'There will be no harm in opening the shop.'
I tossed the gold coin.
"Negative." I stared at the coin, what; there will be harm in opening my shop today.
What kind of harm and by whom.
As I was thinking about the divination, I decided to brew some tea.
I then took out an induction from the void and once again made it run on spirituality.
The tea leaves given to me by some of the folks as gratitude were great.
Using that, I made some simple tea, nothing special
*********
I was having a nice tea when I heard a knock at my door.
"Coming," I got up and went to open the door.
As I opened the door to look who it was, to my surprise, it was none other than Arthur.
"Come inside. What can this seer do for you, child?"
As Arthur entered the room and began to look around, he stumbled upon the induction I had set up.
And the tea in the teapot.
"Would you like some tea, child? Why don't you sit in the chair?"
Arthur complied and sat in the chair; it seemed he wanted to ask about something but was scared of asking.
I handed him the tea and asked
"What is on your mind, child? You can speak comfortably with me."
Arthur took the tea and looked at it before taking a sip.
He then took a deep breath and then asked, "Mr. Seer, I wish to have the same abilities as Mr. Oz and yourself; I want to serve Mr. Fool."
Aww, it feels so good when people want to serve you of their own will.
"The path to serve a god is the path of death, despair, and loss of oneself. Are you still willing to take such a path?" I said with the help of my 8th grader syndrome.
Arthur had the eyes of a protagonist. Truly they had the resolve needed for this.
"Mr. Seer, I am willing to stake my very life, the life which was given to me by God himself."
Yeah, kid, that's enough; that's way too edgy even for me.
Of course not a single muscle moved on my face.
"Antigonus, I am Antigonus. If you were to join me , I wouldn't be able to give you much choice; it is best that you pray to Mr. Fool."
Arthur looked at me. "What kind of choice, Sir Antigonus?"
"The choice of fate, that lies in the 22 pathways of the divine.
I can only share the seer pathway that I have chosen.
Mr. Fool, on the other hand, can give you other choices as well."
Arthur looked at me even more confused, but he didn't ask further questions on this topic.
And so as to change the topic of conversation, he asked me
"Sir Antigonus, why haven't you opened your shop today though?"
"You see, I received a premonition that a certain someone was going to show up today."
I think that should be what the divination was pointing towards, anyway it does not matter.'
Arthur's eyes glowed with a sense of awe; he had truly seen the power of those under the Fool
After finishing his tea, he stood up from the chair and left
But just before leaving, he bowed down and spoke, "Praise the Fool."
In acknowledgement, I too bowed down and did the same.
**********************
As I stood above the grey fog, my gaze fell on the child who had just prayed to me.
But before the child could finish the ritual and continue, I pulled him above the grey fog.
My majestic figure that was covered in a dense and yet weightless fog of history.
I looked at the child that was in absolute awe; one could say a hint of fear and terror were present.
The child bowed down and began to speak. "Mr Fool, It is truly an honour and my pleasure to be in your presence…"Before he could continue, I spoke
"I am aware."
Arthur didn't dare look me in the eyes.
"You wish to serve me, just as my blessed do. Is that correct?"
Arthur nodded, but still didn't look me in the eye
I said, "Child, I am the Fool who abides by the principle of exchange. Offer your service, and I shall grant you entry onto the divine path. But should you seek further advancement, you must present something of equal worth—or acquire it on your own."
Arthur further nodded
"Then make a choice from the 22 pathways that I know. Which pathway do you think you can bear the burden of?"
"The path to the gods, or the potion system as I call it, is a system of interlocking potions with strange mysterious powers derived from each. Every potion is linked to another in a higher or lower magnitude with the lowest and safest potions being classed as a sequence 9 potion, and the highest being classed as a sequence 1 potion."
Arthur nodded and I continued.
"drinking these potions naturally come at a significant risk: losing yourself to madness, morphing into grotesque creatures and a distortion of personality are simply part of the life of a beyonder with little care so if you truly wish to become a beyonder you must be meticulous in every ingredient and ritual you will eventually perform."
