Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 496 Klein's Noble Phantasm
The red moon hangs high in the sky.

Klein lay on the sofa, eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

The gas lights in the house were all turned off, but Klein's gaze, like that of a sleepless person, ignored the darkness and could clearly see the texture on the ceiling.

Benson and Melissa rented a three-bedroom apartment in Backlund. Apart from a study with only chairs and no beds, which occasionally served as a dressing room for the maids, there was only a master bedroom and a second bedroom. There was no extra space for Klein to rest.

Therefore, the brother, whom he had not seen for a long time, had to make do with sleeping on the sofa in the living room.

Klein had no objections. Given his current position, which contained the mask and part of the gray fog and was stable between Sequence 2 and Sequence 1, he could make a wish to make the sofa as comfortable as a bed.

Klein stared blankly at the ceiling, reflecting on his experiences that day.

Although it was only a few hours, the joy of the long-awaited reunion made it difficult for him to fall asleep.

While thinking about him, she raised her palm, spread her fingers towards the ceiling, and looked at the back of her hand.

Well... to be honest, this is the first time he's had a direct understanding of his own skill level...

After being summoned, he also asked his sister, who was his "Master," to check his attribute panel with a bit of curiosity. This was his complete panel including the mask, relics, light cone, and other external aids. Without going to the Source Castle, it was basically equivalent to his current peak combat power.

Job title: Brother.

Strength: D, Magic: A, Endurance: B, Luck: A+, Agility: C, Noble Phantasm: A++.

Noble Phantasm 1: [The world awakens, the fool returns.]

Type: Anti-personnel Noble Phantasm;
Scope: itself;
Grade: A.

Effect: After the Servant Klein dies, he is resurrected once at the cost of "all attributes being reduced by one level" and gains "Invincibility Pierce" for a short time, after which his Noble Phantasm loses its effect.

Noble Phantasm 2: [The Seven Gods Approve, the Fool Opposes]

Type: Anti-personnel Noble Phantasm;
Scope: 1 person;
Grade: A+;

Effect: Interferes with the enemy's skill activation; has special attack against divinity, rituals, and malevolence. If all three conditions are met, it can completely nullify Noble Phantasms below EX rank.

Noble Phantasm 3: [Utopia]

Type: Anti-city Noble Phantasm;
Scope: A small town;
Grade: A++;

Effects: A Realified Boundary, a nascent form of a divine realm, granting a degree of secrecy. If the materials constituting an item once possessed a spirit, Klein, within the Realified Boundary, can awaken the corresponding "spirit threads," transforming the item into his puppet and naturally converting any beings with a deep connection to it into puppets as well. Furthermore, it can graft many physical objects or abstract concepts together, achieving incredible effects, akin to altering definitions, logic, orientations, or rules.

Noble Phantasm 4: [There are always things that come above others]

Type: Anti-World Noble Phantasm;
Scope: Earth;
Grade: A++;

Effect: Targeting Earth, it can briefly and to a limited extent manipulate time, history, or fate once, lasting for one hour. After the manipulation ends, everything returns to normal, but events that occurred during the manipulation will become established facts and will not be changed. Simultaneously, during the manipulation, the entire world will launch special attacks against theft, fraud, parasitism, error, and Almonte.

Klein stroked his chin.

Noble Phantasms are the manifestation of the Heroic Spirit's own mythology, but he had no recollection of the third Noble Phantasm.

Also, what was that series of special attacks at the end all about?

Especially the last special attack...

Little Ke doesn't know, anyway, Little Ke isn't targeting anyone~.

All the Noble Phantasms were made by Serres.

Klein lowered his raised hand and closed his eyes again.

Perhaps because they were too excited to see Klein again, Klein noticed that both his brother and sister were having trouble sleeping.

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.

Snapped.

"I hope they can easily enter into sweet dreams."

He made a wish to himself and easily fulfilled it.

After doing all this, the corners of his mouth suddenly turned up, and he chuckled softly.

He remembered the first time he met Serres. At that time, Serres prayed to him in the middle of the night, asking him to grant him a good dream.

Klein also closed his eyes, using meditation to clear his mind.

