Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The windows on the top floor of the bell tower were closed, and the air was filled with an extremely strong smell of mechanical lubricant. On the floor, illuminated by kerosene lamps, were spare parts and maintenance components for the bell tower machinery.

On the west side wall hung a complete maintenance operation manual. The black lines outlined simple drawings, describing the details of the maintenance operations as thoroughly as possible.

"For a Circle Sorcerer, knowledge and power are essentially the same."

The doctor continued speaking but had already bent down to place his briefcase on the ground. Carefully opening it revealed the expensive ritual materials Shard had prepared for the ceremony.

"You really spared no expense. Even if you managed to get cheap smuggled goods, these materials would not cost less than four figures in Gold Pounds."

The doctor sighed and then began to set up with Shard.

"Yes, to a Circle Sorcerer, knowledge and power are almost synonymous."

Shard agreed while carefully placing the briefcase he was carrying against the wall, as it contained dangerous items.

Together, they crouched on the floor and used blue chalk to outline the lines of the ritual circle. Dr. Schneider's skill in drawing circles by hand was much superior to Shard's. The base formation of this ritual was roughly in the shape of a complex, nested clock face.

"Those who indulge in power may become lost, and those who indulge in knowledge may also become lost. I've heard that for a Sage, wisdom is their greatest enemy."

The doctor said, and Shard added with a smile:

"I've also heard that knowledge is the bait on the ocean of ignorance."

He put down the chalk and mixed the powder made from the Clock Stone Heart with the juice extracted from the heart of a two-headed red-eyed demon wolf. After confirming that the color had turned blue, as mentioned in the ritual record, he dipped a small brush made from the tail hair of a grey night rabbit in it, then brushed it along the chalk marks drawn by the doctor.

The blue liquid mixed with the blue chalk marks surprisingly formed gray traces.

"But the desire for knowledge is also the most fundamental driving force for human progress."

The doctor continued to impart life lessons to Shard, as he saw Shard, having only been a Circle Sorcerer for half a year and the youngest in the group, far from mature:

"I am older than you and have personally witnessed how the world has changed over the past thirty years under the wave of the Steam Revolution. Therefore, I can better appreciate the importance of knowledge and wisdom. Unfortunately, knowledge and wisdom are dead, whereas humans are alive."

He chuckled:

"For you, Lakin Prisia might be the first madman you encounter in the pursuit of knowledge. But for me, cases like Lakin Prisia's are numerous. The loss of control among Circle Sorcerers, when not related to the influence of Relics, is mostly due to an inability to control their own deepest desires."

Shard nodded and stood up to adjust the position of the ritual circle:

"So, doctor, what do you think knowledge is, and what is wisdom?"

"I'm only here to help you with the ritual tonight, why bring up such philosophical topics?"

The doctor stood up, the simple setup of the ritual circle was complete, and placing the Symbol into the empty ring meant that the 'Time Perception' enhancement ritual Shard had long awaited could now proceed.

Shard was not sure if he was the first to perform this ritual and therefore did not know if people in history had given a new name to the ascended Arcane Technique 'Time Perception'.

The two of them took out the five antique pocket watches Shard had rented from the suitcase, set the times to 1:03, 5:17, 11:00, 15:21, and 23:40 respectively, and then paused the pocket watch times. They also took out eight silver hourglasses of consistent size, which were pure silver antiques Shard had borrowed from Miss Galina's estate.

Candles were lit, a Magic Potion to enhance perception was consumed by Shard, the Ever-Youth Leaf used as a ritual auxiliary item was put into Shard's mouth, and the most important item, the briefcase against the wall, was carefully opened by Shard.

"But if I must say what knowledge and wisdom are,"

The doctor had already stepped out of the ritual area, leaning against the railing as Shard opened the briefcase. Moonlight streamed through the window of the bell tower's top floor, illuminating the ritual site and Shard's profile, while the doctor stood entirely in the dark. Behind him, large gears of varying sizes drove chains that rotated, in turn, moving the clock face pointer outside the wall.

"Knowledge is a tool for acquiring power; wisdom is the manner of using power. Knowledge and wisdom are the means by which I pass exams."

"Such an answer is indeed practical."

Shard chuckled, with a slight mumble due to the leaf in his mouth.

He looked at the square stone block in the briefcase. On its surface, Priest Augustus had personally carved the Holy Emblem of the True God Mr. Dawn and a prayer. This stone was also a tile pried from the main chapel of the church.

The surface of the stone block was secured with a brass-colored latch. After opening the latch and removing the top half of the stone block, he revealed the artwork antique hourglass embedded within.

Three glazed columns surrounded the glass hourglass body. The fine sand inside the glass gleamed silvery, as if stars were trapped within. The glazed columns were hollow, filled with specks of gold sand, and the two domes of the hourglass were made from an unknown, incredibly smooth silver-green stone material.

The stone domes were polished to an extreme smoothness, bearing the designs of a clock face and a giant tree.

