Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 699 - Shard’s Sin

Aside from the discomfort, he also felt a surge in his strength. Every living being entering the Sin Mansion would gain a power boost in proportion to their sins, which could be considered a unique “site effect” of this site-specific Relic.

“Feeling like this, it’s no less than wearing Witch’s Jewelry. Do I really have so many sins?”

He was very puzzled but shook his head:

“Let’s leave this place quickly, hopefully, Granny Cassandra’s information isn’t wrong.”

Glancing at the withered tree and the broken swing underneath, Shard walked toward the entrance of the building that looked like a Haunted House and then reached out to knock on the black door. It wasn’t a metal door, but one of hard wood. However, the surface of the wood was not finely processed, allowing the bark’s texture to remain distinct.

Upon closer inspection, those twisted textures were clearly decipherable as a language. But when Shard tried to interpret the inscription on the door, a fierce headache nearly caused him to lose his balance.

He leaned against the wall to recuperate for a while before gradually easing and understood that the power of the words on this door was not inferior to most of the inscriptions he had come across in this world.

Without hearing any footsteps, the door in front of him opened silently. An old man with stooped back and ashen skin, holding a lantern, appeared in the doorway.

His eyelids drooped as he looked at Shard, in whom Shard sensed an even stronger presence of the Whisper Element.

“Are you a lost traveler?”

The other party spoke in Draleon, their voice unnaturally hoarse.

“No, I am here for a transaction,”

Shard replied, based on the information provided by Granny Cassandra.

Sin Mansion itself was a mountain manor from the Third Era or maybe the Fourth Era, belonging to some unknown nobility. Later, a most terrifying event occurred here—the limited records in the Witch Council indicate that the manor’s owner delved into the knowledge of Original Sin, which consequently attracted the Fire of Karmic Sin to consume everything, creating the dreadful ruins of Sin Mansion.

Once outsiders are perceived as playing the role of lost travelers, they are permanently entrapped as prey by the mansion itself. But those claiming to be trading visitors receive more favorable treatment. Experience shows that as long as one does not display hostility towards Sin Mansion itself, the Relic will not readily unleash its malice on incoming traders.

“Please come in.”

The old man holding a lantern uttered in a raspy voice, stepping aside from the doorway for Shard to enter. Shard, upon entering the foyer, noticed the faint light on the walls emanated from a gaslamp, and there were even gas pipes on the walls.

“This is a gift from a guest who visited more than twenty years ago; we used his soul for a little renovation around here.”

The old man chuckled slyly, leading Shard further into the building.

Outside the window was a forbidding sky, with black lightning flashing from time to time; the dilapidated courtyard easily brought to mind scenes from horror stories. The rooms, though dimly lit by gaslamps, continued to emanate an extremely terrifying atmosphere.

The light from the old, glass-covered lantern was slightly stronger. Shard, following the old man, glanced at the walls lined with marks that resembled rifts while attempting to inquire:

“Excuse me, would you sell that lantern?”

The lantern itself could be considered a Relic if brought into the outside world.

“For sale, three complete souls or take on a moment of my sin of slaughter,”

the old man stated hoarsely, then suddenly stopped and turned to look at Shard:

“Guest, there’s no need to rush. The trader has everything you desire. I can see that you carry more than enough sin.”

The two arrived at the furthest end of the foyer, where they could choose to go down the corridor to the left or right, or ascend the stairs to the second floor. Yet the old man halted again:

“Guest, as per the rules, we must verify the amount of your karmic sin before trading.”

“No problem.”

Shard nodded, following the old man towards the corridor on the right and entering the first room on the left. This room was very spacious and lit only by a dim gaslamp at the far end.

Under the gaslight was a table, and behind it sat a man clutching a feather pen, his face a picture of bewilderment. He was dressed like an old-fashioned nobleman, only the craftsmanship of his red coat was lackluster, almost certainly betraying his fall from grace.

The old man stood at the doorway gesturing for Shard to come over, so Shard stepped across the threshold, feeling an even more intense discomfort than before.

