Chapter 157: A Hint

Chapter 157: A Hint

Klein could no longer clearly remember whether he had ever told The Hanged Man and the others that the Sailor, Spectator, Sun, Reader, and Secret Supplicant pathways could be interchanged—unless he used Dream Divination on the spot to recall it.

But since The Hanged Man had shown confusion regarding the Church of Storms’ attitude, it meant he had not thought in terms of interchangeable pathways. Whether he did not know, or simply had not connected the two matters, Klein felt it was necessary to make things a little clearer. This would allow the members of the Tarot Club to gain an initial understanding of the true positions of the major factions, and thereby avoid many dangers.

After The Hanged Man Alger and the others cast their gazes over, Klein controlled The World Gehrman Sparrow and had him speak in a low voice, using a tone that was not entirely certain.

“Storm, Sun, Spectator, Reader, and Secret Supplicant are neighboring pathways.

“Evernight, God of War, and Death are also neighboring pathways.

“And neighboring pathways often become enemies. Of course, this is not absolute. At the very least, the Seven Gods established an alliance.”

Hearing The World’s answer, The Hanged Man Alger first thought of Adam pushing the “tide of the times” in an attempt to become a god. Then one thought after another flashed through his mind, giving him a degree of enlightenment regarding the Church of Storms’ present attitude.

This produced in him a rather peculiar sense of superiority and delight, as though he had glimpsed the essence of the matter and surpassed the level at which the vast majority of Beyonders in the Church of Storms stood.

Justice Audrey similarly gained an entirely new understanding of Intis’s strange silence within this war, and she grew even more concerned about the situation in Lenburg, Masin, and Segar.

In addition, she also learned that she could switch to Unshadowed, to Disaster Priest, or to the Sequence 4 represented by the demigod of the Church of Knowledge she had met previously.

As for the Sequence 4 corresponding to Secret Supplicant, it was not even within her consideration.

Of course, compared to the others, she still preferred Manipulator. Her love for the Spectator pathway came from the bottom of her heart. However, her fear of high-level Beyonders of the Spectator pathway also came from the bottom of her heart. Hvin Rambis had left her with a rather unpleasant impression, while Adam’s “whatever is spoken shall be known” had given her something of a psychological shadow. She had no choice but to frequently carry out self-psychoanalysis and treat the corresponding issue.

The Hermit Cattleya had always been very knowledgeable in this area. Aside from the ones The World Gehrman Sparrow had mentioned, she also knew that Mystery Pryer and Savant were neighboring pathways that could be interchanged at high Sequences. Arbiter and Lawyer, Prisoner and Criminal, Hunter and Assassin, Planter and Apothecary—each of these pairs was the same.

While the other members of the Tarot Club let their thoughts spread, The Hanged Man Alger said to The World Gehrman Sparrow, “Thank you for the answer.”

He did not specify exactly what he had understood.

In truth, for a single instant, Alger considered leaving the Church of Storms and switching to another pathway. That would at least be better than waiting inside the Church for a chance that seemed very faint. But in the end, he abandoned that thought. After all, for a long time his pursuit had been to become a cardinal of the Church of Storms. Now, his desire had shifted toward ranking first even among the cardinals—becoming the angel responsible for the Mandated Punishers or the ascetics.

As for the position of Pope, Alger did not yearn for it. That was far too close to the Lord of Storms, and he hid no small number of secrets.

If he really were chosen as Pope, Alger suspected that the moment he put on the triple crown, a Lightning Storm would descend from above and strike him into a pile of charcoal.

Seeing that The World and The Hanged Man had finished their exchange, The Moon Emlyn asked with slight curiosity, “Which pathway can the Apothecary pathway interchange with?”

The innate racial traits of the Sanguine meant none of them wished to switch to other pathways, because doing so would often mean losing their “identity.” That was why Emlyn had previously paid little attention to this topic.

“The Church of Earth Mother’s Planter pathway,” The Hermit Cattleya answered casually.

The Planter pathway… possessed by the Church of Earth Mother… The Moon Emlyn’s brows furrowed little by little, and he vaguely grasped something.

At that moment, Judgment Xio also spoke.

“Which pathway is neighboring to Arbiter?”

“Lawyer,” Cattleya replied concisely.

The Black Emperor pathway’s Lawyer… In other words, if I can become Sequence 5, then afterward I could switch to Sequence 4 of the Black Emperor pathway. And Forsi once said that Mr. Fool has a Card of Blasphemy containing all the secrets of the Black Emperor pathway… Judgment Xio suddenly discovered that there seemed to be a sliver of light in her future.

