Lord of the Mysteries: I Married the Queen Mystic

When Klein (The Fool) had helped The Hermit defeat his enemies last time, he had already sensed that The Hermit was a Low-Sequence Beyonder...

At the start of today's Tarot Club gathering, Klein noticed that Mr. Hermit's Spirit Body had undergone some changes. It was clear that he had been promoted to Sequence 8.

As for Mr. Hermit's Pathway, Klein observed that the symbol on the back of his chair had transformed into a pair of cold and indifferent eyes without eyelashes. The eyes contained countless glittering stars.

This was a symbol Klein had seen before while dealing with Old Neil's incident, which confirmed that Mr. Hermit was a Beyonder of the 'Mystery Pryer' Pathway and would inevitably need the 'Warlock' potion formula.

'Old Neil…' Behind the gray fog, Klein couldn't help but smirk at the thought.

"I do need this potion formula," Odis said, "Name your price."

He was slightly puzzled... where had Klein obtained the 'Warlock' potion formula?

Under Klein's control, The World answered in a hoarse voice, "700 pounds."

He had acquired the formula back when he was divining Mr. Hermit... Though it was at the cost of his gray fog projection's head exploding on the spot. Selling it to Mr. Hermit now was a way to recoup some losses.

"Deal," Odis agreed immediately.

Seeing how readily he accepted, Klein regretted not asking for 800 pounds instead...

Odis added, "But payment will have to wait a few days."

Just yesterday, he had been lamenting how long it had been since he'd had 3000 pounds in savings, yet in just one day, his expenses had already far exceeded that.

Earlier that morning, Odis had procured a batch of high-level mystical materials from Viscount Kelton, which totaled over 2300 pounds. Then, the two potion formulas purchased at the Tarot Club had cost nearly 1000 pounds.

His once-proud savings were now depleted and in the negative...

Klein controlled The World and nodded, "Okay."

Odis asked, "Will you also be selling your own potion formula?"

"Yes."

"Same price, 260 pounds," Odis said, "I'll complete both transactions with you at once."

"Deal," The World replied flatly.

Odis then turned to Alger, "I'll be receiving some funds soon, so we can confirm the transaction in advance."

He paused before asking, "Would you be willing to sell your potion formula?"

Alger answered, "I would."

"Which Pathway?"

"Sailor."

Odis feigned slight surprise, "That's a bit of a tricky Pathway, but I can still trade for it as part of my collection. How about 260 pounds?"

This was a Pathway associated with the orthodox Churches, making the trade somewhat sensitive...

"Agreed." Alger deduced internally: 'The Hermit is from the Loen Kingdom!'

From Odis's attire, he had already tentatively concluded this, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of deliberate misdirection.

Now, however, Alger was certain. The Church of the Lord of Storms primarily operated in Loen... someone from another country wouldn't consider the 'Sailor' Pathway's formula tricky to trade.

With all his transactions settled, Odis leaned back in his chair and fell silent.

At this point, Miss Justice addressed the head of the long bronze table, "Mr. Fool, I request a private exchange."

Klein smiled inwardly: 'Again?'

He gave a slight nod, "Granted."

As Odis's senses were blocked, a thought suddenly struck him: 'Two gatherings have passed, yet no one has offered the pages of Roselle diary to The Fool?'

After carefully recalling, he realized why... Fors had only recently joined the Tarot Club. And to prevent Fors from borrowing Roselle's notes from her real-world counterpart, which could lead to duplicate offerings, Audrey had been conducting all her diary submissions in private.

Audrey planned to find an opportunity to tell Fors that her 'notes' had been shredded by Susie, after which she could openly offer the diary entries in future gatherings.

Odis sighed: 'I suppose I'll have to wait a bit longer to capitalize on the remaining value of those five diary pages I've handled.'

Once the private exchange concluded, Klein restored the others' senses, "You may continue."

Fors took a deep breath and said, "I'm looking to purchase a stomach pouch of a Spirit Eater and 20 milliliters of a deep sea Marlin's blood."

These were the two main ingredients for the 'Trickmaster' potion. Her savings amounted to 430 pounds, plus the 260 pounds she had just earned from Mr. Hermit.

With 690 pounds, if she was lucky enough to find reasonably priced mystical materials, she could secure the main ingredients.

Fors couldn't help but reflect: 'If not for the need to completely escape the influence of the full moon's ravings, which are forcing me to become a Trickmaster, 690 pounds would be more than enough to live comfortably in Backlund...'

A few seconds later, Alger said in a grave tone, "I once saw a deep sea Marlin's blood at a gathering of pirates. Unfortunately, you've already missed your chance."

Fors replied, "Mr. Hanged Man, please keep an eye out for me. I'm willing to pay between 300 and 400 pounds."

"Understood," Alger nodded.

The Little Sun spoke up, "I know the general whereabouts of several Spirit Eaters, but I don't need the gold pounds you mentioned."

Fors asked curiously, "Then what do you want?"

Audrey anticipated the answer internally: 'The Solar High Priest potion formula.'

After a moment's thought, Derrick indeed said, "The 'Solar High Priest' potion formula."

"That's a Sequence 7 formula, which is worth at least 750 pounds," Fors commented, recalling this detail from her earlier dealings with Mr. World regarding a 'Sun' Pathway mystical item.

She continued, "Yet the two ingredients I need are each worth no more than 400 pounds, often only 300."

Derrick responded without hesitation, "I can provide you with two or three Spirit Eater stomach sacs."

Fors sighed inwardly: 'Selling off extra stomach sacs would be a hassle. Who knows how long it might take?'

She maintained a polite smile and said, "I'll do my best to collect it."

At this point, Odis added, "If this trade goes through, I'll buy the Spirit Eater corpses from you for 100 pounds per corpse."

The other parts of a Spirit Eater's body were also valuable mystical materials.

Derrick blinked in surprise before nodding, "Alright."

Fors shot The Hermit a glance: 'Wait, wasn't he broke? How is he casually spending another couple hundred pounds without batting an eye?'

Behind the gray fog, Klein also mused: 'Sir, are you planning to max out your credit? You're already deep in the red!'

After mentally teasing The Hermit, he had The World rasp, "Keep an eye out for the blood and a Mutated pituitary gland of a Thousand-faced Hunter, a Human-Skined Shadow's Characteristic, and strands of hair from a Deep-sea Naga."

The members all acknowledged the request.

After a brief silence, the gathering moved into the free discussion phase.

About ten minutes later, 'The Fool' declared the meeting adjourned...