Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 940 - 940 High Bounty

Luviya did not leave the Shard Family that morning. The two spent the entire morning discussing the matter of the fourth Chosen One. After having lunch together at noon, she rode with Shard, who was carrying a cat, in a four-wheeled carriage to meet at Dr. Schneider's clinic.

A light snow fell again at noon, but it stopped when they arrived at Rontgen Avenue.

Because things seemed calm on the surface in Tobesk this week, the five group members had nothing new to share. Besides emphasizing the importance of next month's exam week, the doctor also reminded everyone to be cautious of theft:

"I heard from the black market that there's been a humanoid relic specializing in theft appearing recently in the city."

As the doctor discussed his information:

"This relic targets everyone but prefers to steal from Circle Sorcerers. Local Circle Sorcerers have already had important items stolen. Be careful with your anti-theft measures, but don't use those of the Circle Sorcerers, or the opponent will become very formidable. As long as our anti-theft measures, those usable by ordinary people, are thorough enough, even if it targets us, it will give up on stealing."

Shard recalled his experiences with Professor Manning and said:

"An old professor I know, just an ordinary man, was robbed. The thief used a wire to lift the latch on the inside of the window, opened the first-floor window, entered, and stole a vase."

"I've heard similar stories."

Priest Augustus said, rubbing his smoking pipe:

"Old Birmingham, who often visited the church, had the only photo of him and his deceased wife stolen. The thief stole in broad daylight, brought in a large wooden box pretending to be a delivery at the doorstep, hid inside the box, sawed through the door from the side adjacent to the house, entered to rob, then returned to the box."

He shook his head:

"Who among ordinary people would think of such a theft method?"

"I've also heard other prophets in the society talk about this relic."

Luviya shared her amusing stories:

"Miss Lain, living in Tobesk's East District, about two blocks from here, had her family heirloom pearl necklace stolen. But this time, the thief didn't break down the door or open a window. Instead, while Miss Lain wasn't at home, it smashed through the house's back wall in Trash Alley with a hammer and crawled in through a hole as small as a dog's entrance."

"Is this also a method of ordinary people?"

Shard asked suspiciously:

"Can ordinary people use hammers to smash through building walls?"

"They can indeed, especially since that house wasn't a very robust structure."

Luviya said, as Dorothy, interested, chimed in:

"Although it's a relic, it's also a thief. I wish I could document its capture process. It would certainly add more interesting plots to my book."

She glanced at Shard as she spoke, but of course, Dorothy wouldn't encourage Shard to seek trouble with a humanoid relic.

"What good would capturing it do?"

Shard curiously asked again, and this time neither Luviya nor Dr. Schneider had an answer. Priest Augustus, however, having heard information at the church, knew more:

"This humanoid relic holds many magical treasures. Yes, if you capture it, you can obtain one of its collections."

Seeing the other four on-site showing interest, Priest Augustus hurriedly added:

"Don't think it's simple; so far, no one has ever seen the real appearance of this thief. It grows stronger when met with strength. Although it generally uses ordinary people's methods to steal, those methods are very exquisite. Moreover, the church records indicate that this thief doesn't exist outside the scenes of 'theft happenings'; it only exists at the moment theft occurs. Therefore, at first glance, catching it doesn't seem difficult. But in reality, there's a reason to believe catching it is as likely as fishing for a needle in the sea with a net."

In addition to the amusing theft stories involving humanoid relics in the city, that afternoon, the group's five members also individually contacted the Academy for their final preparations for next month's year-end exam.

Priest Augustus was short on practical credits and wanted to take on a high-credit Academy commission; the doctor was considering another attempt to retake the elective course "Aether Mechanics" he failed in the summer. Although he had little confidence, he still wanted to try his luck.

As for Dorothy and Luviya, Miss Writer, with Shard's help, had advanced to the Five Rings, and thus needed to take grade advancement exams at the year-end. She was still missing several basic course papers to submit. Although Luviya was a joint cultivation student of Prophet's Society and Saint Byrons, she was also considering taking the fourth-grade advancement exam in winter after advancing to Four Rings in the autumn Midshire Fort battle.

She wasn't in a rush; even if she didn't pass this year's exam, she could continue next year.

Shard was the most troubled of them all. He had formally proposed to Saint Byrons to take an advancement exam as a second-grade student to directly leap to the fourth grade by year's end.

The condition for participating in the advancement exam is having sufficient Circle Sorcerer level, which Shard met; the exam only tests the written part of compulsory courses, whereas second and third-grade uncompleted practical courses and papers could be completed within the next year.

