Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 583 - Ruined Tower

Chapter 583: Chapter 583 Ruined Tower

“Doctor, I’ve also heard of this ancient relic. You actually managed to find it?”

Luviya whispered from the couch.

Dr. Schneider nodded:

“Its trait, if you bring these hairs close to your head, they will automatically attach to your own hair. This trait does not work on people who have no hair on their heads, or whose longest hair is shorter than 0.1 inches (about 2.54mm). Once these hairs attach, the person’s luck becomes extremely poor, with the record showing someone lasted 13 days before misfortune killed them. The only way to get rid of these hairs is…”

“Shave off your own hair?”

Shard asked, and the doctor smiled helplessly:

“If only it were that simple. The only method is, during the period when the relic is attached, to acquire good luck. Any method will do, including your ‘The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny.’ I remember your dice have a very high priority, and the numbers rolled are not affected by the luck of lower-priority items.”

As the doctor spoke, he saw the cat behind Shard’s head and reminded him:

“This thing works on long-haired animals too, Shard. Keep an eye on your cat.”

Shard immediately turned and grabbed Mia, holding it securely in his arms.

Mia seemed very pleased.

“Doctor, but this only results in bad luck, what about good luck?”

Dorothy caught the important point.

“Quite simple, first attach someone else’s hair to your own, it needs to be naturally black, not dyed. Then, attach ‘The Unlucky’s Long Hair’ to the other end of another person’s black hair. ‘The Unlucky’s Long Hair’ only works on hair still growing from the scalp, so it won’t affect the other person’s hair. And because there is a person’s hair in between, ambiguously reversing the connection with the user’s hair in some sense. This state will last for about 10 seconds, during which time the user will be extremely lucky, and after that time, the relic will fall off by itself.”

“What about the cost of manipulating fate?”

Luviya asked cautiously, and the doctor shook his head:

“For at least half a year, the user is highly susceptible to attacks from evil spirits, and the deceased around them are also likely to return in the form of evil spirits, but the specific time varies from user to user. Don’t underestimate this side effect; records state that after using the relic, one should absolutely not go near haunted houses and the like. That’s a side effect of the relic itself, and besides that, there is the absolute equivalence of fate, whatever good luck is gained, an equal degree of misfortune will be paid. This misfortune is delayed, but it will definitely occur.”

“No problem, let’s use it,”

Shard said, for if he used the dice improperly, not only would he have to bear the consequence of the dice being further damaged, but it was also uncertain whether the good fortune from rolling the dice would definitely fall upon the chosen landmark.

But the good luck from the hair was maintained over time. He didn’t need much, just to hit the mark once amid the few percent chance. As long as he was fast enough, he didn’t have to worry about using the relic and not getting the effect he wanted.

“Shard…”

The doctor looked at him but did not stop him:

“The Academy sent a message already; they are investigating. I can’t stop you because I also want to save Priest Augustus, or at least find out what happened to him and bring his body back. Go on, Shard. Be sure to pay attention to safety.”

“We’ll wait for you here. No matter what happens, make sure to come back at five o’clock in the afternoon and check-in.”

Dorothy said.

“I’ve divined for Priest Augustus before, and he certainly didn’t die in Midshire Fort City. Shard, take care.”

Luviya also whispered, then looked around at the circle of people and asked,

“However, do you have black hair here?”

“Yes, I have a strand of black hair from a friend.”

Shard nodded gently. Luviya knew that Shard had a special relationship with the Witch’s Maid, so she raised her eyebrows a bit but said nothing. Dorothy, who was even more aware of Shard’s close relationship with “her” grandaunt and the Maid, simply looked at Shard without saying a word.

From the study, he took out Tifa’s hair. With Dorothy’s help, he tied it to the short hair beside his right ear, a quite delicate technique.

Afterward, the four of them went downstairs together. The doctor didn’t follow, as he did not want the demon in his heart to glimpse even more secrets. However, before parting, the doctor gave Shard a wooden button. It was an alchemical item he had made himself, which, when used, could utilize the distortion of light to achieve facial feature distortion and create a disguise to a certain extent.

