Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 1069: Book of the Fool and [Source of Chaos]

Chapter 1069: Chapter 1069: Book of the Fool and [Source of Chaos]

Upon noticing the predetermined gesture made by Sir with his right hand hidden behind his back, Shard, walking behind the two men, suddenly coughed and said to Mr. Booker:

"Mr. Booker, look at this?"

His left hand touched the "Mind Crystal Ring" on his hand, and as Mr. Booker turned his head, Shard’s eyes stared directly into Mr. Booker’s eyes. Under the intense mental assault, the slightly chubby half-bald man immediately fell unconscious, but after collapsing to the ground, his whole body convulsed for a moment, then, as if manipulated by strings, he eerily stood up again with his eyes closed.

"Indeed, he has already been controlled by the Book of the Fool."

Sir Plisha said, then nodded to Shard:

"Mr. Hamilton, as per the plan, I’ll hold him off, and you go find the book."

Since Shard had previously mentioned his special ability to locate items, he was responsible for the search.

"No problem, but do you need my help here?"

Shard asked, noticing that the Five-Ring Life Ring behind Sir Plisha was already manifesting.

The Core Spirit Rune [Finger] glowed a Spiritual Light, and in the void appeared a revolting, giant seven-fingered hand with skin that seemed blistered and rotten.

This appeared to be an undead summoning ability, which, when used with the Core Spirit Rune, became even more powerful.

"Detective, by finding that book quickly, you are doing the greatest help to me."

As he spoke, Sir Plisha was already facing the convulsing Mr. Booker, whose body flipped layer by layer like pages of paper.

Shard nodded, leaving the basement via the stairs, having already confirmed that the book was not in the basement.

Seeing Shard had left, the middle-aged noble from the Southern Nation took out a small pocket book, throwing it toward the Life Ring behind him.

"Clearly, a relic-level book has significant resistance to my Library Retrieval."

Back on the first floor of the library, Shard attempted to cast a spell, but nothing happened. It wasn’t a case of nothing truly happening; rather, there was a very noticeable resistance, indicating the relic was indeed here.

"Can you find the source of the resistance?"

Shard asked in his mind.

[I can only sense the general area of the resistance’s location with you as the center.]

Thus, Shard moved to different spots in the library, repeatedly attempting to summon the book. Meanwhile, "she" noted the possible ranges of the resistance’s origin, finally pinpointing the overlap in the library’s southwest corner, the same room where Mr. Booker had received them earlier.

Once they settled on the general location, there was no need to use Library Retrieval to probe for the relic. Shard began touching every potential hiding place for the relic in order to detect traces of the Whisper element up close.

Judging by Mr. Booker’s current state, the relic was nearing a semi-out-of-control state. In such a state, the Whisper element would be even more pronounced.

Just as Shard suspected, it didn’t take long for him to sense elemental traces near the chair on which Mr. Booker had been sitting. Upon careful inspection, he sliced open the chair’s soft backing to retrieve the book sewn inside.

"Found it!"

The book’s cover was a brownish hue, appearing as though it had been freshly printed last week, with no stains or creases. The title on the cover was Book of the Fool, with a complex lozenge-shaped geometric symbol below. Shard recalled Luviya mentioning this symbol; it represented the Spirit Knowledge School within the School of Divination, suggesting a reliance on innate inspiration rather than divination tools to grasp vague fates.

According to Luviya, Sister Delphine’s Order of Spiritual Practice might very well be the Spirit Knowledge School. Although the nun had never demonstrated any divination abilities, Luviya had learned a great deal during their last detailed conversation—things even Shard didn’t know.

[Do you want to open it and see, to check if you are just a fool who can only see paper pages?]

"She" suggested with a laugh, as Shard placed the book on the table and retrieved a bottle of Holy Water from his pocket, pressing it down on the book that trembled as if something inside sought to escape:

"This is what Sir Plisha wanted; I won’t open it without permission. Besides, I’ll ask him later—he won’t mind if I take a look."

"She" chuckled, while Shard took out the containment items the Sir had given him earlier. Firstly, he used a red thread to bind the book in a cross pattern, then wrapped it in the skin of a triangular antelope.

Once the book’s trembling and the Whisper element had significantly diminished, Shard placed his hand on the antelope skin:

"Prophets are liars, and diviners are full of nonsense."

He murmured, and the book ceased to move completely.

To be safe, Shard didn’t remove the book from the antelope skin but took it with him to the basement. By then, the battle in the basement had concluded, and Sir Plisha was modifying Mr. Booker’s memory using Arcane Technique.

Shard also stepped forward to assist, and as Sir Plisha saw Shard pouring Holy Water into Mr. Booker’s mouth, he remarked with a smile, noting how the detective living in Saint Delan Square was certainly quite wealthy.

