Tarot Club 14th Meeting

At three in the afternoon, rays of light shot out from the palace that resembled a giant's residence. Justice, the Hanged Man, Death, and the Sun, each projected a blurry silhouette dyed in crimson.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~ Good afternoon..." Audrey was about to greet every member of the Tarot Club when her gaze suddenly fell upon the figure seated at the very end. It was a stranger wearing a hooded black robe. He was also illusory and hazy.

"This is?" Audrey looked at Mr. Fool with both puzzlement and delight.

'Has the Tarot Club grown bigger again? Is it Fors or Xio? No, the height doesn't match. Is it someone else?'

While Audrey was deep in thought, Klein leisurely leaned back and said, "This is a new member, Mr. World."

At the same time, through his grey fog-augmented Spirit Vision, he discovered that the surface colour of The Sun's Astral Projection had become a little purer, but it had yet to reach the standards of Sequence 8. His initial judgment was that The Sun had completely digested the Bard potion.

"Hello," Audrey greeted politely, curiously scrutinizing the new member. She quickly 'read' some of the corresponding details through the hazy fog.

'Mr. World is a person who is reserved. He seldom moves and always wears a straight face. I wonder where he's from. Loen? Intis? Or a place as mysterious as the City of Silver?' Audrey nodded thoughtfully.

After so many gatherings, she had deduced one thing from the fact that The Sun couldn't engage in their conversations; that was, that he was most likely not speaking the Loen language and that the information that he heard was most likely translated by Mr. Fool.

After The Hanged Man, Alger, and The Sun, Derrick, and Death, greeted The World respectively, to which the newcomer gave a rather cold response, Klein looked at Justice and said, "The two candidates you have nominated are still under examination. I'll give you a simple task. You can entrust it to them in your name. This is part of the examination."

'It should be this strict,' not only was Audrey not disappointed, she even felt that it was only necessary. The members of the Tarot Club must be strictly selected; not just anyone can become one! She thought proudly before adding in a somewhat guilty tone, And for me to be pulled in by Mr. Fool at the very beginning shows that I was lucky, and luck is a unique quality as well!

"Alright, please issue the mission," Audrey gave an affirmative answer. Klein stretched out his right hand and placed it on the table, showing a picture of Lanevus and his dressing.

"Investigate the man in the painting. He's in Backlund." Klein had the portrait appear in front of Miss Justice. Audrey looked over and saw a young man with neatly combed black hair and round glasses. He had a full forehead. It was a coloured oil painting, with taunting brown eyes that seemed abnormally protruded, and at the bottom were the words "formerly known alias: Lanevus" and other information.

'It's a simple mission, which means that the target isn't strong. However, there must be something special about him that makes Mr. Fool aware of his existence. Although it's a simple mission, there might be a deeper purpose behind it. For someone as powerful as him, it shouldn't just be a test.'

Audrey momentarily allowed her to throng her mind. Only after a few seconds did she say, "I'll entrust it to them."

'Hmm. The two ladies seem to have many connections in Backlund which would serve to help in finding Lanevus.' After confirming the matters pertaining to his revenge, Klein fell silent, and he deliberately allowed his smurf to take centre stage.

The World surveyed the area and spoke with a hoarse voice, "Mr. Fool told me that I can issue missions and gather ingredients here, is that so?"

"Yes," Audrey elegantly nodded and said, "However, you need to wait patiently. What's going to happen next is Mr. Fool's reading time."

'I completed my mission to assassinate Intis Ambassador Bakerland, but I didn't even mention it to occupy this period of time,' she thought, raising her chin slightly.

Klein looked away, amused, and looked over at The Hanged Man. Alger Wilson didn't speak blindly because of the appearance of a new member. He remained silent and observed in secret.

At this moment, when he saw Mr. Fool looking at him, he quickly and humbly bowed and said, "This time, there are still six pages. The final page will be given to you next time."

"Sure." Klein nodded. The Hanged Man quickly focused his mind, recalled the contents, and expressed them with his mind. He quickly finished 'writing' six pages of the diary and saw them suddenly vanish and appear in Klein's hands. Klein looked down and swept through the contents of the first page.

"Miss Justice, well done. You finished Bakerland in less than a week. According to the agreement, what kind of payment do you want?"

'Bakerland is dead? That fast?' Alger had left the islands in the past few days and hadn't received the appropriate information. He was astonished for a moment which made Audrey, who was secretly observing him, feel delighted.

Even if Alger was the in the capital of the Rorsted Archipelago, the City of Generosity, Bayam, he might not have been informed in a timely fashion. After all, cable telegraphs could only transmit limited information. Unless it was particularly urgent or important, there was always a delay of a few days.

