With Harry's reassurance, Audrey finally relaxed a little. Her heart was still hammering in her chest, but she no longer looked like she might wet herself at any second.
She immediately asked, "Then, Mr. Potter, what should I do now?"
Harry thought for a moment and replied, "Since this god pulled you in here, They probably have a purpose. Ask if They're willing to let you leave first—test what Their attitude toward you is."
Audrey nodded. She looked up at the mysterious existence above the gray fog and asked, "Your Excellency… is the experiment over? Can you let us go back now?"
After saying that, Audrey clenched her hands tightly and waited for the answer.
At the same time, seated above the gray fog, the castle's owner, Klein Moretti, looked at Audrey with a hint of confusion.
This young lady was quite pretty, and she seemed to be a noble too. But why had her expression changed so many times in just a few seconds?
Poor thing… there's nothing wrong with her head, is there?
What Audrey didn't know was that the "mighty god" in her eyes was also a little scared.
Even if he was scared, Klein knew he couldn't do nothing. He had to keep acting, so he gave a deliberately relaxed chuckle and said, "Of course. If you make a formal request, I can send you back right now."
Unable to sense any malice, Audrey let out a relieved breath. She believed a god would never lie to a young girl like her.
Since the mysterious god had given a promise, They would definitely keep it.
So instead of immediately asking to leave, she silently asked Harry in her heart:
"Mr. Potter, I feel like I can stay for a while and talk with this god. Maybe I can get the potion formula for the Demoness Pathway from Them."
Harry was speechless.
Is your heart really that big?
That's a god!
Even though he didn't know exactly what kind of power the gods of the potion world possessed, as long as They held high-dimensional energy, Their strength wouldn't be weak. They might even be on par with Odin.
If this god suddenly struck at Audrey, even Harry might not be able to stop it.
So he confirmed again, "Are you sure? You could be in danger."
Audrey's eyes shone as she took "newborn calf not fearing the tiger" to the extreme—nervous, excited, eager to try—until she finally nodded firmly. "I'm sure!"
"Alright…" Harry sighed, agreeing. He would respect Audrey's decision.
Audrey took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down as much as possible. Then she asked the unknown god above the gray fog, respectfully, "Hello, Your Excellency. I've always been looking forward to something like this. I mean—may I purchase some potion formulas from You, especially those of the Demoness Pathway?"
At that moment, the middle-aged man nearby spoke up in place of the mysterious being above, answering Audrey's question:
"You're from Loen, right? If you want to become a Beyonder, you could join a church. It's safer…"
He wanted to say more, but suddenly paused. He glanced at the mysterious being above the gray fog, saw no objection, and continued:
"Of course, if you want to become an illegal Beyonder… I actually have two Sequence 9 formulas on hand. But I don't have any formulas from the Demoness Pathway.
"And I don't recommend taking a potion from the Demoness Pathway either, because that Pathway is controlled by a Beyonder organization called the Demoness Sect, and the Demoness Sect is an illegal organization."
The moment the middle-aged man finished speaking, he noticed that this noble-looking girl had suddenly fallen silent. Through the hazy gray fog, he could see she was looking at him with a strange expression.
Before he could understand what was going on, Audrey said, somewhat stunned, "Sir… you may not understand, but I have to remind you: the one we're facing right now is a revered god!
"Gods must not be insulted. How dare you answer in Their place without Their permission?"
"What?!"
Hearing that, the middle-aged man—who had been calm the whole time—jerked so hard his hand trembled. He stared at Audrey in disbelief, then looked toward the mysterious being above the fog.
The man's name was Alger. He was a Sequence 7 Beyonder. From his observations, he had assumed Audrey was a noble young lady who hadn't yet stepped into the Beyonder world, while the mysterious figure was a high-level Beyonder.
But he hadn't expected…
To be able to recognize the level of a god, Audrey had to be at least a high-level Beyonder herself!
And the "high-level Beyonder" he'd assumed the mysterious figure was… was actually a god!
Seeing Alger's completely lost expression, Audrey realized he hadn't intended to offend anyone. She sighed and said helplessly, "Alright, sir. Even though you only have two potion formulas, I can still buy them. But please wait—first I need to trade with the god for an entire Sequence. If what you're offering isn't part of that Sequence, then we can continue our trade."
Alger: "…"
He felt numb.
He'd thought he ranked second among the three of them, but the seemingly weakest noble girl had suddenly turned into an absurdly powerful Beyonder—someone who wanted to trade an entire Sequence with a god.
Damn it, is this the kind of occasion a pathetic little Sequence 7 like him should even be involved in?
But what Alger didn't know was that the "god" he regarded as terrifyingly powerful and majestic was panicking too—badly.
Klein only felt his heart pounding so hard he could barely keep a calm face.
He was just as confused as Alger.
What was happening? How did that beautiful young lady suddenly become a high-level Beyonder?
And were her wild expression changes earlier because she thought he was a god?
But he wasn't even a Beyonder—he was an ordinary person!
That's right: in the eyes of the other two, Klein was a god… but in reality, he was the most panicked one of all.
Don't panic—your "god" is even more panicked than you are!
