Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The two quickly arrived at the entrance to the cemetery, which, although located far from the village in the wilderness, was anything but quiet on this sultry summer night. The wind carried the sounds of cicadas and rustling treetops, but inside his hood, he felt not a hint of the wind's coolness.

There were, of course, no obvious lights near the cemetery, only the faint glow from the tomb guardian's cottage in the center of the graveyard.

The perimeter of the cemetery was enclosed by an iron fence; because of the recent storm, the path was also covered with dried mud. The gate looked locked, but upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the spiked iron gates were merely chained together.

Though it was a village cemetery, it appeared fairly official, perhaps due to its proximity to the city. After unlocking the chain and entering the cemetery, a short straight path, no more than thirty steps long, led directly to the tomb guardian's cottage at the center, while the rest of the cemetery hosted graves from the past and present.

Unlike his Outlander homeland, according to Draleon tradition and Tobesk Region burial laws, the height of a typical grave mound could not exceed the length of a thumb, but long white stones were allowed to encircle the grave pit edge, making it easier to recognize the location of the graves.

Walking beside Miss Luisa and looking across the moonlit cemetery, one could only see similarly styled graves lying there, their quietude laced with a chilling eeriness.

The style of the tombstones varied, with most being small, simple stone markers embedded directly in front of the graves in the earthen floor, a common, inexpensive burial method. Though Shard had not visited Detective Sparrow at the city's public cemetery, his grave was probably of this style.

The graves that had tombstones standing above ground represented those deceased who had noteworthy life events, or relatives who were willing to spend on expensive grave pits. For instance, Shard himself, if he were to die tragically, would have been entitled to a standing tombstone with his current savings and the impending "Draleon Honor Knight Medal."

"Hmm? What am I thinking about?"

He quietly asked himself.

After entering the cemetery, the temperature seemed to suddenly drop. At one time, the voice inside his head had asked Shard if he was afraid of ghosts, and although he truly wasn't, the environment still made him unavoidably anxious.

"However, visiting a cemetery at night in such a mysterious world seems like a good plot after all,"

he amused himself with the thought, but Miss Luisa suddenly stopped and looked to the left of the path.

Shard looked over as well, noticing graves surrounded by four white stones, and barely discernible in the moonlight, the tombstone revealed that the unfortunate buried there had died 24 years ago from choking on a peanut at breakfast. By the time his body was discovered, three days had passed already.

What was unusual was not the cause of death, but the stones atop the grave vibrating. It wasn't an earthquake; under Shard and Miss Luisa's watchful eyes, a rotten finger emerged from the earth first, followed by a foul-smelling corpse's hand piercing through the soil.

"Mr. Copus, next time try using an evil spirit to give me a fright,"

Miss Luisa loudly called out to the lit tomb guardian's cottage, a match now apparent in her right hand beneath the robe. She simply flicked the match through the air and it ignited.

She then threw the burning match towards the hand emerging from the grave, and the moment the flame touched the rotting corpse, the light flashed like fireworks. But that was only for an instant. When the light disappeared, only the match's blue smoke rose from the ground, leaving the grave intact and the extinguished matchstick lying quietly there.

"Always these little tricks,"

Miss Luisa commented dissatisfied, just then both heard a loud bang. Turning their heads, they saw the door to the tomb guardian's cottage open.

Contrary to Shard's expectations, even though it was a village cemetery, the tomb guardian's cottage was not a simple straw structure that seemed like it would fall over with a puff of wind. It was a real stone house, from which a pale, emaciated middle-aged man resembling one indulgent in excess emerged from the dim light of a kerosene lamp and looked impatiently at the two in black robes:

"I just knew tonight wouldn't be peaceful, what do you want?"

Although he looked peculiar, Mr. Copus the tomb guardian spoke quite normally.

Miss Luisa nudged Shard, knowing they shouldn't stay long here:

"A small bag of bone powder, a bone whistle made from human hand bones, two eardrums, thirty years of decayed blood, and a human-faced stone."

A "human-faced stone" is cultivated from a corpse using special techniques. It's less a mineral and more a type of alchemical material, also the most expensive among these supplies.

"Got enough money?"

The impatient middle-aged man asked, Shard noticed he was wearing a black apron, which oddly reminded Shard of a butcher:

"How much?"

"12 pounds."

"I can pay now."

"Then wait a moment."

After a brief exchange, Mr. Copus turned back into his cottage, those outside could hear him rummaging. Momentarily, he emerged holding a paper bag.

