The Sir World also secured the magical recipe and primary ingredients for the "Song of the Sea"—what a remarkable achievement! Sir Dayrick lifted his gaze from the scroll in his hands and turned it toward the gentleman seated at the very end of the bronze long table. In his mind, World's strength had now risen to a new level, matching even the more modest members of the Six Councilors. Lady Vorths, too, expressed similar amazement, and her sense of it deepened. She remembered when she first joined the Tarot Circle—World had initially struck her as reserved and solemn, with little else standing out. Over time, however, she observed his growing experience, broad horizons, and solid abilities, clearly indicating a seasoned extraordinary figure who had weathered many experiences—second only to Sir The Tower in the Circle. The image had already been taking shape in Forth's mind, but over the past few months, the "Magician" has found that "The World" has repeatedly refreshed his understanding. He first learned of significant news, then consistently introduced a series of remarkable traits at short intervals—so compelling that he began to suspect the "World" might be a seasoned, active supernatural assassin operating in the hidden realms, feeling both genuinely apprehensive and delighted, since this suggested a high success rate for commissions sent to "The World." When the new member, "The Hidden One," arrived, Forth had expected "The World"’s brilliance to be completely overshadowed by the powerful presence of that lady. Yet, quietly and steadily, "The World" reclaimed the spotlight, leaving everyone a little awestruck. Receiving the "Sea Singer" potion formula, its corresponding primary ingredients, and the "Notary" potion formula—all within a single week—seemed utterly beyond human capability. Indeed impressive—I truly admire those who appear quiet and unassuming, ordinary on the surface yet profoundly capable. Oh, I still don't know when I'll myself be elevated to a viscount. After this hunting competition, the prize awarded to the winner should be sufficient to bring a bloodline a fundamental enhancement. "Moon" Emlyn White quickly returned his thoughts to his own affairs. "Justice" Odile expressed her admiration, yet grew increasingly puzzled about one matter: Why had the distinguished "World" gentleman never collected the diaries of Emperor Rosel? He didn't seem like the "Hermit" lady—she had been part of the Tarot Circle for a long time and still needed time to observe. Nor did he appear to lack motivation; there was no clear need to exchange with the "Ace of Wands" gentleman for the diaries of Emperor Rosel. Then, why hadn't he gathered them? Had he submitted them privately? And if so, why privately? In the hazy sense, Audrey felt that there was a certain connection between the "World" and the " Fool," though she couldn't quite pin it down, as there were still many possibilities. At that moment, after a brief silence, "The Hangover" Aljer turned and glanced toward the head of the bronze long table. "Esteemed Sir Fool, I would like to speak privately with Sir World." It had come—Caine nodded with genuine anticipation and then screened out the others' senses. Aljer waited for two seconds, then turned to look at "World" Germain Spaulo. "I offer a coordinate for a remote, little-known island—unfamiliar even to the others. On this island, there are many extraordinary creatures that have gone extinct across the northern and southern continents, as well as an ancient ruin of unknown age hidden within." "Back then, hooray—I discovered it together with Qilin Gers. At that time, we didn't have the capability to explore deeply, though he did notice certain traces and suspected that the site concealed something extremely precious and significant, something of no less value than one of the playing cards crafted by Emperor Rosel. My own strength falls short of Qilin Gers', and I haven't explored as deeply as he has, so I don't know exactly what he saw. I can only piece together the situation from the occasional remarks he made without much intention." "...The 'Emperor of the Tempest' has quite a lot of information here. It seems he has known General Zinglins for a long time, even explored together with him, discovering the primordial island and ancient ruins. In fact, it was he who previously sought to eliminate General Zinglins while he was away from the sea... The 'Emperor of the Tempest' isn't just a simple member of the Storm Church. His past appears complex, full of hidden secrets... Indeed, the value of a primordial island is substantial—this is truly the foundation upon which a secret organization can build and grow its members. Klein lets the 'World' adopt a contemplative posture, attempting to extract more information from the 'Emperor of the Tempest.' Seeing that the 'World' neither rejects nor fully agrees, the now-calmed Aljé says calmly: 'There are traces of beings of divine rank among the upper layers—this should be of great value to you. 'I can swear this to the 'Fool,' and assure you it is true.' " "Once I secure the elixir recipe of the 'Weird Mage,' I'll need to consider acquiring the corresponding primary materials. At the half-divine level, money becomes less effective—barter will be the most viable way to obtain what I truly desire. The locations of half-divine beings are also crucial, and that ancient ruin holds some promise as well..." The "World" paused, then chuckled softly and said, "Deal." "Algier didn't grow irritated by the tone, and exhaled in relief, saying, 'So, I'd like your first exploration to take place after my successful promotion—of course, if I lose control due to the potion, that agreement will be nullified.' 'Agreed,' the 'World' replied indifferently. 'The Hanged Man' Algier remained concise, and once he had secured the 'Magician's' consent, manifested the vellum detailing the original island's condition. Right along the edge of the Rosethed Sea area—quite sizable, actually, comparable in size to a Blue Mountain island—Clayne took the parchment and swiftly scanned it, gaining a clear sense of the island's location. He then looked up promptly, saying, 'The potion recipe and primary materials will be delivered to you after the gathering.' 