Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1788 - 1787: Calamity Cards

The more he understood the stories of the bygone era, and the clearer he saw the end of the world after the apocalypse arrived, the more the Outlander could not accept the world returning to such a state again.

He waited for the white fog to envelop him, then took a step forward, stepping out of the room and back into the unlit dark hall. Three seconds passed; he had lost his clothes and shoes, with a card in his hand instead, but the good news was Tree Father had repaired all his injuries.

The small ginger cat waiting on Shard’s coat widened her amber eyes in the darkness and looked at him. The cat sensed Shard’s spiritual fatigue, so she just meowed softly and jumped to a higher step, waiting for Shard to go upstairs with her.

"I have learned more about Past Life Luviya’s failure. There can be no delay, nor can there be any failure allowed, otherwise the situation will slowly worsen until, like in the past, the cultists dare to attack Tobesk. Also, I must unite everyone who can be united, unite all forces."

In the darkness, Shard once again looked at the card in his hand, looking at Mrs. Lemer in the deep sea:

"But apart from those stories of the past, it was not without gains."

[You mean this card?]

"No, I witnessed Iluna’s Thirteen Rings form. My Maze Lock [Cinderella] can allow a promised maiden to transform into her strongest form as remembered by me. Iluna’s destined Thirteen Rings, I’ve recorded it."

He first went to the basement, placing [Shadow of the Deep Sea] and [Twin Lovers] in between "Feliana’s Notes." As he was preparing to return to the bedroom to rest with Mia, in the darkness Shard thought of a rather dull question:

"Since these cards will surely increase by one per month in the future, should we give them a name? To distinguish them from Impermanence Cards and Roder Cards."

[How about ’Calamity Cards’?]

"A good name."

Thus, a new type of card for Shard to collect came into being.

Although Tree Father repaired the body’s injuries, the weakness of the soul and spiritual fatigue were not so easily recovered. Even with top-tier spiritual and soul-repairing Arcane Techniques like [Dream of the Moon], since the battle was truly intense, when Shard fell asleep after nightfall on Sunday and opened his eyes again, it was already eight-thirty on Monday morning.

Upon waking up to see Luviya and Iluna seated on chairs by the bed, he momentarily thought he was still dreaming. Thankfully, "she" softly reminded Shard to distinguish between reality and dream, and Luviya’s delighted voice also proved that this was no dream:

"You’re awake, don’t worry about your cat, we’ve already prepared its breakfast. Oh, I’ll go to the kitchen and get you breakfast, you don’t need to get up."

As she said this, she stood up and left the bedroom. Shard sat up in bed, confusedly looking at Iluna, the seventeen-year-old maiden explained worriedly:

"This afternoon, I must leave Tobesk. Luviya has had new findings, so she came along to tell you. We came at seven-thirty, and as soon as we opened the door, seeing the newspaper still on the mat and Mia coming down from upstairs, we knew something must have happened to you. But after Luviya’s examination confirmed you were just exhausted, we decided not to disturb you."

As for the cat, at that moment, she was lying beside Shard’s pillow, having presumably stayed there since finishing breakfast.

"I’m alright, just too tired."

He didn’t explain what he had done, just sighed while rubbing his forehead, making Iluna even more worried.

Luviya quickly returned with breakfast, but Shard still insisted on going to the dining room. He spoke of the ghoul-Nicholas Green he investigated yesterday, and guessed about the relationship between the "Edwards Ascension Technique" and the thirteen keys and Poem Chapter. Then, while having breakfast, Shard listened to the girls talk about things, with new investigative discoveries coming from Iluna:

"I foresaw parts of the Poem Chapter content early, learning information related to the Chosen of Space ceremony. The three requirements for the Chosen One Ceremony are: comprehending Ancient God’s power, possessing an artifact symbolizing Ancient God Power, and performing a specific ritual. This ritual, we know, includes ’Trinity’. Secondly, there are location requirements: it must be in a stable special space."

"Shard, you are more skilled in Spatial Power than us; you should comprehend what this means."

Luviya said, with Shard nodding. One night’s rest had fully restored his mental state, but he didn’t plan to tell anyone about everything from last night:

"This was taught in the course. A stable special space means that it just needs to not be the true Material World. But the space itself must have fixed rules; a Subspace Seal won’t work. What I can think of are, for instance, those spaces left behind by the Ancient God, or inside an Unclassified Level Relic [Interstice of Life and Death]... Sublimation Incantation should not work since it’s essentially a bomb, not stable at all. However, some special Maze Locks, backed by sufficient powerful power, like if I fully expand my own..."

