Chapter 2324: The Second 4260 Years (Extra - , Vote Request)

Chapter 2324: Chapter 2324: The Second 4260 Years (Extra Chapter, Vote Request)

The winding lines on the parchment vaguely outline the directions of mountains and rivers. The stick figure houses might be indicating urban buildings or a hunter’s cottage by the mountain. There is no scale, no direction marked, not even a single letter.

However, the center of the map is marked with a "five-pointed star". If Shard guessed correctly, this might mean "target" or "treasure".

"I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere."

Beside him, Luviya suddenly said, and the Duchess nodded:

"I also feel like I’ve seen this map, very familiar."

The [God’s Gift Box] itself doesn’t create nonexistent things; it simply replicates something known to exist and then turns it into a gift for the children, so it’s not surprising that they can recognize it, Shard thought.

In the end, it was Dorothy who suddenly realized:

"I remember now, it’s this. "Maria Thorn’s Treasure Map", this is from that ancient fairy tale, a map given by the god to Maria Thorn, a child fond of adventures, who later used it to find the pirate’s treasure."

With this reminder, Luviya also remembered:

"Yes, that’s a true story from the Fifth Era. Because the treasure map was drawn by a deity’s hand, it indeed carries such a strong miracle element. The original of this map has long been lost, but the pattern on it has been recorded in many documents and materials."

"Then the treasure that this map points to..."

Shard asked with some anticipation, holding the parchment, while the Red-Haired Duchess smiled and shook her head regretfully at him:

"Didn’t Dorothy say? It was taken by Maria Thorn, recorded in detail, large amounts of gold and silver treasure, and three relics:

Keeper of Secrets Level Relic [Greedy One’s Golden Chest] — periodically generates harmless ordinary gold and is a space storage type item, said to be the corpse of some kind of treasure chest monster;

Poet-Level Relic [Adventurer Koro’s Badge] — increases luck and to some extent repels evil spirits, but the downside is that wearing it long-term will incline people towards making more adventurous and aggressive actions;

Sage-Level Relic [Philosopher’s Stone] — this is something you’re most familiar with. That child donated it to the Zaras Literary Academy and went to study at the academy, I remember it was..."

"Ten Rings graduation, later became a lecturer. The academy’s history recorded this famous adventurer, her tomb is now on Zaras’s Floating Island... This is what Lecia told me in her heart."

Dorothy said: ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"But at least this map is very valuable, a map drawn by the deity’s own hand, combined with its connection to the fairy tale, one wouldn’t be able to buy it for ten thousand pounds. Moreover, the true original has long been lost, so the one in your hand can be regarded as an original."

"Is that so... then which deity drew this map?"

Shard asked again, and the golden-haired, blue-eyed girl winked at him:

"Shard, can’t you guess? Who is it that fulfills children’s dreams and wishes? Haven’t you mentioned it frequently not long ago?"

Shard suddenly realized:

"That Old God - God of Wishes: [Giver of Dreams]?"

"Yes, yes."

Miss Galina nodded gently and then looked at the young orange cat cautiously sniffing the scorched edge of the parchment:

"This cat is really lucky, could it be that the rumor about cats bringing luck isn’t a superstition?"

"At least the Diviner considers it superstition."

The purple-eyed girl, who had completely passed the "Registered Diviner" exam and would likely receive her certificate next month, reminded.

Shard smiled, petting Mia’s head:

"This week’s task is related to this, allowing me to carefully study any map, then attempt to go to a place I’ve never been according to the map. Whether it’s a street or a building, as long as my feet have never trodden it, even the alley behind my house will do."

Of course, the back of No. 6, Saint Delan Square isn’t an alley but another street, and further west is Silver Cross Avenue.

"Dorothy, this is for you. You and Lecia will need it. You also have blank Red Butterfly Cards, so you can try seeing if you can use this to create new cards later."

Saying this, he handed the parchment to Miss Writer, who pursed her lips and did not refuse:

"Alright then... I’ll spend the night in your bedroom tonight."

"Lecia, you mustn’t play tricks."

The Duchess reminded beside her, her golden eyes watching her.

"How did you know I’m Lecia?"

The golden-haired girl asked curiously, the Red-Haired Witch slightly raised her head:

"Lecia, I’ve held you when you were just a child, I know you too well."

With the gifts collected, it was time for the Time Key.

At this time, it was still early, only half past seven in the morning, so the three ladies did not plan to leave but intended to wait for Shard to return before going. They still remembered the fiery appearance Shard had when he came back last time, so Miss Galina jokingly said:

"I’ve already prepared another ’Kiss of Ice.’"

She was probably not joking.

