Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Professor, have you ever seen a half-blood dragon species?"

A Six Rings Warlock who appeared to be about the same age as Shard raised his hand and asked, adding:

"I mean, those with a blood purity below the Standard & Poor's value of 17%?"

"Of course, I have. In pursuit of this Maze Lock, I have almost traversed every corner of the material world since my younger days. From the towering snow-capped mountains of the New World, to the tempest-embattled cities within the Eye of the Storm, to the underground ruins of the New World, I've certainly encountered dragon species."

The professor whistled and a gust of wind immediately whipped up overhead. It was only when they looked up that they saw a huge winged creature flying over, which was not the giant lizard Shard had imagined but more like a giant pigeon with scales.

"A dragon pigeon hybrid?"

That was a little joke the Outlander made to herself in her heart, and surely enough, she chuckled softly too.

Professor Garcia made Shard and the others keenly feel the power of the Maze Lock; after fully deploying the Maze Lock, he had the Circle Sorcerers try to coordinate an attack on him.

Since Shard could only sit, he did not need to participate in this activity. It was his responsibility to record the ensuing battle. Of course, even outside the Maze Lock, the students were no match for the High Ring Sorcerer, much less gaining any advantage within the Maze Lock itself.

Therefore, Professor Garcia deliberately controlled his power, allowing everyone to truly feel the pressure but not be completely helpless.

It was indeed a valuable elective course that only those permitted by the professors could attend. In Shard's view, just the experience of tonight's four academic hours was worth a thousand pounds.

Not only had he witnessed the Maze Lock, but he had also seen the combat methods of the Academy's Circle Sorcerers. The cooperation of Spirit Runes, the rapid incantation of Spell Words, and the advance preparation of Spellcasting Materials—none of these were knowledge you could acquire from mere books.

The most memorable scene for Shard was when Professor Garcia summoned a group of creatures known as "Iron-Horned Rhinos." The horns of these creatures were very important alchemical materials, and the species was distributed in the plains of the northern Old Continent as well as some regions of the New World.

And when a group of rhinos charged toward Shard's classmates like mad, first trying to resist and then desperately fleeing, it completely overturned Shard's impression of Saint Byrons Academy students.

"Choosing the right moment to flee is also an important ability for a Circle Sorcerer,"

the professor next to Shard said with a smile, satisfied with his own class.

Interesting courses make time fly, and tonight's class was the last teaching session of "Sealed Space."

At eight fifty, Professor Garcia closed the Maze Lock and brought everyone back to the classroom at Saint Byrons. He allowed the students to ask one question related to the course, and Shard discussed with his companions before asking:

"If we were unfortunate enough to encounter a High Ring Sorcerer who masters the Maze Lock and were unable to flee before it was deployed, how should we best preserve our lives?"

"The best way is to break through the Maze Lock forcefully; powers of space or opposing forces to the nature of the Maze Lock can do it."

Professor Garcia clearly anticipated what they would ask.

"But we can't do that, Professor."

The young lady said, raising her hand.

"Then hope that your companions can buy you time. The Maze Lock is powerful, but its consumption is also incredibly alarming,"

the professor, with slightly pointed ears, continued with a smile.

"Professor, but we might not have companions."

An older male sorcerer raised his hand and said, but Professor Garcia shook his head:

"That's not possible. If a High Ring Sorcerer who controls the Maze Lock only wants to target one of you, there's no need to deploy the Maze Lock. Do you really think this is a power that can be used at any time?"

He gestured to the now-empty metal box on the lectern:

"The Spellcasting Materials I just used are worth a four-digit number of Gold Pounds. To deal with you, why would a High Ring Sorcerer need to spend so much money?"

Below, Shard blinked his eyes; he seemed to use the Maze Lock without needing any Spellcasting Materials.

This marked the official end of Shard's first elective course at Saint Byrons, "Sealed Space." After the class, Shard didn't leave immediately but instead spoke to the professor about his plans to undertake another journey through space-time and hoped to purchase a Time Key from the Academy.

The key symbolizing the year 3005 had completely shattered. Saying farewell to Miss Feliana and the Moon Witch, he was ready to embark on a new journey.

Professor Garcia was pleased that Shard took the initiative to bring this up:

"Good, it's been a month since your first Investigator activity, and now is a fine moment. Shard, be assured this time."

"Uh..."

Shard didn't speak.

"This time, I will personally select a key for you, a Time Key from the Fifth Era, and I guarantee that there will absolutely be no problems. You will receive it through Bill Schneider during your team's meeting this weekend."

Although he made such a promise, based on the first investigation experiences known to the Academy and the second ones unknown to them, Shard could almost assure that whatever key Professor Garcia chose, would somehow be related to the Old Gods.