But this alchemical item could only last for half an hour and was easily detectable by Circle Sorcerers, so it was only considered a backup tool for Shard.

After thanking the doctor, Dorothy and Luviya took Shard to the wall, neither surprised that the other knew this secret.

“In any case, be careful.”

They didn’t say much else. Shard passed his cat, which he was holding, to Dorothy. Though Mia was dissatisfied because she had lived with the blonde female writer for a few days, she did not run away.

“You go have lunch first, I’m afraid I won’t be back until evening.”

Turning around, Luviya placed the metal box containing blood on the ground and took out the hair inside, tying it to the black long hair on Shard’s side face.

The sensation at that moment was very strange. Hair itself had no sense of touch, but when The Unlucky’s Long Hair came into contact with Tifa’s hair, Shard actually felt a frigid chill in his own hair.

The whisper in his ear grew even clearer, and Shard could even discern that it was a woman speaking of her sorrowful life in an ancient language.

Shard didn’t say anything more and stepped quickly into the hidden wall in front of him, without hesitation he reached for the Divine Statue in the center of the circular space:

“May The Primordial Rift bless me in the Infinite Space.”

A thick white fog immediately surged, enveloping Shard. Once again, he entered a world shrouded in white fog, and in front of him on the blurry trail stood two worn wooden signs.

Meanwhile, the spiritual pressure he experienced from using the Relic suddenly lessened, and even the whispers in his ear grew faint:

“You must not let this space oppress you.”

[Outlander, you have stepped into the “Spatial Labyrinth.”]

[Message from the Ancient God: Primordial Rift:]

[Existing spatial signposts: 2.]

“Sacrifice this White Stone Crystal.”

Pressed for time, Shard immediately held the white crystal stone aloft, and it silently vanished from his hand, as if merging into the fog.

[You have gained new information, you can now search for new…]

“Southeast!”

[Ancient God: Primordial Rift has accepted your sacrifice.]

[Randomly linking to spatial beacons.]

[Link successful, current spatial beacons: 3.]

Shard immediately reached to pluck the strand of bloodied black hair that hung beside his cheek, relieved that it wasn’t stuck to Tifa’s long hair.

Even though these weren’t the conditions for containment, the black hairs were motionless as if “dead”.

“Are there still Whisper Elements?”

Shard could no longer sense the elements himself.

[Yes, but very faint.]

Shard nodded, understanding that low-level Relics would be suppressed in areas with remnants of Ancient God Power.

He didn’t touch the third wooden beacon that appeared on the path in front of him but stepped back to retreat behind the hidden wall of the basement. After emerging from the wall, he handed the dangerous Relic over to the nervous girls before officially starting another long journey of adventure.

Touching the Divine Statue again, he returned to the Spatial Labyrinth, walking along the misty, blurry path. The newly appeared third beacon was also skewed and stuck into the ground with a wooden arrow nailed on it, twisted with the number three written on it.

Shard placed his hand on the beacon:

[The Primordial Rift will guide your direction.]

The mist dispersed.

Shard remained in place, and as the mist completely cleared, the space that unfolded before him was a circular area identical to the one behind the wall of his own basement.

The Divine Statue of the Ancient God: Primordial Rift stood quietly in the center of the space, glowing as Shard watched it.

In both the circular spaces of Saint Delan Square and Coldwater Port, Shard had placed items characteristic of the locations. But, the space he was now in contained nothing but the Divine Statue.

“I was hoping to find some treasures or relics left by predecessors in such a place.”

Thinking this, Shard looked towards the wall facing the direction of the statue. Summoning the Ring of Fate behind him, he controlled the glow of the Core Spirit Rune [Space-Time] to illuminate the wall. The wall vanished without sound or trace, yet outside there was a faint light.

“What?”

The light was seemingly at a distance, so the opening of the wall did not trigger any reaction.

Shard waited a few seconds to ensure he heard no approaching footsteps before silently moving from the circular space to the outside world.

