Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Several hundred meters away, at the street corner on the east side of Saint Delan Square, Priest Augustus and Dr. Schneider walked into the square together. They moved along the edges of the street, avoiding the areas illuminated by streetlights, both looking composed:

"Doctor, I'm here to deliver an alchemical item to Shard, something I owe him. What are you here for? This area is under tight surveillance by the Church tonight, and it took quite an effort to come here unnoticed. Ah, I certainly want to give Shard a surprise this time."

Priest Augustus asked softly, looking quite pleased tonight.

"The Academy sent word at seven, instructing me to monitor this area tonight and report on the events that follow. The best surveillance spot is certainly at Shard's house, and he should lend me his window. The Academy also informed me that the Church is closely watching this area tonight, so it took me quite some effort to get here too."

Dr. Schneider nodded as he spoke, turning to look behind:

"When I came over from the last street, I saw people fighting in the sky. What's happening tonight?"

Though Priest Augustus didn't know about the "Sage's Glowstone", he was aware of matters involving "The Chosen One". He didn't want the doctor getting entangled in such affairs, so he simply shook his head.

Both were headed to Shard's home, but as they were just crossing the square, approaching the central fountain, they simultaneously frowned and looked toward No. 6, Saint Delan Square.

A man and a woman, two strangers, were peering inside through the window on the first floor of No. 6. The strangers had been in that spot for a while, but it was only then the doctor and priest noticed them.

Bill Schneider and Lat Augustus deeply furrowed their brows.

In the enclosed room on the second floor of the Prophet's Society on Silver Cross Avenue, silence engulfed the darkness, as everyone eyed the tabletop under the white light, where Iluna's eyes were fixed on the puppet representing Shard, moving toward Saint Delan Square:

"Seems my luck is good tonight. Although Mr. Hamilton cannot track 'Thief Jack's' whereabouts, he has every reason to head to Saint Delan Square."

"But what good is a single stroke of luck? 'Night Stalker' Jogori Deus and 'Charming Lady' Lydia Pangleau have already reached Saint Delan Square, while your Hamilton is still on his way."

The professor from Truth Society remarked lightly.

On the tabletop map representing nearby areas, two puppets had entered the Saint Delan Square bounds. Meanwhile, the detected 'Thief Jack' was swiftly moving within the square, doing a last-round reconnaissance like any ordinary thief before action.

"Once you have the first stroke of good luck, there could be a second."

Miss Green, standing behind Iluna, spoke softly:

"So far, your story characters are indeed strong, but not so strong as to guarantee victory. No matter how powerful a First Ring Sorcerer is, they still fear bullets. Otherwise, why didn't you manipulate characters to attack Shard Hamilton right at the story's beginning?"

Her analysis slightly reassured others present, and Professor Anse pointed toward his colleague:

"Guess why I decided to act alongside this gentleman, a believer of The Great One 'Mr. Misfortune', Anse."

The young cultist lifted his gaze towards everyone, once again kissing the Holy Emblem of the Evil God, then inquired softly:

"Professor, is it time I made a move?"

"Yes."

The middle-aged professor nodded:

"The story can't always go smoothly; it's time for some twists."

"What are you up to?"

Iluna asked alertly, as the cultist removed his pendant from his chest, placing the desecration-element Divine Item onto the table:

"Keeper of Secrets, I offer this Holy Emblem, in exchange for once misfortune upon all story characters."

The figure in the black robe raised their right arm, the wide sleeve gently brushed over the Holy Emblem, which then vanished.

The professor explained to Iluna, quite satisfied:

"Only a limited number of forces can directly interfere with the game, including holy emblems of deities related to fate, stories, and wisdom. The additional misfortune summoned for the story will only manifest through plausibly occurring events within the scene, avoiding abrupt appearances of deities, angels, or relics."

"Indeed, the Vice President from Truth Society anticipated that character roles chosen by the Church would be exceptional, so we pre-arranged strictly contained relics at various intersections nearby. When misfortune descends, Underworld Marriage will push those relics to the brink of losing control. Our characters know how to handle those specific relics, but Mr. Hamilton..."

The cultist with disheveled hair grinned, his tawny teeth appearing particularly unsightly.

The bearded captain from Mechanic Church considered lashing out again, while Old Mr. Modro from Peace Church clenched his fist. Dorothy was protecting Angelina, considering to switch again with Lecia to warn Shard of the impending relic attack. Yet, it was Iluna who spoke at this moment:

"A friend of mine told me multiple times before that to manipulate fate is to be toyed by it. Maliciously summoned misfortune only leads oneself into fate's pitfalls."

She picked up the parchment containing Shard's information, as the Keeper of Secrets in the black robe's voice resonated from the surrounding darkness, outlining the story's ensuing direction:

"The night is as cold as water; on the winter street, 'Mortal Luck' Shard Hamilton continues pondering the thief's target. He vaguely hears the dreadful whisper of misfortune before lifting his head to find himself surrounded by darkness.

[Mortal Luck] encountered the Scribe Level Relic [Man-Eating Cat Horde] in the darkness. An abandoned pet cat died alone in the garbage heap, its gathered malice congealing into a curse of a cat horde in the night. Due to the sudden event of misfortune descending, Shard Hamilton couldn't escape in any way, and now a mental appraisal is being conducted. Roll the dice, if the number is below 200, you will immediately go mad from witnessing the relic."

