[Recipe – Medicinal Poison Frog Breeding]
Creature Description:
The Medicinal Poison Frog possesses an extraordinary sensitivity to potions.
Its skin reacts differently depending on the potion it comes into contact with, making it an ideal test subject.
It can continuously increase its resistance to poison by consuming toxic substances.
When threatened, it can release highly concentrated toxins that it has stored within its body.
Mord nodded with satisfaction after reading the recipe’s description.
According to the system, the Medicinal Poison Frog was every Potions Master’s dream companion.
Anyone experimenting with unfamiliar potions—or creating new ones—needed reliable test subjects.
For ordinary witches and wizards, testing potions was a slow and troublesome process.
Dark Wizards often solved the problem by experimenting on living people.
The downside, of course, was earning a one-way invitation from the Ministry of Magic to experience the Dementor’s Kiss.
With a Medicinal Poison Frog, however, Mord wouldn’t have to worry about any of that.
“System, purchase the Medicinal Poison Frog recipe.”
The moment he spoke, a flood of knowledge entered his mind.
“One Bezoar… one ounce of Acromantula venom… three Venomous Tentacula spikes… one stalk of Chinese Heartbreak Grass…”
Mord frowned.
Aside from the Bezoar—which was a powerful antidote—the remaining ingredients were all highly poisonous.
No wonder the Medicinal Poison Frog had such incredible poison resistance.
The transformation process itself was extremely dangerous.
Unfortunately, gathering the required materials wouldn’t be easy.
After considering his options, Mord decided to collect whatever ingredients he could find first.
After finishing his ice cream, he spent the afternoon visiting several potion and herb shops throughout Diagon Alley.
The good news was that he managed to gather almost everything required for the Life and Death Wand, except for Unicorn blood and Thestral blood.
The bad news was that he was still missing several ingredients for the Medicinal Poison Frog.
The rarest of them all was Chinese Heartbreak Grass.
It made sense that a Chinese White Jade Frog required rare Chinese herbs.
Unfortunately, such ingredients were almost impossible to find in Britain.
The few shops that carried them only stocked dried, poor-quality specimens, so Mord chose not to buy them.
The shops also sold Acromantula venom and Venomous Tentacula spikes.
Unfortunately…
They were far too expensive.
With his wallet nearly empty, Mord reluctantly gave up.
Fortunately, his knowledge of the future gave him another advantage.
He already knew where he could obtain both ingredients later.
Satisfied with today’s progress, Mord stopped shopping.
He returned to the Leaky Cauldron and traveled home using the Floo Network.
The old Black Manor remained as lifeless and gloomy as ever.
Without paying it any attention, Mord headed upstairs.
“Damn half-breed! Get out of my house! You are not my son!”
A furious voice suddenly echoed through the hallway.
Mord wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
Hanging beside the staircase was the portrait of a wizard.
Although the man in the painting had once been handsome, years of practicing Dark Magic had left him with withered skin and a gaunt face.
This was Mord’s father—
Heisen Black.
“Old man,” Mord replied calmly, “I don’t particularly want to be your son either. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic disagrees.”
Gone was the polite and refined young gentleman he showed to outsiders.
In front of his father, Mord spoke without the slightest respect.
This family had practically destroyed itself through its obsession with Dark Magic.
Now he was the one left to deal with the consequences.
“You… you…”
Heisen trembled with rage before finally shouting,
“When you arrive at Hogwarts, you must be sorted into Slytherin! Do not disgrace the House of Black!”
Mord looked at him as though he were an idiot.
“Slytherin? You died young. I’d rather live a little longer.”
Everyone already viewed him as a potential Death Eater.
If he entered Slytherin House, he’d probably be watched every moment of every day.
With Dumbledore in Hogwarts, very few secrets could remain hidden.
Heisen became even angrier.
“You unfilial brat! You filthy half-blood!”
The portrait continued shouting curses.
[Ding!]
The future Demon King has shown no respect for his parent.
Excellent!
Darkness Points +1
Mord blinked.
