Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 2 The Price of Secrets

In the dimly lit basement, as the world before him gradually regained its color, Suren's breathing became steady. He kicked away the annoying mirror.

"Deterioration Secret Awareness" allows one to recreate the "Evil Spirit in the Mirror," albeit only a part of it, but it also drains the unknown power within the body.

Suren rubbed his temples. To make matters worse, as he used the power of the supernatural tales, the "Evil Spirit in the Mirror" seemed to be making a comeback.

He touched his left hand; although it wasn't as icy cold as before, it still lacked the warmth a normal person should have.

Then Suren stood up. He could feel a faint warmth regenerating in his body, and that energy was slowly recovering.

Suren thought to himself that this power was more like a different kind of magical energy.

Based on my current recovery speed, I estimate I won't be able to use the power of the Book of Secrets again until tomorrow.

Thinking about what she had just seen in the mirror, Suren decided it was best not to use it rashly.

Where the monster had just stood, only some clothes remained, along with a few letters and an item that looked like a notebook.

Suren felt that he had recovered enough. He picked up the letters and notes and put them in the pocket of his work clothes.

He then left without lingering, pushed open the basement door, and went outside.

The commotion I just caused was quite significant; the church's enforcement team should be arriving soon, so I need to leave quickly.

Following the route in her memory, Suren passed through a narrow passage and arrived at the sewers.

Compared to the sewers of the Victorian era, the sewers of Loren Town appear much cleaner.

This is thanks to a special potion provided by the alchemists of the Libra Church, which the cleaners use to come and clean regularly.

However, the sewers in the church district are cleaned once a day, while the sewers in the slums are only cleaned once a week.

After an unknown amount of time, Suren finally crossed the sewers and arrived at the banks of the St. Wood River.

Suren took off his robe and threw it into the river. The robe disappeared into the rushing water.

Although it's not environmentally friendly, the river was already filled with all sorts of industrial wastewater, Suren comforted himself.

He entered the workers' area through a small path. The dim gas lamps in the thick fog emitted a faint light. Suren walked towards the residential area by the light, like a worker who had just finished working overtime.

Besides going to church twice a week to do odd jobs, Suren usually does manual labor in this workers' area, so he is quite familiar with this road.

Suren has lived in Loren Town for 11 years. It is an industrial town on the outskirts of the Duchy of Equilia, which is dominated by the Libra Church, one of the four major churches.

When he was 10 years old, his parents brought him here from the Providence border, which was under the jurisdiction of the Church of the Watchers.

On their way here, they were attacked by demons, and his parents also died in the attack.

Suren was rescued by the Libra Church and has lived in the Loren Orphanage ever since.

He looked around. At this hour, there were still some scattered residents walking on the street. Most of them were workers who were getting off work and preparing to go home, and their eyes revealed a kind of numbness.

There aren't many people with yellow skin like Suren; it's a characteristic of people from the Providence frontier, who are known as the Northern Remnants.

However, apart from their appearance, the Northerners' lifestyle and other aspects are not much different from other races.

Walking along the path in front of the community church, rows of densely packed three-story townhouses came into view.

This area is known as a devout community, and conditions are somewhat better than in the slums.

Thanks to Suren's frequent odd jobs for the Libra Church and his provision of cheap labor for the alchemy workshop, he was classified as an outsider.

Here, he only needs to pay half the rent each week—3 shillings.

"This is just a dormitory, and a really bad one at that," Su Lun silently complained.

Enduring the stench emanating from the public restroom, Suren hurried across the corridor, took out her key, opened the somewhat damaged door, and entered the room.

Suren took out a match and lit the candle on the table. The dim yellow light spread out, revealing the small room in its entirety.

A simple single bed, a wardrobe that smells slightly musty, and an old little desk next to a wooden chair.

There were some books on the desk, with a notice from the "Deathbird Monks" on top.

In this world, extraordinary power is not a legend, but rather begins with a mysterious "profession" choice.

However, the specific methods of this path were firmly monopolized by the four major churches, while folk methods were dangerous and opposed by the churches.

For a young man from the lower class like the original owner, joining the "Deathbird Brotherhood" on the periphery of the church was almost the only opportunity.

It is nominally an organization that provides opportunities for ordinary talents, but in reality it is just a peripheral tool for the church to handle dirty and tiring work.

This profound understanding stems from his past experiences.

Before the age of fifteen, he received basic education in the church, but he was clearly aware that it was just a means for the Libra Church to instill faith in orphans.

For many years afterward, he worked part-time as a peripheral believer, studying while struggling to survive. This allowed him to accumulate a limited cultural foundation and see through the reality beneath the glamorous doctrines.

Despite passing the monks' examination through hard work, the wariness honed by his life at the bottom of society made it impossible for him to truly trust the church.

It was this lingering doubt rooted in the past that led him to turn to secret societies and ultimately participate in a ritual he should never have touched.

Suren walked to the desk and sat down in the creaking chair. He now needed to study the Book of Secrets carefully.

With a thought, the Book of Secrets reappeared before him.

Perhaps because the Book of Secrets had become one with him, Suren recalled the rating standards and names of the Secrets in his mind.

A secret knowledge is divided into five levels, from lowest to highest: peripheral observations, practical insider information, forbidden knowledge, world truth, and ultimate taboo.

The three main factors influencing the rating are: the number of people who know about it, the value of the information, and the degree to which one has analyzed this secret.

Suren understood perfectly. In other words, it was about how many people knew about it, how frightening the matter itself was, and... how much of it he himself had truly understood.

Therefore, the "secret knowledge" about being a time traveler was rated low because he didn't understand the truth behind it at all.

Because it analyzed the complete pattern of the "Evil Spirit in the Mirror" before its death, its rating is relatively higher.

However, the rating name is a bit cumbersome; it would be better if it were more intuitive.

Just as Suren was mentally complaining, the text inside the book began to move and change:

[Core Secret: The strange tale "Mirror Demon" is parasitizing Suren Chern's body → Secret Level: B]

The ratings behind the other texts have also changed, with the rating system now divided into D/C/B/A/S categories.

This thing is quite human-like. Suren was surprised but also a little worried, which meant that the book was very closely tied to him.

Suren's gaze fell upon the "Deteriorating Secret Knowledge," which, unlike the other texts, emitted a deep black light.

There was still one empty space in the "Core Secrets" section. After thinking for a moment, Suren solidified a line of text:

[Core Secret: Suren Cheen is actually a transmigrator whose soul is Su Chen → Secret Level: C]

But this time nothing happened, and no new changes occurred.

"The Secret of Deterioration" must be the price for this book being corrupted, Suren thought to himself, his heart sinking.

Suren has not yet discovered the true method of using the Book of Secrets, and the book itself offers no hints.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't truly mastered the book? Suren closed the book, and then he suddenly realized that something was different about it.

The eyes on the cover, which were originally closed, are now half-open, and there is faint blood seeping out from around them.

Several tiny, lifelike tendrils had somehow sprouted from the spine and edges of the book, slowly wriggling as he watched.