That evening, Rayleigh went to Professor Quirrell’s office as agreed.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
“C-come in…” Quirrell’s signature stutter drifted from inside.
Rayleigh pushed the door open, and an even stronger smell of garlic mixed with sour turban sweat washed over him, nearly taking him out on the spot.
Suppressing his physical discomfort, he surveyed the office.
Books were piled everywhere, alongside glass jars containing bizarre creature specimens.
The entire room exuded a gloomy, suffocating atmosphere.
Professor Quirrell was sitting behind his desk, offering him that trademark smile—worse than a cry.
“M-Mr.
Stark, y-you’re here.
P-please sit.” Rayleigh pulled out the chair opposite the desk and sat down, fully prepared in his mind.
*Bring it on!* *Legilimency!* *Let Hell’s asylum give your fragile little soul a tiny taste of true horror!* To his surprise, however, the expected mental assault never came.
Quirrell merely watched him with murky eyes, showing no sign of making a move.
What Rayleigh didn’t realize was that the remnant soul residing inside Quirrell was currently at its absolute weakest.
Using Legilimency on him would not only consume immense energy, but it would also be entirely pointless.
Voldemort’s plan was simple: he wanted to boil the frog in warm water.
Through his identity as Quirrell, he would guide Rayleigh step by step into the Dark Arts—starting from the absolute basics, gradually deepening the lessons until this seemingly talented young wizard was dragged completely into the dark abyss, his soul corrupted and turned to Voldemort’s service.
“M-Mr.
Stark, n-no need to be nervous.” Quirrell’s stutter seemed to relax slightly.
He picked up his wand and gave it a gentle wave.
“Serpensortia!” A black snake materialized out of thin air, flicking its tongue as it coiled into a ball on the desk.
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow, snorting inwardly: *That’s it?
A tiny snake that couldn’t even defeat a Fallen?* *What if I combined it with the Gut-Wrenching Curse so the intestines turned into little snakes?
Then they’d tear through the enemy from the inside?* *Whoa!
That’s a solid idea.* Rayleigh decided he’d give it a shot given the chance.
“Th-this is a…
very interesting…
little spell,” Quirrell introduced.
“It can…
can be used to…
create chaos, or…
or…
intimidate enemies.” “Cool,” Rayleigh said concisely, feigning intense interest.
Quirrell was satisfied with his reaction.
He waved his wand again, and the snake vanished into a wisp of black smoke.
“I…
I see you have…
great talent.
I’ll…
I’ll teach you another.” As he spoke, he pointed at a piece of discarded parchment on the desk.
“Corrosive Black Water!” A small blob of black liquid squirted from his wand tip and landed on the floor with a sizzling sound.
It corroded a large mark into the floor, black smoke drifting from its edges.
“Whoa!” Rayleigh’s exclamation was a little more genuine this time.
*Now this is somewhat interesting.* *Mimicking concentrated sulfuric acid to destroy corpses and erase evidence—ah, wait, to clear away trash—ought to be pretty convenient.* *If combined with the Gut-Wrenching Curse to replace the Aguamenti component, then instead of spraying yellow water, it would blast pure acid.* “Th-this spell…
requires…
precise control,” Quirrell explained.
“Otherwise…
it’s easy to…
hurt yourself.” Next, the smile on his face turned even weirder.
“Th-there’s one more…
spell that I…
personally…
like very much.” He stood up and walked over to a dummy in the corner of the room.
“Savage Whip!” A whip of black light lashed out from his wand tip, striking the dummy hard.
*Crack!* A sharp burst echoed through the room.
A deep scorch mark was left on the dummy.
Rayleigh’s eyelids twitched.
*Holy crap.* *This is practically a budget version of the Cruciatus Curse!* *If this hit a person, having their skin ripped open and flesh torn would be the best-case scenario.* “Used…
used for…
interrogating…
stubborn…
Dark wizards.
Very…
effective,” Quirrell stuttered an explanation, but a sickly frenzy shone in his eyes.
Rayleigh saw right through it.
*Interrogating Dark wizards?* *Who are you trying to fool!* *This thing is clearly an entry-level torture spell for Death Eaters.* On his face, however, he put on an expression of hero-worship.
“Professor!
You’re amazing!
Can…
can I learn these spells?” “C-certainly,” Quirrell said, immensely pleased with his reaction.
“I…
I invited you here…
for this very reason.
Your…
your talent should n-not be wasted.” Over the next hour or so, under Quirrell’s “meticulous guidance,” Rayleigh gradually mastered the three dark spells.
He found that these so-called dark spells were ridiculously easy for him.
The magic moved through his body and released almost effortlessly without any resistance.
Sure enough, compared to the forces of Hell, these were small fry.
When leaving the office, Rayleigh even put on an “unsatisfied, wanting more” look as he expressed his gratitude to Quirrell.
“Thank you, Professor!
I learned so much!
You really are a great teacher!” Taking in Quirrell’s satisfied smile, Rayleigh turned and left.
