Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Miss Luisa expressed dissatisfication to Shard's question and retorted:

"Shard, why should children be afraid? This fairy tale celebrates friendship, teaching them that even in the face of hardship and setbacks, the bond of friendship endures. The subtle touch of melancholy contained within is exquisite; it's actually my favorite fairy tale.

Although, like the Matchstick Girl, it ends tragically, the story of the Kiss of the Tree makes one feel that only such an ending could be considered perfect, despite the sadness."

A rush of words spilled out, her slightly flushed face indicating her emotional excitement.

Shard, clutching his cat, pondered and tried to offer his own opinion:

"Miss Luisa, you see, if we interpret the story in a different way, the ancient tree might actually be a Relic or some kind of Evil Object that attracts beautiful girls, nurtures them and then consumes them, digesting their bodies to nourish itself..."

"Enough, Shard. Don't ruin my childhood memories,"

Miss Luisa interrupted Shard's "reading comprehension" with some dissatisfaction, and he had to stop, but still asked:

"Thinking about it that way, isn't it a horror story?"

The look in the blonde writer's eyes grew even more dissatisfied.

"Shard, it seems that it is of utmost necessity for me to be your teacher and guide you to understand the enlightenment literature offers. Trust me, you still have a long way to go."

Then the topic finally returned to the proper course, which was the use of the two leaves in Shard's hands.

"What I mentioned was just the gist of the story; in the details, it shows that the Princess could see the stories the great tree wanted her to know just by holding its fallen leaves in front of her eyes. This fairy tale is widely known, and its origins can even be traced back to the Fourth Era or even further.

Consequently, in our culture, holding leaves in front of one's eyes generally symbolizes understanding the knowledge given by the tree."

"This also has correspondent symbolic significance in Mysticism. I reckon all Circle Sorcerers should know this when they get the leaves, except for you," said Miss Luisa. Shard had an epiphany. That's why yesterday, when he stuck the leaf on his forehead and sleeping on it under his pillow, it didn't work:

"Well, I'll try now."

"You can do it here, I'm actually very curious about what gift the Ancient God will give you. I haven't even heard of an Ancient God referred to this way before."

Miss Luisa picked up her tea cup and Shard, on the other hand, summoned his Ring of Fate and randomly selected one of the two leaves, as after all, the leaves were not marked with what kind of knowledge they corresponded to.

He closed his left eye and placed the leaf in front of his right eye. A cold sensation immediately flowed from his eye into his brain. But the sensation was quite pleasant, even enjoyable.

A few dozen seconds later, the cold feeling disappeared, and knowledge regarding Arcane Technique automatically surfaced in Shard's mind.

He removed the leaf from in front of his eye, breathing deeply, savoring the additional knowledge he had acquired. Miss Luisa took the used leaf from Shard's hand, tried it before her own eyes, found it ineffective, and then sniffed it by her nose:

"Interesting, I thought that after being used, the leaf would be destroyed. It's fascinating that this leaf is still functional, I can feel an immense life force. This is... interesting, the leaf comes from an Ancient God, drifting out of your so-called Time Corridor. Therefore, theoretically, this leaf does not belong to this Era but comes from the Fifth Era."

The blonde writer bent her head to examine the veins of the leaf, she likely made a very significant discovery.

"Yes,"

Shard agreed with this view.

"So, it is now a Relic. The moment I realized what this was, the Whisper Element's reminder naturally appeared in my ear."

She handed the leaf to Shard, and the voice by Shard's ear timely reminded him that he was in contact with a Whisper. As for why there was no prompt before handing it over, it was probably because the residual power of the Ancient God in the leaf was still suppressing the leaf's own elements.

"Poet-Level Relic, the Ever-Youth Leaf—when carried on one's person for an extended period of time, it can drastically slow down the aging process of the holder's body. If obtained in one's twenties, then by age fifty, there wouldn't be much change in one's appearance. But it's just the appearance, the actual age still increases.

When held in the mouth, even a grievously injured person could live for a very long time without dying, though it still doesn't compare to your 'False Immortality'."

"And if you chew it up and swallow it, as long as you have a breath left, you can fully recover. Of course, using it this way is quite wasteful."

"This is a Relic? The Father of the Infinite Tree is far too generous, isn't he?"

Shard, astonished, cradled the leaf while a cat eyed it covetously from the side.

"The Ever-Youth Leaf is a fairly famous Relic, with obvious effects and very low side effects. The only negative Trait is, if held in the mouth for an extended period, there is a probability that the user could literally take root and sprout. The containment method is also very simple. It just needs to be exposed to water at least once a month to maintain the leaf's vitality."

Miss Luisa introduced, and although Shard still felt amazed, after giving it some thought, it didn't seem all too astonishing. Professor Garcia had said that the Ancient God, the Father of the Infinite Tree, is the World Tree, and a leaf given by the World Tree, even if not from the tree itself, would surely not be ordinary.

"The Ever-Youth Leaf, like the Time Key, is not unique in quantity. Although it lacks combat power and its risk Level is low, the value of such Relics can even be comparable to Sage-Level Relics. I remember the professor mentioning that Saint Byrons' Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, the Librarian 'Red Moon Witch,' has one.

I had never heard of the origin of such a leaf, and to think that it actually has connections to that Ancient God,"

Miss Luisa spoke, glancing at the leaf in Shard's hand.

Shard nodded and also introduced his newly acquired Arcane Technique to Miss Luisa. He didn't need to study it; he had already mastered the Arcane Technique.

Arcane Technique—The Blade of Chaotic Time, corresponding to the Space-Time Spirit Rune. The name of the Arcane Technique itself indicated its extraordinary effect, which indeed it had.

Using the Arcane Technique required a spellcasting medium, which meant any blade with Supernatural Nature, including Alchemical Items, Relics, and even blades created by Arcane Technique and Sorcery. Its effect could only work on entities, corporeal or not, that could be affected by time.

When attacking with it, within any moment of the three seconds after the attack, Shard could cause the same attack, at the relative position of the target, to strike again in the same manner.

It is the blade's own time that becomes chaotic.

Which meant that if Shard took a dinner knife that had undergone ritual processing and stabbed it towards an apple, then within three seconds, at the time Shard selected, the same dinner knife would again stab at the same position.

What's more, this Arcane Technique didn't require that damage had to be inflicted for it to take effect. This means that even if Shard's attack was blocked, he could still activate the Arcane Technique. The only requirement for casting the Arcane Technique was to make the attack motion.