Owen's Divination

32 Weldi Street, South Bridge District.

"You said you've already become a Trickmaster?"

Owen looked at Cyril, who was sprawled unapologetically across his sofa, and was briefly at a loss for words.

It had only been two weeks since the other man had become a Beyonder, yet he had already completed an advancement. Owen, who had become a Beyonder around the same time, had only just finished studying part of his mysticism knowledge and become relatively proficient in techniques such as divination and Spirit Vision. As for digesting his potion, he had not even had the chance to begin.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Cyril on the sofa and asked solemnly, "Are you sure you finished digesting the Apprentice potion before advancing?"

"Of course. Otherwise, would I be sitting here chatting with you so leisurely?"

Cyril nodded, then described the general process of digesting his potion, leaving out everything related to Adam, Amon, and the Twilight Hermit Order.

Owen fell silent for a long while after hearing this, then finally sighed. "Your luck really is incredible."

"Perhaps." Cyril nodded noncommittally.

"But perhaps you've heard this saying: all gifts from Fate have already had their prices secretly marked."

After a pause, Owen skipped over the subject and asked instead, "How is your divination study going?"

"Quite well." Owen raised his chin, but when he remembered that Cyril had already advanced to Sequence 8, the chin he had just raised lowered again.

"I've mastered all the common methods of divination. I just lack experience with interpretation. Want to give it a try?"

"Sure. How about Tarot Cards?"

Cyril nodded lightly, then took out the deck of Tarot Cards he carried with him, the one from Adam.

Owen stared at the Tarot Cards in his hand in surprise. "You actually carry Tarot Cards around with you? Which one of us is the Seer?"

Cyril chuckled and snapped his fingers.

Snap~

The Tarot Cards in his hand seemed to come alive. One after another, they sprang up from his hand and landed precisely in Owen's.

A Trickmaster's Object Manipulation could make designated objects within five meters move or bounce, but it could not perform more intricate operations. Making the Tarot Cards jump from his hand to Owen's was already the limit of his control.

Owen's eyes widened at the sight. "That's amazing. This is exactly the kind of Beyonder Ability I dreamed of."

Cyril curled his lips in slight disdain. "It is amazing, but the effect is too weak. It's only good enough for tricks. It can scare people, but it's useless in a fight."

"Uh... well, the potion is called Trickmaster, after all."

Owen opened his mouth, hesitated for a long time, and only then managed to offer those words of comfort before decisively changing the subject.

"Aren't we divining something? Think of the question you want to divine in your mind, then draw a card."

Cyril nodded softly and drew one card from the Tarot deck Owen had shuffled and cut.

As he turned the card over, it revealed the image of a stern prince radiating authority, holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other.

Owen took one look and immediately said, "It's the Justice card. It represents balance and fairness."

"Rationally judging all things without ever interfering. Cause and effect, fortune and misfortune, all are borne by oneself. No matter the outcome, one must bear it oneself."

After a pause, he asked, "What question did you ask just now?"

Cyril studied the Justice card in his hand for a while, then flicked his fingers lightly and tossed it back into the deck.

"I was curious what the person who arranged for two Bounty Hunters to break into my home this morning, allowing me to digest the final portion of my potion, wanted."

"This..." Owen scratched the back of his head, trying hard to recall the mysticism knowledge he had learned over the past few days as he interpreted the Justice card.

"The key to this kind of card is morality and balance. You drew it upright, which means that person hiding in the shadows bears you no ill will. Or rather, his intentions overlap with your next plans. As long as you don't make any major changes, everything will go smoothly."

"That's all I can interpret. If you're still worried, we can perform another divination."

Cyril shook his head lightly. "No need. The divination is valid. I can probably guess some of the reasons behind this now."

After a pause, he added, "Although the Seer's acting rules say that one cannot rely entirely on divination, and that divination is not omnipotent, as a Seer, you also cannot doubt your own divination ability."

"A Seer who cannot even trust himself has no way to act or digest his potion."

Owen nodded earnestly. "Understood. This is also my first time divining for someone else. It's normal to feel a little uncertain."

After a brief pause, he decisively changed the subject. "According to the notes my father left behind, the key to Trickmaster lies in the two words 'performance' and 'fooling.'"

"'Fooling' can also be replaced with 'deception.' This comes from two Sequences with similar meanings: Swindler and Magician. I don't know much more than that. I'll probably have to wait until I reach Sequence 7 and contact the Council of Elders before I can get more information."

"But I think that by the time I reach Sequence 7, you probably won't need this information anymore."

Cyril nodded noncommittally, then turned the conversation to the problem he urgently needed to address.

"Can you divine a suitable gang to target? I need to make some money quickly and repay my bank loan."

"Although there's still plenty of time before repayment is due, I don't like the feeling of being in debt."

"No problem." Owen agreed readily. He was quite interested in this matter himself, and he hoped to redeem himself. His poor performance last time had left him feeling rather embarrassed.

He then took out paper and pen, wrote down the divination statement, and entered a meditative sleep while silently reciting it.

This was dream divination. Compared with the pendulum method and Tarot Card divination, this method could yield clearer and more specific information.

Under Cyril's gaze, Owen quickly completed a divination and said with visible excitement.

"I saw it. In the Backlund Bridge area, there's a gang that controls underground casinos. They're not very large and only control the casinos along with several nearby bars and inns, but their income is good."

"They call themselves the Black Wolf Gang. The gang supports one or two Beyonders internally, but neither is of a high Sequence."

Black Wolf...

Cyril murmured the name once. It sounded somewhat familiar, as though he had heard it before.

After thinking carefully for a moment, he finally remembered. He had heard that name at a gathering hosted by old Mr. Eye of Wisdom. It was the codename one of the members had chosen for himself.

Was it a coincidence, or was he the Beyonder supported by the gang? Or perhaps the gang leader?

After a pause, Cyril gathered his thoughts and looked at Owen curiously. "Information this detailed can't have come solely from that divination just now, right?"

"Uh..." Owen nodded somewhat sheepishly.

"My divination just now only confirmed that the Black Wolf Gang was a worthwhile target, that it wouldn't bring us too much danger, and that it had a decent income."

"As for the other information, I've collected it over this period. Don't worry, I used divination to verify all of it. I can guarantee its authenticity."

...No wonder Intis's intelligence bureau had so many members from the Secret Order. Seers really did have a great advantage in this regard.

After sighing inwardly, the two chatted a little longer before Cyril took his leave.

"I need two days to familiarize myself with and adapt to the changes brought by the potion, and make some preparations. Then we can begin."

"No problem." Owen nodded lightly. "I also need to conduct more divinations and plan a safe time and route for the operation."

After leaving Owen's home, Cyril did not return home directly. Instead, he went to Harvest Cathedral on Daffodil Street and met Father Utravsky.

The priest, built like a small giant, sat beside a table carefully polishing a candlestick. He merely glanced up at Cyril's arrival before withdrawing his gaze.

"You've advanced. What you need now is to quietly adapt to the changes in your body, not go wandering around outside."

He was not surprised that Father Utravsky had seen at a glance that he had just advanced. With the spirituality constantly spilling from his body, any Beyonder could tell.

Well, beginners like Owen didn't count.

After a pause, he looked at the priest carefully polishing the candlestick before him and said, "I'd like to buy some Beyonder potions with healing effects. Of course, poison would be even better if you have any."

Father Utravsky set down the candlestick, turned to look at him, and said seriously.

"Selling poison does not accord with the doctrine that life is precious."

Cyril nodded gladly... which meant he could sell healing potions.