Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 582 - : 582 Chapter: Crystals, Coins, and Blood

Chapter 582: 582 Chapter: Crystals, Coins, and Blood

Even if Shard could successfully reach Midshire Fort City, finding the missing priest in such a vast, unfamiliar city was no easy task. Given Priest Augustus’s current condition, he probably couldn’t wait for Shard to search for him like finding a needle in a haystack. And “Shard’s Blood Echo” could only detect traces of the fluid’s owner left within the past 24 hours, which meant he had to set out before the afternoon.

Actually, the sooner the better, although the priest appeared in his dream at night, this didn’t mean he had just encountered danger and immediately sought out Shard.

“Okay, I can perform a Divination of the Cost, but didn’t you go play cards last night? How did you get a new coin?”

Luviya took the silver coin from Shard’s hand, looked it over, and nodded with certainty:

“I recognize this, a Poet-Level Relic, ‘Trickster’s Coin,’ which belongs to the type of relics with the least negative traits. This coin always ends up being passed to the next owner through deception, meaning that whoever holds it will definitely be tricked… Who did you deceive?”

“I haven’t deceived anyone.”

Shard said, watching Luviya close her eyes ready to flip the coin, but he felt very strange inside:

“But now this coin has passed from my hands to Luviya’s… What has she tricked me about?”

The coin was tossed in the moving carriage and disintegrated into ash at the peak of its flight. Since the “currency” power of this Poet-Level Relic was not strong, it couldn’t offer much power for Luviya’s Divination of the Cost. It was definitely impossible to use it to find the third The Chosen One, but to search for Priest Augustus’s blood, it was still possible.

Luviya opened her eyes, a flash of purple arc light passed through her pupils:

“The blood you’re looking for is in Priest Augustus’s Potion Workshop. Sometimes human blood is needed when concocting magic potions, and if it’s a small amount, Priest Augustus would use his own. He has preserved some, hidden beneath the large iron chest at the bottom left corner of the cellar. Although it’s kept with ice, I’m afraid it’s no longer fresh.”

“Understood, as long as it’s still blood, it’s fine. But if it’s not fresh, the duration of my Arcane Technique will be reduced, we must act quickly.”

The Tobesk Mineral Association was located within Draleon Royal University in the University District. Originally, the association had no relation to the university, but due to the kingdom’s geological exploration policy of the New World, and the introduction of the geology department in Draleon Royal University, the Tobesk Mineral Association, a semi-civil organization, became affiliated with the university.

A white sign hung on the entrance pillar of the association, and the interior looked more like an exhibition hall than the university’s research rooms. After stating his purpose, Shard met with Mr. Francis, the president of the mineral association, and confirmed that indeed, there was a White Stone Crystal hidden here.

“However, this kind of mineral is difficult to process. Mr. Hamilton, what do you want this for?”

Mr. Francis, who also taught at the university, agreed to sell the association’s only crystal to Shard for thirty pounds. However, he was puzzled (Note).

“Exactly because it is hard to destroy and difficult to remodel, and aside from being very beautiful, it’s practically useless, doesn’t that just match the metaphor for ‘love’? ‘White Stone Crystals last forever, a single one will be passed down eternally.’ I plan to polish and cut it before giving it to this girl by my side.”

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Shard bluffed on the spot. Between Mr. Francis’s slightly puzzled look and Luviya’s effort to suppress a smile, he obtained the crystal that could provide a new coordinate.

Next, Shard and Luviya went to Dawn Square, opened up Priest Augustus’s workshop located in a friend’s basement, and found the blood he had hidden.

Circle Sorcerers usually don’t leave their blood just anywhere, as many curses are activated using blood as a medium.

Although the Priest had been somewhat careless, the amount of blood he left behind was actually quite small. There was only enough liquid to cover the bottom of the bottle, and after roughly estimating the degree of deterioration, Shard thought it would probably be enough to activate the “Echo of Blood” for about three to five hours.

“We are really pressed for time,” he muttered.

When the two returned to Saint Delan Square, neither Dorothy nor Dr. Schneider had arrived. Uncertain of what might be required on the other side of the “Spatial Labyrinth,” whether it be diving and swimming or wilderness survival, Luviya helped Shard pack his belongings. She then placed these items into a suitcase, which transformed into a toy for him to carry.

Mia squatted by Shard’s side throughout the packing process, seemingly aware of his impending journey, which made her look quite unhappy.

It wasn’t until noon that Dorothy and Dr. Schneider arrived one after the other.

Dorothy hadn’t been able to find a way to bring about good luck, but she quietly handed Shard a pendant with the Royal Crest, explaining that with this emblem, he could seek help at the Midshire Fort police station—this must be something belonging to Lecia.

Dr. Schneider brought the relic he mentioned, but its traits were somewhat different from what Shard had expected:

“This is it.”

In the second-floor living room, little Mia perched on the back of the sofa behind Shard’s head, watching the four people seated around the coffee table.

The doctor revealed an item housed in a blood-stained iron box, it was a mystery how the coachman had even allowed it on board.

Upon opening the box, they found it contained nothing but blood. Holding back his disgust, the doctor fished out a strand of black hair from the blood:

“Don’t worry, this is pig’s blood. The relic must be contained within blood,” he said.

He laid the strand, comprising about a dozen fine black hairs, onto a towel prepared by Shard. As the relic left its containing environment, a series of fragmented whispers gradually became clear to the ear.

The hairs began to move slowly like worms on the towel. Not only Mia, who had been called over, but also Shard, Luviya, and Dorothy felt discomfort.

“Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, ‘The Unlucky’s Long Hair’—it’s actually a relic that brings about misfortune.”

The doctor explained as he carefully dabbed some pig’s blood onto the hair. The whispering in the surroundings diminished, and the hair immediately stopped moving. The coin from before could be handled without issue, but these hairs began to change the moment they left their containment, evidencing their power.

“Extremely dangerous, exceedingly so. Alan had intended to hand it over to the Xerxes Higher Medical Academy over the weekend, and he definitely wouldn’t have let it go if I had not borrowed it. Legend has it, these belonged to an unfortunate lady who lived in the Third Era, whose life was filled with all sorts of accidents, to the extent she could choke even on water…”

The doctor’s luck wasn’t great either, but it was only to the extent of rarely encountering good fortune, nowhere near as exaggerated as that.

“After her death, her hair was obtained by a Transcendent of the Third Era, and turned into a cursed item of misfortune. Over the long years, it became this relic that brings about bad luck.”