About half a year ago, the deceased Sparrow Hamilton Detective took on a rather difficult commission. Baron Huntington, who lived in Tobesk City, entrusted the Detective to find his missing maid.
The maid had served the Baron's family for many years and had voluntarily resigned a few days prior.
The Baron sent his butler with gifts to invite the maid back, only to discover she was already missing.
Although the Baron held a certain social status, he was not the maid's family, and he himself didn't seem to trust the police much, which was why he commissioned several Detectives to investigate.
Detective Sparrow was not a famous Detective; his usual commissions were merely minor matters like investigating extramarital affairs.
This time, a noble came to commission him, which was due to a referral from a previous old client.
Sparrow Hamilton took this matter very seriously; even if it was just a Baron, he was still a significant figure beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.
He investigated diligently, spending a month this spring, and through various clues, he found an abandoned sanatorium on the Oser River bank, concluding that this was the cause of the missing persons cases.
"This sanatorium was abandoned about thirty years ago; I was just a child then, but I heard my family mention it."
Local Bill Schneider explained, pointing to the gradually clearing cluster of buildings in the distance.
Although the area outside the City was still shrouded in mist, the clock tower next to the main building, along with the spires and cross-shaped decorative finials, were already visible.
"At that time, the Royal Family instructed the Tobesk City City Hall to re-plan the City to accommodate the large influx of population and the development of the steam industry.
The policy then was probably for essential facilities like hospitals to move towards the City's interior, and factories to move towards the City's exterior.
This place was originally a noble sanatorium; I hope you understand what I mean, it was exclusively for important figures we couldn't even imagine.
After responding to the call, the sanatorium completely relocated from Tobesk City to a nearby City, which could be reached by train in half an hour, making it even more convenient than here.
So, this sanatorium was abandoned, and not even vagrants would live here; this area is desolate, and no one would know if someone died."
Surrounding them were large tracts of farmland and wasteland, and the nearest rural Town was an hour's walk away.
However, there was a manor and a stable nearby, belonging to a certain Earl.
During the racing season, people would choose the road they were currently walking on as a track, but now there was hardly anyone.
Although industrial development was rapid in this era, traces of the Steam Age could only be seen in large Cities.
Away from the City, everything reverted to past eras, and Xia De understood the meaning of this statement.
The two quickly followed the path to the vicinity of the abandoned sanatorium; the Doctor did not mention its name, presumably it was not important.
From the outside, the wall plaster had completely peeled off, and all the windows and doors were missing.
However, the sanatorium's surrounding wall was still intact, but the courtyard within the wall was almost identical to the wasteland outside, showing no traces of a former garden.
Tall buildings and spires stood in the wilderness like this, and only the decoration of the fence gate could faintly hint at its past splendor.
"Follow behind me; we'll talk as we walk."
The Doctor said, kicking open the two fence gates that seemed rusted together.
The fence gates crashed to the ground, startling the birds in the nearby woods.
Even at the City's edge, the fog had only dissipated slightly.
The gloomy sky looked like it was going to rain, and Xia De somewhat regretted not bringing an umbrella.
The two entered the sanatorium's courtyard, their boots crunching through the tall grass as they advanced:
"A Ring術士, as in, we possess the Destiny Ring."
The Doctor said, looking around, leading Xia De towards the main building's front entrance.
"Destiny Ring?"
"Time, years, Destiny, era, civilization, world—the Ring forged for us, symbolizing our very being.
Attention! I am about to show you the complete Destiny Ring, not just a part of it.
Please observe carefully--"
The Doctor, walking through the tall grass, slightly spread his arms, palms open upwards, as if holding something, raising his hands level with his shoulders.
Everything behind him became hazy, as if an extra layer of white mist had appeared.
But he himself remained unchanged, only a faint smile appeared on his face.
Then, in this vast, abandoned courtyard, Xia De actually heard the sound and Echo of a train whistle.
"What?"
He frantically looked around in the waist-high grass, and at this moment, his skin gradually began to perceive heat.
Turning to look, what was behind the Doctor was not white mist, but steam.
Scorching steam, steam that inexplicably made one tremble, that steam seemed to blur distance and space, making everything behind the Doctor ethereal.
Within that steam, a massive dark shadow was approaching, and the steam behind the Doctor seemed to contain infinite time and space.
The whistle roared, the steam burst, and the dark shadow drew closer.
The extreme speed created wind pressure, causing the Doctor's clothes, the courtyard's wild grass, and Xia De's coat lapels to flutter, forcing him to squint his eyes.
Even more serious was the sense of crisis rising within him.
"What exactly is in that steam?"
It was getting closer and closer; deep within the steam behind the Doctor, a colossal hammer appeared with momentum and energy.
It was only seen as silver-gray, as tall as an entire building, striking the Doctor with a tremendous crash.
The impact made Xia De's ears ring and his vision blur, a strong urge to vomit forced him to cover his chest.
The ground Vibration, the howling wind, the flashing lightning—amidst this series of illusions, the hammer strike seemed to cleave heaven and earth, and also seemed to strike Xia De's soul.
But only the Doctor was struck by the giant hammer; the Doctor remained motionless, yet Xia De somehow believed he saw Doctor Schneider flattened into a copper disc.
"Copper?"
He felt he was increasingly unable to clarify his sensory state.
It was indeed a piece of copper; after being struck and hammered by the giant hammer, a massive rotating copper Ring appeared behind the Doctor; it was a brass-colored metal Ring.
