Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 340 New Relic and Sorcery

Today was Tuesday, the day of the Dawn Church’s Holy Prayer Day. Shard had promised Bishop Owen and Priest Augustus that he would be at the church in the afternoon to attend the event and deliver a public speech. Besides that, he had some other matters to handle.

Leaving Mia at home to look after the house, Shard tidied up the basement and then left.

His outing in the morning was to buy some items.

The first stop was Old John’s Antique Shop, where Old Man John, as usual, was waiting for customers while reading the newspaper. Hearing the bell ring, he looked up from behind his newspaper to see Shard and then yawned as he said,

"What are you buying today? Speaking of which, how did your exam week go? Luisa must have passed her Ancient Script, right?"

Old Man John was the black market shop owner who had the best relationship with Dr. Schneider’s group.

"Passed, and my alchemy homework too. Old man, this time I’m ready to spend a big sum of money."

After waking up and strolling around the familiar Tobesk, far from the damp harbor city with pirates and Mermen, Shard was in a very good mood.

"You? A large sum of money?"

Old Man John looked at him skeptically, not buying this story at all and considered it some sort of bargaining strategy.

So Shard reached into the inner pocket of his coat and pulled out a bundle of £100 banknotes tied with a paper strip; then, he reached into the outer right pocket of his coat, and pulled out another bundle of £100; finally, he reached into his left pocket and pulled out yet another £100.

The highest denomination banknote issued in the Kingdom was £50, but it was usually used only for settling large transactions, and it was rare to see it in circulation. Shard had pulled out £5 banknotes, a total of 60:

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"That relic worth £300, consigned here by a friend of yours, I’ll take it." (Chapter 99)

The old man looked surprised at the money, then nodded:

"The one capable of extracting energy, be it material or non-material, from the lifeform itself and then infusing it into the user’s body, that’s what you’re asking for, right? That item is still here. If you want to buy it, I can get it for you right now... Although I knew you had met a wealthy noblewoman last time, I didn’t expect..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, instead quickly pocketed the banknotes. He asked Shard to wait a moment and then disappeared for twenty minutes, returning with a long, cloth-wrapped item in his hand.

"A cane? A longsword?"

Shard was quite expectant.

"A cane isn’t this long, and if it were a cold weapon, do you think it would only sell for £300? You should understand how expensive weapon-class relics are."

The old man said, placing the item on the counter, and then quickly walked to the shop door and locked it.

Unwrapping the cloth, there was a fishing rod.

"Scribe Level Relic ’Soul Fishing Rod,’ all black in color, the rod and hook material similar to stainless steel. It’s extendable, reaching up to 5.24 feet (about 1.6m) when fully extended, with the fishing line being transparent and of unknown material. Depending on the need, it can be extended during use."

The old man deftly held the fishing rod in his hand, clicked a button, and pulled out the retractable part, then handed it to Shard for inspection.

"Once the ’Soul Fishing Rod’ hooks a living person, it can harvest segments of their memories. If that living person is also a Circle Sorcerer, then it can absorb part of their spirit, and there’s a very small chance it will directly obtain their Spirit Rune, perfectly meeting your needs. As for side effects..."

Seeing Shard swing the fishing rod around to feel its handle, Old Man John tapped on the table, urging Shard to pay attention:

"You must use it in a fishing manner to activate its function. Moreover, the target must not be incapacitated and must bite voluntarily. Once hooked, the fisher must read the acquired memories and cannot refuse, and the memories obtained are random segments, not selectable. Also, using this method to read others’ memories over a long period, even a High Ring Sorcerer will find his personality affected. More dangerously, as long as it is used more than 13 times, for the rest of their life, there is a chance they suddenly see a huge fishing hook descending from the sky."

"Oh?"

Shard looked at him surprised:

"What is that?"

"I can’t answer you because those who see the hook will go and touch it, and then they disappear. The information about the hook is what they say when they see it."

The old man shrugged:

"Some strange existence is fishing. Did you see that line in ancient Fourth Era script on the fishing rod? I happen to know a bit, and the rough translation is—"

’We are fishermen, but we are also fish.’

The price for this fishing rod was non-negotiable, £300 and had to be paid in cash. Even if Shard brought up the matter of the cane, Old John couldn’t budge because it was consigned by a friend, and he didn’t have the authority to lower the price.

So after paying the money, Shard’s savings decreased from £900 (note) to £600, and although his ability to earn money had improved, unfortunately, so had his expenses.

The fishing rod was for a potential divinity, so this money couldn’t be spared in any case. After taking the fishing rod home, Shard put on his robe and mask, and made a trip to the Black Raven Library.

The acquisition of the Whisper Rune "Greed" was unexpected for Shard, and obtaining the rune meant that he could now master a completely new direction of power. Greed had little connection with time and Silvermoon at present, so according to usual practice, Shard only planned to learn one Arcane Technique related to it. If suitable Arcane Techniques became available later, he would then obtain more power of Greed.

Similar to "Gluttony", "Greed" was also a relatively common Spirit Rune, numerous ancient books and relics could provide Circle Sorcerers with similar concept runes.

Beyond his daily needs, emergency preparations, repairs for his house’s third floor, and second-year tuition fees, Shard had about 200 Gold Pounds left to spend. Compared to the first time he selected the Arcane Technique "Gluttony", this was indeed a very comfortable budget.

