Although the magic Slytherin could teach Tom might not even rival what Dumbledore could offer, Tom still used Transfiguration to build another house deep within the most hidden part of the forest, giving Slytherin a place to stay instead of constantly remaining inside some goblin-metal container on Wade's person.
However, Slytherin's combat experience was still incredibly rich. Because of this, Tom disappeared for one or two hours every night.
Very few people knew that he was actually going to that hidden stone house to hone his combat skills with Slytherin.
Wade was one of the people aware of it, because he had personally cast the Extension Charm inside the stone house.
Wade understood very clearly why Tom was so desperate to become stronger.
Even though Tom's way of dealing with people had changed greatly, his unwillingness to admit defeat remained the same.
Wade also did not interfere much with this, because he knew very well that the stronger Tom became, the greater the help he would be to him.
...
After teaching his companions several more powerful spells at Riddle Manor, Wade once again became elusive and unpredictable.
Sometimes he would disappear for several days, while other times he would suddenly "spawn" inside Tom's wooden cabin without warning...
Nobody knew what he was doing whenever he vanished.
A week later, when Wade appeared again, he was riding a terrifyingly fast broomstick and directly smashed a hole through the roof of Tom's cabin...
"You'd better give me an explanation, Wade," Tom said while staring at the collapsed roof.
Wade brushed the wood splinters off his body, looking completely unharmed.
"Don't get worked up, Tom. I'll fix the roof for you. I was just testing the collision resistance of the new broomstick and the protective effects of the emergency Airbag Charm!" Wade raised his wand and began repairing Tom's roof.
"You're testing collision resistance by crashing into my house?" Tom was beginning to wonder whether water had somehow gotten into Wade's brain.
If that really had happened, then things would be wonderful. He would finally be able to crush Wade beneath his feet without any effort!
Wade explained, "Actually, I was aiming for the big tree next to it. But at the last moment, the wind direction suddenly changed..."
"The big tree? You mean that Barnes Black Poplar nearby? In fact, that species is extremely rare, and it's older than my grandfather. There are fewer than fifty Barnes Black Poplars of that age left in all of Europe..." Tom narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
"That species is really that rare now? Wait, no! You never read anything except spellbooks, so how would you know that much? You're making things up, aren't you?"
"Anyway, the tree grows on my property, so it's as valuable as I say it is."
"Aha... thank Merlin for that little gust of wind earlier. Otherwise, I would've been extorted by you." By this point, Wade had already fully repaired the roof.
"Coincidentally, the house is also mine, so it's worth however much I say it is as well... now pay up! Not much, just ten thousand Galleons!" Tom stretched out his hand.
Wade carefully inspected the surroundings, dusted off his clothes again, then tucked his wand into his pocket.
"Pay for what?"
"The house! You crashed into my house!"
"When did I damage your house? Isn't your house perfectly fine?" Wade said before swaggering away.
Tom stared at the completely intact roof and could not help sighing regretfully.
When it came to shamelessness, he still could not compare to a certain someone... he should have stopped Wade from repairing the roof earlier!
The moment Wade stepped outside, he ran into Henry and Alphard.
"Is my broom fast or not?"
"I was just about to ask where you bought that broom! It's ridiculously fast!" Alphard exclaimed. "The moment I looked up, it was like seeing a shooting star!"
"Bought? No. A real man makes whatever he wants himself." Wade took out the flying broom.
The broom still looked completely intact, without even a scratch that should have come from smashing through someone's roof!
"You made it yourself? Merlin, Wade, you're practically my idol!" Henry reached out and touched the broom.
"You two have seen plenty of good things before, so let me ask you something. How many Galleons do you think a broom like this could sell for?" Wade asked cheerfully.
"How fast is its top speed? And does it have any other special features?" Alphard asked.
Wade began introducing it. "Around sixty miles per hour. It's also equipped with extremely advanced anti-collision protections for the broom itself, along with a very powerful Air Cushion Charm! Even if a severe collision happens, it can still guarantee the wizard's safety, and the broom won't suffer much damage either. You both just saw it yourselves. I crashed pretty hard, but I wasn't injured at all, and the broom doesn't even have a scratch on it!"
"This is practically a work of art!" Henry said excitedly. "I'd bet every broom on the market performs worse than yours!"
Alphard nodded in agreement. "Exactly! I'd say even at a thousand Galleons, plenty of people would still buy it! Especially the national Quidditch teams..."
"So you've been researching this broomstick all this time?" Charlie asked from the side.
He did not really understand broomsticks very well, but it certainly sounded impressive...
"No, no, no... I've actually been researching something else. It just so happens that this thing can be applied to broomsticks as well," Wade said with a smile.
In truth, over the past few days, he had been corresponding with Nicolas Flamel to research the feasibility of using Gubraithian Fire as an energy source.
In the end, both of them confirmed one thing: there was no way Gubraithian Fire could continue burning forever without any cost at all.
Because whether it was Muggle science or wizarding alchemy, both ultimately followed the same fundamental principle: energy was conserved.
Finally, with the help of a magical observation device provided by Nicolas Flamel, Wade managed to observe exactly what Gubraithian Fire was burning.
Even Fiendfyre required oxygen to burn, but what Gubraithian Fire consumed was not oxygen, but a strange kind of magical energy!
This magic was hidden within the air itself and normally invisible, yet the spell for Gubraithian Fire could ignite that unseen magical energy.
As long as this magic existed, Gubraithian Fire could continue burning indefinitely!
After extensive testing, the two of them discovered that this magic was everywhere, just like air itself...
The reason Ancient Runes possessed magical power was because, once successfully inscribed, they could attract this hidden magical energy from the surrounding air!
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