Lord of Mysteries: The Color of the Stars

"A normal set of Sequence 7 potion ingredients costs between £1000 and £1500, but considering how popular the materials from the 'Audience' route are, I need to sell them for £2000."

Julian paused for a moment and looked at Miss "Justice".

The price is reasonable for a Sequence 8 "audience", but considering that Miss "Justice" has not yet become a Sequence 9 Extraordinary, the main ingredients for "Psychiatrist" potions are not a necessity for her at this stage.

Therefore, while Julian was speaking, he was already secretly preparing to accept a counter-offer.

Actually, he could accept anything as long as it wasn't less than 1700 pounds, since he hadn't put in much effort in taking down that "psychologist," so he didn't want to ask for too much.

"No problem, this price is very reasonable."

However, to Julian's surprise, Miss Justice agreed without hesitation.

"How should I pay you?"

Uh... you agreed just like that?

Not going to haggle?

Julian was momentarily speechless.

Whether it was his imagination or not, on the other side of the bronze table, Miss "Justice" seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

To be honest, Audrey never imagined that she would be able to obtain the main ingredient of a Sequence 7 potion at this stage, which made her feel like she had found a treasure.

Therefore, she immediately began asking about payment methods.

The scene was reminiscent of a wealthy dog ​​buying missiles from a rabbit—both sides were afraid the other would back out, and both felt they had made a huge profit.

Although Julian, having read the original novel, already had a general idea of ​​how extravagant Miss Justice was, he found that he had underestimated her wealth after actually getting to know her.

£2000 is a lot of money; it can easily buy two very nice houses with land in Tingen.

Even in Backlund, as long as it's not an area like Queens or Hillston where the upper class congregates, buying a property isn't difficult.

Even so, Miss Justice didn't seem to show much heartache and readily agreed.

This is because she doesn't have a deep understanding of the value of potion ingredients, and also because Audrey was quite wealthy in the early days of the "Tarot Club" and didn't fall into financial difficulties because of her faith in the God of Poverty.

Third, and most importantly, Miss Justice seems to understand that she needs to pay a premium in order to participate in the knowledge exchange regarding "playing the law".

The more readily you pay, the fewer disputes you'll face later; anything that can be resolved with money isn't a problem.

"Maybe this is what it feels like to be a kept woman..."

Julian couldn't help but think to himself.

The process of the transaction left Alger, the "Hanged Man," dumbfounded, filled with both doubt and envy.

Even the "Fool," who sat at the head of the long bronze table, found it unbelievable.

He felt confident about his future with a weekly wage of £10, while others would give him £2000 without a second thought.

Is this what poverty means by limiting imagination?

"I have an anonymous account at Tasok Bank. You can just deposit the money directly into it."

Julian quickly recited his account number, then repeated it twice to make sure Miss Justice had recorded it completely before he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Great... Now we have hope for the potion ingredients."

To be honest, Julian wouldn't really want to sell his extraordinary "psychiatrist" status at this stage unless absolutely necessary.

Given the power of the "Audience" pathway, he could easily find a way to create an extraordinary item for his own use.

However, Julian needs to prepare sufficient funds in advance for the Sequence 8 of the "Four-Colored Awakener" path, since he had already spent 700 pounds in cash when he purchased the main ingredients for the "Four-Colored Awakener" potion.

Although those are only Sequence 9 potion ingredients, their scarcity causes them to be priced much higher than normal Sequence 8 materials.

For example, "a star-shaped hexagonal crystal dyed by the aurora" is extremely rare, even in the "Eternal Night Plain" in the far north.

If it weren't for a naturalist named Fursack, whom Julian knew and who was a mineral collector, who happened to have some in stock, he wouldn't even know how much longer he would have to wait.

After the deal was struck, Julian "The Tower" looked up at the somewhat uneasy Alger "The Hanged Man" and said with a smile:

"Mr. 'The Hanged Man,' it seems that Ms. 'Justice' has already paid the price for this transaction for you. You can repay her a favor when you have time. You can discuss the details yourselves."

"Of course, the value of this knowledge is far more than that... but after all, the esteemed Mr. 'Fool' has already hinted at its main points, and I have only added some supplementary information, so that is sufficient."

Upon hearing Julian's words, Alger realized what was happening:

"no problem."

He looked at Miss "Justice":

"If there's anything I can do to help later, please let me know."

"Yes, Mr. Hanged Man."

Miss Justice nodded slightly, then looked at Mr. Tower with excited and apprehensive eyes.

"The technique that Mr. 'Fool' just explained is generally called the 'role-playing method'."

Julian observed Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man holding their breath and concentrating intently, smiled to himself, and then further explained:

"All potions possess a different inner spirit, which is related to the core imagery of the potion's name and, in most cases, differs from the human spirit."

"This difference in spirit leads to conflict and incompatibility, which is the essence of the side effects and tendency to go out of control of the potion."

"The so-called 'role-playing method' is that extraordinary individuals who have taken potions consciously act out the role imagery contained in the name of the potion... For example, Mr. Hanged Man's advice to you to try your best to be an observer after taking the 'Spectator' potion is actually a manifestation of the role-playing method, but he did not make a complete summary of it."

"If we compare potions to a fortress that can only be entered by those who are close to its core image, then 'role-playing' is the key that allows humans to get close to this image in spirit and mind, thereby bypassing the defenses to enter the fortress and eventually take complete control of it."

"This process is generally called 'digestion'. A person who has fully 'digested' the potion will almost never lose control as long as they don't intentionally kill themselves, which also means that they can take the next series of potions in an extremely safe state."

Mr. Hanged Man and Ms. Justice listened with great fascination to this knowledge. After a long while, Ms. Justice finally came to her senses and asked further questions:

"Then, Mr. 'Tower,' how can I know if I've digested the potion?"

"Digesting the potion is a gradual process, and you will have a very clear feeling about it."

Julian began to explain:

"After you have fully digested the potion, you will also know clearly that the feeling is hard to describe in words. You will understand once you experience it."

He paused, then looked up at the Hanged Man's robe embroidered with waves, and said meaningfully:

"As an extraordinary member of the Storm Church, you should be well aware of the value of this knowledge, Mr. 'The Hanged Man'."

"One fact is that major churches are consciously ensuring that the knowledge of 'playing the law' is not known to the extraordinary at the bottom level. Even if someone comprehends it by chance, the church will force them not to disclose it."

"In this way, the Church's extraordinary individuals will advance to the middle sequence under risky circumstances, and if nothing unexpected happens, most of them will never be able to safely advance to sequence 6 or above in their lifetime."

Is there a conscious effort to ensure the spread of the "role modeling" method?

At that moment, both Mr. Fool and Mr. Hanged Man frowned.

Many thoughts flashed through the minds of the two, but before Alger the Hanged Man could speak, Miss Justice's curious voice rang out again:

"Mr. Tower, there's something I don't understand."

"If 'role-playing' can help the extraordinary individuals within the Church of True God stabilize their state and reduce the chances of losing control, then why does the Church still restrict its spread?"