Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

He sat and thought for a while longer, then burned the paper filled with his notes to ashes.

Because of Mr. A, he was in a bad mood. Hmm… he couldn't let the Son of Chaos have it too easy either.

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The next day, after breakfast, Hastur went to Empress Borough to find Greg, saying he wanted to stay with him for two or three nights.

For such a small matter, Greg agreed with a smile and even said that he could stay there permanently in the future.

After settling this little thing, Hastur went to Beckland University for classes and, in the afternoon, followed Lecturer Fron to Cherwood Borough to work as a legal aid.

When he finished his busy work and left Cherwood Borough, Hastur had the carriage detour past the courthouse and lifted the curtain to glance at the courthouse gate.

This afternoon, he heard from a member of the Justice Research Association that yesterday, near the courthouse closing time, an old man suddenly ran in, wanting to confess his past crimes.

That old man told the judge and jury a story that was both moving and shocking, and because of this incident, the court even closed its doors early.

As for how it was ultimately handled, that person too was not clear; he guessed that the old man would not live much longer, perhaps not even surviving last night.

Although Hastur had already anticipated such an outcome, he still couldn't help but sigh.

If there was a chance in a few days, he would go to the small village outside the city where the old man lived and set up a gravestone for him.

He too had once been a soldier guarding the Loen Kingdom, and any soldier who selflessly fought for the country should not be forgotten like this.

...

April 6th, Thursday.

After finishing a half-day of legal aid in the afternoon, Hastur could clearly feel that the Lawyer potion inside him had been completely digested. As long as he prepared the Barbarian potion, he could advance to Sequence 8 Barbarian.

Leaving Cherwood Borough, Hastur did not return to Greg's place in Empress Borough but instead went back to his house, which he had been away from for three days.

He moved all the materials needed for the Barbarian potion into an empty room on the second floor and forbade anyone from approaching it.

Main Ingredients: one Grass of Madness, a Core horn crystal of a Land Rhinoceros.

Supplementary Ingredients: 1 Deep-Grained Walnut;1 Fragrance Hornet Grass;10 ml of the extract obtained from soaking poplar bark;100 ml of Liquor.

Looking at all the collected materials, Hastur felt both satisfied and excited.

After consuming the potion, he would become a Sequence 8 Barbarian, and his combat power would be greatly enhanced, completely incomparable to a daily-wage worker like a Lawyer!

After the excitement subsided, Hastur hesitated as he picked up the Deep-Grained Walnut, holding it in his palm for a moment of observation. Should he remove the kernel?

Or should he just crush it whole and take it along with the kernel? Hastur checked the formula again, it clearly said one Deep-Grained Walnut, so it should include the kernel.

Otherwise, it would have been written as "X grams of Deep-Grained Walnut flesh."

After figuring this out, Hastur began grinding and crushing all kinds of materials using pre-prepared tools, finally adding 100ml of liquor.

The final product was a small bowl of sticky, paste-like liquid.

Hastur took a deep breath and forced himself to drink the small bowl of thick liquid in one gulp.

It burned as it entered his mouth, like swallowing a lump of hot charcoal; the pain spread from his mouth to his throat and then to his internal organs, as if scorched by raging flames.

His entire head ached violently, as if someone were pounding it with a pestle.

Roaring sounds echoed in his ears, each one tearing at his nerves and shaking his eardrums.

Illusions flashed before his eyes, as though the entire order of sky and earth was collapsing, decaying, and falling into an endless abyss.

Following his previous experience, Hastur did his best to visualize the Hall of Stars, using it to suppress all the violent murmurs brought by the Barbarian potion.

After ten or twenty minutes, Hastur gradually regained his usual clarity, his whole body feeling reborn, filled with streams of warmth, and his fists brimming with enough power to smash a door with one punch!

However, his spirit depletion was severe, and he still felt a bit uncomfortable, making his face slightly pale.

He did not immediately go to bathe but instead sat on the bed with eyes closed to rest for a long time, then got up and moved his limbs, silently feeling the new abilities gained after advancing to Barbarian.

Barbarians represented terrifying strength, robust physique, and outstanding resistance to negative effects. When law could not be relied on to deal with enemies, taking forceful measures was a reasonable way of persuasion.

This was somewhat similar to Hugh's way of handling things, as she too was good at using physical means to arbitrate disputes.

The Barbarian brought four main abilities:

Terrifying Strength: Your pair of fists can easily defeat those who disobey you; when order and rules are threatened, strength is the key to defend and restore everything.

Robust Physique: You have a body far stronger than normal people. You are a Barbarian; a powerful body is your greatest reliance for charging through and defeating enemies.

Resistance and Weakening: A strong physique gives you extraordinary resistance. Any force attempting to harm you will be effectively blocked by your robust body. You are naturally highly immune to negative-effect attacks such as poisoning, curses, and illness…

Blood Roar: When threatened, your blood starts to boil, and your spirit condenses. You can temporarily multiply your strength several times and emit a terrifying roar to intimidate your enemies!