Sometimes, it would even take the colonists of the Rorsted Archipelago a month or two to get an update on the 'latest' situation in the Northern Continent. Restraining his thoughts, The Hanged Man looked at Mr. Fool in the thick fog and respectfully said with a hint of humility, "I'm very sorry. I just managed to contact someone and couldn't help."

"This is a commission, not a help request. Don't worry about it," Klein chuckled.

He turned his gaze back to Miss Justice, waiting for her to say what she wanted in return.

'May the Goddess bless me. Please don't let Miss Justice's request be too difficult. It's best if I can repay her with knowledge. I've learned quite a lot of amazing things from Roselle's diary,' Klein silently prayed to the Goddess.

Of course, he was very clear that with the grey fog separating them, the Evernight Goddess definitely wouldn't be able to hear his prayers. Audrey's eyes darted around as she thought for a few seconds.

'Be honest and not greedy, Audrey, and stick to your principles!' She gave a faint smile and said, "No, I'm actually the one still owing you. No, I owe your adorer the bounty. Rear Admiral Qilangos's bounty was worth a total of 30,000 pounds. I should give your adorer 15,000 pounds. Killing Bakerland cost 10,000 pounds, so I still need to pay an additional 5000 pounds."

"However, due to the matter with Bakerland, my finances have recently quite tight. I can only pay this bounty in a few months. Mr. Fool, is that alright?"

After she finished speaking, Audrey quietly exhaled. She felt that the little stone pressing against her heart was finally gone.

'Ho? So, our dear old beggar Beyonder finally has some money? I swear… how has he not been able to find a good place to invest his money? Then again, the plot does not give him time like I was given where I was not attacked or hunted down by anything or anyone,' Max mused internally while a smirk appeared on his lips, but it was hidden by his palms.

 "Sure." Upon hearing Mr. Fool's response, Audrey's graceful seating posture remained the same, but her heart was completely relaxed. At that moment, Klein leaned back in his chair and fell silent. Then, he manipulated his smurf secretly from a commandeering position.

The World coughed and said, "Can I speak now?"

Audrey looked at Mr. Fool and seeing that he didn't say a thing, she nodded slightly and said, "Sure."

"I wish to obtain the true root of a Mist Treant, at least 60 millilitres of its juice, as well as the Spring of the Elves marrow crystals and the complete spinal fluid of a Dark Patterned Black Panther. Which one of you can provide it, or provide any relevant clues? What do you wish to exchange them for?" Klein added the Beyonder ingredient needed by the Apothecary to his commission so that the Tarot Club members wouldn't be able to guess the main ingredients of the formula he wanted.

Before Justice and The Hanged Man could react, The Sun who had been silent the entire time finally opened his mouth and said, "I know where Mist Treants are and I can help you obtain the materials. However, I must wait until I finish my advancement and have sufficient strength to join the corresponding patrol team."

'Recently, he had been accumulating merit points and rewards. He was working hard to obtain the main ingredients for the Light Suppliant through the City of Silver's officials and private markets. He was still lacking quite a bit. As expected of the dangerous City of Silver with its numerous monsters,' Klein silently commented in admiration, allowing The World to ask, "Then what do you wish to receive in exchange?"

Without hesitation, Derrick replied, "A weapon that suits me and can increase my combat strength."

The reason why he didn't mention the corresponding ingredients for Light Suppliant was because City of Silver had them all. They could be obtained through his own hard work. Upon hearing this request, Klein immediately thought of the inscribed steel sword that had appeared at the Beyonder gathering organized by the elderly gentleman, Eye of Wisdom. It was sharp enough, had the effect of exorcism and purification, and could be used for three years. It was valued at 500 pounds, perfectly matching The Sun's described requirements.

'Why didn't you say so earlier? It has already been bought by someone else.'

Klein silently stared at the members, while The World nodded and said, "I will find a weapon that meets your requirements as soon as possible. Is this transaction to be witnessed by Mr. Fool?"

Klein nodded slightly to express his agreement. At that moment, Audrey shot a glance at The Sun and warned him. "Apart from the Mist Treant's juice, Mr. World's requested ingredients correspond to a Sequence 7. The rough price is about 500-700 pounds."

"A Sequence 7 formula is about 800 pounds," Alger added. He had an instinctive aversion towards new members. Klein translated with great difficulty, for he didn't know what the currency unit of the pound corresponded to in the City of Silver, and could only use a Series 9 potion formula as a unit.

"I understand." Derrick slightly nodded, and then quietly added, "... Thank you."

The World maintained his silent and staid temperament and didn't comment on what had just happened.

At this moment, Max spoke up.

"I can provide the Spring of the Elves marrow crystals and the complete spinal fluid of a Dark Patterned Black Panther. I have both of them, just not on hand. It will take me a few days to collect it."

Mr. World, the puppet, nodded and asked, "And what do you want in return?"

Max's grin increased to the point it was now visible through his interlocked fingers that were trying to cover his mouth. He turned to Klein for but an instant and returned to Mr. World.

