Chapter 564: Knowledge as a Pursuer

As Klein's spirituality made contact, the constantly expanding and

contracting crimson "star" presented the images and sounds contained

within.

A black-haired woman in a classical robe had fallen to the ground,

writhing in pain.

She held an ordinary-looking celestial globe in one hand, and in the

other, she held a short scepter that wasn't even the length of a small

arm. Her strong will to survive almost broke through the binding of the

crimson stars and directly entered Klein's ears.

Like Justice and The Sun, this woman's figure appeared rather blurry,

making it difficult to discern her exact appearance, but there were some

things Klein could clearly see, such as her facial features, such as her

splitting cheek muscles and the flesh inside that was contracting into

eyeballs. Other features included her ears stretching outwards like a

trumpet, or her fingers which were scratching at the floor to create

bright streaks of blood, as well as a pair of cold, lashless eyes that

were almost transparent and were situated above her.

The black-haired girl's mutation didn't decline. Her body was

tenaciously healing itself, causing the flesh and blood which resembled

an eyeball to melt away. Her ruptured muscles fused together, and her

extended ears shrunk inward... Every detail was in a repetitive

see-saw-like struggle between the two states.

Klein was dazzled by the illusory, lashless eyes. It was as if he had

returned to Tingen, back to the time when he had first mastered Spirit

Vision.

Back then, he had seen a pair of eyes like that on Old Neil's back!

Hidden Sage? Klein leaned back in his chair, stretched out his

hand, and took hold of the Sea God Scepter that once again flew out of

the junk pile.

He planned to lend a helping hand and smite those evil eyes with a few

bolts of lightning.

However, after careful examination, he sharply realized that the

black-haired woman's abnormality had stemmed from the crazy ravings that

no one else could hear. This was because the source of everything was in

her ears, deep within her Spirit Body, her Soul Body!

*It's very similar to the situation when Miss Magician suffers from the

ravings of the full moon... Fortunately, I'm experienced; otherwise, I

would've given the wrong response...* Klein thought for a moment

and thought of a way to save her. It was to pull her Spirit Body above

the gray fog and directly block out the crazy ravings. As long as the

source of the power was gone, the mutation would be quickly dealt with

by the lady's self-recovery powers.

As for whether she was worth saving, or if she harbored malicious

intentions, the current him was no longer as troubled as he was in the

past.

If the black-haired lady had committed a heinous crime to a certain

degree and had already established a connection with the mysterious

space above the gray fog through the crimson star, Klein could give her

a few lightning bolts at any time and let her be thrown back to where

she belonged.

*If she really has any kind of malicious intentions, or if she causes

any accidents, I, who possess the Sea God Scepter, the Black Emperor

card, and am capable of using the gray fog's power to some degree,

wouldn't lack the ability to resist...* Klein held onto the

white bone scepter in his right hand and pointed at the remote star.

His spirit energy surged and poured into the crimson red light that was

like flowing water.

This time, he was able to establish the mysterious and stable connection

with ease.

The black-haired lady's figure instantly appeared at the side of the

long bronze table, sitting on a chair that didn't belong to any of the

current members of the Tarot Club.

As for Klein, he could see from the final image of the crimson stars

that the mutation on her body had weakened significantly.

He nodded indiscernibly, patiently waiting for the other party to speak.

The black-haired lady was still somewhat adrift. One second, she was

struggling in extreme pain, with her vision gradually turning black, and

the next second, she was inside a towering domed palace. Beneath her was

an endless and silent gray fog that extended outwards endlessly. How

couldn't she be taken aback?

After a brief moment of silence, she turned her gaze to the figure

leisurely sitting at the very end of the mottled long table. She asked

with an ethereal voice, "Is this the Underworld?"

"You aren't dead." Klein laughed.

At this moment, he saw that the symbol tainted with starlight quickly

changed on the back of the black-haired lady's high-back chair, forming

a pair of eyes that contained countless resplendent stars. They were

cold and indifferent, and they lacked eyelashes.

Based on his past experiences, he believed that this was a symbol

representing the Mystery Pryer pathway.

The black-haired lady froze, gradually regaining her senses.

Instinctively, she scanned her surroundings before finally casting her

gaze at the mysterious man shrouded behind the gray fog.

*White shirt, tailcoat, no tie, black pants, bright leather boots,

seemingly black hair, and a blurry appearance. There's nothing strange

about this... He casually holds a milky-white scepter that's slightly

longer than an arm in his hand, and that scepter...* The

black-haired lady's pupils contracted as the depths of her eyes

reflected, in its entirety, the blue "gemstones" and the aura of a storm

from the surroundings that it stirred. Furthermore, there were countless

points of light that surrounded it, giving it a holy and majestic

feeling.

*It's a scepter at the demigod level! He's playing with it like it's a

toy... He doesn't care about it at all...* The lady in black

narrowed her eyes and cautiously asked, "How may I address you?"

"You may call me Mr. Fool," the experienced Klein answered.

The Fool... The black-haired lady ruminated over the word

before asking with deliberation, "I've heard of your honorific name from

the Aurora Order's Mr. Z."

She waited for his assertion or denial.

