Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 8 The Demon Who's a Treasure Trove

Suren looked up at the stairwell and met Corrigan's one eye.

Corrigan gave Suren a meaningful look, then went upstairs.

Suren, who aspires to superhuman power, acted too calmly and asked several pointed questions, which naturally attracted Corrigan's attention.

In contrast, the others were very excited and couldn't put down this novel gadget, the revolver.

Suren sighed. The seemingly safe atmosphere of this world had made him underestimate the people here.

I need to be more careful in my actions in the future.

Suren glanced at Karl, who was still fiddling with his revolver, but didn't disturb him.

He recalled the feedback after using the [Information Barrier] and felt that the upper limit of "Source Knowledge" had been significantly increased, which was consistent with the promotion method that Corrigan had mentioned before.

This made him even more puzzled: if everyone was moving at this speed, why were there still people stuck in the "Awakened" stage?

He kept this question in mind, then walked over to the sign and examined it.

As Corrigan said, most of the notices were simple bounties; Suren even saw a bounty for finding a cat.

Finally, Suren found the mandatory task on the far right of the notice board:

"Mandatory Bounty Order"

Want Alf Baker, leader of the "Classical Wisdom Society," and retrieve the heretical manuscripts in his possession.

The "tainted ones" within this organization were corrupted and turned into demons due to their worship of evil gods.

Bounty amount: 600 gold pounds, 500 contribution points.

If the heretical manuscript is successfully retrieved, each participant will receive an additional 200 contribution points.

Anyone who keeps or reads the manuscript will be considered a heretic and will be executed!

If the task is not completed by March 14th, 300 contribution points will be forcibly deducted.

Distributed by the Dead Bird Monks' Loren Town Post

March 7, 1151 (Sacred Radiance Calendar)

Although the value of contribution points is unknown, 600 gold pounds is a considerable sum, but considering that this task usually involves multiple people, it is actually quite normal.

Unfortunately, because it concerned his own secrets, Suren was unable to claim the bounty.

Such a high reward also made Suren wary. There must be a huge secret behind that heretical manuscript, perhaps even a secret that could overturn ordinary people's understanding. Suren was still a little regretful that Alf did not carry the manuscript with him.

In addition to this mandatory bounty, Suren also saw another bounty of £120, with the objective of eliminating a Level I demon, "Evil Spirit," from a haunted house.

This was the first time Suren had learned the specific names and classifications of demons. She thought of the archives upstairs, where perhaps there were relevant books.

Suren turned around and patted Karl, who was still in a daze: "Alright, we can study it slowly when we get home. I think we should go to the archives first. If we don't understand the abilities, we won't even know how we died."

Carl then came to his senses. He put the revolver back in his bag, rubbed his messy hair, and nodded with an awkward smile.

The two climbed the creaking stairs to the second floor and, after some searching, finally found the archives room.

The archives room is small, but it contains many bookshelves and several long tables, which are covered with books in a mess.

Although the place was messy, there wasn't much dust.

Suren and Karl split up to search, and a few minutes later they sat down at a relatively empty table.

The books laid out before them were their spoils: *The Basic Alchemy Handbook*, *The Scales and Weights*, *The Divine Ladder: On the Nature and Application of Ascension Materials*, *A Compendium of Extraordinary Materials*, and *The Dictionary of Hell: A Beginner's Guide to Demons*.

Karl looked at the hellish dictionary with a puzzled expression: "When did you become interested in demons?"

Suren shrugged, did not answer, and picked up the book "The Sacred Ladder: On the Nature and Application of Ascension Materials" and began to read it.

Seeing that Suren did not answer, Karl did not ask any further questions. Suren had always been like this, unconventional and independent.

In fact, Suren could have quickly flipped through the books and looked up information based solely on the images in her memory, but that would have aroused Karl's suspicion, and it would have been too physically demanding.

After browsing through the documents for a while, Suren learned that the potion in the basement was called "Source Knowledge Condensation," which was created through a ritual using "Source Knowledge Condensation" of corresponding quality and related auxiliary materials.

When demons of different ranks die, their vital parts condense into "Source Knowledge Condensate," which is mainly used for advancement and is quite valuable.

The process of creating "Yuanzhi Ninghua" is similar to that of an ascension ceremony, except that the incantation is slightly different.

The other material required for advancement varies at each stage, and the "demon heart" required by different churches for their extraordinary individuals is not the same.

What's strange is that the book doesn't specify the criteria for judgment. Too deliberate, Suren thought with a cold laugh. He was increasingly certain that the so-called promotion ceremony was definitely problematic.

Although the book states that these materials are offerings to the gods, Suren, with his advanced thinking, clearly senses that there is a complete logical chain behind the ritual, but he has too little information to fully understand it.

However, judging from the materials required for promotion, the ritual seems more like a medium for using power—"source knowledge"—by leveraging the power of the materials.

Afterwards, Suren also looked through the two books, "Compilation of Extraordinary Materials" and "Scales and Weights." The former recorded some types of low-grade materials and their market prices, while the latter was an introductory manual for the three major professions of the church.

Suren took a closer look at the "Battlefield Alchemist" ability, since that was his profession, and he couldn't be completely ignorant of it.

All three professions have the ability to "discern value," to see the intrinsic value of things; almost all abilities are built upon value.

Contrary to what Suren had imagined, even the "battlefield alchemists" who were promoted by the church as being skilled in direct combat still needed to learn a variety of basic subjects.

Including but not limited to alchemy, materials science, engineering...

Because the most important ability of this profession, [material transformation], is based on a complete understanding of the structure of matter. This ability can transform one substance into another substance of equal value.

Although all three professions in the Libra Church possess the ability to communicate and analyze the structure of matter through "source knowledge," it is still necessary to understand the basic composition of matter.

However, "Yuanzhi" also enhances their learning ability in related knowledge, so regardless of their profession, they are basically all knowledgeable scientists.

After reading this information, Suren felt a wave of dizziness. This was far too difficult to fake. It seemed he needed to make plans soon; it was only a matter of time before he was exposed.

Finally, Suren opened the demon encyclopedia.

There are five levels of demons, but this book is only a beginner's guide, introducing only the first two levels: Level I demons "Filthy Spirits" or "Evil Spirits" and Level II demons "Dominators".

This is just a general term, and demons have all sorts of abilities, so you need to be flexible when dealing with a demon.

A single Rank I "Evil Spirit" requires a team of at least three "Seekers" equipped with enchanted weapons to deal with.

Of course, the Church has no shortage of experienced Seekers of Truth who can handle battles on their own, but it's not an easy task. The same applies to the Level II "Dominator Demon".

Of course, this does not mean that all demons are equally difficult to deal with; some demons with bizarre abilities can often fight across levels.

Defeating demons also yields abundant rewards, including "Source Knowledge Condensate" needed for advancement, as well as "Demon Hearts" and special materials.

"Demon Hearts" typically contain the power used by demons in their previous lives. Besides being used for advancement, they are also excellent materials for crafting special items, which are collectively known as "Blasphemy Creations".

Suren couldn't help but think of the "Codex of Truth," was it also a product of the "Heart of the Devil"?

"This demon is truly a treasure trove," Suren thought to himself.

The book included several typical cases of demons, one of which caught Suren's attention.

That demon can transform the surrounding gas into poison gas, and can even forcibly exchange abstract concepts such as the five senses between two parties.

Suren frowned. Why did this seem so much like the ability of the Libra Church's superhumans?