The Fool Takes a Master

Luo Lin was not surprised to hear Klein say that. He merely put on a timely look of delight and said, "Just as I thought. So you're a Seer too?"

Klein had already grown somewhat accustomed to Luo Lin's bluntness and shocking remarks. Now that the other man had exposed his identity, he was not particularly surprised either. He simply nodded and said, "I am indeed a Seer."

After "coming clean" about his connection to The Fool, there was no need to hide this part.

But... Klein gave Luo Lin a suspicious look and probed, "Too?"

He had not overlooked Luo Lin's wording.

"That's right. I'm a Seer too." Luo Lin revealed this quite readily.

Klein's mouth twitched. He sized Luo Lin up and asked tentatively, "Why did you choose to become a Seer?"

"...My family counts as a relatively ancient Beyonder family. Although it has declined, the younger generation can still choose between the Theft, Seer, and Apprentice pathways. I happened to prefer the Seer pathway." Luo Lin spoke without even blinking.

No wonder he could dig up so much information... Klein came to a realization, though his expression turned a little strange. "...Is it really alright to tell me this?"

"It's fine, because you're a good person!" Luo Lin waved a hand and said with a smile, "Besides, I divined it. You wouldn't sell me out."

Hearing that, Klein suddenly recalled the divination he had performed before leaving home, and his mood became somewhat complicated.

Having deliberately teased him, Luo Lin's expression turned serious after laughing. "Actually, I suspect that the several dukes connected to the Blood Emperor in the Fourth Epoch all had some sort of problem."

"What do you mean?" Klein froze for a moment and asked in confusion.

"I have a friend in Backlund who is probably connected to the Abraham Family. As far as I know, she suffers from a full moon curse, and it isn't just her. The entire Abraham Family seems to have the same issue."

Luo Lin explained, "As for that final Duke Amon... He definitely wasn't anything good." As he said that, Luo Lin appropriately showed a wary expression.

"Do you have a grudge against that Amon?" Klein asked tentatively.

"It isn't that I have a grudge against Him. There's something wrong with Amon Himself. Anyway, if you ever run into some bastard who might be Amon, remember to run immediately. He especially likes treating Beyonders from the Seer, Theft, and Apprentice pathways as little snacks." Luo Lin's expression became much graver as he continued:

"Oh, right. Amon's distinguishing feature is a monocle. Anyway, if you see anyone wearing a monocle, just run."

"I'll remember that. Thank you for the warning, Jack." Klein hurriedly committed Luo Lin's words to memory. Though he did not know whether the other man was telling the truth, his vigilance toward Amon had already risen considerably.

However, Klein could not help but feel some doubt. Looking at Luo Lin, he asked, "What pathway is Amon on, exactly? Why does He eat Beyonders from the Seer, Apprentice, and Theft pathways?"

"Amon is from the Theft pathway." Luo Lin explained, then blinked as he looked at Klein. "As for why He eats Beyonders from the Seer, Apprentice, and Theft pathways, it's probably because those three are neighboring pathways... Uh, do you know what neighboring pathways are?"

Klein honestly shook his head.

At this stage, Klein truly did not understand such matters. He did not even know Extraordinary characteristics existed. He was a genuine newbie Beyonder.

"You don't know? Hmm, but I can't just teach this knowledge to anyone..." Luo Lin showed a hesitant expression. He looked at Klein, seemingly wavering for several seconds before finally revealing his true purpose:

"How about this? Call me Teacher. If we have a teacher-student relationship, then it'll be fine for me to teach you this knowledge. Otherwise, it wouldn't be proper."

"Ah, right, if you buy it from me with money..." Luo Lin seemed to think of another option, but before he could finish, he heard Klein call out:

"Teacher!"

He said it so quickly that he was clearly afraid Luo Lin would change his mind and demand money before teaching him.

Just as expected of you, God of Poverty!

Luo Lin grumbled inwardly. He was not surprised by Klein's reaction at all; instead, he nodded with great satisfaction. "Then you'll be my student from now on. Ah, I never thought I'd become someone else's teacher too."

"Is there a chance you were already a teacher to begin with?" Klein reminded Luo Lin of his actual profession, which was also why he had called him Teacher so readily.

Luo Lin was already a university lecturer. Though he was not much older than Klein, the profession was there, so Klein had no psychological barrier to calling him Teacher.

"That's different. How could a teacher in mysticism be the same as a teacher in ordinary fields?" Luo Lin retorted, then said cheerfully, "Since you've called me Teacher, I won't let you call me that for nothing. To explain neighboring pathways, you first need to understand a concept: Extraordinary characteristics..."

Luo Lin then told Klein everything about the existence of Extraordinary characteristics, as well as the three major laws of Extraordinary characteristics—the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Indestructibility, the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Conservation, and the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Convergence. Along the way, he also explained what neighboring pathways were.

"So, the Seer, Theft, and Apprentice pathways are neighboring pathways that can be exchanged for one another. Amon probably messes with Beyonders from those three pathways for that reason," Luo Lin concluded.

As Klein felt that he had learned something new, a new guess about his current circumstances emerged in his mind—perhaps his affinity with The Fool was not because some mastermind existed behind the scenes, but because of the gray fog?

Klein vaguely suspected that the mysterious gray fog might be something belonging to the High Sequence of The Fool pathway, perhaps even something related to a god.

Naturally, Luo Lin took in every change in Klein's expression. Seeing that he had visibly relaxed, Luo Lin also breathed a sigh of relief.

He had gone a little too far in teasing him earlier and had suddenly placed too much pressure on Mr. Fool. Naturally, Luo Lin was afraid of pushing him too hard, which was why he used the teacher-student relationship as an excuse to offer other possibilities and let Klein recover gradually.

Of course, Luo Lin did not deny that he genuinely wanted to be Mr. Fool's teacher. It could satisfy his mischievous tastes while bringing the two of them closer. It was simply a win-win.

After making sense of the coincidences around him, Klein thought of something else and asked curiously, "So does having more Extraordinary characteristics make you stronger?"

"In theory, yes, but it actually isn't very cost-effective. Rather than drinking two more potions of the same Sequence, it's better to advance sooner." Luo Lin shook his head and explained, "If you accumulate too many characteristics from the same Sequence, they will instead slow down your digestion. Uh, right, do you know the Acting method?"