Simul-Transmigration: A Pathstrider's Journey from Lord of Mysteries
Chapter 106

Masked Fools? (6,000-Word Bonus Chapter for the Alliance Leader)

3,580 words12 min read2 views1mo ago
Next

Walking into Tavern, there is a wide front hall.

There are large and small posters hanging on the walls here. Some of those posters are people and some are landscapes.

As decorations, there are colorful ribbons, balloons and various masks.

Facing the door is a bar counter with two sentences written on the front.

"All the drinks in our store are made from jokes. Friends who are not very funny please drink at your own discretion."

In addition, there are various seats, booths, and small booths around. There is a small stage against the wall. Someone is playing instruments on it, and the music is extremely cheerful.

The lights are very bright and warm-toned, and the entire Tavern is filled with all kinds of jokes and laughter from all directions. There is no deliberately warm and ambiguous atmosphere that is common in bars.

Rather than saying this is Tavern, this place is actually more like a circus.

There is a sign hanging on the wall next to the bar, which is a "forbidden" symbol and a mask. Below it is written "Aha, Mournful Actors No Entry".

Aha, that is the name of [Pleasure]Aeon.

"After the six hundred and sixty-sixth invitation to Aha did not receive a response, the younger generation of Fool voted collectively to expel the God of Fun from [Pleasure]." Sparkle noticed that Morien was looking at the sign, so he introduced it to Morien.

Her tone sounded like a conscientious tour guide.

"The flower guide really likes being a tour guide." Morien said with a smile.

"Doesn't this seem like Master Sparkle is well-informed?" Sparkle raised his head and responded.

After saying that, she put her hands on her hips and stood still.

"Okay, here is Tavern." Sparkle turned to Morien and said.

"How is it? It's a little different from what you imagined?"

"I heard that when many Fools enter Tavern for the first time, they feel that the real Tavern is different from what they imagined, and they feel a little disappointed."

"Is this actually possible?" Morien replied, "I think it's a good idea."

Because I have seen Tavern in the game, Morien accepted it pretty well.

Probably he has been disappointed once before.

In fact, when Morien heard about Tavern for the first time, he really regarded "Tavern" as the "holy land of [Pleasure]".

Just like [Trailblaze] is to "Astral Express", [Beauty] is to "Pure Beauty Knights", [Preservation] is to "Amber Lord seven-day sightseeing tour belt".

But unfortunately, when "Tavern" in the game appeared in front of Morien for the first time, he was only disappointed.

In this regard, the only thing he can comfort himself with is "Maybe the Tavern on the surface is not the real Tavern, and maybe there is a real End of the World "Tavern headquarters".

"Yeah, yeah." Sparkle walked in front of Morien, looking at Morien, while walking backwards.

"But after a while, you may really see something that disappoints you." Sparkle gave Morien a vaccination.

"I can probably guess it." Morien smiled.

Sparkle was able to take the initiative to talk to him, probably because he could see that he was more of the "old school" of Tavern.

For Tavern, which is dominated by the "New Life faction", I guess it will really be a bit unacceptable.

"Then you have to be prepared," she reminded.

"Hmm." Morien nodded and turned to look at the paintings on the wall.

Their arrival did not seem to attract the attention of others in Tavern.

Guests in Tavern chat when they should, drink when they should, and tell jokes when they should.

Occasionally, someone glanced at Morien and Sparkle who had just come in, but no one took the initiative to talk to them.

Morien looked at the surrounding environment and began to appreciate the decoration of Tavern itself.

This place is different from the Tavern of Duplex Paradise in the game. There are no Imagenaes everywhere. The decoration is more like Penacony's revelry. Some Dream Bubbles are hung on the walls, which show various dreams. There are wine bottles with smiling faces painted on the walls and shelves.

Exaggerated, brilliant, vain, flashy.

Just as Morien was looking at the paintings on the wall, suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that one of the paintings winked at him.

Blinked?

Morien immediately turned his head, leaned over curiously, and looked at the painting carefully.

It was a figure painting, which showed Clown wearing a top hat and heavy makeup on his face.

He was sitting in the middle of a room, with his hands folded on his legs, his movements looked like the "Mona Lisa", his eyes looked out of the frame, and there was a faint "Mona Lisa smile" on his face.

But it's a pity that Clown stopped moving after Morien came close, as if it had turned into a real painting.

Morien withdrew his gaze and looked at other paintings.

Below the Clown painting is a landscape painting.

The painting was of a warehouse full of wine barrels.

There seems to be nothing special about this painting.

Just then.

Clang.

The ceiling in the painting suddenly opened a trap door, and Clown, who was wearing heavy makeup, jumped down from the trap door.

