Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1430: Armor, Lion, and Dagger
Back at home for breakfast, Shard opened the letters sent by Miss Gawder this month while eating and watching.
Last month, Miss Gawder mentioned in her letter that she was ill again. When Shard wrote back, he expressed concern for her health. In this letter, Miss Gawder candidly admitted that she probably fell ill due to overwork. After all, since returning to her declining family’s hometown last summer, she had been busy. Luckily, her health had somewhat improved now.
In the letter this month, besides expressing concern for Mia again and reminding Shard that spring is the mating season for cats, Miss Gawder also mentioned the "little things" she sent along with the letter. The original text in the letter reads:
[I found some interesting objects at the ancestral home. They might be valuable or possibly worthless. Currently, what I lack is not gold pounds, but time. Thus, I am giving them to you as a souvenir, thanking you once again for taking care of Mia. Please don’t feel obliged to be polite with me.]
Out of curiosity, after breakfast, Shard opened the heavy box. He originally thought these were rusty gold cups or antique picture frames that Miss Gawder found in the ancestral home. To his surprise, after prying open the box, he realized he was completely wrong:
"No wonder it’s so heavy."
The wooden box was padded with straw, and wrapped in straw was a golden rectangular metal box. The four sides of the rectangle were adorned with patterns of the "Smiling Sun Emblem," "Sword and Shield," "Golden Cat," and a "Woman’s Face surrounded by Curved Patterns." There were no patterns on the bottom of the box, and the top had a prayer praising the sun written in dense small characters.
"It doesn’t seem to be made of pure gold."
Shard tapped it with his hand and then laughed at his fanciful thought. The script used on the box was something Shard had never seen in any written form before.
"What exactly is this thing?"
Pressing his palm against the box, he carefully touched it. The coldness of the metal was very apparent, but there was no elemental reaction.
The entire rectangular box was seamless on all six sides, and there was no indication of how it should be opened. It was also larger than the "God’s Gift Box."
Shard carefully examined it, and finally, with ’her’ hint, he noticed an impressionable spot in the center of the metal shield pattern decorated with a sun pattern on the "Sword and Shield" side among the four sides.
After pressing lightly, hinge-like activity sounds came from inside the box. Shard quickly held the curious Mia, who was looking from side to side, and stepped back, then watched in surprise as the box slowly opened on its own, with its four sides connected by hinges, slowly falling in four different directions, while the top was connected to the "Sun Pattern" side.
When the four sides completely fell down, what was revealed in the center of the box was a set of golden metal armor placed together.
The entire set of armor included a helmet, chest armor, gauntlets, skirt armor, leg armor, a longsword, and a little shield. Of course, it also had the miscellaneous connecting straps and chains.
The metal parts were supported by metal rods, collectively forming the shape of an imposing golden lion, or rather a big cat, in the open box, with even the tail part resembling a chain. If not for the obvious parts of the armor, Shard might have believed it was simply a cat-shaped metal ornament:
"Oh, this is truly beautiful... Angel-level (Level 1) relic [Golden Holy Wardrobe] (Chapter 727)?"
Shard immediately thought of that rather well-known relic, but that relic was stored in the Church of Creation, and it didn’t look like this.
He touched the metal armor again, and after confirming it was indeed an ordinary object, he pulled out the curious Mia.
"How could such an item be in Miss Gawder’s home?"
Shard wondered in astonishment, but he liked the gift very much. Though he didn’t know how to deal with it, he still liked it:
"It seems I need to learn some armor maintenance knowledge... I wonder if Miss Galina’s maids know about these."
He smiled, stroking the armor. Keeping the cat shape intact, he picked up the tiger-face helmet that formed the cat’s head and put it on his own head, surprisingly finding it fit perfectly:
"Roar!"
He roared at Mia, and the cat looked up at him for a moment before continuing to circle around the open box.
Then Shard took off the helmet, intending to close the box and store it away, planning to find a suitable placement for it later. He felt very fortunate that there was no second person witnessing the earlier scene.
"However, this should belong to decorative armor."
Having had considerable contact with cold weapons, Shard easily reached that conclusion. As for writing back to Miss Gawder, Shard, besides thanking her for the special gift, stated in the letter that he would visit her in the small town at the end of the Month of Rising Wind or at the beginning of next month in April, with Mia in tow.
