Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1029: The Spiritual Light at Hand

Dr. Schneider did not approach the knight but used Shard’s body to block his line of sight, rushing directly towards the east of the Demon Vanishing Garden. Shard faced Lakin Prisia head-on, stopping less than five meters away as the other man’s Ring of Fate, which was about to disappear, reappeared.

This distance was quite close. Shard took out Miss Danester’s alchemical tool with one hand, aiming it at Sir Prisia’s Ring of Fate behind him, while silver moonlight glimmered in his other hand, ready to unleash a Moonlight Slash at any moment:

"Sir, don’t move."

Shard said, calculating the time in his mind; Miss Danester’s alchemical tool needed to collect Spiritual Light for thirty seconds.

Faced with the small mirror in the stranger’s hand, Sir Prisia, as a Circle Sorcerer, was understandably tense. The Spirit Runes on the Ring of Fate behind him pulsed with light, which actually helped Shard with his collection.

"Who are you?"

The knight asked, glancing at the Sage’s Glowstone left on the ground by the demon. Shard stood far from the Radiant Stone, because the direction from which he emerged from the bushes formed an obtuse angle with the direction the demon was standing:

"Who I am is not important. I merely wish to ensure that you don’t interfere with my companion’s upcoming actions."

Shard said, shaking the mirror in his hand:

"This is a powerful Relic, but it won’t harm you; it just ensures you don’t move around."

In fact, the mirror had no attack power at all.

Lakin Prisia looked at him suspiciously:

"I didn’t expect to see so many strange people tonight, but I must admit, your moonlight is quite pure. Coincidentally, I am also skilled in Moonlight Arcane Technique."

He suddenly kicked out, sending a yellow Light Blade flying along the ground towards Shard. Meanwhile, Shard also kicked out, his silver "Moonlight Slash" meeting the yellow "Moonlight Slash" midway, and they almost completely canceled each other out.

However, Shard hadn’t used his full strength, and Sir Prisia was merely testing him. Both understood each other’s stance, so neither made any further moves. After forty milliseconds, Shard gestured courteously, and Sir Prisia reached out to make the Radiant Stone left by the demon fly into his hand, then turned and left in another direction.

He needn’t worry about Shard revealing his secrets, as Shard didn’t seem like someone the Church would trust, plus the demon hadn’t disclosed any of his secrets.

"He still took the Radiant Stone. He now has three in his possession. The demon said that this man, in his thirst for knowledge, has done wrong... He refused the demon, but he also has secrets himself. Is he a good person or a bad one? I should investigate."

Shard thought to himself as he watched the knight’s figure disappear into the garden:

"That demon gains power by inciting people’s desires, so whether Sir Prisia accepts its power or not, the moment he picked up the Radiant Stone, the demon had already profited."

"What knowledge do you think the demon gave him?"

"The knowledge of The Chosen, but incomplete knowledge. If he wants more, he’ll have to seek out the demon again."

Thinking this, Shard looked at the small mirror in his hand, a smile curling at his lips. After putting away the mirror, he was about to find Dr. Schneider when the doctor emerged from the bushes himself.

He had leaves on him, looked slightly injured, with his right eye appearing as if punched, and his coat covered in dirt and melted snow mud:

"Everything’s fine now!"

Dr. Schneider looked even happier than Shard:

"I’ve placed the mark on it; it won’t escape. Shard, wait for my good news by next Monday; it can’t get away!"

"The knight has left too."

Shard glanced back at the direction the other man had left:

"Doctor, are you coming back to the party with me, or leaving now?"

"Leaving now would be too noticeable; I’ll stay a bit longer."

The doctor said with a smile:

"I’ll find a corner to have a few drinks. Tonight went surprisingly well, without major incidents. Shard, once this is over, you must have a drink with me. However, let’s pretend we didn’t hear that conversation earlier; we shouldn’t get involved in such matters. I didn’t expect someone as elegant as Sir Prisia to have secrets... Wisdom breeds greed, knowledge is a coveted thing, and the pursuit of knowledge is truly the original sin of humanity."

Feeling good, the doctor sighed, and Shard nodded, though the doctor didn’t truly understand the significance of what they’d heard.

Shard, eager to go home and tell Miss Danester the good news, acknowledged that Dr. Schneider was right; leaving now would draw too much attention.

So he and the doctor returned to the party hall one after the other. The rest of the party proceeded without incident, but just before it ended, two witches called Shard to the upper floors and asked about the demon, not for the Prankster Boy’s Sage’s Glowstone, but out of concern for Shard’s safety.

Now Lakin Prisia held three Radiant Stones, while Shard and Iluna had two together. Other forces in the city, possibly including the Three Major Academies that had entered the region but remained hidden for now, might also have them.

The story of the fourth Chosen One seemed to be reaching its endpoint, and Shard hoped it wouldn’t interfere with his year-end exams.

