SWNOVELXO Chapter 16: 16
Chapter 76 Above the Gray MistTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3215 words Update time: 2025-05-23 18:35:40
Caroline's pupils trembled subconsciously, and she unconsciously retreated a little. When she reacted, she found that the distance between herself and the unknown person did not seem to have changed much.
She was still shrouded in thick gray fog, and before her was still a palace as magnificent as the residence of a giant.
Wait, gray fog?
Caroline then remembered that she seemed to have seen the indescribable gray fog every time she performed the luck-changing rituals in the past.
This time...
"The name I chanted has finally taken effect..."
Caroline hummed, her eyes once again slowly looking towards the mysterious figure sitting firmly in the high-backed chair.
Is he Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun?
No, according to the content of the "report"...
He is the "Fool"!
At this moment, Caroline could only feel that this great being was watching her quietly, or rather, she had been watched since her family's last luck-changing ceremony.
Only this time, he finally responded to his own calling.
Finally at this moment, Caroline's extremely confused mind came to her senses, and the painful state she had just been in seemed to have disappeared.
She looked at her hands. There was no change on her still fair skin, and there were no longer any crazy sounds in her ears.
Saved?
Caroline looked up at the great being in confusion, slumped on the ground, and asked softly:
"Did you save me...?"
...
Klein held his cheek with one hand, blocked Caroline's vision with gray fog, and pretended to be profound as he observed this fellow time traveler who was also a wanderer in the world.
He quietly opened his spiritual vision and lightly scanned Caroline's body.
Well, his emotions were a little bit fluctuating, and his aura was mixed. It was probably because he was frightened by the changes brought about by the potion and by being suddenly pulled into the gray fog.
But there are very few dark colors, which means that she does not have many negative emotions. This can be used to prove that she does not have any bad thoughts and is most likely a decent character.
All the colors are bright and the body is healthy. Like Miss Justice, she is a young and energetic girl.
But deep inside her "etheric body" and on the surface of her "astral body"...
In Klein's spiritual vision, he saw that Caroline's "Astral Body" was an overly bright blood red, like a photo with a filter that was too large, making the red part appear too glaring.
Was this because of the potion she had just drunk?
Hmm, it doesn't feel right. It looks more like he drank more than one bottle of potion.
Hiss... Could it be that she drank two bottles of magic potion? That's why the abnormal situation just now occurred?
What was going on? Why did she drink two potions?
Klein thought quickly, and soon he thought of the concept that the captain and Old Neil had mentioned.
"Half" Beyonder…
This fellow time traveler in front of me might be half a transcendental person herself, which is why the power of the potion is too overflowing.
Klein also experienced a similar phenomenon when he drank the "Fortune Teller" potion. He saw many things that he could not normally see and heard many sounds that he should not have heard.
At the time, Old Neil explained to him that it was a manifestation of the overflow of the potion's power, and he lacked the ability to control it.
So, this fellow didn't suffer from such painful symptoms because he drank the wrong potion, or because he had too much extraordinary energy and the potion overflowed...
Phew, this is really a blessing in disguise. If he had drunk the wrong potion, there would be nothing he could do.
Now he pulled her up to the gray fog, isolating her from external influences and allowing her condition to stabilize.
The gray fog has the effect of isolating the outside world...
With the help of Caroline's performance, Klein became more certain of a special use of the gray fog.
Just as Klein was thinking, he heard the girl in front of him speak softly:
"Did you save me...?"
Hmm, the voice is pretty nice, and she seems to be about the same age as Miss Justice... Uh, wait, what am I thinking...
Klein quickly threw away those weird thoughts, calmed down, adjusted his tone, and replied with a half-smile:
"It's just a small favor..."
...
He answered me!
Caroline was very shocked. Her previous guesses turned out to be correct.
Fools can communicate!
Wait, calm down. We can't confirm whether the being in front of us is The Fool or not...
She took a few deep breaths, then lowered her head in order not to disturb the mysterious being in front of her, and asked sincerely and fearfully:
"May I ask who you are..."
Caroline uses modern Chinese.
After waiting for a while, she clearly heard the person on the other side reply in the same standard Chinese:
"You can call me 'Fool'."
Caroline's breathing paused for a moment.
"Fool", indeed he is a "fool".
Miss Audrey is having a party with such a being. She is so bold...
However, why can the "fool" respond to the call of "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun"? Is there any connection between the two?
Or is it that "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun" is actually a pseudonym for "The Fool"?
Whose alias is "Yog-Sothoth"?
Caroline lowered her head and pondered for a while. She quickly activated her slow thoughts, which had just recovered from the pain. She selected the appropriate words, organized her language, and spoke in Loenese again:
"Thank you very much for helping me..."
The Fool was silent for a while. Then, she heard him continue to speak in a tone that was hard to tell the specific emotion and seemed to be smiling but not smiling:
"Your spirituality is extremely chaotic. This is because you are half a Beyonder, so the power of the potion overflowed. And you lack sufficient means of control, which led to the situation you just experienced."
"I have only temporarily stabilized your condition. When you return, you will face the remaining shocks again. You must be prepared in advance."
The potion's power overflowed? He was half a Beyonder?
