Chapter 1232: Chapter 1232: Power of the Earth
“It’s definitely not the power of time, I didn’t sense any temporal fluctuations.”
Shard handed the brooch to the witch, who accepted it with great interest. She then walked in the direction the unicorn had left, and at a certain point, the unicorn’s hoofprints suddenly disappeared, indicating it probably took off and flew a short distance away.
Continuing the pursuit, all traces vanished. So the witch used spellcasting materials—her own small stone statue—to perform a High Ring Sorcery that directly perceived the moving objects in the entire woodland, but the elf and the unicorn were still nowhere to be seen:
“There’s reason to believe they have already left Randall Valley. But that doesn’t seem right; the unicorn’s flying speed isn’t that fast.”
“Maybe the power of space?”
Shard also did not know the reason for their disappearance:
“But it seems like she is… a current student of Saint Byrons Integrated Academy. That cloak she wore, I’ve seen it before at Saint Byrons. It’s not the academy’s uniform, but I’ve seen a similar style. Also, at Saint Byrons, it’s typically the elves’ responsibility to care for the unicorn population.”
The last time he took a carriage to Saint Byrons, he saw a similar cloak, a fact Miss Danester mentioned to Shard in casual conversation about the situation at Saint Byrons.
The witch nodded:
“Your guess is correct. The earth tells me she’s not a child of the southern lands; she’s a child of the Far North glacier lands. She was born in the Far North.”
The witch presented her own speculation:
“That elf girl is a student of Saint Byrons. Through some unknown means, that juvenile unicorn first arrived here, and she discovered the unicorn was lost before coming to find it.”
“From the Far North to Randall Valley? Crossing the entire Old Continent? Fascinating—how did she manage it?”
Shard looked around under the moonlight but found nothing.
“It doesn’t matter, as long as they’re not enemies. If she really is a student of Saint Byrons, it’s her who should be worried. Once found out as having left the academy without permission, the punishment isn’t merely repeating a year.”
The blonde witch sighed rather wistfully:
“I originally thought I might acquire a unicorn. But this makes sense; the largest unicorn populations in the Material World are indeed with the Three Major Academies.”
“Let’s return. It’s three o’clock now, and we can still rest for a while after getting back to the city.”
Shard understood the witch’s feelings, much like how he hoped Miss Gawder would let him have Mia, only to discover the lady refused.
“What am I thinking, how unlucky.”
He hurriedly dispelled these thoughts.
“Alright, Shard, let’s go back.”
She nodded lightly, this time directly addressing Shard by name.
“Speaking of which, since you can sense the birthplace of an individual, my birthplace is…?”
“The central northern part of the Old Continent.”
This matched the background investigated by Saint Byrons.
(Iluna is praying…)
Tuesday, five in the morning during winter in Tobesk, the earth remained shrouded in the deep darkness of night.
On Feather Quill Street, a blonde girl in pajamas was sleeping sweetly in her bed. Suddenly hearing a cat’s meow, she opened her eyes to find Mia had stood up beside the pillow, looking toward the window, where a black shadow seemed to be outside.
With a slight wiggle of the finger, the curtains automatically opened, revealing Shard squatting on the windowsill outside, smiling at her.
“Oh, Shard, what are you doing?”
Half surprised, half reproachful, Miss Writer hurriedly opened the window to let Shard in.
“Didn’t you say you’d come find me as soon as you got back? Am I interrupting your rest?”
“It’s okay; I went to bed early last night. You actually climbed up to the windowsill; this is the third floor. If the police see you, you’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
She closed the window, shutting the cold wind outside, then turned to find Shard already holding the excited cat. The cat rubbed against Shard’s chest, then curiously sniffed his hand before showing a displeased expression, but no one cared about it at the moment.
“Shard, you didn’t stay up all night solving things, did you?”
“Yes, everything was resolved smoothly! You can’t imagine the story I witnessed! It was quite interesting.”
“Seriously, you should take care of your health.”
She whispered, reaching out to help Shard remove his coat:
“Rest here for a while; I’ll wake you up for breakfast later.”
“How could I? The landlady wouldn’t allow me to stay overnight. Though she won’t find out, I shouldn’t break the rules either.”
Shard emphasized:
“No need to break rules for my sake.”
Dorothy showed a gentle smile:
“You really are something. Alright then, give me a moment, I’ll change clothes and join you at Saint Delan Square… to sleep.”
Even though Dorothy was woken up, she was surprisingly in a good mood:
“Of course, just to sleep. You should also take care of yourself. I know you’re strong, but how could you not know to cherish yourself?”
