As the information on his system panel refreshed in a cascade of text, Char found he had no time to pay attention to any of it. A scene had exploded into existence before his eyes. Dark clouds gathered as lightning flashed and thunder cracked. A blurry, powerful figure stood amidst the clouds, holding a magic wand high. A low, guttural mumbling echoed around him, a sound that seemed to emanate from the very dawn of time. The entire cloud layer—the dark clouds, the strong wind, the thunder, and the lightning—seemed to revolve around that single, commanding figure.
Char's eyes widened. "This is…?!"
A moment later, he understood. With his Occlumency, it was unlikely that he would fall into some random illusion. This had to be the "comprehension reward for ancient weather magic." Realizing this, Char immediately activated his Occlumency to its fullest extent. His mind became more focused than ever before, and the world in front of him seemed to slow down. He stared intently at the scene, watching every movement of the figure that stirred the storm, trying to listen to every ancient whisper.
This was a truly rare opportunity. Even if he could find a way to cultivate this mature Elber tree again, growing such an ancient and powerful plant was an incredibly difficult task. He didn't know how much more effort it would take to succeed again. For a long time, this single moment of comprehension would be his only chance to encounter ancient weather magic. He could not miss a single detail.
Under his focused gaze, the figure waved its magic wand, and the ancient, vast chant grew louder. However, the language that constituted the spell was not any of the ones Char had learned before. It wasn't Ancient Hebrew, Latin, Greek, or Old English. But he was certain he had seen this language recently. The books he had read flashed through his mind. A moment later, his eyes lit up with recognition.
"This is… runes," he breathed. "In Norse mythology, the god-king Odin was hung upside down from the World Tree for nine days and nine nights, losing an eye in exchange for knowledge that represented the essence of the world. It is said that the combination, stacking, and twisting of the thirty-three runes offer infinite possibilities. This knowledge has been passed down and is one of the oldest and most advanced disciplines in the wizarding world. Many powerful magics throughout history were learned from runes. But the difficulty is also immense. The Ancient Runes elective has always been the most difficult subject at Hogwarts, probably second only to the already-canceled alchemy course. I never expected that ancient weather magic would involve runes."
Besides being shocked, Char felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, he had been reading a lot of miscellaneous books recently. The Half-Blood Prince's textbook also contained extensive references to runes, so he had been reading related books these past few days. It was impossible to understand and use them in such a short time, but he had memorized all thirty-three of them. Otherwise, this opportunity would have been a complete waste. Learning more than one language was truly useful.
Now, he followed the flow of the runes, trying his best to discern the spell being chanted by the blurry figure. The chant was still too distant and vague. After all, this was only a Black Iron level of comprehension; it was impossible for the system to teach him by hand. How much he could learn from it depended entirely on him. But at this moment, relying on his skill in Occlumency, he managed to distinguish three consecutive runes in the spell with great difficulty.
"Fehu…"
"Thurisaz…"
"Dagaz…"
As the vision before him seemed to come to an end, the figure pointed its wand from the sky to the earth. Thunderclouds filled the heavens, and lightning bolts as thick as barrels rumbled down to the ground. It was a scene of world-ending destruction.
Char stood there in a daze, deeply shocked by what he had just witnessed. The range, the power… this was ancient weather magic. It was indeed a power far beyond what modern magic could possess. He feared that even wizards on the level of Dumbledore and Voldemort could not perform such a spell. This was like the magic of a legendary god.
"Ancient magic… what era did it come from?" he wondered. "What on earth happened to cause such a glorious era to fade into obscurity, and such powerful magic to be completely lost?" Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. But soon, he put aside all these distracting thoughts. If I haven't reached that level, any more guesses are useless. When I do, these secrets may reveal themselves. For now, I shouldn't think about where ancient magic came from, but study the harvest I have gained this time.
His eyes fell on the system panel. After he had memorized the three runes, a faint line of writing appeared: [Ancient Weather Magic]. But it was obvious from the system's assessment that he hadn't even reached the entry-level in this area.
His eyes flickered slightly. He raised his wand experimentally and softly recited the three runes he had just memorized.
"Fehu! Thurisaz! Dagaz!"
The ancient words echoed among the clouds. But to his disappointment, nothing happened. There was no howling wind, no lightning, not even a visible change in the clouds. The words on the system panel did not move at all. He shook his head slightly. Of course. It was not that easy to truly get started with ancient magic. His thoughts focused on the three runes. At least, I should be able to make some progress on these three. Perhaps this will allow me to further explore the mysteries of ancient weather magic. But on the bright side, even though I can't use this magic right away, it has at least appeared on my system panel. I finally didn't waste this opportunity.
Then, his eyes swept across the system panel again, and he saw a few new lines of words appearing in his ability column.
[Flight Ability Improvement (Diamond Level)]
[Improved Levitation Spell Deduction Ability (Platinum Level)]
Seeing the radiance of diamond and platinum, Char's expression filled with joy. The improvement in the levitation spell's deduction ability would take some time to verify. Deducing new spells was a long-term task and couldn't be tested overnight. But the improvement in his flying ability was an immediate, tangible experience.
Char narrowed his eyes. He gently placed his hand on the Nimbus 2000 broom beneath him. Immediately, an unprecedented, wonderful feeling spread throughout his body. The broom seemed to become one with him, an extension of his own body. He could even feel that he could make use of every vibration of the broomstick, every whisper of the air. He could maximize the performance of this broom to its theoretical limit… and perhaps, even push it beyond.
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