Chapter 218: Free General Knowledge
"June 3rd. After discussing with Edwards and the others, I gave up on
the idea of reaching a tacit understanding with the Church of the
Eternal Blazing Sun. This might very well reveal my true intentions,
making the Sauron family and the ancient nobles who support them aware
of them in advance and carry out a direct approach. That would make
matters extremely difficult and dangerous.
"It's a pity that Grimm died in the Sea of Fog. He was the smartest
among us.
"Descend into chaos! Descend! Only with everything in chaos will I get
the chance to fish in troubled waters! Only when the Sauron family is
incapable of handling this situation will the Church of the Eternal
Blazing Sun reluctantly acknowledge me!
"Perhaps I should give some help to those rebels, but how should I
conceal myself so that no one would notice?
"June 4th, Zaratul from the Secret Order came to visit me in incognito
very suddenly."
And then? Klein was just feeling intrigued over the reason why
Zaratul---leader of the Secret Order---would seek Roselle on the eve of
the rebellion and coup d'état when he realized that the two subsequent
pages had nothing to do with it.
This made him feel a sense of irrepressible anger.
Although the three diary pages didn't provide very detailed
descriptions, with rather straightforward accounts from Roselle, Klein
could still feel the famous turmoil in Intis that happened in 1173, more
than a hundred years ago.
The outcome was clearly recorded in history textbooks. As a colonel,
Roselle quashed the rebellion and enacted political changes. The Intis
Kingdom was transformed into a republic, with him acting as a
self-appointed consul.
In the following 19 years, he reformed the penal code, encouraged
inventions, and protected the industrial revolution. He greatly
increased the country's strength and fought wars both north and south,
making Lenburg, Masin, Segar, and other countries protectorates under
the Intis Republic. He also made the three mighty countries on the
Northern Continent---the Feysac Empire, the Loen Kingdom, and the
Feynapotter Kingdom---bow their heads.
At the end of 1192, almost twenty years after his appointment as consul,
Roselle converted the Republic into an Empire, declaring himself Caesar.
Less than six years later, he perished in the White Maple Palace, ending
the Fifth Epoch's most legendary piece of history to date.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was more to
Roselle's death than what appeared on the surface. It was just like how
this famous historical event definitely had power struggles amongst
Beyonders behind it, and that a Beyonder faction had leveled the
situation, unlike the descriptions in textbooks.
*As expected, one of the so-called Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,
Grimm, died in the Sea of Fog... In a previous diary page, Roselle had
written that there was something wrong with this 'horseman.' It seems to
have something to do with the tiny island where they discovered many
extraordinary beings... Not only was it a fortuitous encounter, but it
was also a dangerous one...* Klein thought of a previous entry
and turned to the fifth page, feeling emotional.
*The contents of this page are of little value. They consist of
Roselle's comments after drinking an 1128 Aurmir red wine, the
disillusion of finding the woman who had gained his adoration in his
youth to be aged and out of shape, as well as a degenerate summary of a
certain period when he was addicted to playing cards.*
The sixth page was about the same as the first one, with accounts of his
daily life. However, the last one made Klein's eyes light up.
"8th April, I have to send someone to investigate the Secret Order to
get more information. I can't repeat my passiveness from before. I can't
let Zaratul lead me by the nose anymore."
So, did you discover anything, Comrade Roselle? Since Klein
couldn't find the rest of the information, he could only force himself
to calm down and wait for the next gathering when The Hanged Man would
hand over another six pages.
He knew that an investigation from over a hundred years ago was unlikely
to help him find any clues related to the Secret Order Association.
After all, over such a long period of time, other than the special ones,
many of the High-Sequence Beyonders would've already died of old age,
not to mention the middle or low-level members. However, Klein believed
that this would help him obtain inspiration and grasp the precise
identity and activity patterns that the Secret Order often used.
Putting down the six diary pages, Klein tapped his right index finger on
the edge of the long bronze table, slowly moving his gaze from Miss
Justice to The Hanged Man, and then to The Sun.
*Right, in the diary just now, there was a line Emperor Roselle
described: "God who created all the deities, an omnipotent and
omniscient God" This is very similar to the customs of the City of
Silver. Where did he hear this from? Could it be from that most ancient
and secret organization which controls the world from behind the scenes?
This organization was established before the Forsaken Land of God was
forsaken?*
Hmm... Suddenly, Klein had a new idea. He said with a low and
gentle smile, "Roselle mentioned some hidden history in his diary, and
mentioned some simple general knowledge. The latter reminded me of
something that I don't recall informing you all."
Audrey suddenly fell into a trance. She immediately turned her body
around and looked at the very top of the ancient long table in pleasant
surprise.
*Mr. Fool is taking the initiative to mention the contents of Roselle's
diary? What would it say?* She was so excited and thrilled that
she completely forgot that she was a Spectator.
Compared to her, The Hanged Man, Alger, was much more composed. However,
the subconscious straightening of his back heartlessly betrayed him.
Only The Sun, Derek, had always believed that the items of interest to
Mr. Fool contained many mysteries, but he didn't know anything about
Emperor Roselle and didn't know what this name represented in the
Northern Continent. Thus, he just found it difficult to hide his
curiosity and didn't reveal any unusual behavior.
