Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 717 - Leisure Time
Chapter 717 -717 Leisure Time
With nothing else to do at Midshire Fort for the rest of the week, Shard dedicated the upcoming Friday and Saturday mornings entirely to preparing for the sealing ceremony.
Sister Delphine had provided the complete process of the ceremony, which Shard would procure the materials for from Coldwater Port, seeking assistance from Old John for the alchemical items. As for conducting the ceremony, it would be jointly assisted by Dorothy, Luviya, and Dr. Schneider, though its actual undertaking would likely have to wait until the following week.
With time to spare, Shard, aside from browsing the “Book of Pink” at home in an attempt to learn useful sorcery, also took Mia to visit the lighthouse outside Coldwater Port, paying a visit to Mr. Edmund of the “Guiding Light Hermitage” residing there.
Shard had visited a few days earlier, requesting the gentleman to gather knowledge about the Old God “Gray Robed Sage.” The hermitage’s knowledge came at a price, but given the familiarity, Mr. Edmund only symbolically charged Shard the cost of materials and transportation, totaling one pound.
This contrasted starkly with Old Man John, another member of the “Guiding Light Hermitage.”
“Yes, we also know that the third Chosen One is in Midshire Fort.”
The sea breeze swept across the cliffs, and Mia squinted at the sea. In casual conversation, Shard mentioned Milestone, because he had previously inquired about the “Interstice of Life and Death” with Mr. Edmund, so the old man, who was cooking fish soup, knew that Shard had been mixing in Milestone.
Mr. Edmund was quite fond of fishing, Shard even thought that his decision to stay here instead of moving into town was not only because it served as the local black market, but also because fishing was indeed very convenient here.
“The Hermit Society already has people there, but we are neither the Church nor the Academy; we have neither the power nor the will to have the Chosen join us. So, the Hermit Society just wants to know who will obtain this qualification.”
The old man stood up from beside the fire, served the specially seasoned fish soup, and handed it to Shard, who was standing by the sea cliff, gazing into the distance.
Mia, the orange cat at Shard’s feet, smelled the fish soup and began to squirm restlessly.
“You’d better be careful in that city lately, who knows when the whole city might just disappear.” free𝑤ebnovel.com
The old man also stood beside Shard with a bowl in hand, warning him, the sound of the waves requiring their conversation to be louder.
“I have great trust in the Church of the Five Gods, they were able to stop the Crimson Cult from flooding Coldwater Port, and they will be able to prevent Midshire Fort from succumbing to death.”
“It’s not the same; the former was just mortals causing trouble, the latter is a natural phenomenon. As the world collapses, unnatural phenomena will become more frequent and more dense.”
He began to expound the “Guiding Light Hermitage’s” perspective on apocalypse theories, Shard, although not quite believing, still engaged in additional conversation:
“Perhaps the Interstice itself is a natural phenomenon, serving to balance life and death.”
“Do you really think so?”
The old man asked in surprise, and then posed another question:
“Although many records were lost due to the change of Eras, it can be confirmed that during the Fifth Era there were five main continents in the material world. In our time, discounting that bizarre New World, the material world has only the Old Continent left, corresponding to the Midland documented in the Fifth Era. Tell me, young man, where do you suppose the other four continents have gone?”
Gazing out at the sea, Shard observed the constant stream of ships at Coldwater Port in the autumn, it being the most important port on the West Coast:
“…Merged with the current Old Continent?”
“No, no, no, the Old Continent beneath our feet and the Midland of the Fifth Era coincide almost perfectly, both historically and environmentally. The Three Major Acadacies wouldn’t make such information available even to a Correspondence Circle Mage, and the “Church of the Five Gods” also completely seals away such records. In fact, the other four continents have likely collapsed. It is also evidence that the world is progressing towards its decline.”
But Shard thought it possible that the battles at the end of an Era shattered the continental shelf, or perhaps some terrible relic tore the land apart. However, he didn’t want to debate on such an answerless question, so he changed the subject:
“By the way, Mr. Edmund, do you know of the ‘Fire of the Primordial’? I’ve recently encountered flame worship in Milestone, and during my research, I came across this.”
This was the fire wielded by Sister Delphine, and in order to keep it secret, Shard hadn’t inquired about this type of relic with any of his acquaintances. Mr. Edmund, having no association with the nuns of Midshire Fort or knowledge of Shard’s acquaintance with a nun, thus spurred Shard to broach the question.
“Of course I know about it.”
While looking at the sea, the old man nodded slightly:
“That flame, symbolizing the power of the world, the Primal Fire, is said in legend to have been held by the Thirteen Ancient Gods before the beginning of the First Era, illuminating the endless void.”
This statement elevated the status of the “Fire of the Primordial” even further.
“It has been a relic since ancient Eras, and moreover, its classification is ‘Unclassified Level’… ”
But the nun had said it was ‘Angel-Level’.
“The Hermit Society has been searching for it for many, many years because the prosperity and size of this flame could allow us to estimate just how far away the Apocalypse truly is.”
He seemed capable of connecting just about anything to his apocalyptic theories.
Shard recalled the flame he had seen, which was extremely vigorous, displaying no signs of extinguishing. Sister Delphine was tending to it very well.
“Is that flame very powerful?”
He curiously inquired as he took a sip of fish soup, which tasted very fresh.
