As Char stepped into the dense storm of electric snakes swirling within the Room of Requirement, the world dissolved into a maelstrom of light and sound. Blue and white lightning, like living, hungry things, flashed towards him from every direction. Almost instantly, he was engulfed, arcs of pure energy shooting into his very pores.
What followed was a pain completely alien to any he had ever endured before, far stronger than the single flash he had tested. It was not the tearing pain of a beast's claws or the crushing force of a giant's club. This was a violation on a cellular level, a torment of thin, sharp needles piercing through flesh and blood, traveling along every nerve fiber in his body. The stinging, searing agony was so unbearable that even Char, who had withstood pains that would shatter ordinary men, couldn't help but clench his palms into fists and let out a low, guttural growl.
But at the same time, something else came with the overwhelming electricity. The much stronger shock allowed him to feel it—the so-called will of nature. As this will flowed into his body, it was wild, powerful, and utterly raw. A shocking, primal feeling surged through him. It felt like breaking through into another world, opening the door to a new reality. He found himself immersing his consciousness in it, the waves of severe pain raging in his body forgotten.
His mind was lost in the lightning. It was as if he was a flash of lightning. He gathered and separated, raged in the dark clouds, tore the sky, and shook the earth. Is this the will of nature? he thought, lost in the sensation. This feeling… it's really amazing.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Only when a sudden, blaring warning emerged from the depths of his instincts did he snap back to his senses. The excruciating pain, which had been a distant echo, surged back like a crashing tide, rushing over his brain. The agony was so intense it almost caused his Occlumency to collapse.
It was only then that Char discovered there was not a single piece of good meat left on his body. His skin had almost turned into charcoal under the surging electric current. The slightest movement revealed the bright, raw red flesh underneath. Even his pores were emitting tiny, blood-colored arcs of electricity. If it weren't for his legendary life ability, any other person would have suffered instant, total organ failure. Sudden death in a single, agonizing second.
A chill ran through Char's heart. He was beginning to truly understand the risks involved in practicing ancient magic or delving into the secrets of the runes. "Nature's will is too vast and broad," he whispered. "When the human spirit comes into contact with it, it is inevitable that one will be drawn in, just as I was. And yet, the fragile body has to endure the power of nature without any protection. No wonder even Professor Flitwick tried so hard to persuade me not to do such a crazy thing. If it weren't for my inhumanly strong vitality, I would have been seriously injured, if not worse."
He groaned, taking a step forward. Under the surrounding electric light, he walked towards the exit of the Room of Requirement step by step. During this process, his heartbeat accelerated. Streams of blood full of vitality flowed through his blood vessels. The black charcoal layer on the surface of his body cracked, and new skin began to grow on the bright red flesh below at a speed visible to the naked eye. By the time he reached the door, he no longer looked as miserable as before. If it weren't for the stray arcs of electricity still shooting from his body from time to time, he would have looked as if nothing had happened.
Taking a step forward, he left the Room of Requirement, where the lightning had now dimmed somewhat. The countless pains, like steel needles, still lingered for a while in his body before gradually dissipating. He let out a long breath. His tense nerves could finally relax a little. That experience… even he still felt a little scared when he thought about it. The feeling of being electrocuted was indeed uniquely painful.
But when his eyes fell on the system panel, he was stunned at first. Then, a burst of ecstasy washed over him. Suddenly, he felt that all the pain he had just endured was worth it. What made him feel this way were the huge changes on the panel. The progress of his ancient weather magic was self-evident. The experience just now, as if he had become a flash of lightning, was certainly very dangerous, but the rewards were also extremely rich. The natural will he had felt was much stronger than before. This also made the black iron luster on his ancient weather magic much richer than before. If he kept this up, it wouldn't take long for him to meet the requirements for entry-level ancient weather magic. And he could feel it clearly—a trace of that violent, primitive natural will still remained in his body. He had a feeling that if he were to perform the lightning magic from last night again, its power would undergo a complete transformation.
This time, however, his gains were more than just the improvement of his ancient weather magic. On the system panel, there was another huge improvement. That was his Occlumency. The originally bronze-level ability was now flashing with strands of silver light, having reached the node for promotion from Bronze to Silver. If this happened again, he was afraid that his Occlumency would advance directly to the Silver level. Surprise filled his eyes. He never expected that in order to master runes and ancient magic, his choice to come here and suffer electric shocks would result in such a great advancement in Occlumency. It was even more efficient than sparring with Snape. What was going on?
After thinking for a moment, he had a guess. "Could it be the influence of nature's will? After all, the collision between Occlumency and mental magic also involves a large part of the clash of wills. If someone uses mental magic to attack my Occlumency now, the little bit of natural will that remains in me would be like pulling out a pistol in a sword fight. That's cheating." If one day he could truly and completely control the will of nature, maybe the power of his Occlumency would be even greater than Snape's.
