Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 673 - Enlightenment of the 1st Era

“Since this shrine has finally been touched, it means this library, which should not have existed in the first place, is also destined to be completely destroyed. So, mortals, before its destruction, would you be willing to help me collect a few books?”

He looked each of them in turn, speaking as if he were an old farmer sitting on the edge of a field, asking a neighbor for help harvesting crops,

“The Gadis Library, a library of forbidden texts, knowledge and history from the First Era that was not meant to be known by those who came after. Its demise was due to their attempt to uncover the secrets of the First Era. Now, it is time to retrieve the forbidden books buried here. Three books, yes, I need three books. Bring them to me, and I can grant you three wishes.”

“Any wish?”

Shard immediately asked.

“Oh no, of course not, I cannot provide you with powers for combat. However, as the guardian of this library, I possess many pieces of knowledge that interest you. Of course, I can only impart to you those pieces of knowledge that are not forbidden.”

Shard swallowed,

“For instance, could I gain the knowledge of enhancing ‘Time Perception’ to perceive the most authentic time?”

“That is certainly possible.”

Shard nodded, then turned to look at the witches. They clearly were not ready to confront a deity directly here, but they had heard the exchange between the deity and Shard. Miss Orland and the Zaras Witch both nodded to Shard, prompting him to ask,

New novel chapters are published on freewёbn૦νeɭ.com.

“Deity, may I ask, what books are you seeking?”

“The forbidden book ‘Nameless Ritual Book,’ detailing the power of the sun, the forbidden book ‘Jaeger Scroll,’ detailing the mysteries of death, and the forbidden book ‘Text with Threads,’ detailing the history of the First Era.”

The deity answered, exhaling white smoke which didn’t dissipate but instead formed the cover designs of three massive books in the cold air. The first bore a large sun emblem, the second was wrapped in chains, and the third appeared to be made of rock material with traces like fossilized conchs on its surface.

Even without the desire to directly face the deity, the witches still joined Shard in looking up, carefully observing the designs in the light of the fire. A mere glance at those book covers imprinted them deeply in their minds.

“Mortals, each of these three books possesses infinite power for mortals. I will not prevent you from checking within them beforehand, but you must bear the consequences yourselves.”

“Deity, will you stay here? How shall we deliver the books to you?”

What Shard really wanted to ask was whether the deity would also leave after he left. If He remained, then the security of the three witches need not be a concern.

“Do you think offering three books will commence a complete ‘God Summoning Ritual’? No, no, what you see now is just that, a projection summoned by the residue of my power left in the shrine…”

Shard’s eyelid twitched.

“… otherwise why would I have you search for those forbidden books instead of retrieving them myself? Oh, child, including this time, I can appear three times to answer questions about those forbidden books. As for when you plan to deliver the books to me, that is for you to decide. If nothing else happens, then…”

“Deity, please wait!”

The Zaras Witch suddenly spoke, the deity’s gaze falling on her, making even a High Ring Witch quite uncomfortable:

“It’s like this, we have already obtained the forbidden book ‘Text with Threads’ detailing the history of the First Era.”

She reached into the pocket of her long skirt and then took out a stone slab. That pocket surely couldn’t fit such a large book, indicating some kind of spatial power had been used.

Though the slab’s appearance was exactly like the book cover shown by the deity, it hardly looked like a book at all. Yet seeing those spiral traces on the surface, Shard felt as if his consciousness was being sucked into them.

Ancient and profound, that was Shard’s first impression of this book. He was highly interested in the knowledge it contained, but also knew that with his current power, he was not yet ready to read about that primal Era.

“Indeed, it is this one, see, it’s still sealed. Don’t you plan to study the contents of this book?”

The deity asked with a smile. Miss Becky Samuel shook her head slightly, seeing that her companions did not object, she then handed the book to Shard.

Shard, realizing his time to leave would soon be upon him, quickly handed the book to the deity before him.

The light of the bonfire crackled behind him, casting his entire shadow across the front of the stone slab. Exceptionally cold and extraordinarily dense,

This was an indescribable feeling, holding it like holding a piece of history, a lost history. His soul’s sensitivity allowed Shard to perceive more information, and holding this piece of lost history, he felt as if he were truly seeing ancient scrolls unfolding before his eyes.

Shard hadn’t intended to investigate what power the book detailing the history of the First Era truly held. But when a stone slab appeared in his hands, he could hardly avoid glancing down at it.

And it was indeed just a glimpse—the mottled rifts on the surface of the slate, the twisted threads of ancient runes, even the weight of the stone itself, all conveyed a very complex message to him.