"Oh, don't be so anxious."

"Look at you, I just teased you twice, why don't you have any patience at all?"

Oh, can we still visit?

Clown put his face in the front of the picture and looked at Morien.

Morien subconsciously raised his gaze and looked at Clown's original portrait.

The place is now empty, leaving only a slightly monotonous and empty room.

"Hey, you are a newcomer, right?" Clown looked at Morien, "Only newcomers who enter Tavern for the first time will show that expression."

"You are quite good at observing people's emotions," Morien answered his question, "Yes, I am a newcomer."

He stretched out a hand and touched the frame.

"This is my first time entering Tavern."

"Hehehe, it's true." He laughed a little nervously.

"Speaking of which, I heard that you came down with a Beauty knight, right? Do you also believe in the dead Idrila?" Clown asked curiously.

"Where did you hear that?" Morien was more curious about this, "I've only been here for less than half a day."

"You were spotted by other paintings while queuing up," Clown said matter-of-factly, "We paintings can also talk in private."

"So that's it." Morien understood and felt Tavern was really interesting.

"So can the painting in the dream have the same Remembrance as the painting in reality?"

"Haha, there is no Remembrance in the real paintings." Clown said with a smile.

"You haven't answered my question yet, hehe," Clown continued to ask, "Do you believe in the dead Idrila?"

"No, I believe in [Spring Eyebrow] male god Idrila, and I think Idrila's eyebrows are unparalleled." Morien said without thinking.

His hand was still on the frame, chatting with Clown.

Clown was stunned for a moment, thought for two seconds, and then started laughing.

"Hahaha, you are so interesting."

"However, you seem to be a [Propagation] Pathstrider, right? I can feel the scales on your body," he changed the subject. "Didn't that Beauty knight kill you too?"

"You have such a deep misunderstanding of knights." Morien spread out his free hand.

"Hehe, there is nothing we can do about it." Clown continued to say with a smile.

"After all, who in this world doesn't look at people through stereotypes?"

"It's like I'm a Clown, I just need to keep laughing and joking, hey hey hey."

He suddenly came close to the frame and made a gesture as if he wanted to whisper.

"I heard that [Propagation] and Pathstrider are all lonely, is that true?" He lowered his voice and whispered.

"Maybe?" Morien tilted his head, "I don't know, I haven't seen other [Propagation]Pathstrider."

"Then let's talk about it?" Clown's face almost stuck to the frame, "Why did you set foot on [Propagation]?"

"It's just what you think." Morien continued to spread his hands.

"Oh----" Clown said in a very long voice, "Then will you sleep with bugs in your arms every day?"

"Yes." Morien didn't think there was anything wrong with this, "How cute."

Clown was very friendly and hospitable throughout the entire process.

If Morien didn't really know what Fool is now, I would probably really believe that he is friendly.

But unfortunately, Morien's hand was on the frame the whole time, and he knew exactly what Clown was thinking.

Cursed Technique Reversal·Mind Reading.

Morien heard it clearly. This was because he wanted to collect his dark history and explore his inner trauma as a source of future discussion.

All I can say is that it was as expected----

His fingers tapped lightly on the picture frame.

"Hey? Let me think about it----" Clown returned to normal volume, "Are you a [Propagation] bug, or a Masked Fools."

"Oh my god, you don't have that great ideal of wanting everyone to be happy, do you?" he asked.

"It's not that great." Morien answered his question with a smile, "It would be great if my children could be happy."

"Oh, then you are really a great mother Aha haha." Clown laughed.

He said something similar to what Argenti said, but the tone was completely different, which made people feel extremely harsh.

He finally stopped pretending.

"Your voice is really ugly." Morien commented.

"Hehehe, yes, many people have said that." Clown replied in a slightly sharp voice.

He suddenly grinned and shouted at the others.

"Hahaha, friends, there's a new person here, and there's a new joke. Come welcome everyone."

"A big bug in human form seems to think that he is the great Virgin."

The Fool people around have been paying attention to this direction. Now they saw someone opening their head and immediately gathered around.

The surrounding landscape frames were suddenly filled with portraits of people who came from nowhere.

"Speaking of which, did we remember that Aha gave all his power to a bug? Hahaha." Someone laughed.

"Hey, this is really a similar situation."

"Do bugs also have a sense of humor?" People around him whispered, but the sound was loud enough for anyone to hear clearly.

"Oh my god, is this the masterpiece of Aha? Can you sign it for me? Just sign it on the sole of your foot. I will never wash it in my life——"

Various sounds came from all directions, mixed with harsh laughter.

