Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 366 Three Tasks

Read latest chapters at novelbuddy

"Adjusting oneself? This truly is a judgment upon oneself."

Shard murmured softly, picking up the cat from behind his head and letting it rest on his lap. Mia lazily squinted her eyes, it was unclear whether she was dozing or had fallen asleep.

"Did you try it?"

Luviya asked again, while Iluna sadly shook her head, her brown hair swaying slightly:

"I had intended to spend some wealth to try and make the scars on my arm disappear. But the court requires three people to use it, and one of them must possess the 'Balance' Spirit Rune."

In Iluna's core Spirit Runes was "Balance." It hadn't been there before; it appeared suddenly on the second night after she became The Chosen One. This was also the first case Shard encountered where one could obtain core Spirit Runes even after being appointed a Circle Sorcerer.

"Among the three people, one holds the Holy Emblem as the Judge, one stands below as the audience, and the last one operates the Balance. Even though I am The Chosen One, I cannot transcend the rules of that space itself."

"Which means, we have even more things to search for."

Shard couldn't help but shake his head, while Luviya smiled slightly:

"But at least this time, we won't need to look for coins."

"Why?"

Iluna asked curiously.

"My Divination is ineffective only for a few things. Although I can locate Relics containing divine powers, Divine Statues and Holy Emblems are exceptions. These items are almost akin to the Deity themselves; no matter how many coins I offer, I can't perform Divination on them."

That meant, although Shard knew of the fifth White Mist Space left by the Ancient God beyond the "Time Corridor," "Spatial Labyrinth," "Silvermoon Library," "Creation Chamber," he still couldn't enter it.

Moreover, even if he could enter, there wasn't anything Shard wanted to change. It wasn't that he was satisfied with the current situation, but rather he was unwilling to sacrifice anything of his own, beyond his wealth.

That would make him feel incomplete.

These were all the information Iluna temporarily gathered; afterward, Shard took her on a tour of his basement. Perhaps because the soul of 'The Chosen One' was stronger, Iluna was able to withstand the pressure of facing the Divine Statue directly, and like Shard, she touched the statue.

However, when she recited the Spell Words to enter the "Spatial Labyrinth," the only landmark she could see represented "Saint Delan Square."

This gave Shard a new understanding of the space; those landmarks weren't recorded in the Divine Statue but were recorded within the user themselves.

Shard had opened the landmark to "Coldwater Port" and had been in contact with the landmark for "Saint Delan Square," so no matter where he used the Divine Statue, he could see these two places again. However, since Iluna had never been to Coldwater Port, she had only this one landmark so far.

But Shard obtained the second landmark, not by actively expanding to other places, but by sacrificing the "White Stone Crystal." He intended to have Iluna do the same so that next week, when going to help Princess Lecia in Coldwater Port, he could have an assistant by his side.

But when he shared this plan with Iluna and was preparing to try his luck at the Tobesk Mining Association, the young girl with brown hair asked puzzledly:

"What White Stone Crystal?"

"Has your other self not received the message left by the Ancient God?"

Luviya asked curiously; Shard had once mentioned this to her.

Iluna tilted her head and communicated with the voice in her mind, then shook her head in bewilderment:

"No message."

"Could it be that only Shard can create new waypoints by offering the 'White Stone Crystal,' and anyone else, even if they enter that place, must touch different statues to travel through space?"

Luviya made a very likely conjecture, but it was just conjecture.

"Although the White Stone Crystal is precious, I remember we might have one in the church's warehouse. I can find an opportunity to borrow one and bring it here to try."

Iluna suggested, but the three of them instinctively felt that Luviya's guess was correct.

As long as one has the key, those favored by time can enter the Time Corridor, but only Shard can truly traverse time; as long as one can find the hidden walls, those favored by space can enter the Spatial Labyrinth to travel, but only Shard can obtain new waypoints through sacrifices.

This conjecture implied that in other spaces left by the Ancient Gods, Shard might show some unique abilities. However, the Silvermoon Library lacked the "Yellow Moon" Core Spirit Rune, the Creation Chamber was merely hearsay, and the Inquisitor's Court needed an additional Holy Emblem.

Shard's conjecture could only be verified later.

He looked forward to Iluna's return, not only wishing to see the girl who had experienced so much as soon as possible but also hoping she would bring him "new surprises."

Even as the candidate became The Chosen One, the girl with short brown hair did not lack incidents around her, these incidents also hastened her promotion to the 13th circle.

Speaking of this, Iluna also shared some of the troubles she had faced while returning to Tobesk on the steam train together with her colleagues from the church. After returning to her city, her current life was relatively calm.

She knew Shard was busy collecting 15 practical credits, and though due to yesterday's unexpected gain Shard no longer needed to find new relics, Iluna still brought Shard what he wanted.

"So much going on."

The young girl couldn't help but cover her head, and as the three walked upstairs, she spoke in a pained tone:

"You guys know that the Blackstone Security Company I work for is actually a Circle Sorcerer squad under the church. We have to deal with the tasks assigned by the church, and the routine tasks that come to us if we have time. Although Tobesk has five churches, and each church has several squads like ours, the tasks are never completely resolved."

With that, she pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Shard, which listed some of the tasks.

The Blackstone Security Company tends to prioritize the church's urgent tasks first, then those directly related to mysteries, and finally other matters. Thus, there was no shortage of pent-up assignments inside the company, and Iluna copied a few that seemed problematic to bring to Shard.

However, these tasks had already been filtered by the church and then again by the responsible Circle Sorcerer squad, so the likelihood of finding something valuable was very low. Iluna thought Shard might try his luck, which is why she picked a few. And if Shard resolved any issues, then next week Iluna would select these tasks, apply for a private investigation, and then submit a problem-free investigative report.

