After finishing his diary entry for the day, Ren sat quietly in his room for about ten minutes before preparing for the lottery draw.
A large spinning wheel appeared, and as it spun, the entire wheel began to rotate rapidly.
The process took a while, but the result was eventually revealed.
[Acquired Sequence 8: Trickmaster]
"The Door came first, which isn't a bad outcome."
The Door Path's power spike is at Sequence 6, which is similar to the situation with the Error Path.
So Ren didn't care much about whether the Door or Error Path came first.
He took out the maple leaf coin for a divination.
"You can proceed with the promotion now."
The maple leaf coin flipped high into the air and landed quickly, with the "letter" side facing up.
After several divinations to confirm the result, Ren picked up the bottle containing the magic potion, uncorked it, and drank it down.
His tongue registered the taste.
Ren looked suspiciously at the bottle. There was nothing wrong with the potion itself. After drinking it, he could clearly feel his spirituality expanding.
After careful inspection, there were no signs of abnormalities. Everything felt natural, and even...
"...two-thirds digested."
Although it wasn't like the Clown potion that melted instantly, this digestion rate was still rather fast.
Then, Ren suddenly realized something.
"Does my usual manipulation of tarot cards count as a type of magic trick?"
He thought about how he used Sefirah Castle to draw tarot cards and the River of Everdarkness to change the cards.
"Could it be... disguising these effects using Sefirah is also a form of stage magic? Using two Sefirahs for performance is definitely a bit overkill."
From that perspective, it made sense that the digestion was already two-thirds complete.
That level of digestion could indeed be attributed to the combined influence of the Sefirah and his own unconscious performances.
"Not a bad thing at all."
With a snap of his fingers, a blinding white flash filled the room for a brief moment.
"The flash snap... It only works for an instant, but it can cause temporary blindness. The better the eyesight, the worse the impact."
"It's similar to the flash amulet I made, but this is the trickmaster's innate ability. It's not a one-time use, though its effectiveness is still weaker than the amulet."
In summary, it was convenient, though not quite as practical as the flash amulet.
"Well, it is the Trickmaster Path, after all."
This Path's abilities are mostly utility-focused, suitable for performances and tricks, but not very effective in real combat.
However, when paired with a weapon, it could still provide solid support.
The Door Path's offensive capabilities in the early stages are indeed lacking. It's mostly about surviving rather than fighting.
Even so, Ren wasn't disappointed. The Door Path is slow and steady, and its strength builds over time.
In the early stages, it might be the weakest in combat, but once it reaches Sequence 0 and ascends to True God status, it can shatter space itself, dealing devastating spatial damage.
The weaker the early-stage combat ability, the more overwhelming the late-stage abilities become.
This is true of the Door, Error, and Fool Paths.
"The Trickmaster ended up last."
In fact, the Trickmaster's utility is even greater than the Magician's. Charm, eloquence, mental interference, and misleading thought—these are all very practical, especially in conversations, where the Trickmaster Path shines.
In Ren's current role as an observer of others' fates, the Trickmaster's powers are quite relevant.
Ren relaxed and calmed his expanding spirituality.
However, it would still take time to fully master the newly grown spirituality.
It just so happened that he had time to adjust now. Doing a few divinations regarding the situation over there might help him gain better control of this new part of his spirituality.
He made a small adjustment to his state, then sat in the chair and began shuffling his tarot cards.
He slowly drew three cards.
Reversed Tower, Upright Judgment, Upright World.
"Oh~ This is good news."
The Tower is a terrible card whether upright or reversed. It's nearly as bad as the Death card.
The reversed Tower represents forewarnings of separation and romantic crisis, meaning emotional detachment.
Judgment represents openness and good news, while the World represents success and mission completion.
These three cards together form a complete good-news combination.
Especially for the couple who had both love and hate between them, this separation was the best possible outcome.
Previously, the divination for the couple's fate pointed toward death and imprisonment. But now, it had shifted to a straightforward breakup.
This was the biggest shift for a couple whose future had looked grim.
"My words did have an effect."
Ren smiled, put away the tarot cards, shuffled again, and drew three more cards.
Reversed High Priestess, Upright Wheel of Fortune, Upright Judgment.
"The woman's psychological condition is still serious, but it's been relieved somewhat. She even shows signs of recovery from the extreme third stage. It seems that ending the relationship helped her grow, allowing her to realize the severity of her psychological issues."
"As for that gentleman..."
Reversed Temperance, Upright Moon, Reversed World.
"A marriage formed through blind dating isn't a good match, and emotional turbulence remains. Plus, the harassment from before has left lingering effects. These issues have led to incompatibility within the marriage. This unstable post-marriage relationship means their future will be more like putting up with each other than truly living together."
We can't expect too much from the final result. Still, the future that once seemed fixed has now changed.
After getting this answer, Ren didn't put away his tarot cards. Instead, he leaned back into the soft sofa.
"Taking part in a story and trying to change something isn't a bad thing for me."
"Whether it's from the perspective of human nature or for gaining returns through the diary..."