Chapter 505: Arodos's Congratulations

"Sure."

At the head of the mottled long table, KeLaiEn tapped the table edge with a finger, causing all the tarot cards except the "Chariot" to vanish.

To display his mystery and authority, KeLaiEn added another sentence:

"The 'Chariot' acts decisively and swiftly, but the faster the 'Chariot' moves, the harder it is to discern the truth of facts and the current situation, eventually losing its goal."

Anderson was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered, rose, and respectfully bowed, saying, "Thank you for your gift and guidance!"

He had intended to say something else, but not knowing how to address the mysterious presence, he simply ended the conversation.

Leaning against the chair back, KeLaiEn calmly said, "You may call me 'the Fool.'"

"I understand, respected 'Mr. Fool.'" Anderson, with a broad gesture, bowed again in a devout manner.

"The gathering is at 3 p. m. every Monday, BeiKeLanDe time."

KeLaiEn briefly mentioned the meeting time, then directly tossed him out of the gray mist.

Anderson felt a brief daze, and when he came to, he was seated in the lounge chair of a hotel room.

Looking around, Anderson, incredulously, touched his own face and muttered, "I'm still alive; that mysterious 'Fool' didn't directly corrupt me, but he also didn't cleanse the misfortune on me."

"Monday, 3 p. m. BeiKeLanDe time—good, only two days; I should be able to endure."

"To keep my ordinary handsome face alive in this world, I must work hard to earn a living, and also settle the extortion from GeErMan·SiPaLuo."

He patted his cheek, rose from the lounge chair, grabbed the clothes on the coat rack, and prepared to leave.

Just as his hand reached the door handle, he froze; in a daze, he seemed to see a pair of peculiar, indifferent eyes filled with countless brilliant stars staring back at him.

"Um."

A slight throbbing pain suddenly rose in his head, as if knowledge were being poured into his mind.

The knowledge automatically shaped into an image: a rabbit dressed in a distinctive black tailcoat, with a red bow tie and a black top hat, holding a milky‑white die, its eyes unblinking, staring ahead as if facing someone.

Anderson murmured as if in a dream, "The Pas Valley in the Southern Continent can resolve the anomaly of fate."

When the words fell, Anderson seemed to snap awake, shaking his head vigorously, feeling still unfocused, while he kept shaking and patting his cheek.

"Is this a hint from Mr. Fool? No, he said I couldn't pay a reward that would satisfy him, so I must find help at the later gathering myself."

"So those eyes just now belonged to the 'Scholar'?"

"It's deadly. I prayed thousands of times to the God of Knowledge and Wisdom and never got a reply; how did I get two consecutive successes now? And why does the 'Scholar's' response have a delay? I won't be a double agent in the eyes of both hidden beings, will I? Is this a new development of the misfortune on me?"

Anderson grew increasingly feeble, finally bracing his hands on the door, burying his head deep in his arms, feeling as if only minutes of life remained.

He held the pose for nearly ten minutes, then, as if resolved, lifted his head, opened the door. Nothing could be worse now; better to take care of the present and go borrow money from the pirates.

Meanwhile, in another room across the corridor, KeLaiEn, by praying to himself and answering himself, retrieved the radio receiver that had been placed on the gray mist.

The radio receiver on the table fell silent for a moment; the room's light dimmed abruptly, and the temperature dropped several degrees instantly.

Clack‑clack! An ethereal typing sound rang continuously, and a strip of translucent white paper was ejected from the receiver, flashing silver‑white Runic words: "Great Supreme Master, your faithful servant ALuoDeSi comes to pay homage."

"Congratulations, you have taken another step on the path to reclaiming your authority; the increasingly powerful aura around you gives me chills!"

At the end of the words, a small figure with a fearful yet excited expression appeared.

This mirror is very perceptive; it can see that the aura of the source fortress above the gray mist on me has become stronger, and from its behavior it doesn't seem to be a Fate Path item. Why can it see my peculiarity? KeLaiEn was silent for a moment, then, maintaining GeErMan·SiPaLuo's indifferent tone, gave a soft "Hmm."

The receiver on the desk clacked again, spitting out another strip of translucent paper:

"Great Master, do you have a question you wish to ask me?"