This time, preparations were needed for departure, starting with Mia. Shard kept his word and would bring her along to the Gravel Golden Sea. Of course, he didn’t plan to let the cat out in the blazing sun almost igniting the world. Instead, he would wait to meet up with Old Lady Sianod and the others and enter the Sun Shrine before letting the cat out for a walk.

If the cat couldn’t bear the heat, Shard would turn it back into a toy, though he instinctively felt the cat would like that place.

Next was the Knight Armor. The plan to explore the ruins and tomb required wearing armor to enter. Shard had previously thought about bringing the "Golden Lion Armor" that Miss Gawder had gifted him, the armor that helped him win the 1854 Tobesk City Horsemanship Championship.

In addition, the knight armors that Miss Galina earlier had the maids bring over were also going to be brought along as spares because safety comes first.

The armors were heavy, but since they could be turned into plush toys, there was no need to worry about how to carry them.

Finally, regarding the "Heart of the Oasis," Emilia had already probed from the clan to uncover general information about the artifact, letting Shard know about the nature, function, and general appearance of the "Heart of the Oasis."

Lecia had promised Shard last week to help investigate this further at Zaras Literary Academy. Before setting out this morning, Her Highness the Princess, using the Blonde Writer’s body, replied:

"I consulted the academy’s mentors about this matter, saying they had occasionally seen such artifacts in literature. I also used other channels to investigate internally within the academy, but the current situation is that while there are records of the ’Heart of the Oasis’ at the academy, none are as detailed as those Emilia provided."

"Saint Byrons’ library couldn’t find anything either. Of course, this is just the superficial library; borrowing the sealed materials requires waiting for Miss Danester to return. I wonder if her journey is going smoothly."

Shard said as the maids, using arcane technique akin to "Puppetry," maneuvered the armors one by one to the second floor. As for the "Golden Lion Armor," it was still housed in a golden rectangular box, waiting for Shard to turn it into a toy.

He hadn’t thought of wearing this into the Gravel Golden Sea, worried he might become suffocated on the spot.

Miss Galina was counting the number of armors while Luviya helped Shard check the supplies he’d bring this time. Shard hadn’t forgotten the blue-haired Mermaid Girl’s desire for seafood.

As for Lecia, she continued:

"Don’t worry too much. Although there is no detailed data found for now, I discovered other clues.

Zaras Literary Academy is a floating island, slightly smaller than the Far North’s Saint Byrons. The island’s terrain varies greatly, and a region called the ’Sea of Trees’ is the largest natural forest there, with an area referred to as the ’Green Heart.’"

Hearing Lecia say this, Shard looked over with interest:

"Tell me more."

The golden-haired girl shook her head:

"There isn’t much worth detailed explanation. It’s an ancient relic, with even the academy losing record of its specific function. Yet as a Fifth Era relic, it’s well preserved.

When I was still studying at the academy, I once visited there. If I remember correctly, embedded in the central wall of the temple-like structure, there was a piece of pale green, glass-like material."

However, Shard’s memory of the "Heart of the Oasis," although a crystal, was definitely not pale green. It was vibrant green. Considering the academy likely had already used that crystal, its color change was understandable.

"I see... Do you think I have much chance to visit Zaras Literary Academy?"

Shard suddenly asked, and as Luviya tried to tease the cat with dried fish, she raised an eyebrow:

"Even with Miss Danester’s connections, essentially zero.

The Three Major Academies never open to outsiders. Even official visits must have identity verification. Would you appear before Zaras’ professors as Shard Hamilton? Or could you possibly find a way to sneak in, but that difficulty is about on par with sneaking into Saint Byrons."

In other words, completely impossible.

"The material world surely contains more than just one ’Heart of the Oasis.’ Shard mentioned it’s a crystal blessed by the Ancient God. It seems unlikely such a blessed crystal would only exist as one. The one at Zaras may have already lost its effect, so even contact wouldn’t be useful. We might attempt to investigate from other aspects."

Miss Galina reminded from the side.

Shard nodded:

"Actually, even now, there’s no need to see the ’Heart of the Oasis’ in the Sixth Era. The investigation in that sand sea is going fairly smoothly; maybe in the end, it won’t be that troublesome."

Saying this, he took the tablecloth handed by Miss Maid, turning each standing armor into toys one by one. The metallic toys were somewhat heavy, so they all transformed into plush toys, which Shard hung on his waist as keychains.

Finally, the armor housed in the golden box, once transformed into a toy, became a small golden cubus.

Each face was adorned with designs of "Smiling Sun Emblem," "Sword and Shield Emblem," "Golden Roaring Cat," and a "Woman’s Face Surrounded by Curved Patterns." The bottom was devoid of designs, and the top bore densely written small holy texts praising the sun.

"Praise the sun."

Shard softly said.

"Meow~"

Mia, disdainful of touching the fish catches, immediately meowed, probably worried Shard wouldn’t bring her.