Other than those kinds of books.
Ian also found an ancient text that piqued his interest. The cover was made of a material as hard as slate, carved with countless bas-reliefs of fantastic beasts.
Its delicate appearance was what first attracted Ian, but it was the title that made him pull it from the shelf. The book's hefty and solid weight even exceeded the total of the other three books combined.
Bloodline Origin
Ian skimmed through it briefly and found it recorded a segment of history, reaching back to before the Wizard War, when wizards had not yet become the rulers of today's Magic World.
Whether it was the innately powerful fantastic beasts or those dwarves, giants, gnomes, or goblins, they all possessed natural powers incomparably greater than wizards—by many times over.
Human wizards were merely at the bottom of the food chain. In such a harsh environment, groups after groups of wizards intent on bridging this gap arose among humanity.
Some chose to exploit Magic Runes, others sought to crossbreed with other races to increase their offspring's gifts, and some, in their delusion, tried to acquire the powers of fantastic beasts using Transformation Technique.
No matter what methods they used, only a rare few ever succeeded, and the vast majority met with failure. Apart from them, an even more radical faction of wizards chose the path of plunder.
Bloodline Fusion.
This was the "unorthodox route" those wizards discovered.
Wilder, by far, than trying to change into a fantastic beast through Transformation Technique—most wizards died from bloodline fusion, and the odds of a grisly death even exceeded that of failing Transformation Technique.
However.
There were still some wizards who succeeded.
This way of seizing the power of other races' bloodlines, unlike the transient effects of magic transformation, could even be inherited by one's descendants for generations to come.
Many species that today seem extremely dangerous were in fact products of that era. Unlike the failures of Transformation Technique, the results of bloodline fusion didn't impair reason or thought.
Take, for example, the centaurs in the Hogwarts Forbidden Forest. In this book, Bloodline Origin, it was explicitly stated that centaurs are indeed a product of bloodline fusion.
And other kinds of humanoid races as well.
Their emergence wasn't a complete success, but it was still a way to gain strength never meant for human wizards. Of course, those who truly succeeded still retained mostly human bloodlines.
"For example, the Dumbledore family might be one of those successful few." Ian flipped through the book, speculating, his main interest in it being the mysterious mark on the back of his hand.
Fox's closeness in the office earlier had made the mark on Ian's hand glow ever so slightly, something only he could see. It was, absolutely, a fascinating phenomenon.
"Whenever a member of the Dumbledore family is in desperate need, the Phoenix will come to their side…" This is a consensus known by many in the Wizarding World.
Ian believed this consensus was, perhaps, rooted in bloodline. Many ancient families in the Wizarding World had similar circumstances, like Slytherin's inherited Snake-man tongue.
Voldemort's nostrils became almost as flat as a snake's, and this was obviously a result of dangerous magic transformation, yet no one could say for sure whether a "throwback" of bloodline was also at play.
After all, there surely wasn't only one mad Magic Transformer who altered their own form, and yet it is precisely Voldemort who gained unparalleled power from Magic Transformation.
Saying it's all about Voldemort's genius?
That's honestly a bit too thin a reason.
"The original source of the magic transformation field might also be the legacy of bloodline fusion, and the disappearance of the Golden Apple spurred even more people into research."
"Compared to the difficulty of bloodline fusion, the success rate of magic transformation is obviously much higher…"
It's not that Ian was tempted by the idea of ruining his own good looks; he was simply thinking about Ariana's gift—if he could research its secret, perhaps he could have his own Phoenix.
"I'm borrowing this book too!" Ian saw there was a lot of bloodline knowledge in Bloodline Origin, and he truly couldn't resist having a fluffy Phoenix of his own.
Maybe most people would feel the same. After all, even if a Phoenix's combat power wasn't the most outstanding, it was still way cooler than other, stronger creatures.
Their tears, which could heal wounds and cure poisons, were considered the best support. And while Phoenixes might not be top-tier in battle, they're being compared against the most powerful of fantastic beasts, anyway.
"That's enough for now, enough for me to study for a while…" Ian was about to find Madam Pince to register his loaned books when he spotted her shelving more books.
Ian had already noticed several large chests when he entered. Now, as Mrs. Pince dragged them to the Forbidden Book Area, he realized they were all filled with forbidden books.
Chronicles of Forbidden Spells: Forgotten Dark Power
Time Vortex: Reverse Flowing Spell
Spring of Eternal Life
...
These weren't the ones that caught Ian's attention. Instead, his gaze landed on a certain book with a very simple cover, not flashy nor intimidating at all.
The book was extremely old.
So old, in fact, that many pages were worn, and even the author's name was partly missing—yes, that's right, this tattered forbidden book held Ian's rapt attention the moment he glanced at it, triggering an unusually strong emotional surge inside him!
"Mrs. Pince, I want to borrow this one, too!" Ian hurriedly snatched up the battered book from the chest, his astonished eyes reflecting the title on the cover.
Spiritual Manipulation: From Thought Extraction to Soul Stealing
Beneath the twisted, ruined title,
was the face of a staggeringly beautiful Witch.
Her gaze was icy and cold, holding an abyssal, terrifying insight. Just meeting those eyes on the cover, one felt as if their soul was being pierced through—heart-stoppingly.
So familiar.
Ian's hand trembled, his inner voice roaring.
"Teacher Mara! And you said you couldn't do Mind Reading! Shit!"