Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1014 "Master Alchemist

"How did it turn out?"

"They didn’t know Sir Lakin Prisia was The Chosen One, but you were right, Prisia did appear at the event as a Circle Sorcerer from Apna Library. The probability of him being an academic spy is almost one hundred percent."

The girl with purple eyes gently sipped her glass. After every special divination, her mental state wasn’t very good:

"They talked about matters related to The Chosen One. Some time ago, you looked at the information Apna Library sold to Old John and learned that the Chosen One Ceremony needs to be held on the water. But that’s not accurate; Apna Library left out a sentence—’The ceremony is placed on water’, which is indeed the original text from the Fragment of Poem Chapter, but the full text actually is ’The ceremony is placed on an island on the water’."

"Heart Lake Island?"

Shard asked in surprise, then felt this requirement seemed more fitting.

"Yes."

Luviya nodded slowly:

"The role of Apna Library in this incident is quite puzzling. They possess the Fragment of Poem Chapter, yet didn’t report to the church immediately; they sell the fragment to other organizations but lack key information. Miss Pawo also doesn’t trust them very much. Among the three groups just now, the [Truth Society] people seemed like the normal ones."

"What are they talking about? Just the poem content?"

"Apna Library seems to have more information. They invited the Truth Society to cooperate with them to find The Chosen One together. This Chosen One Ceremony is significantly different from the previous three. Within the scope of the Chosen One Ceremony, any Circle Sorcerer will receive intellectual enlightenment, which is what the library covets."

The girl with purple eyes counted on her fingers:

"Apna Library wants to cooperate with the Truth Society. The Pantanal Voodoo Society is hired by the Truth Society as a helper. The Voodoo Society is also seeking knowledge of the sealing ceremony from the library, while the library wants the most accurate map of the Pantanal region from the Voodoo Society. The leading role among the three organizations is the [Truth Society]. You might not believe it, but that Miss Pawo actually wants to dissuade Apna Library and the Voodoo Society."

She paused for a moment:

"When they talk about things, they are quite secretive. I can only confirm that the Pantanal Voodoo Society has a big operation planned in the Great Swamp area, and this operation needs the help of [Apna Library]. [Truth Society] is helping the two organizations get to know each other while also having its own needs."

The relationship is really complicated, Shard frowned;

"I’ll inform the witches about the Great Swamp area’s matters; they might be interested in dealing with it. Let’s first talk about the Chosen One matter. The Chosen One Ceremony is basically clear now—five Sage’s Glowstones, location: Heart Lake Island. There are probably some details about the ceremony that need to be clarified. We can use coins to confirm those at that time."

He tapped the table:

"I will frequently contact Sir Prisia soon to confirm his position and whether there are any others behind him. Before one party controls all five Glowstones, I will complete this task. Luviya, I need you to use the Prophet’s Society to confirm the current collection status of the Glowstones."

Shard couldn’t guarantee he knew the whole situation, just like when he thought Mr. Benhart in Midshire Fort City had collected 5 relic items related to the races, but it turned out that during the God Summoning Ceremony, the Vampire Kind already had 9 items.

"No problem, I will confirm that. However, as of now, at least the news from the church conveyed by Iluna shows that the church only knows about two glowstones. Although the Great Sin Potion and Human Puzzle have not been completed, you might be right. There could be other Keepers of Secrets that have already appeared, but we don’t know."

The girl with purple eyes looked at Shard somewhat melancholically:

"What will happen this time? Unsealing an ancient evil entity? A subspace being summoned? Or perhaps a deity from Godfall?"

"Why are you looking at me? How would I know?"

Shard immediately said, as Luviya shook her head:

"I won’t disturb your matters here any longer. It seems like it’s going to be busy again soon, and it’s exam week..."

She directly headed towards the stairwell without even turning back for another glance.

Soon after Luviya left, Shard also got up and returned to the first floor. Dorothy and Princess Margaret were still chatting downstairs, their conversation quite lively.

Learning that Shard had finished dealing with matters on the second floor and was now heading to the fourth floor to investigate the "Victor’s Box," the two ladies urged Shard to act quickly. Although their implication was due to the fear of the artisan selling the box escaping, Shard always felt they were implying he was interrupting the conversations among the ladies.

Thus, at 3:50 in the afternoon, Shard finally climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.

Compared to the hustle and bustle downstairs, the accommodation area on the third and fourth floors of the Three Cats Inn was evidently much quieter. It was Monday afternoon, and the inn’s guests were mostly not staying in their cramped rooms.