The entire hourglass was about the size of two palms. When Shard grabbed it by the side columns and lifted it up, a delicate shimmering light danced around the three glazed columns before wrapping around Shard's hand. At that moment, he had an inexplicable feeling as if he was holding not an hourglass, but a long river.

The dancing streams of light resembled dancing little elves, forming ancient elf inscriptions in Shard's eyes, which probably meant:

[Time will treat all living beings fairly.]

"Is this what you mentioned..."

The doctor asked somewhat surprisedly, and Shard nodded:

"Yes, the borrowed Angel-Level Relic."

In fact, it's an Unclassified Level Relic, but Shard was afraid of scaring the doctor.

The Unclassified Level Relic [Time of Retrospection], due to lack of information, only Luviya and Priest Augustus knew it could turn back time, but they didn't know how to start or end it properly. However, the relic is extremely sensitive to the power of [Mr. Dawn], almost completely suppressed by the power of this True God. Thus, having been suppressed under a divine statue for a long time, the Whisper Element is very weak at the moment, and the relic itself is not at risk of suddenly losing control.

Yet, Shard must return it as soon as possible, or other incidents are sure to occur. When Luviya and Priest Augustus first contained it, just seeing the relic's body made them lose all ability to perceive time in an instant. If not for Luviya containing the hourglass in time, the priest's consciousness would have almost been lost in the chaos of time.

Of course, neither he, nor Priest Augustus, nor Luviya, ever thought of understanding the traits of this relic or using it in daily life. Unclassified Level Relics are not possible for mortals to use.

Regarding other levels of relics, they should all be used with caution, but precisely for Level 0 relics, they must not be used for purposes other than containment... Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers confronting enemies humans cannot deal with is the only exception.

"Doctor, we can begin."

Shard said, holding the very light hourglass with one hand, and walked to the center of the Ritual Circle, carefully lying down and placing the hourglass on his heart.

The doctor silently nodded, then closed his eyes. When he opened them again, crimson glimmered in his right eye, and the ancient demon power instantly affected the area, a power that shouldn't exist in this era, immediately stimulating the ritual.

A faint white mist rose from the ground, and in half a minute, it enveloped Shard lying on the floor.

Shard watched the thick mist obscure his vision, then heard the click-clack of the pocket watch they had stopped, all while eight antique hourglasses emitted a glimmer in the mist. The sand originally at the bottom flew upward as if time was reversing, while the [Time of Retrospection] held by Shard sank into his chest little by little, until it completely disappeared inside his chest.

A slight prickling pain came from his heart, Shard's mouth twitched slightly, feeling as if he were lying in a flowing river.

Enduring the strange sensation, he silently recited in his heart:

"Praise Father of the Infinite Tree, may the World Tree bless me in time."

Shhh~ Shhh~ Shhh~

He heard the sound of the tree crown swaying in the wind, feeling the breeze blow across his body. Following his feelings, he clutched his prickling heart and sat up in the mist, seeing the giant tree before him as if connecting the sky and earth.

The ancient tree recorded stories of the ages, with time's ballads gracing each leaf.

Shard was quite familiar with this tree, and even with the mist, because what lay before him was the shadow left by the Ancient God [Father of the Infinite Tree] after departing.

The shadow of the giant tree reflected in Shard's eyes, with his aching heart throbbing with the trembling of the treetops blown by the wind. The stories of time were all inscribed in the rings of the World Tree, and looking at the tree, the past stories became known.

[Outlander, you have contacted a "Miracle."]

[The breeze of time unveils the curtain of the ages, bringing past stories to your side. When your soul touches the truth of time in the river of years, what awaits you at the end is the figure of Father of the Infinite Tree.]

[Outlander, the Arcane Technique "Time Perception" has been elevated.]

[You have gained the Arcane Technique "Contact with the Father of the Infinite Tree," allowing you to perceive the truth of time in greater detail.]

Shard's mouth opened slightly, looking at the giant tree before him:

"Perception of time has become the perception of the Tree Father's shadow, this... is really fitting. So, the current point in time is..."

The truth that was probed was finally in his mind at this moment, the river of time finally connected in Shard's eyes.

There was no surprise now, only a subsequent calmness, as if everything had lost the meaning to attract him.

The white mist gradually dissipated, and the Arcane Technique's elevation ritual ended in this brief anomaly. Shard, coming back to his senses, found himself still in the position lying on the floor, with [Time of Retrospection] still placed on his chest.

Holding the relic in one hand and propping himself up on the floor with the other hand, after the sand-shifting sound of the treetop swaying in the breeze appeared in his ears post-elevation, Shard got the answer:

"The current time is [Present World: Sixth Era, Common Era Calendar 1854, Moon of Birth, the second day, Thursday, 8:05 PM]."

"Present World" is the Outlander's own translation, corresponding to the already gone [Bygone Era: Sixth Era].

"After the Witch Age of the Fifth Era ended, came [Bygone Era: Sixth Era], then it remained [Bygone Era: Sixth Era], followed by [Bygone Era: Sixth Era] again... so, this is not the first time."