Holding a young Mandrake, Regulus Black returned to the Room of Requirement, attracting a crowd of curious students along the way—though he had no intention of hiding anything.
As he walked, Regulus Black kept thinking about how he should raise the Mandrake.A flash of inspiration had struck him earlier, suggesting there must be a way to solve the problem of the Mandrake's premature aging, but now, no matter how he tried to recall it in detail, it slipped from his mind.
However, there was no need to rush.Regulus Black didn't necessarily have to modify this particular Mandrake—he could afford to wait.
First, he placed the Mandrake into his Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm.Inside the dragon egg, the Mandrake was easily absorbed as part of the environment.Being a magical plant, under the laws that governed the Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm, it quickly transformed into a new magical creature—a humanoid monster capable of pulling itself from the earth and running away.
A 77% chance of producing magical plants and a 77% chance of producing magical animals—these two traits made the environment irresistible for the birth of new species.Regulus Black even witnessed the little unicorn girl faint after being startled by the screaming, runaway Mandrake—an incident that made him laugh rather unkindly.
Continuing his observation, Regulus Black directed the Mandrake to spread toward where the Devil's Snare was growing.
Mature Mandrakes would pull themselves out of the ground, and their heads would split open to produce new Mandrake seedlings, usually three to five.Amidst a chorus of loud shrieks—one large and several small—the adult Mandrake would violently tear the seedlings off itself and fling them far away.
The small seedlings would then have to take root on their own, settling into the soil at their landing points to grow quietly.The mature Mandrake, having completed this process, would not return to the soil, as it would soon die.
It was a simple cycle of life and death:the mature Mandrake would birth seedlings and then naturally perish.Some, however, would go on a mad dash, screaming as they fled a long distance before discarding their seedlings, but the method remained the same.
During all this, there was no mutation—until the Mandrakes' movement entered the territory of the Devil's Snare.
Under Regulus Black's conscious manipulation, the Devil's Snare treated the dead mature Mandrakes as food.After consuming enough of the plentiful and nourishing Mandrakes, a predictable outcome occurred:
A creature resembling Zyra, Rise of the Thorns from the game League of Legends was born.
Immediately, this newly born magical creature/plant was once again driven by Regulus Black's consciousness to leave for the territory of the other two bosses, much like a queen bee establishing a new hive.The original Devil's Snare remained where it was, while the newly mutated Devil's Snare—Zyra, the Rise of Thorns—set off to find her own territory.
Inside the Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm, there were three distinct regions, each with different attributes.Creatures that entered any of these territories would undergo specific mutations:In the Undead Dragon's land, creatures would develop abnormally strong physical bodies;In the Skeletal Dragon's land, mutations would enhance skeletal traits;In the Ghost Dragon's land, soul-related properties would strengthen.
Originally, Regulus Black had placed the Devil's Snare in the Undead Dragon's domain, which made it even larger than usual.After it mutated and birthed Zyra, the new Zyra also inherited a physically powerful form.
The first Zyra moved toward a certain place within the Skeletal Dragon's domain.Regulus Black deliberately intended to replicate several of Zyra's skins from League of Legends—perhaps, in the end, he might even produce a Dragon Sorceress Zyra.
In a region where volcanic magma flowed, Zyra took root.After a series of sharp, pained screams, she quickly adapted to the environment.Soon, a version of Zyra bathed in flames—Wildfire Vine Zyra—rose from the magma.
Her charred exoskeleton encased a burning body within.Bone spurs grew from her arms and legs like curved horns, and her fiery red hair flowed like living flames.Her eyes radiated wild fervor and an endless thirst for destruction.
At the same time Wildfire Vine Zyra emerged, another Zyra, Rise of Thorns was born from the Devil's Snare.This time, Regulus Black directed her to the Ghost Dragon's territory.
In a toxic, misty swamp, this Zyra mutated into Phantom Shadow Zyra.Though she appeared less powerful than the Wildfire version, her special effects were considerably enhanced.
Her emerald-green body was alluring and enchanting, boasting even higher charm than the other two Zyra variants.Her attributes combined seduction, poison, and beauty, along with soul-based control abilities.Vines unfurled like tentacles, each blooming into a glowing green flower—the light within them was actually the soul fire of the dead, now repurposed as luminescent fruits.
The three Zyra variations displayed three different possibilities, and even the spreading Mandrakes began to mutate.Eventually, after countless generations, a Mandrake resembling a burly man finally appeared.In the Skeletal Dragon's territory, Mandrakes wearing exoskeletal armor emerged, while in the Ghost Dragon's territory, the Mandrakes fully transformed into ghost flowers, floating in the air.These ghost flowers had the most beautiful forms, resembling real infants, as if sleeping peacefully within a mother's womb—calm and serene.
For the entire month after the start of the school year, Regulus Black was almost completely absorbed in matters concerning the Mandrakes.
Although the mutation and arrangement of the Mandrakes had been completed some time earlier, Regulus Black still delayed for a month before finally presenting a burly Mandrake.
Inside a box measuring one and a half meters in length, width, and height was the curled-up body of the burly Mandrake.The distinctive color and shape of the large leaves on its top clearly indicated its identity.
The matter even drew the attention of Dumbledore, who, along with several professors, gathered in Professor Sprout's garden.
"Regulus! You've truly created a miracle."
Using his wand to sense it, Dumbledore confirmed that the Mandrake inside the box was indeed alive and still growing—truly in its prime.
"Thank you for your recognition, Headmaster Dumbledore. I also have a paper on its cultivation methods and would appreciate your guidance."
Regulus Black handed Dumbledore a roll of parchment, which detailed the specifics of the Mandrake's cultivation and growth, along with the traits and medicinal value of this burly Mandrake.
"So it needs to be irrigated with dragon blood!"
Dumbledore sighed in amazement.Regulus Black's imagination was truly vast.Dumbledore himself had once worked hard to compile twelve uses for dragon blood—going so far as to include using it to scrub floors—yet now, Regulus had discovered a thirteenth use: watering Mandrakes with dragon blood.
Just as Regulus Black favored the number seven, Dumbledore had a fondness for the number twelve.
"What a waste,"
Snape commented after taking the report from Dumbledore and reading it carefully.
As the Potions Master, brewing potions was Snape's main profession.He had a deep understanding of both the sources of potion ingredients and the market for finished potions.Naturally, he also had to be meticulous about production costs versus selling prices.
However, Regulus Black's cultivation formula—both in method and in materials used—far exceeded the inherent value of the Mandrake itself.The only hope for offsetting this cost would be if the potions produced with it proved exceptionally effective, commanding higher prices to make up the expense.Yet even so, there remained a fundamental issue:if lower-grade potions could achieve the same effect, why would anyone purchase the more expensive ones?
"I have already handed this burly Mandrake over to Hogwarts. How its value will be realized depends on you, Professor Snape.I am willing to continue serving as your assistant,"
Regulus Black said, completely unfazed by Snape's criticism and expressing a strong desire to keep learning.
After all, being able to witness a master potion-maker create new potions was itself a tremendous learning opportunity.
Regulus Black had never slacked off in his studies; in fact, he was far more proactive than any other student.
There were simply too many matters to deal with, too many things he desired, and too many ambitions to fulfill—leaving very little time for study.
Even using a time-turner to extend his days, Regulus Black still felt that time was never enough.
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