Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1511: Mithril and the Blood Spirit School
"Can it be repaired?"
Shard asked worriedly. Sister Delphine seemed to bite her lip, but because she had turned her face away, and the lighting in the Church of the Forgotten was dim, Shard couldn’t see clearly.
[Yes, she did bite her lip.]
"She" whispered in Shard’s ear, sparking his endless imagination.
"It can be repaired. The Order retains its repair method, and the most important Fire of the Primordial is still in the Order’s hands. But I need to gather materials."
"In that case, take this."
Shard nodded, then rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a small, shiny piece of metal.
This was a mithril block Shard had found while searching for the "Four Seasons Gem" in the underground chamber of the Granger Family’s old cemetery. At that time, he thought this piece of metal was enough to pay for his tuition until graduation.
"Use this for the repair."
Without saying another word, he handed the small piece of mithril to the nun, whose hands showed light burn marks. The cat lying on Shard’s knee had no interest in inedible metal, so it didn’t mind Shard giving away household items.
Seeing the nun’s hesitation, Shard asked again:
"Isn’t this enough?"
Although the damaged area wasn’t large, cracks had appeared all over the "crown." Moreover, repairing such a high-level divine item isn’t as simple as melting the metal and filling it in, so using a lot of material is normal.
Sister Delphine understood Shard’s intentions and wanted to refuse his kindness, but Shard had already pressed the entire mithril cuboid into her hands. To be honest, he was a bit reluctant, but he knew the significance that eyepatch held for her:
"Don’t be polite with me; this eyepatch is so beautiful that it’s a pity to leave it damaged. Besides, Sister, you wouldn’t want to be seen by others wearing a broken eyepatch every day, would you?"
Shard said, then felt that his wording was a bit strange, so he tried another approach:
"You said you’re the Fire Holding Nun and I’m your designated Hero of the Flame. So I hope you pay heed to your appearance and don’t wear an unsightly eyepatch in front of me. Can you accept that?"
Upon hearing Shard’s words, Sister Delphine turned her head even more noticeably, even slightly bending forward and pulling up her robe collar, as if wanting to conceal the side of her face. This makeshift posture seemed less like receiving a gift and more like Shard was bullying her.
[The second way you said it was even more excessive.]
"She" softly spoke in Shard’s ear.
But nevertheless, Sister Delphine accepted the gift.
They initially agreed to meet at this church at five o’clock sharp, and now that time had come, but Iluna had not arrived yet. Seeing there was still some time left, Shard moved on from the increasingly awkward topic, and took out the small stone mirror:
"And this, this mirror is the remains of the Stone Mirror Demon: Goethe. Oh, and that oil lamp, I put it in the cellar. I’ll fetch it in a bit; the lamp contains the Sage-Level Relic - [Eternal Flame]. Sister, you understand fire better than I do. I’m sure you know what this is."
He gave the mirror to the nun, then got up and went to the cellar to prepare to retrieve the flame within the oil lamp.
Compared to the unusual appearance of the Primal Fire, which had a round heart flame and a long, trailing flame tail, the [Eternal Flame] seemed rather ordinary.
In front of Shard, Sister Delphine sat there, cupping the fire with both hands. Then, she slightly lowered her head, as if to "pour" the fire onto her face, but in fact, her delicate face didn’t touch the flame; instead, her palms gradually closed until they fully enclosed the fire.
Fire, a fiercely burning flame, burst from between the nun’s fingers, soon enveloping her hands. Shard noticed the burn marks on the back of her hands had worsened.
However, the nun didn’t ask for Shard’s help. Silently, she embraced the flames for a full five minutes until the wild blaze gradually calmed. When she finally opened her palms again, only a quietly burning slender flame remained.
When the late Iluna arrived and stepped onto the church’s steps, she immediately saw Sister Delphine, hands together and slightly bowed forward, standing in front of the ancient pulpit, while Shard knelt before her on one knee, extending his right hand to touch the nun’s palm.
The old church and dim lighting made the scene appear even more solemn and sacred. Iluna instinctively paused but soon snapped back to reality, coughed to announce her arrival, and then walked into the church.
At that moment, Shard had once again touched the blazing Primal Fire. A new power emerged as the flame and kindling were thrown into the fire; of course, the kindling quality this time was far inferior to the "Evil Creatures of Pantanal," so the Primal Fire only granted Shard minor enhancements like fire strengthening.
"Good afternoon, Iluna."
