Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Miss Beyas didn't arrive until just before eight o'clock, her hair still wet as she followed Shard upstairs. Once seated, she complained to Shard and Miss Annette:

"This afternoon, our task force received a last-minute mission and was sent to the northern sewer to catch a few bold individuals selling forbidden goods. Do you know what it smells like in the Tobesk Underground Pipeline?"

She made an indescribable face:

"You'd better hope you never find out. After the mission, I went home and bathed for an entire hour before the smell began to fade."

"I don't smell anything odd now."

Miss Annette said, while Shard went to the kitchen to get some bread; Miss Beyas had come on an empty stomach, and hadn't even dried her hair completely.

"That's because I used perfume, very expensive perfume."

She tried to gesture the shape of the perfume bottle:

"It's an import from Carsonrick, costing 3 pounds for a small bottle. It was a birthday present to myself last year. Honestly, it doesn't really seem worth the price."

After taking the bread Shard offered, she softly thanked him and shook it at Mia, who was squatting on the back of the sofa. However, the cat food was a much greater delicacy than the cheap bread Shard had bought, hence it didn't tempt her at all.

"Did you end up catching them?"

Shard asked this as he sat down.

"We did catch them. Everyone was so angry, we might have 'accidentally' been a bit rough while apprehending them... just pretend you didn't hear that."

She waved her hand apologetically, and Shard couldn't help but smile.

"What kind of forbidden goods were they selling?"

Miss Annette asked.

"I don't know. The captain wouldn't say and kept a straight face, telling us it was confidential. But when we searched them, we found red salt in small bottles. That's probably what they were planning to sell. If you come across it, let me know, so I can pass some of the reward to you."

As Miss Beyas ate her bread, Shard and Miss Annette confirmed the arrangements they had made for tomorrow night.

Shard learned an essential Arcane Technique, "Lalleg's Leap," spent 43 pounds on "Bordeaux Candles" from Old John, and borrowed a true Sage-Level Relic, "Ancient Witch's Golden Necklace."

Miss Annette had recovered from the weakness following her Divination of the Cost on Sunday. She had borrowed a compass that shows direction from the association, borrowed a Poet-Level Relic that could see through illusions, which looked like a monocle, from a friend, and acquired some steam bombs through black market channels.

Steam bombs are useless against High Ring Sorcerers, but they might be effective against weakened Silver-Eyed Ones.

"But which of your friends would actually lend out a Sage-Level Relic directly?"

Looking at the jewelry box on the coffee table, both Miss Beyas and Miss Annette were surprised. Even though Sage Level (2nd Level) and Keeper of Secrets Level (3rd Level) were just one level apart, the preciousness of the former was clear:

"Even for High Ring Sorcerers, this relic is quite tempting. They just lent it to you directly? I wish I had friends like that."

"Of course, it wasn't without cost."

Shard explained about a charity banquet he had to attend first tomorrow night.

Miss Annette and Miss Beyas didn't object, instead, they preferred that Shard stayed at the banquet, which was secured by the True God Church, than joining them in storming the Ruins.

They were concerned about his safety, but Shard was determined to obtain the gift left by the god of the Fifth Era.

Miss Annette took out her notebook:

"I've done some more investigation on that Ruin recently and made some new discoveries. Since you have other plans, we need to adjust our strategy. Let me see, the original action plan... Also, we need to synchronize our watches, Shard, you handle that. Oh, there's just too much to do, we have a busy night ahead."

She shook her head in frustration, and Shard looked out at the stormy night outside the window, hesitating before suggesting:

"Why don't you stay over at my place tonight? My house is quite large. With the weather so dreadful, there's no need to go back home late at night..."

After saying this, he hastened to add:

"It's not for any other reason, just to clarify."

"That's fine, you're of a lower sorcerer rank than either of us, even if mischief was on your mind, it would hardly fall to you to execute it."

Miss Annette made the remark jovially, and Miss Beyas nodded with a laugh:

"Right, that sounds like a good idea. But later we'll need to go home to grab some changes of clothes, ensuring that we all stay together until tomorrow night's operation." Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Even though the house at Saint Delan Square was large, there were only two beds. Shard's bed in the second bedroom was the bigger one; he could swap out fresh bedding so the two women could squeeze in together, and he would have to sleep in Detective Sparrow's smaller bed.

"I thought you might have some psychological shadows about that bed."

"Tonight, with three Circle Sorcerers here, if there's going to be a haunting, it's definitely going to be Sparrow who's out of luck."

The girls got up to go home and fetch some change of clothes and toiletries, and Shard stood up too, then remembered something:

"Oh, by the way, could I ask about your weight?"

