Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 999 - 999 The 3rd Floor of the Obsidian Tower

As soon as Shard finished speaking, not only Miss Teresa, but even the six Miss Maids and Miss Violet were startled. The Witch Empress suddenly reached out her hand to cover Shard's mouth, and then uneasily looked toward the tower, ensuring no other strange occurrences, before lowering her voice to scold:

"Shard, you must not speak such words lightly. Even if you do not worship this Great One, you must hold reverence for the Deities."

Because deities truly exist in this world, and genuine miracles occur, the reverence people have for gods is innate and heartfelt, not the result of years of deception by con men.

Shard also knew that such words should not be spoken carelessly, but he believed his concerns were not unfounded:

"Better bring this sword along."

He still hadn't put down the weapon:

"The third trial's situation is still unknown. In my opinion, the deity residing in the tower would not mind me having this."

Miss Violet furrowed her attractive brows, looking at Shard:

"Sir, you must promise me that under no circumstances shall you use this weapon."

"What do you think I would do?"

Shard knew she misunderstood him; this lady probably thought he was a madman:

"Have Miss Teresa hold it."

He handed the sword to the Tenth Rank Witch of Xerxes, who looked uneasily at the Witch Empress, and only after seeing her nod did she grip the sword tightly, saying very nervously:

"Mr. Hamilton, unless it's absolutely necessary, I will not return this sword to you."

It seems she also misunderstood Shard's intentions.

In any case, time was running out. Shard had no opportunity to explain the reason for his abrupt speech earlier. He made a gesture of invitation, then pushed open the door of the Obsidian Tower.

The six maids in black-and-white dresses instinctively stepped back to the edge of the safe area, Miss Teresa took deep breaths to calm her nerves, while only Miss Violet remained composed.

She watched as the breeze from inside the tower left the first trace on Shard's cheek. The crack, like golden flames burnt out, spread across his body as he entered the tower, and the spark-like golden light traces scattered as his clothes swayed.

"What a pity, he cannot stay."

Miss Violet tossed her hat to the maid and gently pushed the clearly still frightened Miss Teresa to follow:

"After all, he is not a man of this time... just how far in the future does he come from... if only..."

With the experience of the first two times, once again Shard led the way, with Miss Teresa holding the Night Watchman almost flush against his back, and Miss Violet walked at the rear.

The first floor of the tower was a calm lake surface enveloped in mist, the clear water lying flat like a mirror under an unknown light source, yet making one imagine if there was an endless abyss beneath their feet.

To get from the first to the second floor, one must pass an invisible staircase that only appears when touched. Fortunately, the locations of these steps remained constant, and with a good memory, going upstairs this time was much quicker than before.

The second floor of the tower featured a landscape half riverbank, half stream. Last time, after Shard tossed three papers into the water, the deity rose from the lake. But this time, upon reaching the second floor, the stream hummed as it flowed, with the pebbles on the lakeside riverbank even identical to before, yet there was no staircase leading upward.

"Do we still need to find our way upstairs ourselves?"

Miss Violet cautiously asked, while Miss Teresa looked a bit pale, though the deity was on a higher level this time, so no additional support was needed yet.

"The last time we threw things into the stream, the deity appeared. Is it the same this time?"

Shard speculated, meanwhile rummaging through toys in his pocket. Before his departure this time, he had prepared several books, ultimately finding one titled "The Art of Mathematics," a mathematics primer from the Sixth Epoch of the Steam Age.

Kneeling by the stream, he carefully placed the book into the flowing water, the icy clear water soaking his fingers, but the thickly printed mathematical textbook did not sink into the water.

Shard stood up and quickly backed away, watching with the two ladies as the book floated downstream. Even though the area of the second floor was far larger than it appeared from outside, it was ultimately finite. As the book reached the stream's end, ripples appeared on the crystal-clear water's surface. The slender stream engulfed the book, and then it was like the water was traced by a brush, floating upward from the water, precisely delineating a staircase made of water, extending towards the high place seen in the air:

"As expected."

Shard exhaled a sigh of relief, silently noting to himself how gods and angels related to the Ancient God "Secret-Keeping Mentor" seemed to fondly enjoy fairy tale-like situations.

Time is running out, he was about to take the lead and walk up the stream to explore, but a hand behind him pressed his shoulder.

