1389 The Fool's Commission

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."

The other members of the Tarot Club appeared rather solemn as they followed Miss Justice's usual greeting.

After they sat down again, The Fool Klein surveyed the area and slowly said, "I will be entering a state of slumber."

Upon hearing this, Alger, Audrey, Xio, and Fors felt like their speculations had finally been confirmed. Leonard, Emlyn, Derrick, and the other Tarot Club members felt their hearts sink as they became increasingly flustered and filled with puzzlement.

Of course, they weren't that surprised. The abnormal last-minute gathering and the abnormality of The World's absence seemed to indicate that something important had happened today.

Klein maintained his last bit of clarity and said in his previous tone, "This involves a war that's at the level of 'Above the Sequences.' It has something to do with the apocalypse to a certain extent."

Indeed… Alger acutely caught the words "Above the Sequences."

He had long suspected that there was another level above Sequence 0: the one occupied by the ancient sun god when "He" had eight Kings of Angels.

Now, Mr. Fool had finally confirmed his guess and resolved many of his doubts.

Cattleya and company also noticed the hidden message in Mr. Fool's words. Those who had similar guesses like The Hanged Man felt enlightened, while the ones who had never had such guesses were inevitably surprised and confused when they heard it. However, they quickly combined what they had learned from the past and came to a realization.

The Fool Klein continued, "Only after you become an angel do you have the right to know the exact situation. Otherwise, just understanding it will bring corruption."

This made the Tarot Club members think of the words "underground" and "cosmos." They were momentarily unable to contain their thoughts.

Klein looked at the end of the long mottled table and said, "My Blessed, The World, has entered a deep slumber. It's unknown when he will wake up."

Then what should be done? Leonard nearly blurted out, but he could clearly sense that Mr. Fool hadn't finished his sentence. Therefore, he forcefully held back his urge.

The Fool Klein swept his gaze across him.

"Next is a long-term commission for all members:

"Spread my name more widely, but don't clash with the orthodox Churches. When necessary, you can choose to use a more concealed method to proselytize.

"This will aid in my awakening.

"Also, spread the news of The World being my Blessed, and record it in the Church's Holy Bible. Of course, do not include information that involves his personal information.

"Remember one sentence: The awakening of The World spells The Fool's return."

Klein wanted to increase his number of anchors. This might be useful in the battle with the Lord of the Mysteries in his dream.

To put it simply, Klein planned on having a believer contribute two sets of anchors. After all, to him, be it The Fool or The World, all of them were just an identity of his. Furthermore, the image created by anchors wouldn't be uniform. They were different and wouldn't affect him.

At the level of The Fool, the Church would spread the name of the deity, The Fool's Sacred Emblem, and all kinds of religious teachings without any concrete images. As for The World, he had quite a number of identities, such as Gehrman Sparrow, Dwayne Dantès, and Merlin Hermes. It wouldn't fixate on a single image.

"The reward is the convenience you have enjoyed in the past, the responses you received, and the corresponding help given to your future prayers," The Fool Klein said without a change in tone. "After I begin my slumber, I can still respond to my prayers in a certain way, but not every time. If there's something very important that needs help, pray a few more times."

He could tell from Antigonus's state of eternal slumber, that dreams could be projected outside. As long as the correct method was used, a sleeping deity could make use of the dream to a certain extent to respond to prayers.

Regarding this situation, the members of the Tarot Club weren't stumped by it at all.

On the one hand, most of them were either openly or secretly spreading the faith of The Fool. On the other hand, it was very common to pray to deities without receiving a response. Mr. Fool's responses from before were considered extremely rare. They had almost never heard of anything like this happening elsewhere.

To be able to receive a response through repeated prayers on important matters was better than most of the clergymen of the orthodox Churches!

"Yes, Mr. Fool." The Tarot Club members didn't hesitate at all as they accepted the long-term commission.

Among them, Leonard was the one that answered from the bottom of his heart. He was most eager and impatient.

To him, spreading the faith and biblical canon of Mr. Fool was to awaken Klein.

This made him instantly find the motivation to do something else other than his usual work.

At this moment, The Fool Klein nodded slightly and cast his gaze at Cattleya.

"The previous commission—to gather all the information regarding the Hidden Sage suddenly coming to life—is still effective.

"If you wish to take the risk, then go further and investigate the present state of the Hidden Sage.

"This will be very dangerous. You can reject it, and the reward is a wish."

Cattleya thought for a moment and said, "Honorable Mr. Fool, is this related to awakening you? Is it related to surviving the apocalypse?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I can't give you a definite answer right now. I just see some visions." This time, Klein didn't deliberately create a high-level persona of The Fool, because he was already The Fool. "Also, watch over all your subordinates that are Beyonders of the Earth and Moon pathway."

Cattleya fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "I'll accept this commission."

