Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 960 - 960 The Acquired Arrow

Before Mr. Leibert spoke, Shard emphasized again:

"I am proficient in Ancient Script, not only the script from the Fifth Era, but I've also dabbled in parts of the Fourth Era's script."

This was the bargaining chip he had thought of before proposing the transaction with the Apna Library. Knowledge is wealth, and the Outlander understands this well. Although he only had a meager savings of five figures in Gold Pounds, the "wealth" in his mind was substantial.

"Oh? The script from the Fourth Era?"

Mr. Leibert, who was receiving Shard, said with some curiosity:

"Our library indeed holds some books from the Fourth Era, most of which haven't been translated into modern language. If you truly are proficient, we could offset the value of that artifact by translating books. The library has always believed that knowledge and wisdom are the most precious wealth..."

He turned to look at the bookshelf behind him:

"I have a book here that documents the Cannibal Tribe—Aken Tribe from the Fourth Era, 'Lost Merica', with a few lines in Ancient Script; if you can recognize them..."

As he spoke, he wanted to get up to fetch the book, but Shard directly extended his hand:

"Library Retrieval."

An old book with a black cover immediately flew from the third level on the left of the eastern wall into Shard's hand with a swoosh. A twitch of the nose behind the mask gave him the inspiration that seemed to make him feel like he was touching sticky blood, but the book was actually quite dry, indicating that the knowledge in this book was exceptionally dangerous.

"Is it this one?"

Shard placed the book on the coffee table, and Mr. Leibert sat back down, astonished:

"What was that Arcane Technique just now?"

Shard didn't answer, and Mr. Leibert curiously glanced at him and opened the book to the fifth page, pointing out the crooked, hoof-like sketched letters on the sixth line:

"These are the ones; it's a quoted sentence, and I believe it wasn't copied wrong."

The entire book was a handwritten copy, shaped very much like the narrow black notebooks detectives and police often carried. A thin red string served as a bookmark, and the yellowed pages were covered in milky white marks like the strands of an orange, resembling some kind of fungus.

Shard looked at the sentence and immediately felt a strong sense of discomfort as if he heard wailing in his ears.

"This, ah~ is difficult to translate. Yes, this script is quite esoteric, and its weirdness and repulsiveness are quite pronounced."

Shard frowned, pretending to be very perplexed, and took a full five minutes to translate the two lines of letters:

"Brain Eater, wise and clever; Arm Eater, mighty and strong; Foot Eater, lowly and insignificant; Scalp Eater, king of Melica."

After translating, he acted as if he were mentally unstable, bowing his head and taking deep breaths until he calmed down. Mr. Leibert confirmed that Shard's translation was very close to the mainstream interpretation of those letters.

Thus, they reached a transaction. Shard would come to 21 Ikem Street again tonight, and Mr. Leibert would give him the same type of script he needed translated—about fifty to sixty letters. Shard would finish the translation by Sunday and bring it back before Sunday night, at which time he would receive the stone tablet he desired.

Shard initially thought that among the three stone tablets, the one from Apna Library would be the hardest to obtain. Unexpectedly, with Old John's help, it turned out to be the easiest to obtain. Although he hadn't gotten it yet, there shouldn't be any more surprises.

So, the only stone tablet not yet obtained was most likely the one hidden in the Saint Byrons Integrated Academy Library. Shard needed to personally go to the library to have a chance to find it. His only opportunity to visit the library personally was if Miss Danester, the librarian, confirmed the usefulness of the "Guiding Moon", requiring him to appear in the library and use the Spiritual Light of the Core Spirit Rune to unlock the clues to the Silvermoon Library.

"Therefore, the most important thing now is still that Sir Plisha."

Shard thought to himself, but he didn't see that gentleman during this visit to 21 Ikem Street. According to Dr. Schneider's description that Shard heard on Saturday, Mr. Plisha was different from Princess Margaret. The latter engaged enthusiastically with the local Circle Sorcerer group after arriving locally, acquiring precious materials, goods, and specialties from the local black market via Mr. Alan Madison's group. However, since contacting Madison's group at Lakeside Manor that night, Sir Plisha had not proactively reached out to the local Correspondence Circle Mages.

Therefore, gathering the "Guiding Moon" Spiritual Light through Dr. Schneider's friends seemed unviable, and Shard still needed to follow Princess Margaret's path.

After a morning visit to 21 Ikem Street, Shard returned home and headed from the basement to the White Valley Vineyard in Huntington City. Upon entering the city and changing to a carriage, he bought a copy of the Huntington Morning News from a newspaper boy.

The first few pages of news were not of much concern to Shard, but he saw on page three the report about the renowned charity institution of the Old Continent, the Serpent Heart Hospital, acquiring property locally in preparation for operations.

The Serpent Heart Hospital had already communicated with the local City Hall, obtaining its assistance and policy subsidies. This is an institution under the Spiritual Practice Order, and Sister Delphine was determined to plant more personnel locally for the secrets of Pantanal. If her plan went smoothly, around February 1854, she would join forces with the witches to penetrate into the depths of the Great Swamp to hunt the "Evil Creatures of Pantanal" and retrieve the sparks of Primal Fire.

That was something months away and was not of much relevance to Shard at the moment. Sitting in the carriage reading the newspaper, he once again arrived at Professor Drake's house. The professor had been waiting eagerly for Shard's visit, somewhat anxiously having the maid usher him to the study, where the elderly man impatiently asked Shard:

"Mr. Watson, good morning, you've finally come. Do you have any results from your investigation now?"

