Free Web NovelChapter 2008: Chapter 2008: Great Gains and a New Arcane Technique
"Ciris."
Shard checked the small pistol in his hand, then looked at the golden-haired girl assisting Miss Aphrola with cataloging books.
As a believer of the Old God, The Forgotten Old Man, and the current supreme leader of the Cult of the Forgotten, this memory-manipulating pistol was most suitable for her to use.
Ciris certainly wanted to refuse, but Shard explained:
"If I hadn’t acquired that Stigmata of the Stars, I might have kept it. But now I have an excellent long-range weapon, and I certainly don’t want to carry a lady’s pistol around when I go out... This way, the people in Tobesk City will look down even more on this detective who depends on the Duchess."
Upon hearing this, the ladies all laughed. Miss Benanis lightly nudged Ciris, who then accepted the relic.
The golden-haired girl had a unique relationship with Shard, he did not need her to express thanks. There were many days ahead, and they would share even more stories.
Shard did not plan to leave those relics here; he had no time to constantly worry about these dangerous items. The usable relics were left for the witches to choose from individually, and the remaining dangerous relics would be reported by Megan to the Witch Council, claiming they were found in the family’s old manor. If the Council was not interested, Saint Byrons, renowned for relic containment, would likely not refuse.
Apart from items related to the Circle Sorcerers, correspondence between Laplace Howard and groups like the Deep Sea Drowned Cult, Tyranny Club, Truth Society, Blood Spirit School, Dragon Feast Cult, etc., were all missing, probably destroyed by him beforehand.
However, he left behind considerable wealth, including deeds for properties on Green Lake Central Island given to the Green siblings. Cash, jewelry, and antiques he left were still substantial. This Diviner seemed to excel at accumulating wealth, and even a rough estimate revealed it far exceeded Miss Benanis’s accumulated wealth.
Yet Shard chose to share it with Megan and Audrey, even if the witches insisted on refusing, he absolutely did not agree. The three of them, or perhaps two, decided to keep most of the wealth, and Shard would directly approach Megan when he needed money. A small portion of less valuable gold and silverware would be sold, and Megan agreed to handle it.
The cash portion was roughly £23,000. Megan had no interest in this "small money," so she told Shard not to think about her share. Shard planned to donate £5,000 to the local church, for Green Lake City’s post-disaster reconstruction and refugee relief, also considering it as Edwards’s atonement.
The remaining £18,000 was distributed, £2,000 each to a doctor and a priest, as thanks for their willingness to help. Although they had their own motives, they undoubtedly assisted Shard. Shard kept the final £14,000 to enrich his not-so-wealthy wallet.
This cash was only a small part of the Diviner’s wealth, and even the antiques and jewelry were just a fraction. The expensive alchemical equipment and materials, potions and alchemical items he personally crafted, his divination studies notes, and personal star maps, each were immensely valuable.
But Shard did not plan to sell these. He wasn’t particularly in need of money, and once sold, these items would be gone forever; better to leave them as is. Even the proceeds from selling ordinary items, he planned to continue investing in Miss Sylvia’s business. The young witch intended to begin mass production and sale of those fabrics upon returning.
"You don’t need to add any more investment; Margaret’s support is substantial."
Upon hearing Shard’s intentions, Miss Sylvia didn’t want his money, so Shard explained his thoughts: freewebnσvel.cѳm
"It’s not for your commercial ventures, it’s to support your research on those high-end products... The texture is very nice; the feel is also excellent, but there’s still room for improvement."
She smiled and lightly patted Shard.
That afternoon, the group barely managed to catalog and classify the items left by the Diviner, but the upcoming processing wouldn’t be easy. Just the large quantity of stone tablets, parchment, manuscripts, and a few printed books made Shard’s head swim. He had to check each one to see if it was what he needed.
He wanted to learn many things from Laplace Howard’s research. The opponent’s study of the island’s sealing and Primal Fire might reveal the locations of other Primal Fire Sparks;
Although Shard wouldn’t touch taboo fish-man, demon, and dragon fusion experiments, he was interested in the aspects of United as One and flesh crafting;
The special ritual circle created from the Impermanence Card’s back required exploration of its usage and where the Diviner may have used it, as Miss Danester was still waiting for news;
Howard’s research on the Philosopher’s Stone would fill Shard’s gaps in alchemy. Shard didn’t want to use a precious Philosopher’s Stone so easily next time;
The alchemical manuscripts indeed contained methods to make "Butterfly Cards," but the steps were extremely arduous, so Shard had to ensure he could master it;
The research into the Elixir of Immortality was not as advanced as the secrets left by Miss Violet and Miss Teresa, but was still worth investigating;
Ways to summon demons and the origins of those angel skeletons might assist the doctor and priest, as such hidden knowledge was hard to find elsewhere;
Finally, most crucially, the information about the apocalypse, calamities, and other Chosen Ones would directly affect Shard’s future adventures and explorations. Luviya would likely be interested in these contents as well. As the Sixth Era epic of the Whispering Verses had only reached halfway through.