*You know the Aurora Order's Mr. Z... He can be considered an old

friend...* Klein laughed but didn't reply; instead, he said, "Do

you not plan on introducing yourself?

"This is the most basic of etiquette."

The black-haired lady recalled what had happened to her and fell silent

again.

After a few seconds, she said in a slightly muffled voice, "My name is

Cattleya, and I have the nickname 'Admiral of Stars.'

"Mr. Fool, were you the one who saved me?"

*Admiral of Stars? The Admiral of Stars, one of the seven pirate

admirals, someone with a bounty of 37,000 pounds? I've saved a treasure

trove, no---a person of high status...* Klein shifted in his

seat slightly, half surprised, half amused.

He chuckled and replied, "Wasn't that obvious?"

Admiral of Stars Cattleya immediately stood up and said, "Thank you for

your assistance. If you have anything you need me to do, you can

directly instruct me---as long as it is within my capabilities and

doesn't violate my principles."

*That's nice of you... Very seasoned and experienced... She's indeed

worthy of being the well-known Admiral of Stars...* Klein

couldn't help but sigh.

Among his Tarot Club members, with the exception of The Hanged Man and

his incarnation, The World, all of them were rather inexperienced when

they first participated.

Miss Justice was one of those who vaguely understood the mysterious

world, but she hadn't really stepped into it yet. The Sun was one of

those who received sufficient "education," but due to the isolated

environment and his relatively young age, he was very simple and honest.

The Magician may have been stuck at Sequence 9 for several years, but

she had always been an unaffiliated Beyonder. She didn't know much about

all sorts of hidden factions, and she lacked experience. The Moon,

Emlyn, comes from a Beyonder race, with a faction with a deep heritage

backing him. However, due to his preference of staying home to play with

dolls, he is greatly lacking in experience in certain aspects. He was

very gullible as a result.

*That fellow, Emlyn, is smart, but if he were to, heh heh, meet Tris,

no, Demoness Trissy, he would be tricked by her into selling his

dolls...* Klein secretly teased the vampire which could be

considered a friend in the real world.

He looked at Admiral of Stars and didn't directly respond to the matter

of her repaying him for saving her life. Instead, he smiled and asked,

"Are you a member of the Moses Ascetic Order?"

"Yes." Cattleya didn't believe that this was something she could hide

from Mr. Fool.

Klein smiled.

"What did you just do to provoke that guy?"

He wasn't sure that the pair of eyes belonged to the Hidden Sage, so he

used a vague term 'that guy' instead, so that, no matter what, The Fool

was absolutely correct and upheld his standing.

After a moment of silence, Cattleya said, "No, I didn't provoke him."

She paused, then she continued, "The members of the Moses Ascetic Order

believe that all objects are numeric, and we pursue knowledge itself.

"However, Emperor Roselle once said that we aren't pursuing knowledge,

but that knowledge is pursuing us. The Hidden Sage is an embodiment of

knowledge itself. 'He' is chasing us---every single Moses Ascetic Order

member. When too much knowledge is injected into us, without us being

able to quickly digest and master it, a situation like before would

happen. Either I lower my defenses and open my mind to accept the

modifications from the Hidden Sage, or I would tenaciously resist it or

end up losing control."

*If that's the case, you aren't specifically targeted by the Hidden

Sage. Even if you managed to escape from the previous predicament, you

wouldn't be suspected of anything... According to what you said, you are

very knowledgeable... Back then, Old Neil only wanted to obtain the

knowledge of human body refining and of a perfect revival...*

Klein suddenly sighed, but he didn't show it on his face.

*The reputation of Admiral of Stars isn't too bad. She's the kind of

pirate with a code of honor...* Klein stopped his thoughts and

calmly said, "If something similar happens again, you can recite my

name."

Recite your name... Cattleya's lips quivered, instinctively

wanting to refuse.

In the end, she didn't say anything as she fell silent for a long time.

After repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, she stood up, crossed her

arms in front of her chest, and slightly bowed as she said, "How may I

be of service?"

Klein laughed and said in an indifferent tone, "In the future, provide

some assistance to my Blessed."

"By your will." Cattleya sat down again and asked cautiously, "Is the

honorific name provided by Mr. Z yours?"

She then repeated the honorific name of The Fool to him.

Klein nodded his head, indicating that she was right.

Cattleya looked at the other empty seats and asked after some

deliberation, "Honorable Mr. Fool, will there be others here as well?"

Klein laughed and replied, "People like yourself.

"They set up a regular gathering, and I bear witness."

After a few seconds of silence, Cattleya asked, "Can I participate?"

She thought that since she wasn't connected with the mysterious

existence known as The Fool, it was better to know more than to do

nothing.

Of course, you have money, knowledge, influence, and needs...

Klein casually leaned against the back of the chair.

"Sure.

"Without my permission, you are not to leak this matter."

"Alright!" Cattleya answered without hesitation.

Klein tapped his left index finger and revealed the rest of the tarot

cards on the bronze table.

"They use tarot cards as their code names. These are the remaining ones.

"Pick one."

Cattleya scanned the cards and immediately said, "The Hermit."