At this time, Char fired a laser spell into the air, forming words that attracted the Quintaped-like monsters. Far beyond the underground Forbidden Forest, the professors who were rushing to the scene also saw the words faintly reflected from below ground.
At this moment, Professor McGonagall's eyes were red. "Char... this child..."
The more sentimental Professor Flitwick was almost crying. "What a wonderful and brave child! In order to protect the other young wizards, he took the initiative to expose himself and attract those dangers. May Merlin bless him!"
Snape's expression was as tight as iron, his lips pursed so tightly that he was unaware of the blood dripping from where he had bitten his lip. In the entire school, perhaps he was the only one who knew how much strength Char had hidden. That body was simply invincible, seemingly impossible to wear out. He had strong attainments in Occlumency, practical experience that far exceeded that of his peers, and not to mention ancient magic. If Char wanted to hide, even if danger was inevitable, Snape still felt that there was a good chance he would survive until help arrived. But now, actively exposing himself was a completely different matter. His survival rate was plummeting.
Snape cursed under his breath. "Idiot! This idiot!" The blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and the veins on his palms bulged, revealing his true feelings. Scenes of his time with Char replayed in his mind. This little one was one of the few people who had absolute trust in him. Not to mention, he seemed to be able to understand his difficult situation. So far, Char was the only one who had expressed his hope for him to survive and change his destined tragic fate.
"Damn it," Snape muttered. "So many big words. Then you have to be able to stay alive first!"
Professor Sprout needed no further explanation. After seeing the signs that Char was actively exposing himself and attracting the monsters, all the color had drained from her face. The feeling she exuded was so gloomy that it seemed as if she was about to fall into an abyss. Her empty, pale eyes were fixed on Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore," she said, her voice hoarse, "if anything happens to my Char, because of your stupid decision, I can't guarantee what I'll do."
Feeling the aura emanating from Professor Sprout, and the undisguised anger and despair in her words, along with a resentment that had never been expressed before by this usually affable professor, Dumbledore looked pale. The self-blame and regret in his heart were indescribable. He could fully understand her feelings. If it were him, if he found out that a loved one he thought was dead was still alive—for example, if Ariana came back to him—but because of the stupidity of some people, her life was ruined again... Dumbledore couldn't imagine what he would do.
The blue eyes reflected the shimmering words sent by Char. Dumbledore's eyes were filled with respect and heartache. "Char Sprout, you are the greatest little wizard I have ever seen. You have inherited the diligence of Hufflepuff and the courage of Gryffindor. Even if there's only a glimmer of hope, I won't let you die in front of me. Hold on."
At the same time, compared to the professors who were watching this scene from afar, the young wizards in the underground Forbidden Forest felt the impact even more strongly when they saw the clearly visible laser spell characters in the darkness above.
For example, at this moment, behind a thick tree, two young wizards were cowering and hiding. Their bodies were shaking uncontrollably, and they didn't even dare to breathe. Not far from where they were hiding, a monster covered in red hair, one look of which was enough to give them nightmares for a month, was searching the shadows behind every tree with its long, strange head. The tiny sound of its movement sounded like the knell of death to the two young wizards. And every time the monster's head made a low, strange laugh and took a deep breath, as if sniffing for something, they couldn't help but shiver with fear. The large and small wounds on their bodies from falling from the ground also caused a burning pain. They had never encountered anything like this in their lives. What's worse, the blood oozing from their wounds seemed to have been smelled by the monster. The strange laughter was getting closer and closer to the trees where they were hiding.
Until the next moment, there was a violent noise. The two young wizards could no longer contain their fear. Their minds went blank, and they screamed. But what caught their eye was not the monster's bloody mouth, but the figure of the Quintaped-like monster hurriedly leaving.
The two young wizards had just recovered from the shock when they saw the flashing words in the darkness above. A feeling of being lucky to have survived, overwhelmed by shock, emotion, and guilt, washed over them. "Char... it was he who exposed himself and lured the monster away. He saved us?!"
These two young wizards came from Ravenclaw. Looking back on the past academic year, they had a vague disdain for Hufflepuff. The shame in their hearts was now beyond words. They struggled to move themselves a little further into the shadows, hiding inside, their eyes fixed on the direction where the laser spell was flashing. At this moment, it was as if an eagle flying in the sky was bowing to a badger digging a hole in the earth. "Char... he's a wizard we can never compare to. He must survive, he must!"