I could see the hint of fear and the eyes of a man who was now in a dilemma but I continued.
"Each potion alongside sequence is separated into named groups of which there are 22 examples: take seer and warrior both contrast one another in naming sense and abilities; one prioritises mysticism such as divination the other being completely physical. taking multiple potions outside of the main ascending or descending group Will kill you, it is not worth the effort,
"each position a potion grants can be separated into classes such as low sequence, middle sequence or high sequence, even with classes there are clear distinguishing factors such as sequences 4 and 3 being referred to as "saints" or sequence 2's and 1's being referred to as angels, there are sequence 0's that we call true gods however you will likely never come close to that rank"
Arthur trying to process all this information asked
"Mr Fool are you a sequence zero"
I smiled with as the fog and castle around vibrated ever so slightly
"Yes" I replied
...
"Warrior," Arthur said with a look of dedication and commitment.
"Yes, the pathway of the Giants. I will let Antigonus have a look at your advancement."
Arthur nodded and bowed before being returned to the real world.
****************
The next day
The potion formula was relatively simple, with two main ingredients.
The mutant Black Bear's eye and a bloodthirsty rhinoceros's horn
As for supplementary ingredients
They were the blood of the main ingredients.
Both the creatures were common here and were hunted as well.
It is just that they were generally wasted with nothing done to their corpses.
I went to the adventurer's guild and walked straight towards the reception.
"Greetings, Mr. Seer. How can we assist you?"
Ah, even here I am quite popular.
"Is Arthur also present in the guild?" I inquired.
The girl nodded, "yes, sir."
The girl gestured to a person inside the lobby for adventurers.
After a moment she responded, "Yes, sir, he is present."
"Bring him here."
The desk girl nodded and went inside.
A minute later she came back with Arthur, who quickly greeted me.
I too greeted him back. Arthur too was looking towards me; it seemed that he had realised that I was here for the potion
******************
Outside the Forest
I looked at Arthur and spoke "Today we are going to hunt some beyonder ingredients"
Arthur nodded and was quite familiar with the beast with magical abilities that were common in this place.
We entered the forest with full confidence.
I said "Keep in mind; do not get cocky; the last thing is you getting badly injured and then have to wait for it heal before you advance"
Arthur spoke almost instantly "you don't have to tell an adventure that"
I nodded
I took out a cane from the void of history
'The location of a mutated black bear', and let the cane drop to the ground.
"East", Both of us moved further east.
I dropped the cane after 4 mins of traveling east.
'North east', 5 mins of traveling.
We stood in front of the bear den. My senses as a demonic wolf could instantly pick the smell of the bear.
Arthur, looking around, said "Mr, the bear is not inside the den, I think it smelled us a while ago."
I nodded, instantly entering the spirit thread vision , I spotted the threads of the bear and turned it into a puppet.
Making the bear come out of its hiding spot, I made it stand in front of the both of us.
Arthur was on guard initially but quickly dropped it,since the bear didn't attack us right away.
I then put my hands in his eye socket and gouged them out, while collecting the blood as well.
Arthur looked quite fine with this level of gore, I on the other hand had to rely on the clown's muscle control to hide my disgust.
I looked at Arthur after finishing our hunt and asked "lets take a break."
Creating a campfire from the dried wood around us.
"So, tell me kiddo ,what truly motivates you join the fool"
Arthur quickly spoke "Thanks to his blessing I am alive,I think that is enough reason to serve him"
I nodded in disagreement. "That is not really a good reason,some need power and others need the magic that comes with this path, some seek knowledge to understand this cosmos, others want to help the world progress, there are always lofty ideals that drive such fanaticism."
Arthur thought for a reason before looking at me and asked "then why do you serve Mr Fool".
Why do I serve the fool huh,
I thought for a moment, and then I spoke "It quite complex really, I suppose there is tid bits of revenge on a certain god, there is the merit of becoming a sequence 1 and then there is the though I might be able to become a God as well"
"That's sure is lofty, well I don't really know, I suppose in this fanaticism I might find something to gain as well." Arthur said while pondering what I had said.
He then looked at and asked "Well, I think power might be a drive."