After returning home, Shard slept for two hours. At eight, Dorothy woke him up for breakfast, and he spent the entire morning resting at home.
Dorothy left in the afternoon, satisfied after hearing the story of Sister Perry from Shard. Shard thought he wouldn’t go to Randall Valley all day and would just rest at home, but near dusk, Iluna unexpectedly visited again:
“Ancient God Divine Art, Power of the Earth, I’ve finally found the information!”
Entering the foyer in the sunset, the seventeen-year-old girl excitedly told Shard the good news:
“It took so long because the Papacy reviewed my access application. This divine art is related to the Chosen of the Earth!”
Without even going upstairs, after Shard closed the door, Iluna cast down a Silence Charm:
“Shard, quickly inform Luviya. The Fragment of Poem Chapter held by our Sun Church shows one of the characteristics of the Chosen of the Earth: they possess a branch power of the [Power of the Earth]!”
“Oh?”
Shard narrowed his eyes slightly:
“Aside from my [Healing Aura], how many other branches of Power of the Earth are there?”
The “Whispering Verses” describes the primary characteristics of the first-ranked Chosen, so the number of [Power of the Earth] branches will determine the number of potential candidates. Moreover, based on past experience, it’s highly likely that the lower-ranked Chosen also possess this sorcery.
Of course, Shard himself must be ruled out first; Luviya has repeated many times that Shard is not a Chosen One.
“That’s hard to say.”
Iluna shook her head slightly:
“After contacting the Power of the Earth, one obtains different sorceries or even arcane techniques based on the characteristics of their soul. This is the oldest Ancient God Divine Art, and the Papacy has recorded thirty-two different branches of the [Power of the Earth] so far, which even includes your [Healing Aura]… However, although the Papacy’s records mention the Soil Holy Grail, after the sorcery ends, the Grail should dismantle automatically. Incomplete [Power of the Earth] cannot construct a complete Grail, and a complete [Power of the Earth] constructed Grail is much stronger than the ones you make.”
Due to the “Divine Afterglow” state, Shard’s sorcery and arcane techniques are altered to some extent; it’s likely that the divine power influenced the [Power of the Earth], as this sorcery is greatly affected by divinity.
“Then, is the [Power of the Earth: Abundant Field] recorded by the Sun Holy See?”
Shard asked again, and Iluna nodded, then realized what this question implied:
“Have you gained a second Power of the Earth?”
She couldn’t help but softly exclaim:
“I told Luviya many times, compared to me, you seem more like…”
“No, no, I didn’t acquire the sorcery, but I obtained the method to learn it. Let’s go upstairs and talk; this story is a bit complicated.”
Returning to the second-floor living room, Shard told Iluna about his adventure on Monday in Randall Valley City, which included elves and a unicorn. Of course, the focus was on “Saint Perry Cemetery” and the story of the devout nun. Considering the time, the Sun Church should have already received the news from the Witch Council, but it’s unclear what benefit the Council received from the True God Church this time.
“The inheritance of the Power of the Earth must rely on those who possessed the Power of the Earth before. That finger bone is single-use and is stored in the basement. Iluna, since you are a believer of the Sun and Earth God…”
After telling the story, Shard immediately made his proposal. Although Iluna is unlikely to be the first-ranked [Chosen of the Earth], this power suits her well.
“No, no, I said during the Joey Barton incident that I don’t want to take on more responsibility!”
Iluna immediately shook her head:
“Furthermore, I’m not in Randall Valley. If I learn this sorcery, I can’t help you, so there’s no need to reserve the precious power for me; it would be wasted.”
“But I don’t have a need to learn it myself either. Those black mud and Crazy Earth don’t affect me.”
“Then give it to Luviya.”
Iluna looked at Shard, the sunset outside casting a shadow over Shard’s face:
“Luviya has always been strange. Despite playing an irreplaceable logistical role among the three of us, she insists on joining the battles and participating in investigations. I don’t know what other secrets Luviya has, but this time she can finally help you.”
Shard was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:
“Do you think Luviya could be a Chosen One? Without logical reasoning, I want to know the answer your intuition tells you.”
Iluna didn’t hesitate and nodded directly:
“It’s possible, but she’s not the Chosen of the Earth. Based solely on intuition, she seems more like… Fate, or even Time.”
Iluna’s intuition is very strong, and she currently doesn’t know of any connection between Luviya and “Time.”
But she hadn’t finished speaking:
“It might even be the Moon.”
Shard frowned and pondered, saying nothing more.