Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 12 Admissions

Dr. Schneider, in the midst of speaking, lifted his teacup and took a sip, then looked somewhat surprised into the cup:

"This black tea is quite nice."

"The Church and the Academy?"

Shard paid no mind to the former detective's taste in tea or what kind of person he really was, as he was processing this information.

"Yes, the Church can also train Circle Sorcerers. In fact, the official channels for training Circle Sorcerers, at least in my view, are the Church of the Five Great Deities and the Three Great Magics Academies. Other organizations like the Church of the Evil God, secret societies, ancient organizations, and various messy groups, either have irregular methods or are fraught with hidden dangers.

So, it was fortunate for both of us that you happened to meet me during your Talent Awakening period."

"Then, the Church..."

Compared to the origin-unknown Academy, Shard was actually more interested in a church that could cooperate officially with the kingdom. The doctor noticed this thought and nodded his head with a smile, understanding, then explained:

"The Academies and the True God Church are not adversaries; they even collaborate occasionally. However, the Church dislikes students from the Academy, whether they are correspondence students or regular students, considering us... attractors of trouble and makers of danger."

The doctor slightly raised his eyebrows, and seeing that Shard had no questions, continued:

"Thus, we Circle Sorcerers from the correspondence Academy exist legally, but we usually do not let the Church know about our status and presence. I know you might be interested in the Church, so please answer my question—"

The doctor's smile curved at the corners of his mouth:

"Getting a job at the Church requires a completely clean background, even if it's not clean and there are criminal records, a complete life track is necessary to confirm that you're not a dangerous person, can you provide that?"

Bill Schneider himself was a psychiatrist, and at this moment, it somewhat seemed like he was consulting a patient.

"You've investigated me?"

Shard blurted out, but immediately regretted saying it:

"Not investigating would be abnormal."

He thought to himself.

"I only investigated some basic information. After all, the Academy's enrollment also requires confirmation of the other party's identity. I could not recommend a dangerous person to the Academy. But since we're only correspondence, do you understand what correspondence means? Hence, the demands on identity are not as strict as the Church's."

Dr. Schneider smiled, looking across at the young detective sitting opposite:

"The awakening of a Circle Sorcerer influences a person's mind, which is why you've changed from the original Shard to the Shard you are now. Investigating your identity made me understand the fear and bewilderment in your eyes when I met you yesterday—it was really about 'waking up', wasn't it?"

He probably misunderstood the reason behind Shard's change from supposedly low intelligence to his current self, but Shard was happy to let him think so, thus he nodded as if his thoughts had been seen through:

"If I take this explanation to the Church..."

"That's also possible, but I would prefer you to first understand the Academy, to understand what a 'Circle Sorcerer' really is. Wouldn't making decisions be better after that? I believe you can understand, at least that I'm not a bad person," Dr. Schneider said. Shard nodded again, seeing the sense in the doctor's words. He replied seriously:

It must be admitted that even though the original detective had promised not to involve Shard, Shard was still worried.

"It's not a very troublesome matter, and it seems the perpetrator didn't make much effort to hide their traces because Sparrow Hamilton was just an ordinary person. Come with me now, I think we can resolve this before lunch. By the way, do you have a pistol?"

Dr. Schneider asked again.

"No."

Shard shook his head.

"Then please don't stand in front of me, I assure you that as long as you stay behind me, there will be no danger today. After all, the person we are up against is not a Circle Sorcerer."

Sparrow Hamilton had said as much before his death.

"Ordinary people cannot distinguish, and tend to see anyone who can use supernatural powers as a Circle Sorcerer. But for officially appointed Circle Sorcerers, it's easy to tell. After all, that person has no 'Fate's Ring', no accumulated Spirit, and cannot feel the four elements of 'Miracle', 'Enlightenment', 'Desecration', and 'Whisper'; he is just someone who got lucky with a 'Relic'..."

Dr. Schneider paused, then corrected himself:

"No, an unlucky fellow."

"You seem to have mentioned quite a few terms just now."

Shard said, though he had already heard about the four elements and the 'Relic', there was no need to show that at the moment.

"No worries, we can talk as we walk."

The detective profession was highly dangerous, and in his investigation, Dr. Schneider found that the former Detective Sparrow Hamilton had encountered an accident during a detective activity.

Perhaps to prevent Shard's investigation, Sparrow Hamilton had deleted all records of that commission before his death, but Dr. Schneider's information network had completely reconstructed the event.

"Come to think of it, you figured out the whole thing in one night?"

Shard did not forget to inquire, but Dr. Schneider evaded the question, saying he would tell him after this matter was over.

"This is the place."

The two left the square in a carriage (Dr. Schneider paid) and after nearly a two-hour journey crossing the city, they got off the carriage beside the Osel River.

As the water systems in Tobesk City, the Northern Royal Capital, are well-developed, inland water transport supports the thriving steam industry and commercial trade here.

Several rivers flow through Tobesk Urban Area, among them, Osel River is the river that flows through the north side of the city. Now, in the wet season of summer, the river's current was torrential.

This area was close to the edge of the city. Dr. Schneider mentioned that the City Hall planned to establish a new industrial zone nearby, leveraging the river traffic of Osel River to seek new development opportunities for Tobesk City, and to connect the industrial areas of the Northern Kingdom as well as complement the Kingdom's steam locomotive railway network.

But at least for now, there were still large swaths of wasteland nearby. After getting out of the carriage and looking around, only the buildings of Tobesk City were faintly visible in the misty distance.

"To avoid startling him, we'll start walking from here. I noticed your boots are well-suited for long walks. Mr. Hamilton, you probably haven't had breakfast yet, so after we deal with this, I'll take you for a meal,"

Dr. Schneider said, carrying his briefcase alongside Shard, who clutched his notebook, as they stepped into the grass next to the main road. Soon, they spotted a narrow path.