Caroline did not fully understand the meaning of The Fool's words, but she could understand that this powerful being seemed to see through her current state with just one glance.
So she lowered her head a little and said:
"Please teach me how to control it..."
Although she couldn't see the Fool's appearance, Caroline felt that he seemed to be somewhat satisfied and said:
"It's as simple as using meditation to help you do that."
"After you leave here, try to draw a picture of an object in your mind. The more specific and clear it is, the better the effect will be."
"Then, when your attention is focused enough, replace the object you were thinking of with an object that does not exist in this world."
"In this way, you will be able to control your own spirituality."
The power of meditation. I have seen this in the "report". The "fortune teller" in Tingen's "Nightwatchers" used this method to track down the ancient notes of a certain family.
It turns out that meditation can also be used to control spirituality. This is so useful!
Moreover, the Fool's teachings were very detailed. Could it be that these powerful beings are all very eager to teach others?
After carefully and seriously noting down Professor Fool's meditation method, Caroline used the same method of praying to gods that she had seen in various movies and TV shows before to sincerely thank the being who had helped her.
...
My fellow countryman, do you really need to be so serious?
Klein looked at Caroline, who was looking very serious, and couldn't help but feel more and more embarrassed.
He had never felt such a strong sense of shame before when facing "Justice" and "The Hanged Man". On the one hand, it was because their attitude towards him was not so sincere, and on the other hand, it was because there was a gap between their identities as local residents and time travelers.
Now, facing another fellow time traveler, seeing her humble attitude, Klein could hardly suppress the shame in his heart.
But he didn't plan to reveal his identity to the other party right now. After all, he didn't know the other party's background, so he had to observe for a while.
Just as Klein was thinking this, he heard Caroline say from below:
"Excuse me, Great Fool, are you the one who brought me into this world..."
Here it comes, this is the question that a time traveler will definitely ask when facing a mysterious being that suddenly appears.
Klein had long anticipated that Caroline would ask such a question. After all, he appeared after she recited "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun", and her time travel was most likely related to the luck-changing ritual.
Klein remained calm and chuckled a few times without saying anything.
...
The Fool did not answer his own question. What did he mean by this?
Caroline swallowed and her heartbeat unconsciously quickened a little.
Maybe, maybe it's because I asked too many questions.
As a being of great power, The Fool obviously has no need to answer such questions himself.
Of course, it is also possible that she is not good enough for The Fool to answer her questions.
So Caroline lowered her head quickly, and her tone became more earnest, and she asked more weakly:
"You are helping me like this, what can I do for you?"
This time, The Fool did not pause, but spoke directly:
"Stand up. I prefer to interact with people on an equal footing."
Equal exchanges... Ovis Wein's business philosophy can actually be heard here...
Now that the Fool has spoken, Caroline can no longer remain humble.
To be honest, even she herself felt that this was a bit exaggerated, but in order not to immediately offend a strong man whose background she had no idea of, this humble attitude was necessary.
She slowly stood up from the ground. The gray fog rolling under her feet was as solid as the real ground, but looking closely at the misty fog could not help but make people feel timid.
After she stood firm, she looked at The Fool sitting in the high-back chair in front of her and performed what she considered the most solemn etiquette to her.
"Your Excellency the Great Fool, thank you very much for your generosity and kindness."
The Fool smiled and shook his head, saying:
"Just call me Mr. Fool."
"Uh, okay, Mr. Fool..."Chapter 77 TarotTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3001 words Update time: 2025-05-24 13:05:07
Caroline nodded to The Fool and at the same time, she began to try to observe the situation in the mysterious gray fog.
Although the material of the gray fog was the same as that she had seen during the previous luck-changing rituals, the gray fog here was obviously thicker, more dense, and boundless.
Looking at the tall and straight stone pillars around and the broad and majestic dome above, one can feel an endless sense of oppression and tension, as if being in the temple of an ancient god.
Ancient gods... Is Mr. Fool a resurrected ancient god?
In Caroline's common sense, there are only seven gods recognized by the world at present, but in those distant legends and myths, it seems that in ancient times, there were still some gods who have now disappeared.
Looking around this place that didn't seem to be accessible to mortals, Caroline rolled her throat subconsciously.
Then, she looked at the Fool hidden behind the mist in front of her and asked tentatively:
"Dear Mr. Fool, is there anything I can do for you to repay you for saving my life?"
Caroline was actually very nervous when she asked this question. Whether it was in the stories she had read on Earth before or in the legends and fables of this world, transactions with gods of unknown origin would often not have a good ending.
Of course, the premise is that "The Fool" is an inhuman evil god. But based on Caroline's current observations and the information given in the "report", "The Fool" does not seem to be that scary.
Sitting firmly on the high-back chair, The Fool holds his chin with one hand and says with a smile:
"I don't mind the occasional handout, it doesn't cost you anything."
"but..."
As he spoke, The Fool moved slightly, and in an instant, in Caroline's field of vision, a simple bronze table appeared in the rolling gray fog, and on both sides of the table, high-backed chairs were placed on the gray fog.
"Oh my god..."
Caroline couldn't help but blurt out the slang on Earth subconsciously, but then she immediately realized that such words might be offensive, and quickly turned her guiltily eyes to the "Fool".