Such a mood filled the hearts of all the young wizards in the underground Forbidden Forest who were saved by Char. And even those who were lucky enough not to encounter the monsters, hiding in the bushes at the moment, could also hear bursts of strange laughter and bloodthirsty growls, accompanied by creepy, evil magic, quickly passing through the woods. At this moment, Char's flashing laser spell seemed to mean the dawn of light that breaks through the darkness. It became their hope. If they usually prayed to Merlin, at this moment, all the young wizards in the underground Forbidden Forest, without exception, prayed silently to Char in their hearts.
It was at this moment that Char's eyes showed surprise. A strange feeling arose in his heart. He had had similar feelings before, for example, when the trolls got a new home and worshiped him, or when he had led the Hufflepuff Quidditch team to make history and was loved by everyone in the house. But no matter which time, the feeling was far less intense than this. His mind was focused on the center of his eyebrows, and the spiritual eye gained after the advancement of his Occlumency and the enhancement of his sixth sense opened. The world before his eyes was quickly covered by countless lines and chaotic colors. The underground Forbidden Forest was shrouded in deep black and blood-red. Even those disordered lines expressed a feeling of depression and madness. But in these lines and colors, there were pure white lines spreading over his body.
"Is this... the power of faith? Rich, pure faith?!"
A moment later, he reacted immediately. Before this, he had never received such a strong power of faith from the young wizards. After all, what he did had caused a great response in his house and made the kids love him very much, but it could never reach the level of worship or belief. People's minds were still too complicated, even young wizards. To want them to be like the trolls, full of admiration for him, was almost impossible. Maybe Dumbledore was the only one who had such a chance. But now, when facing this life-and-death crisis, Char was like the dawn that saved them. This experience made the young wizards place great hopes on him and generated so much power of faith.
He couldn't help but smile. This was a gain he had never expected. Such a large amount of power of faith, in just a short moment, was equivalent to the total power of faith he had obtained before. If Demeter's silver cup absorbed it, the ritual magic that had just been performed would probably cool down again in a very short time. Regardless of using ritual magic to ripen other plants or using it in conjunction with the blood of the Quintaped-like monster to forcibly ripen the mutant human-faced fluorescent mushroom and obtain ancient ash, for Char, this meant an opportunity to rapidly grow his strength.
Thinking of this, his original annoyance due to the changes in the Forbidden Forest trial and the fragmented plot immediately vanished. No matter how the plot of the Philosopher's Stone changed, at least this change was not entirely a bad thing for him. There were still many benefits.
Immediately following, before the thoughts in his mind could calm down, something even more surprising happened. From the strong power of faith that spread to him, he felt the thick emotions, calling for hope in despair. And this produced a significant change on his system panel. The ritual magic of Demeter, which hadn't changed much after being promoted to the bronze level, even after he used the blessing and performed a new ritual, was now changing. The bronze luster was becoming richer at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even in the blink of an eye, a little bit of silver luster appeared all over it. Although after the silver luster spread for a while, the rate of change began to slow down, these changes also made Char even more delighted. He had grasped the key to the general level of Demeter's ritual magic.
"Ritual magic, the magic used by the gods' priests to preside over ceremonies. Its promotion is of course related to rituals and the prayers of believers. When do believers pray most sincerely? Of course, when they are most desperate. Calling for hope in times of despair, praying devoutly to the gods... such voices can reach the ears of the gods through ritual magic and priests. Aren't there many such examples in the mythology of Olympus? I actually overlooked them."
Looking at the Demeter Ritual Magic which was not far from the silver level, he showed anticipation. Even if it wasn't enough for a promotion this time, after he found the trick, he should be able to push it to the silver level soon. The last time it was promoted to the bronze level, Demeter's Silver Cup had gained the ability to bless seeds, which was of great benefit to him. He didn't know if the Silver Cup would bring him any surprises after he was promoted to the silver level again.
But soon, he calmed down. He was still in the underground Forbidden Forest and was not out of danger yet. This was not the time to fantasize about these things. Although he had many methods and had legendary power and life hidden away, and if he used his full strength, it would be difficult to die in such an environment, it was better to be safe than sorry. What's more, this incident would definitely attract a lot of attention. After the sublimation of his legendary ability, this trump card should be hidden if possible. After all, this wasn't the world of fantasy novels from his previous life, where one had to demonstrate strength and talent at all costs to secure resources. He had an aunt who was a headmistress. Was he still afraid of a lack of resources? Of course, the more stable, the better.
Then, his gaze fell on the body of the house-elf that had undergone the Quintaped transformation. With a wave of his wand, the remaining blood was continuously drawn out and put into the bottle he carried with him. While drawing the blood, he carefully examined the gruesome condition of the corpse. Immediately, a shocking discovery emerged in his mind. The main body of this monster was incredibly weak.