Soon, his thoughts drifted down into a dream, where he logged into this week's simulated universe.

…………

In the pitch-black cave, the man walked slowly and unsteadily through the darkness. The lantern in his hand was the only source of light in the vicinity.

He was shrouded in a black robe, wore a top hat, and had heavy makeup on his face, looking like a clown.

Pat-pat, pat-pat.

The man moved forward step by step until he entered the deepest part of the cave.

Above his head, in the pitch-black depths where no light could reach, one figure after another hung there, swaying gently.

Some of them wore black classical robes, some wore brown jackets, some wore skirts that were stretched out too loosely, and some wore tattered clothes, looking like beggars.

Some of them had rugged faces, some had deep, handsome features, some had delicate and beautiful features, and some were young and cute. They had no resemblance whatsoever.

These densely packed figures hang from the top of the cave. They are very reserved in their spirituality. Their aura and color seem normal, but they give people a dull feeling.

The man ignored them and kept walking.

Until he crossed a certain boundary, his own "spiritual thread" began to float upwards on its own, extending towards the highest point of the cave, towards the source of those suspended figures.

They are like metal that has encountered a magnet, drifting uncontrollably upwards, with the fastest one already approaching its destination.

The man's pace did not slow down. As he walked forward, he manipulated his "spiritual threads," pulling them back one by one.

Upon reaching the depths of the cave, he placed a box on the ground. He then set up a ritual, chanted incantations, and extended his right hand, which bore a command seal, to summon the creature.

Soon, a Taoist figure materialized from the light.

Class: Assassin.

Strength: C, Magic: A, Endurance: C, Luck: B, Agility: B, Noble Phantasm: A++.

Before the light could fully solidify, the man spoke again in a low, hoarse voice: "In the name of the Command Seal, you are forbidden from harming me by any means. The definition of harm includes, but is not limited to, your subjective opinion, my subjective opinion, and the public's public order and perception."

A flash of red light, and one of the Command Seals disappeared.

The man lowered his right hand, watching the figure slowly solidify into an old man in a black robe. He wore a hood, his head was bowed, his eyes were closed, and his white beard was long and thick, as if it had not been trimmed for years or even decades, making it impossible to see his original appearance.

Upon seeing the old man appear, the man placed one hand on his chest and bowed forward.

"I am very sorry to have offended you, but please forgive me, this is a necessary measure."

The old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at him.

One second, two seconds.

He nodded finally and said in a slightly muffled voice.

"of course."

…………

Simulate the universe.

This is an incredibly spacious room, a perfectly elegant cube structure with pristine white metal walls that are completely sealed off, even the corners are cast into 120-degree arcs, leaving no gaps.

Here stood many different species, some of which Klein recognized: the Baviru people, fox people, and some humans…

He discovered that even a Di Ting was sitting at the long table.

It was a miniature version of the "lion dance," only the size of a palm.

In addition, there were also some exiled prisoners wearing gray robes and prison clothes here.

Klein's gaze swept over the shackles on their feet, his expression unchanged. But he had no intention of causing trouble for them, so he walked around them and went to the safer bar.

"A bottle of Southwell beer, please." Klein placed several stone-like objects on the bar; these were "cosmic fragments," the currency of the simulated universe.

"We only sell alien-flavored cocktails here." The receptionist's tone sounded quite strange as well. "Yu Qingtu, the 55th member of the Genius Club, has 25 remaining cocktail recipes, but we only sell three of them here."

"But whether it's her highly poisonous formula, I can't guarantee."

"Anyway, sir, which drink would you like?"

Klein's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

If he's unsure whether it's the same, then he doesn't want it anymore.

Klein lowered his head, intending to retrieve his fragment of the universe.

But the table was empty; there was nothing there.

The receptionist has already collected all the money.

Klein felt a sudden throbbing in his temple.

"Whatever." Klein stared straight at the receptionist.

If you dare to take my money, you better pray that this wine is really good.

The receptionist started mixing drinks right in front of Klein.

"Would you like some pineapple?" the receptionist asked.

“Pineapple?” Klein asked back, only to reply, “Just do what you think is best.”

The receptionist immediately threw some lumpy objects into the wine glass, then poured in some unidentified liquid, frowning as he watched Klein.