"200? But Mr. Hamilton is just an ordinary person..."

Someone said in the darkness, while Dorothy and Angelina were not nervous at all. On the other hand, Princess Margaret, who was nearby, bit her lip in a bit of panic. Although she didn't understand why Shard had become an "ordinary person", she didn't want the capable knight who had helped her to die here, or to have his identity exposed.

Clang, clang~

The number rolled was 25. Iluna unfolded Shard's parchment up and down. Although the number was small, her expression was not panicked at all:

"Number 25 points, Symbol bonus 10 points, Character trait 'Cat Affinity' bonus 76."

No one doubted this, although Shard didn't often take Mia out, quite a few people had seen that cat, at least at Lakeside Manor. Therefore, people knew that Shard was very popular with cats.

"Character Special Ability..."

Dorothy, Princess Margaret, and Angelina all held their breaths, thinking she might read something that would reveal his identity.

"Cat Training Spell, providing a coefficient of 3 bonus for this appraisal..."

She glanced at the description on the parchment and rolled the dice again. This time, the number was 53. Even though the people at the table knew better than to make a sound, they couldn't help but gasp.

Iluna's eyes swept over traits like "Supernatural Creature Affinity," "Bond of the Moon and Cat," "Basic Blessing for Time Missions: Life Affinity," and "Awe of the Primal Fire," which couldn't be read:

"Character Special Ability 'Cat Training Spell' bonus, 53×3=159, total 270, appraisal passed."

"Wait, isn't this too exaggerated?"

The young cultist who had summoned misfortune immediately questioned it:

"It's indeed possible for ordinary humans to master some powerful skills through long-term training and unique talents. If Shard Hamilton had a 3x coefficient bonus in gambling, I wouldn't be surprised, but why does his Cat Training Spell have a 3x bonus?"

The Keeper of Secrets ignored this questioning. Instead, Iluna lightly huffed with a serious expression:

"This only shows that Hamilton chose the wrong profession, maybe he should work in a circus, where he can both keep cats and play cards. Hamilton's cat is orange, and tigers are also orange, they're quite similar."

The three princesses in the darkness held back their laughter.

Iluna continued to add:

"No matter how skilled someone is in cat training in reality, it's definitely impossible to avoid a relic's mental influence through it, but stories are just so magical. I should thank you all, if Hamilton wasn't a story character, he would indeed be going mad now."

The special bonus values that Iluna didn't read out had several items whose values directly exceeded the needed 200 for appraisal. For instance, the special state "Blessing of a Thousand Spirits" provided a 200-point bonus. Being on the edge of life and death at Sicarl Mountain, even just a little blessing from each spirit formed an astonishingly large psychic resistance. And besides roles like "Detective," "Correspondence Student," "Agent," the fourth occupation "Time Investigator," the uniqueness of the job itself provided an additional 275-point bonus for this appraisal.

In addition, in the [Legendary Status] section of the parchment, the three special titles "God Summoner of Tobesk," "Mermaid Slayer of Coldwater Port," and "Enemy of the Undead of Midshire Fort" each provided 300 additional psychic resistance points. Along with the Arcane Technique and Sorcery values that needed dice rolls, and various other scattered special bonuses, if Shard's appraisal value were truly to be calculated, breaking through three thousand would be very easy.

The seventeen-year-old girl had no idea how to lose.

"He just didn't go mad, but he's still being affected by the relic. Do you really think this relic wouldn't actively attack him? He's just an ordinary human; fate won't always favor him."

The professor from the Truth Society reminded, as his words ended, a voice came from under the hood:

"The Scribe Level Relic [Man-Eating Cat Horde] is launching an attack, requiring a consecutive pass of soul defense, and physical defense in order to..."

It suddenly stopped narrating, surprising everyone, but no one dared to urge it to continue.

This eerie silence lasted a full half-minute before the interrupted story resumed:

"The Scribe Level Relic [Man-Eating Cat Horde] retreated. On a leisurely winter night's evening, attempting to murder an ordinary person who has an affinity with cats is obviously not a good idea. Perhaps it sensed another fearsome power nearby, so they retreated. [Man-Eating Cat Horde], from its out-of-control state, re-entered its containment state. Shard Hamilton's misfortune of [Mortal Luck] was lifted, and he continued heading toward Saint Delan Square."

"Huh?"

The cultist slightly opened his mouth, never expecting such an event to occur. Dorothy, on the other hand, let out a breath of relief, holding off on informing Shard of the current situation.

"What fearsome power is there in this area?"

Miss Green softly asked Old Mr. Modro beside her, who shook his head slightly:

"This is Tobesk City Center, how could there be a fearsome power... I understand now, it seems a fight has broken out nearby as well. That street is at the edge of the story's setting, maybe an unknown Circle Sorcerer nearby is in conflict with the Church. Or perhaps some sort of relic they are carrying disturbed the [Man-Eating Cat Horde]."

No one could guess what truly happened, but apparently, the young detective got lucky.