Hearing that "The Tower" was interested in buying, "The Hanged Man" Alger felt a surge of joy. Still, he first glanced around, and seeing no one else placing a bid, he nodded and reminded him:
"This 'Witch' characteristic came from a pirate captain subordinate to the Theosophy Order. She may have some background within the Demoness Sect. Be cautious when using it."
He wasn't worried himself, since he had immediately "sacrificed" it to Mr. Fool for safekeeping… a trick he had learned from Mr. Tower.
Seated in the high-backed chair at the head of the long bronze table, Klein's expression behind the gray fog became a little strange. When "The Hanged Man" had offered the characteristic, the spirit of that "Witch" hadn't completely dissipated, allowing him to use spirit channeling to gather some rather worldview-shattering information.
That "Witch" whom Alger had killed was originally a man. Her first wife—who was supposedly her "background"—was a Demoness of Affliction from the Demoness Sect…
And that Demoness of Affliction, back when she was still a man, had been the father of Vice Admiral of Ailment, Tracy. Her wife had been none other than the "White Saintess" Katarina, whom Mr. Tower had mentioned several times…
All in all, that witch's family was an utter mess… Maybe that was why they spread catastrophe to the outside world? Heh, as the source of such distortion, Cheek really is guilty. Klein's thoughts scattered silently, but he didn't have "The Fool" mention it.
First, having something like that come out of "The Fool's" mouth would be a bit undignified. Second, he believed that with the Earth Mother backing Mr. Tower, he had nothing to fear from this matter.
Just from seeing the terrifying artifacts Mr. Tower had carried with him in the underground ruins when facing those evil spirits, it was clear that even if the "White Saintess" came in person, she might not get the better of him.
Though judging by Mr. Tower's reputation, he's more likely to be seduced by her beauty…
"Thank you for the warning." Unaware that Klein was making up wild stories about him behind the scenes, Ebner thanked "The Hanged Man" Alger and arranged to hold the ritual to exchange the item after the gathering.
Once the deal was set, "The Hanged Man" Alger mentally calculated his remaining assets, then looked across at "Justice" Audrey and calmly asked, "Has there been any change in the exchange condition for the 'Ocean Songster' formula?"
"Justice" Audrey responded with a faint smile:
"No change. It's still 7000 pounds or an extraordinary item of similar value… preferably the latter, and I can accept a certain degree of discount…"
"I'll take it at 7000 pounds. Once the Tarot Club ends, I'll ask Mr. Fool to pass it to you." "The Hanged Man" Alger said firmly, feeling a momentary pang of pain.
It was nearly all of his savings, but for a Sequence 5 formula, it was worth it.
7000 pounds? "Magician" Fors quietly swallowed. She had just earned 200 pounds, pushing her savings past 500 pounds, and had started to feel like she finally had some capital. But now, seeing transactions that casually dealt in thousands of pounds, she was once again reminded of how poor she truly was.
She sighed lightly, and seeing the others fall silent, raised her hand after some thought.
"Everyone, does anyone have Meteoric Crystal or Lava Octopus blood crystals, or any leads on them?"
These were the main ingredients for the "Astrologer" potion. Since her teacher might be leaving for a while and was afraid she wouldn't be back in time after Fors advanced to Trickmaster, she had handed over the next formula in advance.
—In fact, Fors had already been a Trickmaster before becoming the other party's student.
Meteoric Crystal? Lava Octopus blood crystal? That sounds familiar… Right, it's familiar because the main materials for the "Seer" potion are 50 grams of Star Crystal and 10 milliliters of Lava Octopus blood! The "Astrologer's" materials really are like an upgraded version of the "Seer's"… As expected, the "Apprentice" Pathway and the "Seer" Pathway both belong to the "Mystery" category that Mr. Tower once mentioned. At higher sequences, they could be interchangeable… Upon hearing this, Klein further confirmed the "category" theory told by Mr. Tower, and grew increasingly curious about the deeper meaning behind the so-called "categories."
On the other side, hearing Fors request materials, Ebner suddenly remembered that back at Indo Harbor, Dunn had mentioned wanting to trade the Beyonder characteristics of "Astrologer" and "Rose Bishop" for the "Spirit Warlock" potion formula.
Later on, since Closfia had also agreed to help him look, he hadn't paid it much attention… but now that Fors brought it up, he thought it might be a good opportunity to mention it and ask on Dunn's behalf. Maybe the Abraham family, with their deep foundation, had once collected this formula.
As far as he knew, Miss Closfia hadn't made any progress yet—after all, the Psychology Alchemists mainly collected formulas from the "Omniscient and Omnipotent" five Pathways.
Ebner thought for a moment and then cautiously said, "I have a friend who wants to trade the Beyonder characteristics of 'Rose Bishop' and 'Astrologer' for the 'Spirit Warlock' potion formula."
"Magician" Fors immediately perked up upon hearing this, though she didn't know which Pathway the "Spirit Warlock" belonged to, so she cautiously asked, "'Spirit Warlock' is Sequence what?"
As for the "Rose Bishop," given the infamous reputation of the Aurora Order, she had long heard of it. Both Xio and Ebner had spoken to her about it before.
"'Spirit Warlock' is Sequence 5 of the 'Sleepless' Pathway. In terms of value alone, it's actually inferior to those two characteristics… But the 'Sleepless' Pathway formulas are almost entirely controlled by the Church of the Evernight Goddess. Only some ancient families and organizations might possess them." Ebner briefly explained to Fors.
"I see… I'll write a letter to ask my teacher. Hopefully, he has that formula." Fors thought aloud.
Sitting at the head of the table, "The Fool" Klein was struck by a thought after hearing this conversation. He recalled the scene Arodes had shown him, where "Doctor Strange" resurrected Dunn, and pondered silently:
'Spirit Warlock'… The friend Mr. Tower mentioned—could it be the Captain?
Hmm, the Captain has been stuck at the "Nightmare" level for years, and since he now knows the acting method, it shouldn't be hard for him to advance to "Soul Assurer"… So, is he the one seeking the "Spirit Warlock" formula?
I remember back in Backlund, before Lanrwus was killed by me, "Iron Man" had indeed killed a "Rose Bishop"… That was the infamous "Iron Man vs. Hulk" incident that stirred up the newspapers.
And Mr. Tower is currently in Backlund…
Could the Captain also be in Backlund? Did he come for 0-08 and Ince? Has he also noticed the anomaly in Prince Edessak? But that place is very dangerous! I must give him a reminder.
At that thought, Klein had "The World" take the initiative to speak:
"I've received some recent intelligence suggesting that something major is brewing in Backlund. It may bring great instability—perhaps even a tragedy."
As he spoke, he looked toward "The Tower" and said sincerely, "Mr. Tower, what are your thoughts on this?"
(End of chapter)