Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 205 Red Moon Witch Danester

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Although the Crystal Stone in his hand held the address of the Academy, Shard hadn't the chance to take a closer look; all the text on the page cleared, and a large number "3" appeared.

The four people by the wall held their breaths, but they were all extremely excited:

"Shard, get ready!"

Dr. Schneider loudly reminded.

The number "2" appeared.

Shard hurriedly pulled out his house keys and tossed them toward the wall, along with the page before him and the messy pile of things in his pocket.

The number "1" appeared.

"If I come back late, remember to feed the cat for me,"

he shouted. Then the crystal in his hand exploded like a bomb, bursting forth a startling white light. In the room with closed doors and windows, a violent wind arose amidst this light. The doctor and the others instinctively closed their eyes, and a few seconds later, both the light and the wind disappeared—as did Shard, who had been standing there.

The papers, whipped up by the wind, fell through the air like snowflakes. Disappearing along with Shard was one-fifth of the coffee table in front of him, as well as half of the sofa behind him, both cut as if by precise instruments, their cross-sections eerily neat.

"Oh~"

With a sigh, the doctor looked around the room that seemed as if a storm had struck, muttering quietly:

"That noise... was much smaller than I expected."

(Mia running...)

She felt as though she was being forcefully pressed into a sphere, and then rapidly rolling through a narrow pipe. Then, as if stuffed into the barrel of a gun and propelled forward by a mighty force.

Strange and fantastic illusions unfolded before her eyes, and Shard couldn't distinguish reality from the bizarre visions. He saw a black octopus behemoth waving its tentacles under a dim yellow sky, the sun falling in apocalyptic fire, a massive black hand descending from the sky to obliterate the material world, Miss Luisa and Miss Beyas embracing and kissing, and many other strange scenes.

"Miss Luisa doesn't even know Miss Beyas, what am I thinking?"

His mind was in disarray from processing too much information at once, giving him the illusion that his brain might explode. But soon, the feeling of solid ground returned beneath his feet. Shard felt his body sway slightly, then saw the scene before him stabilize, the spatial leap had ended.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing down the urge to vomit that came with the dizziness. At the same time, a new smell flowed into his nostrils with the air—dry, slightly cold, replete with the unique scent of paper and ink.

Shard liked this smell very much.

Opening his eyes, there was no doubt he was in a large library, surprisingly standing on a solid wood floor. He was in the midst of bookshelf clusters, with yellow-brown wooden shelves of varying heights spreading out into the far distance. Uneven and irregular in arrangement, they exuded a strangely orderly charm.

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On the bookshelf closest to Shard, there was a brass plaque that read "History (Fifth Era 1~100 Years)." Books were stuffed into the shelves, and the spines of the books were marked with text from various eras to denote the information of the books. In an era where knowledge represented wealth, the visible part of the library alone would be enough to buy the entire Tobesk.

Looking up, the arched ceiling, higher in the middle and lower around the edges, seemed to be as tall as a four-story building. Shard stood directly below the highest point of the ceiling, which must be the center of the library. The sound of footsteps coming from all directions indicated that the place was in use.

Perhaps just one or two bookshelves away, there might be a real Circle Sorcerer of Saint Byrons at work.

The temperature inside the library was lower than the scorching summer of Tobesk. Taking another deep breath of the chilly air filled his lungs and restored his spirit back to normal.

The space between the bookshelves, where he stood, was generally circular. Not far from Shard, three middle-aged men wearing blue robes with the Saint Byrons emblem on their chests, were frantically rolling up a huge brown parchment roll placed on a tripod.

"Welcome to Saint Byrons, Shard Suren Hamilton."

The Librarian spoke softly, but did not give Shard a chance to speak:

"Show me your Ring of Fate."

This was Miss Danester's first request after Shard sat down. He summoned the metallic ring behind him among the sounds of steam whistles and rumbling noise, but the Red Moon Witch only glanced at it before allowing Shard to retract it.

Shard had thought the "Little Match Girl" might have aroused suspicion, but then the question suddenly changed:

"Actually, I am very curious, Mr. Hamilton, why is your middle name Sulun?"

Her right hand, adorned with an emerald ring, gently shook, and the teacup and teapot on the coffee table leaped into action, pouring tea for Shard.

Then, with a snap of her fingers, a segment of the Thirteen-Ring Sorceress's Wheel of Destiny appeared before Shard, revealing one of Miss Danester's Core Runes, "Red Moon."

He was slightly amazed inwardly, yet responded "honestly":

"I have no memories of the past, and when I came to, I only knew my name. I thought of the word 'Sulun' on the spot while signing documents for corpse disposal for the former Detective — it was the first word that jumped into my head."

This wasn't a lie, just omitting some details. Indeed, when the woman's voice spoke in his head, it was "a word that jumped into my head."

The Red Moon Witch nodded and slightly raised her right hand. The phantom images of red, yellow, and silver moons appeared above her palm. The three moons almost at the points of an equilateral triangle rotated in the palm of the Thirteen-Ring Sorceress:

"We are all people with ties to the moon. But the meaning of the word 'Sulun' is not limited to Silvermoon."

Shard nodded but didn't speak, thinking it best to listen at this moment.

"Mr. Hamilton, when you reach the higher grades and have a deeper understanding of ancient scripts, you will realise that this pronunciation has appeared in most civilizations and always represents Silvermoon. One theory is that in the most ancient era, there wasn't a trio but a single moon in the sky. The silver moon was the original moon."

Shard thought of the "Illusion" created by the "Creator of Innocence" during their second meeting, where there was only one silver moon in the sky.

The view that Silvermoon was the original moon was likely more than mere speculation.

The discussion about the moon helped Shard to become a bit more familiar with Miss Danester. But then, she abruptly switched topics:

"We'll return to the topic of the moon later; that's why I called you here. Now, let's talk about your Low Fourth Ring Ascension Words. For talented students, we always support early access to the 'Sublimation Codex.' As for whether you can be trusted, I think there's no need to consider anymore, as no one is ever entirely trustworthy."

She shook the book in her hand and eyed Shard, her tone remaining relaxed as though she was having idle talk with a friend during a normal afternoon tea:

"So the question that we need to consider now is, Mr. Hamilton, which Core Rune do you wish to use in constructing your Low Fourth Ring Ascension Words?"

"Any of them."

Shard replied; he had inquired in advance from Dr. Schneider that choosing any Core Rune would not affect him personally.

"Then, would you prefer to start the search with the First Ring Spirit Talismans you currently control, or are you looking to challenge yourself and dissatisfied with your current Spirit Runes? Actually, during the construction of the Sublimation Incantation, it's great if the meaning of the Spirit Rune is a perfect match, but close ones can also be included.

But I think your Enlightenment Spirit Rune probably won't work; it's too long," she went on. Your journey continues at empire

"Both 'Gluttony' and 'Echo' are fine with me; I only wish to advance to the Second Ring as soon as possible," he said.

Choosing Spirit Runes for each Ring would not greatly affect the future; the difficulty of acquiring the other three Runes in the Sublimation Incantation would have an impact.

"This narrows down your choices quite clearly," she said.

The large book with a black, rigid cover in Miss Danester's hands turned automatically, making rustling sounds.