Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Modern Girl: Florist," Moon Suit 7. When this card is drawn, if the total number of cards in your hand does not exceed two, then if your opponent holds a King or Queen in this round, the King and Queen are invalidated and treated as having 0 points.

This special card was part of a new deck released last year, which Shard had only heard Baron Lavende mention and had not expected to see himself. Owing to the development of the printing industry driven by the steam industry in recent years, the designs of Roder Cards had become increasingly exquisite and beautiful. On the card for "Modern Girl: Florist," the girl holding a watering can, wearing an apron, and watering the plants in the flower shop was very much in line with Shard's aesthetic:

"But the luck of this card is built upon the luck of the opponent. Unfortunately, I am not that lucky," Shard said humbly and then curiously added,

"Since this card can't take effect for now, you actually didn't have to reveal your face-down card. Now, I know what your bottom card is."

"What's the difference between not revealing a special card when drawn and not drawing it at all?"

The middle-aged man asked, tilting his neck back. Shard was momentarily at a loss for words, and pulled the next card along with Mr. Walker.

Mr. Walker drew a Sun 9, bringing his hand to a total of 16 points. Meanwhile, Shard remained with Flowers, 2 points, totaling 15 points.

"I'll continue."

"I'll continue as well."

Mr. Walker drew a Sun 4, totaling 20 points, which brought a smile to his face. Shard drew a Moon 5, also totaling 20 points, and he narrowed his eyes.

"What do you say, Mr. Hamilton, shall we continue?"

Mr. Walker asked. He did not know Shard's bottom card and was therefore unclear on the current situation. No matter what choice Shard made, Harry Walker was highly unlikely to draw again, meaning that unless Shard made the mad decision to draw again, the round would most likely end in a draw.

Shard considered for a moment, glanced at Miss Luisa, then whispered softly,

"Do you want to gamble on luck? A tie is just too boring."

He flipped his bottom card, revealing 20 points as well, and looked at Mr. Walker:

"Both at 20 points, I suppose neither of us will choose to draw again. So how about trying our luck, another draw each? Although it's highly likely that we might bust, maybe someone will be lucky enough to draw 1 point."

Mr. Walker thought it over and felt it was fair:

"Of course, I wouldn't miss such a thrilling bet. We agree, next round we both draw."

He turned over his fourth card, Floral Stars 3, and unquestionably busted:

"Oh, indeed it is so."

His tone was quite regretful as if he had also been hoping for a stroke of luck.

Shard reached out for his card, but instead of picking up the top card from the deck, he lifted just a corner of it. His plan was to take a peek and then, with a sigh, press the card back down and then draw "Southern Carsonrick Folklore: Moon Dance Festival."

The Moon Dance Festival, blessed by two ghosts, allows for the card to be drawn from the deck whenever desired, even if the card has already been peeked at. By contrast, "Genesis: Balance," while similar in effect, doesn't even need to be in the deck; Shard could draw it whenever he wished.

When the "Southern Carsonrick Folklore: Moon Dance Festival" card is drawn, if you hold Moon Suit cards in your hand and their points total does not exceed 7, then if you bust this round, your total points are adjusted to 1. Now, Shard only had a single Moon 5, which met the criteria just right.

Although this could be considered cheating, they were not betting money this time, and Mr. Walker would not suffer much even if he lost. So, Shard proceeded as planned, lifting a corner and immediately sighing upon seeing the suit and number.

The plan failed, and he could not press the card back down.
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Shard looked up at the middle-aged man he was playing cards with, furrowed his brow and squinted as he flipped his fourth card, using Sorcery to control it as it floated in the air for the other to see, Moon Suit 1, Shard with 21 points.

"Can such a thing even happen?"

The middle-aged man, baffled, studied the card intently for a long time.

As for Shard, he came to understand just what kind of luck holding two Genesis series cards could bring to a game.

Mr. Walker accepted the bet gracefully, of course, also because the stake was not high. He accepted Miss Luisa's 13 pounds and handed over the rolled-up parchment.

When it came to the information about the out-of-control Angel-Level Relic, although he seemed reluctant, he still shared the news:

"This time the Angel-Level Relic isn't an object, it's some kind of... event, do you understand?"

A "Relic" might not necessarily be a tangible object, but could also be a piece of information, an event, or something even more difficult to describe in human language. Shard had heard about this from Dr. Schneider on their second encounter, but it was only now that he came to know of a "Relic" that wasn't an object.

"An event? What exactly is it?"

Miss Luisa asked, while Shard stood by, keeping an eye on the corridor behind them just in case someone appeared suddenly.

"My information might not be correct, so just take it as something interesting to hear,"

Mr. Walker said while counting money:

"It's located in the small town to the southeast of Tobesk City, but I can't give a more specific location. It manifests as darkness, a darkness that shrouds the entire area. In the regular world outside of the area engulfed in darkness, any information about what's within the darkened range disappears. At the same time, within the range of darkness, indescribable creatures will continually appear and gradually migrate out of the dark area, bringing the darkness further afield."

