Grindelwald's gaze fell on Wade. "It seems you were quite prompt in claiming your credit… I assume Dumbledore has given you some very satisfying rewards because of it?"
Wade didn't respond. He simply looked at Grindelwald with a faint smile, which only made his irritation flare.
Having the Elder Wand taken right from under him, how could he not be angry?
Even with a deal in place, the frustration in his heart wouldn't fade so quickly.
After all his years in the wizarding world, when had Grindelwald ever suffered such a silent loss?
Oh… the last time he had been thoroughly outplayed also seemed to involve this little brat.
"So what exactly are you here for?" Grindelwald finally asked, unable to hold back.
"Director, we're here to negotiate," Wade said at last.
"Negotiate?"
"Yes, about making some minor adjustments to the challenge design…" Wade replied with a smile.
Grindelwald turned to glance at Dumbledore and immediately understood.
"With him here, there's nothing to discuss!" Grindelwald pointed at Dumbledore. "If we're going to talk, it'll be just you and me, Wade. This is a deal between us!"
Dumbledore acted as though he hadn't heard a word. He pulled a chair over in front of Grindelwald's desk and sat down.
Wade did the same, dragging over a chair and sitting beside him.
"There is something to discuss," Wade said with a smile.
"I said, with that old man here, there's nothing to discuss," Gellert Grindelwald replied, unmoved.
Albus Dumbledore sat to the side, staring at him as if looking at a corpse. Grindelwald couldn't focus at all.
At his level, the pressure from Dumbledore's gaze was anything but ordinary.
Especially for a wizard like Grindelwald, he was extremely sensitive to such an aggressive presence.
Even knowing that Dumbledore wouldn't attack him now, his instincts as a powerful wizard still caused his body to tense up. How was he supposed to think calmly under that?
Dumbledore silently placed the Elder Wand on Grindelwald's desk. "Can we talk now?"
Grindelwald looked at the wand in front of him, and a thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Fine… we can talk, but only a little. I'll listen to your suggestions, but I won't make any decisions today," he said cautiously.
Wade calmly placed the Elder Wand he had taken onto the desk as well. "What about this? Can we go into more detail now?"
Grindelwald looked at the two identical wands before him, his lungs practically ready to burst with anger.
This was a blatant threat.
Was this negotiation? No. This was making demands.
If it had only been Dumbledore, that would be one thing.
But now Wade was here as well, and his strength wasn't far behind.
Two Elder Wands, combined with Dumbledore and Wade both exerting their full presence, made Grindelwald feel as if he were sitting on needles.
And…
These two Elder Wands were both his. Both of them!
You two damned thieves!
"Fine, we can talk." Gellert Grindelwald forced a smile. "Just say what you want."
"On the condition that the difficulty isn't reduced, I want to remove any dark creatures that carry lethal curses," Wade said with a smile.
"Agreed," Grindelwald replied immediately.
"We also need to improve the rescue measures."
"Agreed," Grindelwald nodded again.
"I want to replace some of the more ferocious magical and dark creatures with combat constructs," Wade continued.
"Why?"
"We both know what you're aiming for. So tell me, would your hypothetical enemy use dark creatures and magical beasts to fight us?"
"No… fine, I agree," Grindelwald said, nodding once more.
Everyone knew that in the future, Grindelwald intended to go to war with Muggles. And if Muggles were the assumed enemy, there was no need for so many dark creatures and magical beasts.
"Anything else?" Grindelwald asked.
"Not for now. Of course, if we think of anything else, we'll come back to discuss it with you," Wade said with a smile.
"Good… one more thing. Those dark creatures and magical beasts you no longer need, you…"
"We'll take care of them properly for you. You don't need to worry about that," Wade replied with a smile.
Grindelwald's lips twitched slightly. Who asked you to take care of them? He had spent money on those creatures. That was his money.
But judging from Wade's attitude, he clearly intended to take them for himself.
Grindelwald had initially wanted to object, but after a moment of thought, he gave up.
"Anything else?" he asked again.
"No," Wade said with a smile.
"…Then get out of my office, you two damned thieves!"
...
"Did Grindelwald really lose his composure?"
In the Great Hall, Tom asked while stuffing food into his mouth.
Using Wade's method, Tom had finally managed to get the house-elves in the kitchen to prepare new dishes.
His appetite had improved quite a bit because of it.
"No. He was pretending," Wade said.
At the moment, he was eating pasta with a fork while flipping through a book.
"A figure like him wouldn't lose control so easily."
"I've got to hand it to you. You actually dragged Professor Albus Dumbledore along and went to rob Grindelwald," Tom said with admiration.
Wade immediately denied it. "Watch what you're saying. We were just properly handling those excess magical and dark creatures. What robbery? Besides, I need to design the challenges. Who knows if I'll need those creatures later?"
"Yeah, yeah… you're the most upright person there is," Tom said perfunctorily.
He glanced at the book in Wade's hands and added, "Are Muggle novels really that interesting?"
"What Muggle novel?" Wade replied casually.
"The one in your hand," Tom said, pointing at the book Wade was flipping through.
Wade turned it over, revealing the cover.
On it was written A Tale of Two Cities - by Charles Dickens.
"Oh, this one? It's good. I like it," Wade said, continuing to read.
Tom simply couldn't figure Wade out. The time he spent reading Muggle novels far exceeded the time he spent reading books on spells.
Yet he still knew so many spells.
What Tom didn't know was that the so-called Muggle novels in Wade's hands were actually magical books in disguise.
To others, it looked like he was reading Muggle fiction, but in reality, he was quietly studying.
The true nature of A Tale of Two Cities was actually a book on Ancient Runes, Those Words That Carry Magic.
This was the first new book…
More precisely, when Wade woke up this morning, he suddenly remembered that he still had a system, so he casually opened the shop to take a look.
This book was listed there, sitting alongside several dragon eggs, priced at five thousand merit points. It was absurdly cheap.
Although it didn't contain all Ancient Runes, it included many that Wade had never seen before.
For someone like him, who had recently been studying alchemy and combat constructs, it was extremely useful.
So even while eating, he was rapidly memorizing and learning.
Of course, some of the runes in the book were already familiar to him.
But many were completely new.
With his exceptional memory, Wade's mastery of Ancient Runes was improving at a rapid pace.
At the same time, new ideas about combat constructs were gradually taking shape in his mind…
…
Bang!
A loud explosion rang out from inside a dilapidated wooden hut.
"Ah! Damn it! My eyes!"
"What happened?!"
Amid curses, a cloud of black mist drifted out through the window.
The mist settled a short distance from the hut, then reformed into a beautiful woman.
It was Nagini, whom no one had seen for quite some time.
"Damn it! She's a witch! You idiot!"
---
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