However, Mr. Fool did not seem to care about the surprise of such mortals. He still spoke calmly and steadily:
"There are several people who are similar to you, and I also pulled them in here for various reasons."
"They hope that I can hold regular gatherings to trade potion formulas, buy and sell materials, and exchange information."
"I agree to this request."
This is the party that Miss Audrey attended...
When Caroline heard The Fool say this, she immediately understood what he meant.
So she quickly bowed her head and said:
"Dear Mr. Fool, may I join this party?"
She heard The Fool say with a subtle smile:
"Okay, every Monday at 3pm, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed."
Caroline was delighted and just raised her head. Then, she saw a stack of tarot cards suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Those who have participated in this party have used the names of tarot cards as code names. You can also choose one and exclude those cards that already have owners..."
People who have already participated in the party... Does this mean that some people who were dragged to the gray fog by the "Fool" did not participate in the party...
Why is this? Is it because they have bad intentions? Or is it because they are disrespectful to Mr. Fool?
Caroline thought to herself and secretly glanced at the reaction of The Fool. Seeing that the other party did not show any expression, she breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, walked to the long bronze table, reached out to pick up the stack of tarot cards, and began to cut and shuffle them steadily.
When she felt it was about time, she held the deck of cards in one hand and with the other hand, she randomly pulled out a card from the deck based on her feeling.
"Snap!"
However, when Caroline drew out a card, another card was brought out along with it and fell directly onto the long table.
The card was face up, but reversed, facing Caroline's face.
The Queen brand...
Caroline was stunned for a moment, then looked at the card she had just taken out.
It is the upright "Chariot" card.
"this..."
Caroline looked at The Fool somewhat embarrassedly and asked softly:
"Sorry Mr. Fool, I'm probably not very good at shuffling cards..."
"Do I need to draw again?"
The Fool pondered for a while, as if he was thinking about something.
But soon, Caroline saw him shake his head, stretch out his fingers and wave, and all the tarot cards disappeared, leaving only the upright "Chariot" in her hand and the reversed "Empress" on the table.
"No, everything you do is a hint from fate."
"You can choose your real code name from these two cards."
A hint from fate?
Caroline nodded and looked at the reversed "Queen" on the table.
She didn't understand Tarot cards. Her only impression of Tarot cards before was that they were disposable props in a famous game. But the only concept she had left about Tarot cards told her that, generally speaking, reversed cards did not have any good symbols.
So she shuddered all over and raised the correct "chariot" in her hand high up.
"Mr. Fool, I choose Chariot!"
...
The figure in the gray fog disappeared like broken water waves and returned to the crimson stars.
Klein sat in a high-back chair, leaned back, and relaxed his body and mind.
He has become more and more adept at playing the role of a mysterious being, but maintaining a sense of mystery and power for a long time in front of outsiders still makes him a little tired.
"Huh, I finally managed to get my fellow time traveler into the Tarot Club..."
Staring at the crimson star that represented Caroline, Klein pursed his lips and thought.
but...
He felt his own condition strangely and found that he did not expend too much energy in pulling the fellow traverser out of the gray fog.
The process was very smooth and there were no obstacles.
According to this situation, he could definitely pull one more person out of the gray fog.
What is the reason for this?
Is it the peculiarity of the time traveler himself?
Or...
Klein looked at the reversed "Empress" card that was still quietly placed on the long bronze table.
The upright "Empress" card represents emotional satisfaction, career success and accumulation of wealth, while the reversed "Empress" card is just the opposite, and is a typical representative of emotional stagnation, career obstruction and loss of wealth.
But Klein believed that the appearance of such a card above the gray fog might not be a harbinger of such a superficial personal level. After all, this was not a divination club, and he did not perform divination for the fellow traveler.
The reversed "Queen" may represent some deeper, more mysterious meaning...
"I'm beginning to doubt whether it's a good idea to let that fellow villager join the Tarot Club..."
Well, even if the decision has been made, there is no reason to take it back, and the other party doesn't know my situation, so I still have a sufficient probation period to observe her.
After thinking for a while, Klein took out his pendulum again, concentrated his energy, and said to the reversed "Empress" card in a deep voice:
"Miss Chariot's joining poses a threat to the Tarot Club..."
The pendulum began to spin quickly, but in a counterclockwise direction, quickly and forcefully.
Negative, it seems that Miss Tank's joining is not a bad thing for the Tarot Club...
After realizing the result, Klein put away his pendulum and prepared to return to Blackthorn Security Company to study the exact symbolism of the reversed "Queen" deck.
His body fell back and left the mysterious gray fog.
...
Caroline, lying on her side on the attic floor, opened her eyes. Before her vision could fully recover, the chaotic and blurry sounds in her ears rang again and began to gnaw at her brain as before.
She quickly calmed down, followed the method The Fool taught her, quickly calmed down, and began to meditate.
The image of a "silver spoon" quickly appeared in her mind.
As her attention gradually focused, she could clearly feel that the chaotic sounds around her ears began to fade away.
But the sting still existed in her brain, and her emotions were still mixed with a frenzy full of destructive desire.
