Upon hearing the topic raised by "Justice" Audrey, "The Hanged Man" Alger said, "Many extraordinary organizations have predicted the end of the world, but most of them think it's just an exaggeration to attract attention."
"However, some people speculate that the so-called doomsday is actually the change of an era."
"The Magician" Fors was taken aback: "The Fifth Age is almost over? We're about to enter the Sixth Age?"
Alger did not give a precise answer: "That's what some people guess."
At this point, the "Hermit" Odis reminded us: "The change of eras may be full of hardships. For example, at the end of the Third Era, a 'Great Cataclysm' occurred before the Fourth Era began."
"For example, at the end of the Fourth Age, the Four Sovereigns died one after another, and only then did the Fifth Age begin."
"The Fool" Klein immediately manipulated "The World" to ask: "Is the fall of the Four Emperors a sign of the beginning of the Fifth Era?"
"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics either." Odis said with a "refusing to take advantage" expression, "The fall of the Four Emperors is one of the signs of the beginning of the Fifth Age, but it doesn't seem to be the main sign."
The most significant sign of the Fifth Age was that the gods went to the astral plane, and divine descents rarely occurred on earth anymore.
Fors asked, "Why don't I feel any sense of epochal change? Or any sense of crisis?"
Odis countered, "Have you considered the nature of our Tarot gathering?"
The other members nodded in agreement, and Fors realized that the ancient being "The Fool" was awakening and had invited several people to this gathering to achieve some purpose of its own.
The resurgence of this mysterious entity should be one of the harbingers of an epochal change.
Klein once again felt that the "hermit" had a talent for being a missionary: to make something that seemed ordinary sound so lofty, and to make everyone make all sorts of connections, his pretentious style was almost as good as his own.
In his view, the "Awakening of the Fools" is not a sign of an era change, since the Fools are currently only Sequence 7.
Audrey then asked, "So what should we do in this situation?"
"Strive to improve yourself." The usually quiet "World" joined the conversation: "Make yourself stronger so that you can protect yourself in the apocalypse."
Klein also believed that the end of the world would come in the near future, and the only thing ordinary extraordinary people could do was to strive to improve themselves, otherwise they wouldn't even know how they died.
Just as the Hermit mentioned before regarding the "Great Cataclysm," most people in the "Forsaken Lands" died in a daze. Even those who survived only realized what had happened to them after living in fear for a long time.
If it were an angel, it should be able to avoid such a disaster. Even if it were a demigod, it wouldn't be as miserable as an ordinary person.
Audrey nodded. "I understand. Thank you for reminding me."
She is now close to digesting the Sequence 8 "Mind Reader" potion. If she successfully passes the test of the "Psychological Alchemy Society," she should be able to obtain the Sequence 7 formula.
She sighed, wishing her promotions could have been faster.
Then Fors said to Alger, "After the gathering, I will once again offer the first chapter of 'Spiritual Encounters' to Mr. Fool."
Klein thought to himself: There's no need for another sacrifice. You've already sacrificed twice, and I have "saved" those sacrifices here.
Alger nodded: "Okay."
He had already read "World" and "Justice" from "Spirit World Encounters," and he was very curious about what was recorded in them.
Then Alger looked at the "sun": "Please tell me some ancient myths that you know."
"The Sun" Derrick had calmed down by now. He grunted and said, "I read in some ancient books that only five ancient gods remained in the later part of the Second Age."
"The Lord defeated the Imaginary Dragon, the Elf King, the Giant King, and the Phoenix Ancestor, leaving only one omniscient and omnipotent god in the human world."
"According to ancient records, the 'Lord' took back the authority of the 'Dragon of Imagination' and the 'Elf King' on his own initiative, while the 'Giant King' and the 'Phoenix Ancestor' repeatedly challenged the authority of the 'Omniscient and Omnipotent Lord', so these two gods also fell one after another."
Klein, behind the gray fog, thought to himself: Is the ancient sun god this powerful?