Mr. Booker was rather fortunate; just like Professor Manning before him, the relic’s influence on him wasn’t irreversible. Although he would suffer from headaches and neuralgia for a long time afterward, he still had the potential for a full recovery.

However, unlike with Professor Manning, Mr. Booker’s memory of the incident was completely erased. Since Sir Plisha would be leaving Tobesk with the visiting group the day after tomorrow, Shard would frequently visit him in the following period to monitor his recovery.

As for the Book of the Fool, it was naturally taken away by the two of them, considered a reward for saving him. This brief hour-and-a-half mission could indeed be deemed a standard relic containment operation.

"I never expected it to be so smooth; usually, retrieving relics often meets with trouble."

On the return carriage, Shard was still marveling, while Sir Plisha checked that book, showing a thoughtful expression upon opening it. However, after flipping through a few pages, he showed a disappointed expression.

"What, is the book not useful to you?"

Shard asked curiously, and the Sir shook his head:

"It’s useful, but not as useful as imagined."

He hesitated for a moment and handed the book to Shard:

"This is for you, Detective, consider it the reward for helping me retrieve the relic this time."

"Hmm?"

Shard hesitantly accepted the book:

"Are you sure? I help you retrieve the relic, and the reward turns out to be the relic itself?"

"I have already seen the contents of this book, and what I’m looking for has already been found. Keeping this book with me serves no purpose, and next, I need to go on a long journey which isn’t suitable for carrying such an unfamiliar relic."

The middle-aged gentleman from the Southern Nation said helplessly:

"Moreover, it’s just fundamentally needed to be passed along. Should I act like the collector just now and lock the knowledge firmly in the basement?"

Seeing him say so, Shard accepted the book but insisted on giving Sir Plisha some money, as if purchasing "The Book of the Fool" from him, while planning to give Luviya the book as a Year-End Festival gift.

"Give Dorothy the demon’s remnant, ’Itran’s Pen’, give Luviya ’The Book of the Fool’, give Iluna ’Sunfire’, what to give Lecia..."

The carriage moved forward slowly, and Shard also imitated Sir Plisha’s action, flipping through the book to check its contents.

What unfolded before him was certainly not blank pages, but a small piece of information about the relic:

Sage-Level Relic "Source of Chaos", also known as "Yellow Moon Orb", appearing as a perfectly round and flawless bead with self-luminous traits. Containment method: Hide in the dark, exposure to direct sunlight within one day should not exceed three hours, or else the likelihood of solar eclipses and associated disasters increases significantly in the area.

Note: The aftermath of solar eclipse associated disasters is usually incalculable.

Positive Trait 1: Moon

In any scenario, this item can be regarded as the yellow moon. Throwing it overhead allows it to float and follow. The item’s glimmer can only be suppressed by few methods directly; in all other cases, it cannot be extinguished.

Note: The initial moon was a silver moon, but the yellow moon inherited the meaning itself of the moon.

Positive Trait 2: Guidance

Carrying this item provides directional guidance for proceeding correctly when in a maze, primal forest, large city, etc.

Note: It can only guide directions to find the way out, not to search for a goal unknown to oneself.

Positive Trait 3: Chaos

If this item is embedded into the right eye, it grants the Demon Eye trait, enabling the possession of at least five material-less and consumption-free spellcasting abilities including Chaos Magic, and greatly enhances any abilities directly causing intelligent creatures’ madness or loss of reason. Embedding in the left eye is ineffective.

Note: In Mysticism, the left eye is associated with the sun.

Positive Trait 4: Moon Sanctuary

If this item is placed in a location over a long time, the site gains the Moon Sanctuary traits; within such a scenario, using moon rituals or learning related knowledge enhance efficiency and success rate.

Note: Due to requiring long-term continuous placement, using the relic in such a way is very wasteful.

Negative Trait 1: Muddle

When this item is exposed for long by the true yellow moon’s glimmer, the item’s glow has a similar effect as the "Mass Confusion Aura".

Note: This effect bypasses most resistances and is highly likely to cause mass incidents. When exposed continuously to moonlight for over three years, ten months, and three days, any mundane objects cannot approach the item.

Negative Trait 2: Nightmares

Carrying this item for a long time increases the likelihood of entering nightmares. The specific nightmare content cannot be described, and is suspected to be related to the split of the Primal Moon and the departure of Ancient God [#￥@%]. Nightmares increase the likelihood of Transcendent loss of control, if encountering a nightmare, necessitating avoiding the item for three lunar cycles.

Note: This relic is highly likely from (unreadable).

Message: For Astrologers and Moon Worshippers, this is a treasure beyond measure.]