"Mr. Fool, did Emperor Roselle mention some general knowledge? I'm
willing to pay for this information," Audrey couldn't help but say.
However, I want it to be communicated to me privately! She
added silently in her heart.
Klein chuckled and said, "There's no need. This is very simple general
knowledge."
"After reading this part of the diary, as the summoner of the Tarot
Club, I feel it's necessary to let all of you know this. Of course, I'm
very certain that some of you are already aware of this."
He was mainly referring to The Sun. The City of Silver had a history of
two to three thousand years, so it was impossible for them to not
discover the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Indestructibility.
Moreover, they were in a relatively extreme environment. Even if the
surrounding areas had no lack of monsters in the darkness, there would
still be times when they failed to obtain the corresponding materials.
In order to pass on their heritage, in order for their city to continue
on, using the Beyonder Characteristics of the remains of their
predecessors to create a potion wasn't particularly unacceptable.
To them, this was perhaps a sacred and glorious ceremony.
Of course, Klein could see from a previous exchange that The Hanged Man
knew something.
*It's a pity that Miss Justice cannot always be made to pay in gold
pounds and transfer the money to my Blessed. My Blessed can't appear any
less impressive... I mustn't destroy the image of the powerful man that
Mr. Azik has created... Yes, I'll give it a try when I have the chance.
After all, no matter how powerful a being is, they'll have subordinates
that run errands. For instance, the Evernight Goddess's Sleepless... No
one would ever suspect that the Evernight Goddess isn't a true deity
just because the low-level Nighthawks are weak...* Klein sighed
silently.
"Thank you very much! Mr. Fool, you are just too generous!" Audrey
replied in joy.
She was originally feeling three seconds of regret for the coarse action
of using cash to purchase the information.
Klein stopped rapping the table and described with a calm voice, "The
first piece of general knowledge---Law of Beyonder Characteristics
Indestructibility. The characteristics of a Beyonder is never destroyed
or reduced. It's only passed from one carrier to the next."
Without realizing it, I used Captain's tone... Klein's lips
subconsciously curled upwards.
*It cannot be destroyed or reduced. It just transfers from one carrier
to another...* Audrey ruminated over Mr. Fool's description,
feeling that there was too much meaning in that simple sentence.
Her emerald green eyes turned, and when she saw that neither The Hanged
Man nor The Sun showed any signs of surprise or contemplation, she
immediately understood that these two members of the Tarot Club had long
known of this law.
Only I didn't know... She thought, feeling somewhat aggrieved,
but she quickly began to praise Mr. Fool for his kindness.
At this point, Klein added, "After a Rampager dies, they will leave
behind an item of Beyonder Characteristics. It could be the main
ingredient, or it could be a mystical artifact that requires sealing. An
ordinary Beyonder's death results in similar results. However, the item
left behind will be equivalent to the corresponding potion without the
supplementary ingredients. Of course, the item alone will contain
Beyonder powers. They can be used as a half-mystical object."
The plain and indifferent words instantly echoed in Audrey's mind.
Layers stacked upon layers and, bit by bit, it eventually reached a
crescendo.
Audrey thought of cannibalism and the question---would a Sequence
pathway be severed if the source of Beyonder materials ceased to
exist--- she had asked The Hanged Man previously came to mind.
Now, she knew the answer, but she would've rather not heard it. She felt
like she was having a nightmare!
How can it be so cruel? Why is it so dark? Audrey had
previously seen some bad situations that involved Beyonders, but those
situations were only caused by a person's own perverse and evil nature.
For example, Mr. A or Qilangos. They didn't affect her yearning and love
for mysticism and the Beyonder world.
However, this time, she discovered that the mystical world was filled
with grayness and darkness.
*Wake up, Audrey, you can't be naive! Consider that the cruelty and
darkness described by Mr. Fool are predictable. Since I've chosen this
path, I have to bravely walk down it!* Audrey consoled herself,
easing her mood a little.
She saw that The Hanged Man and the Sun were making only habitual
movements and appeared to understand what had just been said.
*Hmph! Mr. Hanged Man is terrible. He even wanted to use this
information as an exchange previously! Ugh... This information is indeed
worth a lot and is quite important, but it's only a simple piece of
general knowledge to us and Mr. Fool...* Audrey suddenly wanted
to laugh a little. Her mood began to improve, and she slowly pushed all
the extreme examples that she had just thought of aside.
Klein wasn't surprised by the three members' reaction. He continued in a
calm tone, "The second piece of general knowledge---Law of Similar
Sequence Beyonder Characteristics Conservation."
*Law of Similar Sequence Beyonder Characteristics
Conservation...* The Hanged Man slightly changed his sitting
posture. He felt that he understood something, but he was unable to
fully understand what this law represented and what it consisted of.
Justice and The Sun shared the same feelings as he did. They were unable
to directly understand the true meaning behind this law.
"Why Similar Sequence?" Alger couldn't help asking.
Klein smiled and replied, "What do you wish to pay for the answer?"
One of the ideas he had was that general knowledge was free, but any
explanation required a fee. This both matched his status and didn't
waste the information.
Free things cost the most.