Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Professor Manning was quite familiar with Miss Luisa and began a conversation with her. From the content of their conversation, he seemed to recognize Miss Luisa's father:n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"That fountain pen, I remember it. I bought it from an old writer who lived two streets away, introduced to me by a friend. The condition of the writer at the time was not good, with dark circles under his eyes and a dispirited look, as if suffering from a severe case of myasthenia gravis."

Sitting behind his desk, the professor clasped his hands together as he spoke. Behind him was an entire wall of bookshelves, but the books were not neatly arranged, and some even had slips of paper between them, fluttering in the wind from outside the window.

But Shard found this style of decoration to his liking.

Miss Luisa glanced at Shard. The professor's description of the old writer clearly indicated that the writer's health had been drained by his obsession with the fountain pen. Presumably, he had decided to sell the pen and distance himself from those temptations just before death, but it was already too late.

Fortunately, Professor Manning appeared to be full of vigor; it was likely he had never used the fountain pen and instead kept it purely as a collector's item.

"Yes, my purpose for visiting this time is to purchase that fountain pen from you. To tell the truth, that old writer you mentioned was my friend, and he passed away two months ago."

Miss Luisa made a regretful expression, and Shard followed suit, setting down his teacup.

"That fountain pen could probably be considered a relic then. I, too, was an old friend of that writer. I would like to buy it back. You can name your price, and I think as long as it's reasonable, I can accept it."

The professor thought for a moment:

"If it's a friend's relic, of course, I am willing to sell it. Let me go up to the collection room and bring the fountain pen down. Please wait for me for a moment."

With that, he stood up and also instructed the maid to bring some pastries for their guests.

After the maid and the professor had left the study, and the black cat had followed them out, Shard spoke with a hint of relief only after confirming that their footsteps had faded away:

"So it's just as simple as that; I thought it was going to be quite troublesome."

"See, I told you, this matter is very safe, just consider it a learning experience," said Miss Luisa.

Shard nodded, picked up his teacup again, and then asked curiously:

"Then what are the side effects of the Scribe Level Relic, the 'Joyful Dream Pen'? Is it just to attract people to use it and then gradually deteriorate their health?"

He was curious about this. While he already had several relics, this was the first time he had encountered such a novel one.

"It's not just that. If the Dream Pen is used for a long time and absorbs too much spiritual power and blood, it could make things from dreams come into reality. The terrifying entities born from the Dream Pen could simply be regarded as physical manifestations of nightmares. Therefore, it is classified at the Scribe Level."

The writer explained, and Shard made an impressed face, suggesting that this item was indeed quite formidable.

Miss Luisa's interest in this pen was not because she wanted to give it a try or to turn it over to the Academy for a reward. As a writer, her own Circle Sorcerer system also centered around the Core Rune of a [Scribe].

Recently hitting a plateau in her study of Arcane Technique, she wanted to find relics with similar powers for inspiration, much like how Shard bought the 'Orb of Silvermoon' to enhance his study of the Silvermoon Arcane Techniques.

The two chatted casually about the history of those who had previously owned the fountain pen, mentioning that the probability of the Dream Pen being owned by men was much higher than by women.

When they heard footsteps, realizing the maid was returning, they switched their discussion to compliment the lovely weather of the day.

The plump maid wearing a headscarf brought them fresh tea and a stack of scones, complete with butter on the side. Professor Manning's standard of living was indeed not low.

"I'm sorry; I meant to find something for the cat to eat, but I couldn't find anything appropriate on short notice."

The maid apologized to Shard, and as he was about to shake his head and say it was nothing, he suddenly realized something:

"You mean to say, Professor Manning doesn't keep anything here that a cat can eat?"

He grabbed the armrests of the chair forcefully, and Miss Luisa also looked at the maid with furrowed brows.

The middle-aged woman didn't know why they had such expressions, but she still hesitated and nodded:

"The professor doesn't keep pets, so no, there isn't…"

"Did you just see that?"

Shard turned his head to ask Miss Luisa, whose rapid response came:

"Of course, I saw it, that black cat."

Almost simultaneously, both of them stood up, Shard placing Mia on the chair instead of taking her with him.

"You stay here and watch the cat for me, don't let it run around."

He instructed the servant, and Miss Luisa gently patted the chubby maid's shoulder, speaking in a very soothing tone:

"Stay in the room and don't leave before we come back."

The maid's eyes immediately became vacant, and she nodded very stiffly. Shard had seen this trick before, in the garden maze of Lakeside Manor, where the True God Church's Circle Sorcerer Captain had used similar abilities, but probably none compared to Professor Sanchez's "Enchanted Human".

Leaving the cat and the plump maid in the study, Luisa led the way with Shard following behind as they made for the third floor. As they stepped onto the staircase, Shard couldn't help but question in his mind:

"Why didn't you remind me about the 'Whisper' element we encountered?"

"Because I didn't feel it."

"But that cat was very close to me."

"It's not the actual being. Since it is born from a dream, the chances of it revealing its true self to you are very low. What you saw must have been just an illusion of the Nightmare, observing you."

"So the weakness of 'the other me's' detection ability lies in the distance," Shard concluded in his mind.

Following Miss Luisa up the staircase, they paused on the last step before the third floor. The third floor was still brimming with domestic liveliness, pictures of the professor hung in the hallway, and boxes whose use couldn't be determined were stacked against the walls.

But there was no sound on the entire floor, all the doors were shut tight. Luisa tentatively called out Professor Manning's name, but there was no response.

She cautiously said to Shard:

"Follow me in a moment. Although the Nightmare is born from a Relic, judging by Professor Manning's state, the Nightmare spawned by the out-of-control Relic must be in its nascent form. When I patted the maid's shoulder, I checked her condition, she's very ordinary, which means the Nightmare hasn't even begun to lay hands on anyone else in the house."

Luisa said to Shard, and behind her, with a surge of steam, the brass Ring of Fate fully materialized.

Shard nodded and followed the blonde girl off the staircase and onto the third floor. Luisa seemed to be testing something, pausing in front of each door on the third floor, then moving on to the next.

Her silhouette was beautiful, and perhaps due to the hot weather, Luisa's back was soaked through. Near her swaying golden hair, the back of her shirt seemed almost transparent, allowing Shard to see...

"Hmm?"

Shard grew alert and stopped in his tracks. Outlanders are widely knowledgeable, and the situation at this moment made him suspect something was amiss.

"Could it be I'm currently in..."

He looked down at his own hand, feeling something. On the exposed back of his hand, the skin cracked inch by inch, and golden Light Traces shone underneath those cracks. Rolling up his sleeve, the cracks extended from his hand throughout his entire body. Almost in the blink of an eye, his whole body was covered with golden fissures, even appearing on his clothes.

Brilliant golden light radiated outwards from within the cracks. Warm and soft, yet extraordinarily sacred and majestic.

This was only a visual effect, Shard felt no pain, but rather a sensation of being filled with power and warmth.

"This is..."

He said in disbelief, as he moved his palms, golden light shimmered in the air. His body swayed, and the hem of his clothes drew out golden Light Traces.

"You don't think that the so-called afterglow is just something talked about, do you?"