A/N: If you didn't read why im uploading so soon read chapter 12 I left the reason at the start.
Klein knew he couldn't ask Ashen One directly.
Since the Ashen One seemed to be under the watchful eye of the Goddess of the Night, Klein couldn't inquire in reality.
That would draw attention to himself, bringing him no benefit.
Only in the gray fog, which could block the Goddess's intrusion, could he communicate with the Ashen One
So, bringing him into this place was necessary.
But the problem was—
"How do I bring him in?"
Klein fell into deep thought, then turned his gaze to the 'star river' ahead.
In the gray fog, which flowed like a river, were scattered deep red 'stars.'
Two of them had a subtle connection with him; he knew these were Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man.
They had been brought in because Klein, in his panic, had accidentally knocked them down.
This had used up two spots.
Although now, as a Beyonder, he could bring in one more person.
But how could he be sure that person was the Ashen One?
In the end, even though he knew these stars represented individuals, he didn't know exactly which star represented whom.
He didn't even know if Ashen One's 'star' was among them.
What if he pulled in the wrong person? "What should I do?"
Klein found himself in a dilemma.
While it was possible to bring the Ashen One into the gray fog, accurately doing so was a problem.
With so many stars, it was nearly impossible to pinpoint a specific individual.
"Unless that person's star is very special, so special that I can notice it immediately."
Klein muttered to himself, but he knew that was unlikely.
He had observed these stars carefully; they were indeed different from each other.
Some were large, some were small, some were hidden deep, some floated on the surface.
But that still wasn't enough to identify Ashen One.
"Argh!"
Klein grabbed his hair in frustration, yelling out to vent.
He didn't want to give up on bringing the Ashen One here, but he had no idea how to do it.
"Wait!"
Klein's eyes lit up as he suddenly thought of something, "Right, I have an honorific name!"
"Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man recited my honorific name, and their stars reacted accordingly."
"If Ashen One also recites my honorific name, wouldn't his star react too?"
"Yes! That might actually work!"
"But now the problem is, how do I get him to recite my name?"
Klein fell into another dilemma.
In this world, it was universally accepted that besides the Seven Major Gods, most other gods were considered evil.
How many people would directly recite the name of an unknown god?
As he pondered this dilemma, Klein's peripheral vision caught a different color.
He instinctively looked over.
Amid the deep red stars was a small flame.
The flame was so tiny that its light was almost obscured by the deep red stars.
"Why didn't I notice this before?"
Klein was startled but quickly realized the reason—
It was like the principle of the bright moon obscuring faint stars.
The moon's proximity, size, and brightness made distant, dim stars hard to see.
Similarly, this tiny flame was hidden among the deep red stars, its weak light nearly imperceptible.
Had Klein not been staring intently, he wouldn't have been able to find it again among the deep red stars.
"Is this the Ashen One? Fire corresponding to ashes makes sense."
Klein was both cautious and doubtful.
One reason was uncertainty about whether this was the Ashen One.
The other was the coincidence of it all—
Just when he wanted to find Ashen One, the flame corresponding to the Ashen One appeared in his sight.
How did it seem so perfectly timed?
This wasn't scientific, no, this wasn't right...
Well, it was indeed quite eerie.
"Take a chance!"
After much hesitation, Klein finally made up his mind.
This might be his only chance; if he missed it, there would be no other opportunity.
Resolute, Klein immediately 'materialized' another piece of parchment and wrote a divination statement on it—
"The flame corresponds to the Ashen One."
Holding the pendulum, lowering the pendant, Klein quickly calmed his spirit, making it serene and empty.
Half-closing his eyes, he silently recited the divination statement seven times, allowing his spirituality to connect with the spirit world above all.
Feeling the slight pull of the silver chain, Klein opened his eyes to look at the pendulum:
The yellow crystal pendant was spinning clockwise!
This meant the flame did correspond to Ashen One!
"Phew!"
Klein let out a breath.
Earlier, they had just dealt with Ray Bieber, so he knew Ashen One and the others were resting to recuperate.
So, now was a good time to pull him in.
With that in mind, Klein didn't hesitate any longer. He walked forward and touched the flame hidden among the deep red stars.
Instantly, his spirituality surged into the weak flame.
Then—
A figure appeared beside the bronze long table, sitting in a chair not belonging to any current members of the Tarot Club.
"It worked!"
Klein was overjoyed, recognizing the person immediately.
This was the same Mr. Ashen he had met earlier in the day!
"Welcome, Mr. Ashen."
Suppressing his excitement, Klein greeted the newcomer with a smile.
"What?"
Ashen One frowned slightly, looking at the figure wrapped in dense gray fog at the head of the bronze long table.
He didn't understand what the person was saying.
"Huh? Huh?! Huh?!!!!"
Klein's pupils contracted sharply. If not for the gray fog concealing him, his shock would have been evident.
The cause of his shock was the words Ashen One had spoken!
Without a doubt, they were in Chinese!
It was genuine Chinese!
Apart from himself and the legendary Emperor Roselle, here was a third person who spoke Chinese!
"Is the world of Dark Souls also Chinese-speaking? That's impossible!"
"A Japanese-made game with English voice acting, what does it have to do with Chinese?"
"I had to use a Chinese patch to play the game!"
"Calm down, calm down, don't give yourself away!"
Klein took another deep breath, then feigned a knowing expression and spoke softly and evenly, "You may call me 'The Fool.'"
He assumed the Ashen One hadn't heard him clearly.
But given the dignity of 'The Fool,' he didn't want to repeat himself, so he continued the charade.
"What are you saying?"
Ashen One's frown deepened because he couldn't understand what the figure was saying.
"You don't understand??!"
Klein's face was full of disbelief, even doubting reality.
Wasn't he speaking Ruen? Didn't they converse in Ruen during the day? Why couldn't he understand it here?
Are you playing with me?!
P.S.: Explanation on pulling people in.
First, before becoming a Beyonder, Klein could pull in two members, Justice and The Hanged Man.
Ordinary person: Slots 2, Members 2.
Secondly, based on the original text: Volume 1, Chapter 77: "Also, after becoming a 'Seer' and gaining extraordinary power, Klein noticed he had further control over that mysterious space, such as being able to pull in another member."
At this point, Klein had just become a Beyonder.
Sequence 9: Slots 3, Members 2.
Volume 2, Chapter 13: "But there are certain limits. With my current strength, I can at most establish one more connection."
At this point, Klein had just advanced to Sequence 8, shortly after arriving in Backlund. He had already pulled Xio into the gray fog but hadn't let her join the Tarot Club yet, needing to 'test' her. At this moment, he could still pull in one more.
Sequence 8: Slots 5, Members 4.
Volume 2, Chapter 241: "Considering the unused slots before, I can pull in about four new members, though I don't have any targets yet."
At this point, counting the existing members Justice, The Hanged Man, The Sun, The Magician, and the yet-to-be fully integrated Xio, there were five members.
Sequence 6: Slots 9, Members 5.
In summary: The author followed a strict rule where each sequence level allows two additional slots, with promotions and full potion digestion adding one slot each.
(End of this chapter)
50 power stones = Extra Chapter