Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 63 The Professor's Departure

As the raven flew away, Suren thought to himself: having a pet is quite convenient.

Maybe I should get a dog, or even teach it to perform rituals and become an extraordinary being?

Suren walked along, lost in thought. Before long, he arrived at his front door, and just as he was about to push it open, a voice interrupted him.

"Sulen!"

Carl was standing in the corridor when he jogged up to Suren, his chest heaving and his hair disheveled. He said anxiously, "Professor Deventer is gone."

Looking at the panting Karl, Suren shook her head helplessly: "Go inside and talk about it slowly."

The two went inside, and Suren poured Karl a glass of ice water. Karl took the glass, took a big gulp, and let out a long sigh of relief, finally able to finish his sentence: "I just went to Professor Derwent's house. He said he had some things to take care of and left in a hurry."

Suren pulled out a chair and sat down. He wasn't too surprised by the news; in fact, Suren even felt that the professor's departure today was somewhat risky.

Fortunately, Leonard hasn't found the professor yet. Hopefully, the professor can live a peaceful life in a private estate, tending flowers, reading books, and staying away from the turmoil.

Thinking of this, Suren forced a smile and said, "The professor told me before that he's getting old and is planning to buy a private estate to retire. Maybe he's had a change of heart today."

Hearing Suren's words, Karl scratched his head and pursed his lips: "Isn't it the same here? We can go see him from time to time."

"Now I've lost another friend in Loren Town." His gaze lingered on Suren's face, and he glared at her as if emphasizing something important. "Now it's just you left. You can't be like the professor, just leaving whenever you want."

"Where can I go? Unlike you, who's about to become a saint in 'Libraton'." Suren agreed verbally, but felt a little bitter inside. Once he advanced, it would be time to part ways with Karl.

Unaware of Suren's unusual behavior, Karl slapped the table: "Don't worry, I'll have Professor Leonard take you along. The 'Deathbird Brotherhood' of 'Libraton' is much more impressive than the one in Loren Town."

"Okay. Okay." Suren nodded helplessly.

After chatting for a while, and seeing off Karl who was still grumbling, Suren finally had a chance to sit down and rest for a bit.

His muscles were still a little sore. He sorted out his thoughts, took a few things out of the ring, and placed them on the table.

A crystal-clear blue sphere—the "Heart of Domination"—along with a bottle of bright red "Source Knowledge Structure Stabilizer," a "Nymph Teardrop Orchid," and a "Azure Crystal."

Now, all that's needed is to hold a ceremony to create "Source Knowledge Essence" from "Dominion Demon Heart Seal," "Nymph Teardrop Orchid," and "Azure Crystal," and then perform an ascension ceremony with "Source Knowledge Structure Stabilizer." Suren will then be an "Awakener."

Suren breathed a sigh of relief; now it was up to Mr. Charles Russell to provide any useful information.

Out of caution, Suren planned to obtain sufficient information before advancing in rank; rashly using ritual incantations that might not be correct was too risky. Suren wouldn't gamble unless absolutely necessary.

After putting the items away, Suren looked at the bundle of spider silk and the special "demon heart" in the ring and was somewhat troubled. After Professor Derwent left, he had no way to deal with these materials.

Suren didn't want to sell the two materials either, after all, the spider was an extremely rare dual-attribute "Dominion Magic".

If he had the chance, he would ask bald Kirby if he had any information about this special demon. Suren stopped thinking about it and took off his somewhat dirty uniform. Dragging his tired body, he washed up and went to rest.

As night fell, Suren lay in bed, his breathing steady. But his left hand was deathly pale, with veins bulging beneath his skin like slippery tentacles.

On the other side of the room, in the bathroom mirror, a figure flashed across the surface, like an illusion.

Suren silently opened his eyes. He sat up and looked at his left hand. His left hand had returned to normal, and the tentacle-like veins had disappeared. But Suren knew that the strange movement just now was real.

He knew this was a sign of the "evil spirit in the mirror" invading him. He sighed, looked at the moonlight outside the window, lay down, and closed his eyes.

Time dragged on agonizingly, and soon it was the end of the month. During this time, Suren didn't choose to retaliate against Edmund; after all, his promotion was more important, and he wasn't in good shape. He planned to wait until his deal with the merchant was finished before considering other matters.

This day happened to be a Monday, which was also the day of the routine assembly at the duty station.

Carl and Suren walked on the stone path in the early morning. Carl was gesturing wildly as he talked to Suren about what he and Leonard had learned in the past three days.

It must be said that Leonard truly deserves his reputation as a saint with the title of genius; his level is indeed very high, and under his tutelage, Karl has made very rapid progress.

At this rate, Karl will be able to accumulate enough "scale" in less than ten days, at which point he can apply for promotion and achieve his long-awaited class leap to become a formal butler.

"Let me tell you, Professor Leonard is not only very knowledgeable, but he is also completely different from those old-fashioned people in the church. He advocates pragmatism and believes that any useful subject is worth studying!" Carl said excitedly.

Suren frowned. Did this mean that Leonard might be secretly researching those forbidden subjects? This was not good for Karl; he might be implicated.

However, considering the other party's status as a saint, the church's higher-ups would probably not allow him to touch upon those forbidden knowledge, so Suren didn't say anything more.

The two pushed open the door of the duty station, stood in their positions with practiced ease, and waited for the assembly to begin.

A short while later, Corrigan pushed open the door and walked into the duty station.

Unlike his usual perfunctory attitude at gatherings, Corrigan was unusually serious this time. He first briefly discussed some routine topics that were always mentioned at each gathering—contributions, intelligence, and the like.

Then he turned around and looked around the room, his gaze sweeping from the "hound" to the "deathbird," and raised his voice.

"According to relatively reliable intelligence, the 'Eternal Oath Knights' are currently active in Loren Town. You should be careful when you are active recently." He paused, his tone becoming somewhat serious. "This organization is the most hostile to church members of all civilian organizations. If you encounter them, do not hesitate to protect yourselves."

"In addition, everyone is probably aware of the recent arrival of the 'Frostblade Saints' in Loren Town," he said, taking out a rolled-up piece of paper, about 20 centimeters wide, from his pocket. "Regarding the 'Prometheus Manuscript,' this gentleman has also made some progress in his investigation."

Upon hearing Corrigan's words, Suren's heart tightened.

At this moment, Corrigan had already unfolded the paper, which depicted a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

"Augustus de Winter, in collusion with the Gate of Truth, secretly possessed the Prometheus Manuscript and studied forbidden electrical science."

Suren took a deep breath and clenched his fist.