“The development of Runes has always progressed from shallow to deep, from the earliest Runes to the present day spells. There have been many branches in between, such as the direction of Transfiguration…”
[You have acquired new Runes knowledge, Runes experience +7]
[You have acquired new Runes knowledge, Runes experience +3]
[You have acquired new Runes knowledge, Runes experience +8]
[You have acquired new Runes knowledge, Runes experience +5]
[Your Runes progress has increased to LV2. You can acquire an additional ability.]
[LV2 Additional Ability, Rune Dissection: You can more easily distinguish Runes from spells and ritual structures that involve Runes.]
Quirrell explained the structural breakdown of the Runes Transfiguration direction in great detail, almost as if he was afraid Will wouldn’t understand unless it was thoroughly broken down and explained.
This allowed Will to successfully grasp this content and gain a lot of experience.
He listened to Quirrell’s explanation with a thirst for knowledge, constantly throwing out his own questions.
At this point, he no longer thought about who was teaching him; he only knew that he was genuinely learning.
And watching the eager Will, Quirrell nodded with satisfaction.
“Thank you, Professor. Goodbye, Professor.”
Forty minutes later, Will emerged from Quirrell’s office.
His Runes progress had already risen to LV2 (12/200).
The Dark Lord was indeed not to be underestimated.
Although in the first few Harry Potter books, Lord Voldemort basically appeared as a children’s literature boss, always getting defeated, in this world, even a small amount of knowledge from him greatly benefited Will.
He had already understood the Transfiguration conversion direction of Runes.
This direction was rarely developed and lacked a complete theoretical system, being just a small beginning.
Yet, Lord Voldemort had also researched this area, which showed his magical attainments back then.
After leaving the office, Will was completely awake.
There would be plenty of time to sleep when he was dead; now he needed to strike while the iron was hot and study more knowledge.
He rushed to the Room of Requirement, integrating all the knowledge into his notebook, constantly flipping through several Runes books beside him, and jotting down his conjectures.
[You have acquired new Runes knowledge, Runes experience +3]
Runes…
Transfiguration…
spell structure…
ritual structure…
Will always felt something echoing in his mind and around him, yet he found it difficult to grasp that fleeting inspiration.
Time flowed like water until Will’s stomach grumbled in protest.
Giving up on finding a breakthrough today, a frustrated Will left the Room of Requirement.
Will had even skipped Herbology Class in the afternoon and Astronomy Class in the evening.
He walked and pondered, and by the time he realized it, he no longer knew which floor or level he was on.
The door of a room nearby was ajar.
Will, as if by a strange impulse, pushed it open and walked in.
The room looked like a disused classroom; many desks and chairs were piled against the walls, casting large, dark shadows.
Will scanned the room, and when he saw something, he immediately knew what this place was.
It was a very imposing mirror, reaching all the way to the ceiling, with an ornate golden frame supported by two claw-shaped feet at the bottom.
At the top was an inscription: “Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.”
The mirror of erised, Will recognized it at a glance; after a moment of hesitation, he walked up to the mirror.
Since he was already here, how could he not look into it?
Moreover, Will was very interested in this magical mirror.
What was his deepest desire?
The mirror of erised’s surface was like a pure, smooth crystal, quietly and clearly reflecting Will’s face.
It was him, much older, with an expressionless, delicate face and even colder, silvery-grey eyes; he wore a pure black Wizard’s robe and was walking down a gloomy, dark path.
Looking further, Will in the mirror was walking.
The end of the path was unknown.
As Will walked, Wizards appeared on both sides of the road: an adult Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and many Hogwarts classmates.
Then there were several translucent figures, like strange ghosts—Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and others…
He also saw Sylvia.
Finally, there were large, broken, heavy black gravestones, inscribed with the names of Wizards: Tom Riddle, Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, Herpo, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff…
Merlin…
This, Will was somewhat surprised, what did this mean?
He had originally expected to see himself pushing himself to the extreme, then, under the accumulation of countless additional abilities, standing shoulder to shoulder with gods.
This scene…
Will’s silvery-grey eyes scanned the image again.
The figure of himself was still walking on the dark, gloomy path.
This was his inner self; Will thought for a moment, then let out a long breath.
“So it’s—to surpass everything.”
The figure in the mirror was still walking, and the gravestone inscribed with Merlin’s name had been left far behind.
That’s not bad.
Will’s lips gradually curved into a smile…
“My boy, what do you see?”
A soft, kind voice sounded behind Will.
Will turned around and greeted the white-bearded old man in a white nightgown.
“Good evening, Professor Dumbledore.”
“I saw that I became the greatest Wizard in the world.” Will didn’t hide too much.
“My boy, like thousands before you, you have discovered the delights of the mirror of erised.” Dumbledore’s cup was emitting the scent of hot cocoa.
“Of course, many of them also wanted to become the greatest Wizard.”
Dumbledore said kindly, then also walked in front of the mirror of erised, staring into it.
The scent of hot cocoa grew stronger, and Will’s stomach grumbled again, betraying him.
“It seems you’re famished, Will.” No sooner had Dumbledore finished speaking than a long table laden with food appeared beside them.
Will’s favorite steak, sausages, roast meat…
and a large pot of steaming hot cocoa.
“Thank you, Professor Dumbledore.”
“You’re welcome. Young people sometimes forget to eat because of certain things.” Dumbledore sat opposite Will and watched him feast.
“I told Sprout and Sinistra (Astronomy Professor Aurora Sinistra) that you needed to take a leave of absence. They thought you were sick.” Dumbledore chatted with Will while serving a plate of syrup-drenched sweet cakes.
“Sprout even wanted to visit you in the hospital wing.”
Only then did Will realize that Dumbledore had actually helped him take leave.
“I’m sorry for the trouble, Professor.”
Dumbledore shook his head: “Quirrell is right, intelligent and excellent students always receive special treatment.”
“You know?”
“I know most things in the Castle.
Many times, that’s how I ensure the students’ safety.” Dumbledore explained, “Of course, your private areas are an exception.”
Will didn’t think Dumbledore would be so perverted as to engage in mass voyeurism; this was a proper magical world.
“Also, Miss Lestrange kept knocking on the door of the Room of Requirement until I went over, and then she went back to rest.”
Will stopped eating, showing a rare look of apology: “I really shouldn’t have kept the Room of Requirement closed.”
Seeing Will’s reaction, Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief and continued: “My boy, I must warn you not to become overly engrossed in the pursuit of knowledge, and not to lose yourself because of it; otherwise, you might become a slave to knowledge.”
Will keenly noticed that Dumbledore’s expression was unusually serious when he said this, and a faint premonition of unease stirred within him…