Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

"What a fulfilling and interesting day."

With a smile on his lips, Hastur stepped out of the courthouse, feeling the potion inside him digesting a little.

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Bravehearts Bar.

While playing billiards, Kaspars once again saw that impressive young nobleman.

Unlike others who still bargained, this young nobleman directly pulled out five pounds in cash and even bought him a Southwell beer.

"Good evening, Mr. Kaspars."

Hastur greeted politely and then asked Kaspars to lead him to the small dark room in the alley for the Beyonder gathering.

He could find the way on his own, but thought it safer to have Kaspars escort him.

As for the fee, he would buy him another Southwell beer.

"Being too obsessed with those things can easily bring disaster upon yourself." Kaspars offered Hastur another piece of advice before leaving.

"Thank you for the advice, Mr. Kaspars." Hastur nodded, deciding to buy him two Southwell beers when he returned.

Wearing his mask and hood, he entered the small dark room, again using the ground-floor lounge.

As the trades went on, the woman who had previously sold Hastur the Lawyer potion formula at a markup once again expressed her desire for the Barbarian potion formula.

Originally thinking there was no hope again, she was surprised to hear a calm voice from the corner: "I once obtained a Barbarian potion formula."

"What do you want in return?"

"800 pounds."

The woman frowned and said, "Isn't that price a bit high?"

Generally, a Sequence 8 potion formula costs between 500 to 600 pounds. This person opening at 800 was clearly overcharging.

"I'm not in urgent need of money at the moment."

"..."

The woman froze. Why did that sentence sound so familiar?

That's right. During previous gatherings, a newcomer wanted the Lawyer potion formula, and she had used that exact line to sell it for 300 pounds.

This voice also sounded familiar?

It was him!

The newcomer who had asked about the Lawyer potion formula!

The woman was shocked, then smiled bitterly: "That's a considerable sum. I'll need some time to gather the funds."

Hastur said blandly, "I believe Mr. Eye of Wisdom wouldn't mind advancing you part of it."

Eye of Wisdom chuckled: "I don't mind offering a little help. You can first use an Beyonder weapon of equal value as collateral."

"That's acceptable."

The woman gritted her teeth and painfully paid the high price of 800 pounds for the Barbarian potion formula.

Hastur handed over his handwritten Barbarian potion formula to Eye of Wisdom for a free appraisal.

Only when Eye of Wisdom declared the deal complete did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

This wasn't just about an 800-pound transaction, it was also about the potion formula he needed himself. Altogether, that was 1,600 pounds!

Having gained a large sum of 800 pounds, Hastur felt much more at ease. He considered buying an appropriate Beyonder item for himself, preferably a Sealed Artifact related to order or rules, but unfortunately, he didn't succeed.

At the end of the gathering, Eye of Wisdom had Hastur leave first to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Back at the Bravehearts Bar, Hastur ordered three Southwell beers for Kaspars.

Kaspars was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm already too old to enjoy Southwell beer."

"Just think of it as recalling the taste of youth."

Hastur turned his back to him, silently sipping a cocktail called "The Disordered," which cost 2 soli.

He had originally wanted to try fruit wine, but seeing those around him drinking either beer or strong liquor, he felt out of place drinking fruit wine alone and ended up choosing a cocktail instead.

"..."

Kaspars drank just one glass of Southwell beer and casually handed the other two to nearby cheerful drinkers.

After finishing the drink, he noticed Hastur still sitting with interest in a corner, admiring the drunken, hazy atmosphere of the bar. He walked over and asked,

"Would you be interested in meeting a real Beyonder?"

"Oh? Right here?"

"Mm."

"Sure."

"Follow me."

Kaspars led Hastur to a poker room deep inside the bar.

Pushing the door open, there were a dozen people playing Texas Hold'em.

Seeing someone enter, a man in a white shirt and black vest slowly stood up from his seat. The others also put down their cards at the same time and looked over.

No one spoke. The scene was briefly eerie.

Hastur scanned the room and saw that these people had pale faces, eyes like beasts, and gave off an aura that warned strangers to stay away.

This man must be Maric.

Hastur recognized who he was, this was also a major reason he stayed at the Bravehearts Bar.

Kaspars stepped forward and briefly introduced Hastur to Maric, then turned and left, leaving the two to talk in private.

"You're very interested in the world of the Beyonder?" Maric sat back down, a mocking smile on his lips.

Hastur walked over and sat opposite him. "Mortals always yearn for the world of gods."

"Heh. Have you ever killed anyone?"

"No."

The mocking expression on Maric's lips deepened as he shook his head. "People like you are not suited for, nor should they enter, this world where people devour one another."

