Lord of Mysteries:When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

June 28th.

Klein, having just finished shopping and receiving a divination from the beast tamer, was walking home when a bartender-like gentleman suddenly approached him with a sly smile.

The bartender was tall and muscular but had delicate features. His nearly two-meter height combined with a baby face created a rather incongruous appearance. He had fluffy light pink hair, earrings, and wore gold-rimmed glasses.

If one had to describe him, he looked like a combination of a refined scoundrel and a suited thug.

"Sir, our bar will officially open at 8 PM tonight. We're currently running a promotion - 30% off all drinks plus buy one get one free. Are you interested in learning more?" The bartender's delicate face was full of fawning smiles as his large body blocked Klein's path like a wall. He shoved a flyer into Klein's hand and kept leaning in closer, making Klein feel uncomfortable.

"Uh, no thanks." Klein couldn't stand the man's enthusiasm. He pushed him away with his free hand and walked around him.

The bartender didn't pursue further and turned to hand out flyers to others. As Klein walked away, the fawning voice faded into the distance, with only vague words like "discount" and "great deal" still audible.

After returning home, Klein casually placed the flyer and shopping bags on the table. Instead of rushing to try the luck-turning ritual, he first translated phrases like "The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. into ancient Fousack and Loen. During this, he noticed a tiny cut on his left index finger, so small it was barely visible. Though he wasn't particularly concerned, he still washed it to prevent any potential infection.

After finishing all this, he finally took out four rye bread loaves from the paper bag. He placed one in the corner where the coal stove used to be, one behind the bottom of the dressing mirror, one on top of the cabinet where two walls met, and one among the clutter to the right of the desk.

Standing in the center of the room, Klein took a deep breath. He walked four steps counterclockwise while softly chanting: 

"The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.

 "The Sky Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. 

"The Exalted Thearch of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.

"The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. 

Amidst Klein's nervous anticipation, murmurs - sometimes dense, sometimes sharp, sometimes illusory, sometimes alluring, sometimes frenzied, sometimes manic - sounded beside his ears.

On Water Lily Street, on the second floor of a bar that had not yet officially opened, Celeris was reading the bestselling novel "Storm Manor" on the sofa. This was one of the most famous novels by renowned author Fors Wahl.

At this moment, a voice sounded from "Gornes" sitting at the other end of the sofa. He was a bar employee "fabricated" through the power of Mysticism based on the appearances of several old friends. After all, Celeris was too lazy to deal with the bar himself - it was too troublesome.

"Boss, it's reacting, look."

Gornes held out his left hand, with a drop of blood floating in the center of his palm, now emitting a faint grayish-red light.

Celeris took it, a exaggerated smile appearing on his face: "Hey, picking up a cat, folks, he wants to come home with me."

[Eww, what a pervert.]

When Klein opened his eyes again, he found himself floating in a boundless sea of gray fog.

The gray fog flowed like water, dotted with deep red "stars". Some were large, some small, some hidden in the depths, some floating on the surface.

Looking at this hologram-like scene, Klein reached out his right hand in confusion and exploration, trying to touch a deep red "star" floating on the surface to his right, searching for a way out.

As soon as his finger touched the surface of that star, ripples suddenly surged from his body, causing the "deep red" to explode like a dreamy firework.

Klein was startled and hastily withdrew his right hand, accidentally touching another "deep red". In a moment he didn't notice, a star glowing with orange-red light rushed in from somewhere unknown, crashing into the position of the wound on his left hand.

The three stars shone brightly.

...

In a luxurious villa in the Queen District of Backlund, capital of the Loen Kingdom, Audrey Hall sat at her dressing table, caressing an ancient-patterned copper mirror with cracks on its surface.

"Mirror, mirror, wake up..."

"I command you to wake up in the name of the Hall family!"

She tried various phrases, but the mirror showed no response. After about ten minutes, she finally gave up, pouting with disappointment and muttering softly:

"Dad was really lying to me, always telling me this mirror was a treasure of the Black Emperor from the ancient Solomon Empire, that it was an Beyonder item..."

Before she finished speaking, the copper mirror on the table suddenly burst into deep red light, enveloping her.

On the Sonia Sea, an obviously outdated three-masted sailing ship was navigating through a storm. Alger Wilson stood on the deck, his body rising and falling with the pitching, easily maintaining his balance.

He wore a robe embroidered with lightning patterns and held a strangely shaped glass bottle. Inside, bubbles rolled at times, frost gathered into snow at others, and traces of wind could be seen.

"Still missing the blood of a ghost shark..." Alger murmured.

At that moment, deep red light erupted between the glass bottle and his palm, instantly engulfing the surroundings.

On the second floor of the bar, Celeris closed the doors and windows, sat back down by the bed, and felt a subtle pull on his spirit.

He placed the mask askew on his left temple, closed his eyes, and the power of Memory enveloped him. His body began to become somewhat transparent, transforming into a memetic entity. The Fool couldn't pull him up to the gray fog yet, but if he actively climbed up himself, that was another matter.

The "Fool's Holy Blood" floating in his palm suddenly emitted a deep red light.

[Yah! So intense!]

