Chapter 201 The Dragon Slayer Crystal to be Activated
"Oh, right, I almost forgot about the main thing." Aaron slapped his head. "System, sign in."
"Congratulations, Host, for signing in at Hogwarts. You have received ten magic points."
Aaron raised an eyebrow at his doppelganger and said with some anticipation, "It's your turn."
The thought-form shook his head helplessly. "Sorry, I can't do it."
"What?" Aaron snapped back to reality, looking indignant. "System, this is discrimination. Doppelgangers have human rights too, why can't they sign in?"
"Because this unique system is bound to the Host, not to the doppelganger," the System said haughtily. "Of course, if the Host insists on experiencing double the fun, for a hundred magic points, this system can arrange it for the thought-form. However, both the Host's and the thought-form's sign-in rewards will be halved, and will only return to normal once the thought-form returns to the main body."
Aaron:...How is this any different from paying for loneliness?
Signing in twice for one magic point each is worse than signing in once for two magic points, at least it saves a few seconds.
"Actually, it's not impossible," the thought-form mused for a moment. "We can't stay in the same place forever. The holidays are coming soon, and keeping me at Hogwarts is more cost-effective."
"When you put it that way, it does make some sense, wait a minute…" Aaron looked at his doppelganger with deep eyes. "You want to avoid the twenty-plus tutoring classes during the holidays, don't you?"
"You saw through me," the thought-form admitted openly. "But this is also out of necessity."
"Why should I work hard at tutoring while you enjoy a stable vacation at Hogwarts? Get it straight, you're the doppelganger," Aaron said seriously. "I'm willing to take a loss and give you this precious opportunity to improve yourself."
"I don't mind, but…" the thought-form shrugged teasingly. "Do you think a doppelganger can fool those ancestors in the family's Chamber of Secrets?"
Aaron's face darkened, and thinking of how cruel those ancestors were to him, their descendant, he swallowed nervously.
After all, during the two-month summer holiday last year, he spent every day, apart from eating and sleeping, in various tutoring classes. His body and mind suffered severe torment, even being forced to run away from home.
If they knew he had a thought-form doppelganger, who knows how excited they would be!
Double the tutoring time… just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. And this time, Gines definitely wouldn't give him a chance to skip class.
"Oh my goodness!"
Aaron slumped weakly into his chair, and thinking of the upcoming summer, he suddenly felt his life had lost its color.
The thought-form sighed, walked over and patted Aaron's shoulder. "Some things just pass if you grit your teeth."
"If I grit my teeth, I'll pass." Aaron unceremoniously slapped away the thought-form's right hand. "How come I feel more like the doppelganger than you?"
"I don't allow you to think that way about yourself," the thought-form said. "If you feel unbalanced, you can always recall me. Under normal circumstances, there won't be a cooldown period for recalling."
"Heh heh! Let's not!" Aaron waved his hand helplessly. "This is a long-term investment; the later I recall you, the greater the return."
"Well, there you have it. Either you leave me at Hogwarts, where I can help you improve your magic array proficiency every day, and signing in will grant you five magic points, which is five times what you'd get at home and two and a half times what you'd get in Diagon Alley. Or, you take me back with you, accept double the tutoring tasks, and perhaps seeing your own pathetic state from your perspective will be even more motivating."
Aaron was originally a bit hesitant, as the twenty-eight ancestors in the family's Chamber of Secrets possessed a vast amount of knowledge, and the cost-effectiveness of double tutoring might not be inferior to leaving the thought-form at Hogwarts to develop independently.
But after hearing the last sentence, he decisively chose to leave the thought-form at the school. After all, seeing his own pathetic state was somewhat unpleasant.
After pondering for a while, Aaron rolled his eyes at the thought-form. "As expected of me, my ability to manipulate myself is truly impeccable."
"Oh, no, no," the thought-form chuckled smugly. "I'm just a weak, pitiful, and helpless doppelganger; the initiative has always been in your hands."
Aaron ignored him and directly paid the System one hundred magic points, granting the thought-form the right to sign in.
"Let's just leave it at that for now!" Aaron slumped onto the bed helplessly, but the next moment he heard the System's voice, and his mood suddenly changed from cloudy to clear.
"Congratulations, Host, your consumption of magic points has reached five thousand, rewarding you with one special lottery opportunity."
"The surprise came too suddenly." Aaron sat up excitedly. "I almost forgot about this feature. Wait, it seems I should have spent more than five thousand magic points already."
"This system has always been fair and just; directly increasing your and your pet's magic points is not included."
"Alright!" Aaron reluctantly accepted the System's explanation. "So, this special lottery is…"
The System quickly answered Aaron's confusion. A large, colorful spinning wheel, visible only to him, appeared before his eyes, displaying at least several hundred prizes.
Aaron just took a quick glance, and his heart rate quickened uncontrollably, his face flushed.
Time Reversal (time reversal within a certain range, the stronger the caster's ability, the greater the effect, and vice versa), Full Counter (returns all offensive magic power to the attacker several times over), Spatial Teleportation Gate (can go to any place you've been), Astral Projection, Captain Jack's Compass (points to what the owner desires most)… "This… System, I love you to death."
"It's not that serious," the thought-form's mouth twitched slightly. "What did you see?"