He tried to give his Union-type Maze Lock a unique name:

"Maze Lock: Fairy Tale Town will do."

Iluna understood what he was talking about:

"You’ve mentioned this many times, does the island behind Green Lake Central Island count?"

Shard hesitated for a moment:

"It probably doesn’t count. The island behind is a reflected landscape of the material world’s space backside. Strictly speaking, it’s still the material world, just with space anomalies. Miss Danester mentioned that the space professors of the Three Major Academies are researching this special spatial phenomenon, and it’s confirmed that it’s not outside the material world... I wonder if Laplace Klein Howard knows the full details of the Chosen One Ceremony."

Luviya nodded:

"But at least this is advantageous for us—Shard has already mastered the location of the [Spatial Labyrinth] in Green Lake City. As long as we kill that Diviner and find the next candidate in line, at least we won’t worry about the ceremony location. Iluna, be careful when you arrive in the Green Lake Region. This time is different from the past; the previous Chosen Ones and other related enemies won’t attack you actively, but this time, Laplace Klein Howard might test other Chosen Ones proactively."

Iluna nodded, happy with Luviya’s concern. Looking at Iluna at this moment, Shard truly couldn’t imagine what she had been through to become as cold as he saw in the [Bygone Era]’s memory last night.

Iluna left in the afternoon, still traveling by Steam Hover Zeppelin. She first needed to train at the Papacy, and she’d likely reach Green Lake this weekend or early next week. Therefore, this was the farewell before her departure—Shard and Luviya both gave her a hug, and Shard agreed to meet Iluna again at the Green Lake Hotel. What he didn’t know was that after the two ladies left Saint Delan Square, Luviya revealed something she hadn’t mentioned earlier:

"The association is gathering Elite Diviners from other branches of the Old Continent to head to the Green Lake Region to help, this time it seems the association is indeed planning something big. I am eligible to apply, currently awaiting qualification review. If approved, I will go to Green Lake in about one or two weeks."

Iluna asked worriedly:

"Not telling Shard?"

"I’ll tell him when the time comes."

The girl with purple eyes shook her head:

"He always thinks I’m too fragile, but with the development of the Chosen One affairs, relying on him alone, the path will only get harder. Last summer, I reached out to him, and now, our relationship is not just love and bonding; we have also agreed to jointly change this world that’s about to change, our ideals and goals. I won’t let him walk alone."

Today is a brand new week. Last week, he took out a useless cat-shaped mask from the gift box, and when he went expectantly for a gift this week, he saw little Mia standing with great anticipation nearby.

So he thought for a moment, then placed Mia inside the box, which made her quite happy. But Shard quickly picked the cat out again, and indeed, saw a string of irregular translucent stones strung on red ropes hooked by Mia’s tail.

There were seven stones in total, although irregular in shape, they felt smooth to the touch, each smaller in size compared to the pearls on the necklaces worn by the ladies. The stones looked like glass, but felt quite different from glass.

Due to the presence of Spirit fluctuations, this surely was some kind of Special Material, although Shard couldn’t discern what it was.

Since he needed to ask Sister Delphine about some matters later, he took them with him when he went out. As for Mia, the cat remained home as the guardian.

However, Shard didn’t immediately go to Midshire Fort; instead, he first went out and took a carriage to visit the Lemer family, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time. Having received a relatively substantial inheritance, the family had moved from their previous attic residence to Tobesk Northern Area, a district with a better living environment, leasing a room on the third floor of an apartment with an independent washroom and kitchen.

Mrs. Lemer was quite surprised by Shard’s visit with a bag full of apples, but still warmly received him. Shard claimed he was doing a "commission follow-up," as he looked around the warmly decorated home and listened to Mrs. Lemer talk about the family’s improved life situation. He learned that she hadn’t left the city in the past year:

"That’s good, so I won’t disturb you any longer."

Only stayed for about ten minutes, Shard then stood up to leave. He bid farewell to the enthusiastic woman, pocketed [Shadow of the Deep Sea], and watched Mrs. Lemer’s waving silhouette through the window.

[How do you feel?]

"No particular feeling, I just did what I should do."

After returning home, he finally went from the basement to the ruined tower in the mountains of Sicarl. After descending from the mountain, he quickly visited the ancient ritual site on the Top of the Mountains through Serpent Heart Hospital in Midshire Fort. Sister Delphine and Granny Cassandra’s group hadn’t set off yet, so he could still find the nun.