Testing "Sacrifice"

In a row of houses at 2 Daffodil Street in Tingen City, Klein opened a thick envelope. Inside was a letter from Mr. Azik.

"The matter you asked me about the last time, I've recalled some things over the past few days. It seems to have left a deep impression on me. Perhaps, in one of my lives, or rather, in my earliest life, I often did such things."

"Although I said it last time, I have to remind you again. I warn you that you have to be careful when using this ritual. You can't entrust your safety to 'Their' consciences. 'They' don't have such things."

Mr. Azik had written it very vaguely. He didn't mention the words "sacrifice" at all… That's right. Although I don't know why this letter suddenly appeared in my room, it wouldn't be good if Melissa or someone else opened it privately and saw some words that shouldn't be seen. Even if most people couldn't understand Hermes.

With this in mind, Klein skipped over the things Mr. Azik emphasized and directly read the rest of the ritual.

"Firstly, the environment used for the sacrificial ritual is to engrave the corresponding symbols and use herbs and ores that belong to 'His' domain. Of course, it can also be used to make holy oil, ointment, incense, etc."

This part was similar to the information provided by Tower. It was part of pleasing the gods. Yes, it could be saved.

As for symbols, Klein already had an idea.

The "vertical eye" symbol that the puppet gave him when he was on duty at Chanis Gate should be the symbol of the upper echelons of the Antigonus family. It might even be the symbol of The Half-Fool that Tower mentioned.

And the symbol of The Fool that doesn't belong to this era is probably the complicated symbol behind the high-back chair at the end of the long bronze table. It's the complicated symbol formed from the Pupil-less Eye which represents concealment and the partial symbol of change, the Line of Distortion.

Or should I say, my symbol above the gray fog… The domain is very simple. Concealment, change, good luck… But I can't be sure. I can only try to do it… Yes, even if the symbol is wrong, under the premise that the honorific name is correct, the sacrificial target won't point to another existence. At most, it will cause the ritual to fail. I can be sure of this… Klein rubbed the surface of the paper thoughtfully as he came up with a plan.

His gaze regained its focus as he looked at the subsequent parts.

"Secondly, do it according to the normal ritual until you finish chanting the honorific name and prayer sentence."

"You have to remember that you have to use Jotun, Dragonese, Elvish, or ancient Hermes to communicate with the corresponding existence through the direct connection between them and the powers of nature. You can design the exact words yourself, but you have to have a few keywords—'pray', 'watch', 'offer', 'kingdom', 'door', 'open'."

The information provided by this part of the "Tower" was even more detailed. It even explained some of the principles, allowing me to modify it more easily… Did he think that I was an ancient god who had revived and might not understand modern sacrificial rituals, afraid that I would ask for blood like in ancient times, so he deliberately explained it so clearly?

As Klein guessed at Tower's thoughts, he continued reading the content below. It was also what he was most concerned about.

"Finally, use materials with spirituality and combine them with the vibrations caused by the incantation to create an initial passageway that connects to the corresponding door of the kingdom. If that person is interested, your ritual can be completed."

As expected, I still need materials with spirituality… I wonder if just reciting the incantation will allow me to open a sacrificial passage similar to the Door of Summoning. Will I be able to use some of the powers of the mysterious space above the gray fog… Yes, I'll give it a try first. If it doesn't work, I'll have to be extravagant… After all, the Tarot Club is in the afternoon. The Tower and The Hanged Man are definitely waiting for my results.

Klein put down the letter and quickly took action. He locked the wooden door, took out the silver ritual dagger, and sealed the entire room with a wall of spirituality. Then, he took four steps counterclockwise and boarded the gray fog.

Although Tower and Mr. Azik had no reason to harm him, he had to first confirm that the ritual wasn't dangerous.

The grayish-white fog remained unchanged as the crimson illusory stars hung in the distance. Klein sat in the grand palace that resembled a giant's residence as he silently looked at the familiar scene before him.

After a few seconds, he retracted his gaze and made a yellowish-brown goatskin appear in front of him. Then, he picked up his pen and wrote down the incantation that had been changed according to the information provided by Tower.

"Light a candle to symbolize yourself."

"Use the wall of spirituality to create a holy environment;

"Recite the following incantations:

"Me!"

"I summon in my name:

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era, The Mysterious Ruler above the gray fog, The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."

…

After carefully examining it three times, Klein wrote a divination statement at the bottom:

"It's dangerous to carry out these rituals outside."

Phew. He exhaled, put down the pen, and removed the silver chain from his sleeve. He held it with his left hand.

When the topaz pendant quietly floated above the goatskin and almost touched the divination statement, he reined in his thoughts and entered a state of Cogitation.

"It's dangerous to carry out these rituals outside."

"It's dangerous to carry out these rituals outside."

…

After reciting it seven times, Klein opened his nearly black eyes and saw the topaz pendant turning counterclockwise.

This meant that there was no danger!

"I can give it a try." Klein quickly made the item he conjured in front of him disappear. He extended his spirituality to envelop himself and simulate the feeling of plummeting.

After returning to his bedroom, Klein had already sealed the entire room with a wall of spirituality. He immediately cleaned his desk and erected the altar to pray to himself.