Shard had borrowed enough books from the library to "memorize." Once he completes Miss Danester's commission, he can find a way to quickly earn a large amount of practical credits. So for Shard, before the end of 1853, he has a large number of books to memorize. Fortunately, with "her" help, Shard doesn't believe his exam is insurmountable.

After the five individually requested magic lists from the library, the Academy also delivered a letter from the Student Affairs Office to the group.

The letter was opened by the group leader, Dr. Schneider. He glanced at the content and sighed:

"Well, the Tobesk Subdivision's off-campus practice activities have been officially canceled this year. The students who were supposed to come here have gone to other subdivisions."

The off-campus practice for official students of Saint Byrons was originally supposed to take place in the summer. However, due to the Divine Descent Event that occurred in Tobesk in the summer, this year's activities were postponed to winter.

Dr. Schneider had previously complained about this, and unexpectedly, it was directly canceled in the winter.

"Why cancel our subdivision? Hasn't Tobesk been quite safe these past few months?"

Priest Augustus asked in confusion. Dr. Schneider handed the letter to the priest and then explained to the others:

"The academy believes that the visit of Princess Margaret Anjou might cause some incidents in the city, so for safety reasons, this year's off-campus practice activities have been officially canceled."

"What does the princess's visit have to do with the Circle Sorcerers?"

Dorothy deliberately asked a question, but the doctor shook his head:

"The academy didn't make it clear. However, the academy has additionally issued a high-value Academy Bounty. Augustus, please read it to everyone."

The old cleric, who was reading the letter, coughed and clearly read out:

"Academy Bounty Order.

According to the divination results of the Astronomy College, the Draleon-Tobesk City and surrounding areas will experience a high frequency of high-danger level relics related to 'Trials', 'Examinations', and 'Riddles'. The academy is issuing a bounty to all Correspondence Circle Mages in the area. If you encounter such relics, quickly report specific information to the academy. Based on the detail and value of the information, the academy will award between 1 to 20 practice credits."

"Just by submitting information, you can get so many credits?"

Dorothy quietly gasped, and Priest Augustus continued reading:

"If one has direct contact with such relics and can pass the trials they present without asking for any reward, they will receive a teardrop-shaped blue crystal as a reward. This crystal is a physical substance with an unknown composition, labeled as the Poet-Level Relic [Sage's Glowstone]. Submitting the Sage's Glowstone to the academy grants a one-time award of..."

Priest Augustus gaped:

"20 practice credits, 2000 pounds cash, learning information and ritual materials for any magic on the library list, and any Sage-Level relic contained by the academy."

The priest took a sharp breath, and Shard glanced at Luviya, whose expression remained unchanged, while Dr. Schneider stroked his chin thoughtfully, and Dorothy, holding Shard's cat, was equally shocked:

"Submitting a Poet-Level relic (Level 5), the academy rewards with a Sage-Level relic (Level 2)?"

"Yes."

Priest Augustus nodded and finished reading the last few lines of the Academy Bounty Order:

"Note 1: This task is extremely dangerous and it is not recommended for students below Four Rings (inclusive) to attempt to acquire the [Sage's Glowstone].

Note 2: During the duration of the bounty, the Academy Library will offer free access to information on some humanoid relics. Please consult the Academy Library for details.

Note 3: Several Circle Sorcerer organizations, including the True God Church, will participate in this event. A moderate intensity city sorcerer battle is expected. Local Correspondence Circle Mages are advised to protect their privacy and safety. If needed, please contact the Saint Byrons Student Affairs Office at any time."

After he finished reading, the others remained silent for a long time. Even though Shard and Luviya had known about the [Sage's Glowstone] for half a week, they were still stunned by the "big move" from Saint Byrons.

"The last time the academy offered such generous bounty rewards..."

Dr. Schneider said softly:

"...was when the academy suspected the Tobesk region was trapped in an eternal time loop, but it was later proven that this was not the case, and time continued to flow."

Luviya quickly exchanged a glance with Priest Augustus (Chapter 512), and the priest wiped his pipe and shook his head slightly.

"It seems something big has really happened in the Tobesk region."

Dr. Schneider's expression suddenly turned serious; he was the most seasoned Circle Sorcerer in the group.

"Is there any other situation in which the academy could offer such a generous reward?"

Shard asked another question, and the doctor replied once more:

"There is—a certain integer itself is a relic. This integer lies between 13 and 14. Finding this number, the academy can award a Sage-Level relic and a lifetime teaching position after graduation. Once this number is announced, it will directly lead to the collapse of the mathematical system."

This was somewhat reminiscent of the outlander solving the Gothenburg Conjecture in his hometown. The doctor's metaphor made Shard fully understand how intense the academy's desire for the [Sage's Glowstone] truly was.