Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Unlike the eerie spatial movement to Saint Byrons, Shard did not see any illusions. As the voices beside his ear ceased, the surrounding mist instantly disappeared. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

He felt as though he had not moved at all, and looking around, with the mist gone, he found himself in a familiar circular space, with the Ancient God Statue still lighting up under his gaze.

But this time, it was no longer the statue space beneath Saint Delan Square; there were no piles of miscellaneous items on the wall sides, and it was so clean that there wasn't even dust. Although still circular, this space seemed somewhat smaller, and the ceiling was higher:

"It worked... but this statue, too, is in such a circular space, it seems that the people who placed the statue in Saint Delan Square are the same group."

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, then he lowered his head to look at the suitcase. Opening it to check, all items were there. This signified that spatial movement could transport items imbued with supernatural power.

But his heart was still not at ease, and he immediately used the Arcane Technique "Echo of the Past."

After five attempts, he heard no human voices, which also suggested that this space had likely been unused for a long time.

But Shard did not rush to try and explore the outside world; instead, he turned back and once again reached out to touch the Ancient God Statue.

After the spell words were spoken, he returned to the mist area of the "Spatial Labyrinth," and as expected, the vague path amidst the mist still displayed those two wooden signs.

After touching the sign labeled 1, a voice whispered in his ear:

"The Guide will direct you."

As the mist cleared and he saw the circular space again. The miscellaneous items piled by the walls confirmed to Shard that this was his own house's basement. Only when he returned upstairs from the basement and saw rain-swept Saint Delan Square through the window did he ultimately confirm that the statue's long-distance transfer involved no waiting time, which was perfect.

He had just placed Mia in Miss Luisa's care, fearing redundancy now. But there was no need to immediately bring the cat back; Shard, carrying the suitcase and an umbrella, returned to the basement and via the statue, returned to the new circular space, ready to embark on a new adventure.

His gaze fixed on the statue, which immediately emitted a soft glimmer. Then he opened the suitcase, placed important items on his body, and, holding a revolver, looked toward the curved wall directly opposite the statue. According to the pattern, the hidden wall was right here.

"Can you sense what lies beyond this wall?"

"You are merely sensitive to the elements as a soul, not endowed with the ability to see through them."

"Very well then."

He nervously watched in front, and then summoned the Ring of Fate to illuminate the wall, which indeed disappeared.

Outside, there appeared to be no light at all, just profound darkness. The glimmer from the statue behind him remained confined to this space, unable to light up the exterior environment.

"Silvermoon."

With one hand holding the gun, he stepped out of the circular space and softly called out, letting his fingers emit a faint Silvermoon's glimmer.

What he saw was a dark, deep passage, and the hidden wall's location was just at the end of this passageway.

The ground underneath was not mud but uneven, hard stones, with the slippery, wet rock walls around it. Green moss, resembling waterweed, grew abundantly on them. The surroundings were extremely dark, and a creeping chill made Shard involuntarily think of many horrifying scenes. At this moment, even if ugly Mermen were to leap out of the darkness, he would not be surprised.

The passageway wasn't very wide, enough to allow three men of Shard's build to stand shoulder to shoulder. As for the height, Shard believed a light jump would immediately make him hit the rock wall above.

Due to its low height, he could see the entirety of his standing position without needing to raise his fingers:

"But why are there no bats?"

He was thinking to himself while searching at his feet, but he did not find any animal dung or footprints:

"This is strange."

The air was moist and chilly, and as he took a gentle sniff, a strange odor entered his nostrils: decay and a musty fish smell. Wherever this place was, it seemed it had been long since any human had set foot here.

So, he slightly increased the glimmer on his fingertip to see further. It was only then that he noticed something dark lying ahead in the passage.

Approaching cautiously, he realized it was a group of turtles. These turtles appeared somewhat menacing in the darkness but under the light of Silvermoon, they merely moved slowly, seeming to be disturbed by Shard:

"Where am I, exactly?"

The passage not only went forward but also sloped downward, meaning the hidden wall at the end of the passage was actually higher up.

Continuing along the passage, he needed to be extra careful with each step, as the uneven rocky ground was becoming increasingly slippery.

The corridor wasn't very long; it took only about fifty steps to see the end. During this time, other than seeing a group of turtles, Shard also saw a cluster of crabs, a few rotting dead fish, and some entities resembling sea anemones.

During this time, he also tried using "Echo of Blood" and "Echo of the Past" multiple times but found no trace of human activity. It appeared not just the wall, but even this passage hadn't been trodden for a long while.

Continuing on, the sound of water became clearer and clearer, and after about twenty steps from the hidden wall, the ground was already covered in a layer of water. As he went further, the terrain got lower, and the water got deeper.

By the time he reached fifty steps, the accumulated water had reached Shard's knees. He couldn't continue any further. The light illuminated forward clearly showed the entire downward passage was submerged not far ahead.

He could feel the water moving; this indicated it wasn't stagnant but flowing. Outside must be...

"The ocean."

This was the conclusion Shard reached after dabbing a bit of water with his hand, with the animals and plants he had just seen also affirming this.

Considering that there was sea water in front and a hidden wall behind in this sealed passage, yet there was still oxygen, and there were no visible air holes in the passage, it was reasonable to believe that at some point between high tide and low tide, at least part of the passage would connect directly to the outside.

"That means, if I enter the water and swim out, it shouldn't take too long to reach the outside," he thought.

After considering this, Shard turned back behind the hidden wall, and using the statue, he returned home with his briefcase.

After reorganizing the items and putting them back into the briefcase, focusing on a set of dry clothes and boots. He then found a large piece of waterproof canvas left by the former detective, cut it, and wrapped the briefcase completely.

He also found some hemp rope at home, intertwined them end to end, and with the remaining rope, he tightly secured the waterproof-treated briefcase on his back, before heading back to the chill and damp corridor.

After walking fifty steps forward, the water level was almost at his knees. He tied one end of the long rope to an exposed rock colum above the ground and water surface, and the other end around his waist.

After ensuring both ends were very secure, Shard waded forward, and it was now possible to feel fish swimming under the water.

When the water completely submerged his waist, Shard took a deep breath:

"Sorcery—Underwater Breathing."

He plunged forward into the water, and it felt just like when he had attempted the sorcery in a basin of water before—he could open his eyes underwater, and breathing felt as comfortable as breathing air. The sensation of oxygen entering the lungs from the outside made his whole body feel pleasant.

He stepped on the extremely slippery ground and walked a few more difficult steps forward, then confirmed the water was deep enough, before swimming forward down the twisting passage.