Moment, Alice added, "My commission will remain valid until I find the School of Life or a Beyonder of the Monster pathway."

After Audrey and Alger both expressed their understanding, the atmosphere fell silent again.

"I heard that a Listener from the Aurora Order is searching for traces of the True Creator, or what they preach as the 'Sanctuary.'" Alger took the initiative to begin a new topic.

"The True Creator?" Audrey asked in confusion.

"That is an ancient existence jointly worshipped by quite a few Mysterious Organizations and concealed sects. They believe that the Creator did not completely die, and that the core He left behind is the True Creator." Alger gave a rough explanation. "Since the Fifth Epoch, the True Creator has appeared in many forms, such as the 'Hanged Giant' and the 'Eye Behind the Shadow Veil.' Heh, many people believe that Emperor Roselle referenced the True Creator's image when he invented Tarot Cards, which gave rise to the Hanged Man card."

At this point, he looked toward Klein. "There's nothing wrong with what I said, is there, Mr. Fool?"

Klein chuckled. "I would rather call him the Fallen Creator."

Fallen? No, another meaning of the Hanged Man is sacrifice... Recalling that the True Creator was an evil god, Alice suddenly thought, Could that have something to do with how he became an evil god?