Lord of the Mysteries

Klein obviously couldn’t just bring up the Telepathist formula right at the start. However, he didn’t hide his intention either. After all, the man opposite him was a Spectator. He wouldn’t be conned so easily.

“Has Hood Eugen behaved unusually recently?” he first asked Daxter Guderian about the patient in the asylum who was a member of the Psychology Alchemists.

Daxter examined Klein’s eyes, expression, and gestures. He thought and said, “No, he’s acting normal. Frankly speaking, I think if he really wanted to leave the asylum, he could immediately behave in a very healthy and very normal manner. But he hasn’t done so, and he continues to stay in the asylum. He appears to be treating every patient. Yes, patients who exhibit chaotic, violent, or abnormal thoughts appear to be getting better. Maybe Hood Eugen is trying to train his Beyonder powers with this method.”

Psychiatrist, Sequence 7 that corresponds to Spectator? Perhaps even higher… Since Hood Eugen isn’t a doctor in the asylum but entered as a patient, it means that he hasn’t truly grasped the acting method. It should be as Daxter has guessed; he’s probably training his Beyonder skills and doing so resembles that of the “acting method.” To a certain extent, it could slow down the potion’s negative influence. Hence, Hood Eugen decided to just take the asylum as his home… Klein openly showed that he was in deep thought regarding Hood Eugen’s matter.

Because that would make Daxter Guderian feel that he knew and understood a lot, making him appear unfathomable.

With this in mind, Klein guessed something else. The Psychology Alchemists hadn’t grasped the “acting method.” After all, even a mainstay member at the Sequence 7 was unaware of this. In this era with few Beyonders, a Sequence 7 was considered mid level in any secret organization. They were important enough to know crucial matters, especially those that could help members resist the loss of control.

Plus, the Psychology Alchemists was a secret organization that had only been established in the last three hundred years or even earlier. It was understandable that they hadn’t grasped or deduced the “acting method.” The only organization that brought up the method explicitly was the Secret Order. They were an ancient organization that had more than fifteen hundred years of history and could be traced back to the previous epoch!

Hey, the Church of the Goddess is even older than the Secret Order. Just the Letter of Saints from the The Revelation of Evernight clearly indicates that it’s nearly three thousand years old. That’s not to mention the mythical legends before that… How could such an ancient church not discover the “acting method?”

During the long history of a huge organization, there must have been members who experimented with various possibilities, just like Spirit Medium Daly. They might not have understood the principle of the acting method in detail, but they acted out the name of the potion correctly anyway. They would have discovered the gist of it through the good feedback they received. As that accumulates through the generations of Nighthawks, unless the higher-ups were a bunch of curly-haired baboons, it would be impossible to deduce the “acting method!”

Klein’s thoughts made the connection and was suddenly shocked.

To the Nighthawks who didn’t know of the “acting method,” someone like Spirit Medium Daly was a genius, an example that an ordinary member couldn’t emulate. Hence, no one suspected that the experience of Daly and others could be adapted for their own use.

But to those who have grasped the “acting method,” this would be extremely odd!

Klein believed that in the long history of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, Spirit Medium Daly was definitely not the first member to have used the “acting method ” to digest the Low Sequence potions quickly. She might not even be in the top ten or top fifty!

It doesn’t make sense. Unless Daly didn’t understand the “acting method” on her own, but had other people’s guidance… Then, it could be concluded that every member of the Holy Cathedral follows the beliefs of the past, believing in their predecessor’s experience, and not daring to rebel against their teaching. After all, rebelling would imply the loss of control most of the time… Yes, other than this explanation, there is another possibility. The higher-ups of the church have hidden the “acting method” for some reason…

I need to flip through some records and search for examples of Beyonders in the Church of the Evernight Goddess digesting their potions quickly, as well as their final outcome… Klein thought with a mask of solemnity.

Daxter looked at him, waited for a few minutes, and asked curiously, “Officer, is there some sort of problem with Hood Eugen’s actions?”

“Not right now. It just made me think of other matters,” Klein replied, smiling. He cast his suspicions aside.

He asked instead, “Has there been any actions taken by the Psychology Alchemists recently?”

“No, besides a small gathering in Awwa to exchange items and experience,” Daxter answered honestly.

Klein nodded slightly and said, “How about your own situation?”

Daxter controlled his expression as he replied, “Not too good myself. I still hear some ravings and have some illusions. If I wasn’t a doctor specializing in mental health, I might even think that I have some sort of disorder.”

