Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1757 - 1756: Fifth Era · Year 1576

After sending off Luviya and Iluna, Shard took the key he had just acquired yesterday to the bedroom door. He didn’t know which year this key corresponded to, only that it was the Fifth Era. But in truth, there was no need to investigate, since no matter which year it was, he couldn’t possibly know in advance what he would encounter.

"Meow~"

"This is the first time using this key, I can’t take you with me. Wait for me at home, I’ll be back soon."

He said to the cat circling at his feet. Realizing that persuasion was futile, Mia lowered her little head, looking aggrieved as she watched him take out the key. Shard, well-aware of the cat’s habits, felt no heartbreak, as he would be back in just three seconds.

"May the World Tree, protect me within infinite time."

With a click, the door opened, and Shard stepped into the thick mist:

"The travel stories of the Lostwoods always end up making one feel a bit melancholic. Hopefully, everyone will get a good ending this time."

[Outlander, you have stepped into the "Time Corridor."]

[Message from the Ancient God "Father of the Infinite Tree":]

[Summer, Year 1576, Fifth Epoch, Western Continent, Black Mist Camp.]

[Event: Transaction with Old God – "Golden Sovereign".]

[Duration: Twenty minutes (1/3).]

"Twenty minutes, that short?"

In the 500 years before the year 1578 of the Fifth Era, in 1068, Shard encountered the Old God "Creator of Innocence" and three children in the Hope Town Toy Shop, which influenced his life path; in the 200 years after 1578, in 1784, Shard met "the luckiest mortal" Mr. Riddle at the Horror Fortress, where he engaged in a card game with the deities.

So theoretically, at the time point "Fifth Era 1578", Shard was not supposed to meet any acquaintances. But he wasn’t disappointed, as the time in the Fifth Era was so long that if he met familiar witches every time, that would indeed be a cause for caution.

"Old God – Golden Sovereign... isn’t this the famed God of Commerce and Wealth?"

"Golden Sovereign" is one of the most renowned Old Gods of the Fifth Era, and even though long gone, a multitude of believers could still be found in the current Sixth Era. It’s even said that this deity was one of the most powerful Old Gods of the Fifth Era, a fact even the True God Church acknowledges in their scriptures.

Shard remembered seeing in his textbooks that the Old God – Golden Sovereign departed around the year 5300 of the Fifth Era, which was late in the epoch. The influence of this Old God spanned the entire era.

And what this "God of Commerce and Wealth" was most known for, was the Divine Art exclusive to his followers – the Midas Touch.

The Arcane Technique’s effect is to transform any material with a value lower than gold into gold upon contact. Although this transformation requires a vast consumption of Spirit, it is less effective on supernatural materials, and the transformed gold necessitates complex processing to be circulated, it doesn’t detract from this Arcane Technique being an ability that Circle Sorcerers talk about enthusiastically.

"I remember the reputation of this Old God is quite good, and he completely respects the principles of fair trade and equivalent exchange, which is good news... Oh, please, continue."

[You have gained additional information.]

[The image of the Father of the Infinite Tree watches over you.]

[The Ancient God of Time bestows a trial upon you.]

[Assist the mortals in completing their respective transactions.]

[Father of the Infinite Tree will reward you: Sorcery – Oath Binding, a piece of true information – Silvermoon Library.]

"What? Silvermoon Library?"

In the white mist, Shard was ready to take a step forward, but the last information he heard made him halt in his tracks.

Though previously Tree Father provided information about the "Dark Dungeon", this time he was indeed planning to enter the library again, attempting to touch the moon once more. Unexpectedly, Tree Father immediately gave the library information.

Admittedly, the information Tree Father provides may not immediately grant him sufficient authority to enter the library, but at least it is definitely useful. Shard was left somewhat speechless, he could only prepare himself, then step forward into the mist.

The white mist dissipated like a curtain to both sides, revealing the "stage" before Shard. As the luminous white mist receded, a dark world unfolded.