He had been planning this trip since last year, and with matters in Randall Valley drawing to a close, he arranged a long-distance journey for himself in the spring. This was one of the rare long trips after the Outlander arrived in this world, planned solely for relaxation and not for any significant event.
"When the time comes, should I bring others along for the journey?"
This is the only concern for the future trip.
After dropping the letter into the mailbox, Shard took the black metal dagger the demon had given him last night, and headed to the Schneider Psychological Clinic located on Rontgen Avenue in Tobesk Eastern District.
Of course, after calling a carriage at his doorstep, he didn’t forget to bring the Magician’s Escape Box as well. Dr. Schneider at the clinic understood that Shard finally had time to act when he heard Shard had brought a big item.
"Friday night."
The Magician’s Escape Box was temporarily placed in the doctor’s bedroom on the top floor of the clinic, while Shard informed the doctor of last night’s events in the second-floor conference room used for weekly meetings:
"Since Osenfort invited me to meet on Friday night, it’s not just to pick up that card. I think it’s time to deal with Goethe, this matter has been dragged on for too long, it’s time to end it."
"Friday night? No problem, but do you plan to go to the Osenfort Estate with me, or do you have other plans?"
The doctor hesitantly asked.
"You cannot come with me, otherwise the demon is likely not to show up."
Shard took out his Roder Card deck:
"On Friday morning, I’m leaving this card with you."
He drew out Genesis: Darkness:
"Doctor, you need to keep an eye on this card all night, and if you notice it disappears, immediately enter the Magician’s Escape Box."
Although Circle Sorcerers have other ways of remote communication, one cannot rule out methods like Maze Lock, sealing, relics, or parallel space disrupting communication. Shard can unconditionally draw Balance, Darkness, Death, and Knowledge at any time and place, making this card the most suitable signal for the agreement with the doctor. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"That’s not a problem, but are you taking the Demon Hunting Seal and Night Watchman to the estate? If you don’t, I’m afraid you’ll be in danger."
The doctor asked again, Shard thought for a moment, slightly shook his head:
"Better to be cautious, I won’t take them myself, but I’ll have others outside the estate with them, ready to rush in and save me. In Randall Valley, I do know some very strong friends."
"That’s reassuring, it’s wiser to be cautious when dealing with demons."
The doctor nodded, taking from Shard the dagger sheathed in a scabbard. The scabbard was an ordinary item Shard found himself; the relic was only the black dagger itself.
"So this is it.
Keeper of Secrets Level Relic Blade of the Soul Drainer, though Keeper of Secrets Level, it’s very close to Sage Level. It’s on par with the most dangerous Keeper of Secrets Level relic, the Keeper of Secrets Level artifact Secret Keeper’s Eye. Its trait is that as long as the blade is fully inserted into an individual’s body, it can absorb the victim’s soul into the dagger."
The doctor pointed to the dagger handle:
"Depending on the soul absorbed, different faces will appear here, bestowing different abilities to this weapon. But the absorption limit is three souls, if exceeded, the relic will go out of control and consume the wielder’s soul, allowing the dagger to act freely, which is a certain degree of resurrection of the ancient evil spirit, the Soul Drain Demon. However, sorcerers above the Inner Ring have some resistance to this absorption, but if struck, it still causes massive short-term soul damage."
At this moment, there were no souls on the dagger handle, meaning this dagger currently only possesses the most basic soul-draining ability.
"As for Ston Osenfort, though he’s already demonized, he’s still not a sorcerer, his soul doesn’t possess a Ring of Fate. So, if he’s severely injured by a weapon you’ve prepared for the undead body, then attacked by this dagger, there’s a high chance his soul will be directly absorbed."
"Does the demon want to use my hand to capture Osenfort’s soul?"
Shard speculated, but the doctor sneered and reinserted the dagger into the scabbard:
"Of course not, the demon doesn’t need someone else’s hand to collect the soul of a mortal who has signed a contract with it. Goethe is trying to deceive you, he wants you to think he’s using your hand to absorb Osenfort’s soul. Or rather, he wants you to believe that by killing Osenfort with the dagger and escaping with it, you can thwart his next plan. No matter what you think, as long as your attention is on this dagger, you’ve already lost."