KeLaiEn, feeling rather self‑aware, thought to himself, his face already expressionless, gave a light nod and said:

"Yes."

"Do you know what the elixir for the Diviner Path's fourth sequence is called, and where its formula and ingredients can be obtained?"

The receiver clacked again, and a new strip of translucent paper emerged: "Great Master, are you testing me?"

"The fourth sequence of the Diviner Path is called the 'Trickster Mage'; there are only three ways to obtain the corresponding elixir formula."

"The first is the Black Night Goddess Church; they have long cultivated Diviners and even keep mermaids. The second is the leader Charatu of the Secret Cult, but he has gone mad; I'm sorry, respected Master, due to this receiver's limits I cannot show you the relevant images. The third is the main peak of the Honachis Mountains, the origin of the Antigonus family."

I am already dead in the church's eyes; I can't find the Secret Cult at all, and even if I did, facing a mad angel I'm powerless—so I must go to the Honachis Mountains? Is this why the Mysterious Queen prophesied my fate lies in the Honachis Mountains?

KeLaiEn stared expressionlessly at the words on the receiver, mentally weighing the options; each seemed more dangerous than the last.

The clacking sounded again, and new words appeared on the translucent paper: "Great Master, there may be another possibility, but I cannot be certain; I cannot see through that person, yet my intuition tells me he also knows this knowledge, or can obtain it. Would you like to know?"

"I want to." KeLaiEn, his face calm, nodded; it was his first time seeing ALuoDeSi describe a person with such "uncertain" and "intuition" words.

The receiver on the desk clacked again: "Great Master, you also know him—Leiketon·SuoSi from FeiNeiBoTe, who also goes by A Er·Tai En Si at sea."

"He hides too many secrets; what I can see is limited, so I cannot confirm whether he possesses the relevant information, but an elixir formula is also a kind of 'knowledge'; as a keeper of knowledge, he must have a way to obtain what he needs."

It sounded reasonable; I could ask at the next Tarot gathering—best if I could, but not worse if not. KeLaiEn gave a slight nod and asked the next question: "Who is most suitable to lift the curse of the mural left by Wu Luo Liu Si?"

The receiver clacked again, spitting out a new strip of paper: "Great Master, there are four optimal choices for you, they are:

The rabbit raised by A Er·Tai En Si, which holds the probability die evolved uniquely by the Fate Path; a Mercury Snake hidden in BeiKeLanDe; an emissary of the Life School's Fate Council on Ao La Wei Dao, named Rui Qiao De, currently convalescing; and Destini, who once contacted you, now drifting on the Mist Sea, seemingly searching for something.

Each option is distant; I hope Anderson can hold on, hmm. Or I could have him pay the reward in advance, so I wouldn't worry about him dying before the money arrives.

KeLaiEn paused in thought, then gently nodded at the receiver on the desk and said, "That will do."

The receiver clacked again, ejecting another strip of translucent paper:

"Yes, Great Supreme Master, may you soon return to the divine throne; your faithful servant stands ready for your command. I shall now take my leave."

At the end of the words, a small figure waving with tears appeared.

KeLaiEn stood calmly, silent. The translucent papers that had emerged from the receiver vanished instantly, the room's light brightened considerably, and the temperature rose a bit.

KeLaiEn, standing before the desk, let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

Arordes seems not to be a simple sealed object either; it can see through my peculiarities without involving the fate aspect, perhaps because it itself is related to this peculiarity, or because it involves some special authority, such as "Omniscience"? "Omniscience" should be the authority of the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom"; with the position of Sequence 0 occupied, the upper limit of this pathway is Sequence Two, and the magic mirror Arordes corresponds to the extraordinary characteristic of Sequence Two of this pathway? Perhaps I could ask Will·Angsaiting; anyway I also intend to ask him, writing the words smaller and denser so I can fit another question.

"How can the curse of misfortune brought by the 'Fate Angel' mural be lifted?"

"Where can the formula and ingredients for the 'Trickster Mage' elixir be obtained?"

"What is the origin of the sealed item 2—111, collected by the BeiKeLanDe Steam Church, and the 'Magic Mirror' ALuoDeSi?"

(End of chapter)