Even though Shard had Dark Vision, it took at least two seconds to fully comprehend his surroundings.

The sky was shrouded in black mist, and the surroundings were a vast endless plain, utterly pitch black, with not a glimmer of light present. In this lightless world, it seemed as if everything was frozen in time, yet, fortunately, the surrounding land still had twisted, low weeds and unknown black wildflowers growing upon it, making the region seem bizarrely alive.

Typically, the places Shard went after activating a Time Key were dark as well, but it was the first time he encountered such complete darkness as now.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that under his feet lay a small path submerged in wild vegetation, and he faced one direction of this path. Thus, with his extensive experience in temporal exploration, as the surrounding plants began to squirm and grow, Shard took a step and appeared twenty meters away, then swiftly ran towards the distant end of the path.

At the very least, it proved that this Time Expedition location did not prohibit spatial abilities.

The original wild grass and black little flowers were strange enough, the twisted and interwoven wild grass resembled spiraling tentacles, while the heads of those unknown black flowers resembled human faces. Upon being animated, their grotesque and malevolent forms became even less concealed.

Shard had been chased by different things in different scenarios, and so far, his most memorable experience was being pursued by an insect swarm in the Worm Cave, so this was nothing new for him. He blocked out all thoughts, all sounds, only concentrating on running forward continuously along that small path in the darkness.

The darkness was inherent here, thus eliminating any dimming light, yet during his run, he gradually sensed the "darkness" behind him growing heavier, even feeling the ground beginning to tremble slightly.

Fortunately, Tree Father didn’t place him too far away, as soon enough, he noticed the path beneath his feet transform into an upward slope, accompanied by nearly imperceptible black mist emerging in the previously empty air – distinguishing them in complete darkness was notably challenging.

The plants behind him, now animated into a near "tidal wave" form, didn’t seem to favor this black mist. Upon entering the mist region, the pursuit of the plants visibly slowed. And as Shard immersed deeper along the upward path into the denser black mist, the hostility of the entire plain against him completely vanished.

The black mist didn’t seem to affect Shard’s body—at least he didn’t feel it—but it completely blocked his vision and perception. This obstruction was even more severe than the mist on Green Lake Central Island, rendering even "Enhanced Spatial Awareness" entirely ineffective.

"Moonlight."

Continuing to walk through the mist, he softly murmured while extending his finger, but the moonlight at his fingertip only spread to a very limited distance, insufficient to grant Shard a broader range of vision. It was as if the act of "perception" itself was forbidden in this exploration.

"Echo of Blood, Demon Vision."

As expected, both perception-based Arcane Techniques were entirely ineffective, affirming Shard’s judgment as correct.

Despite this, he remained unfazed. Having delved into the black mist for merely twenty steps, he spotted a distant, ember-sized firelight. Advancing further, with each step that firelight grew brighter. After less than five steps, he realized it was a roadside bonfire, whose glow indeed dispelled the black mist that even Shard’s moonlight couldn’t penetrate.

There is a very rudimentary camp around the campfire, with three people holding torches as if waiting for something. Although the torches in their hands were slightly dimmer, they were enough to dispel the black mist.

There was a large stone beside the path, on which sat an elderly woman with graying hair. She was an ordinary person; a young girl with a bored expression stood by her, holding a torch. She was a witch but seemed to have just broken through to the high rank; the last person stood on the other side of the campfire, slightly away from the stone, but still by the roadside. He appeared to be just a boy in his teens.

Compared to the calm elderly woman and the young witch who didn’t seem worried about the surrounding situation, the boy held his torch with a frightened look.

Because of this, he was the first to see Shard emerging from the black mist when he looked around. As the boy instinctively took a small step back, the elderly woman and the young witch also turned to look at him.

Noticing that Shard did not have a torch in his hand, the two women showed puzzled expressions, after which the witch left the campfire and stepped forward to stop Shard:

"Wait a moment, ma’am, who are you?"

