Chapter 166: Death Will Bless You—Hand Over All Your Money
After having dinner with his parents, Dylan did nothing but sleep soundly for an entire night.
It was a deep, fulfilling sleep that left Dylan feeling completely refreshed.
"It's been so long since I've felt this relaxed."
Dylan gazed at the brilliant sunlight outside the villa and the meticulously manicured garden, his expression serene.
He recalled how, at first, he strenuously studied various forms of knowledge and spells, partly for self-defense and partly to delve into the truths behind magic.
Now, with an increasing number of spells under his belt and growing power, Dylan no longer viewed self-preservation as the primary goal of his intense studies.
In a way, even if Voldemort were to return at his full strength and wreak havoc again, Dylan would have the courage to fight him.
After all, even if several other professors teamed up, they couldn't defeat the little Voldemort, but Dylan had held back significantly during his duels with the professors.
If he truly unleashed his full power, those professors would be ambushed and killed by Dylan in an instant.
So, Dylan wasn't overly concerned about his own survival at this point.
—However, his parents' safety was something Dylan absolutely had to prioritize.
But even with that concern, Dylan didn't need to be overly anxious.
Dylan simply wanted to maintain a stable environment conducive to learning, which was why he had these extra considerations.
If he didn't care about anything and fully exposed his true strength, he could simply take his parents and travel to the ends of the earth.
No one could threaten them.
Therefore, after enduring the initial intense and somewhat difficult period of adaptation to his studies, and as Dylan's achievements accumulated, his various insights and talents also continued to grow through achievement rewards.
Dylan gradually discovered, or rather, he began to lean more towards independently exploring all sorts of unknown knowledge.
Whether acquired from books or discovered through his own hands, this was something that genuinely excited Dylan.
Exploring the mysteries of magic, and combining existing knowledge to uncover more unknowns—that was Dylan's current driving force for continuous learning!
"Lots to do today. Let's go!"
After having breakfast with his parents, Dylan left the house.
There were several things he planned to accomplish in the coming days.
First, Dylan planned to visit Muggle flea markets and other stores to purchase various strange plants and creatures.
Dylan intended to plant all these items in his briefcase space. With its self-sustaining ecosystem, the space would automatically adjust to ensure these plants adapted to the environment.
This would provide Dylan with more materials for his experiments.
Whether it was researching life, conducting those seemingly darker experiments, or observing how Muggle creatures affected potion brewing… these were all areas Dylan wanted to explore.
What kind of sparks would fly when Muggle items touched magic—much like what Mr. Weasley was researching?
Furthermore, the "sparks" he referred to specifically meant the changes that ordinary Muggle creatures underwent after being exposed to magic.
Ron's dad, on the other hand, was more interested in Muggle artifacts.
Besides serving as research subjects, Dylan could also figure out how to use magic to make certain fruit-bearing trees more delicious—perhaps by using magical fertilizers.
The second task: Dylan needed to make a trip to Knockturn Alley.
Among his recently completed achievements, Dylan noticed a particularly interesting one. It wasn't completed by him, but by one of his followers.
The achievement was titled: "A Follower Who Doesn't Want to Be a Leader? Then Get Beat Up!"
Dylan scanned the lit-up achievement and realized who had completed it for him: Delphini!
It seemed that after all this time, the Ministry of Magic had released the Dark Wizards who caused trouble.
Unexpectedly, while other Dark Wizards, despite their fervent devotion to Karlsars, had quietly slipped away and hidden after being released, Delphini remained unrepentant, even openly defying the Ministry of Magic.
Dylan had seen several achievements that she had completed for him.
The reason this particular achievement was special and caught Dylan's attention wasn't because of a generous reward.
It was because…
Delphini had actually brainwashed Borgin and Burkes' proprietor, Mr. Borgin (Caractacus Burke), into becoming his follower!
What did this signify?
It meant that while Dylan was busy studying magic, asking questions, brewing potions, and conducting experiments at school, Delphini was out there, busily recruiting new members for him…
Ptooey!
She was spreading the Fool's faith!
It was worth remembering that even Tom Riddle once worked at this very shop!
Who was Mr. Borgin?
A direct descendant of the Burke family!
And what was the Burke family?
One of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Pure-Blood Families in the wizarding world bore the Burke name!
Especially this Mr. Borgin, a rather greedy and cunning Dark Wizard.
He had even employed Voldemort. After all he'd been through, he could still be brainwashed by Delphini and turn into Dylan's follower.
Although the follower's rank wasn't too high, it still left Dylan somewhat incredulous.
This made him intensely curious about Delphini, whom he had never met but whose name occasionally appeared in his achievements.
So, Dylan planned to visit Borgin and Burkes in Diagon Alley this time.
He wanted to find out why Mr. Borgin could be so easily swayed by Delphini.