The next stage of meditation is to imagine something that does not exist in this world.
Is there anything that does not exist in this world?
Caroline originally wanted to recall the things on Earth in the past, but she couldn't think of anything that absolutely never existed.
So she quickly focused on the "Silver Spoon" in her mind, then erased it and quickly began to imagine.
She was imagining where the "Silver Key" should be used to start, the gate of the end that represents the ultimate mystery of the cosmic abyss in the Cthulhu mythology.
She had never seen anyone draw the appearance of the Gate of the End, and the description of the Gate of the End in mythology was limited to the retelling of others. Even in other people's derivative works, the images of the Gate of the End were all strange and bizarre.
Therefore, Caroline felt that the appearance of the Gate of the End should vary from person to person.
So in her mind, slowly, a door with patterns similar to the Arabian vine branches on the "Silver Key" gradually took shape, standing eternally, quietly, and unchangingly in the deepest part of the cosmic abyss without boundaries and without the concept of time and space.
As Caroline's attention was completely focused and she entered into meditation, the madness from the overflow of the potion power that had been bothering her finally subsided.Chapter 78 Hunter's AttemptTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3166 words Update time: 2025-05-24 18:00:00
After her condition stabilized, Caroline stopped fantasizing about the Gate of the End in her mind and ended her meditation.
Her attention returned to reality, and the scene before her slowly focused from a blurry and diffused picture into a clear image. The entrance staircase to the attic, the bookshelves, the books scattered on the ground, and the empty chemical experiment equipment appeared in her field of vision exactly as they were.
At the same time, she no longer heard any sounds that shouldn't have appeared in her ears. All she could hear now was her own heavy breathing and the pounding heartbeat.
"Meditation really works... Ha, praise Mr. Fool..."
For the first time since she traveled through time, Caroline sincerely thanked a great being from the bottom of her heart. She raised her arm and wiped her forehead, only to find that her body was covered in sweat.
But her body did not feel much tired. On the contrary, she could now feel an unprecedented abundant power gushing out of her body.
She stood up from the floor with the help of her knees. As soon as she straightened her chest and raised her head, she immediately noticed the changes in herself.
"Hoo…Hoo…"
A series of extremely subtle sounds reached Caroline's ears from a distance. She subconsciously looked towards the source of the sound, and her eyes were focused on the attic window that was always kept closed.
The sound she heard was actually coming from outside the window, the sound of the wind blowing through the outer wall.
"Buzz…Buzz…"
And then, Caroline heard an extremely discordant noise coming from the attic, as if something was flashing its tiny wings, lingering in her ears.
In an instant, she caught a glimpse of a tiny black shadow flying quickly past her side. Almost out of instinct, she immediately mobilized all the muscles in her body and swung her right palm to slap hard in that direction.
"call--!"
This time, she actually made a sound like breaking through the air.
Her palm was like the tip of a swinging whip, breaking through the speed limit and striking the air with a force far beyond what a normal human could exert.
Just a few hits, Caroline first saw a small black object slowly falling from the air, and then she saw that from the place extending from her palm, on the surface of the desk, sheets of white paper were blown up by the wind, so that the lit gas lamp was disturbed, and the flame inside was shaking and trembling.
"Is this the power brought by the potion...!"
Caroline withdrew her right hand in disbelief and looked at her hand as if she were a monster.
But she could understand that she was not a "monster" but a "hunter"!
At the same time, along with the power that appeared in Caroline's body, a part of it was infused into her brain in the form of knowledge, which was like an innate talent that was integrated into the "instinct" in her blood.
She slowly bent down and accurately found the small black object that had fallen on the floor.
It was a black and white striped mosquito whose limbs had been shattered and mangled by the slapping.
These little details are now so clear and obvious in Caroline's eyes.
Besides the mosquito she had swatted to death, she could see all sorts of different things that she had not been able to notice before.
From the various footprints left by her and her on the attic floor, the traces left by fallen books and papers, and the different distributions of dust in these places...she could even directly judge the time when these traces were formed and how many people had been to this attic based on the differences in these details.
Fortunately, there was only Caroline in the attic, and it seemed that she had maintained a good privacy since she bought the house.
"Strength, observation and judgment have all been improved to an almost inhuman level..."
Caroline clenched her fists and looked towards the entrance of the attic with excitement that she could hardly hide.
"So, what about speed..."
She is now full of motivation and passion, a feeling she has never experienced in her previous life. Often when she thinks of things related to "sports", the first reaction that comes to her mind is stomach discomfort.
But now, she was full of energy and was eager to try everything. Even she herself felt that she was a little too excited. Even those professional athletes who took stimulants before the game might not be as "excited" as she is now.
Once she made the decision to give it a try, Caroline didn't think too much about it and just took action.
She took a standard starting posture and without waiting, she immediately kicked her legs and rushed forward.
In an instant, just a step away, she rushed to the entrance of the attic, and in front of her was a staircase leading directly downwards.
If she couldn't stop, she would fall headfirst, rolling like a ball on a wheel onto the second-floor corridor.
But just as Caroline was about to fall, she immediately stopped, planted her other leg on the floor in front of her, and in an instant she stopped the force of her body rushing forward, allowing herself to stop steadily on the edge of the stairs.