“Very powerful? Oh, young man, you have no idea what that signifies,”
Mr. Edmund laughed and said:
“Only a few are qualified to gaze upon the Primal Fire, and even fewer to guard that flame. To guard it is an ancient honor in itself. Although the Circle Sorcerers of this Era have almost forgotten their history, the Primal Fire still holds an extraordinary status. It is said to have been divided into multiple parts, but the Hermit Society believes that even in this Era, there are hereditary Guardians still watching over it.”
Perhaps the reason the Primal Fire went from being Unclassified Level to Angel-Level was precisely because it had been split into several parts.
Mr. Edmund thought for a moment:
“Among the modern branches of the Church of the Thirteen Ancient Gods, those of death, the sun, and brightness might possess it, but no one knows exactly where. Oh, and those mad women in the Witch Council might also control the Primal Fire, or it might even be within the Council itself.”
“Sounds like quite the formidable flame.”
Shard nodded his head, finished his soup, and then bid the old man farewell. Today was Saturday, and he had a meeting to attend with the doctor in the afternoon.
Mr. Edmund, meanwhile, cleaned up the soup bowls and campfire, getting ready to head to the docks to pick up supplies. As a stationed Circle Sorcerer of the Guiding Light Hermitage locally, he had the task of purchasing materials.
But as he extinguished the fire, the old man’s thoughts drifted back to his younger days when he had read the accounts of his predecessors:
“In the late years of the Fourth Era, the ancestors of the Hermit Society last saw that yet undivided flame, the scale of the Fire of the Primordial was… There have been so many strange occurrences since this summer; perhaps, that fire will also make an appearance.”
(Mia is running…)
It is now mid-Month of Withered Leaves, and although it hasn’t been too long since the summer exam week, it is time for the Correspondence Circle Mages who are far from the Academy to consider preparing for the winter exams at the end of the year.
Especially since Dorothy, Luviya, Shard, and Dr. Schneider all plan to pass the winter exams and move on to the next grade.
Nobody had mentioned the winter exams just a short while ago, but once others started to prepare, their fellow Circle Sorcerers all began to feel the pressure. All four of them had borrowed some books from the Academy Library this week, and Dorothy, with her ample manuscript fees, even planned to take advantage of the winter to enroll in a course called “Exotic Species Fairy Tales (Intermediate Class).”
This course would cover famous fairy tales from exotic races, and the enrollment requirement for Correspondence Circle Mages was to pass a mental stability test from the Academy. According to Dorothy, the stories involved in this course themselves possessed a frightful power capable of functioning as Spell Words.
Recently, Shard has been focusing all his energy on Midshire Fort, so he didn’t have any experiences to share. Luviya was busy with astrology at night, waiting for the arrival of the Star Ocean Whale, and Dorothy’s new book was about to be printed, spending these days on the final proofreading with the editorial department.
Only Dr. Schneider had ample free time to “adventure” in the city recently, and this time he also shared his story.
It wasn’t any extraordinary tale; everything began two weeks ago when the doctor received a sixteen-year-old boy with suicidal tendencies. After a week of two-hour daily conversations, the doctor gradually realized that the boy appeared to be suffering from dissociative identity disorder.
However, after another week of intensive treatment, the doctor began to notice something amiss. In his dreams, he encountered the very same terrifying monster described by the boy and was chased by it.
Therefore, the doctor, skilled in the power of dreams, killed the monster in his dream. Then, taking advantage of the deep night, he sneaked into his patient’s home for a thorough search. After inducing the patient into a deep sleep with a Magic Potion, he took him to a graveyard on the outskirts for a ceremony. Ultimately, he performed a necromancy ritual to summon the Evil Spirit affixed to the boy’s body and engaged in an intense battle with it in the graveyard.
“That must have been tough.”
Sitting on the sofa discussing the matter, the doctor sounded somewhat wistful:
“That Evil Spirit was actually the patient’s twin brother. But at their birth, one was a live birth and the other stillborn. The souls then became entwined, and sixteen years of resentment, coupled with their exposure to the influence of the Whisper Element from an unknown source, gave rise to a terrifying Undead.”
“Doctor, the theft at the Wilder house mentioned in the news last Thursday—it wasn’t you, was it?”
The Blonde Writer suddenly asked with a smile:
“I heard that the police at Riddlevitch Field are treating the case as a significant oversight in the Royal Capital’s autumn security management.”
“It was a necessary action.”
The doctor explained, his voice dropping a bit.
“Was it also you who damaged the public cemetery outside the city last Thursday night? The Church handed the matter over to the Council for investigation, to see if it involved Circle Sorcerers, but Divination turned up nothing, and it’s currently being treated as a regular case and sent back to Riddlevitch Field.”
Luviya asked with a smile as well.
“It was a necessary action.”
The doctor emphasized again and tried to divert further questioning by shifting the topic to Shard.
Dr. Bill Schneider was merely Inner Ring, already nearly unstoppable for ordinary people. Even though it is now the Steam Age, the civilization built by the ordinary people’s own hands obscures the Glimmer of the Transcendents beneath the dust of history. The world remains very dangerous for those ordinary people who don’t engage with the mystical, and not all Circle Sorcerers are as kind as Dr. Schneider… even if he houses a demon in his heart.