'Excellent,' Algier replied, now having made his decision with ease. Though his heart surged with excitement, he maintained a calm and composed demeanor on the surface. Their private conversation came to an end. The "Hermit," Cadellia, withdrew her gaze from the "World" and turned to the "Magician," Veres, saying: "The meteorite crystal has been secured—60 grams, 600 pounds." That's remarkably fast... The "Hermit" lady is exceptionally efficient! Veres felt a surge of surprise followed by a moment of hesitation. After the gathering concluded last week, she had already received the blood crystal from the Lava Octopus, paying 600 pounds, leaving her with only 230 pounds in her account. Adding this week's 150-pound payment for her writing fee, she still fell short by 220 pounds. She would need to borrow some money from Hoo for immediate use—she should have enough for that. Once her promotion is secured, she must make every effort to earn more! Make every effort to earn more! The "Magician" Veres breathed silently and said: "Agreed—let's finalize the transaction tomorrow at this time." The "Hermit" Cadellia nodded briefly, without delay, and turned to the "Justice," Odile: "The spinal fluid from the Black Hunt Lizard "That's excellent—better than I expected. Thank you, Madam the Recluse," Audrey sincerely thanked, completely overlooking the issue of cost. Recently, she had discovered an additional benefit of establishing the "Fund for the Collection and Preservation of Antiquities": it allowed her to make fund withdrawals more discreet and less noticeable, so that neither her parents nor anyone else could detect the problem. After finalizing two transactions, Gauthieria, adopting a more integrated demeanor, glanced around the room and asked, "Have we any leads on the blood of purely mythical beings?" She hadn't provided much detail initially, assuming that the Tarot Circle wouldn't have such refined offerings unless Mr. The Fool himself stepped in—clearly, Mr. The Fool didn't need anyone to explain what mythical creatures were. "I have some leads, but I'm not certain I'll secure them, and I'll have to wait at least three months," Caine prompted the "World" for a response. The other members of the Tarot Circle fell silent, astonished that the "World" even had information about the blood of angels! What else, then, could the "World" not accomplish? "Justice" Odile, "Magician" Folsom, and others once again revised their impressions of Mr. The World. "The Hanged Man," Alger, hesitated, suspecting that the "World" might be asking for a single drop of angelic blood from Mr. The Fool. After a brief silence, Emlyn—whose progress had not seemed as striking as that of the other Tarot members, like the Moon—gently asked, "Do you have any leads on my last commission?" Forth, the "Magician" immediately responded, "There are promising indications; I'll keep investigating." Motivated by her mounting debts, she was consistently driven in her actions. At the close of the transaction, Dricke, the "Sun," requested the purchase of the root crystal of the Elder Tree, which was already stored in the special warehouse of Silver City. He also requested additional materials such as the golden-edged sun, items commonly found outside but scarce in the forsaken lands. "The root crystal of the Elder Tree and those auxiliary materials are all in good supply," Emlyn said, her spirits lifted. "Then, what will you offer in exchange?" He had learned the location of the root crystal during his previous request for the Elder Tree's fruit to the "Justice" lady. "Sol" Driek thought for a moment. "A vampire with an extraordinary trait corresponding to Sequence 5?" This wasn't an uncommon creature in the depths of darkness. "Vampires!" Emlyn gritted his teeth. "Don't rush me. Wait until I've decided what I want, then let me know." He didn't want the items acquired through the transaction to overlap with the rewards from the hunt competition. "Very well," Driek said, already deeply in debt to "The World," with a calm demeanor. After another silence, "The Fool" Kline lightly tapped the edge of the weathered long table, signaling the beginning of the free exchange session. PS: There's still one point I'd like to clarify—why I've broken down and rephrased idiomatic expressions into more cumbersome descriptions. Since the book's setting is Western, I've strived to ensure the language feels natural and seamless. Outside of the language used in Roselle's journal and Klein's internal thoughts, I've deliberately replaced more Chinese-characteristic idioms with more native expressions, so the overall narrative remains consistent and authentic. Originally, people would say, "Oh, this text is rather watered down—watered down again," and even "this sentence is watered down," and I could clearly sense it was just a playful jab or a joke. So I'd just smile and let it go, without needing to explain anything. But now, perhaps influenced by those who have criticized me for being overly wordy, quite a few people actually believe I'm deliberately adding unnecessary words, that my attitude toward language is flawed. And so I'm now compelled to defend myself. In truth, when I'm in a good mood and have ample time, I take the time to refine my expressions and ensure consistency in tone and style. When time is tight or I can't immediately come up with a strong sentence, I simply go straight for idiomatic phrases. When you criticize me for being wordy, it's precisely during these moments when I'm in the best writing form—when I'm both engaged and thoughtful. If I truly needed to water down my writing, wouldn't a few extra words in a paragraph really matter? Instead, I'm spending time refining and rephrasing—time that could have been used to write more sentences. In that case, going straight to idioms would be cleaner