In the dimly lit small room of the Black Raven Library, Shard sat on the sofa, explaining his requirements to the person behind the wall through a small hole. To avoid missing any valuable Arcane Techniques, he specifically stated that the price could fluctuate slightly.

It took the library half an hour to provide Shard with a list of seven Arcane Techniques, six of which could be learned from the Whisper Element Rune "Greed".

The cheapest, "Heart of Greed", was priced at 15 Gold Pounds, and was a passive ability that enhanced the user’s desire for greed. It was an Arcane Technique compatible with other techniques that required "greed" as a condition, typically not chosen by Circle Sorcerers. Your next read awaits at novelbuddy

The most expensive was "Valda’s Death Contract", costing 350 Gold Pounds without learning materials and as high as 1200 Gold Pounds with materials. This was an active type ability that used the "loan" relationship. By shaking hands, a contract with other intelligent beings could be signed, and if breached, the Arcane Technique would claim the violator’s life.

It sounded powerful, but the Arcane Technique was useless against Circle Sorcerers of a higher level and could fail due to textual traps or the caster’s death. It belonged to the precious category of "contract" Arcane Techniques.

Shard didn’t choose the most expensive or the cheapest; instead, he finally selected the Arcane Technique "Treasured Item" valued at 232 Gold Pounds with materials.

This Arcane Technique was quite simple to explain: it used one’s greed and cherish for an object to imbue the object with supernatural abilities.

The Arcane Technique itself was only useful for non-living, ordinary items, only one "Treasured Item" could be chosen at a time, and it could be changed every lunar cycle. Additionally, the strength of the Arcane Technique was limited by the level of greed and cherish for the item itself and the user’s own level.

Different Circle Sorcerers would endow different "Treasured Items" with different supernatural abilities, but these abilities would only amplify according to the item’s appearance. For example, shoes might allow the wearer to run faster or jump higher, glasses might enhance vision in the dark or expand the field of view, but it was impossible for a ring to suddenly be able to shoot a fireball after being chosen.

From records provided by the Black Raven Library, most Circle Sorcers who learned this Arcane Technique chose coins or banknotes as their "Treasured Item." This was because the greed for money was everlasting.

Of course, some Circle Sorcerers chose a special Roder Card as their "Treasured Item." Thus, the card could possess lightning speed in flight or become hard and sharp, among other supernatural powers.

It is important to note that even the "Genesis: Balance," controlled by Shard, couldn’t achieve sharpness that could be used as a weapon.

This Arcane Technique certainly also had very mild side effects.

First, the greed for similar items to the chosen "Treasured Item" would be magnified. Second, if the selected "Treasured Item" was lost, the user would not be able to use the Arcane Technique for a six-month lunar cycle period, and during this time, the desire for "Greed" would be magnified.

But, as these side effects were acceptable, Shard decided to purchase this Arcane Technique.

After paying a steep fee, Shard’s savings had dropped to around 400 pounds. Upon returning home, and seeing it wasn’t yet lunchtime, he used materials like "Pennywort," "Manure Stone," and "Bones of the Greedy" to complete his study of Arcane Technique.

There was just a small problem when selecting the "Treasured Item."

He took out all the cards, planning to select "Ancient Fairy Tale: Matchstick Girl." However, when the Arcane Technique enveloped the cards in Spiritual Light, the selected set surprisingly included "Genesis: Silver Moon" but not "Genesis: Balance."

"Genesis: Balance" could not be selected, probably because it had already been activated and was no longer considered a mundane item. The entire deck was selected, likely because of the amplifying effect of the "Divine Afterglow State" on the Arcane Technique.

He wasn’t able to select multiple targets, but he could consider "a set" as "one" target.

The evidence for this theory was that Shard felt he could deselect cards that were swapped out of the deck and select the new cards swapped in. Thus, when Shard acquired a new Special Card, the new card didn’t have to wait until the next monthly cycle to be selected.

"You spent so much money on Arcane Technique, is it really just to shove more cards at your opponent during a game? Outlander, you are indeed a greedy person."

"Don’t slander me."

With a flick of his finger under the effect of "Treasured Item," fifty-four cards flew neatly from the far end of the table to stack in front of him.

Then Shard took a newspaper, opened it, and used the fifty-four cards to slice the newspaper.

The expense of over 200 pounds was worthwhile, as under the Divine Afterglow State, although these cards were not sharp enough to cut through brick and stone, they were more than sufficient to slice open a human’s throat. Moreover, the strength obtained by the Special Cards in the deck, amplified by Shard’s greed, was far greater than that of the regular cards.

If he could replace the entire deck with Special Cards, the effects of the Arcane Technique might even be further enhanced.

As the cards were first beginning to whirl, Mia peeked out from behind Shard, eyeing the scene. And when they stopped again on the table in front of Shard, the wide-eyed cat immediately stepped forward, jumped on the table, and curiously reached out to touch the topmost card.

Although the cards had obtained sharp traits, their maneuverability under "Treasured Item" paled in comparison to Shard’s direct control over "Genesis: Balance." However, compared to the control achievable by the Sorcery "Move Object," the control under "Treasured Item" was much finer.

For instance, the suddenly mischievous Shard, seeing Mia continuously swatting at a card, made it suddenly fly up. As Mia chased after it, he manipulated the card to dart around the tabletop, making the cat constantly swing her paws.

"Meow~"

She suddenly stopped, placed her little paw on Shard’s arm, and looked up at him with her amber eyes.

The Outlander smiled, letting the card stop in front of the kitty, who contentedly stretched out her paw.