Lord of Mysteries: The Color of the Stars

"How could this happen..."

Upon hearing this, Miss Justice instinctively covered her mouth with her long, slender, white left hand, her face filled with disbelief.

"That's the reality. The so-called Church of the True God is not a monolithic entity."

Mr. Hanged Man shook his head:

"Faith cannot control people's instinctive desire to survive and become stronger; only a sound system can."

After saying that, he looked at Julian "The Tower":

"Please continue."

"What you just said is the second reason I originally wanted to mention."

"Tower," Julian said with a gentle clap of his hands and a smile.

"I must say, he's truly worthy of being called the political commissar... He thought of so many things so quickly."

Julian continued, still thinking:

"As for the third reason, it is mainly to prevent defection."

"Just as Mr. Hanged Man mentioned earlier, the widespread dissemination of the 'playing method' will result in a large number of intermediate-level extraordinary individuals within the church, but their advancement will encounter obstacles once they reach a certain level."

"This is not only because those of higher rank in the same path have a strong suppressive power over those of lower rank, but also because the potion formulas and materials of higher rank are strictly controlled by the Church of the True God."

"In this way, if there is a force that is hostile to these orthodox churches that can offer potential promotion opportunities, even if it is just an empty promise, these extraordinary individuals are easily turned... At the same time, a large amount of internal intelligence of the orthodox churches was also taken away, which is undoubtedly very dangerous."

"Therefore, by comparison, controlling the spread of 'role-playing' can reduce the management costs and risks of the Orthodox Church, and the Pope can focus his attention on a small number of high-sequence extraordinary individuals, instead of guarding against everyone like a thief."

"Although this means that lower-level extraordinary individuals will occasionally lose control and die, it will also serve as a kind of 'metabolism' for the population... The overall number of extraordinary individuals will be limited, and older extraordinary individuals who have accumulated tendencies to lose control over the years will be able to give way to newcomers, which can also be considered a kind of metabolism."

From Julian's description, Miss Justice sensed a distinct irony and desolation.

While reflecting on this in her heart, she continued to ask:

"You mean... those hostile forces can provide the potions, materials, or recipes needed for these extraordinary individuals to advance?"

Yes and no.

Julian smiled and shook his head:

"On the one hand, as I just said, this may be an empty promise."

"On the other hand, even if they do get promoted, it might be different from what you think."

"But if you want to explain it clearly, you'll have to pay a different price... and time."

"Okay. Thank you for sharing, Mr. 'Tower'."

Although Miss Justice was somewhat disappointed, she didn't dwell on it, because as an "audience member," she could tell from Julian's tone in the latter half of his words that he seemed unwilling to continue for the time being.

"Please accept my gratitude, Mr. 'Tower'."

At this moment, Mr. Hanged Man's tone carried an ambiguous meaning:

"This information is very important to me... and I am now completely certain that what I am doing is the right thing."

After he finished speaking, he raised his head again and bowed slightly to Mr. Fool as a sign of respect.

Alger was referring to his decision to bypass the Church of the "Lord of the Storms" and seek advancement on his own.

Although he had already done so, Alger still harbored some concerns about the potential consequences of his actions.

But now it seems that the waters within the Church of the True God are much deeper than he originally knew, and unless Alger strives to rise to a higher position, he has no control over his own destiny.

Having been an orphan himself, his desire to survive and make a name for himself was stronger than Miss Justice's, and he was very grateful to Mr. Fool for choosing him to attend this gathering.

"I have another question for you, Mr. Fool and Mr. Tower."

Mr. Hanged Man then continued to ask:

"Since the last meeting, I have started to try to digest the potion by 'role-playing'."

"As you know, I previously took several sequences of potions, and they are all in an undigested state... One of these sequences is called 'Navigator,' which is higher than 'Sailor.'"

"While playing the role of the 'Navigator,' I also managed to consume some of the Sequence 9 'Sailor' potion, a discovery that I found very interesting."

"After reflecting on it, I realized that I unconsciously came to understand that the essence of a 'navigator' is still a 'sailor,' and the most powerful 'sailor' is a 'navigator.'"

"I suspect that this self-awareness prompted me to simultaneously digest the 'Sailor' potion... I wonder if my guess is correct?"

"Of course, if you two require any compensation from me, please feel free to ask."

Upon hearing Alger's question, "Tower" Julian did not speak, but instead turned his gaze to "The Fool".

This was partly to show respect, and partly because he guessed that Klein should already have enough knowledge to answer the question.

As expected, after a brief silence, Mr. Fool spoke:

"The most effective way to digest the potion during the entire role-playing process is to summarize the corresponding role-playing rules."

"As you just said, the rules of role-playing that you summarized apply to both 'navigator' and 'sailor,' which allows your potions to be digested in sync."

"I see. Thank you for your kind explanation, Mr. Fool."

Alger, the "Hanged Man," said gratefully:

What kind of compensation do you need?

"The Fool," Klein thought for a moment, then said,

"More of Roselle's diary... or information about those ancient, powerful extraordinary families, whatever the information."

"Even information I already know can be used as payment."

Klein originally wanted to inquire about information related to the "Diviner" path, but he was afraid that this would lower the prestige of "The Fool".

If Julian were to inquire about matters concerning the Antigonus family, he might detect something amiss, so Klein had to resort to a more indirect approach.

"Yes, Mr. Fool."

Alger, the "Hanged Man," nodded and then explained to Klein in detail the information he knew about the angelic families and the "Blasphemy Tablets."

"The Fool" Klein listened very attentively. Although he appeared calm on the surface, he quickly extracted the useful parts of the information from his mind.

"Very good, I am very satisfied with this payment."

After a moment, Mr. Fool nodded in satisfaction.

Miss Justice then took over the conversation. After asking Mr. Hanged Man for some information about Sequence 8 potions from the "Audience" pathway and receiving his answer, she continued in a somewhat strange tone:

"I have a question I'd like to ask... um."

She mustered her courage, but there was still a barely perceptible urgency in her voice:

"If, and I mean if, an ordinary animal drank a Sequence 9 potion, what would happen?"