'Do I really look that naïve?'

Hastur sighed inwardly.

Whether it was Kaspars or Maric, the moment they saw him, they seemed to take him for a foolish young noble chasing Beyonder power.

Hastur thought for a moment and said, "Then if you had the chance to choose again, would you still take this path?"

"Yes." A trace of sarcasm faded from Maric's lips.

"Why?"

Maric didn't answer directly. Instead, he chuckled and said, "I didn't have the privileged life you did."

"Yeah, my life was already so good, living in a big house, waking up every day in a large bed, with servants tending to me from morning to night. Since I'm already so wealthy, why not go looking for some thrills I haven't experienced before?"

Maric fell silent, feeling like the other man had taken the opportunity to show off.

"Cards?" Hastur smiled, pointing at the deck on the table, extending an invitation.

He didn't like gambling, he just missed the feel of cards in his hand.

If there were three players, he definitely would've suggested playing "Fight the Evil."

That was a mark engraved deep in his memory.

With four, it'd surely be "Upgrade" or "Big Two."

"You want to play cards with me?"

"Yeah, just the two of us."

"Alright, ante is 1 Soli, raise capped at 1 Pound."

Hastur nodded. The stakes were smaller than he expected. A few wins or losses wouldn't matter much.

He also wanted to see if his luck had improved.

Maric snapped his fingers, and a zombie standing to the right began shuffling and dealing cards.

After the deal, Hastur lifted a corner of his hole cards, pair of Aces, which made him pause slightly. Was his luck improving?

"Looks like your hole cards are pretty good," Maric noticed the faint change in Hastur's expression.

"Learning to control your expressions is part of gambling too."

"5 Soli."

"Call."

After a round of betting, the zombie continued dealing. The two kept calling until all five community cards were revealed.

A, Q, 9, A, 8.

"I've got a straight."

Maric laid down his hole cards, a 10 and a Jack. He'd banked on that last card.

"Four Aces."

Hastur remained calm and naturally revealed his two cards, beating Maric's straight with four of a kind.

Maric mused, "Is this beginner's luck?"

"Maybe."

In the following few rounds, Hastur's luck remained strong. Maric had decent hands too, but he mostly lost.

Eight rounds in total, Maric only won one, losing around 20 Pounds.

"Damn it."

Maric frowned slightly and glanced again at the zombie dealing cards, wondering if it was time to switch dealers.

Hastur knew when to quit and smiled, "Can I trade all my winnings for a piece of information?"

"Oh? What do you want to know?"

Maric didn't reject the deal. Lady Luck clearly wasn't on his side tonight, and he had no interest in letting his bad hand lift someone else's spirits.

"Your adventure story."

"Heh, that's not an adventure story."

Maric chuckled self-deprecatingly and organized his thoughts before slowly beginning to recount his Beyonder tale.

In his story, he was a farmer's child who cherished peace, living a pastoral life with his friends in a quiet village.

But one day, some greedy people colluded with external enemies to launch a brutal massacre.

The peaceful life ended. War spread. Some died tragically, some fled, others defected…

He was relatively lucky. With the help of some elders, he and a few friends managed to escape.

But the demons who had destroyed their homeland didn't stop there, they kept sending people to hunt them down. The group was forced to wander until they arrived in Backlund, where they finally found a somewhat stable life.

Perhaps recalling those rage-inducing events, Maric's eyes grew more violent, like a beast ready to strike.

But soon, he suppressed his impulses and returned to a calm demeanor.

Hastur sighed, "Those who follow desire will eventually be consumed by it. What makes humans human is that they aren't like beasts driven solely by desire, they possess a self that transcends it."

He didn't say this to please Maric; it was genuinely heartfelt.

Maric and Miss Sharon's moderation faction was clearly far better than the indulgence faction.

The indulgence faction were beasts who had lost themselves. When their desires burned out, they too would be reduced to ashes.

Maric's eyes brightened slightly, proudly saying, "To restrain desire and seek nothing externally, that's true extraordinariness."

"The human heart is as greedy as a snake that dreams of swallowing an elephant."

"That's a very insightful phrase. Emperor Roselle truly was a great thinker."

"…"

Hastur's expression stiffened a bit. He had only reworded the saying "the heart is never satisfied, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant," and hadn't meant to credit Roselle.

A great thinker? Well, when you attribute every famous quote in history to one person, of course he's a great thinker.

"It's getting late. I should be heading back."

Having been silenced by "Emperor Roselle's" quote, Hastur lost the interest to continue the conversation.

Maric said, "I usually come here every night."

"That's my good fortune." Hastur understood what he meant, and smiled as he got up and left.