Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Personal Charisma Bonus is 95, two Symbol bonuses add 10 points, total of 208 points, passing the check."

Upon hearing Iluna mention "Charisma 95 points", the young cultist Dion's mouth twitched slightly, and he instinctively touched his face, asking his companion:

"I haven't seen Shard Hamilton in person, but isn't 95 charisma a bit too exaggerated... Professor, are you sure that Miss Pavo of yours said the success rate of this operation is above eighty percent?"

"No need to worry. Hamilton is just the Church's optimal solution, but not a guaranteed victory. However..."

Professor Anse recalled Miss Pavo's account of the banquet at Lakeside Manor:

"His charisma indeed deserves this score."

Dorothy stifled a laugh in the darkness, while those who had met Shard nodded instinctively.

"Charisma" doesn't merely refer to appearance but also to speech and demeanor. Only Iluna knew that she was just reading the most basic score. Besides charisma, Shard's wordplay was equally astonishing, and in terms of "social credibility," Shard had the special identity of an "MI6 agent," which could directly pass this check, but Iluna didn't mention that.

Shard's parchment list, while appearing as long as the other two parchments to others, was filled with astonishing contents. Each time Iluna frowned as she checked, it was actually because there were too many letters, at least a third of which she couldn't recognize.

If Shard were to use his status as a Circle Sorcerer to participate in this story, Iluna couldn't entirely imagine the possibility of Shard losing.

In short, the people trapped inside the relic lived through an extremely perilous story within just a few minutes, but meanwhile, Shard was merely walking out of the Prophet's Society.

Patrolling policemen happened to pass by the entrance of the Prophet's Society, glancing at Shard, then continued onward without even coming over to ask anything.

"The pursuers of the thief successfully entered Silver Cross Avenue, and now before them is an empty street along with a chilling night breeze. The night was so charming, yet no one indulged. The thief could appear at any moment, so they must quickly prepare. So, what should be done next?"

A hoarse voice came from all directions, the silver hourglass on the table flipped once again, with Professor Anse the first to speak:

"[Night Stalker] Jogori Deus invites [Charming Lady] Lydia Pangleau to conduct joint reconnaissance to locate [Thief Jack]'s current position."

"[Charming Lady] Lydia Pangleau agrees to the invitation to conduct joint reconnaissance to locate [Thief Jack]'s current position."

The cultist also spoke, his expression becoming much more serious, evidently this was a crucial step in their plan.

The black-robed "Keeper of Secrets" announced:

"Tracking [Thief Jack]'s whereabouts requires a total score of 1000 points. Joint reconnaissance allows the points of the two to be summed."

"What?"

The bearded captain of the Church of Creation was aghast:

"Doesn't this mean..."

"Yes, in reality, no one would be able to find any traces of [Thief Jack], but in the 'Dice Story', there's a possibility of him being found, albeit a minimal one. Apologies, Chosen One, the game has just begun, yet it has already ended."

The professor grabbed the dice and rolled the points:

"Point Value 54, First Ring Sorcerer Basic Investigation Bonus 107, Symbol bonus 40, using the 1.5 multiplier Arcane Technique [Breath of the Wind] to investigate traces in the wind, obtaining reconnaissance bonus..."

He rolled the dice again:

"Arcane Technique reconnaissance bonus obtained is 54 times 1.5 equals 81, using Keeper of Secrets Level Relic Demon Eye [Bug Eye] to obtain a reconnaissance value of 200, drinking the magic potion 'Inspiration Potion' to obtain a reconnaissance value of 66, totaling 548."

On the table, the wooden figure representing [Night Stalker] Jogori Deus was faintly glowing, indicating his use of extraordinary power.

"Luck was decent, just over half of 1000."

The professor nodded in satisfaction.

The seventeen-year-old girl was still frowning, maintaining the same gesture since the beginning. What she was contemplating wasn't how to win; only she knew if she arbitrarily manipulated Shard, she wouldn't lose this game.

The young cultist kissed the Holy Emblem of "Mr. Misfortune" and rolled the dice:

"Point Value 67, First Ring Sorcerer Basic Investigation Bonus 85, Symbol bonus 50, using the 1.6 multiplier Arcane Technique [Dark Perception], obtaining reconnaissance bonus..."

He rolled the dice to determine the Arcane Technique effect:

"Arcane Technique reconnaissance bonus obtained is 78 times 1.6 equals 124, using Scribe Level Relic [Constant Detective's Police Handcuffs] to search the criminals aware of specific case details, obtaining a reconnaissance value of 350, drinking the magic potion 'Inspiration Potion' obtaining reconnaissance value of 66, totaling 742."

The professor smirked and exchanged glances with Iluna:

"Total reconnaissance points 1290, exceeding 1000."

"[Night Stalker] Jogori Deus and [Charming Lady] Lydia Pangleau have obtained the location of the criminal [Thief Jack]."

The spiritual light brightening the two wooden figures standing together instantly swept across the entire table. A new figure appeared on the west outer wall of Yordle Palace—this was the target this time.

"See Relic against Relic, Relic's power brought about a miracle. If this were done in reality, it's impossible to find [Thief Jack], because even before the theft, it's uncertain whether it exists. But now it passes the check solely because the values are adequate."

Professor Anse's face bore no proud expression; instead, he was quite serious:

"Chosen One, what will you do? Miss Pavo rates you highly; you shouldn't disappoint her."

Iluna watched the three figures on the table slowly moving, without receiving orders, the figures would spontaneously generate corresponding activities. Jogori Deus and Lydia Pangleau were heading towards [Thief Jack], while Shard was pacing at the entrance of the Prophet's Society.

