Chapter 845: The Delayed time key
“The Lake Goddess was originally just a local legend, similar to the complex legends in Mi Fort where major events occurred last month.”
The old man paused, evidently recalling how Xia De had asked him to look into Mi Fort-related information at the beginning of autumn:
“But starting this Summer, multiple incidents occurred in Huntington City, with many citizens claiming to have encountered the ‘Lake Goddess’ outside the City. This caught the attention of the Orthodox Church, but after several investigations, no discoveries were made. The Hermit Order has some records of local events, and there is clear evidence that a Saint once descended near Huntington City in the early fifth epoch.”
“A Saint also descended there?”
Xia De asked in surprise, holding Mia, who was examining the mounted fish specimens on the wall.
“Aren’t you looking for something similar?”
Edmund asked curiously, then summarized:
“If you can go to that City, you can take a look outside. Because it’s near the Pantanal Great Swamp, there are many lakes outside Huntington City. If you’re lucky, you might even meet the so-called ‘Lake Goddess.’ According to contemporary rumors, some people have obtained extraordinary wisdom and powerful swords from that Goddess. I think if she truly exists, she might also be able to fulfill your wish.”
“Although the name is ‘Goddess,’ I don’t think she’s a true great one, is she?”
Hearing Xia De’s question, the old man snorted:
“If it were truly a God, you’d be in trouble instead.”
That’s true, after all, the Gods existing in the sixth epoch, apart from the five Orthodox Gods, are all genuine Evil Gods.
Since he had newly acquired three special coins and received information related to the fragments of the poem, after returning to Tobesk from Coldwater Port, Xia De waited for Luvia to get off work at the Prophet Association in the evening and had dinner with her.
He mentioned his afternoon’s gains at the dinner table and showed the three coins to Luvia. The purple-eyed girl played with the coins under the bright restaurant lights, then picked up her wine glass and asked Xia De another question:
“You mentioned last month that because you used the time key in the wrong location, you couldn’t enter the past for three weeks. Look, today is Wednesday again, which conveniently marks the end of the third week. So, will you embark on your adventure again tonight?”
Xia De had also considered this question. He looked at the band playing the famous Delarion piece “Ode to the Knight” on the other side of the restaurant’s first floor, reached into his pocket, and took out the key he had obtained from the Witch’s seal on the mountainside of the Gap:
“I have already registered this key at the History Academy. Its time point is fifth epoch 5177. By the end of the year, even if I don’t skip a grade into fourth year, I’ll still advance to third year, and I need these practical credits.”
“5177?”
The female Diviner frowned slightly, not because she remembered any major events from that year—what the Academy investigated, Xia De would most likely not encounter. The fifth epoch lasted a total of 5793 years, and the more than a thousand years after fifth epoch 4500 are referred to as the late fifth epoch in sixth epoch academia.
Historical records from this period are very scarce, but it was also a critical era for the epoch change. Considering the long lifespans of the Witch Emperors, even though 5177 was still more than six hundred years away from 5793, it was highly likely the period when the second or third to last Witch Emperors were in power.
Not to mention, Xia De’s previous keys went to Hope Town - 1068, Thousand Tree Forest - 3002, Terror Castle - 1784, Night Manor - 3014, and Dead Silence Valley - 3024. This sixth key’s time point is too far from the previous five, so Xia De couldn’t encounter acquaintances, and it’s even possible that his past experiences would be useless.
“Are you planning to use this key tonight?”
Luvia asked. Xia De thought for a moment and shook his head slightly. Although Divine Radiance still existed and First Fire flowed within his body, he hadn't found the next drop of Divinity, and he didn't want to rashly enter the past. When he encountered the God of Vampires by the lake below Sicar Mountain, it had already been proven that relying solely on the Divine Radiance state, he still couldn't directly face a God normally.
But finding Divinity is a very complex process. He didn’t necessarily have to get the next drop before going, but rather wanted to at least confirm he had a clue in hand before embarking on a time adventure. This way, he would at least have the most basic guarantee:
“I recently received some news and want to go to Huntington City in Carson Rick to take a look.”
Xia De put away the key. Just then, the waiter approached with a dining cart. He raised his wine glass and toasted Luvia. The purple-eyed girl also raised her glass and clinked it with Xia De’s.
“I’m going to postpone using this key by half a week, at the latest by this weekend, otherwise, my grade promotion in Winter will run into trouble,” Xia De said softly after the waiter left.
Luvia nodded, revealing the three coins she had covered with her palm:
“Although I don’t know what you’re looking for, if you encounter trouble, don’t forget to ask for my help. Witnessing the fates of Chosen Ones has also made me stronger.”
But unfortunately, Luvia’s special Divination had no effect on matters related to Gods. Xia De planned to first determine what exactly the “Lake Goddess” was, and then decide whether or not to spend the coins.
So, the time came to Thursday. Xia De, who planned to go to Huntington today, saw specific news about Princess Margaret Anjou’s visit in the newspaper while eating breakfast. Her Royal Highness the Princess would depart from Huntington City in Carson Rick on a steam airship on Saturday, likely arriving officially in Tobesk City on Monday morning. Therefore, some streets would be under martial law and inspection starting today.
Xia De calculated the time. He had already received an invitation to the wedding of Leia’s sister, Princess Mona Cavendish, on Monday evening next week, and he also wanted to join the fun on Monday morning. So, he would be busy starting next Monday.
“Huntington City, Tobesk City, it seems all the trouble is gathering together.”
To use the time key as soon as possible, he had to verify the information he got from Edmund as quickly as possible. To obtain the next spatial waypoint, Xia De needed to sacrifice white stone crystal, which he had fortunately already bought at a high price from Coldwater Port.
However, waypoints obtained by sacrificing to Ancient Gods are random. When rescuing Priest Augustus, Xia De risked borrowing the power of the keeper-level relic, the unfortunate's hair, and thus bore the negative effects of attracting undead and sudden bad luck at specific time points.
Such unauthorized use of the unfortunate's hair cannot be too frequent, otherwise, the side effects will be greater. Therefore, Xia De had to use other methods this time to increase his luck to precisely locate the spatial Ancient Gods statues near Huntington City.
He hadn't found any power that could affect the space left by the Ancient Gods, so he could only affect himself.
Although Ring術士 rituals, Miracles, and spells could all affect luck, their influence was not enough to satisfy Xia De. To reach the most satisfactory position in one go, this time he still had to rely on the power of a relic, and that relic, Xia De had already asked Old Man John of the pawnshop to find after the Mi Fort incident.
Although Old Man John was a bit stingy, as long as Xia De could pay in pounds, he could always find relics that met Xia De’s requirements.
PS: The time key will not be delayed for too long, it will probably be used this week in terms of plot time.
