Chapter 91: The Growing Tarot Club

Chapter 91: The Growing Tarot Club

As the captain of the Future, Cattleya had a far deeper understanding than most of the danger Frank Lee secretly carried. She understood that this chief mate’s wild ideas could sometimes truly bring about terrifying, insane developments. If those “creations” had not yet been able to spread, lacking the necessary elements, Cattleya believed this world would already be different.

Of course, if such a day truly came, she would definitely be the first to eliminate Frank Lee and throw him into the sea to feed the fish.

Without divinity, even if certain things succeed, they will only be confined to a very small region and unable to spread outward, unable to bring about a great disaster… Simply advancing to Sequence 5 will not produce a qualitative change. Besides, Frank has been relatively restrained recently, focusing on researching plants that can survive in darkness or grow by feeding on monster corpses…

As thoughts circled back and forth, changing through many twists, the Hermit Cattleya finally made her decision.

“How much money do you want in exchange for it?”

She could vaguely sense that the World, Gehrman Sparrow, seemed rather short on money recently.

“Eight thousand pounds. If a large number of gold coins are used instead, there can be a discount.” Klein secretly breathed out in relief and controlled the dummy, the World, to answer.

Thinking that Frank Lee should be able to produce such an amount and certainly would be unable to refuse the Beyonder characteristic of a Druid, Cattleya pondered for two seconds and said, “Deal. Give me one week to gather it.”

“No problem.” Klein made the World, Gehrman Sparrow, withdraw his gaze.

Regarding the trip to the primitive island, if not for attracting the attention of that existence in the depths of the church at the end, he now felt he could give it a full score. In less than half a night, he had obtained a Card of Blasphemy that could not be measured with money, a mystical item worth no less than ten thousand pounds, and perhaps sixteen thousand gold pounds, all without paying taxes. Even robbing a bank would not be this fast!

What a pity. That primitive island disappeared. Otherwise, whenever I was short of money, I could go there for a spin…

As Klein’s thoughts wandered, he saw Miss Justice look toward Mr. Hanged Man and ask with expectation in her voice, “Do you have the fruit of the Illusory Chime Tree?”

Audrey actually already had some expectations regarding the answer, because Mr. World had recently harvested so many Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristics, and Mr. Hanged Man and he were suspected of having privately cooperated within the past week. It was unlikely they had obtained nothing.

This can be interpreted from the certainty and satisfaction in Mr. Hanged Man’s state… Justice Audrey had grown increasingly confident in her own “observation.”

The Hanged Man Alger chuckled.

“I was just about to tell you. I have already obtained that fruit.”

Wonderful!

Audrey controlled herself and did not behave too excitedly.

This meant that she had already gathered all the ingredients for the Hypnotist potion. She only needed to wait until her Psychiatrist potion was completely digested, and then she could attempt advancement.

And that would not take long!

Having become the listener and comforter of everyone’s troubles within the aristocratic circles of East Chester County, Audrey was very certain of that in her heart.

To be frank, if she had not deliberately guided those nobles into speaking, Audrey truly would have found it impossible to imagine that most of them, despite always looking dignified, radiant, and smiling, were actually enduring no small amount of pressure and carried pains outsiders could scarcely imagine. The changes of the era and the tides of society made many of them constantly worry over their families’ and their own futures. Of course, that also had to do with the fact that they were not great nobles and commanded relatively insufficient resources.

These matters had made Audrey truly understand the concept of the “persona mask,” and clearly realize that when facing different targets, every person wore a different “mask.”

After summarizing the situation in this area, her Psychiatrist potion had instantly digested a considerable portion, and her progress had clearly accelerated.

Perhaps two weeks, perhaps a little shorter or longer. In any case, before returning to Backlund, I should be able to become a Hypnotist…

With bright eyes, Justice Audrey looked at the Hanged Man Alger and asked, “What do you want in exchange?”

Having advanced to Sequence 5 not long ago, already obtained the “key” to the gate of demigodhood, and soon to possess a powerful mystical item, Alger currently lacked money the most. Thus, he spoke without hesitation.

“Two thousand pounds.”

“Deal,” Audrey answered with considerable ease.

This amount did not need reimbursement. She herself could easily provide it.

After reaching the transaction, Audrey could not help exhaling a long breath. At last, she no longer had that feeling that she was about to fall behind.

During this period, she had watched Fors become Sequence 7, watched Mr. Hanged Man approach high Sequence, watched Mr. World kill one Sequence 5 after another, watched him take out one corresponding Beyonder characteristic after another, while she herself had remained at the Psychiatrist level, remained at Sequence 7. Inevitably, some pressure had appeared in her heart, producing a little impatience. It had taken self-soothing and Susie’s guidance to prevent the slightest emotional problem. Now, she could finally take a step forward and advance toward Sequence 6!

Feeling relaxed, Audrey enjoyed the gathering even more. Then she heard Madam Hermit say to Mr. World, “I can now give you a reply regarding the question related to that drop of mythical creature blood.”

“Do you need a private exchange?” the Fool Klein controlled the World, Gehrman Sparrow, to ask with great interest.

If it is exchanged for knowledge, then this is pure profit for me!

He thought with some anticipation.

