The First Formal Tarot Club Meeting

"Honorable Mr. Fool, how should I tell Miss Justice about the formula?" Compared to the casualness of the last gathering, Aster showed considerably more respect for the Fool, at least on the surface.

Hearing the implication in Mr. Lovers' request—that "this formula must not be revealed to the Hanged Man"—Klein, the Fool, nodded in agreement and briefly described the technique for materializing objects. Thanks to this process, Aster raised his hand, and a sheet of paper bearing the Spectator potion formula appeared in his hand before vanishing again. When it reappeared, it was already before Justice.

"How magical..." Audrey murmured softly, then picked up the formula before her and began memorizing it carefully.

After glancing unobtrusively at the utterly immovable Mr. Fool, Aster turned to Alger Wilson, the Hanged Man. "Mr. Hanged Man, I've obtained Ghost Shark blood. Have you acquired the Beyonder material I need?"

"Yes, I've bought a Whispering Sheep horn," the Hanged Man replied steadily. "How should I give it to you?"

Ah, that was a little troublesome. I'd have to collect it privately... In the late game, obtaining items was all done through Mr. Fool's sacrifices and bestowals... Should I mention it? But in this world, that probably counted as blasphemy, didn't it?

Aster frowned slightly, but in the end, he did not bring up sacrifices and bestowals. Though he did not particularly revere gods, directly making requests that might anger Them was another matter entirely.

"Name a location and leave the Whispering Sheep horn there beforehand. I'll retrieve it and leave the Ghost Shark blood behind," Aster answered after some thought. "With Mr. Fool as witness, you needn't worry that I'll go back on my word." Besides, Aster had given the Hanged Man the right to choose the trading location. If he wished, he could set multiple traps or attempt to spy on Lovers' true identity. That was already quite sincere.

"You can go to The Brave and the Sea bar on Pelican Street in White Rose District, Pritz Harbor. Ask the owner, Williams, for the item left behind by the 'Captain,'" the Hanged Man said, decisively accepting the suggestion after weighing the pros and cons.

After the transaction ended, a brief silence fell above the Gray Fog.

Do they not know what to say? At a normal gathering, this would be when information trading began... After some thought, Klein, the Fool, was about to try getting the gathering going when he heard Lovers speak. "The evil gods have begun purposefully corrupting the Church's clergy."

"Indeed," the Hanged Man added, sharing some of what he knew. "Over the past few years, certain evil gods... secret organizations have also become more active than before." The moment he said this, Alger felt that something was a little off. After all, the Fool resembled a revived evil god in some ways, and the Tarot Club they had joined was undoubtedly a secret organization.

Trying to make up for it, he hurriedly continued by speaking of several other secret organizations. "The Psychology Alchemists have become increasingly active... They control the Spectator Pathway, and during power transitions in certain countries, traces of them can be seen."

"The Aurora Order's terrorist attacks have also become more frequent, placing great pressure on the Churches." After briefly mentioning two secret organizations, the Hanged Man did not delve any further into the topic. Resting his cheek on one hand, Aster spoke of a small realization he had had recently. "The Hidden Sage has also begun corrupting Mystery Pryers outside the Moses Ascetic Order on a large scale. Among the Church Mystery Pryers I know, at least two have been targeted by Him. Heh, it seems the Church of Steam and Machinery has put them under a great deal of pressure."

Mystery Pryers?!

Klein, the Fool, immediately became alert.

Old Neil was a Mystery Pryer!

"Um, gentlemen, could you explain the terms you just mentioned?" Miss Justice, Audrey, timidly raised her hand. "I don't know much about these secret organizations. If I wanted to learn about them in detail, what price would I have to pay?"

Well done, Miss Justice! Klein cheered inwardly. This was exactly the perfect setup he needed!

"This isn't such a secret matter. Once you become a Beyonder, you'll gradually come into contact with it anyway." Just as Alger Wilson was about to name his price, he heard Lovers casually refuse her request for paid consultation, leaving him somewhat helpless.

"The Hidden Sage is the evil god worshipped by the Moses Ascetic Order. They control the Mystery Pryer Pathway." From Aster's player's perspective, the information he was sharing was nothing much in the late game. It was all basic setting material. "It isn't people pursuing knowledge; it is knowledge pursuing people. His pursuit is cold and merciless, like a hawk chasing a rabbit. For Beyonders of the Mystery Pryer Pathway, the Hidden Sage is the knowledge pursuing them. And in the concepts of mysticism, knowledge is poisonous."

"Mystery Pryers poisoned by knowledge rarely meet a good end." Thinking of Townsend Neil, Aster's voice grew softer.