This way, Shard also helped to alleviate some of the workload for the Blackstone Security Company.

"Even with my luck, I can't encounter Relics going out of control every day, after all, there are only so many Relics. Since becoming The Chosen One, the bad things happening around me have clearly decreased. I'm sorry, Shard, but this time I might not be able to help you, and I can't join you today either."

Iluna said regretfully. She had just returned to Tobesk and had a lot of things to deal with. Moreover, as it was a team task, it wouldn't be convenient for her to show up after passing it to Shard.

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.

"But if there's trouble, you can find me at the security company; I'll be there for a while."

"It's okay, I already have enough credits; these things aren't that important."

Shard shook his head and then asked:

"Luviya, would you like to come with me to look into these matters?"

Shard asked the female diviner, who after thinking it over, also shook her head regretfully:

"Sorry, next month the Big City Player Roder Card Tournament is starting. It's the first time in fifty years that such a large-scale event is being held in Tobesk, so I can't take any leave recently."

The "Big City Player Roder Card Tournament" is a worldwide Roder card competition held every three years, occurring only in the major cities of the Old Continent. Then, players from around the world will gather, competing for prize money and special winner's cards.

"It's alright, I'm a detective after all; I can handle these commissions alone. If there really is a problem, I'll ask for your help."

Although it was regrettable, he really had to act alone today; everyone had their own jobs and lives.

"Iluna gave me three commissions; do you want to try to solve each one? Where do you want to start?"

The female diviner asked again.

"Shard, I recommend you first take a look at that haunted house; it's closest to here. Then there's the mysterious person who appears on the street corner at noon every day; this is the only task I brought that wasn't issued by the Church."

Iluna recommended, truly regretting that she couldn't join him.

Shard picked up the paper and glanced at it again. The three investigative tasks were diverse; besides the two Iluna had mentioned, the last one was to investigate a spice merchant in the north of the city. His spices were exceptionally beneficial for sleep, yet when analyzed, they were completely ordinary items. The Church suspected there was a small chance he was a Circle Sorcerer skilled in magic potions and alchemy, hence the task.

Of course, the chance was small, and the merchant didn't seem to have any intention of fleeing, so the task was put off until next week.

"Alright then, I'll investigate in this order. Iluna, I will send you the investigative records for the three issues tomorrow."

Shard looked up and said.

"Then, we'll split the commission fees nineteen-to-one: you take nine, I take one, as my role as broker in introducing these tasks to you."

The young lady was very adept at handling these matters; although their relationship was very good, clear accounting helped make relationships even better—Shard greatly admired her approach.

Additionally, regarding the matter of the second The Chosen, we both need to investigate."

Luviya also said, pointing in the direction of Coldwater Port:

"Iluna, I hope you can use the church's channels to gather as much information as possible about the Coldwater Port incident. Now that you are the only The Chosen One, I believe the Sun Church won't hide anything about the other chosen ones from you."

"No problem, my status has changed after coming back from the Papacy."

The seventeen-year-old girl smiled happily.

The two girls prepared to leave together, and Shard also grabbed his jacket, ready to head out since he had a lot to deal with this Friday.

Since he had to move around the city, aside from those investigation tasks, he needed to visit MI6's outpost, manage some tax issues, inquire about pipeline installation prices at the gas company and the Steam Company, and settle next month's advertising fees at the 'Steam Bird Daily.'

"Shard, can I take your cat with me? Since you're planning to leave it at home anyway, why not let me take it? You've been to our place, and I think Mia would become friends with our cat," Iluna suggested before they left. Luviya stood by smiling, already knowing the outcome, while Shard turned to look at the orange cat sitting on the couch, preparing to send him downstairs and then quietly enjoy being alone at home:

"If you can gain its consent, I have no objections."

He said with a smile.

"Oh, Mia, come here."

The girl in a skirt clapped her hands at the small orange cat, whose large eyes suspiciously watched her, then it lifted a paw to brush its face, doing nothing more.

"Iluna, I think that's a no," Luviya said, her mood quite good at the moment.

The three separated downstairs, Shard taking Iluna's information and first walking for twenty minutes to Squirrel Alley number 6.

Squirrel Alley is an ordinary alley in the Tobesk City Eastern District where most of the residents are engaged in relatively respectable jobs like clerks, accountants, and copywriters. Although their incomes are modest—not standard middle class—they at least don't have to do a lot of physical labor to support their families.

Squirrel Alley number 6 is a typical rental apartment in the city, three stories high. The landlord's family lives on the first floor, the second floor is rented to a small civil servant working in the logistics department of the City Hall, and the third floor belonged to a student who came from his hometown to study at the Tobesk Intermediate Mechanical College.

A month ago, the tenant of the third floor, Sar Hack, passed away, and since then, there were rumors of hauntings. Before the mission was assigned to Iluna's team, the church had sent a regular priest with Divine Items to check, but they found no traces of Evil Spirits and there was no concrete evidence of hauntings, nor had anyone been injured.

The landlord's family and the second-floor residents had already moved out, so Blackstone Security Company believed the importance of this task was not high.

Being close to the city center, the alley was still quite clean. It's just that the road was a bit narrow, probably too narrow for carriages to pass through. Upon entering the alley, Shard stepped on the gravel of the ground, looking at the rusted door numbers one by one for his destination.

Both sides were walled with bricks, the walls covered with steam pipes wrapped in insulation. The rivets that fixed the pipes were mostly rusty. Only after passing a stone archway connecting the buildings on either side of the alley did he see the locked door of the house.

Cocking his head, he examined the house; the windows on both sides were boarded up, but ironically, the mailbox hanging on the wall was empty, suggesting someone had recently come to collect something.