[Ancient God]

This was an unknown word from the language of ancient times, which, in the Sixth Era, could be expressed in just four sounds but was incredibly complex in that mysterious language. Just knowing this word gave Shard a pain more intense than when “she” had initially crammed an entire set of Draleon language into his mind.

“I can’t continue looking.”

He forcibly closed his eyes, and a gentle murmur echoed by his ears:

[It is an ancient tale, the very first story, a story about the origin. As you stand in the distant now, looking at the canvas smothered in sands and dust, the brilliant and dazzling ancient civilization is trying to tell you their secrets. Outlander, this is your first encounter with a story from the First Era, your first “Enlightenment.”]

[You have gained an Arcane Technique, Ancient Sound. When you touch objects from the First Era, you can safely acquire information related to it, once for each object.]

The glimmer of Enlightenment flickered within Shard’s soul—a technique related to the Core Spirit Rune “Space-Time”. As the newly formed power from Enlightenment stabilized, the stone slate from the First Era immediately revealed unknown information to Shard.

[The First Era was exceptionally lengthy, and when the first Era ended, thirteen Ancient Gods had not yet departed.]

Before Shard could ponder this information, the old man in front of him took the heavy slate from Shard’s hands. Then, phantom-like bookshelves appeared beside him, and the Deity slid the slate into a slot on the shelf, causing the bookshelf to vanish:

“Very good, with this, the record of the first book is complete.”

The Deity pulled out his own pipe from thin air, ignoring the expression on Shard’s face:

“One wish per book. Make a wish, knowledge or power linked to the library. This is just my projection, not very powerful, so don’t be too greedy.”

The campfire crackled, and the fierce snowstorm outside continued unabated. The old man exhaled another puff of smoke, the massive shadow swaying on the wall behind him, though it looked nothing like a human silhouette.

Snapping back from the information about the First Era, the Deity’s comment about “not very powerful” reminded Shard of the young man in the toy store who wore a jester’s cap.

25 minutes had passed since Shard’s arrival, and he was running out of time. Therefore, he apologetically spoke to the Deity in front of him, pressed the information about the Ancient Gods deep into his heart, and then turned to discuss the wish with the three witches by the fire.

“This wish is for you to make, the book was found by you, it has nothing to do with me.”

Even though he was eager to know how to enhance his Time Perception, Shard still made his stance clear.

The young girl of the Red Dragon Bloodline carefully examined the scars on Shard’s body while whispering softly:

“Sir, please don’t mind my opinion. I’m only here to gain experience by your side.”

This was directed at Miss Orland.

The two High Ring Witches looked at each other, and finally, the Witch from Zaras Academy spoke first:

“The book itself is the reason why I came to the Valley of Dead Silence, since I found it, let me suggest the first wish—let the Deity help you learn this gentleman’s Arcane Technique—Silent Moonlight. Even at Third Rank, he can slowly restore our powers, and you are at Thirteenth Rank now, aren’t you?”

The last time Shard saw Miss Orland in the Forest of Thousand Trees, she was at Twelfth Rank.

“Briony, by using this technique, we might not have to struggle as we do now during the blizzard, or even if the black snow comes. At least, it could help us escape.”

Miss Becky Samuel’s suggestion seemed quite reasonable. This wish wasn’t too excessive and fundamentally enabled Miss Orland to gain strength, benefiting the others as well.

Thus, the proposal was accepted, and the bespectacled blonde witch signaled for Shard to speak.

“Why me again?”

He whispered.

“Isn’t it obvious, sir?”

She took Shard’s wrist again, but this time Miss Orland didn’t object. The Witch from Zaras Academy then smiled and pushed Shard to face the old man atop the stack of books, releasing his wrist to admire her own palm in the light of the fire:

“This is interesting.”

Shard heard this comment from behind him.

He described the three people’s first wish to the Deity, who nodded in agreement but, after puffing on his pipe and exhaling the smoke, his aged face and blue eyes assessed Shard:

“This power is quite extraordinary. Given my current state of appearance, I cannot directly teach that power to her, but I can transfer your power to her.”

Shard raised an eyebrow—that meant losing his Arcane Technique “Silent Moonlight” to allow Miss Orland to learn it:

“Is this process reversible?”

Miss Orland proactively stood beside Shard, to his side and slightly behind. The main entrance of the Ruins of Gadis Library was quite spacious, and their shadows tangled together on the wall, painted by the light of the fire.

“If you make another wish, of course, it’s reversible,”

the old man said with a smile, urging:

“Make your decision quickly, young ones, I am about to leave.”