The piece of paper that caught Shade's attention was made of parchment, with one corner of it being pressed down by the book "Psychology and Abnormal Psychology", but it only obscured the signature and did not affect the main content:
College Bounty
The illegal organization Mercury Blood has appeared in Tobesk and the surrounding areas with a fake Philosopher's Stone, a Keeper-level relic. A bounty is offered to all the academy correspondence ring sorcerers in the area. Keep a close eye on the movements of Mercury Blood. If you submit a fake Philosopher's Stone to the academy, you can deduct 5 practical credits for this academic year, and the academic assessment rating for this semester will be automatically upgraded to "Excellent". The rest of the rewards will be discussed with Professor Rogers of the School of Mechanical Engineering.
Note 1: This mission is extremely dangerous. Students below level 3 (inclusive) are not recommended to have any direct contact with the Mercury Blood tissue.
Note 2: For more information about the forged Philosopher's Stone, please contact the Academy.
Note 3: The Orthodox Church has received this information. If you intend to complete the mission, please be careful not to reveal your identity to the church.
Below is the obscured signature, which seems to be an announcement jointly issued by the Public Affairs Management Office and the School of Mechanical Engineering of St. Byrons College.
"What if it is exposed to the True God Church? I forgot to ask the doctor just now."
Xia De thought to himself, then put the file bag on the table and sat back on the sofa.
So far, no one knows the secret of his ability to read all kinds of strange languages, so it is unlikely that this thing was forged by the doctor. On the contrary, the appearance of this academy bounty order proves that what the doctor said is most likely true.
"But credits and academic assessments... these are really scary words. I didn't expect to encounter such things in the era of steam civilization."
Xia De thought silently, recalling his life in his hometown. This made him more determined to contact the mystery and find a way to go back.
I just didn't expect that I would have to study and take exams in a different world. What's more, I might even have to write a paper.
“There are always more solutions than problems.”
He thought to himself, waiting patiently for the doctor to come back.
Although the doctor had just treated him to lunch at the Goose Restaurant, Xia De didn't eat much because the horrific scene he saw in the morning was so impressive.
Now that I had plans for the future, I felt better and started to feel hungry. So I asked Mrs. Kara for some snacks before the doctor came back, saying that I wanted to have afternoon tea.
The doctor probably told Xia De that he was a distinguished guest, so when the maid in a floral apron knocked on the door and entered, Xia De saw that she was actually holding a porcelain plate.
"This is Mr. Schneider's collection."
The middle-aged maid smiled. She looked to be in her forties, a little older than the blue-eyed doctor. She had a plump figure, which was in line with Xia De's imagination of a middle-aged woman from an ordinary family in this era.
Although there is no great Eastern country in this world, there is still porcelain, and porcelain is still precious. Only the special soil and technology in special regions can produce such fine products.
Xia De thanked Mrs. Kara and didn't care much about the porcelain plate. He looked at the delicate yellow fluffy cake on the plate and the red cherry on top of the cake that seemed to reflect light, and swallowed subconsciously.
"Shade, don't embarrass the aliens!"
The stranger who had just arrived here said to himself in his heart, and then as expected, he heard the beautiful laughter of the woman in his mind again.
They agreed to meet at two o'clock, but the doctor didn't show up. If Xia De hadn't found that no one stopped him from walking around when he went to the bathroom, he might have suspected that he had fallen into a trap.
Because this was someone else's place, after making sure he could leave at any time, Xia De returned to his original room and waited. He didn't have the bad habit of rummaging through other people's things, and he was also worried about seeing documents he shouldn't see, so he sat on the sofa and looked at the interior decoration of the room out of boredom.
After nearly 40 hours in this world, I have a better understanding of the development level of the country I am in. The characteristics of the steam age are reflected in all aspects of life, not only gas lamps and steam pipes, but also the exquisite mechanical structure buckles on various furniture, and the lifting platform controlled by large gears, pulleys and ropes on the side of the bookshelf. These are things that Shade has never seen in his own world.
He had never thought that he could come to such a world, and while he was wandering, he also tried to exchange his knowledge for money. But he really didn't know much, and he didn't have an excellent photographic memory, so he was still full of anxiety about the rest of his life.
Dr. Schneider did not appear until half past two, having changed his coat, which was now black.
When he pushed the door open, he started to apologize:
"I'm really sorry, something totally unexpected happened. I ordered a batch of sensitive drugs from the black market. No, don't make that face, it's not for the patients in the clinic. I don't do that. It's for my own research in thaumaturgy, and something went wrong when I received the goods. It was just bad luck."
As he spoke, he sat down again. The maid came in and served the two gentlemen a new pot of black tea:
"So, have you decided?"
The doctor asked seriously, his blue eyes looking into Shade's. Shade looked at the color of his own body's eyes in the mirror, and they were still the same dark brown color that looked like black, which was the same as before.
"It's decided."
Xia De sat up straight and nodded, and gave the answer in the same serious manner:
"I want to try to get in touch with the poet-level relic, the Dream of St. Byron's Comprehensive College."
The doctor smiled widely:
"Although my luck is not very good today, I have found that Detective Hamilton, as long as it is related to you, it will always go smoothly."
As one of the three major thaumaturgy schools, St. Byron's Comprehensive College has the ability to remotely deliver relics. But Shade is not yet a formal ring magician, so Dr. Schneider naturally won't let him know what this method is.
After waiting alone in the room for more than ten minutes, the doctor pushed the door open and walked in holding a black cardboard box.
It was really a black cardboard box, nothing but black. Xia De didn't even notice where the seam of the cardboard box was at the first sight.
"The Dream of Saint Byrons Comprehensive College is a product of the last era, that is, the Fifth Era. At that time, the college had just been established, and the legendary founder, Miss Mana Filianna, a thirteen-ring warlock, obtained this relic after a summer nap. This relic must be contained in a black space, and it is considered a relic with a relatively simple containment method."
"Was the academy only established in the last century?"
Xia De was a little confused. He thought this was an ancient organization that had been passed down for several eras.
"In fact, the five major orthodox churches and the three major thaumaturgy academies all appeared in the last era. Remember this common sense. The Fourth Era is an era of darkness and chaos, where evil and distortion run rampant in the world. The Fifth Era is an era of witches. Only women have the ability to cast spells. Powerful witch emperors divide the world, and city-states fight each other. Civilization has made no progress in the Fifth Era. It is a barbaric and primitive era, but it is equally terrifying. In the Sixth Era, the extraordinary is no longer evident, and human civilization has been able to develop to the present era in the hands of ordinary people."
The doctor did not introduce the older era, and Shade did not ask, as the two of them sat on the sofa and Dr. Schneider had already opened the box.
Looking inside, I saw that the paper box was filled with straw, on which lay a palm-sized delicate enamel snuff bottle. The body of the bottle was blue, with bright yellow sunflowers painted on it, connected by golden lines, which reminded me of the joyful summer days.