Clown and Nightmare

Seer, Apprentice, and Marauder can indeed be interchanged… Furthermore, these three pathways might very well be related to the space above the gray fog…

Upon hearing Tower's explanation, Klein nodded without batting an eyelid, but he then lampooned inwardly,

What do you mean by "strange" means? Aren't the methods of Mutants and Devils more "strange"? Why don't you just add that to the scope!

This reason is way too far-fetched, isn't it? He's afraid that no one will notice that he's being perfunctory!

Despite his lampooning, Klein seriously analyzed the motives behind his actions.

Why would the knowledgeable "Tower" be so perfunctory? Wait, could it be because of… me?

Yes, I'm The Fool. According to what Tower said, I'm at the top of the Seer pathway. He's afraid of me, so he doesn't dare to explain in detail!

Mr. Tower, I actually don't mind. Please speak more.

Alger also sensed that Tower was being perfunctory, but he came to the same conclusion before The Fool himself.

As he secretly sneered, he wanted to infer the possible connections, but on careful thought, he suddenly realized that his understanding of these three pathways was very superficial. He only had a general understanding of the powers of Sequence 9 and 8. He knew nothing more…

There seem to be very few Beyonders of these three pathways… According to Mr. Fool's explanation of the Law of Similar Sequence Conservation of Beyonder Characteristics… Does this mean that there are a lot of High-Sequence Beyonders in these three pathways and that they're very concentrated? Therefore, there are very few Low- and Mid-Sequence Beyonders?

Just as Alger was letting his thoughts wander, Miss Justice had roughly digested what Ebner had said. She nodded in a reserved and elegant manner. "Thank you for your explanation, Mr. Tower."

She didn't know much about most Beyonder pathways, so although she felt that Mr. Tower's description of "bizarreness" was too simple, it wasn't as deep as what Klein and Alger knew…

Furthermore, she only wanted to know the conclusion. As for why, there was no need for her to probe deeper.

Ebner nodded in return and said with a smile, "You're welcome, Miss Justice."

In fact, Klein was overthinking things. The reason why he was so perfunctory was solely because he didn't know how to explain it.

Could it be that these three pathways are pathways split from the Lord of the Mysteries, Space-Time Beacon, Embodiment of Sefirah Castle, Dominator of the Spirit World?

Or should I talk about the differences between Worms of Time, Worms of Spirit, and Worms of Star?

Or should I really mention the three pathways of "theft fraud," "slipping through doors to lockpick," and "detention center" in front of Klein?

It was obviously very inappropriate for such information to be leaked out early.

After a few seconds of silence, Audrey turned her head to look at Mr. Fool. Seeing that this mysterious powerhouse had no intention of adding anything, as though he was tacitly agreeing that there was nothing wrong with the knowledge mentioned by Mr. Tower, she looked at Alger with utmost anticipation.

"Mr. Hanged Man, my information allowed you to finish Vice Admiral Hurricane. Have you prepared the complete pituitary gland of an adult Rainbow Salamander?"

That's one of the reasons why I returned to the sea… Alger nodded gently and said,

"I've already obtained the Beyonder ingredient you wanted.

"After the gathering ends, I'll 'sacrifice' it to Mr. Fool."

"Alright," Audrey replied briskly.

After asking about the ingredients, Miss Justice asked Mr. Fool about the two Tarot Club "candidates" she had previously recommended in a good mood.

I didn't receive their prayers… Could it be that I didn't receive them because of The Fool's honorific name that I recited during the days of my "death"? But then, there should be a "message", right…

Klein secretly diverted his attention to search the surrounding crimson stars. After confirming that there were no "prayer" messages, he leaned back in relief and pretended to be calm. "The person you recommended didn't recite my name."

Ah… Xio and Fors didn't fall under my "guidance" or "arrangement"?

Audrey was stunned when she heard that, but she immediately felt frustrated. She felt that she had been too naive in the past.

Judgment Xio silently watched this scene. It took her a great deal of effort to maintain her posture as a noble lady without laughing out loud…

Then, she took a deep breath and couldn't help but think.

Should I find a chance to report this misunderstanding to Mr. Fool? Although with "His" godlike observational skills, he probably already knows that I'm one of the people Miss Justice recommended… However, taking the initiative to report is an attitude problem. I can't let Mr. Fool believe that I'm deliberately "fooling" Miss Audrey.

Following that, the group conversed for a while before the gathering came to an end. The Sun, The Hanged Man, The Tower, Judgment, and Justice returned respectively. Klein remained above the gray fog, awaiting the sacrifice.

…

Backlund Empress Borough, Earl Hall's luxurious villa.

