Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

With a complaint in his heart about his own laziness, Shard carefully let go of Luviya, who was in his embrace, but the act of getting up still woke the purple-eyed girl. Luviya, Dorothy, and Lecia all knew Shard had the habit of getting up on time, so they weren't surprised he was awake now.

"Luviya, pick a few items."

Shard sat up and casually took the wooden box from the bedside table, opened it, and handed it to Luviya. Luviya, still sleepy-eyed, did not leave the warmth of the blanket, she had Shard place the wooden box on the pillow:

"Honestly, waking up with a girl and immediately giving her beautiful jewelry and accessories, detective, where did you learn such bad habits?"

Even though she said that, she still leaned on her side and took a purple gemstone, which was very similar to the color of her eyes.

Shard didn't respond to Luviya's teasing, he looked around but couldn't see Mia. He couldn't remember where the cat had been last night, only recalling how beautiful Luviya's new nightgown was.

"Mia?"

After getting dressed and leaving the bedroom, he saw that the cat was pathetically looking at him in the air. The reason it was in the air was that Shard hadn't put away the palm-sized stone tablet with a silver collision angle last night, so the cat was now lying on the horizontally floating stone tablet.

Luviya staying overnight at Saint Delan Square wasn't something that happened for the first time, so she had some of her clothes stored in the dedicated astrology room on the third floor. There was no need to rush back home to change clothes this morning, so she had breakfast with Shard before heading to work on Silver Cross Avenue.

Moreover, because Saint Delan Square was closer to Silver Cross Avenue, she didn't need to hurry at all.

During breakfast, Shard mentioned that the "Lake Goddess" had promised him that for each of the first three trials completed, he could receive a gift or take a friend to meet her. The first time, Shard had taken Sister Delphine, now Shard had two more chances left.

Priest Augustus was unwilling to meet another angel, he could inquire further on the doctor's side, Dorothy and Lecia, although special, couldn't use the [Magician's Escape Box] that only a High Ring Sorcerer could use.

Even though Luviya's level was lower than the two princesses, Shard believed she had the means to use that relic, so during breakfast, he asked about Luviya's willingness. But surprisingly, Luviya rejected the idea without a second thought:

"I have no questions to ask, nor wishes that could only be realized by others helping me. I won't proactively meet any person possibly related to high-dimensional existence, yes, Shard, thank you for your kindness, but I think this opportunity can be given to someone else."

Her words were determined, causing Shard, who originally wanted to ask the reason, to refrain from speaking. But upon careful reflection, this likely had to do with the time curse on Luviya. She was banished by time to the point of being unaffected by the Unclassified Level Relic [Time of Retrospection]. Although Shard still did not know exactly what made Luviya so special, it was likely that she had destroyed something significant.

Shard was still busy today, but he dared not leave precious Mia at home. He thought of sending her to Miss Galina's manor as "refuge," but Luviya took the initiative to take on the responsibility of watching over the cat for the day:

"I'll take it to the Prophet's Society, the Society doesn't prohibit bringing cats to work. Besides, isn't it quite in line with people's stereotypes to have a cat possessed by diviners?"

Said the purple-eyed girl, and thus Mia was reluctantly taken away by her.

On Saturday night, after completing the delivery task for Old John, Shard helped the Circle Sorcerer of the Apna Library escape church pursuit and unexpectedly discovered that "Guiding Moon" Sir Sharply seemed to be an academic spy.

When delivering the guy injured by the Church Ring Sorcerer to 21 Ikem Street in the Tobesk University District, Shard proposed engaging in trade, and Tuesday morning was set as the meeting time between both parties.

The appointment was set for the morning because only in the morning one could appear wearing black robes in that kind of neighborhood without being noticed. When Shard knocked on the door of number 21 in the foggy morning, the door opened almost immediately.

He quickly slipped into the room, then quietly complained to the man who opened the door:

"Oh, damn it, didn't you pay the city heating bill?"

The temperature inside the house was even colder than outside.

The man who opened the door for Shard was a Circle Sorcerer he had never seen before. During the handshake, Shard confirmed his level was Six Rings, the same as Dr. Schneider. He was taciturn and introduced himself as "Mr. Leibert," directly leading Shard to the study on the first floor.

Aside from space for the door and window, all four walls of the study were filled with bookshelves. The floor had a set of desks and sofas, and the wooden coffee table already had a tea set prepared, but Shard certainly would not drink the tea here.