That counted too?
Thinking about it, Voldemort had murdered his own father.
Compared to that, talking back wasn’t exactly unusual behavior for a future Dark Lord.
A mischievous smile spread across Mord’s face.
“I actually think Hufflepuff suits me quite well.”
He deliberately paused before continuing.
“Or perhaps Gryffindor. I hear they’re Slytherin’s biggest rivals.”
Heisen nearly exploded with rage.
“You…! I…!”
Darkness Points +1
Darkness Points +1
Darkness Points +1
Within only a few minutes, Mord had earned ten Darkness Points.
Fortunately, Heisen was only a portrait.
If he had still been alive, he probably would have collapsed from high blood pressure.
Eventually, however, the notifications stopped appearing.
Apparently, this trick couldn’t be exploited forever.
The system chimed once more.
[Ding!]
Please return tomorrow, Lord Demon King.
Your rebellious father needs time to recover.
Mord couldn’t help smiling.
So…
His father’s portrait was basically a daily resource node.
Taking a large black cloth, he covered the portrait.
The endless shouting immediately disappeared.
Peace returned to the manor.
Mord happily entered his bedroom.
Compared to the rest of the gloomy mansion, his room was surprisingly bright and clean.
He had already thrown away all the disturbing decorations, including the black curtains and the grotesque human-head lamp.
The only thing he still disliked was the dark green wallpaper.
Once he learned Transfiguration, changing the color would be one of his first projects.
Putting those thoughts aside, Mord became serious.
He picked up his textbook.
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk.
The first-year textbook wasn’t particularly difficult and contained only a handful of basic spells.
The very first spell was Lumos.
Its purpose was simple.
It produced a beam of white light from the tip of a wand.
After carefully reading the pronunciation and wand movement several times, Mord felt confident enough to try.
Perhaps his magical talent really was exceptional.
Or perhaps the system had chosen him for a reason.
Either way, the spell didn’t seem difficult.
Once school began, underage magic would be monitored by the Ministry through the Trace.
That meant practicing freely now was the perfect opportunity.
He stepped toward the window and raised his yew wand.
Following the instructions precisely, he drew a smooth semicircle before flicking the wand upward.
“Lumos!”
A strange but familiar power surged through his body.
Magic.
He had never sensed it so clearly before.
A soft white light appeared at the tip of his wand.
Success.
Mord smiled.
He had mastered Lumos after reading the instructions only a few times.
The system immediately reacted.
[Ding!]
Charm Learned: Lumos Lv.1
Darkening Available
New Dark Spell Unlocked: Dark Light Blindness (Normal)
Effect: Emits a fan-shaped beam of black light.
Anyone struck in the eyes is permanently blinded.
The blindness is caused by a curse rather than physical damage, making ordinary healing magic and potions ineffective.
Cost: 20 Darkness Points.
Includes Counter-Curse: Dark Light Release.
Mord smiled.
Just as wands and magical creatures could be darkened, ordinary spells could be transformed as well.
The effect of Dark Light Blindness was impressive.
A single hit could permanently blind an opponent.
Even better, it affected a wide area, making it difficult to avoid.
Only one thing bothered him.
“The price seems a little high.”
He looked toward the system.
“Why does darkening a wand or familiar cost only ten Darkness Points, while this ordinary spell costs twenty?”
The system immediately replied.
[Report to the Lord Demon King: Wand and familiar darkening provide only recipes. Success depends on your own ability. Purchasing a darkened spell grants the spell directly at Level 1, and additional Darkness Points may be used to upgrade it.]
“I see.”
That made perfect sense.
“Can every spell be darkened?”
[Not necessarily. Only certain spells possess the potential for Darkening.]
Mord nodded thoughtfully.
After a moment of consideration, he chose to purchase the spell.
Although Darkness Points were difficult to earn, Dark Light Blindness was simply too useful to ignore.
Besides…
He still had one reliable source of Darkness Points waiting at home every day.
His wonderfully rebellious father.
The days before Hogwarts were becoming more interesting than he had expected.