The moment the ruby pendant settled against his skin, a slight pain, like the prick of a mosquito bite, announced its presence. It was a fleeting sensation, but only for a moment. The pain began to slowly, insidiously increase, a creeping corrosion that seemed to seep into his very flesh and blood. Yet, Char's face remained an emotionless mask. The description of the ruby pendant emerged in his mind.
"Its holders often experience an increasingly intense itchy sensation after a period of time. Sores form on the body, and the flesh begins to rot. Even the teeth will fall out one by one. In the end, the bearer will fester and die in extreme fear."
Hearing this, Char felt no panic at all. The curse seemed vicious, but its intensity was not high. It would take quite a while to kill even a Muggle. What's more, his own legendary vitality was so strong that it was unmatched by ordinary people. Corrupt his flesh? Let him fester and die? With just this little curse, he might as well just go to bed. The damage caused by the malediction would not be nearly as fast as his body's own recovery. Apart from a little pain, it would have no real effect on him. And even this pain, along with the fear effect the curse might bring, would all be restrained by his powerful Occlumency.
Therefore, far from feeling any fear, Char was not alarmed. Instead, a spark of pure, academic curiosity lit his eyes. He observed with great interest as the curse magic went to work on him, a living laboratory for his research. Before his magical perception was promoted, although he had some curse magic power thanks to his Platinum-level curse studies, he could only feel its special nature, like seeing flowers in a thick fog. Now that his magical perception had been greatly enhanced, he could actually witness the process of the curse taking effect. It was like lifting the fog.
In his sight, he watched as ethereal particles of curse magic detached from the ruby pendant and wound their way towards his body. These strange magical particles didn't attack directly. Instead, as if they had a life of their own, they took advantage of their ethereal nature and the fact that they were difficult to be interfered with by other magic, and they silently infiltrated his own magical signature. Following his own magic particles, they began to surge through his blood. And in this process, the cursed magic attempted to slowly transform the normal magic around it.
A look of realization dawned in Char's eyes. "This feeling… the curse is like a special kind of magical virus. No wonder most curses don't explode with particularly strong power at the first moment. It turns out it takes some time for it to spread through the cursed person's magic. This is the incubation period. Until the curse's magical power grows to a certain level, the spread will become unstoppable, and this is the outbreak period. And at the end, the cursed person's magic power has almost been completely converted into curse magic. When the person dies, the newly converted magic will return to the cursed jewel, increasing its power."
He was quite impressed. A wizard who could develop the science of curses was truly a genius. Such a secretive method. No wonder so many powerful wizards had suffered from it. Even Dumbledore, in the original story, had suffered serious damage due to the curse on the Resurrection Stone ring. But luckily, when dealing with curses, Char had his own unique advantages. Although the curse magic was illusory and quite secretive, according to his previous experience, the will of nature was quite effective in dealing with it. In the process of being infused by nature's will, the illusory curse magic would be impacted and thus reveal its traces. And once it lost its concealed properties, it was not difficult to deal with. That's why, no matter how tough the curse, a strike of lightning would basically make it disappear into thin air. Of course, the prerequisite was that you could survive being struck by lightning. This was difficult for others, but for Char, it was much easier.
Thoughts flashed through his mind as he allowed the insidious power of the curse to lurk and spread within his body. On the system panel, the platinum luster of his curse science also began to slowly stabilize during this process. Then, his attention shifted from his own body to the ruby pendant. After the curse magic left the pendant and lurked into his body, the remaining power on the jewel was visibly reduced by more than half. Only two or three types were left. This was undoubtedly much simpler to analyze.
He carefully analyzed the impact of the remaining cursed magic on the ruby. "This curse makes the ruby's color even purer, while also imparting a slightly bewitching quality. At the same time, there is also a curse magic that makes the ruby even harder, impossible to break. Hmm? The last one actually makes the ruby pendant impossible to discard and will always appear near the cursed person? Interesting." His eyes flickered. If he could figure out the mechanism by which these curse magics changed objects, then maybe he could use curses to guide plant seeds in a targeted manner. For example, using a curse that makes jewelry harder and more indestructible, would it be possible to induce stronger traits in a certain plant? However, there was a difference between cursing objects and cursing plants. Of course, it would be impossible to simply copy it. This process would still require a lot of modification and research.
"After all, using curses to induce magical herbs to produce new variants is probably a unique idea, a brand new topic with no literature reference. If I want to make it a reality, I'm afraid it will take quite a while." But he was prepared for long-term research. He kept the ruby necklace close to his body, allowing its cursed magic to invade his flesh and blood. At the same time, his understanding of the curse on it was slowly deepening. On the system panel, the platinum luster of his curse science was becoming more stable bit by bit, and the intensity of its luster was also slowly increasing.