She didn't even use her hands in the process.
Looking down at the edge of the stairs which was almost at any distance from her, Caroline half opened her mouth, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled up slowly. Her heartbeat was rapidly accelerating, and although she was nervous, she was mostly excited.
"The speed is very fast, the control of the body is unexpected, and the balance ability is also quite amazing..."
Caroline whispered the changes the potion had brought to her, and the more she listed, the more shocked she was.
A Sequence 9 potion alone has such an amazing improvement effect. How many surprises does the Hunter Path hide?
No, perhaps it should be said that there are still many surprises hidden in the extraordinary path...
Is this the extraordinary world... Being able to experience this level of power is worth the trip...
After taking a few deep breaths at the side of the stairs and adjusting her mood, Caroline turned around and walked back to the desk, raised her hand and picked up the "Silver Key" she had taken out.
"Just once I didn't bring the Silver Key with me and almost got into trouble. If Mr. Fool hadn't been so helpful, I'm afraid I wouldn't know what would happen to me now."
Looking at the "Silver Spoon" in her hand that seemed to always remain the same, stroking the fine patterns on it, Caroline thought that she should find a rope to string the "Silver Spoon" together and hang it around her neck as a necklace to ensure that she would not lose it.
But now, she has to first confirm whether her upgrade will bring new changes to the "Void Cube".
Holding the "Silver Spoon" tightly, Caroline whispered quietly:
"The omniscient and omnipotent God, the king of the endless void, the one to whom all things return to one..."
As the honorific name was spoken, the illusory cube appeared in Caroline's hands as always.
With a thought, the "Void Cube" expanded and accommodated Caroline into the solid space.
When the gray space closed around her body, Caroline quickly discovered new changes in the cubic space.
"This is..."
In front of Caroline's eyes, a translucent, borderless pattern floated quietly in the air.
There were many strange lines on the pattern, and their trends seemed to imply some kind of pattern, as if they formed squares of different sizes. In the center of one of the squares, there was a small dot emitting white fluorescence and flashing.
After concentrating and carefully identifying it, Caroline realized that the pattern in front of her was actually an aerial view of the structure of her house.
Yes, that's right, this place is the entrance corridor, the large rectangle is the vestibule, and the dark object is the fireplace in the vestibule.
This is the dining room, that is the kitchen, this area is the stairs, up on the second floor are the bedrooms, bathrooms and cloakrooms, and here... this is the attic where she is!
Obviously, the dot emitting white light in the attic represents Caroline herself.
"The new change is actually a map... and it's a large map that ignores obstacles and can directly see through the internal structure of the house..."
Caroline took a breath. Although the map seemed to have no means of direct attack, one had to know that sometimes when two opponents met on a narrow road, the key to determining victory or defeat was the information gap.
With such a "map" that is almost equivalent to the ability of global perspective, Caroline's chances of encountering unexpected ambushes will be greatly reduced.
"The area that the 'map' can display now seems to be only the area around a house, but the amount of information it contains has not been reduced at all."
Caroline looked at the lines on the "map" that represented the area outside her house and thought that should be the floor plan of Blythe Street.
At this moment, the "map" was showing grey dots of light slowly drifting across the street.
Those are symbols of people passing by, and this map can show all the people within the coverage area.
Watching the gray dots of light appear from the illusory edge of the "map" and then slowly disappear at the other edge, Caroline realized that this "map" would definitely be able to continue to expand in the future.
Perhaps in the next stage, when she becomes Sequence 8, she will be able to display the situation of an entire block. Going further, she may be able to display a global map of a city, a country, or even the entire world.
Why does this thing feel so much like the interface of some kind of sandbox war game? Is it preparing me to use the "Void Cube" to fight in the future?
Well, it would be better if the Fourth Calamity does not appear in this world for the time being. Peace is still very precious.
Caroline couldn't help but think so.
After glancing at the "map" a few more times, she used her mind to control the "map" to disappear into the background of the solid space.
As the "map" faded away, the layers of "reports" immediately appeared, and as if urging the mayor's assistant to complete her work, they handed Caroline the daily documents.
"Ahhh, time to start working."
After a few chuckles, Caroline picked up the top "report".
As expected, the title of the "report" was directly related to what she had just experienced.
"The birth of the chariot!"Chapter 79 PlanTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3110 words Update time: 2025-05-25 13:19:57
"After many days of running around, Caroline Williams finally gathered all the potion formulas for Sequence 9 "Hunter" and mixed them at home."
"But what Caroline didn't expect was that the remaining extraordinary characteristics in her body caused the potion's power to overflow. This caused her mind, which was receiving the potion baptism for the first time without any means of control, to passively receive those crazy messages from the spirit world."
"Just when Caroline was about to give up, she chanted the honorable name that could call out ■■."
"At that time, the Fool, who was checking the information, felt Caroline's call. When he found that she was about to lose control, he pulled Caroline into the gray fog. "
"The flow of fate is always so charming and fascinating, but the fire and the fool finally meet again."
