Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 1068: Mr. Booker the Collector

Chapter 1068: Chapter 1068: Mr. Booker the Collector

Miss Danester was quietly contemplating which Relic she could get her hands on, but most of these Relics had long been lost:

"Some can indeed be borrowed, but I must wait until I return to the Academy to contact the owners of those Relics. However, I learned from the True God Church that in the Keeper of Secrets’ Trial, there’s a task to find the Yellow Moon. In other words, there might be similar Relics right here in Tobesk."

She murmured softly, and since Shard shouldn’t have been present at the time, he pretended not to understand:

"If indeed such Relics can be found in Tobesk, this matter of searching for them will need your help, and I’ll be waiting for your good news."

"Yes, no problem. Compared to searching for the Core Spirit Rune, finding specific Relics is actually simpler, after all, the information is right there. Even if we can’t find them in Tobesk, we have other options once we return to the Academy. I still have some influence in the material world."

She stood up:

"Mr. Hamilton, no, let’s just call you Shard. Shard, I think the mystery of the Silvermoon Library will soon reveal itself to us, and I will not forget your contributions. Also, there may be significant events happening in the city in the coming weeks, so be cautious during this time."

"No problem."

Shard stood up and saw Miss Danester to the stairs.

Before the Female Sorcerer left, he took out a small crystal cylindrical bottle, about a quarter of the size of a pinky finger. This bottle was specially ordered by Shard from Old John, and it contained a liquid with sparkling glimmers:

"Miss Danester, this is for you, as a Year-End Festival gift."

He handed over the small bottle in the hall.

"There are still half a month until the Year-End Festival. Besides, the Academy has clear regulations prohibiting professors from casually accepting gifts from Correspondence Students."

Despite saying so, she still accepted the small bottle, using two fair fingers to hold it in front of her eyes and showing an incredulous expression.

"This is..."

Her right hand’s fingers emitted a red Moonlight, and when it touched the liquid, the originally near-transparent liquid reflected the same red light representing the Moon.

Miss Danester, standing in the hall, looked at Shard with some surprise:

"Is this the Water of Moonlight? The essence of the Moon that can only naturally form over centuries at specific locations?"

"Yes, you’ve recognized it? Truly remarkable."

Shard promptly shook his head.

But he didn’t need centuries; that quarter pinky-sized crystal container of "Water of Moonlight" was the amount he could make during one moonlit night.

"Even as a Year-End Festival gift, this is a bit too precious."

She shook the small bottle briefly, hesitated, and returned it to Shard:

"This is too precious, and you need it more than I do. I’m giving you a Magic Potion formula. Find a trustworthy Pharmacist to help you concoct it. This Potion can significantly enhance your Perception of the Moonlight Power, and the increase is permanent, which would be very useful for a Low Ring Sorcerer like you."

"No, no, I actually kept some for myself, so please accept this... The formula, however, I would gladly take."

Shard said with a smile, and Miss Danester also smiled, accepting the bottle and placing it in her waistband:

"I’ll have someone send it to you tomorrow, Shard, you’re quite remarkable."

Shard opened the door, and the Librarian Miss walked into the snow-covered Saint Delan Square, waved at him, and then turned around and disappeared into the night.

"Does this count as bribery?"

As Shard closed the door and was about to go back upstairs, he saw Luviya standing at the stairway corner, smiling and evidently having overheard the conversation just now.

"Bribery? No, no, how could this count as bribery? It’s merely using gifts to deepen my friendship with school officials, which will be very helpful in the future."

Shard bent down to pick up the cat on the stairs and walked towards Luviya at the top of the stairs:

"Moreover, the point here is not what I gave, but that Miss Danester accepted it... Is your work finished?"

"Of course not, but now the astrolabe is recording data automatically, so I came down to see you. Tonight, I might be busy until very late."

After saying that, he glanced at Shard, clearly wanting him to say something.

So Shard coughed and said:

"Then don’t go back, just stay here overnight. Although it hasn’t snowed outside, you know, it’s hard to walk at night, and yesterday MI6 was looking for the lost girl."

The purple-eyed girl revealed a faint smile and walked upstairs with Shard:

"Tell me about the lost girl from MI6. You can take your time."

(Mia running...)