Audrey voiced the question that had been on everyone's mind: "If the ancient sun god was so powerful, how did he eventually perish?"
First, everyone looked at the Fool at the head of the bronze table. When the Fool did not respond, they looked at the Hermit.
"The Hermit" Odis once again used his usual rhetoric: "I do know some relevant information, but I'm not very clear on the specifics. If anyone wants to trade this information, I can help you find out more."
"But I want to remind everyone that this information is extremely valuable and cannot be traded for a thousand or two pounds."
Audrey asked, "Approximately how much will it cost?"
"I'm not sure either," Odis said, "but it's definitely a bit expensive."
Audrey thought for a moment before saying, "Could you help me find out? If it's too expensive, we can complete part of the transaction first."
She only said "help me understand" instead of "help us understand" to avoid future disputes.
Derrick said, "I also hope to be involved in the deal; I can offer some extraordinary or spiritual materials as payment."
The other members remained silent. Fors was short of money and dared not make any rash statements, while Klein and Alger planned to decide whether to make a deal based on the situation later.
Odis said to Derrick, "You could join the deal by helping me verify some of my guesses."
"For example, when you feel it is appropriate, provide some information to your superiors, such as saying that you saw a strange light in the swamp with strange fish, or that you accidentally felt a strange power."
Derrick immediately replied, "I'm now basically cleared of suspicion, and I can report this information this week."
Odis nodded: "Alright, if the transaction requires it, I will advance you the gold pounds, or it can be considered as if you have already paid the gold pounds."
Derrick asked with some curiosity, "Mr. Hermit, what is the purpose of my reporting this intelligence?"
Alger, however, had already keenly noticed: "It seems that the 'Hermit' has made a major breakthrough in his research on the flora and fauna of Silver City."
Klein had a similar idea, but since the "Hanged Man" had said so, he didn't manipulate the "world" to express his opinion.
Derrick exclaimed excitedly, "Really, Mr. Hermit? Have you made some major breakthrough?"
"It's not exactly a major breakthrough," Odis smiled. "It's just a guess that in that swamp with the monster, there's a level 1 sealed artifact, or a monster at the demigod level."
"So I hope Silver City can be explored. Any sealed artifacts found will be yours. I just want to know if my guess is correct."
"A demigod-level sealed artifact!" Derrick said. "This is definitely worth exploring."
Silver City has seals that can shatter extraordinary attributes; basically, seals from the "Warrior" path are all pulverized into extraordinary attributes.
Over two thousand years, he has accumulated some demigod-level sealed artifacts, but the methods are relatively limited. He would be very happy if he could add another sealed artifact of this level.
Alger was puzzled: "How come Silver City didn't discover that there was a Level 1 sealed artifact not far from them all these years?"
Derrick replied, "That swamp is huge. We've always walked around it, and we've never heard of anyone exploring it."
This was not surprising to him, because there were still some unknown monsters not far from Silver City.
Because Silver City is located there, while those monsters are constantly roaming around.
The Silver City Guard is divided into the Inner City Guard and the Outer City Guard. The Outer City Guard patrols constantly not far from the outside of Silver City, and almost every patrol yields a harvest. Most of the time, they obtain some spiritual materials, and occasionally they also obtain extraordinary properties or some main ingredients for magic potions.
Therefore, the demigod-level sealed artifact mentioned by the "hermit" may have only recently come into existence.
Alger nodded slowly and said nothing more.
Derrick then asked, "Mr. Hermit, what kind of sealed artifact is it?"
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
"I'm not entirely sure either," Odis said. "But you must not tell me that a clue to a demigod-level sealed artifact was found there."
"Just as I said, I only saw a strange light and felt an invisible power," Odis instructed. "Describe it as if it were a demigod-level sealed artifact, but that doesn't prove it is a demigod-level sealed artifact."
Derrick nodded. "I understand."
He had seen demigod-level sealed artifacts before, so this feeling was not unfamiliar to him.
At this point, "The World" asked "The Hermit" again: "If it's convenient, could you tell us why you discovered that sealed artifact?"
