In his shock and fury, Jack could no longer hold on. His head lolled to the side, and he passed out cold.
In those final moments of consciousness, he stared fixedly at the ancient magic book, his eyes bloodshot with desperation.
I want it so badly—it's mine—!
—Wait, why am I acting so insane?
Then his awareness faded completely.
Ethan glanced at the unconscious Jack, waved his wand, and cast a healing charm on him.
He thought to himself: "To set up such a deadly trap in the Chamber of Secrets, this Mr. Black is no pushover."
Leaving clues while laying down challenges—it was like he was declaring, "Weaklings don't deserve this inheritance."
Truly fitting for the Black family's ruthless style.
Just then, streaks of fresh blood rose from the ground.
Like crimson threads, they seeped into the book in Ethan's hand.
The dry, wrinkled cover grew plump and smooth, like an old goblin absorbing vital essence.
The skin even seemed to unfurl.
A surge of magic radiated from it, like countless wriggling tentacles extending outward, tempting Ethan's mind.
Urging him to surrender everything to it.
However, [Due to your curse resistance, you are immune to this brainwashing].
Ethan blinked.
Brainwashing? Was there brainwashing?
I didn't feel a thing!
Pfft, how pathetic.
[You have obtained The Necronomicon].
Ethan: !!!
Sorry, spoke too soon.
The Necronomicon!!
Ethan had read about this book in the Restricted Section at Hogwarts.
Legend had it that it contained countless blasphemous secrets, capable of driving anyone who so much as glanced at it to madness!
Raising the dead, controlling the undead, manipulating minds, unleashing plagues and disasters...
Even "god-slaying"!!
The tales claimed that with it, you could possess the entire world.
And only it could unlock the true power of the Deathly Hallows.
Fortunately, it had only made a brief appearance in history.
Afterward, it was supposedly destroyed by Aurors and Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries—at least, that's what they announced publicly.
Even the related events were sealed away, and Ethan couldn't find any trace of them even in the Restricted Section.
But now, Ethan had obtained The Necronomicon.
His cobalt-blue eyes lingered on its bizarre cover, resembling the hide of a bipedal goat, stirring an unnatural desire within him.
"Ethan Is Not Interested In Conquering The World"
Ethan just wanted to use art to give the world a little shock.
To make the world brighter and more upright.
"With this, I'll surely be one step closer to my dream. Mr. Black, you're truly my greatest benefactor! The world will thank you!"
Ethan murmured excitedly, eagerly flipping open the cover.
The cover and inner pages made a tearing, sticky sound as they parted.
On the flyleaf was a later addition of densely packed words.
The handwriting matched the note from the metal scroll.
It was Black's script.
Ethan skipped the initial "Whoever uses this book must be cautious" and zeroed in on the key parts:
"Since the last time, after the Aldebaran Rune Mark that could suppress werewolves, much time has passed."
"I've hit a bottleneck because it seems no method can restore my daughter's sanity on the night of the full moon..."
"But there's always a way. I accidentally acquired this ancient book from an Arab merchant, and I made a major discovery..."
"It was originally compiled from Ancient Runes—a natural textbook for Ancient Magic! I don't know why it's been unheard of for so long—I'm determined to find a way to cure my daughter from it."
"Patronus! Yes, if a Patronus Charm is powerful enough to repel the foul dementors, then Ancient Magic based on it should produce an even greater positive effect!"
"I need to perform the ritual described herein, cast the Unseen Art, summon a Patronus, and investigate further. But where do I find the countless dark souls needed for the ritual?"
...
"I can no longer turn back."
The handwriting of this sentence pressed deeply into the paper.
As if conveying the writer's desperate resolve.
Ethan frowned, noticing a crucial detail.
These paragraphs were clearly not from the same period, yet they appeared on the same flyleaf.
Very strange.
Ethan continued reading.
"From the Patronus summoned by the ritual, I successfully learned the Ancient Runes version of the Patronus Charm. It's incredibly difficult, almost defying the rules of normal spellcasting!"
"After a long time, I finally mastered it—I succeeded."
"On the night of the full moon, when I held my daughter, who had returned to her human form, I wept tears of joy."
Below that was the Ancient Runes version of the Patronus Charm!
