Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Upon hearing about the initial loss of control over the relic, Dr. Schneider stood up in surprise and began pacing the room; halfway through, as Shard mentioned the Sage-Level "Relic," the doctor stood still, covering his forehead. When he heard about the "Silver-Eyed One\'s" mad idea, he groaned openly:

"Such a madman, I had known before that the \'Blood of Mercury\' was in the New World, trying to use its unique minerals for alchemy. I never expected it would actually come to Tobesk."

As to Shard\'s behavior in confronting the "Box of Darkness," he was very pleased, but he did not think the "Silvermoon\'s Light Spell" was of much value—such Arcane Techniques were all too common. The Light Spell described by Shard, though exceptionally bright, was not too unique.

Moreover, concerning Shard trading the statue that contained remnants of the Old God, the doctor thought he did the right thing. He hardly minded that the woman could possibly learn about the Correspondence Group based on Shard\'s information:

"Many people know about our existence; otherwise, how would we exchange materials or knowledge, or find talented individuals to assist us? Do we need to wear masks every time? It\'s fine as long as it\'s not the True God Church. If someone is willing to deal with a Low Ring Sorcerer like you, it means she is quite friendly."

As for guessing the woman\'s identity, the doctor could not think of who it might be, but he also believed that the Circle Sorcerer\'s level was very high; otherwise, there was no reason to approach Shard in that manner, nor to know specific details about the Sage-Level Relic.

"Regardless, this is a good thing. You managed to obtain a rare Sorcery and a quite nice \'Relic\' without risking your life. I believe this should be considered fortunate. The world is not safe, and one is not always so lucky."

The doctor finally concluded about the matter.

"Would it be considered lucky?"

Shard asked, but after some thought, it indeed seemed very fortunate.

With an Evil God Statue containing remnants of the Old God, even though Shard could only gain knowledge through the initial contact, the actual value of that statue was far greater than that Scribe Level ring. But if one added the free information and knowledge, as well as the unintended act of causing the "Box of Darkness" to lose control, this transaction could arguably be called "a fair trade."

More importantly, "that lady" was much stronger than Shard.

Dr. Schneider was not very concerned about the lady in the club; after all, this was the Royal Capital of the Northern Kingdom on the Old Continent, and any level of Circle Sorcerer might suddenly appear. He was interested in the "Blood of Mercury":

"In fact, the Academy has also issued a bounty related to the \'Blood of Mercury\' organization recently. I was even prepared to participate... It seems I need to rethink it now, Sage-Level..."

Dr. Schneider muttered to himself and then looked up at Shard:

"Shard, all in all, you handled this matter quite well. You did not face any danger yourself and adeptly managed the transaction with an unknown Circle Sorcerer, providing valuable intelligence for the group. You\'re getting the hang of it; this is roughly what your future life will look like.

However, this intelligence is quite useful, and perhaps I should give you some compensation. Don\'t refuse, although the five of us belong to the same group and may very likely cross the Northern Great Ice Cap together, some things need to be settled clearly. Ordinary information can be shared freely, but this time, it concerns such matters..."

He paused for a moment:

"How about four pounds, one pound from each of the other four members? This intelligence is roughly worth that much."

This kind of crucial insider information would command much more than four pounds if sold in the black market,

but sharing within the group of five, it couldn\'t be priced that way. The four pounds were not so much a financial reward for Shard but recognition of his contributions to the group, clearly different in nature, indicating that the relationship among the five was not merely commercial.

"Four pounds, that\'s about like taking Little Franklin back from the club eight more times, or like having one more orange cat, Mia."

Shard calculated in his mind, equating the three relationships, and because he did not desire more, he smiled at the doctor:

"Of course, that\'s fine. But doctor, I didn\'t mention the information about Lady Lassoya last night. Will that have any impact?"

Seizing the opportunity, he asked further, and Dr. Schneider shook his head:

"Since the other party didn\'t ask, you\'re not in a position to tell. But you should avoid any further contact with the lady you mentioned. She\'s likely a member of the Blood of Mercury. However, I haven\'t heard that they possess a Relic capable of gender transformation.

They probably prepared it for the synthesis formula of Blood of Mercury, and the difficulty of that Academy Bounty Notice is greater than I imagined."

The doctor frowned:

"In any case, avoid anything related to the Blood of Mercury.

I\'m likely to do something soon, but I am a Five-Ring Sorcerer, and you are not. The Blood of Mercury are a bunch of madmen who always believe they can produce a legendary Angel-Level Relic, but how is that possible?"

"You\'re right. If Angel-Level Relics could easily appear, then this world would be too insane."

Shard agreed, truly believing so.

The doctor with blue eyes seemed to have had an encounter with this organization, but did not want to share it with Shard, thus he changed the topic:

"Shard, your task now is to learn more about everyday knowledge and get your detective career going. Get in touch with the ordinary world and, once you level up to the Second Ring or attain enough strength, then consider getting involved in the shadows of Tobesk City. This crazy world is always crazier than you think."

"So, doctor, does the academy always withhold key information like this from us?"

Shard took the opportunity to ask, but the doctor unexpectedly shook his head:

"Don\'t be too harsh on Saint Byrons Integrated Academy; they usually share appropriate information with us at the right time."

"And when is the right time?"

Shard inquired further, then saw Dr. Schneider lean back slightly on the solo sofa:

"Only they would know that."

After leaving Dr. Schneider\'s psychiatric clinic, besides hearing about an accidental gas explosion in the alley across from the Silver Parrot Milk Company at noon, nothing else noteworthy happened that day for Shard.

No outlaw organization approached him, no generous clients rang the bell downstairs, no acquaintances of Sparrow Hamilton came looking for him, but Shard\'s solo research at home surprisingly yielded results.

He was still completely unable to harness any Space-Time power, but regarding Silvermoon, perhaps due to its breakthrough use on the third floor of the club, besides Light Spell, Shard was now able to make the Silvermoon\'s Glimmer adhere to objects in the external world.

The most successful experiment he conducted involved having the orange cat, "Mia," which had grown affectionate toward him, emit light for ten continuous seconds.

This move frightened the cat so much that it ran wildly around the house, even dashing up to the third floor of the apartment through a broken staircase.

It took Shard a long time to call the fleeing cat back, and this made him speculate whether the detective had hidden his gun in the sealed-off ground floor, inaccessible third floor, or unoccupied Room 2 on the second floor.

Unfortunately, without sufficient tools, he was unable to explore these three locations. But investigating these places was already scheduled into Shard\'s calendar, as he needed to ensure that the house he lived in was absolutely safe.