After crossing the dimly-lit room to the table, the man grasping the feather pen began to speak in an exceedingly monotone voice:

“Press your palm onto the parchment.”

The only thing on the table was a piece of parchment that looked singed at the edges. Shard pressed his hand against it. A few seconds later, the man behind the table violently grabbed the feather pen, aiming to stab at Shard’s wrist, but Shard agilely dodged it.

The man glared at Shard, took back the parchment, stabbed his own wrist with the feather pen, and then wrote on the parchment with the bloodied tip. After he finished, he tossed the paper to Shard without any intent of conversing.

On the parchment, in twisted script that wriggled like worms, were the “financial strengths” Shard possessed:

[Complete Soul (Powerful·Flawless·Sanctity·Balanced·Darkness)]

[Gluttony (Treasure) 10.5 marks]

[Greed (Perfect) 9.9 marks]

[Lies (Ordinary) 8.9 marks]

[Licentiousness (Ordinary) 2.6 marks]

[seyu (Ordinary) 1.3 marks]

[Bloodlust (Flawed) 0.7 marks]

[Desecration (Flawed) 0.6 marks]

[Disloyalty (Flawed) 0.1 marks]

[Great Sin Chain]

“Hisss, I have more sins than I thought.”

His eyes lingered in the middle two lines, then looked at the last:

“The Great Sin Chain counts too?”

Shard was somewhat surprised, while the rest had been documented by Granny Cassandra.

Every person has a soul, and the descriptors were just that—descriptors of the soul’s characteristics. The words[Powerful]and[Flawless]represented the quality of Shard’s soul, while[Balanced]and[Darkness]were about its nature, likely tied to Shard’s participation in the Chosen One Ceremony and his fulfillment of its requirements.

[Sanctity]was a complete surprise to Shard, for it was said that only the most devout believers, those who did good deeds throughout their life, could receive such a description.

“Perhaps it’s because my ‘lifetime’ is too short, even less than the number of ants I’ve stepped on compared to others. And although I’m no paragon of virtue, I certainly haven’t done much evil.”

He thought to himself smugly. The list of sins after the soul description only picked out the more notable traits, not an exhaustive list. A normal person’s list wouldn’t exceed ten sins unless they required a rest in either a mental institution or prison.

“Marks” was the evaluation here for the amount of sin, while “Flawed,” “Ordinary,” “Perfect,” and “Treasure” were the assessments of quality.

Although Shard possessed both the Gluttony and Greed Spirit Runes, the former was after all drawn from the Divinity of the Lord of the Blood Feast, and it had been drawn twice, so having the highest quality “Treasure” rating was quite normal.

“Besides Gluttony and Greed, Lies were inevitable, seyu is normal for anyone healthy in body and mind, Bloodlust is just a flaw not worth fussing over, Desecration is understandable, and Disloyalty probably refers to the time I agreed to pass information for money to an enemy nation.”

Shard summarized his own “health report card,” holding the parchment in his hand, which should be considered everyone’s deepest secret. Once he left this place, he wouldn’t share the results with anyone.

[You have, however, neglected to analyze “Licentiousness”.]

A whispering sound came to his ears; Shard pursed his lips, his eyelids drooping slightly:

“That is indeed my sin.”

She just chuckled, without further commentary.

So Shard took the parchment back to the hallway, which was carpeted in red and adorned with gold wallpaper, and showed it to the lantern-holding old man.

The latter, by the faint light, peered at the parchment, and for the first time, emotion flitted across his ghastly white face as dry as a mummy’s:

“A 10.3 mark Treasure of Gluttony? How do you maintain your current figure?”

He was incredibly astonished.

“It’s 10.5 marks, I can read this script.”

Shard corrected him. The old man didn’t show embarrassment, stuffed the parchment back into Shard’s hands, then suddenly leaned in closer. He raised the lantern in his shriveled right hand high, peering very closely at the young man before him holding a sword:

“You can read it? Are you… a Scholar of Original Sin?”