The Fool Klein cast his gaze to the other side and said to Derrick, "Your mission is to protect the New City of Silver and New Moon City and protect the Rorsted Archipelago. The more believers I have and the safer they are, the higher the chances of me waking up.

"On this foundation, think about how to expand the Church and spread the faith.

"Your payment is to become my Blessed."

Derrick's eyes suddenly burned as he recalled the encouraging gaze he had received from the Chief when he pushed open the final door of the Giant King's Court.

He took a deep breath and said in a firm tone, "Yes, Mr. Fool!"

Klein nodded and looked at Fors.

"You need to protect the Abraham family well to prevent them from suffering the temptation of the cosmos.

"Also, gather more information regarding the Fourth Epoch and figure out Mr. Door's condition at that time. Uncover some of the latent problems of the Abraham family."

"That's something I wish to do." Fors hesitated for a moment, but she still expressed that she would do such things even if she wasn't given the commission.

The Fool Klein didn't give his approval or disapproval. Instead, he said, "If you're willing, you can write down biographies and stories of The World's different identities using different aliases.

"The reward for above is that when you have a chance of becoming a Planeswalker and have to head to the cosmos, you will receive my blessings."

Although Klein knew that he could use a dream to give a response to a certain extent in his sleep, he wasn't sure if he was the one who had the upper hand or the Lord of the Mysteries. Therefore, he wished to use verbal contracts of providing a reward after the completion of a mission on more important matters. When the time came, even if he was at a disadvantage, he would be able to make use of this sort of invisible promise to give an ingenious response.

Planeswalker? Fors was taken aback.

To be frank, she had never considered this problem before. What she was worried about was the digestion of the Secrets Sorcerer potion and the Wanderer ritual.

Soon, she composed herself and said, "Yes, Mr. Fool."

Klein then cast his gaze at Emlyn.

"The besiegement of the Rose School of Thought involves preparations for the apocalypse. It's rather dangerous. Even if an angel is participating in it, you have to pay attention to your own safety.

"Your commission is to try your best to gather blessings, auras, and items given by the Primordial Moon to 'Her' believers in the Rose School of Thought. These might be more dangerous than a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact."

At that moment, although Klein still maintained The Fool's tone, there were hints that resembled a friend's warning.

This made Audrey, who had stabilized her initial mental state, sense something different.

Recalling what Mr. Fool had said to the other members, she sighed inwardly.

Mr. Fool's humanity seems to have become richer just as "He" is about to enter a deep sleep…

While Emlyn was slightly surprised and puzzled, Klein continued, "Apart from participating in the besieging of the Rose School of Thought's mission, I hope that you can form a pharmaceutical company and perform research on how to mass-produce the medicine with magical effects."

"If it's mass-produced, there's no way the products can be equipped with a magical effect," Emlyn replied instinctively.

The Fool Klein nodded.

"Seek out a compromise.

"Your main goal is to spread my name through this pharmaceutical company.

"The reward will also be a wish."

This isn't a matter of danger, but whether it's possible… The simplest solution is to give me a thousand Apothecary potions. I can form an Apothecary factory for mass production… Emlyn mumbled inwardly before replying seriously, "Yes, Mr. Fool."

Klein looked to the other side and said to Xio, "The apocalypse is approaching. Be it the Red Priest or the Demoness pathways, they will become active. Your mission is to rely on the official factions to investigate the whereabouts of the three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics and the Uniqueness of the Red Priest pathway. If there's a chance, find a clue to confirm the Primordial Demoness's present condition. It's very dangerous."

Klein didn't mention the payment, because he had already paid for it.

Xio had her wish fulfilled by holding a ritual and becoming a Sequence 4 Imperative Mage.

As for the three Sequence 1 Conqueror Beyonder characteristics of the Red Priest pathway, Klein had previously learned that one was in the hands of the Sauron family—the former Intis royal family—the other in the hands of the Feysac's Einhorn royal family, and the other was in the hands of the Loen's Augustus royal family. Later, as a reward, it was given to the Demoness Sect.

Of course, this was only a preliminary answer. The corresponding situation could very well have changed:

The Sauron family had already been in decline since Roselle's era. It might not necessarily be able to keep the Conqueror's Beyonder characteristic or corresponding Sealed Artifact under its control. Klein even suspected that it might have been obtained by the Iron and Blood Cross Order;

The failure of the war had significantly damaged the Einhorn family. Klein didn't rule out the possibility of the death of a high-level angel or the loss of a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.

The location of the Conqueror Beyonder characteristic that the Augustus family gave to the Demoness Sect was currently the clearest. However, Klein knew that the Red Angel evil spirit, Sauron Einhorn Medici, had been eyeing it all this time. Perhaps "He" had succeeded, or perhaps "He" was carrying out whatever plans "He" had.

There were no clues to the corresponding Red Priest Uniqueness at the moment. The last time the mysterious world knew of it was at the end of the Fourth Epoch, during the Pale Disaster.