The proposal to stay overnight here didn't raise any alarm, but this question made the two brown-haired girls wary:

"That's not polite, Shard."

Miss Beyas said reproachfully.

"No, no, no, it's about the candles, I've got a really nice candle."

That night, they talked until the early morning before going to rest. Shard's candle could help the three of them hide, while the others also got some decent Relics, helping them make targeted plans.

Besides discussing the plans and arrangements for the next night, Miss Beyas also returned to Shard the Witch's Reproduction Paper of the Arcane Technique "Sunlight Greatsword" imprinted by a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer.

According to the traits of this Relic, Shard burned the Reproduction Paper, mixed the remaining ash in water, stirred constantly, and reluctantly drank it down to the last drop, holding his nose.

After drinking, he received a few hints in his head, tilted his head to think, then extended his right index finger, from which a slender Moonlight-glimmer like a short dagger leaped forth. After a brief experiment, the blade emerging from his fingertip had a pretty decent cutting performance—without using the boost from the Ancient Witch's Golden Necklace, its ability to penetrate defenses even surpassed "Silvermoon Slash."

This Arcane Technique should be suitable for close combat and could pair with the "Blade of Chaotic Time." Furthermore, Shard could feel that the Witch's Reproduction Paper was still being digested, and the harvest he was getting now was just the nascent form of the Arcane Technique.

A "digestion" process was necessary to fully master the Arcane Technique. It wasn't the digestion of the stomach but rather the soul digesting that power. Miss Beyas had researched the Witch's Reproduction Paper, and according to the records, since there was such strength from the beginning, his harvest was unlikely to be simple; it was very likely a very powerful Arcane Technique, closely resembling the "Sunlight Greatsword."

What he would ultimately gain was tied to the type of Spirit Rune he had and his strongest desires, something he was eagerly anticipating.

"There absolutely will be no issues with tomorrow night's operation."

This was Shard's thought as he lay in the master bedroom of the second floor, room number one, preparing to sleep.

The cat lying beside the pillow had just come running over. Mia had seen Shard heading to the bathroom to wash up, knowing he was preparing to rest, so she had darted into his room. But, for a good while, when the person who entered was not Shard but a woman, she rushed out of the bedroom door and found Shard in the next room.

It seemed, for a moment, the cat mistakenly thought Miss Beyas and Miss Annette had done away with Shard and taken over the house.

Fortunately, Mia didn't fuss about where she slept and fell asleep faster than Shard, who, preoccupied with thoughts, lay with his eyes closed for a long time before falling asleep.

Meanwhile, it was still raining outside.

(Mia running...)

It felt like only two or three seconds had passed between closing and opening his eyes, and the sound of rain tapping on the window could still be heard. Listening closely, the faint, even breathing of the cat was also discernible.

Shard opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. His Arcane Technique informed him that it was Thursday morning, five o'clock. He had slept for less than four hours, but now awake, he felt not the least bit sleepy.

"Is it still raining? I hope it won't affect tonight's plans."

Looking at the slightly unfamiliar ceiling for a while, he quietly got out of bed. The cat, which was very alert in its sleep, naturally woke up but, after standing up and looking around to see no danger, flopped back beside the pillow.

This was Sparrow Hamilton's bedroom, and after the detective's death, Shard only came here occasionally to clean or to search for documents left by his predecessor.

This was the first time Shard saw the room in the early morning, and sitting on the bed, he curiously wondered whether Detective Sparrow, upon waking up each morning, felt the same as he did now.

Since there were others in the house, Shard also tried to make as little noise as possible when leaving the room. It was still early and still raining outside, so the unlit living room appeared somewhat dim.

Standing at the bedroom door and glancing around, the doors to the girls' rooms were still closed, presumably they were all still asleep.

Awake a bit too early, Shard wasn't sure what to do now. Standing in the living room and looking around once more, he then saw the front door was ajar:

"Did someone go out?"

Walking in slippers to the second-floor corridor, there were no lights downstairs, but the door to the second room on the second floor was also open.

Shard pushed the door and entered; the room, devoid of gas lamps and furniture, was empty and somewhat chilly. The sound of rain here seemed even louder than next door.

He instantly saw Miss Beyas standing by the window.

The brown-haired girl stood at the window, one hand holding a teacup, the other supporting her elbow. She was looking out at the rain over Saint Delan Square in the darkness, wearing the nightgown she had brought from her rented apartment the night before.

Shard at the doorway could only see her profile, and somehow, he thought that this silhouette appeared quite forlorn.