"Hamilton proceed to this location."

She pointed to the spot on the map where "Thief Jack" was located.

"He hasn't reconnoitered the target, so there's no reason for him to do so."

The voice surrounded in darkness said, the tone seemingly a bit cold, which made Angelina, who was very excited, lean closer to her sister.

"Hamilton is tracking Jogori Deus and Lydia Pangleau."

Iluna gave another instruction.

"He doesn't recognize the other characters in the story, so there's no reason for him to do so."

The voice of the Keeper of Secrets stopped Iluna's command again, and the voice became increasingly uncomfortable.

Iluna pursed her lips and turned to discuss with Miss Green and Old Mr. Modro:

"The hourglass for this round is empty, needing at least ten minutes. I still have time to think, so no instructions for now."

The High Ring Sorcerer at the table shook his head slightly:

"If you're planning to delay your turn, preventing the characters manipulated by me and Dion from acting in the next turn, then you're thinking too simplistically. Even if you delay for ten minutes, ten minutes later, we will still directly engage in combat to capture [Thief Jack], you're merely postponing your failure by ten minutes."

Iluna didn't speak, she was still pondering how to properly utilize Shard's strength. She couldn't have Shard conduct reconnaissance now, because the basic investigation value that must be spoken aloud was frighteningly high. Although Iluna didn't know the values of the other Four-Ring Sorcerers, a basic investigation value as high as "5821" was clearly unreasonable.

Even the number "5821" on the parchment was still jumping, reaching six digits at its peak, Iluna couldn't comprehend this phenomenon at all.

At this time, Shard was still blowing in the wind at the entrance of the Prophet Association, and he had yet to receive Iluna's command, indicating that Iluna had encountered a difficulty.

[So what will you do?]

"She" asked softly in Shard's ear, Shard looked at the street view of Silver Cross Avenue:

"This isn't a game for me, it's the players who need to follow rules, not a story character like me."

He said in his heart, glancing around:

"The opening of the [Dice Anthology] requires three manipulated characters, and they must be in opposing factions. The game has a cheating method, allowing the selection of special characters besides ordinary people, so the Sorcerer using this Angel-Level Relic must have chosen Sorcerers to manipulate like me."

It was already past nine in the evening, and even in the city center of the City of Steam, Tobesk, there were hardly any figures on the streets. Shard looked into the distance:

"Therefore, a stranger Sorcerer, whose body is affected by the Whisper Element, is another story character."

[Yes, look ahead, the man and woman appearing together there have a Whisper Element that matches the one affecting you.]

Jogori Deus and Lydia Pangleau passed right in front of Shard like this. Their steps were normal, expressions natural, like a regular strolling couple, completely unaware they were being manipulated by invisible "hands."

The patrolling policeman acted as if he couldn't see the two, and they seemed unable to see Shard either. So Shard, standing in the wind, watched them walk away into the distance:

"I'm not a player in the game, relic traits aren't meant to bind me, what I want to do is the ongoing story. It's easy to explain my next action, the weather is too cold. Since the instruction is for me to leave the Prophet Association, I have no choice but to go home, which makes sense."

When the two were only shadows in the distance, he put his hands in his pockets, officially exiting the front of the Prophet's Society, and followed after them. It was also the direction leading to Saint Delan Square, in fact, no matter which direction you walked towards on Silver Cross Avenue, it led to Saint Delan Square.

Though Shard often felt Iluna was not mature enough, he trusted Iluna's judgment and wisdom very much. Sure enough, after he at a distance followed the two strange Sorcerers, he suddenly had an impulse to "wander around Silver Cross Avenue according to current thoughts."

This was not in line with his real thoughts, meaning this must be the command Iluna gave.

Shard sighed, continuing to walk forward on Silver Cross Avenue. Four minutes later, the two people walking ahead suddenly stopped, then disappeared into a shadow not lit by streetlamps.

But even though they disappeared, Shard could still detect the Whisper Element, knowing the two had entered a "Stealth" mode.

"Could it be that they really used the power of the [Dice Anthology] to find 'Thief Jack', preparing to capture that thief?"

But no matter how strong Shard's perception was, he found no trace of the thief who stole from Dorothy nearby. Iluna still hadn't given Shard the next command, indicating she couldn't make Shard approach Thief Jack directly.

"In this case, I can't stop around these two people, because I have no reason to do so. I can only keep moving forward, but Thief Jack must be nearby."

Shard thought to himself, bypassing the two openly "sneaking" on the street and continued on his way.

[Look ahead.]

"Hmm?"

Looking up, a familiar figure appeared far down the street.

"Dorothy?"

Holding a cat and carrying a sword, because she left in a hurry, the blonde girl only wrapped in Shard's coat, came running from the southern end of Silver Cross Avenue.

Though the street was brightly lit, she seemed not to see Shard, looking anxiously behind him. Shard understood this phenomenon, as he was a story character affected by the [Dice Anthology], when the "Keeper of Secrets" did not narrate the story, no one could notice him, he wouldn't even make it to the newspapers even if he stripped naked on the street.

The blonde girl in the distance, whether it was Dorothy or Lecia, even as a Sorcerer couldn't break this rule, just like the Priest Augustus during the "Dark Realm" incident, couldn't realize the existence of "Luviya Annette" in the group until Shard reminded him.

The blonde girl got closer, and just as Shard began to think of ways to make her notice him, the cat being held started watching Shard intently, tilting its head:

"Meow!"