Mr. Walker shrugged and pocketed the counted coins:

"If left unchecked, the darkness brought by those monsters will eventually engulf the entire world. Fortunately, the routine patrols of the True God Church discovered something amiss in time. To be precise, a mysterious plain had appeared on the map of Tobesk City, but the Church's geographers believed it was impossible for a plain to exist in the southeast of Tobesk. Even though Circle Sorcerers couldn't observe that darkness, as long as we know its approximate range, the Church was able to use its means and discover clues. I don't know the specifics of the Relic, nor do I have more detailed intelligence about it, but at least the darkness has been contained."

"Are you sure it's been contained? From your description, we should consider applying to the Academy to leave this area if such a thing got out of control."

Miss Luisa said.

"The news I've heard is that it has been contained, Luisa, and you're a Tobesk local; you should know how powerful 'Iron Right Hand' is. Although the Evil God incident a few days ago showed that the True God Church is not omnipotent, that was, after all, an Evil God, which is different from this case."

The middle-aged man waved his hand at the two of them, signaling his intention to leave:

"Even if the sky of the material world collapses, there are the True God Church and the Academy to support it, and if they can't hold it up, there are the rumored 'God Summoners' or similar High Ring Sorcerers. We Correspondence Circle Mages should really think more about our studies; even though exam week is over, there are only five months left until the winter's final exams."

He left, passing by Shard, and judging from his complaints, it seemed the exam weeks at the Three Great Magics Academies were synchronized, and this gentleman's grades were clearly not ideal.

"Shard, what do you think?"

Miss Luisa ignored Mr. Walker's departure and instead turned to Shard.

"If the sky collapses, I certainly won't be able to hold it up."

He said with a laugh, then spoke seriously:

"Although the Church failed to prevent the God Summoning Ritual, if it's just an Angel-Level Relic, I think there shouldn't be a problem. The other day at the Prophet's Society, I encountered Mr. Stan, the president of the society who had been recently conscripted by the True God Church to assist with the out-of-control Relic. Since he has returned, the matter should be nearing resolution."

"I don't think the Church is incapable of controlling an out-of-control Relic; it's just that so many things have happened in the Tobesk Region within a short month. I grew up in this city from a young age and never felt it was so dangerous."

The blond girl sighed.

The Outlander didn't believe all this was due to his arrival since the darkness had appeared when he wasn't yet in the city.

Tonight was calm, just as Priest Augustus said, it wasn't easy for a Circle Sorcerer to encounter out-of-control Relics, and the Magicians of the whole city were frightened by the Godfall incident, so no strange people were met this night.

He had spent a week at home without any incident, and if something happened just after leaving his house, Shard would really have to check if there was something wrong with him.

Shard sat next to Miss Luisa, half-heartedly discussing the story and arias of the opera performance with the voice in his mind, while quietly talking with the blond girl about the conditions of the other Correspondence Circle Mages in the city.

The opera ended at half-past nine in the evening, and tonight's "lesson" ended there. Shard took a carriage to send Miss Luisa back to Feather Quill Street in the University District where she lived.

Miss Luisa hoped Shard wouldn't forget the real purpose of going out tonight was to study "Kiss of the Tree," so she talked with him about some "Enlightenment" elements and their impact on a Circle Sorcerer's mind and spirit during the ride.

Then they talked about Shard's Maze Lock. Everyone was tired tonight, and she didn't get the chance to touch the Maze Lock for Enlightenment, but Miss Writer thought of something else:

"Shard, since you got the Maze Lock because you left traces in the past, have you opened the second Time Key? Is there any special experience this time or was it just like a normal Investigator?"

She finally asked the question, and Shard glanced at the city's night view outside the window. Today was the first day the curfew was lifted, and there were especially many people out drinking, accompanied by an equal number vomiting against walls:

"I've opened it, the key from the Year 3002 of the Fifth Era."

Shard said, wondering what the cat left at home might be doing:

"I came across Miss Mana Feliana in the times past."

"Who? Huh? Oh! I got it."

The blond girl across from him whispered, covering her mouth; her previous exclamation had been a bit too loud:

"Miss Feliana... Shard, don't talk to me about what you experienced in the past. The Secrets of Time are too profound for me. I don't possess the power of time, and hearing too much of your experiences might cause problems for me."

In a world where Mysticism exists, Shard's unusual time travel experiences were already part of the abnormal knowledge. Because the frailty of human Shard, the Old God 'Creator of Innocence' couldn't reveal more secrets of the Era and the Deity to him. And now, it's best for Shard not to share too much about his time travel experiences with others, also considering the frailty of humans.

"However, if you also want to influence the future from the past, gaining another "Enlightenment" Spirit Rune, you can tell me after the fact what exactly you did."

Miss Luisa said.

"No, "Enlightenment" might not be possible this time. But if things go well, I might get a "Miracle" Spirit Rune instead. Oh, and the Ever-Youth Leaf—when the time comes, I'll need your help keeping one safe."

The rewards from the Ancient God included no Spirit Runes, but once the God Summoning Ritual succeeds, he might gain powers from contacting the Old God 'Blazar Gate.'

The blond girl smiled tenderly:

"That's really nice, "Miracle" from the past, "Enlightenment" from our lessons... are you preparing to advance from Second Ring to Three Rings in one month's time as well?"

Shard shook his head:

"I don't really have any reason to gain power so urgently, I'd rather build a stronger foundation than advance too quickly."

"That's right, we have a long road ahead, so there's no need to hurry."

Shard always felt there was something odd about that phrase.