Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 15 The Masked Fool's Class Begins
After Mr. Fool issued the quest, Audrey carefully spoke to Ceres, "Mr. Devil, do you remember what you said at the last Tarot Club? Could you share with us the names of the first three sequences of each of the 22 Divine Paths?"

Alger also thought of this and turned his gaze to Serris.

Klein was even more curious; he had been waiting for this for a week. He feigned composure as he cast his gaze towards Ceris, curious about what lay behind the fortune teller.

Ceres coughed lightly and said to Audrey, "Since you're asking so sincerely, I'll mercifully guide you. After all, Russell said there are no categories."

"There's no discrimination in education, right? Also, don't think I haven't seen Pokémon, Emperor." Klein complained, subconsciously putting the blame on Russell.

"But before that, you should at least call me Master Jiao."

Although Audrey didn't understand what the phrase "Banana Teacher" meant, she still responded with a smile: "Okay, Mr. Banana."

Serris raised his hands. "Alright, everyone, look at me! Look at me! I have an announcement! The Masked Fool's class is officially open."

Klein's eyes twitched. This... is this another performance art brought in by Emperor Roselle?

Serris raised a finger, feigning mastery, and said, "First, the Sleepless Paths mastered by the Church of Evernight: Sequence Nine, Sleepless, Sequence Eight, Midnight Poet, and Sequence Seven, Nightmare."

Klein blinked. He knew this. Captain Dunn and Leonard were using this method.

Serris raised a second finger and continued, "The Warrior Path is controlled by the Church of the God of War. Sequence 9 is Warrior, Sequence 8 is Fighter, and Sequence 7 is Weapon Master."

[Still counting your fingers? You're not going to count your toes too, are you?]

"The Church of Night also controls some of the ways to collect corpses, such as corpse collectors, gravediggers, and psychics."

Klein nodded secretly. This was the path chosen by Ms. Daly.

"Then there's the audience," Ceris's words perked up Audrey. "The audience, the mind reader, the psychiatrist."

A mind reader! Audrey smiled longingly. She encouraged herself in her heart: "Audrey, you must digest the potion as quickly as possible and become a mind reader as soon as possible."

"The secret prayer, the listener, the hermit."

"The Aurora Society..." Alger mentally supplemented what Serris hadn't said. As a well-known terrorist organization, they were also quite active at sea.

"Reader, reasoning student, and detective of the Church of Knowledge and Wisdom."

"The singer, prayer of light, and sun priest of the Church of the Eternal Sun."

"The Storm Church teaches sailors, furious people, and navigators who master the sailor's path."

Klein glanced at Alger calmly, while Audrey looked at him unabashedly. Alger remained calm. He had known these three names for a long time.

"A secret peeper, a combat scholar, a wizard, a generalist of the Church of Steam and Mechanics, an archaeologist, and an appraiser."

After counting on his ten fingers, Sirius did not choose to count his toes, but clenched his fists again and started counting from the beginning.

"A fortune teller, a clown, a magician."

"A clown and a magician? These...are the three giants of the circus, right?" Klein couldn't figure out the connection between these three. "Will the next stage be animal tamer?"

"Thief, fraudster, and code cryptanalyst."

"Apprentice, master of magic, astrologer."

"Monster, machine, lucky guy."

"An arbitrator, sheriff, and interrogator controlled by the Loen royal family."

"Then there are the lawyers, the savages, the bribers."

"Behind the lawyers are barbarians and bribers? This is breaking the law knowingly." Audrey felt that this change in approach was very contradictory.

"Barbarian... If you don't understand reason, then I know a little bit about fighting. That makes sense. As for the briber, is he bribing after losing a fight? Yeah, that makes sense too." Klein mentally evaluated the lawyer.

"Hunter, provocateur, arsonist."

"Assassin, instigator, witch."

"Witch." Audrey muttered the name silently. How could a man play the role of a witch? She imagined her brother, Alfred Hall, donning an elaborate court gown and dancing hand in hand with another man on the dance floor. "Eh?" She shuddered.

"Tiller, healer, harvest priest."

"Pharmacist, animal tamer, vampire."

Well, it seems there's no more beast tamers behind the fortune teller. Here they are, Klein thought.

"Vampire is actually the name of a Beyonder class?" Alger knew more and naturally had more ideas. "Then vampires can be artificially created... Beyonder traits... No wonder most vampires are hostile to humans."

Cerus withdrew one hand and raised two fingers with the other: "The last two, prisoner, lunatic, werewolf and criminal, broken-winged angel, and serial killer."

The people around the long table were all lost in thought, and Serris's vanity was satisfied.

Are you a three-year-old?

"It must be Xing who lowered my IQ. You know, she's really good at bringing other people's IQ down to her level."

【In fact, I don’t know.】

"That means your IQ isn't that high. I've met the man of Boshizun before, how could I possibly lie to you?"

But you’ve also been exposed to myths.