The first three abilities are easy to understand; they can all be categorized as strong physical qualities, strength and resistance are passive abilities gained from a strong body.

The fourth ability, Blood Roar, an active skill similar to Berserk, greatly enhancing one's power while emitting a roar-like spiritual shock that can severely affect enemies at critical moments.

Barbarian, is this the Berserker from Fate using his ultimate?

It doesn't seem that broken. It's more like Barbarian King from Clash of Clans, enlarging the body, greatly increasing speed and strength, and also granting immunity to control effects.

Just not sure if using this skill will clear one's sanity?

Hastur thought for a while and felt it probably wouldn't. After all, this skill is called "Blood Roar," not "Savage."

He guessed that after using this skill, he would be in a very weak state.

Three seconds of increased strength?

Hmm, it does feel a bit like that.

Hastur carefully felt every change in his body in the room, and only after adapting did he leave to take a bath.

After the bath, it was already past seven in the evening. He enjoyed a late dinner, and in order to replenish the energy consumed, his appetite seemed unusually large.

This made Butler Neil, who was standing nearby, a little nervous, afraid Hastur's stomach might burst.

Seeing Hastur eat two more portions of pan-seared short ribs, Butler Neil softly reminded him:

"Such overeating is hard on the body and will affect your health."

"Mm… I just had too much exercise this afternoon, so I feel a bit hungry."

Hastur explained and then finished the last sip of a Desi Bay-style drink, thus ending today's dinner.

"Around ten o'clock, remember to bring me a late-night snack, preferably something sweet."

After giving the instruction, Hastur stood up and went upstairs.

Butler Neil stared blankly at his back, then looked at the now-empty dining table, his expression very complicated, and finally came to one conclusion: perhaps the baron is still growing.

Upstairs in his bedroom, Hastur set an alarm and then collapsed onto the warm blanket and fell asleep.

Learning from last time, he didn't immediately enter the Hall of Stars but chose to first recover his spirit before entering.

He slept until ten o'clock, when a maid had already brought tonight's late snack: two desserts, caramel pudding and strawberry cake, along with a cup of hot milk.

Hastur slowly enjoyed them, thinking about how to deal with the Son of Chaos later.

Around ten-thirty, Hastur locked the doors and windows and entered the Hall of Stars.

Tonight's starlight was exceptionally brilliant, as if celebrating his successful promotion to Sequence 8.

Hastur sat on his exclusive high chair, reached out, and summoned two Chains of Order to dangle before him.

Yes, after his promotion to Sequence 8, another Chain of Order appeared in the Hall of Stars, allowing him to inscribe a new rule beneficial to himself.

Last time, he had already made a long-term protective rule. Now what he needed was a rule that could cooperate with his abilities to exert strong combat power.

For example, enhancing the effect of "Blood Roar" by several times or tens of times.

But such crude and simple rules were easy to exploit, and even if they could be enhanced that much, his body definitely couldn't withstand it and would be torn apart by the overwhelming power.

For now, he hadn't figured out what rule to make.

Besides strengthening himself, he had another idea, to specifically make a rule suited for the Hall of Stars.

The Hall of Stars could bring in Great Old Ones and Outer Deities for gatherings, something he was both tempted by and wary of.

So when he became a Sequence 9 Lawyer, he didn't immediately bring in the trapped Son of Chaos or the Fallen Mother Goddess to the Hall of Stars.

He was afraid they would seize control, despite the Hall of Stars' rules being centered on him as its master. He still had concerns.

But he couldn't wait until after becoming a god to bring them in, that would already have no meaning or benefit.

His original plan was to wait until becoming a Sequence 7 Briber to try inviting them.

However, after more than a month of probing with the whip, he discovered that the Son of Chaos had absolutely no way to fight back against the Hall of Stars, only being enraged and impotent every night.

An Outer Deity who once shone among the stars wouldn't endure such humiliation without taking action.

The Son of Chaos didn't refuse to act but simply couldn't, he had no way or ability to threaten the Hall of Stars.

This gave Hastur the idea to first invite the Son of Chaos to a meeting in the Hall of Stars, which would also help him better understand its range of capabilities.

As for the Fallen Mother Goddess, he still didn't want to provoke her for now.

After all, the Fallen Mother Goddess was not sealed and was one of the Three Pillars, her power far beyond that of the Son of Chaos, and she also had the deepest influence and interference in the material world among the Great Old Ones.

Hastur's greatest vigilance and precaution were aimed at her.

To invite her for a meeting, he'd need to at least reach Sequence 4 Demigod before considering it.

As he pondered, Hastur once again cast his gaze to the vast starry sky overhead, where each star shone brightly.

Among them, one star reflected the same dazzling brilliance as the Son of Chaos and the Fallen Mother Goddess.

Which Great Old One or Outer Deity could this be?

With a thought, the vast starry sky zoomed in, and that star with the dazzling brilliance enlarged before Hastur's eyes.