Lord of the Mysteries (Web Novel)

Hvin Rambis picked up the porcelain teacup and took a sip. Looking at Audrey, who sat in a flawless posture, he said genially, “There’s no need to act so reserved. This isn’t our first meeting. I still recall discussing Birman’s philosophy of ethics and Kongsoka’s pragmatism with you two years ago.”

Audrey smiled faintly and said, “I just find it difficult to put the idea of you and a Psychology Alchemists councilor together.”

Hvin Rambis hadn’t introduced himself, but it was a reasonable inference based on Audrey’s knowledge of the Psychology Alchemists and the present situation.

Hvin crossed his right leg and said with a smile, “This isn’t something worth paying attention to. Never forget that our Psychology Alchemists is an organization established with the goal of studying the psyche and to build knowledge. We are more about the academic side of things rather than handling matters. Heh, since it’s academic, you can always treat a councilor as a university’s professor.”

If she hadn’t learned from Mr. World that Hvin Rambis was behind Cuarón’s suicide, Audrey would’ve been able to conclude that he was a knowledgeable, amiable, humorous, and humble scholar, regardless of the amount of observation that she did. However, since she was wary, Audrey wasn’t someone who would so easily believe things that appeared on the surface.

As she looked at him and organized her words, she prevented herself from focusing too much on one point. She kept her thoughts lively and scattered to prevent herself from being hypnotized.

At this moment, her mind suddenly turned adrift. She seemed to see the seven pure lights that contained infinite knowledge, and the dense, indescribable figures. She saw them blanketing everything from high above.

This was the spirituality sky, the reflection of the spirituality in one’s mind!

And beneath the spirituality sky was a deep, dark sea. Every drop of water resembled a point of light as though they represented an imprint on each subconscious.

Near this sea were several islands. One of them belonged to Audrey.

She clearly knew that this was a manifestation of her consciousness. What was exposed above the sea was what she could detect, and the parts covered by the “seawater” were her deeper consciousness that she was usually unable to grasp or know.

Floating above the island, Audrey looked to the bottom. She first noticed that the area was a solitary, quiet, gray blur. They screened out her vision, making her only capable of seeing the massive and dark black outlines of the subconscious, as well as the illusory and rippling sea of collective subconscious. She was unable to obtain much information from that.

Audrey was puzzled as to how she had entered this strange state when she saw large swaths of gray split apart like the sea deep in the sea of subconscious at the island below. It revealed a stone platform that had appeared at some point in time.

On the platform, a figure grew up rapidly in a fashion akin to blinking, entering Audrey’s field of view almost instantly.

His hair was completely white but remained thick and lush. He wore a standard three-piece suit, matched with blue-gray trousers with lines adorning it, as well as a dark red bow tie. This man with deep wrinkles on his forehead was none other than Hvin Rambis.

Compared to the Hvin sitting on the sofa, he appeared more sinister. He didn’t wear a smile, and his head was slightly bowed. It was as though he was observing Audrey’s subconscious that lay behind.

In a few steps, he walked into Audrey’s island of consciousness through the sea of collective subconscious. Then, he went from the subconscious to the area exposed above the sea like a silent visitor who didn’t knock on the door or receive any permission.

After arriving on the island, Hvin Rambis raised his head. His facial skin was already covered in grayish-white scales. His irises were gold and vertical, and it didn’t show any hint of emotion.

This… Floating in midair, Audrey observed this scene and fully understood the situation she was in.

This was the world of the mind, a mind world formed by the spirituality sky, sea of collective subconscious, and the island of consciousness!

Due to the blessings from Mr. Fool’s angel, Hvin Rambis’s intrusion of my Body of Heart and Mind and psyche through the sea of collective subconscious sounded alarms… That force has separated my most fundamental part of my self-conscious, allowing me to control everything on the island from the spirituality sky. Thus, I’m able to truly resist true forms of telepathy… How magical — No, how despicable of Hvin Rambis! He’s not polite at all. He intruded into my “house” without gaining any permission or providing any notification! Audrey grumbled in midair.

After understanding her current situation, she secretly controlled the changes that were influencing the island while answering the casually seated Hvin Rambis in the real world.

“I’m also very reserved when facing university professors.”

As she spoke, Audrey made her inner island “mumble.”

This isn’t a good analogy. As a elderly Psychology Alchemists councilor, he should be a Sequence 4 at least. This is a demigod, one that naturally makes one feel fear, awe, and reserved!

On the sofa, Hvin Rambis chuckled immediately.