"I will speak to you directly in person. You should have found the gist I left for you when we ran into each other the other day."

Mr. World did not react, but Klein's face hidden under the thick grey fog was twitching violently, 'Why must you be like that? We are both fellow transmigrators, but you treat me like a clown.'

Then a thought struck him and he froze in his place, 'I- I am a clown…?'

Audrey thought for a few seconds and said, "Potion formula for Psychiatrist and their corresponding Beyonder ingredients. Uh... That's Sequence 7 of the Spectator pathway. You can gather the information first, and there's no rush to purchase them. Once I have clues regarding the Dark Patterned Black Panther and Spring of the Elves marrow crystals, we can proceed. Uh... if you are willing to exchange it for gold pounds, you can buy it at any time."

'Although I'm out of money recently, I can still raise quite a bit if it's urgent,' Audrey comforted herself.

Alger said in a deep voice, "Potion formula of the Sailor pathway's Sequence 6 Wind-blessed. This will be more expensive than the Beyonder ingredients that you want—combined. If you find it, you can think of the additional payment needed to make up for the difference. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to help you gather those ingredients. Even if it's just one of them, you don't need to expend any resources ahead of time."

'Eh, Mr. Hanged Man should have a close relationship with the Church of the Lord of Storms... He should be able to get the Wind-blessed formula normally, right? Is he trying to hide the fact that he's digesting the Seafarer potion quickly?' Klein was startled.

Meanwhile, Alger and Audrey, who did not have someone to complete their mission unlike the lucky Mr. World, 'wrote' down their requests and added them to the board that was created when Max wanted people to collect ingredients for him, and to search for the Monster Potion formula.

'Ah, yes, I no longer need to know the potion formula for Monster. I already have it. Of course, I will have to test it out on someone to ensure it is not fake… after all, despite swearing obedience to me, the schizophrenic is still an ancient monster and will likely be trying everything in his- their power to escape from the contract.

"I will remove the request for the Monster potion formula."

'Did he already get his hands on a potion formula that is closely guarded by strong Beyonder organisations? Well… it is only a Sequence 9, so it should be possible to scrape together somehow. But beyond that will be rather hard, is what Alger must be thinking,' Max thought as he glanced at the stern face of the Jack-Sparrow wannabe.

"Alright," The World answered in a low voice and then said, "I have another request."

The rest of the exchange progressed smoothly until Mr. World asked something nobody else knew, so Klein took the chance to act mysterious and remove the request from the table by answering it as the Fool, in a private exchange.

At this, the bored look on Max's face turned rather comical as he watched the unfolding drama straight out of a cartoon.

Then, the free discussion time came about and ended rather quickly. The Hanged Man; Alger, Justice; Audrey, and the Sun; Derrick were all sent away. Max on the other hand was left alone with Klein and Mr. World.

"Not a bad artefact you got there. Just keep it in here and don't use it in the real world. The corruption in that thing is not something to scoff at. Anyway, it was fun seeing your antics in the underground tunnel," Max started ranting away without a break before Klein could speak.

"Oh, and the 'evil spirit' you found in the tunnel is far more dangerous than you and that bodyguard thought it was. Do not worry, we have taken it under our control, and the place should be safe for the time being, but you should still continue acting to investigate it so any possible Beyonders who might be keeping an eye on you do not find anything unusual. Do you get my drift?"

"Y- yeah, but-"

Again, Max interrupted him, not letting him speak since he did not wish to answer any questions, "Also, remember to be wary of monocles. Hmm, Mr. Klein, you should also be wary of a certain event that may or may not occur near the end of the year. I am personally working my best to thwart this… culling endeavour, and if nothing happens to Backlund by the end of the year, it means that I have succeeded. I will be pretty busy with this for a considerable amount of time. But I would like to make a request to you. I would like you to check the danger that the evil spirit poses to… hmm… yes, to me."

Max had paused for a moment because he had deactivated his anti-divination ability, before continuing, "Yes, and also please see when that danger will develop and actually affect me. Please do it as quickly as possible, a lot of people would be in danger if things do not work out properly."

Klein frowned and then waved his hand, "And what can you give me in return?"

"Help. Help at a crucial moment in the future. That time will not be decided by you, but I will be there when you need it the most. Once… only once."

"Alright," a moment of thought later, Klein accepted the deal and closed his eyes while raising a piece of topaz and dangling it from his left hand, and then muttering softly.

[AN: A really long chapter because large parts of it were taken from the original, but a lot was also made up by me. Still, it will only count as a single chapter. I hope things are getting more and more interesting for all of you?]

[AN: Who is your favourite character from Avatar the Last Airbender? give a comment. I have started wriiting the next volume where we will be exploring this world more; chapter 141 onwards. So please do look forward to it]