Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Mr. Drell's story is not new, and even to the so-called well-traveled Outlanders, it could be said to be somewhat cliché.

The tale involves the ocean, strange statues, greedy hearts, and a curse; it was probably very suitable as writing material for Miss Luisa.

The origin of the incident dates back to a year ago, in the spring of the Common Era Calendar year 1852.

As a cargo dispatcher in the Dock Area, Mr. Drell routinely checked confiscated contraband and, very responsibly, took the smaller valuable items home for safekeeping. This was considered an unspoken source of income for the position, and as long as it wasn't discovered, there was no problem.

In a pile of messy boxes, Mr. Drell found a collection of small stone statues. They were about as thick as an adult man's arm and as long as a forearm. The statue depicted a mermaid with her head thrown back.

"Mermaid" refers to a creature with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish-like torso, which often appeared in fairy tales of this world. This was not the same thing as the ugly "Mermen" Shard had seen, those with only human feet.

"So, you took those statues away?"

Listening to the other's narrative, Shard hesitantly asked, and from this he imagined many horror story clichés. In this era, horror novels were just beginning to emerge, with colorful court novels, knight novels, and detective novels that had risen in popularity over the past few decades being the mainstream.

"Yes, I took them... I've worked here for twenty years and never thought the stories I heard from old sailors would happen to me," Mr. Drell said, slumped in a corner, not caring that the plasma on the ground was staining him.

And as a dispatcher, although he had the right to handle those inconspicuous illegal items, he definitely couldn't sell the goods alone.

Mr. Drell had some very reliable partners who played different roles in the entire transaction process. For instance, Mr. Lemer, whom Shard thought was just an ordinary crew member, actually held the position of First Mate. In Mr. Drell's illicit goods sales, Mr. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Lemer took charge in transporting some sensitive items to sell in the New World.

And a year ago, after discovering those mermaid statues, Mr. Drell immediately took a liking to them, so at a gathering, he distributed them as art pieces to his companions.

Over the past year, each person who received a mermaid statue dreamt of a decrepit palace deep in the sea, deep-sea reliefs that were beyond human aesthetics, and the gigantic, rotting corpses of mermaids floating inside the palace.

The dreams always ended with "the viewpoint getting closer to the terrifying giant corpse which then opened its mountainous eyes," and in the recurrent nightmares, many were driven mad. After realizing something was wrong, throwing away those mermaid statues did not rid them of the troubling dreams.

It began with dreams, but three months ago, those tormented by the nightmares began to die in very strange ways.

Mr. Lemer was one of them. Although the ship he was on reported that he had unfortunately fallen into the sea during a storm, that was an excuse given by the captain to reduce panic; Mr. Lemer died from his madness. He went from a mentally sound First Mate to a mumbling madman within three days and finally chose to jump into the sea to end his life.

And now, only Jason Delar remains alive.

As he told his story with a contorted face, he looked up at Shard with bloodshot eyes.

"Wait, why didn't you seek help from the True God Church?"

Shard promptly expressed his confusion.

```

"Seeking the Church will inevitably expose the wrongdoings we have committed. You think we merely stole goods and then sold them off, no, we have done far more than you could imagine. Without even looking at the Grand Charter of Draleon, I know for certain that this would be a capital offense.

Seeking the Church means certain death, and even if I don't die, I would definitely lose all my assets; if I don't go to the Church, there's a chance to solve this on my own. Oh, isn't the choice quite easy to make?"

The middle-aged man being held at gunpoint widened his eyes and asked, an abnormal flush rising to his face.

Shard thought it over and surprisingly found the crazy fellow's words not entirely without reason. But the primal fear of the unknown hadn't triumphed over the greed for Gold Pounds, and Shard didn't know whether it was truly greed that was so fearsome, or if it was the mermaids influencing them.

In any case, one after another, the living were trying to find a solution after their peers died mysteriously.

Mr. Drell, the last to survive, obtained a supposedly useful book through private channels and conducted a ritual as described within it to expel the curse from himself. But instead of summoning the "all-knowing, all-powerful great presence" mentioned in the book, it brought an Outlander from Tobesk.

"So you're saying, this matter is indeed related to the inheritance itself, but it actually has nothing to do with my client, Mrs. Lemer, who can accept the inheritance."

Shard summarized in his mind, then pointed to the floor:

"Next question, where is all this blood from? Don't tell me it's from a hospital, because I won't believe that answer."

"Sir, how much money would it take for you to help me..."

"Where did this blood come from? And what about those chunks of flesh?"

"The city's homeless might..."

Bang~

Gunsmoke drifted upwards as the body slammed backward into the soaked blood on the ground.

The mad dispatcher of Coldwater Port was unrelated to the Tobesk detective, especially when it was ensured he would not affect his own client. Confirming that the other party was a bad guy, it was best to shoot him dead and leave, to avoid unnecessary complications.

However, Shard, looking at the corpse, suddenly realized that strictly speaking, this was the second person he had killed in this world. The first, Lady Lassoya, had been killed from a great distance, while this one died right before his eyes, so there was a few seconds of discomfort in his mind.

Greed and desire had led to this tragedy, and Shard hoped that this incident would remind him that excessive greed was never a good thing.

He sighed, took out a wooden tube from his pocket, and sprinkled the Bone Powder contained within over the body, using the Arcane Technique "Soul Echo".

A cold wind started in the enclosed room, and the light from the six candles on the ground dimmed slightly, their warm yellow flames turning to a ghostly blue.

A grey light emerged from the body, the glow lasting a few seconds before coalescing together, and the phantom of Jason Delar appeared above the body. His expression was numb, his eyes lifeless – this was the phantom of a soul.

Though originating from the "Echo" Spirit Rune, this Arcane Technique was, in fact, a standard Necromancy ability.

```