He showed a satisfied look. Just as he was about to move his eyes away from the system panel, his expression suddenly changed slightly. He discovered that while the words [Curseology] were flashing, the Serpent-Summoning Charm he had learned before seemed to have responded. A very fine and blurry line, unnoticeable unless you looked carefully, was extending from [Curseology] to the [Serpent-Summoning Charm]. A hint of surprise and uncertainty flashed across his eyes. He came up with a guess. "Could it be that the Serpent-Summoning Charm has a reaction to Curseology?"
The next moment, he waved his wand experimentally. The wand stabbed forward. At the same time, he chanted the incantation. "Serpensortia!" In an instant, a huge black shadow emerged from the smoke. Compared with the previous charm, due to the improvement of his magic perception, the number of heads of the black snake also increased, from a five-headed snake to a seven-headed snake. Even the luster of its scales and the fierce light in its eyes were more realistic. But other than that, he didn't feel any obvious changes. This made him frown. The system panel didn't lie. There must be some kind of secret connection between the two.
He suddenly fell into thought. "The Serpent-Summoning Charm… this curse was most likely bestowed upon the Malfoy family by Voldemort. In the original novel, during the Battle of the Ministry of Magic, when Voldemort faced Dumbledore, he summoned countless venomous snakes with a wave of his hand. This is also an application of the charm. But why did Voldemort use it? Logically speaking, given the strength of the snakes summoned, even an ordinary Auror could deal with them with a Flame Charm, let alone Dumbledore. How could it make him so alert?" His thoughts gradually pointed to a possibility. "Unless the charm used by Voldemort is different from the one I have. Unless the snakes he summoned have some extremely troublesome characteristics."
When this guess emerged in his mind, his gaze fell on the fine line between the two abilities. Voldemort was a master of curses. The dark curse he had left on the Resurrection Stone ring many years ago had almost cost Dumbledore his life. The curse he had left on his Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position had been fulfilled for so many years. The charm was a spell he often used; it was only natural that it was related to curse science. But how to verify it? A moment later, his attention was focused on the portion of curse magic power he had gained. "Could it be that I should use curse magic to cast it?"
Then, he tried again. "Serpensortia!" This time, the magic power gushing out from the tip of his wand exuded a cold and strange feeling. It was the cursed magic he had used. In the next moment, the black snake summoned did indeed undergo significant changes. He could feel it. The snake's body was entangled with cursed magic. Due to its characteristics, the effects of other magic on it would be greatly reduced. This also meant that the black snake now had the ability to ignore many protective magics. At the same time, its fangs were entwined with an extremely strong curse. Once bitten, it was not just the venom that was deadly, but the curse that came with it.
His eyes sparkled. This completely verified his previous conjecture. No wonder Voldemort had used the charm when fighting with Dumbledore. The countless poisonous snakes he had summoned each had not only been transformed by the dark magic of Transfiguration but also carried an extremely vicious curse. Therefore, it had the terrifying characteristic of ignoring many magical protections. Once you were touched by it, you might suffer a powerful curse. Ordinary wizards, even battle-hardened Aurors, if they had no way to deal with such curses, the small snakes summoned might cause them to die suddenly in despair.
He took a deep breath. He became more and more aware of the horror of Voldemort. Every seemingly ordinary little spell cast in the original work might, in fact, contain the most profound achievements in the field of dark magic. But a moment later, the amazement in his heart gradually subsided. Voldemort was indeed a very remarkable wizard, but he still had several years to develop. Before the final battle, it was possible to fight him. And before that, Voldemort had created such a useful spell. What was wrong with using it himself?
His thought flashed. "The combination of the Serpent-Summoning Charm and Curseology has great potential. I can continue this research." But then, a problem appeared before him. The curse magic he possessed was not strong. To bring more significant improvements to the charm, the curse magic power used must be further improved. The birth of cursed magic was accompanied by a negative emotional impact that was much stronger than ordinary dark magic. Even though his Occlumency skills were quite advanced, he didn't want to take that risk. Excessive use of dark magic could still cause mental distortion. But if he didn't create curse magic through negative emotions, how could he increase the power of the spell? He fell into deep thought.
Until a moment later, his eyes landed on the cursed ruby pendant, which was still diligently trying to erode him. An idea emerged in his mind. Cursed jewelry could kill its wearer because the cursed magic power on it would mix into the wearer's own magic. This was, of course, a nightmare for the wearer. But the opposite was also true. Those cursed by the jewel would have more cursed magic power in their bodies than before. When casting a spell, could this cursed magic also be activated?