The Arbiter pathway was tightly controlled by the two royal families. Even the corresponding military possessed only the middle- and low-Sequence potion formulas. If their Sequence 5s wanted to advance further, they had to receive a royal bestowment, just as every general had to be conferred a rank by the king or queen. What they obtained was usually already prepared potion and the ritual procedure.

For Xio, this meant she had almost no chance of obtaining—or buying—the Sequence 4 potion formula of the Arbiter pathway.

Of course, even the tightest defenses would have certain loopholes. Military demigods did know the ritual, and would occasionally cooperate with the royal family in hunting powerful transcendent creatures. From that, it was possible to narrow the main ingredients down to a small range. But this also meant the true answer could only be confirmed through repeated experiments. Moreover, military demigods did not possess the supplementary ingredients. To rely on them for advancement would mean praying for fate’s favor.

Now, however, Xio saw another possibility.

At this time, Justice Audrey had already summarized and organized the neighboring pathways mentioned by Mr. World and Madam Hermit. Only then did she ask thoughtfully, “Among Prisoner, Criminal, Hunter, Assassin, Savant, Mystery Pryer, and Monster, which are neighboring pathways?”

The World Gehrman Sparrow glanced at The Hermit, then answered in a hoarse voice, “Prisoner and Criminal, Hunter and Assassin, Savant and Mystery Pryer—these are neighboring pathways that can be interchanged at high Sequences.”

This was all knowledge Klein could confirm. Among them, the interchangeability of Prisoner and Criminal had been mentioned by the Red Angel evil spirit and tacitly confirmed by Miss Sharron. The interchangeability of Savant and Mystery Pryer had been personally demonstrated by Emperor Roselle. As for Hunter and Assassin, Klein had gradually accumulated enough information to finally confirm it.

“What about Monster? That’s the only one left.” The Magician Forsi, who had been listening in, could not help asking.

Seeing The World fall silent, The Hermit Cattleya thought for a moment and said, “It is difficult to classify it as the neighbor of any Beyonder pathway. Like fate itself, it exists objectively and alone.

“I can be certain of this. Perhaps all it means is that the most fundamental order of our world’s extraordinary powers may itself be chaotic and uncoordinated.”

Cattleya could be certain that Monster had no interchangeable pathway because her own advancement had relied on analyzing the blood of the Snake of Fate.

“So that’s how it is…” Justice Audrey felt slightly uncomfortable with this uncoordinated state of affairs, but she soon adjusted her mental state.

Once the exchange was more or less complete, every member of the Tarot Club turned their gaze toward The Sun Derrick.

The youth did not hesitate at all. He said directly, “We have already set out. We are now less than a day away from Afternoon Town. After that, we will rest for one or two days, then begin exploring the Giant King’s Court.”

The Sun’s words made The Hanged Man Alger, The Hermit Cattleya, and the others feel as though myth were stepping into reality. Compared with places such as the ruins of the battle of gods, the Giant King’s Court was an iconic location that would inevitably be mentioned in all kinds of legends and hidden texts.

What secrets did it hide? What had been buried there? The answer was soon to be revealed.

Even The Star Leonard and Justice Audrey, who had entered the City of Miracles Liveseyd together with The World Gehrman Sparrow—a place as famous as the Giant King’s Court—felt excitement and anticipation stir within them. After all, during its transfer into Groselle’s Travels, that city imagined by the Dragon King had lost far too much, leaving behind very little of value. Aside from the buildings themselves, only the peculiarities of that hall could reveal the magnificence of ancient myth.

More importantly, The Sun Derrick had mentioned that the Kings of Angels had conspired within the Giant King’s Court!

What The Fool Klein was considering, however, was something else.

“Should I have Little Sun pray to The Fool once before the exploration, then use the corresponding crimson star and the Sea God Scepter to extend my field of view over a certain range and watch the ‘live broadcast’?

“Mm. This way, if anything unexpected happens, I can provide some help. The only problem is that this method of ‘watching’ through prayer light spots can’t be maintained for too long.

“It isn’t related to my own spirituality. The connection itself fades. At most, it can last forty-five minutes… Have Little Sun pray every so often? Uh, the premise is that it can’t affect his combat, nor draw the attention of the people around him…

“In that case, my spirituality should be able to support about two hours. Compared to when I was Sequence 5, it’s not even in the same league. Heh, of course, the recent rapid digestion of my potion is also a factor.”

After finishing his considerations, Klein did not speak as himself. Instead, he controlled The World Gehrman Sparrow to hint to The Sun Derrick.

“Before exploring the Giant King’s Court, you may pray to Mr. Fool and ask for good luck. During the process, you may also pray multiple times.”

Mr. World really is a good person… After sincerely thanking him, The Sun Derrick quickly turned his body toward the seat of honor at the end of the mottled long table.

Then he saw Mr. Fool, shrouded in grayish-white fog, give a gentle nod.