The flattery vanished from his face instantly, replaced by a cold detachment.
Returning to the Gryffindor common room, the firelight from the hearth illuminated the space.
Hermione was sitting on the sofa holding a thick book in her arms, though her attention was clearly elsewhere, glancing toward the entrance every so often.
Catching sight of Rayleigh, she jumped up from the sofa immediately.
“Rayleigh!
You’re finally back!” She hurried over, scanning him up and down as if checking whether he had lost any arms or legs.
“I told you!
Professor Quirrell might stutter and smell unpleasant, but he would never hurt a student!
You made me worry here for nothing all this time!” Hermione’s tone bore a touch of exasperation, but mostly relief.
That was right; this was the insurance Rayleigh had set up for himself.
He had told Hermione that Professor Quirrell called him over for “extra lessons,” and if he didn’t come out within two hours, she was to go ask Professor McGonagall for help immediately.
Although Hermione thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill, she couldn’t resist Rayleigh’s relentless cajoling and had agreed.
“Heh, just playing it safe,” Rayleigh scratched his head, offering an innocent smile.
“What if he wanted to turn me into part of his garlic collection?
Thanks a lot, Hermione, my guardian angel.” “Slick talker!” Hermione rolled her eyes, but the worry on her face had clearly dissipated.
“Since you’re fine, hurry up and help research Nicolas Flamel!
We can’t keep putting this off!” “Roger that, Boss Hermione!” Rayleigh offered a salute and quickly slipped back into the boys’ dormitory.
The dormitory was quiet; Ron and Harry were already fast asleep.
Without wasting a moment, Rayleigh laid down on his bed and closed his eyes.
The next second, his consciousness sank into his mind, entering the world of Diablo.
As for looking up information on Nicolas Flamel—forget it.
He already knew the answer, but he couldn’t mess up Dumbledore’s puzzle game, so he couldn’t spill the beans yet.
Tonight, Blood Raven must die!
I said so!
Unlike Corpsefire, who was a fast melee boss, Blood Raven was a ranged agility-type boss.
Both Rayleigh and Blood Raven were ranged fighters, so the fight came down to kiting and trading blows.
Standing at the entrance of the Burial Grounds, Rayleigh saw from a distance that corrupted Rogue hero roaming the graveyard with a horde of zombie minions.
The battle erupted instantly.
Rayleigh didn’t choose to clash head-on, instead using tombstones and terrain to continuously maneuver against Blood Raven.
Ice Bolts shot out one after another, slowing down Blood Raven and her minions, followed by a steady barrage of Fireballs for sustained damage output.
Blood Raven’s arrows were equally unforgiving; flaming arrows cut through the air, forcing Rayleigh to stay constantly on the move to narrowly dodge them.
He also had the three blue pieces of gear he couldn’t use to thank for this.
Though their stats were garbage, selling them to Charsi netted him nearly a thousand gold coins, allowing him to stuff his entire inventory full of Healing Potions and Mana Potions.
*Gulp…
gulp…* Rayleigh was drinking potions almost like water.
He had already lost track of how many bottles he had downed, feeling only a numbing potion taste in his mouth.
Time ticked away minute by minute.
After nearly two hours of grueling combat, Rayleigh’s nerves were stretched to the absolute limit.
Finally, after another Fireball struck home, Blood Raven’s health bar was completely emptied.
She let out an unwilling shriek, her body exploding into a burst of white light before dispersing entirely.
*Clatter!* A pile of gold coins, several potions, and a staff glowing with a blue aura were left on the ground, standing out vividly in the dim graveyard.
Rayleigh dashed forward, ignoring the gold coins as he snatched the staff into his arms, then opened a town portal without looking back and returned to the Rogue Encampment.
He rushed to Akara and paid for a Scroll of Identify.
As the scroll dissolved into sparkles of starlight and sank into the staff, a set of stats appeared before his eyes that sent his blood pressure soaring with excitement.
[Staff of Fireball] [+3 to Fireball] [+1 to Fire Bolt] [+1 to Ice Bolt] [+50% Damage to Undead] [Required Level: 12] Rayleigh’s breathing instantly hitched.
God-tier!
This was a goddamn super-mega-ultimate endgame starter artifact!
+3 to Fireball!
This was one of the Sorceress’s strongest early-game AOE skills!
Plus +1 to Fire Bolt and +1 to Ice Bolt!
And a 50% damage boost against Undead!
He was heading off to farm Andariel next, and her minions were almost entirely Undead!
A wave of immense euphoria rushed straight to his head!
“Hahaha!
I knew it!
Luck is on my side!
I am the chosen one!” Rayleigh couldn’t help laughing out loud.
Although the back-to-back battles left him exhausted in body and mind, gripping this top-tier staff right now made him feel as though boundless power surged through every cell.
Level up!
He had to level up immediately!
Right now!
He needed to reach level 12 as fast as possible, equip this godly staff, and go flip Andariel’s lair upside down!