This seemingly uneventful party concluded at 10 p.m., and the guests left in an orderly manner.

Even though it was already late when Shard returned home, he didn’t forget to excitedly write a letter to Miss Danester through the poetic manuscript paper.

The matter of collecting the "Guiding Moon" Spiritual Light must not be known by the Academy, so Shard subtly implied in the letter that there was significant progress on Miss Danester’s Academy bounty that he had taken on.

He initially thought that it was so late that the Thirteen Rings Female Sorcerer would already be resting, and perhaps wouldn’t reply until the next morning. Unexpectedly, less than thirty seconds after he sent the letter, a new reply arrived:

[Prepare for the projection ritual, come see me in five minutes.]

If it weren’t for the additional preparation needed for the projection ritual, she might have asked Shard to appear immediately.

In any case, with Dorothy’s help, Shard set up the ritual and projected to the Saint Byrons Library again that night.

But this time, after the ritual started, he found himself not in the central clearing of the library facing the sofa, but in an ancient room he had never been to before.

It was described as ancient because the traces of time on the stone bricks of the walls seemed to be relics from a previous era, and the lighting here relied on torches and old-fashioned kerosene lamps.

The room was not large, about the size of Shard’s master bedroom. Surrounding it were bookshelves made of gray stone bricks, uneven long stone floorboards, and some very old cabinets placed throughout the room.

In the projection state, there was no complete sense of smell or touch, but Shard could almost imagine the corruption and chill of such an environment.

Besides the unexpected environment, the other two chairs needed for the projection ritual were not occupied by students this time but instead had two dolls wearing worn red and blue dresses. When Shard looked at them, the dolls even shyly turned their heads.

In any case, this seemed to still be part of the library, but clearly not a place where ordinary students should come.

The light from the kerosene lamp and torches was somewhat dim. Sitting opposite Shard, Miss Danester looked at him, suppressing her inner impatience:

"The Spiritual Light has been collected?"

"Yes, completed tonight. How should I send that mirror to Saint Byrons?"

To prevent the Academy from finding out, the mirror couldn’t be sent through the poetic manuscript paper while in Shard’s possession.

The Female Sorcerer’s face briefly showed a hint of a smile, but she controlled her expression well:

"I’ll give you an address. Tomorrow, you will still place that mirror in a box and mail it... No, no, tomorrow morning, someone will personally come to you to take the mirror away. Very well, Mr. Hamilton, you’ve done very well!" freewebnøvel.coɱ

She seemed a bit unable to control her emotions, her face flushed, her tone unconsciously becoming more enthusiastic:

"I thought there would be some hurdles, didn’t expect it to be so quick that..."

Biting her lip:

"Well done, you’re even better than I expected."

Although Shard didn’t think it was a particularly difficult task, the praise still lifted his spirits:

"Speaking of which, this place is..."

"Oh, this is the underground area of the library."

Miss Danester said with a smile, the good-spirited Female Sorcerer didn’t mind telling Shard some things he wasn’t supposed to know:

"Even I wouldn’t dare say I know exactly how many books the Academy Library holds. Some dangerous books are not suitable for students to access, and some are not suitable for anyone. So when the library was first established, the original administrators and Principal Mana Feliana designed an area to store forbidden books, and the size and number of the forbidden book area have always been secret. Just now I was looking for something here, and it would be a waste of time to return from the restricted area to the surface, so I set up the projection ritual right here."

"The library’s restricted area can actually be penetrated by the projection ritual?"

"Of course not, but I am a Librarian, I have the authority."

The Female Sorcerer laughed, then pointed around:

"This place is dangerous, even more so than the area where the Academy of Library Management houses Relics. When you become a Librarian in the future, I’ll tell you exactly what kind of things are here."

Shard wasn’t really concerned about the value of this place now, he was actually thinking about whether the last stone slab containing the Time Perception enhancement ritual was in these restricted book areas.

"You’ve done well on this matter. Regardless of whether the Spiritual Light is useful, I’ll help you meet the practical credit requirement for skipping grades."

Miss Danester said, seeing Shard carefully observing his surroundings, she continued:

"Is there any knowledge you desire or an expensive Arcane Technique you’re interested in? Now is the time to make your request to me. As a Librarian, I have such authority."

Shard raised his eyebrows, suddenly realizing something. With the first two stone slabs already in hand, there was no need to fear any other accidents. He could directly propose a transaction for the stone slab with this lady.

Initially, he didn’t mention this to Miss Danester because Shard didn’t know the specific appearance of the stone slab he was looking for, and he clearly couldn’t say, "God left me a stone slab." But now, without describing its function or history, he already knew the specific appearance of the last stone slab.

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on free(w)ebnov(e)l.𝒄𝒐𝙢