"Above the gray fog, Caroline drew her own code name, which is "Chariot". This is very consistent with the side of fate, and also represents the test she will go through in the future. "
"However, along with the "chariot", the symbol of the "Queen" also appeared. "
"Caroline Williams doesn't know what the Queen card represents, and neither does The Fool. This may be a sign that something inharmonious is about to happen in the future."
"But now, we can know that change has begun to happen."
"The chariot has begun to move forward. How long can peace last?"
——"We are delighted to hear about this."
Well... very good, another "report" full of Riddler flavor.
Caroline frowned and read it carefully many times, but still could not make any sense of the words in the "report".
The so-called reunion of Fiery and Fool had been "reported" several times, but Caroline still didn't understand what it meant.
The Fool probably refers to the mysterious and powerful Mr. Fool above the gray fog, but is Fiery referring to herself, or is she referring to something else?
"'Report' seems to mean that The Fool and I already know each other? That's simply impossible…"
Caroline held the "report" in her hand and kept thinking, recalling every detail of her conversation with "The Fool" just now.
Now that she thought about it, the Fool was indeed very kind to her, but that didn't mean much. Judging from the previous "report" on Miss Audrey, the Fool seemed to be very kind to other people as well.
"Could it be that the Fool didn't know me, but the blood in this body of mine?"
So it was "Fire" and "Fool", the Williams family had contact and trade with "Fool"? If you look at it from this perspective, "Fool" does seem to be harmless to me.
Caroline felt like she had found a breakthrough. In her limited knowledge, she did remember that the Williams family had once been quite famous and was one of the most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Loen.
Could it be that the Fool helped in this? Now that the Williams family has fallen, as the only heir, I met the Fool again, so is it a reunion?
This is a point that is worth studying in detail. Caroline remembered that the Williams family seemed to have a manor with a plantation on the outskirts of Backlund. The original body's father was able to accumulate wealth and allow the Williams family to have a certain revival trend again, all thanks to the winemaking industry of that manor.
However, after the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, the place is now managed by my uncle Albert.
Perhaps I can find a chance to go to that manor. The Williams family's former mansion is located there. Maybe there are some secrets about the family's past hidden there...
Every big family always leaves behind some unknown secrets and wealth, and Caroline believes that the Williams family is probably no exception.
However, this matter still needs to be discussed with Albert.
"Let's find a chance to meet Albert this weekend..."
Caroline thought about it, and threw the "report" in her hand into the solid space beside her.
...
At a little after 1:13 p.m., Caroline went out again in a walking skirt.
She had just confirmed the new changes that she had brought to the "Void Cube" after becoming a "Hunter". The first and most obvious one was naturally the "map", and secondly, the time she could keep the "Void Cube" expanded had also become longer, which meant that she could now read more "report" content at once.
However, no matter how much "reports" she reads, it will not be a good thing. Just like when she was addicted to short videos on Earth before, most of the information in the "reports" are useless trivia about life. Some useful information still depends on her to put into action in reality.
So Caroline planned to go to the "Brave Bar" again after completing her promotion.
The reason was simple: she was actually looking for Hugh Dilcha, her original body's childhood playmate and the famous "Arbitrator" in the East District.
She became an Extraordinary long before Caroline. With such an Extraordinary predecessor, there was no reason for Caroline not to learn from her.
The power of the potion had just subsided, and Caroline, who possessed extraordinary powers, began to feel confused after a brief period of excitement.
What to do next, how to drink the next stage of the potion... She has no idea about these things now.
Therefore, it is very important to find a mentor who can give you some knowledge.
The Fool's party was a good source of knowledge, but it was only held once a week, and the next one would not be until Monday, three days later. Caroline did not intend to do nothing during this time.
After going to the post office to deliver the letter to Miss Audrey, Caroline took a carriage to the Backlund Bridge District. Along the way, Caroline tested her perception ability and found that this ability was more useful than she thought.
Even though she was sitting in the carriage, she could still feel the movements of pedestrians on the street outside, and even the trajectory of the carriage and the footsteps of the horse in front. She could sense them all clearly.
Moreover, this perception ability will not be too prominent when she is not concentrating, but will only exist in a weakened version, which means that it will not affect her daily life.
Caroline was very satisfied with this. What she worried most was that she would not be able to control the release of power after possessing extraordinary power.
Fortunately, she did not cause any accidents such as squeezing the door handle too hard or breaking the lever.
After getting off the car at the intersection of Tiemen Street, Caroline turned and walked towards the "Brave Bar".
Outside the bar door, the guard standing there was still the sturdy man.
When he saw Caroline coming over, he subconsciously moved aside without even looking at her.
"It's better to stay in familiar territory..."
Recalling her experience at the "Dragon Bar" in Tingen, Caroline couldn't help but sigh. She smiled kindly at the burly man and then pushed the door open.
There weren't many customers in the bar before three in the afternoon, and the atmosphere inside was a bit quiet.
Caroline walked straight to the bar. The bartender on duty today happened to be the same elegant old man whom she met when she first came.
"Hello, old bartender."
Caroline sat down at the bar and said with a smile to the old bartender who was wiping the wine glasses in front of her.
"It's you again, 'Arbitrator' Hugh's little buddy."
The old bartender obviously recognized Caroline. In the past, she always came to the bar wearing hunter clothes, but today she appeared in casual clothes.
