A chaotic storm erupted in Alaric's mind, as if he were standing amidst a starry sky or banished to the edge of chaos and abyss.
An ordinary person might have succumbed to confusion in such a state, but Alaric remained calm, skillfully reining in his thoughts, using reason to suppress the madness and chaos within.
In an instant, the turmoil and darkness vanished. Alaric opened his eyes, realizing he had become a sequence 9 Joker.
"The core ability of the Joker potion is emotion manipulation, allowing me to sense and briefly influence others' emotions. It also heightens my intuition, enabling me to perform divinations like a Seer, learn and use ritual magic, and enhances my learning ability. My mental acuity and observation skills are sharpened, making my words more persuasive and capable of subtly distorting others' thoughts. Additionally, my speed and strength have been boosted to a degree."
Alaric assessed the changes in his body, summarizing: "Because I used a Worm of Time as an auxiliary material, I've gained the Firestealer's ability to steal others' Beyonder powers. Thanks to the unique nature of Amon's Worm of Time, I can retain stolen abilities for a considerable time. However, the success rate is higher against fellow sequence 9 Beyonders and decreases significantly against higher sequences."
"In other words, I now have the core abilities of a Joker, a Seer, and a Spectator, some of a Lawyer's powers, a Warrior's speed and strength, and the Firestealer's core ability." Even Alaric couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, a grin spreading across his face.
True, aside from the Worm of Time's ability to steal powers, the Joker potion's other abilities stayed within sequence 9's limits. But the sheer number of skills was overwhelming! While others gained one ability upon advancing to sequence 9, Alaric had acquired several.
"Let's see… it makes sense. After all, I'm a Joker. Emotion manipulation is perfect for stirring up fun, divination helps me find it, keen observation is essential for enjoying the show, and enhanced speed and strength are great for fighting or fleeing after causing trouble." Alaric nodded, reasoning aloud. "Very reasonable!"
As for Nyarlathotep having these abilities? Even more fitting.
"Digesting the Joker potion will likely be tougher than a typical sequence 9... probably equivalent to digesting three or four regular sequence 9 potions." Alaric sensed his condition and concluded, "Power comes at a cost, but it's manageable."
"So, what's next?" Alaric's fingers tapped lightly on the table, a subconscious habit when deep in thought.
"Tingen is a must. Pallez and Azik are ready-made allies, even if both are weakened. If I can build their favorability, I can borrow their past strength... practically a cheat code. With that, I'll have a safety net for whatever I do."
Had he not crossed paths with Amon, Alaric might have waited until the Tingen incident resolved before approaching Pallez. But since Amon already knew of his existence, even with all the avatars in the area destroyed, there was no guarantee Amon wouldn't suspect something.
Moreover, after summoning the Ancient Sun God's Shadow of Time, the True Creator and Adam likely gained memories related to Alaric and would surely take an interest in him. He needed to secure some self-preservation abilities quickly.
"Who knows, someone might already be lurking nearby." Alaric quipped, though he wasn't too worried.
With Adam's abilities, if he wanted to act against Alaric, panicking wouldn't help. Better to just carry on.
"The only issue is that the Tingen incident isn't easy to get involved in. Beyond the potential clash between the Church of the Evernight Goddess and a certain divine son, even on the surface, Ince Zangwill and 0-08 are tough to handle." Alaric narrowed his eyes. He didn't consider himself particularly clever, nor did he think he could outsmart 0-08... a literal cheat.
With its ability to manipulate minds, control fate, summon meteors, and the trait of "all that is spoken will be known." 0-08 was a nightmare. As a mere sequence 9, with no significant favorability from powerful figures, Alaric didn't believe he could take on that quill.
That wasn't underestimating himself... it was self-awareness.
"But I don't need to go head-to-head with 0-08…" Alaric tapped the table, a slight smirk forming. "I'm not planning to get too involved in the Tingen incident."
His goals in Tingen were clear: build favorability with Pallez and Azik, and, if possible, connect with Klein. None of these required meddling in the incident itself.
Alaric could stay invisible amid Ince and 0-08's schemes, then… decide whether to make a dramatic entrance at a critical moment.
This was smarter than blindly interfering. Alaric knew his limits... meddling too much could make things messier and backfire. Instead, he'd focus on the key point: Ince was certain to target the Tingen Nighthawks. Rather than outwitting him, Alaric could bide his time and strike when it mattered.
As for whether 0-08 had already sensed his plans… Alaric's eyes curved into a mischievous smile as he murmured, "I'm not here to mess with you, so don't bother me. Otherwise, we all go down together!"
He didn't care who might overhear, shifting his thoughts to how he'd approach Azik and Pallez in Tingen.
Azik, in his amnesiac state, was mild-mannered. Finding the right angle to get close wouldn't be hard.
Pallez, though, was a cunning old fox.
"Let's see… posing as an oblivious Zoroast descendant to cozy up to Pallez won't work. He may dote on his kin, but he's no fool. I'm not confident I can play the innocent well enough to fool him. That route could easily backfire." Alaric ran through scenarios in his mind, gradually forming a plan.
"Better to lean into my uniqueness... present myself as a Zoroast descendant with a strange encounter and a bit of cleverness, seeking to align with Pallez. He'll be wary, sure, but it's less likely to fall apart."
"It'll make building favorability trickier, but with Azik as a fallback, it's acceptable." Alaric made his decision, then thought of the Amon-branded Worm of Times he'd carefully stored, chuckling softly.
"Besides, favorability might not be that hard to boost."
Pallez's greatest enemy was Amon, and his biggest goal was to take Amon down. Starting from there, Alaric could surely earn some goodwill.
***
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