Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 25 The Philosopher's Stone

Looking at the enchanted artwork before him, the professor let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Suren glanced at the professor, who was covered in sweat, and thought that alchemy was also physically demanding.

He walked to the lab bench, picked up the revolver, and unlike the armor-piercing revolver, the grip felt cold to the touch.

The gun body had also turned completely silver-white. Unlike the bright silver of the armor-piercing revolver, this gun had faint, deep black lines on its body, reminding Suren of the breathing lamp in his previous life.

The professor looked at the revolver with satisfaction and adjusted his glasses.

"The 'Awakener' level of alchemy differs from lower-level alchemy; the enchanted items will receive some enhancements."

Because of the [Wither] rune, your gun is now severely damaged by its bullets, and the wound will be slow to heal. This negative effect will last for at least three minutes.

The professor said as he tidied up the lab table:

"Actually, materials with the [Wither] attribute are extremely rare and usually can't be bought on the black market. I found it by chance at a stall in the 'Mist Exchange'." At this point, the professor looked up at Suren, "You must remember that this effect only works on mortals or demons. It's ineffective outside of the human realm, and relying on it too much will cost you dearly."

Suren nodded. He was quite satisfied with the enchantment; the 40 pounds were well spent. However, this left him with only 52 pounds and 7 shillings.

In the past, this amount of money would have been enough for Suren to live on for quite some time, but things are different now. Superhumans are a particularly expensive group.

Suren pondered that perhaps he should make a trip to the "Mist Exchange" later; after selling the two Evil Spirit Dust Crystals, he would have earned approximately 300 pounds.

"Perhaps I could also purchase some 'blasphemous relics' while I'm at it?" Suren pondered, and this led him to a question. Looking at the professor's retreating figure, he asked:

"Professor, since 'Demon Hearts' can be crafted into 'Blasphemy,' while high-level 'Demon Hearts' are difficult to obtain, low-level 'Demon Hearts' are easy to acquire. After being crafted into items..."

Before Suren could finish speaking, the professor waved his hand to interrupt him.

"I know what you're trying to say, and I've thought about this question before. Having a whole bunch of 'blasphemous creations,' even if they're all low-level items, can actually reverse the difference in rank."

Unfortunately, "blasphemy" usually only has one single ability, and the power it generates cannot be equated with that of an ordinary extraordinary being.

While higher-level 'blasphemous creations' possess greater power, their raw materials are much harder to obtain, and they require advanced alchemy to create.

As the professor spoke, he walked to another metal cabinet and took out a silver box about the size of his palm.

Upon opening the box, one finds a brooch with a gemstone the size of a pigeon's egg set in its center, radiating a fiery red light.

When the professor opened the box, Suren felt the temperature in the entire room rise, and beads of sweat involuntarily rolled down her forehead.

"This is a brooch made from a Level II 'Demon Heart'. Every day it will assign a specific element to gain the corresponding ability, but the price is that this brooch will affect the environment depending on the element. Silver can effectively isolate this negative effect."

"This is the commonality of all 'blasphemous creations'—an inherent negative effect, which is usually quite troublesome." Professor Derwent closed the box, wiping the sweat from his brow. "To completely eliminate this negative effect, a large number of 'Silence Stones' are needed in conjunction with a complex ritual."

"Silent Stone?" Suren muttered in confusion, having never heard of such a material before.

"Yes, in those deeper areas outside the barrier, which are extremely dangerous and are known as the 'Desolate Frontier,' if you stay there long enough, you will be frozen in time like a stone statue."

This special stone is produced there, and it is extremely expensive. Just cleaning a low-level 'blasphemous creation' costs close to a thousand pounds, which is unaffordable for most people.

As for how to remove the negative effects of high-level 'blasphemy', I don't know yet.

Suren pressed, "Isn't there any other way?"

The professor put the box back in the cabinet. He didn't answer Suren's question directly, but instead walked out of the laboratory.

Suren followed the professor to a room opposite the laboratory. The room was filled with bookshelves. The professor walked to a desk, opened a drawer, and took out a book with a completely black cover. The title was written in a peculiar script that Suren couldn't understand at all.

"I've suffered because I'm uncultured," Suren thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile.

The professor quickly flipped through the books, finally stopping at one spot, and then handed the book to Suren.

Suren took the book and found that he still couldn't understand the text inside, but fortunately there was an illustration on this page.

It was a blood-red stone, the surrounding light seemed distorted, making the stone's shape appear very strange. Even just from the illustration, Suren could sense that peculiar and mysterious aura.

"This is the legendary Philosopher's Stone. It is said to be the ultimate alchemical creation, allowing people to use alchemy unconditionally without regard to cost, and also unconditionally erasing the negative effects of 'blasphemy'."

A popular legend tells of a saint in 863 who attempted to create the Philosopher's Stone, the outcome of which remains unknown. This history has been erased by the Church, and the method of its creation has been lost to history.

Suren frowned. An erased history? Could it be that it was erased because of success?

The two chatted for a while, and Suren left the strange eyeball with the professor, agreeing to pick it up in two days.

Just as Suren was about to leave, the professor called him back.

"Suren, I can see that you don't trust the church. Perhaps you should learn some historical knowledge. I suggest you go and take a look at the Harp Library."

Suren paused for a moment. He thought about it and realized that his knowledge of history was indeed lacking. Judging from the "Philosopher's Stone" just now, the Church had obviously hidden a lot. It wouldn't be a bad thing to learn more about it.

Suren nodded, accepting the professor's offer: "Thank you, I'll go take a look."

After thanking him, Suren got up and left Professor Derwent's house.

The professor watched Suren's retreating figure for a while, then got up and returned to his study. He sat down at his desk and took out a piece of paper.

After a moment's thought, he wrote the opening of the letter with his pen: "Dear Mr. Wilder: Regarding the matter you arranged..."

Suren, who had already left, was completely unaware of this. He fiddled with the two revolvers in his hands, pondering whether he should give them names to make them easier to distinguish.

"Let's call them 'Eye of Withering' and 'Gaze of Destruction'."

Suren, with a touch of wicked humor, gave the two guns rather childish names. Of course, he wouldn't say them aloud to anyone else.

Following the route provided by the professor, he passed through three red brick buildings and found the "Harp Library".

This is a detached, single-story red brick building with exquisite wooden bay windows. The heavy wooden doors are inlaid with polished copper handles, and above the door hangs the shop sign, which reads "Harp Bookstore" in gold-stamped serif font.

The house is surrounded by a ring of green plants, which show signs of careful trimming, indicating that the homeowner is quite particular about his appearance.

The wooden door was open, and Suren could hear melodious music coming from inside the library.

Suren stood frozen in place, for the music playing was clearly "Moonlight Sonata," the song she loved most in her past life.