Standing up and patting the dust off his knee, Shard greeted Iluna, then praised her:
"That move of yours, the Power of the Earth, used last Saturday was truly impressive."
Iluna stifled her smile, responding modestly:
"It really wasn’t much. It just consumed a lot of spirit and utilized the power of the earth to cast the sun’s light. However, the consumption of this Arcane Technique is quite high, and its indiscriminate area of effect makes it virtually unusable in city environments."
"That’s impressive."
Shard complimented again, and Iluna nodded, a bit embarrassed:
"How is your body doing?"
"Completely fine now, otherwise Luviya wouldn’t have let me out so easily."
Shard laughed, then asked:
"Speaking of which, did the church find out why the Weeper ’Hermons’ came to this area this time? They didn’t catch him in the end, and his and his [Blood Spirit School]’s appearance is really questionable. I don’t think it’s just to help the cultists; they’re not that kind-hearted."
"Oh, they found out, thanks to Sister Delphine."
Iluna said, then gestured for the two to head to the basement together:
"Based on the testimony of the [Blood Spirit School] Circle Sorcerer we captured and the clues Sister Delphine found during her battle with Hermons, the church determined that the [Blood Spirit School]’s visit this time was to obtain firsthand materials on ’non-living transformation to living.’
"You mean those stone people? Wait a minute, isn’t the Blood Spirit School pursuing the ’Golden Bloodline,’ abandoning the supremacy of flesh for turning stone into people?"
Shard was very curious, but Iluna wasn’t very clear on it either:
"That requires further investigation, but it is certain that it is related to the door they found leading to the [Creation Chamber]. Maybe they discovered the limits of flesh, so they don’t plan on being human anymore."
The seventeen-year-old girl joked a bit, and Sister Delphine added:
"When I fought Hermons, I felt that a small part of his body wasn’t normal human."
"Stone?"
Shard curiously asked:
"Does he also have a Heart of Stone?"
The nun immediately shook her head:
"Not stone, mechanical. I cut off one of his arms, and in that arm, the bones were replaced by a brass metal structure. Besides that, there should be other complex machinery in his body."
Shard frowned immediately, but the information they had on the [Blood Spirit School]’s intentions was insufficient. However, this time, the [Blood Spirit School] likely obtained the information they wanted, and perhaps the next time they see that elusive Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, he really won’t be human anymore.
The three passed through the Ancient God Statue in the basement and entered the secret passage under the Night Shrine, then entered the Butterfly Graveyard, walking along the tomb passage to the depths.
The ongoing conversation allowed Shard to learn about the current communication situation between the "Chosen of the Earth" and the True God Church.
In simple terms, the Guardians and the Church have reached an agreement: when the Earth suffers destruction or the world faces an existential crisis, he will definitely appear to help. But aside from that, don’t expect him to show up at any time.
This isn’t because the "Guardian" dislikes the Church, but because he’s very clear about his responsibilities. Besides, compared to the Church, the Guardians evidently value Shard more.
The Church of the Five Gods wanted to communicate further with the Guardian, but unfortunately, they couldn’t reach the Guardian. The location of the "Heart of the Earth" can’t be accessed through normal means, and currently, Shard has no intention to share the only known path with others.
He doesn’t want anyone casually stepping into Mr. Lyman’s cemetery—after all, it’s the resting place of his friend.
Although the "Fragment of the Heart of the Earth," as an Artifact symbolizing ancient god power, was given to the Guardian during the Chosen One Ceremony, in the now purified Earth, entering the Heart of the Earth doesn’t require one to be "sufficiently heavy" anymore.
In the culvert at the end of the underground cemetery, the ground is no longer a pitch-black mire but appears to be an endless pit connected to the Abyss. The three jumped down in succession and, after a not-so-long fall, arrived at the magma lake at the center of the Earth.
Compared to when they last came here, besides the fact that black mud no longer fell on the pitch-black rock above the magma lake, not much seemed to have changed.
However, when the three walked along the narrow stone path from the edge of the magma lake to the Heart Lake, they found that the pitch-black massive rock had two slanting cracks running through it.
The Guardian kneeled on one knee before the irregular slender stone pillar standing at the center of Heart Lake Island. After sensing their arrival, he first granted Sister Delphine the power to freely enter the "Heart of the Earth," then stood up to welcome them.
"What are these cracks?"
Shard asked.
"Scars of the Earth."
The Guardian’s response was concise.
