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"The history of the ancient epochs... I want to know it too!"
Upon hearing those words, Audrey's face lit up with a look of yearning. she was seriously considering whether she should spend some money to exchange for information from Mr. Fool to broaden her horizons.
However, considering her recent heavy expenditures and the fact that she still needed to exchange for Sequence 8 Beyonder materials from Mr. Hanged Man, she decided to wait a little longer. She told herself to wait until she reached adulthood and could freely manage her own wealth. At this stage, it was better to focus her funds on her advancement.
On the other side, The Sun was equally moved. He desperately wanted to know what exactly had happened to the continent he lived on. Why had the omniscient and omnipotent Creator abandoned them? Why did they have to live in such utter despair?
But he also exercised self-restraint. He knew he needed to dedicate every resource he had to increasing his strength. Otherwise, even if he knew the truth, he wouldn't have the power to solve anything or save the City of Silver.
Once Klein finished reading the six pages of Roselle's diary provided by Alger, the Tarot Club moved into its formal exchange and trading phase. As the session drew to a close, George finally spoke up:
"I have the following Beyonder characteristics in my possession: Sequence 7 Psychiatrist, Sequence 7 Interrogator, Sequence 7 Nightmare, Sequence 6 Wind-blessed, Sequence 5 Gatekeeper, Sequence 5 Priest of Light, and Sequence 4 Black Knight.
"I also have all the potion formulas for the Demoness pathway from Sequence 9 to Sequence 2, all formulas for the Sun pathway from Sequence 9 to Sequence 2, and all formulas for the Hermit pathway from Sequence 9 to Sequence 2.
"Furthermore, I possess the complete set of potion formulas for the Hanged Man pathway, from Sequence 9 all the way to Sequence 0."
As George finished speaking, the three members present were instantly frozen in place.
They knew George was a high-sequence powerhouse and likely possessed significant resources, but they never imagined he was this wealthy. "Wealthy" was an understatement; he was obscenely, outrageously rich. The items George had just listed were, in total, worth an unimaginable fortune.
While the Beyonder characteristics were one thing, the potion formulas—spanning three pathways from Sequence 9 to Sequence 2 and one complete pathway to Godhood—were enough to drive any Beyonder of those respective sequences into a frenzy.
At the same time, looks of pleasant surprise appeared on their faces. Audrey was currently preparing to advance to Sequence 8, and after that, she would need to worry about the materials for the Sequence 7 Psychiatrist potion. Now, among the characteristics offered by Mr. Strength was exactly what she needed.
Similarly, Alger, who was currently at Sequence 7 Sailor, was in dire need of the Sequence 6 Wind-blessed characteristic.
As for "The Sun" Derrick Berg, he was the most elated of all, because he would no longer have to worry about potion formulas all the way up to Sequence 2.
"You can exchange for these items using gold or information regarding powerful cultists—preferably those active in Backlund," George continued. "Alternatively, I will accept historical records from the Fourth Epoch, information on High-Sequence Sealed Artifacts, or idols of evil gods.
"If you don't have enough to trade right now but are in urgent need, I allow purchasing on credit. You can pay me back slowly later. Oh, and you can also use Roselle's diary pages. Just like today, Mr. Fool will handle my compensation."
In truth, George had no need for money anymore. Since he had mastered Transformation magic, he could manifest countless amounts of gold whenever he wished. Even without that, he could simply manifest money in his own world and bring it out.
The reason he suggested money was simply to make it easier for the Tarot Club members to obtain the items they needed to increase their strength. As for information on cultists, his plan was to hunt them down and exchange their remains with the Church of the Evernight Goddess for his own future potion materials. If he could find high-ranking members of the Secret Order, it would be even better; he could skip the middleman entirely.
High-sequence Sealed Artifacts and evil god statues, meanwhile, were for him to continue "shearing the wool" of various orthodox and evil deities through divination.
"By the way, I also provide a lending service. If you are in desperate need of cash, you can borrow it from me without any interest. If you use your own channels to find the information I want, I will even give you a commission based on the value of that info."
"Buying on credit! Borrowing money! No interest! And commissions!"
Hearing George's words, the three members of the Tarot Club were completely dumbfounded. Could such a good thing actually exist in this world?
It took a long while for them to snap out of it. Alger, being the most cautious, looked at George and asked, "Wouldn't you be at too much of a disadvantage doing things this way?"
"It's a bit of a loss, I suppose, but I don't really care about such small things," George explained with a smile. "With Mr. Fool as our witness, I'm not worried about you skipping out on your debts. Even if you were to die unexpectedly and couldn't pay it back, it wouldn't be a major loss for me.
"Besides, the fact that we've all joined the Tarot Club is a sign of fate. I'm willing to give a little more at the start and wait for you all to grow before you repay my kindness."
A single thought flashed through the minds of Audrey and the others: Mr. Strength is truly too wealthy, too generous, and possesses an incredible breadth of mind!
At the same time, they realized the massive gap between themselves and Mr. Strength. It was precisely because they currently had so little of value to offer him that he acted this way. The three of them secretly resolved to increase their strength as quickly as possible to bridge the gap and repay his goodwill.
In that moment, Mr. Strength's status in their hearts had risen to a level second only to the Great Fool.
"Thank you for your generosity!"
After arranging their respective credit purchases with George, the spirits of the three members vanished from above the Gray Fog.
"The War of the Four Emperors, the Death God going mad... it seems deities really can lose control."
After the three left, George took the Roselle diary pages from Klein and began to read. The six pages contained a fair amount of information regarding the Fourth Epoch, which he considered a decent harvest.
"Audrey mentioned there are two candidates she's observing. Once the observation is complete, just pull them in. The Tarot Club is still a bit too small," George remarked to Klein, preparing to leave the Sephirah Castle.
His next plan was to track down "Mr. A," the person Audrey mentioned who likely belonged to the Aurora Order. If he turned out to be a regular wild Beyonder, he might let him go, but if he was truly an Oracle of the Aurora Order, George would kill him and hand him over to the Church of the Evernight Goddess.
That way, he could exchange for the ritual requirements to advance to Sequence 5. He was too lazy to go all the way to the Sea of Ruins to find mermaids; hunting cultists was much faster. After all, those cultists were nothing but a plague, especially those from the Aurora Order.
However, just as he was about to depart, Klein asked somewhat sheepishly, "Um... can I also borrow some money?"
"Why talk about 'borrowing'? We're fellow countrymen. Here, take this."
With a wave of his hand, George used his Transformation magic to manifest a box filled with small gold bars and thrust it into Klein's hands.
"I've recently mastered the 'Touch of Midas' from the Daoist arts. I have as much money as I could ever need!"
"This is just... inhumanly wealthy..."
Klein caught the box full of shimmering gold. Hearing George's casual remark, he stood there, completely stunned.
(End of Chapter)