Taking two steps back, Klein looked at the candle that symbolized him and shouted in Jotun,

"Me!"

Following that, he switched to Hermes.

"I summon in my name:

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era, the mysterious ruler above the gray fog, the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."

Just as he finished his sentence, he immediately felt his spirituality being frantically extracted. However, he endured the discomfort and finished reciting the subsequent incantations.

However, when he finished reciting the incantation, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. Nothing happened.

I didn't summon anything… Ah right, perhaps I need to respond above the gray fog… It's really troublesome to summon myself… Klein pinched his aching forehead and muttered silently.

He slowed down for more than ten seconds before taking four steps counterclockwise. When he arrived above the gray fog again, he saw circular patterns of light at the end of the ancient long table.

This came from the strange symbol behind the corresponding high-back chair. It was a strange symbol formed by the Pupil-less Eye, which symbolized concealment, and the part that symbolizes change, the Line of Distortion.

Klein only made a gesture of reaching out his hand to touch it when he heard "I! I summon in my name", "The Fool that doesn't belong to this era", "The mysterious ruler above the gray fog" and other incantations. He saw the surging spirituality mixed with the rippling light patterns, forming an illusory, incomplete door.

The door wobbled as it tried to open. Klein immediately had an inspiration and gave a strong will to push it open.

Almost instantly, the boundless gray fog and the magnificent palace were drawn in, producing invisible ripples.

The ripples came one after another, surging towards the illusory and incomplete door.

However, no matter how Klein pushed, the door couldn't be opened. All the commotion eventually returned to silence.

Is it because the Door of Summoning hasn't fully formed? Klein retracted his thoughts and frowned as he analyzed the reason for his failure.

Yes, it's because my spirituality is lacking and I'm unable to construct a complete Door of Summoning… When I advance to Sequence 8 and become a Clown, I'll be able to pass the initial dangerous stage. I can give it another try. Perhaps there won't be any problems then… Klein nodded gently as he roughly understood what was going on.

However, he immediately revealed a bitter smile and muttered to himself, "This also means that I really have to use spiritual materials to support the oscillation before I can open the sacrificial channel…"

…

At noon, Ebner, who had sent Xio away, didn't have the mood to make up some storylines for Klein because he was also plagued by the news. He chose a page from Roselle's original diary that was easier to obtain and enlarged it in his mind, trying his best to think of it as a picture.

In fact, if it wasn't because he wanted to help Xio seek an opportunity to be "favored" by Mr. Fool, he didn't even think of giving Klein Roselle's diary this week.

After all, he had already reminded most of what he should have warned. If he gave too much and Mr. Fool could not give him equal returns, it would be difficult for him to do so.

"Actually, I'm quite looking forward to today's Tarot Club. This is because the original Tarot Club didn't have a specific description for this week or the next two weeks. All it did was say, 'I didn't obtain the diary' before it was revealed. I'm also curious about what happened during this period and wish to investigate."

"It's just that I don't know the contents of the gathering, so I can't prepare in advance. I hope my erudite Mr. Tower can maintain his character setting."

Finally, I wonder if Klein has finished studying the sacrificial ritual?

As Ebner outlined the text and thought about how to deal with the problems that might arise during the Tarot Club, time passed bit by bit. Soon, it was three in the afternoon.

…

Above the gray fog, in the majestic temple that resembled the residence of the Giant King.

Dark red bloomed on both sides of the long bronze table, and the three blurry figures' positions were unchanged from the previous time.

The tall, blonde Audrey instinctively looked up and saw a figure sitting backward in the thick gray fog. One of her hands was flat as she touched the edge of the table, while the other hand held her chin.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool ~!" Audrey shouted briskly.

Then, she turned her head and looked across her. She said in the same tone,

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man!"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Tower!"

Upon hearing her cheerful voice, Klein was also infected by her joy and happiness. The corners of his mouth curled up, and even the pain from experimenting with the sacrificial ritual with spiritual materials was relieved.

That was a spiritual material that he had managed to gather with the excuse of needing funds to develop the Psychology Alchemists informant…

However, it was still a success. This way, it could also make the "Tower" and even The Hanged Man behave a little and stop trying to test me, The Fool.

After returning the greeting with Miss Justice, Ebner sensed The Fool's gaze on him. He misunderstood and hurriedly said, "Honorable Mr. Fool, I brought another diary page."

I've brought the diary again. Mr. Tower should have a powerful background, which is why he has such powerful information channels… No, you can't think of it that way. This is also because Mr. Tower is capable. As a lady, you can't belittle him just because you're jealous. Audrey, do your best. You have your own channels and abilities. You will definitely be able to obtain more Roselle diary pages in the future.

At first, Miss Justice revealed an envious expression, but she quickly adjusted it with her Spectator powers. She has filled with fighting spirit again.

On the other side, The Hanged Man fell silent for a moment before saying, "Sorry, Mr. Fool. I'm still at sea."

Klein nodded casually and leisurely took the diary that the Tower had conjured. However, he nearly laughed out loud after taking a glance at it.

"6th March. Damn, the food here is making me constipated!"

"17th March. Are all the wives of Intis so open? Did I sleep with her or did she sleep with me? It feels a little weird."