The Hermit Cattleya looked around, pondered for a few seconds, then shook her head.

“No.

“I can pay two forms of compensation. First, I can let Him look once at the Wheel of Fortune card. I believe you should understand what this Card of Blasphemy made by Emperor Roselle represents. Second, I can provide a method to temporarily recover a certain degree of power during a weakened stage.

“Please relay these words to that angel and ask Him which compensation He finds satisfactory.”

A method to temporarily recover power during a weakened stage? Did the Queen of Mysteries guess that this is connected to a Mercury Snake? That does not quite make sense. Angels also include Sequence 2 Prophets… Why can the Fool not have an angel of the Fate pathway serving Him?

I wonder whether Will Auceptin knows the method for achieving Sequence 0 in His own pathway. If He does not, then looking once at the Wheel of Fortune card is a temptation He cannot resist. However, that seems unlikely. He has lived so long and is Sequence 1. He should not be ignorant of the ritual for godhood…

Heh-heh. I wonder what Roselle looks like on the Wheel of Fortune card… A snake and other animals with the Emperor’s face?

As Klein casually thought, he considered his words and made the dummy, the World, say, “Alright.

“If the transaction is ultimately reached, you will need to pay me an additional reward.”

“What do you want?” the Hermit Cattleya asked cautiously.

The World Gehrman Sparrow laughed hoarsely.

“I want to meet the Queen of Mysteries once. There is no need to worry. The matter is very simple, but I must have her help.”

Cattleya fell silent for a while, then said, “I will do my best to make it happen, but I cannot guarantee it.”

Listening to their conversation, Justice Audrey suddenly felt a certain sense of unreality.

Has the Tarot Club already grown to this extent?

Excluding Mr. Fool’s portion, they had gone from, at the very beginning, only being able to trade basic knowledge of mysticism and Sequence 9 potion formulas, to developing step by step until transactions related to Cards of Blasphemy and mythical creature blood were appearing between the members…

And it had not even been a full year!

It really feels like a dream… I have grown quite a lot as well…

While Audrey sighed emotionally, the Hermit Cattleya continued looking at the World Gehrman Sparrow.

“There is news regarding the mystical item of the Marauder pathway that you wanted.”

As she spoke, she requested Mr. Fool’s permission and manifested an item shaped like a pair of tweezers.

The “tweezers” were gray-white, as if polished and fitted together from two finger bones. Apart from that, they looked rather ordinary.

Cattleya introduced it.

“It is called Broken Finger. It can enhance the steadiness and flexibility of your wrist and fingers, allowing you to easily steal items from a target’s pocket without being discovered. Its negative effect is that, while carrying it, one will develop kleptomania. Its price is five hundred pounds.”

Corresponds to Sequence 9, Marauder? Mm. There is a certain premium…

Klein considered it briefly and said, “Fine. Complete the transaction as soon as possible.”

With this, he could conduct an initial exploration of the area Hazel had excavated in the sewers and eliminate hidden dangers.

After the two of them finished discussing, the Magician Fors, acting on the idea of making a purchase request in advance so that she could use it exactly when the time came, said, “I need the cursed object of an ancient wraith, as well as its residual spirituality. Please help me keep an eye out.”

After she received affirmative responses from the members, the Moon Emlyn glanced left and right, leaned back in his chair, and asked the Sun Derrick, “Does the City of Silver have a Beyonder characteristic corresponding to Sequence 5 of artificial vampires?”

He was unwilling to call those pus-covered fellows the Sanguine as a certain Sun did, so he changed the wording.

In his view, since those mutated vampires often appeared in the darkness around the City of Silver, harvesting one or two Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristics should not be too difficult.

And they clearly do not have the potion formula for this pathway, and they lack Artisans. Keeping those Beyonder characteristics means they can only wait on luck and see when they actively corrode surrounding objects and evolve into sealed artifacts…

The Moon Emlyn tried to convince himself that he was helping the City of Silver, rather than asking a certain Sun for help.

The Sun Derrick froze for a moment and did not hide the truth, answering with great honesty, “Yes.

“However, Mr. Moon, do you want to be covered in pus?”

Ah…

Emlyn’s expression turned a little blank for a moment, and he could not tell whether the other party was mocking him or reminding him of something.

Seeing this, the Sun Derrick hurriedly added, “They all have severe residual mental pollution. Without a potion formula, our City of Silver would not waste effort clearing away the problems inside.”

So that is how it is… That is a little troublesome…

The Moon Emlyn nodded lightly.

“I understand.”

He did not continue discussing any possible trade. He planned to first consult the high-ranking Sanguine and clarify the matter of mental pollution within Beyonder characteristics.

The trading segment thus ended, and the members of the Tarot Club began free exchange.

Justice Audrey looked first toward the World Gehrman Sparrow and said with some hesitation, “May I know where that Chaos Mentor characteristic came from? If it involves a secret, you may choose not to answer.”

She was preparing to persuade her father, Earl Hall, and also trying to avoid unnecessary trouble. After all, Beyonders of the Black Emperor pathway might have a certain relationship with the royal family and the military.

Klein secretly chuckled, making the World answer, “It came from a curly-haired baboon.”