When Shard reached the fourth floor, the hallway was empty, and the rooms on both sides were closed.

The inn arranged for someone to clean the hallway every morning, but since it had snowed all day, there were some muddy footprints on the floor. The corridor walls on both sides had quite noticeable oxidation stains, but fortunately, the wall plaster was all intact on the walls.

Such inns wouldn’t hang oil paintings on the walls to display artistic taste because the paintings would be stolen by the second day of hanging. No strange smells and no rats are what inns of this era could best highlight their value with, and in this regard, the Three Cats Inn did quite well.

"Room 413 on the fourth floor."

Shard thought about the address he heard from the spice merchant this morning and walked forward, watching the wooden door plates nailed to the sides. The inn’s facilities are decent, with an old-fashioned brass gas lamp resembling a "cat-shaped oil lamp" on one side of each door.

Room 413 is located in the middle section of the fourth floor on the east side, looking just as unremarkable as any other room. As Shard approached the room, he initially planned to pause in front of the door pretending to tie his shoelaces, but then remembered the boots he wore today had no laces.

Instead, he put his right hand into his pocket and began to jingle the coins inside. Just three steps away from reaching directly in front of Room 413, a small copper coin worth 1 penny slipped out of his pocket, rolling forward and stopped right at the door of 413.

"That’s unlucky."

Shard shook his head and said, stepping quickly forward and bending down to reach for the coin lying on the ground.

[Maintain normal movements, show no abnormality.]

"What’s wrong?"

[That cat is watching you.]

"What?"

[The gas lamp at the door of Room 413, the brass cat is staring at you.]

Shard didn’t inquire further. After picking up the coin, he continued forward.

[The cat on the gas lamp has returned to normal, no longer watching you.]

Upon hearing the voice at his ear, Shard did not stop. He walked dozens more steps before turning back to gaze at the distant door of Room 413:

"Interesting, how does that cat ’watch’ me? Can only its eyes move or..."

[Its entire body can move.]

"A summoned entity? Or perhaps an animated metal life form."

[I can only observe, not analyze for you.]

Shard pursed his lips and nodded, fishing out a Moonstone Ring from his pocket and putting it on his right hand. He kissed the ring and then strode towards Room 413. Upon seeing the cat-bearing lamp, just as the tail began to tremble, Shard extended his ringed finger:

"Muddle!"

In the pale yellow moonlight, the quivering brass cat stiffened and stopped moving. Although Shard didn’t know what exactly it was, the Arcane Technique of Yellow Moon at least worked.

Normally, when the cat moves, ordinary people wouldn’t notice. Shard had only encountered this kind of protective measure in the Witch Echo, which is a rather classical method.

To be safe, Shard did not touch the lamp by the wall. He waited briefly, and when the door did not open, he knew his spellcasting had not been noticed by the owner of that brass cat.

"Do you guess there’s anyone inside the door?"

Shard asked in his heart, and unsurprisingly, received no response.

He had almost concluded by now that the resident here was a Circle Sorcerer with extraordinary alchemical techniques. Although he didn’t know exactly how many rings the other person had, visiting them alone would certainly be impolite.

Even if he bypassed the cat’s surveillance at the door, it didn’t mean the other party was weaker than him. He thought of calling up two ladies, three Circle Sorcerers visiting together, the other party even if their level was higher than theirs would certainly not dare to act in such a place.

"Or perhaps Dorothy goes in with me, and Princess Margaret waits in ambush at the stairwell; if something happens, go to the church."

He planned in his heart, temporarily leaving the fourth floor and went down the stairs again.

When he returned to the first floor, it was still as bustling as ever. As the time approached the evening, more people braved the snow to come to the Three Cats Inn.

Dorothy and Princess Margaret still sat against the wall, now listening to the Bard’s performance. When Shard had climbed the stairs earlier, the Bard wasn’t there yet, the middle-aged man playing the lute, wearing a red silk vest over a white shirt, had probably just arrived.

He was singing the local ballad of Tobesk, "The Butterfly and the Flower Girl," a ballad not very famous, likely as a warm-up and tuning song for today’s performance.

On the second floor veranda, everything was still normal when spotting Dorothy and Princess Margaret, but as Shard truly came from the second floor to the first floor, there was a man with pale skin at the table.

He had messy golden short hair and droopy eye bags that looked like chronic sleep deprivation. He was wearing a common winter black coat, with boots adorned with brass-colored thin chains.

Both Dorothy and Princess Margaret disliked sharing a table with strangers, yet that pale-faced man persistently sat there, looking fatigue while speaking something to the ladies.

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