[And divinity.]
"Indeed, and there’s divinity."
In the collection of Laplace Klein Howard, there is a wealth of information related to the departed Old Gods, some of which are sources of unknown ancient documents, while more of it consists of rural folklore and regional legends. Shard is unsure of the reason for such a collection, but these materials are crucially important to him.
During the Green Lake-Lunar Eclipse event, he consecutively acquired divinity from the "God of the Deep Sea Drowned" and the Silvermoon Library. Even though he has since advanced to the Seventh Ring, his soul still glimmers with two drops of divinity.
Although it seems that he doesn’t lack divinity, considering that a confrontation with Evil Gods could arise at any moment, lacking divinity equates to a lack of any means of retaliation. Given the current circumstances, the future tales of The Chosen Ones are bound to be even more perilous.
Thus, supplementing divinity is necessary. Shard feels that he must hold at least 10 drops of divinity simultaneously to navigate each day safely.
"Do you still remember how much divinity you’ve acquired so far?"
"Let me calculate... 11 drops. Advancement consumed 6 drops, confronting the Evil Gods ’Lord of the Blood Feast,’ ’Vampire God,’ ’Stone Heart Demon’ consumed 3, leaving 2 drops remaining. Speaking of which, I’m truly grateful to the ’Lord of the Blood Feast’; They bestowed power upon me twice."
"Outlander, don’t be too greedy."
Shard smiled as he watched the girls helping in the basement:
"You know me, I’m just greedy."
"She" smiled kindly, approving of Shard’s decision.
Though Shard outwardly laments that inheriting so many books is troublesome, he is delighted at the expansion of his collection. The knowledge of the Thirteen-Ring Diviner is something others yearn for but struggle to attain, a true stroke of fortune for Shard.
Apart from the Circle Sorcerer’s knowledge, his private underground library also contains books documenting Arcane Techniques. Shard only perused them briefly in the afternoon and found an Arcane Technique of interest, which Laplace Edwards himself improved and created:
"Edward’s Eye, see, he named it after his family name."
Currently accompanying Shard is Ciris, as Megan was whisked away by Miss Benanis stating, "Following Shard would lower your efficiency in organization."
"What effect does the Arcane Technique have?"
The golden-haired girl inquisitively asked from between the bookshelves.
"It’s a reconnaissance-related Arcane Technique, akin to those I currently possess: ’Echo of Blood’ and the ancient demon hunter’s ’Demon Vision’, both applied to the eyes. Its effect is singular: observe a specific target’s body to detect if any human alchemy has occurred. This ’human alchemy’ spans extensively, as long as the body hasn’t formed naturally, or been reshaped by my ’Active Soil’, it can be classified as ’human alchemy.’
"Meaning any non-natural body can be detected?"
Ciris summarized, and Shard nodded:
"Yes. Relic fusion, power bestowed by demons, petrification curse-induced bodily deformation in Randall Valley – all can be seen, even precisely locating deformations. Let me see the subsequent explanation..."
He flipped to the notebook pages:
"Diviners use this Arcane Technique to inspect the bodily changes of their experimental subjects, facilitating real-time monitoring of both benign and malignant deformation ranges... This fellow is truly a genius. Required Spirit Runes must be Enlightenment, ’Nature,’ ’Flesh,’ ’Truth,’ and ’Eye’ are also applicable."
Thus, Shard decided to learn this not only due to newly acquiring the Spirit Rune ’Flesh,’ but also because it’s genuinely useful. Even if not for boosting his investigative capabilities, it allows constant observation of whether the girls around him experience bodily anomalies.
Most of this afternoon was spent by Shard alongside Ciris. The young golden-haired girl walked with Shard throughout the underground space, chatting with him about studies, knowledge, and life. In hidden corners of the library or discreet corners such as relic containment rooms, Ciris didn’t mind getting intimate with Shard.
However, the trade-off for intimacy was that the group only managed basic item inventory completion this afternoon. More detailed checks are needed, work Shard entrusted to Megan. freёwebnovel.com
"You’ve certainly found leisure."
The twin sisters remarked, yet offered no objection.
