Chapter 14 – Calling on the God of Poverty
After handing Haynes the sheet of paper—already steeped in the aura of Sefirah Castle—Ning Lu gave a few more instructions and assigned some lighter tasks. Since Cyril, who worked with Haynes Vancent, was a cloth merchant, Ning Lu left the two of them to craft the special garments.
The next time he entered the timeline of the Circle of Inevitability, Ning Lu would need clothes that made movement and carrying items easier.
At the same time, the promise he'd just made to Haynes was also an experiment—what exactly was a Marauder?
A Marauder wasn't some common pickpocket; he was a blasphemer who dreamed of stealing hearts and plundering fate. So, if he tried to seize "faith" while still only a Marauder, wouldn't that be an efficient way to digest the potion?
The gentleman at the apex of the Marauder Pathway—His Excellency Celestial Worthy—had this to say:
[…]
Well, He refused to answer. Ever since Ning Lu had permanently usurped part of the Swindler abilities, the Celestial Worthy had been unwilling to discuss anything related to the Error Pathway.
Still, he guessed it ought to be a workable and highly efficient option.
The so-called Acting Method meant acting as the true master of the Beyonder characteristic, allowing the spiritual imprint inside it to gradually fuse with oneself and thereby gain complete control over the potion's power.
Conversely, the method stressed "you are only acting" because, the moment a Beyonder forgot that fact, the spiritual imprint inside the characteristic would seize control, and the Beyonder would slowly cease to be himself.
The most fundamental imprint within the Error Pathway's Beyonder characteristic was that of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. Stealing "faith directed toward the True Creator" happened to echo the Celestial Worthy's own history—after all, the "omnipotence" held by the True Creator was one of God Almighty's core authorities.
Therefore, Ning Lu guessed that if he could divert even one person's faith toward the True Creator onto himself, it would be enough to fully digest his Sequence 9 potion.
And once he had completely digested the Swindler characteristic and usurped its ability, that formerly Amon-tampered characteristic gained an extra power, causing the Sequence 9-grade Superior Observation to evolve.
Now, besides sensing valuable items (as expected, Klein's poverty is inherited from the Celestial Worthy!), Ning Lu's perception of micro-expressions and movements had also improved. While still no match for a Spectator specialized in observation, he had truly stepped into a superhuman realm ordinary people could not reach.
To make hunting fellow-Pathway Beyonders easier, Amon had once used the Error Pathway's Uniqueness to delete certain abilities from characteristics below the demigod level.
After giving Haynes all his instructions, Ning Lu pondered for a moment. Once he was sure nothing had been forgotten, he slowly stood up and walked out of the white-crystal room.
Time to approach Klein using the identity of a "fellow townsman"… "The divination actually failed…"
Klein stared gravely at the pendulum in his hand. The sterling-silver chain, bought with the Church of the Night's funds, hung quietly from his wrist, pointing straight at the floor.
He hadn't expected his first divination at the Divination Club to end in failure. For a moment Klein doubted himself, even wondering if the feng shui here was bad.
The thought flashed by. He put the pendulum away, leaned back, and began to analyze calmly:
"I was trying to find out who the person Haynes Vancent fears might be, but some Beyonder force interfered and blocked me from learning his true identity."
"Sure enough, he's a Beyonder—perhaps one whose characteristic carries anti-divination properties!"
"Hmm… I have two choices: first, ascend to that gray-fog space and use its boost to try again; second, drop it for now or switch methods…"
Klein muttered, prudently erasing the first idea. Whatever happened, he couldn't enter the gray fog right now—who knew if someone might come for a reading? He had only just joined the Divination Club, but a man still needed dreams.
So he would change methods, using one only a true Seer could employ.
Dream Divination!
Decided, Klein at once pictured the gentleman he'd seen in the meeting room and silently asked:
"Where is he now…?"
Locating someone was easier than identifying their origin, and Dream Divination might yield extra information—he could gather intelligence without alerting the target.
Klein lowered his head; soon his vision sank into Darkness, and within it an image slowly formed.
A young man in a suit, black curly hair and dark eyes, stood before a door, finger raised to knock. Had he already spoken with Haynes Vancent, or not? The moment Klein wondered, he realized the scene looked oddly familiar.
First, the décor matched the Divination Club's style.
Second, he must have passed this very spot on his way here.
In short… wait, isn't this my own room?
The Beyonder had come to silence him?
Panic flickered through Klein, but the dream continued.
He watched Ning Lu lift his head as if staring straight through the dream at him.
Then the man gently rapped on the door.
Tap, tap.
The knocks sounded outside; the fragile dream shattered with them.