"How can that be the same? He didn't even show his face."

[Of course He won't show His face. If He does, He will be dead.]

"Alright, don't doubt it anymore. We Masked Fools have a very good reputation in the universe."

[Then swear on your Old Beijing Chicken Roll.]

"What? You don't want to believe me?"

[I believe you, but you have to swear on your Old Beijing Chicken Roll first.]

"No, wait a minute, where's the most basic trust between people? You're really chilling me."

I believe you, really. I believe you very much. As long as you are willing to swear on your Old Beijing Chicken Roll.

"It's no fun being like this. I'm pretty much like that. I can usually joke with you and be very easygoing, but if you touch my reverse scale, I'll let you know what true darkness is."

"This is the child-faced wolf. On the surface, he appears innocent, but in reality, he's shrewd and cunning. You can't outsmart him, because he's set you up from the start. He's the chess master, and you're just a pawn. If you disobey him, you'll know what cruelty and darkness are. I've never lacked ruthless tactics or a compassionate heart. I have both Buddha and devil in my heart, but I've sealed the devil away deeply, leaving only Buddha."

"I originally wanted to face everyone with a compassionate heart, but some people insisted that I unseal the demon within me. So I want to ask you, if you were faced with a true demon, would you still be able to remain calm?"

[Yeah, okay, okay, then you swear on your Old Beijing Chicken Roll first.]

"it is good!"

[You're going to swear?! (Overjoyed)]

"I won't play with you anymore."

[……][Okay, okay, so that's how you play, huh? Then I'm telling you, you're done. I'll show you what cruelty is. I'm like the old ginger slices in the dry pot chicken. If you anger me, I'll show you what true revenge is. Normally, I hide in the chaos of the dishes and keep my composure, and we're all at peace. But if you're blind enough to pick me up, I'll show you my fury! My punishment will make you cry and regret your actions. The more you try to hurt me, the more fierce the revenge you'll receive. The moment you pick me up, the roles of prey and hunter have switched!]

"What! It's actually ginger slices! It's the legendary ginger slices! The legend in the cosplay world! The legendary ginger slices that can be cosplayed as any food without being discovered!"

[That's right! You're finished! Hehehe.]

…………

"Alright." Serris snapped his fingers, attracting the attention of several people. "Don't think about it for now. Look at me, look at me."

After Audrey and the others turned their attention back to Ceirrus, Ceirrus continued, "Come on, everyone. After hearing so much free information, would you like some paid content?"

"Paid content?" Audrey's eyes lit up. "You mean the potion formula?"

"No, no, no, of course not. I'm not too sure about that. But I can talk to you about..." Serris chose his words carefully, "the characteristics of these paths."

There is no recipe. Even if his memory is good, he can't make something that is not written in the original book.

"Characteristics?" Audrey repeated the word in a low voice.

"Yes, characteristics." Even though Audrey spoke quietly, Ceris still heard it. "For example, the Beyonder abilities of a certain sequence in a certain path, or what characteristics Beyonders from these paths usually exhibit."

"Hmm..." Audrey's eyes lit up, and she felt that these seemed equally interesting. "So, how much do I need to pay to learn this knowledge?"

"No, no money is needed. What I need more is a ticket to enter the upper circle, Miss Justice. As a price, you can choose ten from the sequence professions mentioned above. I can tell you here and now." Serris gestured a few times. Although he didn't know what he was gesturing, he felt that gesturing a few more times would make him appear more imposing.

[No, in fact, you are more like a curly-haired baboon seeking a mate.]

"I don't think my actions were that big. You need to respect the facts and not make things up."

[That's a sissy curly-haired baboon posing coquettishly.]

"Then I'll just be a curly-haired baboon courting a mate."

"A ticket to the upper class. I think I understand what you mean, Mr. Devil. But don't you care about your identity being exposed?" Audrey offered a kind reminder.

"Of course I won't go there myself. I will push someone to the front of the stage to act as my spokesperson."

"Okay." Audrey continued, "Then how do I contact your people?"

Serris pondered for a moment and said, "Next week, someone will be launching an investment advertisement in the Tingen Honest Man newspaper. I hope you can guide them and get more nobles interested in my products. You should be able to do that after becoming a viewer."

Audrey didn't quite understand: "But this doesn't seem to lead you into the aristocratic class."

"It doesn't matter." Serris's smile became more sincere. "As long as you can bring enough noble children, that's enough."

Hearing this, Audrey felt a little uneasy. Could this be something illegal?

Sensing the obvious worry in Audrey's body movements, Cerus added, "I won't do anything to them. We made this deal under the witness of Mr. Fool. I definitely won't do anything rash."

Audrey immediately relaxed after hearing this. Yes, they made the deal under the witness of Mr. Fool.

The corner of Klein the Fool's mouth twitched, and he nodded calmly, indicating that it was no big deal.

Ceres waved his hand, signaling Audrey to ask. As if she had already thought it through, Audrey asked without hesitation, "I want to know the characteristics of the audience's three extraordinary professions."