Klein took a deep breath and told himself that the more dangerous the moment, the calmer he needed to appear.
If he revealed weakness, the two Beyonders in front of him might attack!
After a brief silence to organize his words, he said, "You are not qualified to trade with me for now. You cannot pay that heavy price."
Klein's heart was still pounding. This was a gamble. Since this noble young lady respected "gods" so deeply, there should be an enormous gap in strength between them.
Refusing her from a lofty position shouldn't go wrong.
If something went wrong, he would immediately find a way to expel both of them, then flee this world above the gray fog.
Audrey's reaction made him relax a little.
Steady.
Audrey sighed. She wasn't surprised, but she still refused to give up completely. "I know a complete Sequence is extremely precious, but even most of the formulas from a single Sequence would do. I can pay a huge amount of money to buy them!"
However, the being above remained silent, maintaining a lofty, distant calm.
Audrey felt helpless. As expected—even if this god seemed easygoing, a god was still a god.
For mortals to trade with gods was nearly impossible.
So Audrey could only turn her gaze to Alger and ask, "Sir, how many potion formulas do you have?"
The trade with Alger went smoothly. Alger offered a Spectator Pathway Sequence 9 Spectator formula, as well as a Sailor Pathway Sequence 9 Sailor formula.
He gave Audrey an address and told her to deliver 100 milliliters of Ghost Shark blood there. Once he received it, he would tell her the formulas above the gray fog.
In the end, under the god's witness, Audrey bought both formulas together using 100 milliliters of Ghost Shark blood.
After the deal was set, Alger sighed inwardly. He'd originally wanted to see if Audrey was a clueless Beyonder newbie and swindle her for a high price.
But now that he'd discovered Audrey was a stronger Beyonder than he was… forget it.
Otherwise, he was afraid she'd slap him to death.
After finishing the trade with Alger, Audrey heard Harry's reminder in her mind:
"Audrey, ask this god for Their name. They seem rather gentle—maybe we can build a long-term connection."
Audrey had been thinking the same thing, so she didn't hesitate. She looked up toward the god above the gray fog and asked, "Your Excellency… how should we address You?"
The god's fingers lightly tapped the bronze long table. As if he'd thought of something, he leaned back, withdrew his right hand, interlaced his fingers beneath his chin, and smiled at the two of them.
"You may call me…"
He paused, then spoke in a mild, flat tone:
"The Fool."
The instant the name "The Fool" reached Harry's ears, it was like thunder exploding in his mind.
His vision blurred. A faint whisper seemed to drift through his thoughts. For some reason, he suddenly understood: this truly was a god's name. And like Assassin, it was also the name of a potion—also a high Sequence of a certain Sequence.
chaos magic resonated with this world, trembling and linking, passing a message to Harry:
A "god" is simply the pinnacle of a Pathway.
Harry found that surprising—but not by much. A god was, to him, just that.
But for Audrey, it was completely different.
She only felt that this title was perfect—mysterious, powerful, eerie, exactly fitting a being like this.
After several seconds of silence, Audrey stood up. She lifted the hem of her skirt and curtsied.
"Praise The Fool. Please allow me to presumptuously make a request—would You be willing to conduct more experiments like this?"
Alger's eyes lit up as well. "Perhaps You are immensely powerful, but there are always fields You don't understand, along with certain trivial matters… all of that can be entrusted to us!"
Klein had been feeling heartbroken over the vast amount of money he'd lost. Hearing their proposal, he thought it through carefully, then grit his teeth and said in a low voice:
"I am someone who prefers equivalent exchange. I won't have you help for nothing. Every Monday, at three in the afternoon, be alone if you can. I will pull you above the gray fog."
Audrey was, after all, an eighteen-year-old girl—lively by nature. Her eyes gleamed, and she said enthusiastically, "Maybe we can each choose a codename for ourselves. You're Mr. Fool, from the Tarot cards. Since this is going to be a regular, long-term, secret 'gathering,' our codenames should be consistent. Mm, I'll pick from the Tarot too. It's decided—my codename is Justice!"
"The Hanged Man," Alger said.
…
Loen Kingdom, capital Backlund, Queen's District.
After leaving the world above the gray fog, Audrey looked excitedly at the deep-red star mark on the back of her hand as it gradually faded away, her mood visibly soaring.
Her luck had been wonderful lately. Not only had she established contact with the powerful Mr. Potter from beyond the world, she had even taken part in a Beyonder gathering hosted by a local god—and she was even one of the gathering's initiators!
Watching Audrey practically bounce with excitement, Harry couldn't help shaking his head. This girl's nerves really were something.
Even though he didn't know the potion world that well, he knew most of its gods weren't kind, and the Beyonder path itself was dangerous from start to finish.
Just then, Audrey tapped her little head as if she'd remembered something, and then asked him, "Mr. Potter, what do you think of Lord Fool?"
Harry paused, then spoke his honest thoughts:
"The gods of this world are nothing special. I've slain gods before.
"Audrey, you should set your sights farther. Once you've linked up with me, your destination isn't 'god'—it's beyond gods."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.