Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

It was already eight o'clock when returning to Saint Delan Square with the cat, and Mia, being back home, was in high spirits, walking around excitedly. It liked the place just as much as Shard did.

Shard didn't rest either. Instead, he took out the Arcane Technique learning materials for "Lagre's Leap," which he had obtained last week, along with a bundle of Wind Vane Bluegrass from Coldwater Port City, placing them on the study's desk. The bundle contained a total of twelve stalks.

Although Wind Vane Bluegrass is also a herbaceous plant, it looks more like a fern. The usable part for Shard's Arcane Technique accounted for only about one-fifth of the plant.

With a pair of scissors, he simply processed two of the stalks, cutting off the useful parts and using a fine needle to engrave a long string of Ancient Spell Text, which means to guide direction, onto the surface of the plant.

This process was very straining on the eyes; the gas lamp's light quality was far inferior to the lighting back in his hometown.

Having finished treating the plant itself as if embroidering, he then moved to the window to look at the rainy night sky, ensuring there were no special celestial events tonight. Afterward, he drew the curtains, kept the cat outside the door, and extinguished the gas lamp on the side wall of the study, leaving only the gas lamp on the desk turned on.

Following the Arcane Technique learning method given by Professor Garcia, he first ground the obsidian into chips and mixed it with the bone powder from the leg bones of a Haas Hound. After grinding it finely, he wet the powder with a mixture of his own blood and water.

Waiting for the powder to change from black to white, he placed it in a metal vessel and heated it from below with matches until all the water had evaporated.

Having completed these tedious steps, he ground the warm powder mixture once more and, after it cooled to room temperature, carefully covered the treated surfaces of the Wind Vane Bluegrass with it.

The key was to cover the letters that had been pricked out.

Shard took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and steadied his mind. He placed the tray with these items on the corner of the desk, first quietly chanting the Spell Words he had just punctured, and then with a forceful blow, as the powder dispersed in the closed study, the remains of the corroded bluegrass were revealed.

Biting the bullet, he swallowed the grass covered with powder before all of the dust in the air had completely settled. Shard then took another stalk of bluegrass. Arcane Technique spellcasting required Spellcasting Materials, that is, the diluent of Wind Vane Bluegrass Extract.

Not having the tools to make the extract, he could only pinch out some juice in a simple way and dab it on the tip of his tongue. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire

To be honest, Shard found it hard to decide which tasted stranger, the powder he'd just ingested or the plant juice — but it certainly tasted better than frog materials.

Looking at the somewhat empty study, he lifted his foot and took a step with excitement. Then his figure vanished next to the desk and reappeared in front of the tightly closed door.

The distance of the Arcane Technique was ten feet (approximately 3.14 meters), but Shard could feel his own limit was definitely not just that. "Divine Afterglow" enhanced the Arcane Technique by increasing the limit of spatial movement. The increase was roughly two times, meaning Shard's limit should be around ten meters.

However, a more accurate experiment would have to wait for an hour. Professor Garcia had warned that this Arcane Technique could only be used once an hour at most; otherwise, it was very likely to attract strange things.

Of course, that was just the professor's warning. If Shard didn't care about safety and had enough Spirit, he could use "Lagre's Leap" just like walking. But an hour's interval was indeed too long. If he could find a way to ensure the safety of Spatial Movement, he wouldn't have to worry. However, if such a thing truly existed, Shard definitely couldn't afford it.

"However, this Arcane Technique is simpler than I thought," he said.

Turning around to look behind him, the whole process just now was no different from taking an ordinary step.

There was just a strange feeling of imbalance for an instant when the body would appear out of nowhere. This sensation, however, wouldn't affect combat, and a few more tries should be all it took to adapt.

"What difficulties do you think you'll encounter?"

She whispered in his ear.

"For example... because of unfamiliarity, only part of the body manages to make the spatial leap, leading to dislocation of the body?"

Shard guessed jokingly.

"If the Arcane Technique were that dangerous, the professors at Saint Byrons wouldn't have recommended you choose it."

The casting materials for the Arcane Technique "Lagre's Leap" were the Wind Vane Bluegrass Extract diluent, but not for use at the time of casting, rather by dabbing a standard concentration of the diluent on the tip of the tongue, the Arcane Technique could be ready for use within twenty minutes.

This diluent couldn't just be made by mixing with water; it required a Circle Sorcerer specialized in potion brewing to prepare it, or a lot of materials would be wasted.

Therefore, Shard had only tried a few times tonight and planned to seek help from Priest Augustus tomorrow to process the grass.

By the way, he could also ask the priest to identify the other miscellaneous stuff he brought back from Coldwater Port. As for the origins of these items, it would suffice to say he got them at a low price from a Circle Sorcerer who was planning to leave Tobesk soon and wasn't certain about what the items were.

"Coldwater Port City truly is an important trade hub between the New World and the Old Continent, even such rare materials can be found there."

As he opened the door to calm the incessantly scratching cat, Shard couldn't help but express his genuine astonishment. He wouldn't be visiting Coldwater Port any time soon, though, because, while he hadn't left too many traces at Jason Delar's death scene, it was prudent to lay low for a while.

"The most crucial thing is to break into the ruins three days from now."

He looked out the window at the night view:

"To prevent the worst case scenario, multiple preparations must be made. I'll save Divinity whenever possible, and the Gold Pounds I have should be enough to buy some good stuff."

Time was pressing, so the first thing he did after waking up on Tuesday morning was to eat, and the second was to wash the clothes from the previous day, ensuring he had clean clothes to wear when going out.

Afterwards, he took a carriage to the Tobesk Post Office to send an urgent letter to Miss Galina, asking if it would be possible to visit in the afternoon, and then he went to visit Priest Augustus, handing over the Wind Vane Bluegrass to be processed.

"Where did you get these plants? Just one stalk of locally sourced Wind Vane Bluegrass is worth 10 Gold Pounds, at least 10, and after listing an order, it's quite normal not to hear back for months."

Because the process of making Plant Extract wasn't complicated, Priest Augustus took Shard straight to the underground workshop he had rented. The plant itself was expensive, but once the extract was diluted, each stalk could yield at least 100 drops of liquid.

This liquid was enough to support Shard's needs for an entire year - not because it was expected that Shard would frequently use the Arcane Technique, but rather because both the diluent and the plant itself would slowly deteriorate, an unavoidable issue.