Lord of the Mysteries

Audrey knew that her mind and psyche were being influenced by some kind of Beyonder power. It was only because of the “Angel’s Blessing” provided by Mr. Fool that she was able to miraculously be immune to that state. Therefore, she decided to set certain things in motion, using small secrets to stun her counterparts, so as to hide the more crucial matters, in return for obtaining greater trust.

The reason why she was doing this wasn’t because she didn’t believe in the angel, but because she felt that she could observe her counterparty just like how they were observing her.

Although she had always “hidden” herself in the “dark” and pretended to not be considered a Beyonder, performing in a way which would not arouse suspicion, she was still more willing to take the members of the Psychology Alchemists seriously. After all, they were professionals, and she could only be considered a dabbler in the Beyonder circle. She lacked the experience and wasn’t flexible enough. It was very possible that she would expose certain problems from things she had yet to realize.

In that case, she might as well take this opportunity to “confess” and completely dispel some of the doubts of the Psychology Alchemists’ members.

She had called the descent of the angel and its envelopment of her with its wings as a “blessing.”

Upon hearing Audrey’s reply, both Escalante and Hampres showed a brief look of surprise. For a moment, they even doubted their own powers.

As for Hilbert, he curled the corners of his lips into a faint smile, showing no abnormal reaction.

He nodded in satisfaction and gently said, “Your honesty is admirable.

“Anything else?”

Audrey pretended to be in a trance as she shook her head.

“There isn’t anything else.”

Hilbert thought for a moment before asking a few more questions.

“Which Beyonder gathering did you buy the Spectator formula from? Who did you buy it from? Where did you get the ingredients for concocting the potion?”

Audrey’s eyes darted around slightly as she showed an expression of recalling.

“I have to keep the Beyonder gathering a secret.

“I was unable to see what the person who sold me the Spectator formula looks like. But from the way he speaks, I could determine that he was a believer of the Lord of Storms.”

Upon hearing that, Hilbert nodded slightly, as though he recalled something.

Audrey continued, “My Spectator potion ingredients were mainly found from my family’s vault. The rest were exchanged from my few friends.”

Two Spectator potions… she added silently.

Most of them were found from her family’s vault… Hilbert, Escalante, and Hampres ruminated over the words, momentarily at a loss for words.

After a few seconds, Hilbert nodded to Escalante and Hampres, indicating that he found everything alright.

After receiving the same reply from the rest, the gold tinge in his eyes faded, and the vertical pupil in his eyes faded rapidly.

Hilbert touched the wick of the candle again, causing the flame to flicker.

In that instance of alternating light and darkness, Audrey discovered that the strange power that affected her had suddenly disappeared.

She controlled her adrift expression and switched to an appearance of doubt and inquiry.

“I didn’t expect you to already be a Spectator.” Hilbert chuckled.

“Huh?” Audrey showed her surprise and panic at the right moment.

Knowing what kind of emotional reaction to show in the appropriate situation and knowing, in detail, what kind of expression and body language to react with was the basic skill of a Telepathist.

Hilbert smiled and said, “There’s no need to be nervous. We don’t mind. That was the last of our tests.

“Congratulations, you have passed all the tests. Now, you’re an official member of our Psychology Alchemists.”

“Alright then…” Audrey hesitated, then she smiled. “It felt like a dream.”

She then stood up, lifted the edges of her skirt, and bowed at Hilbert and the others. She then said with a faint smile, “We are now companions.”

Escalante and the others immediately stood up and bowed to the beautiful girl of noble status who was so polite to them.

After the two sat back down, Hilbert organized his words and said, “Miss Audrey, I’m going to formally explain to you about the situation of the Psychology Alchemists.”

“Alright,” Audrey said with a smile. “Just call me by my name.”

Hilbert nodded. Leaning back, he crossed his right leg and clasped his hands.

“The original Psychology Alchemists was just a seminar for enthusiasts who all believed that the mind has limitless power and infinite wonders.

“Later on, this seminar obtained a treasure map and found the relics left behind by Hermes.”

“Hermes of the Hermes language?” Audrey asked in excitement.

“Yes, he was one of the earliest masters of mysticism from the human race, and the language of ancient Hermes that he created resonated with the power of nature. He was active during the dark Second Epoch. Back then, humans were only the servants and slaves of giants,” Hilbert said with utmost reverence.

He let out a soft sigh.

“The original members of the Psychology Alchemists found a lot of things from the ruins. They discovered that Hermes was a mysticism master in the field of the mind. His research target was the dragons that ruled the sky during the Second Epoch. To be precise, the dragons of the mind.

“The information he left behind shows that mind dragons have advanced far into this field and have achieved the same level of achievement as deities.”

I know. The Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt was an ancient god… Audrey thought quite complacently.