The Hidden Sage...? Klein could not help thinking of Old Neil as he had seen him when activating his Spirit Vision.

There had been a pair of cold, merciless eyes behind him! And his explanation had been that it was "the remnant of a ritual magic"...

Suppressing the tangled doubts in his heart, he listened as Mr. Lovers continued. "The Psychology Alchemists began as a more academic organization. They control the Spectator Pathway and believe that human consciousness is like an iceberg on the sea..."

After briefly introducing the Psychology Alchemists, Aster leaned back against his chair and looked at the Hanged Man again. "Besides that, it seems the Church of Evernight also had an Archbishop defect."

"Ince Zangwill. He took 0-08 with him." Having finally found a chance to interject, Klein hurriedly added a sentence.

"Yes. I'm truly curious about the expressions on those Nighthawks' faces." Aster chuckled softly. He did not know much about Ince Zangwill. He only knew that Ince was one of the final bosses of version 4.0 and a very stupid stationary channeling boss. As for what Ince had done in the story, Aster could only say he knew nothing at all.

Just as he was considering whether there was anything else he could or could not say, Aster heard Justice, Audrey, ask a practical question. "Excuse me, after I consume this Spectator potion, what should I do to master its power more quickly?"

Do quests... Aster quietly made a joke to himself. Just as he was about to offer some advice, the Hanged Man spoke. "After consuming the potion, begin meditating as soon as possible and control your spirituality and power... You must practice every day to truly master the potion's power and uncover its symbolic meaning and further mysteries. Only then can you minimize the danger of losing control. The key to a potion's symbolic meaning lies in its 'name,' such as 'Spectator'..."

Audrey listened attentively to the Hanged Man's explanation and was about to ask several detailed questions when she suddenly heard the sound of someone lightly tapping the table.

She and Alger turned at the same time, looking toward the Fool seated at the head of the table. They saw this mysterious powerhouse tapping his fingers lightly as he spoke in a deep voice:

"It is not mastery, but digestion. It is not uncovering, but acting. A potion's name is not merely a symbol. It is also an image, and more importantly, the 'key' to digestion."

The Acting Method... It was about time for that to be revealed. Aster crossed his arms, thoughtful. It was not just the natives; players' quest systems were also a kind of Acting Method to some extent.

Take his daily quests during his Gravedigger period, for example. They had almost all involved handling corpses. Even after completing the required number of daily quests, that did not prevent him from gaining acting points through other methods.

Miss Justice seemed to have thought of something... Mr. Hanged Man was very agitated... Mr. Lovers had no reaction? He knew the Acting Method? Was he a member of the Church? No, Old Neil never told me about the Acting Method, and the Captain never mentioned it either... It cannot be ruled out that he forgot, but more likely, they simply do not know. Could Lovers actually be a member of some secret organization?

Klein, the Fool, glanced at Justice's confused incomprehension, then at the Hanged Man, who had fallen into immense shock, before looking toward the calm Lovers. A few guesses vaguely formed in his mind, but because he still did not understand the mysterious world well enough, he could not determine which organization it was.

The Hanged Man noticed this as well, but his thoughts went further. Even in this space, that cold and gloomy feeling was difficult to conceal... The Death Pathway or the Prisoner Pathway? The Numinous Episcopate? Or the Rose School?

He directly ruled out the possibility of an orthodox Church. After all, a Lovers who would take out five Sequence 9 formulas and let Justice choose among them would absolutely be considered a heretic in such an official organization.

"Take Spectator as an example." Lovers, Aster, did not take the Hanged Man's scrutiny to heart. "Life is a play, and everyone is an actor. In the broad sense, spectators can follow the actors' performances, immerse themselves body and soul, and let their emotions rise and fall with the plot. But that is not what you, a Spectator who has consumed the potion, should do. You are forever merely a calm observer. Only an objective enough spectator can glimpse the actors' true thoughts from the details of their body language."

"Ahem. In short, you need to play the role of a 'calm and objective spectator' in your daily life. That can effectively help you digest the residual power in the potion."

Although Lovers did not directly show that he understood the Acting Method, merely giving Justice that advice was enough for the Hanged Man to draw some preliminary conclusions:

Lovers possessed knowledge and resources beyond those of low-sequence wild Beyonders. That at least indicated that he came from a relatively large secret organization. And his lack of sufficient respect for higher beings, along with his willingness to sell Sequence 9 formulas directly without any apparent intention of consulting his superiors...

Was he the descendant of some high-sequence powerhouse?

Klein, the Fool, could tell that the Hanged Man seemed to be pondering something, but due to the lack of information, he found it difficult to guess the truth.