Follow current novℯls on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

There was an odd smell of mold in the air. When he listened carefully, the only sounds were the wind rustling through the tree branches and the last longing cries of summer insects in early autumn.

The light came from above the other side of the room he was currently in, and it was natural sunlight.

Shard then lit the glow at his fingertips to look around, noticing this seemed to be an abandoned basement. Animal feces, various worthless trash strewn about the floor, with spider webs covering the corners of the walls.

That light even startled bats resting in the darkness, the creatures attempting to attack Shard, but after a flash of moonlight, they fell to the ground.

“What basement is this? The smell is really terrible.”

There were no stairs leading to the upper floors from the basement, only a trapdoor serving as the connection. There probably were metal or wooden stairs originally, but now there’s nothing left.

Although the distance between the ground and the basement did not exceed ten meters, Shard did not choose spatial movement due to uncertainty about the situation above and instead opted for “Frog’s Leap.”

“Hey!”

Following a nimble leap, his hands caught the edge of the basement’s square entrance, which was also the edge of a gap in the first-floor flooring. Only after hearing no human voices did he use his arms to force his head up through the space beneath the trapdoor.

This pull-up-like movement was effortless for Shard now:

“Where in the world is this?”

With a heart full of curiosity, he finally saw everything around him. The ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, and rusted and even decayed metal furniture was piled messy against the wall. On the ground near the right side, there were some signs of old fires, but those were at least a year old.

This space on the first floor was unexpectedly circular, with rough grey square stone bricks making up the walls, showing no signs of the steam industry era.

Looking upwards, a spiral staircase stretched upward, and a slender but seemingly very sturdy metal pole extended from the top of the tower to the ground, as if to facilitate descending back to the bottom floor from the topmost level.

“A tower? A clock tower or a lighthouse? It doesn’t seem to be either by the look of it.”

The sunlight came from directly in front, and this rather spacious tower had no traces of human use anymore. The door at the bottom of the lighthouse had been removed, the dazzling sun shone into the first floor of the lighthouse from outside, and then down into the basement through the square gap in the ground.

After Shard exerted strength in his arms and the upper half of his body leapt out from the basement, he first rested his legs on the dusty floor, then crawled up completely.

As he stood up, he dusted off the dirt from his clothes and palms. The movement sent additional dust particles floating in the sunlight streaming in from the front door. This scene was as if it was telling Shard that this place was far removed from human settlements.

“I hope it’s not too far from the city, I hope this is Midshire Fort.”

Shard thought to himself in a murmur, and then he recalled that he nominally worshiped the True God “Mr. Dawn,” so he quietly said a prayer to Mr. Dawn as well.

The sunlight shining in from the doorway was somewhat blinding, so he raised his arm to shield his face, choosing not to explore the long-abandoned old tower and instead walking toward the light at the entrance.

The wind blew through the treetops, allowing Shard, who had lived in the City of Steam for a long time, to feel the breath of nature for the first time in a while. A forest lay before him, and the old tower behind him had almost completely integrated with the forest; the place had likely been abandoned for well over 100 years.

The treetops already rested against the outer walls of the old tower, and vines connected the towering trees with the stone walls. Moss, wild grass, and various plants that Shard didn’t recognize covered the ground, and as he looked up, birds flew out of the tower’s windows, clearly having lived there for several generations.

“The air is really nice, but what exactly was this tower originally used for?”

He pondered to himself.

He did not immediately set out on a night adventure, as he found a metal plaque nailed to the stone wall at the entrance of the old tower. The plaque bore several lines of vague words, inscribed in an official manner, explaining the situation:

[Draleon Royal Army, First Legion – Rising Wind Trail, Third Company – Tower No. 12 has been abandoned due to the frontline positions shifting, and nearby camps have been completely dismantled. Hunters, lost travelers, and smugglers active in Sicarl Mountain can move in the northwest direction at 11 o’clock to find the path into the mountains, and after approximately a 30-minute journey, reach the southeast suburbs of Midshire Fort City.

—Draleon Royal Army, Logistics Support Bureau

Common Era Calendar 1765]