Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 55 "The Bloodstone of the Oath"

Suren picked up her coffee cup, swirled it, and brought the rim to her lips as she pondered in her mind.

As an ancient organization, the Eternal Oath Knights should be aware of the contractual restrictions within the Deathbird. Given Suren's intentional actions, his decision to spare Mrs. Howard would inevitably make her aware of Suren's goodwill. She must have also sensed this, which is why she proposed this mission—a test.

If Suren can complete the mission, then a preliminary connection will be established between him and the "Eternal Oath Knights".

What Suren couldn't understand was that even if he had good intentions, he was just an ordinary "Seeker of Reason," and it wouldn't be very meaningful for the "Eternal Oath Knights" to recruit him. Thinking of this, the mysterious person who gave him the ring inexplicably appeared in Suren's mind. Both of them seemed to care about him a lot.

As for the difficulty of the mission, all of Suren's hunting preparations so far have been focused on the spider "Dominator," and changing targets rashly would be extremely risky. Therefore, to complete the mission, the only way is to take the item without killing the "Dominator" guarding the "Oath Bloodstone." Fortunately, Suren is not entirely without options.

Thinking of this, Suren picked up her coffee and drank it all in one gulp, then placed the cup on the saucer with a crisp sound.

"I'm leaving now. I expect..." Suren took out a pocket watch from his pocket, checked the time, and said, "We'll meet at the Starlight Club at 5 PM. If I haven't shown up within an hour of 5 PM, it means I've failed."

Suren bought the pocket watch yesterday afternoon, along with two well-made outfits, which cost her over 30 pounds. After all, Suren's next stop is most likely "Libraton", and preparing clothes in advance can save a lot of trouble. However, Suren hasn't decided on her future disguised profession yet.

Seeing that Suren had accepted the task, Mrs. Howard took out another document from her bag and handed it to Suren: "This is the exit permit that has been prepared. The fee has been paid in advance, so you don't need to bother with it."

Suren took the document and glanced at it. A red stamp with a scale pattern was already affixed to the lower right corner. He folded the certificate, put it in his pocket, and without saying a word, got up and left the cafe.

Mrs. Howard wasn't angry. She remained seated, watching Suren's figure disappear from sight before letting out a soft breath, still feeling somewhat uneasy. She didn't understand why the "Eternal Oath Knights" valued a "Seeker of Reason" so much, even sending him on such a near-suicidal mission.

Suren's attitude was also very strange; it was unclear where his confidence came from. Thinking of this, Mrs. Howard shook her head. She was only responsible for entrusting the task to Suren; the follow-up matters were not her concern.

Suren pushed open the door of the coffee shop and was about to leave without wasting any time when he was attracted by a "caw" from the sky. He looked up and saw a raven flying right over his head.

Suren found it strange; the climate of Loren Town was not suitable for ravens to live in, and this species was rarely seen.

He shook his head, no longer thinking about these trivial matters, and headed towards the eastern exit of the town. For the sake of secrecy, Suren had no intention of hiring a carriage.

He also remembered Corrigan's warning: although no trace of anyone following them had been found, the world was full of strange and extraordinary powers, so Suren still prepared several contingency plans in his mind to deal with any emergencies.

Before long, Suren walked along the blue stone path to the east exit of the town. Two cultivators were still standing on either side of the entrance, but they were not the same two Suren had seen last time.

Suren took out the exit permit from his pocket and handed it to one of the cultivators. The cultivator took the permit, examined it line by line, nodded, and indicated that Suren could leave.

Suren walked straight through the pale yellow barrier. The barrier seemed to be just a visual illusion, and Suren didn't feel anything special as he passed through it.

Suren unfolded the map and, based on the markings on the note provided by Mrs. Howard, quickly located the corresponding location. Then, Suren moved her finger across the map, roughly outlining a relatively safe route that would take about an hour and a half.

Suren opened his pocket watch and checked the time. It was exactly nine o'clock, so he had plenty of time. He quickened his pace and headed toward his destination.

As for how to collect the "Oath Bloodstone", Suren already has a rough plan. He doesn't intend to confront the "Dominator" head-on, since there's no information available and the risk is too great.

Suren just needed to test the effect of the "existence erasure potion".

According to Mrs. Howard's information, the demon had very poor eyesight and could only be detected within 50 meters.

"I'll drink a bottle of 'Existence Erasure Potion' while staying at a safe distance. If it works, I'll take the stone; if it doesn't, I'll run away," Suren secretly planned in his mind.

He walked through patches of grass and woods, nearly being discovered by an "evil spirit" along the way, and finally arrived at the depression without any danger. Suren took out his pocket watch and checked the time—10:40.

He nodded, squatted down, and slowly approached the center of the depression. When he was about a hundred meters away, Suren could see the situation inside the depression.

The place was covered with black boulders, the ground was pitted and uneven, and there was no trace of plant growth, just like a quarry.

In the very center of the depression lay a monster nearly six meters long, resembling a salamander. It had smooth, flawless yellow skin, radiating a pale red glow, as if burned by flames. It lay on the ground with its eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

Unlike the giant wolves Suren had encountered before, it didn't have any followers, making it even more troublesome.

Because ten meters to its side, there was a toad-like creature that was three meters long, which looked like a Level I "evil spirit", and the two were connected by a very faint gray-green light.

Suren frowned. Demons have a very strong sense of territory, and the fact that these two demons can coexist peacefully is most likely due to the abilities of the salamander-like demon.

Thinking of the word "oath," Suren had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Suren squinted, searching for the "Oath Bloodstone" based on the description provided by Mrs. Howard. After searching the depression for a long time and comparing it multiple times, Suren finally found her target.

Upon closer inspection, Suren frowned, for the two "Oath Bloodstones" were being pressed beneath the monster. They were oval in shape, about the size of a soccer ball, with faint vein-like patterns on their surfaces, emitting a dark red glow.

Suren cursed inwardly. He had been misled by the name "Oath Bloodstone." This thing was nothing more than a salamander egg.

Suren took out his pocket watch and checked it; there were about five minutes left. He didn't linger and continued to move forward stealthily.

Fortunately, the toad's eyesight wasn't very good either, allowing Suren to walk about 60 meters away. There was a huge rock there where Suren could hide. He held the bottle of "Existence Erasure Potion" and occasionally peeked out in the direction of the salamander.

As time went by, the two "Oath Bloodstones" beneath the salamander grew brighter and brighter, gradually turning blood red.

Without further hesitation, Suren used the "Alchemy Bottle" to leave a puddle of water on the nearby open ground, and poured the potion in his hand into his mouth, drinking it all in one gulp.