Or rather…
As a Dark Wizard who engaged in various unsavory dealings, and essentially as a pure-blood family, weren't most pure-blood families Death Eaters?
Not to mention Borgin himself, who had already opened his shop in Knockturn Alley.
So, Mr. Borgin being so easily influenced by Delphini…
Was it because Mr. Borgin also wanted to see someone emerge who could replace Voldemort, leading them to rule the entire wizarding world, or even the whole world?
Or was it because of Delphini's identity?
After all…
Even Voldemort's daughter had directly pledged allegiance to this wizard who dared to use Unforgivable Curses openly, who had repeatedly defied the Ministry of Magic, and yet had still not been captured. This wizard had the potential to become the new Dark Lord.
—Why couldn't he, a former subordinate of Voldemort, offer his easily replaceable allegiance?
Dylan had his own theories about this, and he just wanted to confirm them.
—And perhaps make some more money while he was at it.
"Based on previous experience, this Mr. Borgin, being slick-tongued and cowardly, is indeed a good, opportunistic follower who can easily give up his allegiance."
Dylan stroked his chin, boarded a bus, and sat by the window at the back, watching the scenery slowly recede as his thoughts churned.
Besides these two things, since he was going to Knockturn Alley, he'd definitely make another trip to Diagon Alley to check on the manor he had bought.
These were the three main things Dylan intended to focus on in the next few days.
Of course, the most troublesome part was acquiring the animals and plants.
In reality, Dylan could simply have his dad handle it, whether through corporate procurement or private shipping, he could resolve the matter.
However, first, Dylan's spatial capacity wasn't particularly large yet, so it couldn't accommodate too many creatures, and thus large-scale procurement wasn't necessary.
Second, if there were truly large-scale operations like that, Dylan wasn't sure if certain individuals from the Ministry of Magic might be watching him.
It was even uncertain whether this matter would reach old Dumbledore's ears.
Dylan didn't want to take that risk.
If the Hogwarts professors knew he was buying large quantities of creatures, who knows what kind of trouble they might stir up.
It was too much hassle, so Dylan naturally preferred to avoid it if possible.
"I wonder if Karlsars's almost exclusive appearance during holidays will arouse old Dumbledore's suspicion."
Dylan leaned back in his seat, opening the window wider to air out the stuffy bus.
It was already morning, and the weather was starting to heat up.
"But this time, I, as Karlsars, directly appeared inside Hogwarts, not only stealing Voldemort's Horcrux but also abducting the Basilisk that threatened the school—and old Dumbledore hasn't made any big moves?"
Dylan clicked his tongue.
"No, it's not that he hasn't made big moves. Using the Mirror of Erised and Vera to test me clearly shows that old Dumbledore suspects something but lacks evidence."
And…
Recalling Harry mentioning during their last conversation that old Dumbledore told him to keep an eye on him, Dylan couldn't help but scoff.
"What exactly is this old geezer suspecting about me?"
Surely he wasn't questioning if he was Karlsars, was he?
How could that be?
He was just a young wizard who had just finished a terrifying second year and was about to enter his third!
How could such a powerful Dark Wizard, capable of effortlessly casting highly proficient Unforgivable Curses, possibly be related to a mere child like him?
"Old Dumbledore would have to be out of his mind to connect me with Karlsars!"
Even if Karlsars appeared more often during the holidays, what could that prove?
Nothing at all!
"Compared to old Dumbledore questioning if I might be Karlsars, the Fool, who appears during holidays, from an outsider's perspective, might be more inclined to simply suspect if this Karlsars could be related to Hogwarts."
For example, the Ministry of Magic might be very willing to entertain such a thought.
Otherwise, why would they send Aurors to search Hogwarts?
As for the other Dark Wizards…
Firstly, they wouldn't even conceive that the Fool they worshipped, who they believed would replace Voldemort and become the Dark Lord in their hearts, was actually just a student about to enter his third year.
Secondly, these Dark Wizards would not believe that Karlsars had any connection to Hogwarts.
—How could these two possibly be related?
—Aside from Voldemort, who came out of Hogwarts.
But precisely because Hogwarts had already produced one Voldemort, and with Dumbledore at the helm, how could a new Dark Lord be born?
—Not to mention, it took Riddle decades to become Voldemort.
Could Hogwarts now suddenly produce a powerful wizard with deep dark magic knowledge?
Impossible!
Dylan first took a car to the nearest flower and bird market.
In the restroom, he directly transformed into an adult and began purchasing various small animals.
Each time he bought something, he would silently put it into his briefcase.
This made it seem as though he was always carrying things, yet the number of items in his hands never changed.
After Browse for a while, Dylan found a secluded spot, stored everything away, then changed his appearance again before leaving the market.
Dylan then hailed a taxi directly to the farmers' market.
There, he found many fruit saplings, vegetable seedlings, and aquatic products.