In Klein's home, a trace of power containing protection and memory floated out from the carelessly placed flyer on the table, passing through the wall and entering Klein's body, helping him stabilize his connection to the gray fog space. This was to prevent the Fool from going offline prematurely due to the addition of one more person.

...

Above a gray-white mist, Celeris sensed his own state. Unlike others whose only mental bodies were pulled up, Celeris in his memetic state was an entire mental body in himself.

He tried his best to reduce his influence on Klein, a feeling similar to floating in the air and reducing one's gravity. Of course, this wasn't weight in the physical sense, but "existence" in the mystical sense.

He slowly opened his eyes.

[The gray fog bounces, Celeris opens his eyes.]

"Bro, how did you come up too?"

Looking around, he found three others nearby, one looking around in panic, two pretending to be calm while anxiously looking around.

"Sir, where is this place?"

"What do you intend to do?"

"Hey, guys, are we going to play mahjong with four people?"

Audrey and Alger were stunned at first, fell silent, then spoke up almost simultaneously, with Celeris chiming in with a quip.

The same Loen language, the same heavy and tense feeling, plus one discordant voice.

"Where is this place? What do I intend to do? I'd like to know too... Uh... Mahjong? Does this world even have mahjong? And you're being a bit too flippant..." Klein calmed down, silently repeating the two people's questions, then commented on someone's words.

What caught his attention most was not the words that made up the sentences or the meanings contained in the sentences, but the panic, vigilance, fear, and awe expressed by the man and woman, except for the seemingly relaxed person.

Inexplicably pulling three people into this world above the gray fog, even himself as the "perpetrator" was extremely surprised and shocked, let alone them who were on the passive side.

In their view, this kind of thing, this kind of experience, was probably beyond imagination, right? And that seemingly frivolous one might be pretending to be calm, trying to grasp the initiative in the conversation. As a keyboard warrior from his previous life who knew a little bit of everything, Klein had some understanding of this negotiation technique.

At this moment, Klein thought of two choices: one was to pretend to be a victim himself, hiding his true identity to gain a certain degree of trust, observe quietly, and fish in troubled waters; the other was to maintain the mysterious image in the eyes of the three, actively guide the development of things, and obtain valuable information from it.

Without time to think and analyze much, Klein seized the idea that flashed through his mind and quickly made a decision to try the second method. Take advantage of the other party's current psychological state and grasp his own greatest advantage!

After a brief silence above the gray fog, Klein chuckled lightly, his tone flat, his voice low but not deep, as if responding to a visitor's polite greeting:

"An attempt."

An attempt... Attempt? Audrey Hall looked at the mysterious man shrouded in grayish-white mist, feeling that the situation was absurd, funny, horrifying, and bizarre.

She was just in her bedroom, at her dressing table, and in the blink of an eye, she came to this place full of gray mist! How inconceivable!

Audrey took a breath, revealed an impeccable polite smile, and asked somewhat nervously:

"Sir, is the attempt over? Can you let us go back now?"

Alger Wilson also wanted to make a similar probe, but being more composed due to his rich experiences, he suppressed the impulse.

Even though Alger was still a qualified member of the Angry at this time, he knew to remain silent when it was not appropriate to speak.

Klein looked at the questioner, vaguely able to see the figure through the blur. It was a tall girl with smooth blonde hair, but her specific features were not very clear.

[She's really beautiful.]

"Hey, don't mess around," Celeris thought.

Although seeing through the gray fog wasn't difficult for Celeris, Klein's current mastery of the gray fog wasn't as stable as later. If he accidentally used too much force and unplugged the Fool's network cable, there would be far fewer fun things to do afterwards.

[You don't dare to do things yourself and still prevent others from doing them. Ordinary men are really annoying, who understands, folks?]

"Croak, it's the T0 version, everyone retreat quickly!" Celeris shouted in shock in his mind.

[So what?]

Klein didn't rush to answer the girl's question, but turned to look at the other two men. One had deep blue hair, messy like seaweed, and was of average build, not very muscular. The other had black hair with something like a mask on the left side of his temple. His build was similar to the former but leaner.

At this moment, Klein suddenly had an epiphany. When he becomes stronger or understands this gray fog world more deeply, he might be able to truly see through the haziness and clearly see the appearances of the three.

In this event, they are guests, and I am the host!

With a change in mindset, Klein immediately noticed some details he hadn't noticed before.

The sweet-voiced girl, the calm and reserved man, and the seemingly frivolous man were all quite illusory, tinged with a slight redness, like projections of those three deep red "stars" above the gray fog.

And this projection was based on his own connection with the deep red, a connection that was invisible and intangible but could be truly grasped. If this connection were cut off, the projection would dissipate, and they would be able to return... Klein nodded imperceptibly, looked at the blonde girl, and said with a light laugh:

"Of course, if you formally request it, I can let you go back right now."

Hearing no malice, Audrey breathed a sigh of relief, believing that since the gentleman who could do such amazing things had given a promise, he would certainly strictly abide by it. The young Miss Justice was still very young and hadn't yet understood the cruelty of the Beyonder world.