It can be foreseen that the Chosen One Ceremony will begin, probably after Sir Plisha returns to Huntington City with the visiting group. And to ensure the Chosen One qualification does not fall into the second place of Miss Pavo, this time, Luviya does not intend to deal with Sir Plisha in advance.

On Monday morning, after giving the crystal ball taken from the gift box to Luviya and accepting the task of personally cleaning the inside glass of the bedroom before the weekend, Shard set off to meet Sir Plisha at the entrance of the Nature Chapel on the east of the city.

The relic that Sir Plisha invited Shard to contain yesterday was a Scribe Level Relic, the , though it’s more widely known by the name . Judging by its official name, it’s hard to deduce the properties of the book, but the widely spread name indicates the book’s specific function—

The is a book with no text, but once someone observes the pages inside, knowledge appears on the book. The more intelligent a person is, the more useful content they can see; conversely, the more foolish a person is, the less knowledge they see. This book is said to be written by an Ancient Prophet of the Fourth Era, and the knowledge on it mostly relates to that Prophet, according to legend.

This book is only rated as Scribe Level because many people truly cannot see any text on it, and those who can see text often do not find the content dangerous.

Because to most people, it’s a book without words, which is why it’s named , insinuating that most people are actually fools. However, the negative trait of this book is that intelligent people sometimes go irreversibly insane after reading it, leading them to complete madness.

So, the also suggests that those who can see its content are actually the real fools. After all, given the book’s level of danger, not reading it is truly an act of wisdom.

Currently, the is in the hands of Mr. Booker, a stingy private collector in the Tobesk Eastern District. He runs a club and a library, where the library uses the common membership system of this era, requiring a monthly fee to access and an additional fee for copying or taking books home.

If it were just that, Sir Plisha could have gotten the book himself, but according to his investigation, Mr. Booker has already been influenced by the , and as a result, he has gained some mysterious powers.

For safety reasons, he decided to call upon Shard to act together. After all, no matter how careful one is when containing relics, it’s never too much, even for a Scribe Level relic; if it gets out of control and the right scenario arises, even a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer might find it troublesome.

Mr. Booker is a reasonably stout, half-bald middle-aged man, wearing glasses, aged forty-three. Sir Plisha had made an appointment in advance so they could enter the library directly on this morning.

The library has a dedicated reception room, where Mr. Booker welcomed the two guests. This gentleman, accustomed to a comfortable life, has many servants, and shortly after everyone was seated, hot tea and refreshments were served to them.

During the self-introduction and handshake, Shard perceived traces of the Whisper Element on Mr. Booker. For a Circle Sorcerer, this is not surprising, but for an ordinary person, it often means major trouble.

For holders of the , asking them to voluntarily hand over the book is impossible, especially now since Mr. Booker has already gained "power" from it, so the two relic retrievers need some tricks.

Sir Plisha’s reason for the appointment was to purchase another book, and after some casual conversation and signing a book purchase agreement with Mr. Booker, he suddenly asked:

"Mr. Booker, you also know, I’m a foreigner from the United Kingdom of Carsonrick, and I will return to my country next week. I wonder if I have the chance to view your private collection? I’ve admired your reputation for a long time."

A book collector as renowned as Mr. Booker would certainly have his treasures. This time, Mr. Booker agreed after just a moment of thought.

Partly because Sir Plisha offered an extremely high purchase price for the book, and partly because, in the eyes of an ordinary person without a noble title like Mr. Booker, both Plisha and Shard’s identities are very respectable.

The library’s collection room is in the basement area, which looks like it was remodeled from the house’s cellar. To enter the collection room, they opened two doors and three locks in total, of which the innermost metal door’s lock is equipped with the most advanced gear piston structure, controlled by an independent steam pressure system.

Even to a well-informed outlander, the technical level is quite impressive.

Of course, in the face of Sorcery’s , these non-mysterious locks are completely insignificant.

In contrast to the expensive and elaborate security measures are Mr. Booker’s invaluable book collection and a collection room decorated as splendidly as a museum exhibit.

He eagerly introduced his collection to Shard and Sir Plisha one by one, proudly boasting about how much each of them is worth in Gold Pounds.

Even someone like Shard, who completely knows nothing about books, could understand the tremendous value of old books like and .

Of course, his attention was not always on Mr. Booker’s collection. The conversations with Mr. Booker were primarily handled by Sir Plisha, while Shard just followed behind them and discreetly put on a ring.