"This is what you said will disappoint me, right?" Morien did not look at them, but turned to look at Sparkle standing aside.

"Oh, yes." Sparkle sighed, "That's why I said, let you be mentally prepared."

"But let me explain in advance, they are not arranged by Master Sparkle." Sparkle immediately drew a clear line with them, "You know, the lovely Sparkle would never do such a thing."

"What you said sounds a bit green tea," Morien held his chin with his hand and tilted his head, "If I hadn't already predicted the atmosphere of Tavern, I would have really thought that you were doing something secretly."

"How could you say that~."

Morien didn't seem to take Clown's words to heart.

"But I have to say, Master Sparkle's respect for Tavern is really comparable to the insole of a shoe. Anyone who brings him here can step on them."

"If you say that, little Sparkle will be really sad~.

","How come you were directly downgraded from Master Sparkle to Little Sparkle?"

"You were demoted too quickly."

He truly believed that this was not the handiwork of Sparkle.

After all, Oldest One Trailblazer received similar treatment when he visited Tavern.

The current Tavern is already rotten.

He was so angry that Master Sparkle took action on the spot, causing the bully Fool to evaporate on the spot, leaving only a mask on the ground.

Later, when Trailblazer asked Sparkle whether Fool was still alive, Sparkle just told a riddle and took him away carelessly.

She just said, "This Fool was in a state of confusion when he was alive. It was not considered alive at all, so it cannot be considered dead now. If no one throws it into "Golden Confessional" to wash it away, he can come to trouble me again in two hours."

As for what will happen if it is really washed away.

Sparkle didn't say anything, and Trailblazer didn't ask either.

"I just want to ask, is there any way you can meet the people in the painting?"

"No," Sparkle shook his head, "Even in a dream, it would be difficult to meet the person in the painting."

"After all, it's just a painting."

"So that's it. Since this is a dream, then if there is a Memokeep here, he should be able to meet the person in the painting, right?" Morien asked again.

"Of course, in the world of dreams, the powerful Memokeep is almost omnipotent." Sparkle replied.

Memokeep, is the person from Garden of Recollection.

They have no body and live in the form of "memes". They are more like "Remembrance bodies" than "human beings".

"Hahaha, what's your problem? Are you so angry that you want to hit me?"

Clown pointed at Morien and laughed even happier.

Tavern now enjoys torturing others, and one of their pleasures is to make others angry enough to break their defenses.

"Do you want to draw a picture? You are so angry." He held his belly and made a mocking sound.

But Morien just smiled and said nothing.

Facing Clown's ridicule, he didn't seem to care at all.

But how is this possible?

He is the most cautious person.

Clown smiled and laughed, but his voice suddenly got stuck, as if there was something blocked in his throat.

His throat really bulged.

The laughter of others around him continued, but he could no longer make a sound. His eyes widened, his mouth opened, and his hands began to swing and struggle.

A few seconds later.

A white Moth came out of his mouth.

These Moth don't leave the frame.

They are part of the painting.

Next came the ears and eyes, and then the bulges gradually bulged one after another on the body.

Those bulges exploded one after another, and white translucent Moth emerged from them.

"If Memokeep can do it, then I can probably do it too." Morien blinked at Clown and made a wink.

This is Whispering Bookworm.

It is Insect Brood developed from Morien of Mysteries World.

By instilling Honorific Name with "Unceasing Devouring Words" into other people's brains, and then using it to cultivate Insect Brood for Insect Nest after he loses control and becomes Monster.

He cannot summon Mother Bug across the world, but unfortunately this Clown cannot defeat even the weakest Wandering Star Borer.

Then there is nothing we can do.

After all, he is just a painting.

It is normal for it to break if bitten by insects.

"This is just a bug eating Remembrance," Morien explained with a smile, "He won't cause any harm to the body."

"I heard that death does not exist in Penacony, so you can rest assured."

The surrounding voices suddenly became quiet.

Immediately afterwards, the portraits lingering in several surrounding frames disappeared in a rush.

These paintings are by the aboriginal people of Penacony, not the tourists who entered through Dream Pool.

They are "Memetic Lifeforms".

For Memetic Lifeforms, losing Remembrance is equivalent to death.

"They ran away." Sparkle reminded me kindly.

"I know," Morien said with a smile, "Just smile, it's okay."

he said.

"But, who told me to be petty?

19

You offended Royal Insect and still want to run away?

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard large and small movements coming from the picture frame not far away.

Soon, several white translucent Moth were added to each hanging painting in Tavern.

"Perhaps, Tavern's branch in Penacony should be renamed Swarm Memorial Hall." Morien said to Sparkle with a smile, "

You see, there are pictures of Moth everywhere."