Not long after Audrey held the bestowment ritual, she saw a soft object that was constantly changing colors and was filled with ridges on the altar.

"The Rainbow Salamander's pituitary gland!" Audrey was overjoyed. Her eyes lit up as she prepared to take it out.

However, her etiquette habit immediately controlled her as she sincerely praised Mr. Fool once again.

After ending the ritual, she impatiently walked forward and carefully observed the Beyonder ingredient five times.

Then, she looked warily at the door, as if afraid of Susie's sudden intrusion.

A few minutes later, there was a bottle of liquid in Audrey's hand that kept changing, as though it could shine into the depths of everyone's hearts.

She confidently drank the Telepathist potion and successfully tide through the integration stage of the Beyonder characteristic and advanced.

…

In a hotel in the North Borough of Enmat Harbor, Ebner, who had just finished attending the Tarot Gathering, opened his eyes. He seriously took in the feeling for a while before muttering to himself in satisfaction,

My spirituality has changed slightly, and the potion seems to have digested a little…

"Indeed, one of the acting principles of a Polymath is to resolve the problems of others with your own knowledge.

"But this is clearly more one-sided; otherwise, there wouldn't only be such feedback."

As for why he could receive feedback from Sefirah Castle, he had already roughly figured it out.

Polymath was, after all, different from Knowledge Keeper. The latter focused more on "preservation," with the goal of preventing knowledge from being lost. As for the former principle, even though Ebner hadn't finished concluding it, he mostly focused on solving problems with "knowledge."

Therefore, as a Knowledge Keeper, he didn't receive any feedback no matter how much he spread the knowledge in Sefirah Castle. This was because Sefirah Castle itself was a "concealed" environment. Knowledge was equivalent to not saying it out loud. It couldn't even be divined or retroactively retroactively, so there was naturally no feedback.

However, Polymath was different. Although Ebner suspected that Sefirah Castle had still blocked a portion of the "feedback," at least the "problem-solving" part could be played on Sefirah Castle.

After some thought, Ebner came up with a few "acting" methods and planned to verify them in the future. The timing wasn't right, but it wasn't suitable to act immediately.

After removing the wall of spirituality, he took a shower in the hotel to clear his discomfort from digging up the grave the night before. Then, he ordered a specialty of Enmat's and enjoyed it for dinner.

When it was completely dark, Ebner suddenly recalled something he had overlooked. He hurriedly wore his clothes and left the inn, calling for a carriage to rush to the "fertility cathedral."

It turned out that he had forgotten to retrieve the Clown mask he had lent Dunn because the Tarot Gathering was about to begin.

It wasn't that he couldn't bear to part with the mask. After advancing to Polymath and easily simulating the powers of a Sequence 6, the Clown mask was no longer of much use to him.

However, the mask had living characteristics. It could be said that it had a very nasty personality. It would only behave itself after being "taught" by Mr. Fool once or twice a week at Sefirah Castle. Otherwise, it would force the wielder to do something out of line.

And last week, Klein had died just in time. The mask hadn't had the chance to go above the gray fog to receive Mr. Fool's education. Although Sefirah Castle's "remnant might" was still present, and with the White Eye suppressing it, it had acted rather "honestly," but who could guarantee that it wouldn't attack Dunn while it was gone?

After rushing to the Harvest Church under the cover of the night, just as Ebner pushed open the door to the cathedral, he saw Dunn, who had transformed into "Thanks to you, Stark," standing in front of the sermon counter. He threw the stack of paper in his hand to the ground, then spread his arms and announced to the crowd in the prayer hall,

"I'm Iron Man!"

…

"Name: Clown Mask.

Function: Change one's appearance to the appearance of another person that had been set.

Negative Effect: It has the characteristic of being "alive." It will look forward to your performance after wearing the mask. The performance's content and venue are related to the person who is wearing it.

Take note: Make sure to put your heart into the performance; otherwise, once it's not satisfied, it will take the initiative to control your body to perform what it wants! Once you wear it for more than two hours, you might be replaced by the character you set, and your mind might fracture as a result. (Bring it to the gray fog once a week; the negative effects and things to take note of do not exist.)

…

Upon seeing this scene, the corners of Ebner's mouth twitched. He stroked his forehead and said to the lady who was suspected to be Sloth, "Miss Priest, why do I feel that his mental problems are getting worse…"

The woman with long brown hair revealed her dimples as she asked with a smile, "Do you feel frightened?"

"A little…" Ebner thought for a moment and answered honestly.

"Then there's no problem… Don't you think he plays the role of a Nightmare very well?" the woman with long brown hair said with deep meaning.