[Above the Gray Fog]
Klein watched as the yellow crystal pendulum rotated counterclockwise and was unsurprised by the result.
"So, he was lying after all? But with this kind of divination thod, as long as there was even a single hidden truth among everything he said, it would produce the sa outco."
After so thought, he wrote on the manifested parchnt:
"Edward's inclusion in the Tarot Club is harmful to ."
He silently repeated the sentence seven tis before observing the reaction of the pendulum.
The crystal slowly began to rotate counterclockwise.
"So, it's not harmful…In fact, it might even be beneficial?"
Leaning back against the bronze chair, Klein let a slight smile appear on his face.
"That's good enough for now."
———
[Backlund]
Edward sat slumped on the sofa, gazing at the crimson moonlight filtering through the window.
His mind was filled with doubt.
"I'm not from the Abraham family, tonight isn't even a Crimson Full Moon, so why was I able to hear the murmurs of Mr. Door and nearly lose control?"
"Does the Lord of the Mysteries' world completely disregard logic?"
"And when the next full moon arrives…will I hear those whispers again?"
"What was that 'Door' in the night sky that saved from losing control?"
He shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel these thoughts.
"So…I'm officially a Sequence 9 Apprentice now? That extra energy inside …is that spirituality?"
In the original novel, Old Neil once explained:
"All living beings have spirituality and possess a spirit body."
But ever since Edward arrived in this world, he had never been able to sense his own spirituality.
Perhaps it was because he didn't originally belong here.
—Kind of like how chakra is exclusive to Naruto's world.
Edward carefully focused on the new energy inside him.
"It feels almost identical to magic…No, wait—spirituality cos from the remnants of Beyonder creatures in potions, while magic doesn't.
From a hierarchy standpoint, spirituality should be superior to magic."
In the Harry Potter world, a wizard's magical power stemd from the awakening of their bloodline and grew gradually with age.
For most wizards, their magic would only awaken three tis in their lifeti:
- The first awakening occurred in childhood, marking their transformation from an ordinary person to a wizard.
- The second awakening happened around age eleven, aligning with their entry into Hogwarts.
- The third and final awakening took place in adulthood, resulting in a significant surge in magical power.
Edward was either extrely talented or exceptionally lucky, as he had already experienced three awakenings despite not yet reaching adulthood.
His magic was far stronger than that of many fully grown wizards.
But due to the hierarchical gap between worlds, Beyonders from the Lord of the Mysteries world had high resistance to magic.
This left Edward feeling extrely unsafe, which was why he had hurriedly consud the potion to beco a Beyonder.
"Next, I need to research how to properly 'act' as an Apprentice and then quickly…Wait a minute."
A sudden realization struck him.
"This feeling…Have I already completely digested the Apprentice potion?!"
"How is that even possible?!"
After a brief mont of shock, a thought surfaced in his mind.
"Wait…Isn't there sothing called 'preemptive acting'?"
"Apprentice…Apprentice…Oh!"
Edward had spent three years at Hogwarts, and for nearly two of them, he had essentially been "playing the role" of a magical apprentice.
"If that doesn't count as acting, I don't know what does."
But then a new question arose.
"That all happened before I consud the potion. Does it still count?"
Regardless, this was good news.
Edward didn't dwell on it too much and instead focused on sensing the changes that ca with becoming an Apprentice.
A segnt of knowledge from the potion surfaced in his mind.
As a Sequence 9 Apprentice, he had gained not one, but two extraordinary abilities (traits):
1. [Door Opening] – The innate ability of an Apprentice, allowing him to utilize the Spirit World to pass through walls and doors.
2. [Dullness] – "In your dullness, divinity will not awaken. You will not be contaminated. You will not lose control due to corruption."
Edward frowned.
"What the hell is this 'Dullness'?"
This passive-sounding buff might have been useless in other settings…
But in the Lord of the Mysteries world…
It was absolutely overpowered.
"This ans I can directly face high-sequence Beyonders, gods, and even Outer Deities without being corrupted?!"
"Wait…Outer Deities? Did my erased mories just co back?"
A sudden cool sensation flooded his brain.
His previously deleted mories about Outer Gods, Pillars, Amon, and Jesus wannabe resurfaced.
All the uncertainties and doubts he had felt due to those mory gaps were instantly resolved.
"Damn…Did this ability deliberately restore my erased mories just to prove itself?"
It took Edward a long ti to fully digest this newfound knowledge.
Then, an even bigger question erged:
"Where the hell did this cheat-like 'Dullness' ability co from?"
Was it a blessing from a god?
Impossible.
Even gods couldn't do this.
Was it a benefit from transmigrating?
Maybe.
But the most likely explanation was that it had sothing to do with that 'Door' in the sky.
"This better not be so sinister sche…If it is, everyone might as well drop the book now!"
Edward exhaled deeply.
"An Apprentice with [Dullness]…Is it even the sa Apprentice anymore?"
"I'll take things one step at a ti. First, I need to et with Audrey and make sure our stories match—otherwise, I might slip up later."
———
[Empress Borough – Inside the Luxurious Hall Family Estate]
"What?! You almost lost control when drinking the potion?"
"What?! In that critical mont, you encountered a mysterious being called 'Mr. Fool'?"
"What?! You also joined the Tarot Club?"
Audrey was hit with three consecutive shocks.
She stared at Edward with wide, erald-green eyes.
"We only parted ways less than a day ago, and you've already gone through all of that?!"
Edward shrugged nonchalantly.
"Pretty much."
Audrey hesitated, debating whether she should reveal that she was also a mber of the Tarot Club.
