Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

On the surface, the relationship between Priest Augustus and Dorothy was that of ordinary friends, so the Old Cleric greeted her normally:

"Good afternoon, Miss Luisa. Are you here to see the Detective? It just so happens he just got home."

He gestured behind him and called out to the cab driver not to leave, helping him load the stone box onto the carriage. After getting on the carriage, the priest waved goodbye to Shard and Dorothy.

The blonde girl stood bathed in the light of the sunset, the reddish glow complementing her makeup. Once the carriage carrying Professor Augustus had left, she greeted Shard:

"Shard, do you have any plans for the evening? Would you like to join me for dinner?"

She waved her notebook and greeted the cat curiously peeking around Shard's feet:

"Good evening, Mia."

"Meow~"

The cat, quite familiar with Dorothy, meowed in response but still dared not bypass Shard and rush out the door.

Having completed the third trial of the Lake Goddess, another significant task for Shard, he accepted Dorothy's invitation as a celebration. After changing his clothes, he took the cat and Miss Writer to the "Golden October Restaurant" on Silver Cross Avenue.

This was one of the more expensive restaurants on Silver Cross Avenue, but fortunately, Shard had earned a lot in Huntington over the past few days.

During their meal, Shard and Dorothy talked about that afternoon's experience:

"I defeated an angel. Although the other party intentionally suppressed their power, and I relied on the power of a Sage Level [Relic], it's still worth celebrating."

High society people dining at upscale restaurants liked to bring their own wine, and Shard was no exception. He rarely brought a bottle of wine to clink glasses with Dorothy. Dorothy, now in a blue dress, raised her glass, looking not too surprised:

"It wouldn't surprise me if you suddenly told me one day that you've advanced to the Thirteen Rings."

"That will still take a long time."

Shard put down the goblet, gently waving off the cat trying to sniff the wine glass.

The restaurant had a very pleasant ambiance, with gas lamps providing dim lighting, but the candles on the table, arranged at varying heights, were lit. The perfectly balanced lighting didn't affect their vision and helped enhance the atmosphere. The restaurant's high prices were justified.

Shard didn't go into detail about his battle with the angel, to protect Dorothy's mental well-being from discussing the ancient angel's origin. However, he mentioned the [Aikenora-Arrow of Knowledge], which he currently kept in the basement with the water pouch:

"Those with talent who are scratched can become Gifted Ones, but the awakening is not very stable. I think it's better for me to keep such a weapon. If it were to fall into the hands of the [Pantanal Voodoo Society], who knows what trouble it might cause."

"Directly become a Gifted One?"

The blonde girl blinked, and Shard knew she was thinking of Little Princess Angelina.

"No, no, Lecia wouldn't let Angelina become a Circle Sorcerer now, and you've also mentioned that using that arrow for awakening makes Circle Sorcerers more prone to losing control."

Dorothy contradicted herself, and Shard didn't add much. Lecia had her own plans for Angelina. Nevertheless, he regretfully expressed his disappointment at not being able to shoot that arrow:

"Just missing that shot to touch the fourth Spirit Rune of the Fourth Ring, but the lady in the white robe conceded."

The waiter brought over a trolley delivering the "Tobesk Oil-Soaked Duck." After the waiter left, Shard continued to lament:

"That feeling was as annoying as thousands of little Mias crawling all over you."

[Didn't you say hundreds this afternoon?]

Shard slightly exaggerated, and Dorothy fully understood his meaning, lightly chuckling into her handkerchief:

"The arrow's in your hands, and you obtained that special water. There will always be another chance to use that arrow."

"Yes, there will be other opportunities, but this afternoon... although I have over ten thousand pounds in cash, I still lack confidence to buy a satisfactory bow."

He changed the subject himself to avoid that "thousand cats clawing" feeling from intensifying.

"There are quite a few famous relic bows in Saint Byrons. That Moon Witch, Miss Briony Orlando you mentioned, being a half-elf, should also be skilled with a bow, right?"

Dorothy asked while tending to her food, and Shard nodded.

But the stereotype that elves excel at using bows and never eat meat is just that—a stereotype. Shard had never seen Miss Orland, who is skilled in the 'Red Moon' power, use any bow-like weapons.

"Since you're feeling so bad inside..."

The lady across the table winked at Shard, and then he felt something nudging his leg under the table covered with a white tablecloth—most likely the silk stockings of a lady. The tablecloth was long, and the restaurant was dimly lit; otherwise, Dorothy would never have done such a thing.

She brushed her hair behind her ear with her right hand and used a fork to pick up some food from her plate with her left, looking at Shard under the candlelight:

"I'm not feeling well today. When I get back to Feather Quill Street, I'll record Professor Drake's story, even if it can't be published, it's still great material. Perhaps you could visit Luviya."

With blushing cheeks, she lowered her head to eat the duck on her plate. Shard blinked and confirmed a few things with the Echo of Blood. To avoid misunderstanding, he said in his heart:

"Help me calculate."

"It's today."