"The conclusions are mainly from two studies," Odis said generously. "One study involved the dissection and comparison of organisms near the swamp."
"Before dissecting those plants and animals, it was hard to imagine that the fish provided by 'the Sun' was actually a mutated 'blood fluke,' and the plant he provided was a mutated castor bean."
Derrick had little idea: "It wasn't a loach."
Fors exclaimed in surprise, "If I remember correctly, 'The Sun' said that the largest of those fish, if they stood up, would be more than a person tall, right?"
Derrick still didn't understand what was surprising: "Yes."
Fors then asked, "Do you know how long a blood fluke is in our world?"
Then she answered her own question: "Only two or three centimeters!"
"The Fool" helped Derrick convert the units of length, and Derrick was surprised: "How could something so small mutate into such a long thing?"
The other members shared the same sentiment, so they all looked towards the "hermit".
Odis smiled and said, "I can tell you with absolute certainty that it is a mutated blood fluke. First of all, the internal structures of the two are very similar, and the position and shape of the internal organs are almost identical."
Everyone nodded, agreeing with the "hermit's" judgment. Although they didn't have much knowledge of biology, they understood the difference between a fish and an insect, and believed that the "hermit" wouldn't make a wrong judgment in such a situation.
Audrey once again asked the question that everyone had on their minds: "Why do blood flukes become like this?"
"I suspect it's the influence of divinity," Odis said. "And it's a mutation that has occurred under long-term influence."
"Of course, I haven't confirmed this yet. If Silver City finds a Level 1 sealed artifact in the swamp, then this can be confirmed as a reasonable guess."
Klein, behind the gray fog, thought to himself, "The 'Hermit's' guess sounds quite plausible. Divinity is something that is hard to define, but it has a significant impact on extraordinary beings."
Alger was both amazed and curious: Divinity could have such an effect?
Fors asked somewhat awkwardly, "What is divinity? Isn't that something only gods use...?"
She really didn't know how to describe divinity.
"Divinity is present at Sequence 4," Odis explained. "However, it is said that the divinity at this level is very small, but it is enough to cause a qualitative change in extraordinary individuals and extraordinary abilities."
Fors nodded, indicating that he understood the meaning of "hermit" and why divinity could cause such a huge change in living beings.
At this moment, Audrey asked, "Mr. Hermit, why do you guess that there is a demigod-level sealed artifact there, instead of an angel-level sealed artifact? Angel-level divinity should be more powerful."
The answer to this question came from Alger, the "Hanged Man": "The reason is simple. If it were an angel-level sealed artifact, Silver City would have discovered it long ago, no matter how slow-witted it is."
Even if it feels too risky and you don't try to master that sealed artifact, you will definitely warn the ordinary residents of Silver City to stay away from that swamp.
"But the 'sun' did not hear such warnings and safely obtained some plants and animals, as well as a clump of silt from there."
"This shows that the sealed artifact has little effect on the edge of the swamp. Based on the above information, it is not difficult to guess that if there is one, it should be a demigod-level sealed artifact there."
Odis nodded slowly: "His 'overthrow of the political commissar' was quite skillful."
Derrick also showed an expression of admiration: "I see."
Audrey smiled and said, "Mr. Hanged Man, thank you for your answer."
She thought to herself: For me, such speculation is difficult.
Odis continued, "The influence of divinity alone is not enough for me to be certain of this conjecture. My second research result almost points to a Level 1 sealed artifact in the swamp."
"Of course, it could also be a demigod-level monster, but that's unlikely, because a monster of that level would probably attack Silver City on its own initiative."
He paused and then said, "As for my research findings, they cannot be released yet."
Everyone was somewhat disappointed, but since the "Hermit" said so, there is a high possibility that there is a Level 1 sealed artifact in the swamp.
That concludes this topic. Alger then looked at "The World," and it was now "The World's" turn to share some occult knowledge.
Klein pondered for a moment before saying, "As far as I know, Emperor Roselle was the previous owner of the 'Black Throne'."