He then looked above the sky and spoke "Shall we get going"
I looked at the sky, it was about 4 pm after 5 pm , since there were no lights at this time , after 5 pm it was night time and people preferred to remain in their homes.
I nodded and we stood up.
'The location of a bloodthirsty rhino', as the cane dropped on the ground and pointed to the west.
"Let's move before it gets dark, after you have advanced as well."
******************
After collecting both the horn of the bloodthirsty rhino and the eyes of the black bear , we head back to my inn to prepare the potion for advancement
Reaching my inn, I greeted Moira
I looked at my clothes that were covered in blood drops , nothing too serious and since Arthur was with me, most people in the town thought we had gone hunting.
Moira looked at us and spoke "First time hunting huh , Mr seer, having an adventure sure makes it look eays."
I nodded and smiled.
Arthur and I entered the room . I then looked at Arthur and spoke.
"Want to take a bath?"
He nodded.
Arthur and I took our turns in taking a bath and removing the sweat and blood that had been stuck to our bodies.
After freshening up.
Both of us sat at a small table.
I took out a cauldron from the void.
"Shall we begin?",he nodded. I continued "Good, since in the near future you will have to prepare your own potion, why don't I teach you as well."
"That be great",
And looked at Arthur. "take 100 milliliters of Black Bear's Blood and pour it in the cauldron, then turn on the heat.Then add 100 ml of the blood of a rhinoceros.
And wait for it to mix, then add the eye and the horn."
Arthur did as I told him
And there it was, a blood-red liquid that had a strong fishy smell.
I could tell Arthur was a little hesitant with drinking this.
I nodded and said, "Rest assured, child—this is merely the beginning. If you seek the path of the divine, such trivial discomforts will be the least of your concerns."
Arthur, still a little hesitant, picked up the cauldron and downed the potion in a single gulp.
He then stood there with little to no movement, and it was obvious that the potion was fusing with his body, mind, and soul.
After a while Arthur showed signs of puking but didn't puke anything.
"This tastes like blood, like eating a living fish monster."
I smiled and said, "Well done, Arthur. You have now become a wretch who can only live by fighting through madness."
Arthur was already made aware of such consequences.
"Sir Antigonus, you sure have changed the way you speak. In front of the people you act like a charlatan here; it's an entirely different personality."
I felt as if the faceless was digested
I chuckled. "I am a faceless child; it's part of the acting that comes with it."
"Sir, if I may, what is your position with Mr. Fool?"
My position, huh? I waited for a moment. Should I shut this kid down?
Or should I respond?
Wait, acting can be done before even drinking the potion
"I am an attendant of Mr. Fool." The child nodded and then seemed to ponder for a second.
"Sir, I have gained a lot of knowledge about these abilities."
I nodded and then spoke, "It's about time I give you some important information, but you're not to tell a single soul unless I or Mr. Fool allows you to do so."
And with that I gave him a rundown on the acting method, its consequences, and laws of Beyonder characteristics.
*******************************
The next day, Arthur showed up just as I had asked him to.
"Morning, Mr. How are you going to help me act like a warrior?"
"I can't; that you will have to find for yourself. What I can teach you is basic hand-to-hand combat."
I had learned hand-to-hand combat during my college years since it gave 5 credits, and I wanted to learn some form of self-defense.
Huh, those were the times trying to get the first position, but only getting beaten by my girlfriend did sting a little, but oh well.
My form may not be up to par, but it's a warrior I am dealing with; Arthur should have no problem picking things up.
Then, using both my spiritual intuition to get information from memories and clown-threat detection, I taught this warrior a little hand-to-hand combat.
.....
"Master, you are great at this; had you been an adventurer, you would have been rank 1."
Suddenly an idea popped in my mind. An identity that was a special adventure, which would advance rank very quickly before doing some unspeakable war crime and vanishing.
I laughed. "What in the 8th grader syndrome is this?"
"8th what!!!"
"It's time you go home, child; your parents must be worried about you. After all, 6 hours of combat must have tired you."
Arthur wanted to train a little more, but he complied and left.