As he spoke, his face grew solemn. “I followed Hood Eugen’s and your instructions to ignore those illusions and ravings. That made me feel much better, but they still affect my sleep, and I have become more grumpy and short-tempered. I’m not like myself, as though another new me is growing from within, or maybe it could be described as a new character. I’m very worried and terrified that I might suddenly lose control one day.”

Just as I have predicted, I didn’t even need to divine to see that coming… Having prepared for this, Klein smiled and said, “You don’t have to worry, you’re a subsidiary member of the Nighthawks now. There are benefits for you. As an ancient organization, we master many methods to keep one from losing control. It isn’t one hundred percent effective, but it will definitely help you.”

“Besides, I’m willing to share with you my personal experience. You must know the man standing before you only used a month to shake off the shackles of illusions and ravings, and they haven’t resurfaced. You should know from Hood Eugen and your other cadres that doing so is very difficult.”

For Sequence 8 Telepathist, Klein bragged a little.

“Officer, there’s a bit of a lie in what you said, but it’s mostly the truth,” Daxter suddenly said calmly. “What do you want from me?”

It’s tough to lie to a Spectator… Klein replied with a smile, “It’s not something that only I want to get.”

Miss Justice wants it too.

Of course, he knew that Daxter would definitely assume that the Nighthawks Squad wanted something.

“If your method is really effective, and the items or information you want is within my reach…” Daxter weighed his words as he spoke.

“I will give you the perks in advance,” Klein said straightforwardly. “We want the Telepathist formula.”

He wouldn’t hide the potion formula but inform the Captain as well. He would tell the Captain that Daxter used it in exchange for his personal experience on bringing the potion under control.

During the procedure, Klein would definitely verify the formula and “accidentally” memorize it in his head.

Besides, he would use the fact that he used his personal experience in exchange for the formula to earn merit with the Nighthawks.

By then, with his previous merits, he might not even need to put in extra effort to apply for the Clown formula and main ingredients.

A formula for two deals, quite a good bargain… Klein thought happily.

Daxter looked into his eyes and kept quiet for a while before he said, “You’re very frank… I’ll try my best to get the formula, but I’m not sure how long it’ll take me. If it gets too dangerous, I hope that I can replace it with something else.”

“No problem.” Klein didn’t intend to force the request on the man. He then described the ” acting method ” vaguely. “The key to resisting the loss of control lies within the name of the potion. We have to understand it and learn its true meaning. You can’t completely understand it by thinking about it. It must be understood through experience. For instance, as a Spectator, you have to understand that you’re only a spectator, not an actor. How a Spectator should act is something that you need to discover through attempts and experimentation to deduce the principles required of you. From there, adhere to it strictly.”

Daxter listened attentively. Then, he replied, “That’s a brand new way to look at things. Heh, I’m willing to use the word ‘theory’ to describe what you just said. This is just like a theory of a play and opera… I’ll try, and I hope it’ll help.

“If—if it really works, I’ll do my best to get you the Telepathist formula!”

“May the Goddess protect you.” Klein drew a crimson moon on his chest.

Klein didn’t request the potion formula of Psychiatrist as well, because he knew that it was a task that Daxter couldn’t complete with his current position. He might end up exposing him if he wasn’t careful.

Thus, he planned to take it one step at a time by helping Daxter achieve a higher position in the Psychology Alchemists slowly.

Then, the long-term benefits would be abundant.

Klein looked outside through the peephole in the door, then he left quickly and turned to the small shooting range that was designated for the Nighthawks.

He entered and locked the door. His face grew grave once again. When he was guessing the reason why the Church of the Goddess hadn’t developed the “acting method, ” he realized another thing that he had overlooked!

He had overlooked it because he had obtained two crucial factors in reverse order. It made him fail to make a further consideration.

The first matter was that the Antigonus family was destroyed by the Church of the Evernight Goddess.

The second matter was that the Antigonus family had the Seer Sequence in its grasp, or at least, most of it.

As there was a very long period of time between when Klein learned the two facts, he almost didn’t piece them together. Hence, he overlooked something that should have been pretty obvious.

Since the Antigonus family had grasped a majority of the Sequences of the Seer pathway, how is it possible that the Church of the Evernight Goddess only received Sequence 9 Seer?

They should have obtained more than that as the spoils of war!

If a member from the Aurora Order got ahold of the Clown formula from the Antigonus family’s magical notebook, then what about the Church that destroyed the entire Antigonus family?

Even if the Antigonus family was well prepared and hid their most valuable things at the highest peak of Hornacis Mountain, the Church of the Evernight Goddess shouldn’t have gained so little. They were the ones who killed the family members of Antigonus family. Furthermore, the dead can be made to speak!