He took a deep breath. His gaze finally landed on a blurry line of writing at the end of his ability column. This handwriting had not yet taken shape and was extremely illusory, but he was certain it hadn't been there before. [Lightning Resistance]? "I haven't grown any plants that offer that kind of reward," he thought, his eyes flashing. "Could it be that my sublimated legendary life has given me the ability to spontaneously resist certain types of harm? Or is it because there is a bit of natural will in my body that makes me resistant to lightning?" Either way, this was all good news.
His current goal was just to get started with ancient weather magic. The natural will required was not strong. The electric light produced by the Room of Requirement could meet all his needs. But after that, to truly elevate his magic to a certain level, he was afraid he would really have to face natural lightning. If he didn't have lightning resistance, he wouldn't dare to try it. He would have to stack it sooner or later; of course, it would be better to get it earlier.
Watching the changes on his system panel, he breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes burning. He had been planning to slow down a bit. But now… "It works so well. Then we should hurry up and come a few more times." The next moment, he turned around and walked back into the Room of Requirement. The current that had previously dimmed seemed to refresh, becoming hot and dazzling again. This time, he strode directly to the center, letting countless electric lights wrap around him. The tender new skin that had just grown turned into charcoal bit by bit again under the crackling light. He tensed up, feeling the excruciating pain once more. But Char kept his Occlumency running, his mind becoming more focused than before, completely entering the flow state to experience the natural will flowing into his body.
The electric light in the Room of Requirement eroded his flesh and blood while gradually dimming, and on his system panel, his abilities gradually bloomed with brighter light. Until the lightning dimmed to a certain extent, he finally came out of the flow state, the accumulated pain coming back like a tide, making him stagger. He repeated this process continuously. Time passed quickly.
At the same time, inside the castle, professors and students in class frowned, looking at the flickering lights in the classrooms. Since this morning, the lighting would occasionally have problems. Even professors who had taught here for a lifetime didn't understand what was going on. Unstable lighting meant that the magic in Hogwarts Castle had consumed a lot of its power. What could possibly be causing such a huge drain?
At this time, Char also breathed a sigh of relief. He sat on the corridor on the sixth floor with a tired look on his face. Enduring the electric shocks again and again, even he had truly reached his limit. He had to slow down. But the effects were extremely gratifying. On his system panel, the black iron luster of his ancient weather magic was much clearer. The words "Occlumency" were completely covered in a silver luster. [Occlumency (Silver Level)] had been promoted. A smile appeared on his lips.
After recovering a little, he propped himself up and walked towards the Great Hall, planning to relax. And just when he sat down, an owl delivered another letter. It was still from Tonks. But the gloomy atmosphere from before was gone. Instead, there were words filled with joy. She brought some "good news."
"Things have taken a turn for the better. Professor Quirrell of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts has joined our team. Merlin, he is indeed a genius. As soon as he joined, he put forward several very constructive suggestions. Although we still failed to catch the monster despite his advice, for the first time, we managed to save someone alive from another disappearance that happened today. Now we all feel that this matter should be over soon. The minister couldn't wait to hold a press conference to announce this good news."
Shortly after he received the letter, freshly printed copies of the Daily Prophet were delivered to Hogwarts like snowflakes. This special supplement was extremely brief, reporting only the exciting rescue news. And Professor Quirrell played an important role. After class, the young wizards saw the news, and the atmosphere suddenly became high-spirited. Harry and the others were very enthusiastic. "I told you Professor Quirrell was a hidden talent! He has been silently guarding Hogwarts for a very long time. Even though he was not feeling well, he still stood up when he saw the magical world being ravaged by monsters. Professor Quirrell is indeed on the side of justice!" The Ravenclaws also raised their heads at this moment, proud of one of their own. Quirinus Quirrell, savior of Ravenclaw House.
But on the long table in Hufflepuff, after seeing this news, Char's heart sank little by little. Quirrell had infiltrated the team investigating the missing persons? How did he do it? What exactly did he want to do? His thoughts gradually became confused. But soon, he shook his head. Silver-level Occlumency, like an icy dagger, severed all distracting thoughts. His mind calmed down. Even though he knew that Quirrell was the culprit, there was no way to write to Tonks to remind her. He had no evidence, and if he rashly exposed Quirrell, he would only be exposing himself.
His expression grew serious. He had planned to take a breather. Now, it seemed that wouldn't be possible. Since he couldn't change the outside world, the only way was to improve himself. That way, no matter what happened, there were always more ways to deal with it. Immediately, he walked towards the sixth floor again, coming to the front of the troll tapestry. This time, there was only one thought in his mind. "Room of Requirement… increase the intensity!"
__________________________
"Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider donating Power Stones and joining our patreon
[patreon.com /coolperry]
for early access to future chapters.(+30 chapters)