Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 19 The Female Writer and the Tuition Fee

[You've come into contact with 'Whisper'.]

Just one glance at the exquisitely crafted snuff bottle was enough to deeply captivate Shard.

Shard had seen more intricately crafted objects in his world, but at that moment, he felt an overwhelming desire to possess this one. Fortunately, the woman's voice pulled his thoughts back on track, and Dr. Schneider simply smiled at Shard's lapse:

"Even a Poet-Level 'Relic' can affect ordinary people, which is why the Church and the Academy try to contain and control 'Relics' as much as possible. However, you have really recovered quickly... Once I open it, you will fall into a dream. The dream will last for 7 minutes and 23 seconds, during which you will understand the past and present of the Academy.

This will help you believe what I have told you."

"Such a precise time?"

Shard asked, then leaned back slightly on the couch under the doctor's guidance, assuming a comfortable position conducive to napping.

"Almost every Circle Sorcerer who joins Saint Byrons via correspondence goes through this 'Relic' to confirm the information they have received. It has been used countless times without fail,"

the doctor said with a smile.

This "never failed" phrasing, on the contrary, caused Shard some worry, but he did not voice his feelings and instead signaled the doctor to begin.

"Alright, please prepare—"

The doctor stood up, covering his mouth and nose with a wet towel to prevent himself from falling asleep as well, and took a step back:

"Begin."

The lid of the pot was opened, and a rainbow-colored smoke billowed out, causing Shard to lose consciousness immediately.

Shard had a dream, in which his spirit left his body and ascended into the distant sky above the bustling Steam City shrouded in grey fog, observing steam factories puffing out thick smoke in the distance...

He then flew northward, over cities, over mountains, over grasslands, over forests, until he saw snow-capped peaks and, beyond the tallest mountain, the immense ice cap of the Far North.

Perhaps it was only a moment, or perhaps it was several hours or even days, but the sky in the Far North grew dim. In that dark night, beneath the colorful aurora borealis, behind the luminous glacial mountains, emerged a huge complex of buildings.

It was a strange dream like none he had ever had. When Shard woke up, he only remembered walking through the vast Academy, strolling through ancient castles, looking up at the starry sky from the top of spires. He weaved through amphitheaters with rows of seats, searched for herbal medicine recipes in the basement, and checked the list of contained 'Relics' in the library...

Mysterious, ancient, profound, secretive—that is Saint Byrons Integrated Academy, but also a meeting place for Mystery Seekers. Standing from the remote past to the present, behind the ice glaciers of the Far North.

It seemed that the atmosphere among the doctor's group of four Correspondence Circle Mages was quite good; they were all friends, at least, and Shard was happy about this. But he also guessed that this blonde novelist lady might have been listening in on the conversation outside the door.

"It's really not possible for everyone to be completely off guard."

He thought to himself, preparing to stand up and greet her.

The doctor sidestepped the blonde lady's question with a laugh and gestured for Miss Luisa to take a seat:

"Hamilton Detective has already accepted my invitation, and now our group finally has five Circle Mages."

"Doctor, are you sure you didn't use some strange Relic to overdraw your luck?"

She voiced her suspicion but still came in and extended her hand to Shard:

"Dorothy Luisa, novelist and part-time journalist."

Miss Luisa seemed very adept at what she was doing, so Shard also stood up and shook her hand lightly:

"Shard Hamilton, I guess you could call me a detective."

"That's a rather fine profession, isn't it?"

As they sat down again, the doctor cleared his throat, hinting that he had some business to discuss:

"Shard, please allow me to call you that. There's one last thing before your formal enrollment, I need to talk to you about the tuition fees."

A jolt went through Shard's heart, and the blissful feelings were once again dispelled by the sad reality; he blinked:

"Yes... tuition fees."

He realized that when the doctor introduced the Church and the Academy, he hadn't mentioned the significant downside of the Academy; for surely, the True God Church wouldn't charge money to accept members.

"The school's fees are based on the academic level. Just a second..."

Dr. Schneider took a document from behind a bookshelf at his desk, and the blonde lady didn't speak, instead looking on with interest at the two of them.

"This is the fee schedule. Since we are correspondence students and don't communicate directly with the Academy, these documents were made by the Academy to prevent group leaders from overcharging... apparently, such incidents were quite common centuries ago."