He approached Shard, and as they drew closer, Shard smelled the familiar odor of corpses—a scent indelibly associated with prolonged exposure to dead bodies, impossible to wash off.

Money was handed over in one hand, goods in the other, then Mr. Copus returned to his cottage and shut the door behind him, with no intention of engaging further. If he were a normal shopkeeper, such an attitude would likely never lead to riches.

Even including the time Mr. Copus took to fetch items, the entire transaction took no more than 10 minutes.

"Don't forget, wrap that chain back up when you leave,"

he spoke his last words to them.

Miss Luisa shrugged at Shard:

"He's always like this, don't be surprised."

As they left the graveyard and entered the small grove, Shard immediately used the materials in his arms to study Arcane Technique; he certainly didn't want to carry them around.

"Shard, you will gradually meet more Circle Sorcerers, and then you'll find that Mr. Copus is definitely not the weirdest one,"

This was Miss Luisa's comment about Mr. Copus as she leaned against a tree, watching Shard check the bag of bone powder. Of the three effects of the Arcane Technique "Soul Echo," the only active one, "Necromancy," required spellcasting materials, namely the bone powder. Fortunately, only a small amount was needed, so this little cloth bag would last Shard a long time.

He then pressed a stone against his ear.
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"But the Circle Sorcerers I've met all seem pretty normal...except for Lassoya."

Shard talked, his attention primarily on the human-faced stone in his hands. This peculiar stone, made using corpses according to Alchemists, could speak due to absorbing fragmented spirits. An important step in studying Arcane Technique was to listen to what the stone had actually said.

As for the bone whistle, the eardrum, and other messy materials, they all played an auxiliary role.

"Detective, that's because most of the Circle Sorcerers you've met were formally trained by the Academy and the Church; those informally employed have a higher risk of losing control and are also stranger in character," she said, then yawned. Seeing Shard look her way, she turned her head slightly, her face blushing.

Although she had removed her hood, the moonlight in the woods was too dim for Shard to see her expression.

"What, haven't seen a lady yawn before?"

the blonde girl asked.

"...Seen a lady burp."

Shard joked, then realized that the joke was somewhat inappropriate as Miss Luisa broke off a branch overhead and threw it at him.

(Mia is running...)

The next Sunday came quickly, as Shard opened his eyes that morning, he still couldn't stop marveling at how fast the week had passed since he started at MI6 on Monday.

The most important event today was to head to the Royal Estate outside the city in the evening to attend the awards banquet. If not for this event, Shard would have used the White Stone Crystal during the day for his first spatial transmission.

Of course, he hadn't wasted the day either. After breakfast, he wrote another letter to Mrs. Lemer, the client, confirming more details about the inheritance reception next week.

Then, he had another visit from Captain Lades, who, though not awarded a medal, was also on the honors list, so he invited Shard to leave with him in the evening.

After sending off the captain, Shard had planned to go out to mail the letter, then visit Priest Augustus. He wanted to listen to a sermon at the Dawn Church and at least become somewhat familiar to the people there.

Before he could finish changing his clothes, Mr. Anlos, his boss, unexpectedly came to the door.

He didn't enter, but stood in the doorway talking to Shard:

"Hamilton, there's been a change. You might not get the 'Draleon Honor Knight Medal' we talked about."

The gentleman seemed to have hurried over, sweating profusely as he clung to the door frame.

"Why? Oh, come upstairs, let's sit down and talk."

"No need to go upstairs, I'm busy with other matters, you know, our department is never idle. As for your medal..."

He suddenly leaned closer to Shard, his eyes wide but voice very low:

"I've heard that they plan to give you an award heavier than the medal."

Then he stepped back, the middle-aged man unconcernedly wiping his sweat with the back of his hand:

"Your house is really cool... So, make sure to be on time tonight, and be well-dressed. Absolutely do not be late."

"Heavier than a medal? Is the Royal Family going to give me a title?"

Shard paused, then asked incredulously.

"Dreaming of a good thing, are you?"

Mr. Anlos laughed, waved his hand at him:

"The news I've heard might not even be correct, but the Dawn Church really put in a good word for you. You're smart for getting support from the True God Church. Oh, and also the Royal Family. I don't know who, but someone influential is trying hard to secure rewards for you. No, not Queen Diana or Miss Galina, but another significant Member of the Royal Family... "

He sized up Shard as if seeing the young man before him in a new light:

"Just make sure not to be late tonight. Remember, absolutely do not be late."