He turned his head, and Miss Violet's dark golden eyes were looking at him:

"We don't have time for idle chat now, so I want to ask you: After this trial is over, you won't be coming back, will you?"

Miss Teresa, who was wearing glasses, opened her mouth but said nothing.

Shard nodded:

"Yes... Miss Violet, Miss Teresa, it's been a pleasure to meet you both."

"Though I had expected this, it's still disappointing. Since I advanced to the Thirteenth Rank, it's the first time I've seen a treasured thing slip away from my hands."

The Witch Empress said rather wistfully, then unceremoniously reached out to touch Shard's face. After Shard tried to dodge but failed, she moved her hand away:

"If there were time, I'd love to taste you. It's not just because you're a man a witch can interact with, I also fancy your soul and body, you should be honored."

Those beautiful eyes looked at Shard, and Shard didn't know what to say. The nature of Witch Empresses was indeed as he anticipated.

Miss Teresa blushed and tugged at Miss Violet's sleeve, but the latter didn't care:

"Schultz, oh Schultz, you should always express what you desire, especially as a Thirteenth Rank Witch like me. There's no need to hide your thoughts; that would make me look ridiculous."

She was still educating her distant niece; it seemed that their relationship was pretty good usually:

"His time is short, after accompanying us to see the deity, he probably won't have time to return to the tower for a chat. Schultz, is there anything you want to say? You can treat this as a farewell."

The witch with glasses hesitantly looked at Shard, her face slightly red:

"Thank you for your help. I... hope you never forget us."

Miss Violet shook her head with a smile:

"Let's go, Shard, face the final test. Although this is a final farewell, I will remember you."

She didn't seem to be joking; when she talked about parting, there was no regret, only melancholy:

"Yes, I will certainly remember you."

The two High Rank Witches also had the ability to walk on water. Led by Shard, the three of them crossed the stream and walked up the staircase made of the stream. After swiftly ascending 23 steps, the clouds shrouding the sky suddenly parted, revealing the door at the top of the water staircase.

"Finally..."

It was a water curtain door, very similar to the door Shard saw when he last visited the Lake Goddess with Professor Drake.

Only this time, they brushed aside the silk-like water curtain with their hand. Upon reaching the third level, the third level of the tower was not an unimaginably magical environment.

Behind the door was calm lake water, with a Heart Lake Island the size of Shard's bedroom in the center of the lake. The sky was shrouded in gray fog, making the distance between sky and water seem particularly close. Natural light remained dim, neither like day nor like the transition between day and night; rather, it resembled the smoggy weather frequently seen in Tobesk City. The oppressive gloom instinctively weighed down one's mood.

"Another Heart Lake Island?"

The deities, angels, and relics related to the Secret-Keeping Mentor all favored scenes like Heart Lake Island. And the familiar setting made Shard weigh the possibility of the third trial being "defeat me" again.

Even though the area of Heart Lake Island is very small, so is the dark lake. The island is not far from the water curtain door, and because the island is so small, Shard could take in its entirety at a glance.

The island was not barren; lush green grass covered the ground, and in the center stood a small wooden cabin. Along the side of the cabin, a fence enclosed a chicken coop and vegetable garden, and behind the cabin was a towering tree of indiscernible species, its canopy covering most of the island. Considering the narrowness of the island, the cabin itself occupied only the size of Shard's cloakroom, similar to a small hut temporarily used by forest rangers or hunters.

Shard walked at the front, with Miss Violet supporting Miss Teresa behind. As the three of them ascended the island from the direction the cabin door faced, the wooden board door, which even Mia could charge through, was pushed open, and a deity radiating a gentle glow walked out.

The manifested form of the deity was still that of the lady with blonde hair and black eyes, wearing a scholar's robe that wasn't flashy, with a pointed hat. Only the glasses looked somewhat special, the left lens shaped like a pentagram, the right lens like an equilateral triangle.

In this dreary and oppressive environment, the gentle glow from the deity's body was quite relaxing, at least Shard thought so. But the appearance of the deity meant its very existence began to spontaneously affect the environment. At this moment, Miss Teresa behind had already placed all her weight on Miss Violet. Although the Thirteenth Rank Great Witch also felt uncomfortable, she could barely hold on.

She merely thought that her distant niece was quite incorrigible, always immature like young girls.