Hilbert sighed and said, “Those materials laid the foundation and direction for the research of our Psychology Alchemists.

“We believe that the mind has many secrets and that every one of them is hidden somewhere deep and difficult to grasp. Heh, forgive me for using the adjective ‘deep,’ which seems to be the most appropriate term to me.

“The slightest mistake in the study of those secrets would cause irreversible harm to the body. Audrey, you have to remember that matters in this aspect needs to be done carefully.”

After Audrey nodded, he continued.

“If we can unravel the secrets of the mind, then we can, on the one hand, unearth the power hidden deep in one’s consciousness, and accomplish many miraculous deeds, and on the other hand, we can influence or even control the minds of others.

“After reaching this level, what lies ahead is the sea of gathered collective subconsciousness, which is the place we look forward to the most. Of course, the description of a collective subconsciousness isn’t accurate enough; I prefer to call it the ‘mind world of all living beings.’ It has a veiled and miraculous connection to the spirit world.”

“If one can master this ‘mind world,’ what kind of Beyonder powers would we obtain?” Audrey showed her curiosity at the right moment and her lack of knowledge in this area.

Hilbert smiled and said, “You should’ve noticed some of the wonderful phenomena in the real world. When we wish to receive something, it will happen to appear. When we want to visit a friend, they will happen to knock on the door. And when we desire something to happen, it begins at that exact moment.

“You might say it’s a coincidence, but sometimes there are too many coincidences. Our research shows that many of these coincidences are caused by an unconscious, magical influence of the mind.

“When you master the ‘mind world,’ which is also the sea that gathers the collective subconscious, then you will master ‘coincidences,’ creating magical phenomena that make chance appearances as an echo of your mind. It will appear as you wish.”

“Th-this is too amazing.” Audrey had heard The Sun mention the Dragon of Nightmare before, but the description was far less detailed than Hilbert’s.

Hilbert chuckled and said, “At our level, it’s better not to discuss such a deep and profound question. If we do, we’ll easily lose ourselves. I’ll continue introducing the Psychology Alchemists.

“The discovery of the ruins marked the establishment of the organization. The members at the beginning wanted to maintain a state of pure academic discussion, but they would always need help when encountering matters. Similarly, they lack items and research materials. That’s why the Psychology Alchemists slowly became systematic and transformed into a real secret organization.

“However, compared to other secret organizations, our structure and relationships are still relatively loose.”

“That’s what I like about it,” Audrey expressed her opinion.

Hilbert explained the main rules and regulations, before finally concluding, “When you reach a higher rank, you’ll be able to meet the other members.

“I’ll now give you the Sequence 8 Telepathist potion.”

They did prepare a Telepathist potion as expected… Audrey was both glad and proud.

After seeing the lustrous potion, she hesitated and said, “I wish to consume it after I get back.”

She still doesn’t trust us, and she wishes to make confirmation… Hilbert read Audrey’s thoughts and replied with a smile, “Okay.

“With your performance, drinking the Telepathist potion shouldn’t be a problem.”

Audrey beamed and thanked him before asking a probing question, “Can you give me the potion formula to Psychiatrist? I wish to seek out and gather the ingredients, ahead of time, so that I don’t waste any time.”

… When other people join the Psychology Alchemists, other than hoping to get a formula, don’t they hope to apply for the corresponding Beyonder ingredients? Who says it in such a carefree manner and talk about trying to gather them ahead of time? Hilbert, Hampres, and Escalante were speechless for a while as they looked at the girl who spoke of such things with a normal tone.

A few seconds later, Hilbert forced out a smile.

“I’ll help you make the application.

“Normally, this would require contribution points, and contribution points come from the missions we assign you, the research contributions you make, and the new information and materials you gather.”

“Okay, I’ll do my best,” Audrey said briskly.

She remained silent after leaving Escalante’s house, but only until she entered her room and sent Annie and the others away did she turn to the huge golden retriever and smile.

“Susie, we got your potion~!”

It’s a pity that the Rainbow Salamander that Alfred found for me couldn’t be of use. It can only be exchanged for money… Audrey sighed emotively in her heart.

Susie looked at the bottle containing the Telepathist potion and wagged her tail cheerfully.

Audrey had hung a pair of gold-rimmed glasses around her neck just for laughs.

…

Hillston Borough. In Isengard Stanton’s house.

Klein had been invited to breakfast. Apart from him, Kaslana was invited as well.

After eating a mouthful of the soft potato pie, Klein praised, “Mr. Stanton, your cooking skills are excellent.”

Isengard, who had gray hair at his temples, smiled and said, “It’s a specialty of Lenburg. And to the Beyonders of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, being multi-talented is a common trait. Its Sequence 6 is called Polymath.

“It’s easy for people to lose control for the corresponding potion. Until now, I still don’t have the confidence to make the advancement attempt.”