After inwardly complaining to himself, "The Fool" Klein shifted his gaze to Miss "Judgment" and Miss "Hermit," chuckled softly, and said:
"Very good. It seems you have successfully pushed open the door to becoming a demigod."
Pushed open the door to becoming a demigod? It was normal on Madam "Hermit's" side—after all, she had mentioned it last week… But even Xio had already become a Saint? Ugh… I had thought I was ahead of her… "Justice" Audrey felt slightly dejected, no longer proud of having advanced to Sequence 6 "Hypnotist" in less than a year.
As for the two ladies' advancement, although "Sun" Derrick, "Moon" Emlyn, and "Star" Leonard all revealed envious emotions, each of them either had backing, or possessed inexplicable confidence, or simply had a straightforward mind. In short, they remained relatively calm.
As for "Magician" Fors and "Temperance" Sharron, the former had long known, and the latter was indifferent.
Only "The Hanged Man" Alger cared deeply about it.
As one of the elders of the Tarot Club, with member after member advancing to or about to advance to demigod, Alger truly did not want to become the one at the bottom, just like in the Church in the past. He had done so many things precisely to stand above others.
But now, only "Justice," "Magician," and "Sun" were behind him.
One had to know that before joining the Tarot Club, "Magician" had merely been Sequence 9, while "Justice" and "Sun" had been ordinary people!
It was only natural that they lagged behind him…
"And yet, they're getting closer and closer!" "The Hanged Man" Alger secretly lamented, then made up his mind to strive to collect what Mr. Fool wanted and complete Mr. Fool's tasks in exchange for clues regarding materials related to the "Cataclysmic Interrer."
At this moment, "Judgment" Xio and "Hermit" Cattleya also reacted and hurriedly stood up, bowing toward the seat of honor:
"This is all thanks to Your protection and blessings…"
The reason they said this was that whether it was Xio or Cattleya, before performing the ritual and consuming the potion, both had prayed to "The Fool," hoping to advance under His gaze. That way, even if they ultimately failed, they would receive protection and would not directly lose control or go mad. Afterward, they could find a way to expel the excess beyonder characteristic and try again.
Regarding this matter, Klein actually had no confidence. He had never tried it before, and divination had not yielded any effective answers. Yet he had still agreed to Miss "Hermit," thinking that if she failed but did not die, it would certainly be credited to Mr. Fool's protection. If she directly lost control or went mad, then she would not need to worry about whether Mr. Fool was a fraud. In short, Klein's main purpose had been to give her confidence and assurance, making her state more conducive to advancement. In any case, the "Admiral of Stars" could not find any other existence to provide similar protection.
As for Miss "Judgment," because of "Tower," Klein naturally could not muddle through like that. So he had pulled Ebner above the gray fog in advance and had "The World" hold a brief discussion with him.
Ebner had not expected anything from Klein, only saying that there was no need to trouble Mr. Fool, and that he himself would watch over Miss "Judgment."
But Xio did not know these inside details.
Sometimes it's easy to play a god but hard to play a human. When believers encounter danger, there are usually only two outcomes: either they live or they die. If they live, it's naturally the deity's blessing. If they die, no one will care what they think…
"The Fool" Klein inwardly mocked himself a few times, then leaned back, nodding in response to the two ladies while casually saying, "You may begin."
However, after His words fell, the scene fell silent. Nearly a full minute passed without anyone speaking.
Until Miss "Hermit" adjusted her glasses, looked toward "The World" at the very end of the table, and asked, "I've already advanced to demigod. When do you plan to act? Do you have a detailed plan?"
With four demigods already among the Tarot Club members, and the others either Sequence 5 or Sequence 6, the cycle of advancement had become very long. Each of them also had their own forces. Their needs for beyonder characteristics, potion formulas, and Sealed Artifacts might only arise once every few months. Naturally, the focus of the gatherings had shifted toward the exchange of intelligence and secret cooperation.
Upon being asked, "The World" leaned forward and replied in a hoarse voice, "Sorry, the action will likely have to be postponed… I recently discovered that our assessment of 'Pride's' abilities was still somewhat insufficient. We need to continue investigating for a period of time.
"To seek an appropriate opportunity…"
"Hermit" Cattleya was momentarily speechless, thinking: If you were going to postpone, you should have said so earlier! Otherwise, I wouldn't have rushed to advance and ended up owing Mr. "Tower" quite a favor.
However, she could not blame him for that. After all, it had been she herself who had boasted last week about completing her advancement within a week…
"When there's a suitable opportunity, you can notify me at any time." Cattleya said calmly, then fell silent.
After this topic ended, "Sun" Derrick seized the chance to speak:
"Everyone…"
After glancing at Mr. "Hanged Man," Mr. "Tower," and Mr. "World," he continued:
"My advancement ritual for 'Priest of Light' requires that in pure darkness, I bury my entire body in ice that would not normally melt. In Silver City, such ice isn't difficult to obtain, but how can I create pure and safe darkness?"
So the advancement ritual of 'Priest of Light' is like this. Little Sun is really honest and simple… "Justice" Audrey, limited by her experience and knowledge, could not offer effective advice and could only cast her gaze toward those she believed capable of solving the problem:
"Tower" Ebner Bryan and "World" Gehrman Sparrow.
At this moment, "World" was raising a hand to pinch his forehead, while "The Fool" Klein was rapidly thinking of a solution:
Sigh, if it were in the outside world, pure darkness would be very easy to obtain, and ice that wouldn't normally melt would be the troublesome part. But in Silver City it's the opposite… The darkness there is too dangerous. Being within it either means vanishing out of thin air or encountering strange monster attacks…
What should be done? Klein subconsciously glanced in Ebner's direction and saw the gentleman sitting leisurely in his high-backed chair, so relaxed that if the Tarot Club provided black tea and pastries, he would probably eat while watching.
However, seeing such a composed Mr. "Tower," Klein felt relieved. It meant the other party certainly had a solution, and there was no need for him to worry further.
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, in Silver City, darkness equals danger? On the other side, "Star" Leonard roughly grasped the key point, but due to insufficient understanding, could not offer suggestions.
Meanwhile, after glancing at "Tower," "Hanged Man" Alger said to Derrick:
"I will help you collect information and search for a solution, but in the process, you may need to cooperate with certain tests to verify feasibility."
"No problem!" Derrick answered without hesitation.
Immediately after, he added:
"There's no need to rush. I still have more than a month before I finish digesting the 'Notary' potion."
Hearing this, Ebner suddenly smiled and spoke:
"More than a month? Then there happens to be a simple method to solve your problem."
"Sun" Derrick had not expected Mr. "Tower" to have a solution so quickly and hurriedly asked in surprise, "Mr. 'Tower,' what method is it?"
The others also turned curious gazes toward him.
Ebner looked around the table and said unhurriedly:
"It's actually very simple…
"In a little over a month, I just happen to be going to the Forsaken Land of the Gods to handle a matter. When the time comes, I can bring Mr. 'Sun' back to our world."
At this point, he glanced at the already dumbfounded "Sun" Derrick and said with a smile:
"If you want to advance to 'Priest of Light,' you should first see what a real 'sun' looks like."
(End of Chapter)