Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

After the summer examinations ended half a year ago, Shard went to see an opera with Dorothy alone, and at that time he still called Dorothy "Miss Luisa."

But after this examination week, Shard is going to Saint Byrons to receive a medal, and he is personally going to Saint Byrons. Although Shard doesn't know if the standard award ceremony truly requires going to the academy, he vaguely feels that this might be related to Miss Danester.

In any case, although everyone's results were somewhat unexpected, they all smoothly passed the 1853 year-end exams.

Upon confirming that Shard still had to go to Saint Byrons in the evening, Dorothy was the first to leave. The 1853 Kingdom Literature Prize ceremony was approaching, and her father, Professor Luisa, was recently helping her "smooth over connections," so she herself needed to frequently go home for a look.

Following that, Luviya also took her leave. She needed to go back and write her examination and year-end assessment results into a written report to submit to the Prophet's Society, so that the society could quickly discuss her course selection and Sublimation Incantation choices with Saint Byrons for the new year.

This kind of report even required two copies, and it couldn't be typed mechanically; it had to be entirely handwritten. Combined with getting different people to stamp and sign it, the purple-eyed girl would probably be busy for several days.

The doctor and the cleric helped Shard clean up the examination hall. The old cleric originally intended to let Dr. Schneider keep that page of poetry manuscript for Shard to facilitate contact with the academy; they followed the usual practice of having a drink together, but Shard called out to the two:

"Cleric, Doctor, please wait a moment, I have something to say."

He looked outside, confirmed the moon had risen, then asked the cleric and doctor to stay in room number one temporarily; he carried the cat to the adjacent room number two.

After a while, Shard returned holding an arrow with a dark gold glow on the arrowhead. Just a glance at that arrow tells you it's quite extraordinary: both sides of the arrowhead featured a peculiar pattern made of three circular indents, and four blue with one gold crystal grains were directly embedded in the metal. The ancient historical and weathered sense of age indicated its power.

And taking a closer look would cause a peculiar dizziness, as if reading continuously for 24 hours before the examination week. Simultaneously, an inexplicable voice in the heart urges the person seeing the arrow to drive it into their own heart.

But fortunately, whether it was the cleric or the doctor, they both had a good ability to resist negative mental influences.

"This is a good thing I recently came by."

Shard also sat down on the sofa, signaling the two to extend their hands.

The old cleric, who was wiping his pipe, and Dr. Schneider exchanged a glance, then both rolled up their sleeves and extended their right hands.

The arrow was each pierced into the palms of the two, and with the fluctuation of their respective elemental power, the doctor only frowned slightly in thought, appearing to have acquired a new Arcane Technique.

And behind Priest Augustus, his Ring of Fate slowly appeared in the steam mist, and with the enrichment of the brass Enlightening Aura, a brand new Second Ring Spirit Rune emerged. It was Enlightenment - [Dark Heart].

"Oh, the Second Ring spirit runes are complete!"

Priest Augustus turned around in surprise to look at his Ring of Fate, an elderly smile of joy on his face. He and Dr. Schneider did not ask Shard what the arrow in his hand actually was.

"I also gained a nice Arcane Technique."

The doctor nodded, saying, as he looked at the cleric's Ring of Fate, rubbing his chin:

"Cleric, maybe you can prepare to move up to the third grade at the end of this year...I remember, your second-grade examination subjects seem to be finished."

"One more subject is missing. If this surprise came a month earlier, I might have applied for the grade upgrade exam."

Even as he said this, the cleric was still very happy:

"I originally thought it would take another year or two, didn't expect this surprise. I'll borrow the third-grade books from the library to take a look in advance."

"It's really nice that if you, Cleric, could reach Four Rings before we set off for the Far North, that trip might be even easier."

Shard also commented.

"Oh, Bill, Shard, I'm not a young person with your energy."

The cleric shook his head with a smile and then asked Shard:

"Now that the examination week is over, do you have any plans recently? Winter has only passed halfway, and I think you wouldn't just stay at home waiting for clients to come. Are you heading to a new city this time?"

In the fall, during the "rescue" of Priest Augustus, the others in the group knew of Shard's secret of being able to travel to distant cities.

"Speaking of which, I might be heading to the Randall Valley sometime soon. Oh, that's the Spring City south of Casenli."

The journey to a foreign city is for the only Time Key to the [Bygone Era: Sixth Era] as mentioned by "Luviya." But finding the correct path is one thing, and Shard also plans to take a break. During the winter of 1853, because of the many tests for the Keeper of Secrets on both ends of time, he hadn't stopped for a moment.