The two did not waste time on pleasantries, the conversation directly moved to the point:

"The message from Saturday night was indeed leaked from our side, leading to your encirclement by the Peace Church's squad. As compensation, I've already negotiated conditions with that gentleman from the Hermit Society, trying our best to complete your proposed trade. Sir, what do you need?"

Shard, dressed in a cloak and wearing a mask, spoke in a very hoarse voice:

"I need a stone tablet, after the collapse of the {Old God}'s [Gray Robed Sage] Order, some members joined you. At that time, they not only brought a staggering amount of books but also some special items. Among them should be a stone tablet, roughly square-shaped, with four corners wrapped in collision angles. Upon contact, one might obtain Spirit Runes or Arcane Technique knowledge."

Shard described the stone tablet he had already obtained, the [Gray Robed Sage] had no reason to make considerable differences in appearance among the three stone tablets, and after confirming that one was rectangular, the other two would likely not be circular or triangular.

The man who received Shard fell silent for a moment:

"I'll go check if the item you described is still in our possession."

He got up and left, leaving Shard alone in the empty room, where he opened the day's newspaper on the coffee table. Mr. Leibert returned about half an hour later, presumably having contacted the headquarters of the Apna Library:

"Yes, that stone tablet is indeed in our possession. We believe it's a book, but no one has been able to uncover its secrets so far. Its size matches your description, with no letters on either side, and the four corners are made of a material similar to Red Jade."

The corners of the stone tablet in Shard's possession are made of metallic silver. Given that the one at the Apna Library is of Red Jade, the last stone tablet, suspected to be in Saint Byrons, is likely yellow, though it's uncertain whether it's brass or gold, but it could also be Yellow Sapphire:

"Oh, as long as it's with you, please name your price."

Mr. Leibert nodded:

"We never use money to judge a book's value; we prefer trading. Although we don't know what this stone tablet really is, it's certainly an artifact from the previous era, and its value is..."

"No need to emphasize its value. I believe I know more than you. Just tell me directly what I need to offer."

Shard interrupted him.

"Books, valuable books."

"The gentleman from the Hermit Society should have negotiated some convenience for me, so please tell me what books you want."

Mr. Leibert paused:

"I must admit, the old gentleman from the Hermit Society really knows how to haggle. But the value of that stone tablet won't drop to the level of groceries. You only need to provide a few volumes of manuscripts that contain Spirit Rune knowledge, and then you can compensate with a large sum of Gold Pounds."

Shard thought it was likely Old John himself who negotiated the price. After all, while everyone loves Gold Pounds, sometimes the items sought by Circle Sorcerers are truly priceless, and the Apna Library typically doesn't accept cash transactions:

"If you need books, will this do?"

Shard reached into his pocket and took out the book he found yesterday in the river cave, which contained the Spirit Rune of the Snake, "Dark Crawler."

Spirit Runes related to animals didn't suit Shard's Circle Sorcerer system at all. He had no intention of controlling snakes, turning into a snake, or becoming a bald man without nostrils or eyebrows, nor were any of his associates suitable for such a Spirit Rune. Shard originally planned to sell it to Mr. Edmund at Coldwater Port over the weekend. At this moment, he decided to take a chance, unexpectedly, the man recognized the origin of the book right away:

"A book from the Pantanal Region."

Mr. Leibert muttered as he quickly flipped through it:

"It should be the translated version from 1795. The errors on the ninth and eleventh pages are the most significant features of this edition. Your book is likely one of those translated manuscript editions."

He said as he sniffed it:

"The ink smells right, mixed with the Pantanal Swamp Region's unique Sherlan Flower. In 1853, there are no more than 27 manuscript copies of this edition left. A decade ago, we obtained a poorly conditioned copy, missing a quarter of the pages, of 'Dark Crawler.' I hadn't expected to see one in such good condition today."

Shard noticed as he quickly flipped through the book, his eyes subtly emitted a faint blue glow. This wasn't Demon Eye, as Shard didn't sense any Whisper Element, indicating it's likely a unique Arcane Technique mastered by the Apna Library to inspect books.

"This is considered stolen property."

Shard emphasized, and the man nodded:

"Whether it's stolen or not doesn't really matter; we have very professional skills in aging and disguising items."

Mr. Leibert placed the book on the coffee table between them:

"It's a nice collection, but you have to know, this book pales in comparison to the artifact from the previous era that you want."

He rubbed his fingers at Shard, who snorted:

"Of course, as long as the artifact doesn't belong to the Sixth Era, the price will exponentially increase. Tell me, how much more should I price? Several thousand pounds? Tens of thousands of pounds? Or are you going to have me do something else?"