With her spirits slightly recovered, she didn't rush to propose leaving. Her emerald eyes turned left and right, flashing with an unusual light. She said nervously, expectantly, and eagerly:

"This is really a wonderful experience... Um, I've always been looking forward to something like this, I mean, I love mystery, I love miracles beyond nature, no, my point, what I mean is, sir, what should I do to become an Beyonder person?"

[Of course, it's to use your own magnetic field to drive the current, spreading to the surrounding area to drive the surrounding magnetic field to become a magnetic field master who is powerful enough, domineering enough, and strong enough!]

"Shut up, a name like Audrey is clearly meant to become a magical girl! Magical Girl Audrey, listen, what a great name." Celeris launched an attack in the team voice chat. He was determined to defend the glory of Magical Girl Audrey.

[Foolish thing, is your brain filled with nothing but dendrobium? So-called magical girls, those who control power through love and belief, who don't care about the incomprehensible views of others, who firmly walk their own path even if they are not understood... What kind of person are you telling me this is!]

"Could it be! No! I don't want that! Don't say it out loud!"

[That's right, it's a magnetic field crazy woman!]

"Croak! I don't want to see Audrey turn into a crazy woman! Gulp, I can already see it, that Audrey using the power of imagination to rotate a million horsepower mental dragon fist to knock Klein to the ground, she must be..."

[Damn caterpillar, what's the use of such good imagination!]

No one paid attention to Celeris who was going crazy in the corner by himself. Audrey became more and more excited as she spoke, even becoming a bit incoherent with excitement. The dream that had sprouted when she heard various strange tales from her elders as a child seemed to finally have a glimmer of hope for realization. In just a few sentences, she had already forgotten her previous fear and trepidation.

Good question! I'd like to know the answer too... Klein self-deprecatingly thought. He began to consider what kind of answer to give to maintain his mysterious image.

At the same time, he felt that standing and talking like this seemed a bit low-class. Shouldn't such a scene have a temple, a long table, and many high-backed chairs carved with ancient patterns and full of mystery, with himself sitting at the head, quietly observing the guests?

As soon as Klein's thought fell, the gray fog suddenly rolled, startling Audrey and Alger, while Celeris was also forced to leave his state of craziness.

In an instant, they saw tall stone pillars appear around them, and a broad dome covering above. The entire building was magnificent, grand, and majestic, like the royal hall of giants in legends.

Right below the dome, where the gray fog gathered, there appeared a bronze long table, with ten high-backed chairs on each side, and similar seats placed in front and back. On the back of the chairs, brilliant and flickering, deep red and subdued, strange constellations that didn't correspond to reality were outlined.

Audrey and Alger sat directly opposite each other, in the positions closest to the head. Celeris was to Alger's right, slightly farther from the head position.

[Looks like you've been snubbed.]

"Who asked you?"

[We held a super cool party, everyone sat together, guess who didn't receive an invitation? It's you!]

Looking back at Audrey, the girl looked left and right, and couldn't help but mutter softly: "This is really amazing..."

Indeed amazing... Klein reached out his right hand, rubbing the edge of the bronze long table with a small movement, maintaining an outwardly calm demeanor.

-----

meme references in the chapter and their explanations:

"Hey, picking up a cat, folks, he wants to come home with me."

This is a reference to a common internet joke about picking up stray cats, often found in social media posts where someone finds a cat and captions it as if the cat decided to follow them home. The humor comes from the idea that the "cat" (in this case, Klein) has no say in the matter."[Eww, what a pervert.]"

This phrase is commonly used in anime, manga, and internet culture, often as a reaction to something awkward or uncomfortable. In this context, it humorously suggests that someone viewing the situation might misunderstand it as inappropriate."[Yah! So intense!]"

A play on exaggerated anime or internet meme reactions, often used when something shocking or dramatic happens. This phrase mimics how characters in anime might react with over-the-top expressions."[The gray fog bounces, Celeris opens his eyes.]"

This seems to reference the meme format "X does Y, Z happens," which is often used in ironic or comedic contexts. The phrasing mimics how events are narrated in a deadpan or exaggerated manner."Hey, guys, are we going to play mahjong with four people?"

A direct reference to the "four-player mahjong" meme, often used when four unrelated people suddenly end up together in a situation. It plays on the idea that any group of four must be playing mahjong, even if they are in a strange or serious setting."Croak, it's the T0 version, everyone retreat quickly!"

This is likely a gaming meme reference, where "T0" refers to "Tier 0," meaning something is extremely powerful or broken in competitive play. The phrase humorously suggests that encountering this version of something means immediate retreat."[So what?]"

A reference to dismissive internet phrases often used to downplay a situation. It could be a nod to reaction memes where characters or users act unbothered despite clear danger."Ordinary men are really annoying, who understands, folks?"

A reference to internet slang and feminist memes that criticize certain male behaviors in a humorous way. The phrasing mimics viral internet posts that jokingly generalize frustrations."If he accidentally used too much force and unplugged the Fool's network cable..."

A meme reference to "unplugging the internet cable," often used to describe situations where someone loses connection unexpectedly. This phrase humorously suggests that Klein's abilities are still unstable, like a faulty internet connection.