Looking at the towel constantly moving in the old bartender's hand, Caroline suddenly asked curiously:
"Old man, I want to ask you, why does almost every bartender seem to be always cleaning the glasses? Are there really so many dirty glasses?"
The old bartender smiled and nodded and replied:
"There aren't actually that many dirty glasses. Look, there aren't many customers in the bar right now."
"But as a bartender, what can you ask them to do in their free time? Bartenders can't leave the bar, and they can't do anything else except wiping glasses, right?"
"That makes sense…"
Caroline nodded, agreeing with the old bartender's answer.
I don't know if it was because of Caroline's question, but the old bartender put down the towel after wiping the cup in his hand, put his hands on the table, and asked Caroline:
"I want to drink something today. Ginger beer has just been released and it tastes its best now."
"Then I'll take a glass of ginger beer."
Caroline smiled and handed over two copper pennies, and soon received a glass filled with ginger beer.
Xio had told her before that she would most likely come to the "Brave Bar" every day, from three to five in the afternoon. If she wasn't seen in the bar during this time, it meant that she had no plans to come here today.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, Caroline knew it was still early so she was not in a hurry. She sat at the bar, drinking ginger beer and chatting with the old bartender.
The old bartender was also very talkative, and he knew everything about the topics that Caroline brought up. This made Caroline realize that his knowledge and vision were not at all like those limited to places like the Bridge District and the East District.
As time passed, the number of customers in the bar gradually increased.
When some of the drinkers came in and saw Caroline's back sitting at the bar, most of them whistled happily and walked forward to say something, but when they got closer and realized it was Caroline, they immediately closed their mouths and slipped away to the side.
Caroline waited in the bar for nearly an hour without being disturbed.
It was not until a few minutes before four in the afternoon, when she had already started to refill her ginger beer for the second time, that Hugh's familiar voice came along with the ringing of the doorbell.Chapter 80 Bounty HunterTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3179 words Update time: 2025-05-25 18:00:00
"Huh? You're here today too."
As usual, Hugh Dilcha, dressed in a knight's training suit and with messy brown hair, slowly walked over from behind and came to the bar, next to where Caroline was sitting.
She tacitly did not call out Caroline's name. In fact, Caroline had never revealed her real name in the "Brave Bar".
"Xiu, you're here."
Caroline finished her second refill of ginger beer, raised the glass to the old bartender in gratitude, and returned the glass to him.
"Your friend has been waiting for you here for a long time. To be honest, this is the first time I have met such a talkative lady."
The old bartender smiled, took the glass and started wiping it.
"Have you been waiting for me for a long time? Sorry, I've been a little busy lately. As you know, many people have come to me for arbitration."
Quinn scratched his hair sheepishly.
Then she asked the old bartender for a vacant chess and card room. After paying the fee, she and Caroline left the bar and went into the chess and card room together.
Arriving in a private space with only two people, Xio did not hesitate to ask directly:
"What happened?"
Caroline found a chair and sat down. She looked at Xio, who was not much taller than her, and waved her hand, saying with a little distress:
"It's about the extraordinary path I'm on now."
"Extraordinary path?"
Caroline nodded and continued:
"It's been a while since I drank the potion, and I have basically mastered its power."
"But to me, I feel like the potion is like some mysterious object. It floats in my body and I can't grasp it well."
"The most important thing is that I don't know what to do next or when I can drink the next stage of the potion. This makes me very distressed."
"I have no choice but to come to you for advice, my dear 'Arbitrator' senior."
Xio listened to Caroline's explanation and roughly understood what she meant. But when she heard Caroline's last words "Dear Senior Arbitrator", she couldn't help blushing, gently patted Caroline's shoulder, and muttered:
"Don't call me that."
Caroline smiled and raised her hands to show her surrender. After getting Hugh's "forgiveness", she continued:
"So, do you have any good suggestions?"
Hugh held his chin in thought for a while, then softly repeated Caroline's description.
"It feels like the potion's power is floating in my body... I can't grasp it well... Isn't that because you haven't mastered the potion's power yet?"
Xio clapped his hands and said suddenly.
"Hmm... then how should I master potions?"
"I'm not really sure how to do it."
While sharing his experience with Caroline, Xio pulled over a chair and sat down.
But the moment she sat down, Hugh saw that Caroline's eyes followed her down a considerable distance, and she immediately stood up and leaned against the table in the chess and card room.
"My understanding of potions is to try to do something that matches the name of the potion."
"Matching things?"
Xio nodded and continued:
"For example, my potion is 'Arbitrator', and when I help the working poor in the East End and mediate for them, I feel the power of the potion deepen a little bit."
"This process is very strange. Sometimes, no matter how many times the arbitration is conducted, the power of the potion will not be mastered too much, but sometimes it can be mastered a lot inexplicably."
"In short, I think that if you want to master potions quickly, you have to do something that matches it."
Listening to Hugh's story, Caroline nodded thoughtfully.
Raising one hand to hold her chin, she tried to draw inferences from what she had said to Xio:
"You mean, for example, if I'm a 'hunter', I can try to live as a hunter?"
Caroline immediately imagined herself living in a cabin in a primeval forest, tracking wild animals with a shotgun, and living a life of working from sunrise to sunset.