“Then I won’t be forcing you. I’ve heard about you from Hilbert. I heard that you’ve advanced from Psychiatrist to Hypnotist in a short few months. I’m very curious about how you did it? Oh, I’ve also heard of the answer you gave Escalante-having the courage to make use of matters. However, I wish to hear something more detailed.”

At this moment, the Hvin Rambis on Audrey’s mind island was observing his surroundings with a deadpan expression, listening the resonating voice. Audrey was already prepared for this as she deliberately pretended to be organizing her words. After a few seconds, she said, “It’s just the superficial meaning of ‘having courage to make use of matter.’”

“Uh… Let’s put it this way. In my future plans, I’ve always had one of my options being a Psychiatrist. Since I’ve acquired the corresponding Beyonder powers, I-I was definitely very happy to try it out and help the people around me resolve their mental and psychological problems.”

While saying that, she showed some signs of embarrassment towards such actions that bordered on childishness. Her mind island faithfully reflected

this.

After a pause, Audrey continued, “During this process, I discovered that my control over the potion’s powers became better until, one day, I felt something in me shatter and fuse into my blood. It also allowed me to vaguely see illusory stars. Mr. Rambis, what does it represent?

“Uh, for some reason, I firmly decided to become a Hypnotist from that day. This might also be a cue from my subconscious.”

After saying that, Audrey deliberately stuck out her tongue on her mind island like when she was little, doing things she usually wouldn’t do. It was a way to prove that she was feeling a little embarrassed because playing psychiatrist was no different from playing princess when she was little.

And embarrassment often meant the truth.

Hvin Rambis nodded gently and said, “Very talented. You seem to have figured out the ‘acting method’ by yourself.”

“Acting method?” Audrey wore a surprised and blank look both inside and outside before coming to a realization.

Hvin Rambis said with a genial smile, “It’s exactly as you think it is. By acting based on the potion’s name, and concluding the corresponding principles, that will speed up the digestion of the potion. It is an effective method for reducing the negative influences.”

“However, before Sequence 6, we do not teach it because we do not advocate members using this method to accelerate the digestion of their potions. Surprisingly, you have figured it out yourself.”

“Why don’t you advocate it?” Audrey asked sincerely out of curiosity.

Hvin Rambis sighed and said, “This will make the members not be themselves. Some might even be assimilated by the remnants of the potion.

“To put it simply, the first three Sequences are for one to slowly grasp their powers and get used to being extraordinary. It allows one’s subconscious to be deeper, become clearer, and turn more mature. It aids in resisting the subsequent problems that come from the ‘acting method.’

“Of course, I can only give my opinion on the Spectator pathway. As for the other Beyonder pathways, I’m not too sure if they’re the same. But clearly, pathways that focus on the domain of the mind would have some differences in the area of self-consciousness.”

Audrey was unable to determine the veracity of Hvin Rambis’s words. She felt that there was definitely some reason to it, but it was not entirely the truth.

Little Sun mentioned before that one key thing to remember regarding the “acting method” is “remember that you’re only acting”… I find this more appropriate. Yes, I’ve been strictly abiding to it, and will keep doing so in the future… Audrey, you mustn’t be careless. From this moment forth, you must put more emphasis on your self-consciousness! From Mr. Fool’s point of view, this must be trivial and doesn’t require additional emphasis since it’s included in the statement of “only acting.” But to the ordinary person, perhaps it’s relatively more important… As Audrey’s thoughts raced, she asked, “Can you explain the ‘acting method’ in more detail?”

Hvin Rambis explained it to her in a relatively more detailed manner before saying, “You are indeed talented and qualified to obtain the Sequence 5 Dreamwalker potion formula, but before that, I’ll give you several missions. This is out of fairness and also a form of training for you. This is because once you achieve Sequence 5, you will be leading two to three psychological discussion groups. Your every judgment and choice will influence the future and even the lives of the members beneath you. Therefore, we mustn’t allow people who deeply lack experience in handling matters to advance to Sequence 5.”

“Understandable.” Audrey didn’t object to it. “What’s the first mission?”

Hvin Rambis said with a smile, “A simple but rather long-term mission. Every piece of feedback you provide will count towards your contributions.”

At this point, he sighed.

“The fracture between the New Party and the Conservative Party is widening. The more conflict there is, the more divided the kingdom’s internal politics will be. I wish that you can take note of the attitude of your father, Earl Hall. Inform me of some of his views towards various bills and matters. Don’t worry, this will not cause him any harm. We only wish to mend the fractures.”

His final statement was, in fact, not supported by logic. It was solely a promise. But with Hvin Rambis raising his right hand to his temples while on Audrey’s “mind island,” Audrey felt that what he said was very reasonable and deeply relatable.

Floating above her mind world, she immediately snapped to her senses and realized something was amiss.