"I heard that the opera troupe in that city is quite famous. The renowned artist and opera singer Miss Blanchett, famed across the Old Continent, runs the [Golden Dawn] Opera Troupe there."

Dr. Schneider said with a smile. The [Golden Dawn Opera Troupe] is the most famous opera troupe in the human world of this century.

"I visited the Randall Valley when I was young."

Priest Augustus continued to wipe his pipe. Seeing Shard and the doctor looking at him curiously, the old man finally spoke:

"Is it surprising? When I was young, I was often sent on business trips by the church. I went to the Randall Valley around... 1835 or so, back then I was just over thirty, even younger than Bill is now."

"Do you still have any friends in Randall Valley City? If you do, I can visit them and see how they're doing."

Shard said while petting the cat. Actually, he was very interested in the experiences of Priest Augustus when he was young. During his time in Midshire Fort City, he had learned about the cleric's youthful and unresolved tender romance.

"Friends, huh..."

The Old Cleric slightly raised his head:

"That's hard to say. However, if you do have time, you might visit Father Mephistopheles of the local Dawn Church for me. I owe him 10 pence from a bet we made years ago, and I never got the chance to repay him. If possible, you can pay it back for me."

That shouldn't be a problem. Shard exchanged a surprised glance with Dr. Schneider. They weren't surprised that the cleric had made a bet with someone, but rather that the old cleric remembered a debt of 10 pence for nearly 20 years.

In their eyes, the image of Lat August the Cleric grew even more towering.

They didn't chat for much longer. Priest Augustus first stood up, and the doctor also got up and invited Shard:

"Today's surprises are really many. Detective, since you're only going to Saint Byrons at eight in the evening, how about having a drink with us? I know you usually don't drink, but this is to celebrate the successful end of exam week."

Shard thought for a moment and then agreed to the invitation. Of course, the cat didn't want to go to the noisy environment of a tavern, so Shard left it at home and prepared a sumptuous dinner. It was evident that little Mia was very satisfied with Shard's thoughtful arrangements.

By the time Shard returned home, it was already 7:20 in the evening. During the outing, the poetry manuscript in Dr. Schneider's pocket had already provided Shard with the way to head to the Academy again.

But this time, instead of using the dangerous relic [Tattered Old World Map], he was to use a means of transportation, namely the Sage-Level Relic [Midnight Nightmare Carriage].

Before it was contained, it was quite a dangerous relic, often appearing at night, carrying passengers to unknown terrifying destinations. And divinations about the missing persons would get answers that even Circle Sorcerers couldn't face.

There's reason to believe that the [Midnight Nightmare Carriage] in an uncontained state possesses the ability to traverse most seals, which is why in the early Sixth Era, the Three Major Academies' joint containment operation to study its spatial penetration trait faced multiple setbacks.

Later, at the cost of severely injuring a Twelve-Ring Sorcerer, it was barely sealed within Saint Byrons Integrated Academy. The Academy believes this is a special Divine Item created by some long-vanished Evil God to collect flesh sacrifices, or what knight novels call a "Divine Artifact," though this conclusion has never been verified.

However, it's confirmed that the [Midnight Nightmare Carriage] can be utilized by mortals after being contained, with the dangerous driver bound in a pure silver coffin filled with mercury. The carriage itself becomes usable.

Saint Byrons itself is a Magic Academy renowned for containing relics, and after more than a thousand years of attempts, this relic has gradually become one of the most important means of communication between the academy on the Far North Continent and the outside world.

Using the entire strength of Saint Byrons, the carriage driver was subdued, and the carriage is driven by an Alchemical Golem or Summoned Entity officially employed by the "Saint Byrons Integrated Academy." In theory, it can navigate various places in the Material World. Of course, in a contained state, the carriage lost the ability to penetrate most spaces and has many taboos when actually being used.

For instance, Circle Sorcerers with the Spirit Rune of "Unlucky Traveler" should never use this carriage under any circumstances. And when Miss Danester and other professors enter the civilized world from the academy, since it is a normal operation pre-notified to the Church, they use standard means of transportation out of respect for the partnering True God Church.

But when the academy secretly sends professors on missions, this relic comes in handy.

According to the document sent by the academy, on this journey, Shard could bring pets, summoned entities, or other small life forms. Therefore, Shard decided to take Mia to see Saint Byrons.

After returning home, he packed the items he needed to carry with him, then sat on the sofa waiting for the carriage to arrive. As the clock on the wall reached eight o'clock, the bell downstairs indeed rang.

"Mia, it's time to go."