"I saw the hope of working less for several years," Aaron said, his gaze unconsciously drifting to other prizes. Although he knew he could only get one of them, just looking could brighten his mood.
But as he looked further, the excitement and thrill on his face slowly faded, replaced by an indescribable complexity.
"I guess the ones at the back probably aren't good," the thought-form murmured.
"System, do you want to explain?" Aaron said irritably. "I have no objections to the ones at the front, but the ones at the back are a bit perfunctory. Undetectable Extension Charm, that has some value, I can accept it. Wands, my grand-uncle opened the best wand shop in the Wizarding World. Magical weapons, I don't even remember how many we have piled up in our warehouse. magic crystals, does our great System Mall lack these? Qilin cub, raising one Holy Dragon is already exhausting enough, another Qilin, I don't have that much energy. I tolerated all of these, but what the hell is 'Thank you for your patronage,' and it takes up a tenth of the spinning wheel? Isn't that a bit much?"
"Special lottery, anything is possible, it depends on your luck," the System said unhurriedly.
"Fine, you win." Aaron gritted his teeth, suppressing his displeasure, and looked at the spinning wheel, silently wishing for the lottery to start.
The spinning wheel rotated rapidly, its speed only decreasing after more than ten seconds.
The pointer swept past many divine skills that made Aaron's eyes red, then swayed back and forth between a transparent crystal and 'Thank you for your patronage.' Aaron's heart couldn't help but feel anxious.
This rhomboid crystal certainly couldn't compare to magiclike Time Reversal or Spatial Folding, but it looked quite high-end. At least it was much stronger than the magiccrystal Salazar Slytherin left outside the Chamber of Secrets, and it would probably fetch a high price in the System Mall.
More importantly, its value increased infinitely when placed next to 'Thank you for your patronage.'
Even if it had little value, it was better than nothing.
After a brief torment, the spinning wheel slowly came to a halt, and the pointer narrowly landed on the transparent crystal.
"Thank the goddess of luck!" Aaron exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and it took him a while to look at the crystal's description.
Dragon Slaying magic Crystal (To be activated): After being embedded in the body, one can learn magic to slay dragons, possess a physique comparable to a dragon (dragon scales, dragon claws, dragon teeth, etc.), and can also restore stamina and increase strength by eating substances of the same attribute as oneself. If the Dragon Force awakens, strength will further increase.
Aaron held the transparent crystal in his hand, a slight smile appearing on his face.
This item ranked in the middle among the prizes on the spinning wheel, so he wasn't too unlucky.
Slurp!
The sound of drooling came from Abe's mouth. It slowly approached the Dragon Slaying magic Crystal, saliva dripping onto the floor.
"Want to eat it?"
Abe nodded repeatedly. This crystal had a considerable attraction for it; it could help it evolve again and awaken new abilities.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't fulfill that request. I have a great use for this, I can't give it to you."
Hearing this, Abe sadly lowered its dragon head, tears welling up in its eyes, and said reluctantly, "If it's useful to Master, then I don't want it."
Aaron's mouth twitched. How did he feel so guilty!
At this moment, the thought-form stepped forward, picked up Abe, stroked its head twice, and smiled, "Don't worry, we will definitely unleash the power of this Dragon Slaying Crystal."
Aaron gave the thought-form a thumbs-up, then looked at the Dragon Slaying magic Crystal in his hand, took a deep breath, and slowly pressed it against his chest.
But a few seconds later, he felt nothing, and a hint of confusion appeared on his face. "Does it need to be driven into the body? Why don't you try?"
The thought-form paused for a moment, then said helplessly, "Using yourself as an experiment isn't appropriate, is it? What if you kill me?"
"Indeed, I can't bring myself to do it," Aaron said awkwardly. "System, one magic point for a consultation fee, how do I embed this in my body?"
"Kill a powerful magic dragon, and the Dragon Slaying magic Crystal will activate after absorbing the magicdragon's soul."
Aaron froze for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze to Abe. The dragon cub seemed to sense something and timidly buried its head in the thought-form's arms.
"Is it that serious?" the thought-form said with a wry smile. "The value of this Dragon Slaying Crystal can't compare to yours."
Abe suddenly raised its head, jumped onto the floor, and looked at Aaron with big, watery eyes. "Is that true?"
"Nonsense, even if you were the last dragon in the Wizarding World, I wouldn't lay a hand on you. At most, I'd give you this crystal as a snack," Aaron said helplessly. "Let's figure something out after we go back. The Wizarding World isn't short of evil dragons causing trouble. At worst, we can cooperate with the Ministry of Magic."
"Oh, right," the thought-form suddenly remembered something. "If I stay at Hogwarts, food will be an issue. I can't go two months without eating or drinking, can I?"
"This…"
Aaron was silent for a while, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
He looked at Abe again, or more precisely, at the pocket on its clothes.
He didn't know how much emergency food was in there, but it was definitely enough for one person for several months, and he didn't have to worry about the expiration date.
Aaron exchanged thoughts with the thought-form in his mind, and the two smiled at each other, walking towards the innocent Holy Dragon, both extending their sinful hands.
A moment later, the sound of clanging filled the room, followed by whimpers mixed with infinite grievance.