He examined it again and finally confirmed his discovery. This was most likely a dark wizard from the lowest level of Knockturn Alley, possibly one who had never even attended Hogwarts. This situation was not uncommon. The emergence of Hogwarts had put an end to the wizarding apprenticeship system that was once popular in the Middle Ages, but some dark wizards still had a fondness for wizard apprentices. After all, who didn't like free labor and experimental materials? They sometimes ensnared Squibs who were desperate for magic, or wizards who were not strictly Squibs but who could display unstable magic and did not meet the admission standards of Hogwarts, to serve as their apprentices. This unlucky guy who was transformed into a Quintaped-like monster should be a similar existence. After all, the magic power he sensed from him was indeed weak.
But this was also the most shocking thing. Such a wizard apprentice, who could have been defeated by a first-year student at Hogwarts, had undergone Voldemort's dark magic transformation. His strength had increased, and he had suddenly become a ferocious being that could rival a 5X-level magical beast. Voldemort's dark magic, his Transfiguration, had truly reached the level of turning decay into magic, which was simply unbelievable.
He couldn't help but think of the original work. Dumbledore himself had admitted that Voldemort had pushed certain areas of magic to unimaginable heights. The dark magic of Transfiguration was probably one of them. Then he thought about how Voldemort had once tried to seduce him in a letter, mentioning that as long as the blood of magical animals was used in combination with the dark magic of Transfiguration, one could easily break the limitations of talent and gain power that ordinary people couldn't imagine. He was afraid this was really true.
He breathed a sigh of relief. No wonder so many people were so obsessed with dark magic. Relying on it to gain power was indeed a shortcut. He relied on the system to surpass the limit of his talent and improve his magic perception and strength, and this took a lot of effort. But a wizard apprentice needed to gain magical strength and perception that surpassed his own. He just had to accept a transformation through the dark magic of Transfiguration and survive.
He shook his head. If he didn't have a system, and he had been stuck at the limit of his talent for a long time with no sign of a breakthrough, he was afraid he might also turn to dark magic. But now, forget it. No matter how powerful the dark magic of Transfiguration was, Voldemort, who had pushed it to the pinnacle, had undergone so many transformations and still couldn't reach the mythical level. Relying on the system, it was possible to reach that level. Why should he transform himself into something that was neither human nor ghost?
However, although he himself did not need the dark magic of Transfiguration, this profound magic still had extremely high value, especially for transforming plants. Not to mention being used to assist in combat, where it often created miraculous effects. The renovated house-elf in front of him was itself a precious material that could drive countless dark wizards crazy. He was not so arrogant as to look down on the magic that Voldemort pursued so diligently and that Dumbledore dealt with with caution.
Then, he investigated more deeply the traces of transformation that Voldemort had left on the monster. With a quick look, the scene he sensed made his scalp tingle and his hair stand on end. Unimaginable distortion and resentment... it was really hard to imagine what kind of horrible treatment this transformed dark wizard apprentice had endured. But at the same time, he still couldn't help but marvel at Voldemort's magical attainments. Not talking about character, the magic of the noseless monster was truly amazing. It was a talent that would amaze even Dumbledore.
He had previously obtained the precious and rare Blue Star Flower. Cultivating it to maturity would reward him with the ability to resist one fatal injury. However, the difficulty of cultivation also made it difficult for him to think of any solution for the time being, because it was necessary to constantly balance the magic power of the Blue Star Flower and the Wire Tree. Even a master of herbology could not maintain this delicate balance at all times. It was already so difficult to dynamically maintain the balance between two magical powers. But now, in this remodeled house-elf, he felt at least six different kinds of magic, entwined together, forming a wonderful balance.
"The dark wizard apprentice's own magic power, as well as the magic power transferred to him from the limbs of five other wizards... a balance has been created, and this has greatly increased the magical power of this transformed monster, reaching a strength that ordinary wizards cannot match. The balance of six kinds of magic... how on earth is this done?"
A strange look flashed in his eyes. If he could study and understand the principle, perhaps the issue of cultivating Blue Star Flowers could be easily solved.
But the next second, in the bushes in front of him, a faint sound suddenly became louder. He was immediately alert, his wand raised. Is it a modified Quintaped? It was clearly in his previous perception that it would take some time for the closest one to arrive.
Immediately following, three human heads appeared out of thin air in front of him.
His pupils shrank slightly. "Huh?!"