Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Shard nodded and noted down the doctor's words on the Roder Card appraisal.

But in fact, he hadn't held much hope that the card in his hand was genuine, even though the demeanor of the previous detective on his deathbed had shown him to be a fervent Roder Card enthusiast. But after all, he was just an ordinary person, with an income that barely qualified as middle class, so it was unlikely that he possessed such a precious item.

As for the museum introduced by the detective before his death, Shard guessed it was probably a black market of sorts for counterfeit Roder Cards. Thus, he thought about visiting the Prophet's Society for an appraisal when he had the time, to set his mind at rest before heading to the museum.

Once he had ensured a loan from the group to resolve the issue of tuition fees, he officially began the admission process.

Shard had thought someone from the Academy would come to him, but all proceedings were handled by the doctor:

"Remember, we are Correspondence Circle Mages. The Academy provides us with knowledge, and we need to meet mandatory credits through study and exams, as well as earn practical credits through Academy tasks. This is the nature of our relationship with the Academy, somewhat like a special employment system.

There's no need to pay too much attention to the Academy, at least not until you climb the glaciers of the Far North with us and enter the Academy."

Dr. Schneider gestured dismissively while Miss Writer believed that Shard would deeply understand this point after a few weeks.

The two official Circle Sorcerers then had to inform the Academy that a new Correspondence Circle Mage was enrolling, and the way to contact Saint Byrons Integrated Academy was through a Poet-Level Relic, the measuring item "Poet Cohen's Manuscript".

Poet Cohen had also been a student of Saint Byrons Integrated Academy, but that was a story from the last Era. Although the Fifth Era had only female Spellcasters, the Academy still accepted a small number of male students for certain research that didn't require Supernatural Powers.

His Relic Manuscript had more than a hundred pages, and each page could be used to transmit information and small items to the cover of the manuscript.

This was the main method Saint Byrons Integrated Academy used to communicate with Correspondence Circle Mages, as well as for textbook distribution and assignment submission. Within the Schneider Group, the highest ranking doctor was responsible for keeping the manuscript pages.

It was a large Parchment Roll, about the size of an open book. It was currently blank and looked quite old, to the extent that one could see the frayed edges moving on the paper.

"First is your basic information, as well as the tuition fees."

The doctor had Shard use a blue Fountain Pen to write down basic information such as address, age, occupation, and past experiences on a piece of stationery, then placed an envelope filled with banknotes on the manuscript page.

As the Glimmer flickered, both the envelope filled with Gold Pounds and the paper with information vanished.

After a few dozen seconds, a receipt emerged from the manuscript page. In both Draleon and Carsonrick languages commonly used in the Old Continent, the receipt listed the amount received and even bore the Academy's official seal.

"Quite professional."

The receipt was temporarily kept with the doctor and would be returned to Shard once he repaid the money.

"Next is the trustworthiness test. The Academy needs to test whether the Correspondence Circle Mages enrolling are Cultists or individuals concealing ulterior motives. The Academy has its secrets as well, which can't be easily disclosed to outsiders."

Dr. Schneider said this quite casually.

"How is this test conducted?"

Shard was a bit anxious, not worried about the original owner's dull-minded past, but his own identity as a transmigrator.

Upon hearing Shard's question, Dr. Schneider had yet to speak when Miss Dorothy Louisa preempted with a smile on her face:

"Ah, the nostalgia. This has already become the standard procedure—please write an essay of no less than eight hundred words on your thoughts on good and evil, order and chaos."

"Huh?"

Shard thought he had heard wrong.

"This step is also to verify literacy. The Academy does not accept illiterate students. Shard, I know you are not very literate, so you can keep it simple," the doctor kindly said.

"But why an essay? I thought it would be a kind of lie detector test."

Just writing an essay relieved Shard, who was fearful of lie detector tests. If asked about his "past", he was worried he would run into big trouble.

"Lie detectors can be cheated, after all, but an essay reflects a person's continuous thoughts, attitudes, and even aspects of nature one may not be aware of. This is more reliable and has a unique signature of this Era.

Oh, detective, this is no longer the chaotic Era of barbarism and steam. The entrance tests of the civilized Age of Enlightenment are, of course, more cultured," Miss Writer said with a casual lean on the couch, taking pleasure in the sight of others being forced to write essays.

So Shard was coerced into the "entrance writing test" of eight hundred words. He could understand and read well enough, but speaking and writing relied on the knowledge provided by the inner voice, so it was still quite strenuous. However, this also confirmed Dr. Schneider's investigations about the original Shard.

Good, evil, order, and chaos were relatively large topics. Eight hundred words might seem like a lot, but if taken seriously, it might not even be enough for the introduction.

Shard, adhering to the principle of less is more, divided the entrance test into four parts: the first part for pleasantries, the second on good and evil, the third on order and chaos, and the fourth for conclusion.

This made the thought process much smoother, and Shard was particularly adept at writing this way.

While Shard was busy with his entrance test essay, Dr. Schneider was not idle either.

The standard admission process of Saint Byrons also included having the Mage in the group lead the Gifted One to solve a mystical event once, in order to judge whether the Gifted One's character was suitable to become a Circle Sorcerer.

The earlier retrieval of the Life Countdown Pocket Watch would suffice, but it also required a report detailing the Gifted One's performance.

So while Shard wrote his essay, Dr. Schneider had to draft a report, which might be slightly more troublesome. Miss Luisa, however, was quite happy as she was the only one who didn't have to write anything.

While the two gentlemen were engrossed in writing, she sat there holding her cup of tea, watching them with an indescribable sense of contentment.

The essay and the report were sent away by the manuscript together, and only after a good half hour did a notice of admission bearing Shard's full name arrive. His admission evaluation was "excellent". During this time, the three of them had been talking, acquainting Shard with some basic knowledge.

"In reality, the admission evaluation only consists of 'excellent' and 'unsatisfactory', unlike the annual assessment and year-end summary which are graded as 'excellent', 'above expectations', 'pass', 'fail', and 'abysmally bad'," the doctor whispered.

"It's a small trick of the Academy, to win over your goodwill," added the blonde writer.

Shard found this amusing but it also made him realize that the Academy was indeed very formal, not some minor organization.

"Well then, the next step is for me to help you formally assume the role of Circle Sorcerer and open the Supernatural Gate. Only after you receive your Core Rune will you be certain of the specialized Academy you'll join. As for textbooks and study materials, they'll be delivered to you in three days, as the Academy also needs to prepare these things."

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