"It doesn't have to be that kind of hunter, a bounty hunter might be fine too."
Quinn thought about it and recommended Caroline.
"Bounty hunters... can they be considered hunters?"
"I think so."
Neither of them was quite sure about this. But regardless of whether bounty hunters were actually hunters, Caroline probably understood what she needed to do next.
The idea provided by Xio was very good. She originally thought that the names of potions were like the professions in previous games, which only represented the attributes and abilities you possessed.
But now I think about it, maybe it's not just a name.
After all, upgrades in the game are gained through experience points, and the extraordinary promotions in this world do not involve something as ethereal and mysterious as experience points.
Moreover, the names of potions in different sequences of each pathway are all different. If this only represents a certain profession, then the talent market will never be saturated in 10,000 years.
The potion itself contains knowledge and power. Perhaps only when she has fully mastered this knowledge and power will the door to the next stage open to her.
As for how to master these things, the method may be related to the name of the potion.
A "hunter" has to do what a hunter should do, just like an "arbitrator" has to help people arbitrate.
However, it is impossible to really go to the primeval forest to be a wilderness hunter...
Ovis said that the red hounds in Intis are overrun. Maybe if I stay there for half a year, I can directly master the power of the potion...
Caroline didn't dare to think about how strange such a scene would be when she thought about returning triumphantly with a large amount of blood and gray matter.
Then she shuddered, and turned to Hugh and said:
"Perhaps bounty hunter is indeed a good choice..."
"Xiu, do you have any recommended avenues?"
Xio, leaning against the table with his arms folded across his chest, nodded and held up three fingers.
"There are three suitable ways. After all, in addition to being an 'arbitrator', I also accept some bounty commissions."
"The first is to check the official bounties and conduct corresponding activities. The Backlund Police Department has many wanted lists, either for the pursuit of fugitives or for the collection of clues for certain cases."
"If you catch the fugitives and hand them over to the police after getting clues, you can get a corresponding bounty reward from them. If you are lucky, you may even be noticed by the police and become their informant."
"Second, we can find people like Caspers in places like these bars to take on commissions."
"This kind of commission includes but is not limited to security protection, obtaining information, transporting items, and sometimes even more dangerous tasks. However, this all depends on the selection of the middleman. Generally, middlemen with a little prestige will not accept tasks that are too dangerous."
"For such bounty commissions, the client and the bounty hunter usually meet through a middleman and have a detailed discussion. After the commission is completed, the client has to pay the middleman a commission."
"As for the third one..."
At this point, Hugh paused.
Caroline was quick to notice the flash of hesitation in her eyes, so she immediately followed up with Hugh:
"Xiu, I really need to improve my strength."
After hesitating for a moment, Xio continued:
"The third is to accept commissions issued by others from those extraordinary gatherings."
"Those commissions are much more dangerous. They can range from obtaining extraordinary materials to murder and robbery, exploration and treasure hunting. In short, all kinds of mixed things can happen."
"The commission there is the most basic one, you pay for the goods, and only those who are confident in their own abilities will go there to accept the commission."
"Moreover, the commissions there often involve transactions between extraordinary materials. Some bounty hunters, because they do not have sufficient funds, choose to accept commissions in exchange for materials."
Hugh raised three fingers in front of Caroline, then quickly put them away.
"These are the only three ways I know of to entrust bounties."
After taking a breath, Xio looked at Caroline who was thinking with her head down, her eyes full of complexity.
After waiting for a while, she finally opened her mouth to advise:
"Caroline, if you want to become a bounty hunter in order to master potions, then I suggest you only accept the official commission notices. They are safe and trustworthy and will not cause too much trouble."
"You are different from those bounty hunters who are forced to make a living. You don't have any financial pressure, so there is no need for you to risk your life to carry out those dangerous commissioned missions."
Caroline was indeed considering what kind of bounty commission to undertake, but when she heard Hugh's next words, she suddenly remembered that Hugh seemed to be doing this kind of dangerous commission sometimes, and the reason was the same as she said, out of necessity for livelihood.
She slowly raised her head and looked at Xio, who was short but full of stubbornness.
"Don't worry, I won't joke about my own safety."
Hearing this, Xio couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
But immediately, Caroline's words made her tense again.
"By the way, can you recommend me a Beyonder gathering? The current underground trading market seems to no longer meet my needs."
Hugh was stunned for a moment, then stared at Caroline suspiciously.
"Are you sure you don't want to go there to accept a bounty commission?"
Caroline waved her hands quickly and said very seriously:
"Of course not. You can supervise me and we can go together then."
"You also said that I'm not the kind of bounty hunter who is forced to make a living. Besides, I'm not under much pressure to buy extraordinary materials right now. There's absolutely no need for me to accept a heavyweight commission at a party like that."
"Um..."
Xio frowned and began to hesitate, while Caroline slowly came over and took out a few 10-pound notes from her pocket with a smile on her face, which looked like about 50 pounds.
Seeing the banknotes Caroline handed over, Hugh's eyes froze for a moment, and then she heard Caroline say to her faintly:
"I can pay for the intelligence consultation fee and the introduction fee."