Before she could decide, Edward suddenly spoke first:
"Wait…You just said 'also joined'…What do you an by 'also'?"
"Uh…"
A stunned silence fell over Audrey.
A few minutes later, she finished recounting her experience of joining the Tarot Club.
Edward imdiately extended his hand with a smile. "Ah, that ans we're colleagues from now on."
She absentmindedly gave him a half-hearted handshake before shifting into a more serious tone.
"Now that you've beco a Beyonder, there are so fundantal but incredibly important pieces of knowledge you must understand."
She grabbed a brush and quickly scrawled two words—'Digestion' and 'Acting'—onto her drawing board, taking on the authoritative air of a teacher. For a mont, Edward felt as if he had stepped into a classroom titled Miss Justice's Lecture on Beyonders 101.
'Cute.'
"The key to potions is not mastery, but digestion! Not exploitation, but acting! And potion nas are not rely symbolic representations of their essence—they serve as tangible imagery and, more importantly, act as the key to digestion!"
"Each potion is brewed using different extraordinary materials, and those materials inherently carry the spiritual remnants of their respective creatures. Think of these remnants as a fortress. If you want to infiltrate, conquer, and dismantle it, you must find a weak point—a key. Potion nas provide hints in this regard. By acting in accordance with the na, you harmonize your body, mind, and spirit, disguising yourself as an 'insider,' tricking the 'guards,' and strolling in without resistance."
"So, from this mont on, you need to establish the guiding principles for acting as an Apprentice. This will gradually lead to the complete digestion of your potion. But there's one crucial thing you must rember—you are only acting."
Audrey adjusted the nonexistent glasses on her nose.
Edward, sitting on a small stool, raised his hand. "Professor Audrey, my Apprentice potion is already digested."
"…Huh?"
She was dumbfounded. The 'textbook' never ntioned a situation like this!
"Maybe it's because I've spent the past few years playing the role of a magic apprentice."
Audrey suddenly understood. "So, you preemptively completed the acting process?"
She pulled out a small notebook. "Hmm, I should jot this down."
"Audrey, there's sothing else about my Sequence that I need to tell you."
Edward saw no reason to hide the existence of [Dullness] from her.
"When I beca an Apprentice, so kind of anomaly occurred—sothing I don't fully understand. Besides gaining the extraordinary ability [Door Opening], I also received an additional Beyonder trait called [Dullness]: I cannot be corrupted, nor will I lose control due to corruption."
Audrey turned to look at him, her expression blank with disbelief. "I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly? Could you repeat that?"
He repeated himself.
"You're sure?" Her gaze sharpened. "I an, you're absolutely certain this 'Dullness' is real and not so deception from an evil god?"
"Uh…now that you put it that way, I am starting to feel a little unsure…"
They exchanged bewildered glances. Then, Audrey's eyes suddenly brightened. "Tomorrow is the Tarot eting! You can ask Mr. Fool to verify it for you!"
"Well…"
Edward hesitated. Mr. Fool probably can't answer this question.
"Oh, right!"
Audrey walked over to her wardrobe and pulled open the doors. "Look at my latest project!"
She pushed aside her hanging clothes, revealing a space inside as large as the room itself.
"When did you learn the Extension Charm?"
"I just wanted to give it a try, and…well, it worked on my first attempt!"
She tilted her chin up slightly, waiting for praise.
"Your talent for magic might rival Professor Dumbledore's!"
"Hehe! Unfortunately, I still can't figure out the trick to Transfiguration."
She pointed her wand at a pen on the desk. The pen twisted and morphed into a knife, but within seconds, it reverted to its original form.
"Right now, I can barely manage transformations between inanimate objects. As for changing between living and non-living things, I'm completely stuck."
Magic in the Harry Potter world functioned like an I-believe-therefore-it-is system—logic didn't matter, only conviction did.
"Well, magic is mysterious like that."
Edward glanced at the clock on the wall, then stood up. "It's getting late. I should head back."
Audrey lifted the hem of her dress slightly and curtsied.
"Goodnight, Edward."
———
[The Next Day – Tingen City, Divination Club]
As Klein sipped his Feynapotter Highland Coffee, he watched the last client of the morning leave. Stretching, he muttered, "Ti to go back and prepare for the afternoon's Tarot eting."
He donned his coat, placed a half-silk top hat on his head, grabbed his cane, and was just about to step out when he saw Angelica rushing over.
"Mr. Moretti, Miss Christina—"
Before she could finish, Christina pushed past her and entered the divination room, her face filled with anxiety.
"Mr. Moretti, my niece, gose…she's missing!"
———
[Sowhere Else]
In a dimly lit room, a quill pen scribbled rapidly across a notebook:
"The child inside gose's womb is approaching maturity, nearing a critical mont. Soon, she will receive an inexplicable summons, leading her toward Blackthorn Security Company…"
(Several lines were crossed out.)
"But just at that mont, the unborn child within her suddenly received a command—one that compelled gose to leave Tingen City. Ince Zangwill attempted to alter her thoughts, but how could a re Grade 0 Sealed Artifact possibly distort the will of a god?"
"gose has vanished. Ince Zangwill's plan has collapsed, and as a result, he will have to pay—"
A pale hand suddenly gripped the quill, crossing out the words "he will have to pay." Then, tightening its grasp, it continued writing:
"gose's body, weakened by the excessive energy consumption of the unborn child, succumbed to exhaustion. She collapsed by the roadside—this is reasonable."
"A kind-hearted passerby, recognizing her identity, decided to take her back to Tingen…"
"But this is far from over…"
———
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