He tried it out. He casually cast a few spells. While the spell was being cast, he was paying attention to the movement of the cursed magic power from the ruby pendant in his body. Indeed. He found himself casting a spell, and there really was a bit of cursed magic from the ruby that also flowed out from the tip of his wand. Because the interaction between cursed magic and ordinary magic was slight, this didn't affect the effect of the spell itself. And this completely formed his thoughts. "That is to say, I can completely rely on the cursed jewel to accumulate extremely powerful cursed magic power in my body. When casting other spells normally, it won't affect them. But when I cast the Serpent-Summoning Charm, the magic power from the cursed jewel will come into play, making it even more powerful."
Of course, this approach also carried risks. A large amount of cursed magic power accumulated in the body, and a normal person would most likely die suddenly. Even if his legendary life could withstand countless times more than ordinary people, he wouldn't die, but the pain he would endure would definitely be countless times more intense than the slight pain and itchiness brought by the ruby pendant now. He weighed the pros and cons. A look of determination appeared in his eyes. He wouldn't die, he would just suffer a little more. But the increase in the power of the spell was real. If things went wrong, it might become another trump card of his. By enduring a little pain, he could achieve real improvement. In his previous life, how many people would have dreamed of such a thing. Quirrell should be arriving soon. Although he had made some preparations, it never hurt to be more prepared. That being the case, there was nothing to hesitate about.
A moment later, he opened the boxes containing the cursed jewels. He picked up a purple gem that was sparkling with a strange purple light. Immediately, cold cursed magic surged into his body. It was different from the pain and itchiness caused by the ruby. The cursed magic wrapped around this purple gem seemed to be more inclined to create illusions. All of its previous owners had killed everyone around them in a frenzy and eventually ended their own lives. But in front of his Occlumency, these illusions were still difficult to shake. After a brief pause, he continued to put on one cursed jewel after another. The curse magic became increasingly stronger, mixing with his own. Compared to before, the cursed magic he unleashed every time he waved his wand had begun to surpass what he already had.
Right at this moment, he also began to notice a phenomenon. Above the system panel, the original platinum-gold glossy surface of the Serpent-Summoning Charm seemed to have a new layer of luster covering it. Although quite unreal, with these two layers of luster superimposed, the light emitted by the charm had indeed become brighter. He paused. He had never encountered such a phenomenon before. But a moment later, a guess emerged in his mind. "Could it be that the cursed magic power of the jewel has begun to have a noticeable effect on the spell? Like the accumulation of water, it provides a temporary gain. So the system rating of the charm began to rise as the curse's magic power persisted?"
To verify this conjecture, it was also very simple. Just keep touching the cursed jewels. Continuously stack the curse magic. Just see if the luster of the charm could continue to rise. At this time, he could already clearly feel the pain all over his body. This was no longer something that could be ignored. But for him, who had experienced countless pains, these little pains had become commonplace. It simply couldn't reach the limits of his Occlumency. As for the damage caused by the curse, it was also far less than the recovery ability of his own sublimated legendary life itself. "That is to say, we can continue!"
He reached out again, picking up a particularly tempting gem. The cursed magic power shrouding this was obviously a level higher than the previous cursed jewelry. He was afraid that more than twenty people had been cursed to death by it. The extremely strong curse magic seeped into his body. The pain was getting worse. But his gaze was always fixed on the sheen covering the Serpent-Sumoming Charm. The next moment, that layer of luster increased. On the whole, the brilliance of the charm had risen again.
He took a deep breath. There seemed to be flames burning in his eyes. "It's still a long way from my limit. Continue!" One cursed jewel after another was worn by him. The pain skyrocketed. But in return, the luster of the charm also increased rapidly at an astonishing speed. The platinum luster had reached its peak. Among them, some diamond light began to flash. And at this time, of the remaining cursed jewels in the box, all that remained was the azure Heart of the Ocean. The cursed magic power shrouding it was almost comparable to the sum of all the previous cursed jewels combined.
His eyes were calm and steady. "These cursed jewels are indeed terrifying to ordinary people. But for me, the damage was blunted too much. The current curse power would take at least ten years to kill me or have a significant impact on me. Even with the Heart of the Ocean, it's still within my tolerance."
After assessing his own tolerance, he didn't hesitate. He also wore the Heart of the Ocean. This moment, an unprecedented sense of coldness and oppression seeped in from the jewel. It was as if he was buried in the deep sea, with no sunlight and only bone-chilling cold. In front of him, pale, swollen vengeful spirits suddenly appeared. They stretched out their swollen and festering hands, as if to pull him down. The curse on the Heart of the Ocean targeted both the body and the spirit. But for him, it was like hitting an indestructible dam. A moment later, the feeling of coldness was dispelled by his surging hot blood. The phantoms of evil spirits before his eyes were also destroyed by his unbreakable will.
His gaze fell on the system panel. In the blink of an eye, he saw the radiance of the Serpent-Summoning Charm begin to rise like a rocket. That bit of diamond light spread rapidly until it covered all the words. The Serpent-Summoning Charm was now Diamond level