He turned to look at the cat waiting to be fed on the high stool. When he picked up Mia earlier, Luviya mentioned she had to go to the city's black market tonight to get the ritual materials needed for her coursework. Therefore, it looked like only he and Mia would spend the night at home.

On nights alone at home, Shard had many things to do. Since he had already obtained the Spirit Rune of 'Power,' he planned to learn a new arcane technique.

He currently possessed the 'Power of the Red Dragon' sorcery, a gift he received while using the 'Sleeping Princess' to awaken the tailed Red Dragon Witch during his adventures in the Gadis Library. This sorcery is highly related to 'Power,' but unfortunately, Shard did not know how to transform it into an arcane technique. However, during the battle in Midshire Fort, before he swung his sword at the Gate of Death, Mr. Lacan Matthis, a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer from the Sun Church who defended the Milestone Parish, had given him a reward—the Heaton Seal—which he could now learn.

The Heaton Seal is a renowned defensive sorcery of the Sun Church, and Shard had already gathered all the ritual materials needed to learn it. The hard-to-acquire materials like the "Golden Wheat" and the "Shell Fragment of the Underground Magma Turtle" were also procured with Iluna's help, so he planned to perform the ritual to learn the arcane technique tonight.

After dinner, Shard and Dorothy arranged for her to temporarily take care of Mia in Saint Delan Square the following night when he attended Lecia's reading salon. After escorting the blond lady to Feather Quill Street, Shard conveniently went to 21 Ikem Street in the University District, bringing back the ancient documents on the 'Cannibal Aken Tribe Language' as arranged with Apna Library.

Because the learning ritual for the Heaton Seal required it to be conducted underground, Shard tidied up the basement upon returning home and chose the open space in the basement as the ritual site.

He let Mia play around the house while he drew the base formation for the ritual on the basement floor and calculated the time to place the ritual symbols. The magic potion to be ingested before the ritual was relatively simple to prepare; it just required waiting for the process of settling, which was time-consuming.

And at seven that evening, while Shard was still busy with the final preparations, his home door was unexpectedly knocked. Before the door was knocked, the badge hanging on his chest began radiating a surprising amount of heat, indicating the arrival of a witch.

It wasn't Miss Galina, but Miss Sylvia. The young Grand Witch looked to be in a good mood. She came alone again, and when Shard opened the door, the young lady with black shoulder-length hair stood on the steps, holding her handbag, with a mist-covered night square behind her:

"Good evening, Shard, is anyone at home? Is it convenient for me to visit? I have some details on the last paper I'd like to discuss with you."

She asked with a smile, and Shard extended an inviting gesture:

"Please come in, but I'm currently preparing for the ritual to learn an arcane technique. If you'd like to discuss the paper, please wait for half an hour. Brewing the Golden Sun Potion is quite time-consuming; I've been watching it downstairs for an hour, and the potion still hasn't boiled. Perhaps next time I should change the pot."

"Need any help?"

Miss Sylvia stepped in and took a deep breath:

"It seems like you used too little white chrysanthemum essence. If you're using it for an auxiliary ritual with the Golden Sun Potion, I recommend replacing the standard preparation's white chrysanthemum essence with sap from the roots of a locust tree."

Despite Miss Sylvia being younger than the Outlander's physical age, the Grand Witch truly lived up to her title. With her enthusiastic help, Shard successfully brewed the potion and performed the ritual while under the potion's effects, thereby learning the arcane technique documented by the Church, which only Circle Sorcerers of Six Rings or higher could master.

The Heaton Seal doesn't require spellcasting materials for casting, but it needs a sword as the spellcasting medium, whether a tangible sword or a spiritual weapon.

After learning the arcane technique, Shard naturally wanted to test the effect of his first defensive sorcery. After clearing the basement of clutter, Shard invited Miss Sylvia to assist him in the practice session.

Miss Sylvia and the curious cat stood at the edge of the basement as Shard stood in the center of the open space.

Summoning the Moonlight Greatsword, he thrust it into the ground with one hand, while the other hand formed the ceremonial hand gesture by touching the thumb and middle finger, curling the pinky, and crossing the ring and index fingers:

"Heaton Seal!"

As spirituality flowed within and the whisper elements affected reality, at a certain moment, a dazzling circular golden shield appeared around Shard's body.

This wasn't a complete sphere but rather one lacking the bottom third of its volume. The golden shield had a luster akin to the sun, fully suppressing the gaslight in the basement and casting both the witch and the cat in a golden hue.

The surface of the golden shield lacked runes but was adorned with flowing gleams, giving it a rather mystical appearance. This orb completely illuminated the entire basement, even making Shard feel as if the temperature in the non-steam-heated basement was rising.

It seems that using this arcane technique at night should be done with extreme caution since it was much brighter than a gas street lamp. However, among the commonly used talismans, there are talismans that can obscure the glow of a certain area, and although talismans cannot affect Shard's Light Spell, they should be able to obscure the light of other arcane techniques.