Even among spells, it was a lengthy incantation.
Translated into Ancient Runes, it became an even longer passage.
The magical model was incredibly twisted, as if pushing the limits of geometric space.
Among it, Ethan could make out a variant of the basic Aldebaran Rune Mark.
Ethan: "A spell powerful enough to return a werewolf to human form on the night of the full moon!"
"If the headmaster's Patronus Charm can defend against curses,"
"Then this is a true curse annihilator!"
Even more aggressive!
Ethan thought of the pure white door formed by the basilisk's body.
The chilling specters within.
It was a necessary path for advancement.
If he could successfully learn the Ancient Magic version of the Patronus Charm.
Combined with the effect of [Light].
He should be able to pass through those specters and get closer to the promotion door!!
Ethan clenched his fists, his heart pounding like a drum, his eardrums roaring!
He lowered his head, studying the complex spell with even greater focus.
Suddenly, he frowned:
"? This spell seems incomplete—"
Indeed, Ethan could sense that the spell wasn't whole—only superficial, lacking more crucial content.
Sure enough.
At the very bottom, Mr. Black had written again:
"I cannot use symbols to record the most core magical runes; they are too ancient, and there are no corresponding words to express them. To the one who obtains this book later, if you wish to fully learn the advanced Patronus Charm, you must do as I did: follow the ritual described in this book, summon a Patronus, and learn the key characters from 'it'."
[By reading the manuscript, you have learned the Advanced Patronus Charm (Incomplete)!]
[The Patronus Charm can repel dementors, and the complete advanced version can truly kill them].
[Even the incomplete version can inflict immense damage upon them!]
[Merely by reading the spell, your mind has been cleansed].
[Light brightness increased].
Ethan: Oh, wow.
So absorbing my own dark matter can increase brightness too, huh?
Ah, I've got an idea.
In Ethan's mind, the concept of a perpetual motion machine emerged: actively creating dark matter, then absorbing it.
Fully automated production and harvesting mode—you deserve to have it.
"But I probably can't produce much dark matter myself; after all, I am the embodiment of [Light]."
Ethan nodded.
Then he flipped further.
What met his eyes was a ritual description, complete with illustrations.
The illustrations made Ethan nod in approval.
Very tasteful.
[You have learned the Unseen Art · Beast-Rending Ritual!]
[Description: He was once hunted like an animal, but not anymore, never again.]
[Ritual Method: In absolute despair and fear, kill at least twenty or more beings who have taken other lives, sacrifice their dark souls, recite the incantation, to summon a Patronus from a higher plane.]
[The Patronus sometimes only casts a gaze, sometimes even gets angry; only when the sacrifice wins 'its' favor will it personally appear in very rare cases.]
[Supplement: Even without dark souls, they can be artificially created—that despair and pain will make certain existences more pleased.]
[You have gained an "Erudition" entry; your comprehension and learning abilities are more agile.]
When the blue-green subtitles appeared,
Ethan felt a sudden clarity in his mind.
The slight confusion from prolonged reading of The Necronomicon vanished as well.
"Dark souls stained with blood—"
Ethan pondered, his eyes gradually brightening.
In the modern era, with Lord Voldemort out of power, it might be tough to find so many pure dark souls at once.
But in ancient times, in 1612, during a period of rebellion,
Weren't there plenty of dark souls who had killed people?
Oh boy, it's going to be exciting.
Suddenly,
"Boom—!!!"
A dull, massive sound echoed from above!
Shaking dust from the stone walls.
Something had happened?
Ethan's eyes sharpened as he looked up.
A sense of excitement gradually rose within him.
Speaking of dark souls, here they came.
The goblin army.
Ethan: "Perfect, I'd already used the Holy Relic to create a large-scale Patronus construct—even Professor Lupin said it was excellent. It should let me complete this sacrificial ritual in one go!"
He was going to slaughter these encroaching goblins!
Sacrifice their defiled souls to attract the attention of a higher being.
Thereby learning those ancient magical runes that couldn't be expressed in words!
Ethan licked the corner of his mouth, a card radiating endless coldness appearing in his hand.
Tucking away The Necronomicon, he hurried toward the passage.
It wouldn't do to be late and have someone else steal his kills.
Goblins, your grandpa is here!!
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