There are various postures.

How fresh.

"My kids are on the wall. I'm so flattered."

The surrounding voices mocking Morien immediately became quieter.

"You can't do this," Morien turned to look at them, "Don't feel pity because of the weak, and don't be afraid of the strong. This is what Will of Dominance should be like."

"To be domineering and overriding everything, you should not be as submissive as you are."

"You don't dare to continue bullying just because I'm strong. What do you think this is like?"

"Listen carefully, your Will of Dominance is crying."

But these words did not comfort those Fools around.

Their whispers suddenly became quieter and almost disappeared.

If the people here are really pure Masked Fools and take pleasure in "making fun of others", even when faced with Morien's current appearance, he can still laugh from the bottom of his heart.

Laugh at Morien's counterattack, laugh at those Fool who bully the weak and fear the strong, and laugh at their own "counterattack".

If this is really the case, then Morien will probably really look down on them.

But it's a pity.

The people here are just a bunch of drunkards escaping from reality.

The current Tavern, except for the drunk Fool, are all company employees pretending to be sober.

Boring and useless.

"You are so boring, get out of here." Morien waved his hand, and the Fool around him dispersed.

Sparkle watched with interest, watching the other Fool fleeing, and saw the squirming bulges under their skin that even they themselves didn't notice.

"It will probably take them several days to find out." Sparkle said.

"That's impossible to say." Morien shrugged, "My memetic children will eat up their own sense of existence."

"Will you kill them?" Sparkle asked curiously.

There was no fear in her tone, just pure curiosity.

"It's just ridicule, it's not a capital crime." Morien walked past Sparkle, "It just makes them more likely to have nightmares and Remembrance's power becomes weaker."

Sparkle nodded thoughtfully and followed Morien to the bar and sat down.

In the world of dreams, nightmares are not a good thing.

"Our shop is a small business. If you want to drink a special drink, please prepare Credits. A single cup is 50,000, and the tip starts at 100,000." The bartender said while taking out two cups.

Wow, it's a black shop.

"A thousand dollars can't buy your happiness. Although we are a small business, happiness is priceless, right?"

"What would the guest like to have?" the bartender said to Morien with a smile.

Before Morien could speak, Sparkle's voice intervened.

Her tone was still lively, the bartender said.

"Come on, in order to welcome our new family, I'll buy you the first cup of Tavern."

"Have a cup of the most expensive special drink!"

She patted her chest and said boldly.

"Whatever he wants to drink will be paid for by this dude."

"Are you so rich?" Morien looked at Sparkle with a half-smile.

"Hehe." Sparkle grinned.

The bartender also laughed.

"Haha, just a joke. At End of the World", Pleasure, there is no price, a funny joke can be exchanged for a glass of fine wine."

The people who gathered around to laugh at Morien just now are actually not all Fool in Tavern.

Even now, there is not a slightly normal Fool among Tavern.

For example, the girl who is working as a bartender now.

Looking at Sparkle who was telling the bartender a joke in exchange for drinks and the bartender who was listening to the story with his head supported by one hand, Morien suddenly thought of something and smiled.

"What are you laughing at?" Looking at Morien's expression, Sparkle, who had just finished telling the story, turned his head.

She sat on the chair with her feet dangling in the air and asked curiously.

"No, it's nothing, I just thought of some fun things." Morien picked up a wine glass from Sparkle's hand.

It's really fun.

Just as he gained some strength, Elio stuffed a Beauty knight next to him.

Now, I guide a Masked Fools who still sticks to his "Elation Aesthetics" to him and tell him what [Pleasure] is, for fear that he will be led astray by those third-rate Fools who are now Tavern.

How afraid is he of taking the wrong path?

"That's great," the bartender said with a smile after listening to Sparkle's story, "Tavern rarely hears stories like this nowadays.

End of the World "The jokes in it are getting more and more boring----, this sentence is quite funny." Sparkle said.

Now Masked Fools is always drunk because he is bored, too boring.

"In the past, with the help of the company's technology, we have lived a good life. Sitting in Tavern, we can see the fun all over the world, and laugh until we cry every day."

"But as time goes by, no matter how funny things are, they will become boring, and it is even harder to find real fun, so they start to party and drink wine made from old jokes, hoping to find more exciting jokes." Another voice came from not far away.

A man walked up to Morien and Sparkle and sat down.

He has slutty blue hair and wears a slightly tight top and trousers.

"Hello, buddy." Sampo stretched out his hand, "Let me meet you, I am poor Old Sampo, a Masked Fools whose mask was stolen.

19

End of Chapter
Prev
NovelSummaries
Next

Explore the wiki

Comments