She showed no hostility, merely confusion, as she spoke and thrust her torch forward. The firelight flickered and dispelled the black mist around Shard, and seeing that Shard showed no unusual reaction to the firelight, the young red-haired witch slightly relaxed.

She shouldn’t be too old, and said with a teasing tone:

"Your Transformation Spell is quite impressive, but perhaps these black mists have dulled my senses so badly that I have to admit you really do look like a man. But I bet there’s something missing below, witches can’t conjure that."

"Hmm... I didn’t use any Transformation Spell, I am a man."

Shard corrected, walking two more steps forward, then pointed to his face:

"Although the mist affects perception, we are so close that you should be able to perceive this is a real face, right?"

The young red-haired witch hesitated bewilderedly for a moment, then widened her eyes:

"Wait, you really are... How is this possible?"

Shard had encountered such things more than once, but what concerned him more was something else:

"We can actually understand each other’s language?"

He said, taking the initiative to extend his right hand. The young witch instinctively grabbed his wrist and, upon releasing it, looked at her palm, then realized Shard’s voluntary action:

"You’re so practiced... Seems like you’ve encountered other witches before."

Compared to the other witches Shard had met in the Fifth Era, this young girl in front of him showed the calmest attitude towards "men":

"The language issue is nothing to worry about. Since we’re headed to a market specifically for trading, of course, everyone who comes here should be able to understand one another."

She said lightly, without further questioning Shard’s identity, but gestured for Shard to join her by the campfire. The firelight grew brighter, and the flame from the witch’s torch clearly originated from this campfire. Shard’s body was fully exposed to the firelight, showing no unusual signs, so the elderly woman and boy also relaxed.

The witch gestured for Shard to pick up a stick:

"It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female; it seems you’re the last trader to join the market this time. Since everyone has arrived, let’s set off."

Shard casually selected a burning stick from the campfire and picked it up, then noticed that although flames were burning atop the wood, the flames did not consume it.

His hand was very close to the flames, "She" said softly:

[These flames are solely for dispelling the black mist, with no other traits.]

Shard didn’t even feel the "Fire of the Primordial" within him become agitated, indicating the flames were not worth being consumed by the Primal Fire.

"I’m actually not participating as a trader in the market."

Shard gestured for the young witch preparing to leave the campfire to wait a moment, then mumbled:

"I just inadvertently arrived here and then saw you. Can you explain what’s going on?"

Saying so, he raised his right hand, and a bright silver moonlight appeared in his palm:

"I do have some abilities. If you’d let me accompany you, I could lend some help."

The witch glanced at his palm and then his face, before turning her head to look at the elderly woman by the stone. After the elderly woman nodded, she said:

"Alright, it’s safer with an extra companion in such a dangerous place. As for your claim of accidentally arriving... let’s just believe it for now. I’ll introduce myself; I’m Leah Higgins, hired by this lady..."

She pointed to the elderly woman:

"To accompany her here. If I help her complete a transaction, I’ll earn a commission, quite a large amount indeed."

She seemed to think of something, a smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

The elderly woman spoke slowly:

"Hello, I’m Sarah Miles, here for some trading at the market, pleased to meet you."

Her speech was slow but cordial, typical of a senior grand noble.

"By the way, this lady Mrs. Miles here is the cousin of Her Majesty Faris Miles, the Witch Empress of the desert, and my commission comes from Her Majesty."

The young witch winked at Shard:

"You understand what I mean."

"Yes, I understand, I will take good care of this lady. But if you were entrusted by Her Majesty, why wasn’t a more powerful witch employed... I’m not implying you’re weak, but..."

Miss Leah Higgins wasn’t bothered by Shard’s words and instead proudly said:

"Her Majesty personally conducted a Divination, and having me accompany Mrs. Miles results in a high success rate. Sir, you may distrust me, but you cannot distrust the Witch Empress’s Divination."