The steam gradually dispersed, and the brass-colored metal Ring, with a pentagonal cross-section, slowly rotated behind the Doctor.
Strange light, accompanied by more than twenty Ling Runes, wandered on this Destiny Ring.
The halo illuminated Xia De's face, and the Outsider heard the woman's soft laughter in his mind, his eyes reflecting this magnificent, mysterious, and powerful Ring.
"This is the Destiny Ring.
A Ring術士 only fully summons it when fighting with all his might.
Otherwise, not summoning the Destiny Ring, or only summoning a part of it, is sufficient... Do you have any questions?"
The Doctor stopped in the tall grass of the sanatorium courtyard and asked the stunned Xia De.
Xia De could still feel the heat from the dissipating steam behind the Doctor, as well as the high temperature from the massive brass Ring.
The Destiny Ring was not an illusion; it was a physical entity:
"Why steam? Why brass?"
He didn't even notice the urgency in his tone.
The middle-aged Doctor smiled:
"Young man, a person's success depends not only on individual effort but also on the course of history.
I said that the Destiny Ring represents oneself and the world.
This era is the age of steam and machinery, so the Destiny Ring emerges from steam, is forged by a giant hammer, and appears brass-colored.
If this were the Age of Rainbows, then the Destiny Ring might be rainbow-colored; if it were the Age of the Deep Sea, then the Destiny Ring would be water.
Do you understand?"
Xia De nodded reluctantly, his heart pounding faster due to witnessing the shocking scene just now:
"I understand."
He didn't even want to blink, wishing to imprint the full appearance of the Ring behind the Doctor into his eyes.
But the Doctor waved his hand behind him, and the Destiny Ring slowly became transparent and disappeared, allowing Xia De to only remember a few of the Runes within it.
Regarding the common language of the Northern Kingdom, even without the Knowledge provided by the woman's voice in his mind, Xia De could understand it when he saw and heard it, but he could not speak or write it.
And now, Xia De inexplicably understood the meaning of those powerful Ling Runes; the few he glimpsed were "Joy," "Hound," and "Dust"...
Suddenly, he felt a throbbing pain in his head, as if someone had struck the back of his head, so he gave up trying to memorize those powerful Runes.
In this world, Knowledge truly is power.
Therefore, it was understandable that the Doctor invited Xia De to join a transcendent organization that was an academy.
"But if my unique ability is to understand and hear all texts... is this truly a good thing in this dangerous world?"
Xia De pondered his own secret, while the Doctor continued to walk forward through the tall grass and introduced:
"The cross-section shape of my Destiny Ring is currently pentagonal, representing that I am a PentaCircle Ring術士, and also a fifth-year correspondence adult education student at the academy.
A First Ring Destiny Ring is a flat circle, with Ling Runes inscribed on one side.
A Second Ring is also flat, but Ling Runes can be inscribed on both sides.
A Third Ring has a triangular cross-section, a Four Ring has a quadrilateral cross-section... and so on.
Do you understand? The higher the Ring, the closer it is to the most standard circular Ring."
"Yes, I understand."
The two talked as they entered the building; over the years, countless people had probably visited here.
There was no furniture left, and a layer of dust covered the floor, which would instantly kick up dust when stepped on.
They did not stay on the first floor but walked up the seemingly unstable stairs to the second floor; Xia De was very concerned about the safety of such a dilapidated building.
"Ling Runes are the core of the Ring術士 system.
By inscribing Ling Runes on our Destiny Ring, we accumulate Ling and perceive the four major elements: Miracle, blasphemy, inspiration, and whisper, constantly advancing."
"Ling? Elements?"
Xia De asked, puzzled, his heart filled with excitement; he was finally going to learn these things.
The Doctor led Xia De up the stairs:
"Regarding Ling, in past eras, it had many names: magic, ether, mana, spirituality, light of the soul, but in the current era, it is uniformly called Ling.
It is information, elements, energy, the sum of everything in the world you can understand, and one of the manifestations of a Ring術士's mind interfering with matter.
The means of accumulating Ling is by contacting elements, and the safest way to contact elements is by reading stories and Knowledge from before the epochs—culture, customs, heroic legends, orally transmitted myths.
Contacting this Knowledge is also dangerous; a slight carelessness can lead to madness.
So we usually look at original manuscripts or translations."
Xia De simply translated 'Ling' as mana points.
"But accumulating enough Ling does not necessarily mean one can enter the next Ring.
The most important thing for a Ring術士 is not Ling, but elements.
By accumulating the four major element Ling Runes, one effectively increases the upper limit of Ling, sublimates the soul, and tempers the body.
The four major elements can be perceived in many ways..."
Xia De recalled that the woman's voice in his mind had prompted him that he had encountered "whisper," "inspiration," and "Miracle," which were seeing Sparrow's death, stepping onto the street and seeing the world, and contemplating the meaning of God, respectively.
"Merely perceiving and contacting is not enough; the elements need to be inscribed on one's Destiny Ring to prove the fusion between oneself and the elements.
Each upgrade of a Ring術士 requires different combinations of Miracle, blasphemy, inspiration, and whisper Ling Runes to form specific phrases for sublimation.
I will explain this to you once you decide to join the academy.
Now, I will introduce you to the differences between the four elements."
The Doctor paused, then looked ahead with a smile:
"I think the person we're looking for should be here."