"I had my friend in Tobesk contact Professor Manning and found your letters, but the value of those letters is limited. I only know that before visiting the 'Lake Goddess', you were in excellent health."

The professor looked disappointed, and Shard pulled out a photograph he'd hidden in his notebook:

"But I found a new lead elsewhere, Professor. Do you recognize this photograph?"

He handed over a photo of Professor Drake alongside the former "Arrow" holder Halder Undiba from decades ago. Professor Drake reached out to take it, eyes widening in amazement:

"I have no recollection of this photo. Judging by the background, this should be a photograph taken in the village in the Pantanal Swamp, and I remember the clothes in the photo, but I don't remember taking a photo with this person."

He looked up at Shard and asked:

"Mr. Watson, who is this? Does he know something? Could we find him?"

"Halder Undiba, who was arrested and executed decades ago by the Inquisition of the Church of War and Peace in this diocese."

"What?"

"This was a Cultist."

Shard said, watching the professor's expression closely, and the surprise and fear on the old professor's face did not seem feigned:

"Oh, what did I do more than a decade ago?"

"That's hard to say."

Shard pointed to Halder Undiba in the photo:

"Even now, this deceased gentleman is still being pursued. I've been investigating this matter, and I've almost clashed with those dangerous folks who dare to kill and don't care about the police."

Professor Drake tremblingly placed the photo on the desk and then tightly gripped the armrest of his wheelchair with his right hand, gasping for air:

"Mr. Watson, I'm truly sorry for putting you in danger. Do you know anything more?"

"The current investigation is only this far. That 'Lake Goddess' appears to have not only erased your adventurous memories but also blurred a lot of related clues. From the current information, Professor, the memories you've lost might not be a price, but rather things you voluntarily relinquished, things you didn't want to know."

The elderly professor's face, already aged, seemed to age ten more years in an instant, the overlapping wrinkles made the age spots so pronounced:

"Are you saying I did something wrong, might have even committed a crime, and my wish was to have the Lake Goddess erase all traces?"

"We can't reach a conclusion yet, but this supposition should be close."

Shard paused, allowing Professor Drake's aghast expression time to ponder.

When the professor raised his teacup, Shard softly asked again:

"Speaking of which, Professor, do you have any antiques at home whose origins you can't remember?"

The professor thought for a moment:

"No... at least I believe not, I remember every item at home very clearly."

His tone wasn't very confident, clearly aware of his shaky memory.

"In your collection, is there an arrow?"

Shard leaned slightly forward, lowered his voice and squinted his eyes in this book-packed study, under the gas lamp illuminated due to the thick fog outside, he asked again.

"Yes, I also collect antique weapons."

The old professor answered quickly, and Shard felt his heart skip. His peripheral vision swept across the red-gold wallpaper of the study, the old-fashioned gas lamp, and the bookshelves:

"Can you describe the specific appearance of the 'arrow'?"

"I'll show it to you directly."

As the professor spoke, he was about to call for the maid, but then frowned and looked towards Shard:

"Come to think of it, I really don't remember where that arrow came from."

The elderly man at the desk pursed his lips, just wetted by tea, somewhat bewildered:

"Oh yes, if it weren't for your inquiry, I wouldn't even remember having that item. I seem to have never checked it over these decades, but I'm very sure I have this item. This feeling is really..."

Kansas Drake on the wheelchair raised his head, looking at the ceiling of the study. The familiar study seemed to spin, everything before him was blurring, an earth-shaking feeling urged him to bow his head and vomit, but immediately he felt himself supported:

"Professor, Professor!"

He heard the young man's voice, felt the teacup being brought to his face, steam fogging his cheek.

"Quick, have a sip of tea, Professor, Professor!"

Shard fed the tea with No. 4 Holy Water to the old professor, his throat laboriously swallowed the tea, then like a lifeless body, he closed his eyes, the back leaning on the wheelchair back.

After a long while, he reopened his eyes, the aged eyes having regained some sparkle. Lips moved a few times, the voice gradually returning to normal:

"Yes, I own an 'arrow'. Though I don't know where it came from, I remember it being in this study."

"Where is it?"

Shard looked around, diligently searching for traces of secret compartments. According to the outlander's understanding of detective novels, there should be mechanisms like "move books to open hidden doors" in such studies.

"Here."

The professor painstakingly bent his body, pulled open the drawer on the lower left of the desk, and took out a slender redwood box, which had no text but rather chain-like pattern looping around.

"Truly... for more than a decade, I haven't even thought about why there's a box in the drawer."

The professor sighed deeply with closed eyes and handed the approximately one-meterlong redwood box to Shard.

When Shard touched the box, he felt no trace of any elements. But when he opened the box, the Whisper Element immediately emerged.

He squinted, palms suddenly clenched around the box. In the red lining was an arrow with a golden tint, marked by bronze patterns. Its ancient aura indicated it hailed from a bygone era, the weighty sense of history almost taking Shard's breath away.

Climbing the patterns across the arrowhead formed a peculiar script:

[Knowledge is power.]

"The answer is on the surface of the puzzle, really found here with Professor Drake—the Angel-Level Relic [Aikenora-Arrow of Knowledge]."