After another sweep, Dylan's space now contained a considerable number of new animals and plants.
He instructed Soot and Norberta to look after these Muggle creatures, ensuring they weren't immediately destroyed by the goblins or other inhabitants. Then, Dylan prepared to head to the Leaky Cauldron.
However, he had few goblins left after his experiments. Dylan had kept a portion specifically for breeding and decided not to use them for experiments for a while.
He made his way to the Leaky Cauldron.
Dylan was essentially invisible the entire time, using his Shadow Ring.
Then, while still invisible, Dylan put on his height-enhancing shoes, donned his mask, and pulled on his dark hat.
He followed a wizard from the Leaky Cauldron into Knockturn Alley.
He stopped in front of Borgin and Burkes.
Through the slightly worn display window, Dylan saw Mr. Borgin busily working inside the shop.
—Busy scamming fools.
Dylan watched Mr. Borgin and the wizard push a seemingly ordinary, low-value trinket back and forth in their hands.
Finally, the wizard took the item, and Mr. Borgin received a Galleon—a smile he couldn't suppress spread across his face.
After the wizard left, Dylan entered through the still-open door and casually sat on a recliner in the corner of the shop.
Mr. Borgin put away the Galleon, then hummed a tuneless tune, picked up a worn rag from the counter, and took out an identical item from under the counter, slowly polishing it.
"Another sale! These fools' money is so easy to get."
Just then, a deep, magnetic voice suddenly echoed behind him.
"It seems your business has been booming while I was away."
The sudden voice was like a clap of thunder from a clear sky, startling Mr. Borgin. He jumped, and the skull ring in his hand clattered onto the counter.
He quickly turned around and immediately saw Dylan, shrouded in shadow.
After a moment of stunned silence, Mr. Borgin's terror instantly transformed into fawning obsequiousness.
His already narrow eyes now squinted even tighter.
"Oh! Lord Fool! I never expected your sudden visit! You've truly brought glory to my humble shop once again!"
Dylan observed the man's expression and knew that despite seemingly being brainwashed by Delphini into becoming his follower, he had no intention of truly being devoted to him.
However, Dylan didn't care about this.
The more followers, the deeper the faith.
He could indeed unlock some achievements.
But whether these achievements would yield good rewards was uncertain.
So, Dylan's attitude towards this matter was simply to let nature take its course.
—As long as he was powerful and famous, wouldn't followers come to him on their own?
Mr. Borgin?
He wasn't that important.
Dylan leaned back in the recliner, exuding an intimidating aura without even trying.
"Do not fear, my follower. I have come to reward you."
Mr. Borgin was stunned again.
What?
Reward?
He hadn't misheard, had he?
This Karlsars, wanted by the Ministry of Magic, not only dared to appear again but... this time he wasn't here to demand money?
Recalling what happened during their first meeting, a murky light flickered in Mr. Borgin's eyes.
This man, who had twice caused a commotion in Knockturn Alley and declared his intention to reshape the world—he was as insane as the other one.
However…
The other one didn't lack money at all; whatever he wanted, he would simply take it.
But during their first meeting, this Karlsars, who called himself the Fool and the Singer of Death…
Actually traded Acromantula venom for Galleons—though the venom was high quality, it was nowhere near worth the price he had paid.
He had lost out on that deal.
A huge loss!
But in the time since, after selling all the Acromantula venom, he had at least recouped some of his losses.
Even if he lost money, this fellow, who claimed to reshape the world and use everyone as building blocks, hadn't outright robbed him—unlike how he treated the Dark Wizards on the street last time.
On the contrary, he had given him high-quality, non-insignificant amounts of Acromantula venom.
Why was that?
Did this Fool see something in him?
Otherwise, that crazy woman wouldn't have come over repeatedly spouting nonsense.
Or perhaps… was this Fool, despite his apparent strength, actually someone who could be manipulated?
Dylan's gaze, through his mask, fixed on Mr. Borgin's shifting expression, and a cold smile played on his lips.
"My follower, you seem to have many thoughts about me."
Mr. Borgin's false smile became even more radiant. "How could that be, Lord Fool? I am your most loyal follower!"
"Ever since you displayed your divine power once again last time, I've had a premonition that you will surely achieve your goals! The world will bow at your feet!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Dylan's eyes moved.
"In that case, before I reshape the entire world, hand over all your Galleons. Death—will bless you."
Mr. Borgin's expression froze.
"Lord Fool, I am your follower…"
Dylan slowly nodded. "So you should pay me more, shouldn't you?"
Mr. Borgin's expression grew even uglier.
It was somewhat like having eaten a lump of giant's dung mixed with flies and their squirming larvae.
The larvae were even alive and wiggling.
Dylan scoffed. "It seems your faith in me is not as fervent as you claim. In that case…"
....
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