Serris nodded, but didn't speak directly. Instead, he asked, "Do you need to write down your answer on a piece of paper and hide it somewhere after my meeting? Or can you tell me here?"

Alger gave an awkward yet polite smile, though no one except Ceris could see it.

Audrey glanced at Alger, smiled sweetly, and said in a clear voice, "No need. Let's talk about it here."

"Okay, then I'll tell you." Serris didn't hesitate.

"Spectator, mind reader, psychologist—these extraordinary professions' abilities can be understood literally." Serris scratched the palm of his left hand. "Spectatorship will give you enhanced memory, comprehension, and most importantly, observation, allowing you to see more subtle details that you wouldn't normally notice. Furthermore, this ability doesn't affect your spirituality, so you don't need to worry about seeing or hearing anything you shouldn't."

"The audience possesses a keen sense of observation. Just as they would in a theater or opera theater, they observe the crowds of people from the perspective of a spectator, and can discern their true thoughts from their expressions, their mannerisms, their quirks, and their subtle movements."

Celeste paused before continuing, "Despite their name, a mind reader can't actually read minds. Their observations are no longer limited to surface details, but delve into mysterious realms like the etheric body. The combination of these two allows a 'mind reader' to grasp the mind's heart with extraordinary accuracy, reading the other person's thoughts through demeanor, facial expressions, and body movements. It's difficult to keep secrets from them."

"Then there's the psychologist. This extraordinary profession was known in ancient times as 'psychoanalyst.' Initially, they can directly influence their targets, possessing a certain degree of offensive power. They can truly 'read minds,' perform 'psychological suggestion,' and 'calm' those experiencing frenzy, loss of control, or even cause them to become 'mad' and lose their sanity. They can simulate the might of a dragon, 'intimidate' individuals and groups, and create chaos."

Audrey nodded repeatedly, feeling her yearning for extraordinary things grow deeper and deeper. She wished she could take the potion right now and be promoted to audience status.

Klein was horrified when he heard this. This was mind reading. He felt that he should think carefully about how to strengthen the control of his body movements. He couldn't let Miss Justice see through him.

This made him feel like he was about to run naked for a moment.

"You can ask seven more." Serris reminded.

Clown! Magician! Klein screamed wildly in his heart.

But unfortunately, Audrey couldn't hear Klein's inner cry. Audrey asked the question she had always wanted to ask.

"So, what about witches? Um... I'm mainly wondering how men can play witches."

"It's actually very simple. When a man takes the witch's potion, he's no longer a man." Ceris snapped his fingers. "A witch's advancement will force a male to become a woman. The ascended witch will experience a significant improvement in appearance and charm. They will gain the ability to become invisible and use mirror and wand doubles. They will also master various dark arts, excel at counter-divination, and gain the favor of black flame and frost."

"By the way, let me give you another piece of information. The witch's next sequence is called Joy. Yes, it's what you think."

Joy... Then wouldn't his, no, her performance be...

Audrey and Alger, who was eavesdropping nearby, shuddered simultaneously. Klein didn't react much, merely sucking his teeth quietly. After all, Klein had lived through the internet age, deeply influenced by netizens, so he was quite accepting of all kinds of XP. If netizens' sexual knowledge is a book and their sexual practice is a piece of paper, then their sexual obsession is Cthulhu.

Our Master Ke is a man who has seen the world.

After a few interested questions, Audrey actually had nothing else to ask. Seeing her thoughts, Cerus suggested, "How about this? I don't think you have anything else to ask. How about I just give you the mind reader formula and give it to you after you've sorted it out?"

No! Clown! Magician! Klein wailed inwardly like a defeated dog.

Audrey completely disregarded Mr. Fool's life or death and nodded happily upon hearing Serris's suggestion: "Great! This is exactly what I want."

Ceris glanced at Klein. Mr. Fool seemed to be motionless, but in fact, he had been motionless for a while.

"Hehehe." Serris laughed heartlessly.

Next came the free discussion time. Alger shared some interesting stories from the sea, and Klein took this opportunity to bring up the matter of Antigonus' notes.

It's totally reasonable for Mr. Fool to pay attention to the Antigonus family.

Ceris also joined in the fun and promoted his newly opened "End of the World" tavern.

As expected. Klein confirmed his previous guess. Mr. Devil was indeed the person he had seen last time. He thought about the heartless laughter that Serris had just let out and the temperament of the man he had seen at that time. Yeah, the temperament matched.

This will undoubtedly make it easier to expose one's identity, but so what?

Could they still order him to be killed online?
The meeting quickly concluded, with Klein offering a few suggestions regarding the civil service evaluation system before concluding. This greatly shocked Audrey and Alger.

After the meeting, Klein paused for a moment above the gray fog, debating whether to recruit another person. But he ultimately gave up. The current number of people was sufficient.

(End of this chapter)