“There are over nine thousand objects in the Milky Way that are called pineapples,” the host explained while mixing drinks. “It could be a rock, a leaf, or even a black hole.”

"No one knew what was inside until the box was opened."

Klein felt he was becoming even less professional.

Soon, pink, green, and blue liquids in a goblet appeared in front of Klein.

“You can add the sugar now,” the receptionist said with a smile, gesturing to the sugar jar beside Klein.

Klein opened the sugar jar, used tongs to take out three sugar cubes, and put them into a wine glass.

The wine in the glass instantly transformed into layers of pink, green, blue, and white.

Klein tapped the bar counter twice with his fingers.

At least it doesn't look ugly.

Klein thought to himself.

"Alright, now you should stir it." The receptionist pushed the glass towards Oh, which contained a stirring spoon.

Klein took the cup and looked at the receptionist.

"Are you sure?" Klein asked.

The color looks great, but if you stir it, it might turn into a lump.

"Of course." The receptionist nodded with a smile.

Klein gripped the stirring spoon and stirred casually.

Soon, just as he expected, the colors of the cocktail mixed together.

Surprisingly, it was quite good. Although they were mixed together, it wasn't particularly messy; instead, it had an aurora-like feel to it.

"It does look pretty good, doesn't it?" the receptionist asked. "I think at most it might just cause you to collapse into a black hole after the first sip."

Klein paused in his stirring, tilting his head to look at the receptionist.

"what?"

The receptionist immediately changed her tune: "I was just joking, sir. You know, a good joke can help ease a customer's tension."

Klein looked at him, and after a long while, shook his head helplessly.

"Sigh... I don't think this joke is going to help me relax."

"I will continue to work hard." The receptionist nodded.

Klein didn't say anything more, picked up his glass and took a small sip.

The money has already been paid...

After taking the first sip, he felt that the colors around him had become more intense.

It tastes pretty good, slightly sweet, more like a beverage than a drink.

"It seems alright," he commented honestly.

Then I took another sip.

Klein's own color had faded somewhat, but he didn't notice.

The receptionist looked at Klein expectantly, seemingly waiting for his evaluation.

"Hmm..." Klein thought for a moment, "I can't taste any pineapple."

"It doesn't taste like the 'pineapple' you're thinking of," the receptionist added.

“Yes.” Klein nodded and took another sip.

He drank it down in one sip after another, and soon the cocktail was empty.

As is customary, finishing this drink will either reward you or inflict a negative buff, right? Klein wondered.

While thinking about it, he tilted his head back, raised his hand, and swallowed the last of the wine down his throat.

The room's colors became richer, while Klein's own color became lighter.

Soon, he was completely enveloped by the surrounding colors and blended into them.

In an instant, the room began to tremble.

Klein could hear the constant sound of gears meshing beneath his feet.

As the colors around him gradually solidified, Klein realized that he was standing on an abandoned ancient city, surrounded by ruins and walls that had been gnawed by some unknown creature.

The wall had long been gnawed with holes of varying sizes, rendering it completely ineffective as a defense.

Shifting the gaze downwards, inside the city walls, not far away, several pairs of scarlet eyes were staring at Klein.

These eyes belong to several creatures that look like Tyrannosaurus Rex, but with a more slender and powerful physique. Their bodies are covered with thick scales, from which scarlet blood seeps, burns, boils, and turns into evaporating blood-red mist.

He encountered a group of ancient, bloodthirsty behemoths. Their hot, panting breaths could reach his face from a great distance…

Klein noticed that they seemed to have mutated.

Its skin is covered with a gilded hard shell, as if it is suffering from a mutation.

He met its drooping eyes. Its whiskers bobbed up and down, and you noticed that it was still protecting several cubs behind it.

Although the scene before him looked like he had entered a challenge phase, Klein did not act rashly.

Whether before or after his transmigration, he had read many stories where "the protagonist gets trapped in an illusion and accidentally injures those who come to help."

He wasn't quite sure if he had fallen asleep or was hallucinating after drinking that cocktail.

He doesn't have the habit of acting crazy when he's drunk.

(End of this chapter)