Therefore, by then, Shard would still be troubled about how exactly to compile that investigator's report.

"There's one more thing, Professor. May I ask if there is a way to enhance time perception?"

As his classmates gradually left the classroom, Shard made sure no one could hear the following conversation before he asked the question he had been holding onto for two days. He had actually wanted to ask it during yesterday's class.

"Enhance time perception? Do you want to experience the power of time more clearly?"

Professor Garcia was packing up the lecture notes and the remaining spellcasting materials:

"I recall your arcane technique 'Perception of Time' can enhance time perception, but if you want something stronger than that... with your level, arcane techniques and sorcery certainly won't work. I recommend rituals or relics."

Shard had raised this question in fact to amplify the effects of the arcane technique 'Perception of Time', intending to use Divine Afterglow to determine the current true point in time.

"What rituals and relics could possibly be useful then?"

Shard inquired earnestly.

"There are many methods, and you needn't ask me, as there has been similar research conducted. I believe that thesis is still in the Saint Byrons's library. Shard, you can request the Academy directly through Bill Schneider to access the documents... Just say it's needed for my course, and this way, you won't have to spend any money. I will communicate with the library on my end,"

said the Professor with a smile.

Shard thanked him softly but didn't ask whether it was now the Sixth Era. Since even the witches didn't know, he was almost certain that Professor Garcia would think he had gone mad, so the answer would still have to be found by himself.

"Strictly speaking, it's not the Sixth Era... what exactly does that mean then?"

The answer to the question might just allow Shard to directly gaze into the deepest secrets of time.

Because of the final question, Shard had been delayed a bit. When he stood up from the chair in the guest room of Sophia's Mansion, it was already half-past nine in the evening. At this point, Lecia should still be in the city attending the Grand Witch's dinner party, and the fishing rod had naturally been taken away by the Princess.

The storm was still raging outside, and Shard wanted to wait until Lecia returned to confirm her safety before going to sleep, so he sat down at his desk again, intending to finish a part of his course report.

Before he started writing the report, he had asked the servants for a cup of hot tea. But before the tea could arrive, the maid left by Lecia hurried over to inform Shard that someone had attempted to break into Sophia's Mansion and that a gunfight had erupted between the intruders and the mansion's guards at the eastern fence.

"What? A gunfight? How many people are they?"

Beneath the glow of the classically designed gas lamp, Shard set down his fountain pen in surprise.

Sophia's Mansion, as a royal estate, not only had the Princess Guard and the Coldwater Port police responsible for security during Lecia's stay, but even the Coldwater Port navy had dispatched a force of two hundred to be stationed nearby in case of emergencies.

Now that someone was able to engage Sophia's Mansion's defense forces in a gunfight, the intruders must be numerous.

"Sir, there are about 30 or so on their side, but they are very heavily armed. With the heavy rain, we're not sure how many people are outside the perimeter, so we can't concentrate our forces in one direction. Colonel Hams has asked me to inform everyone inside the mansion not to leave the building,"

Colonel Hams was the leader of the Princess Guard, a 40-year-old active service Colonel in the Royal Army, highly trusted by Lecia.
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"Who are the enemies?"

Shard asked as he stood up and walked to the window to look outside. In the deep night rain, he could faintly hear the soft sound of gunfire and the occasional sparks of light in the distance.

"I'm sorry, Sir. We don't know yet. But please do not leave this room,"

the maid said before hurriedly leaving. With the mansion under attack, she had to help Lecia secure some sensitive documents in case someone really broke in.

Shard found the situation inexplicable, but recalling Lecia's princess status and the assassination attempt on Queen Diana in broad daylight last month, he couldn't help but suspect this was another political assassination or some other political event.

But now with Lecia not even in the mansion, Shard didn't have to worry about her safety. However, the sporadic gunfire outside made him lose any interest in continuing his course report.

He decided to stand by the window and peer outside, trying to discern anything in the dark courtyard of the mansion.

The brightness inside made the glass reflect Shard's face like a mirror. Observing his own reflection, he felt even more troubled by the complex situation in Coldwater Port:

"Lecia's life is so tumultuous... oh!"

A distant bullet had hit the glass in front of Shard, but because it was nearly at the end of its trajectory, it couldn't penetrate the glass. Even so, it was enough to give Shard a startle.

Having survived a shooting on the street, it would be all too wrongful to die from a stray bullet on a rainy night.

He immediately moved away from the window, and after a thought, he decided to leave the room and wait in the library instead. Besides Lecia's current bedroom and the room specially prepared for King Fire Jumper Larus III, the safest place in Sophia's Mansion was actually the library.