Interrogator, also known as Inquisitor, is the name for Sequence 7 of the Arbiter pathway.
This is the final stage of the low sequences. After Sequence 7, Dudley would be a true mid-sequence Beyonder, and his strength would see a considerable improvement.
However, compared to the previous two sequences, the Interrogator stage would also provide Dudley with decent enhancements. The most important were two Beyonder abilities: Mental Piercing and Whip of Pain. One attacked spirits, the other attacked the mind—both were very useful abilities in the early stages.
Besides this, Dudley would also be able to skillfully use various weapons and possess extraordinary talent in explosives.
As the Beyonder characteristic merged into Dudley's body, layers of whispers came to his ears, and his brain experienced brief confusion. But soon, Dudley stabilized the situation. He had faced such situations before, and with the reduced risk of losing control in this world, it wasn't difficult for Dudley to handle.
Several minutes later, the seductive whispers disappeared, and Dudley clearly felt his strength had improved significantly.
"Now, I am a Sequence 7 Beyonder," Dudley thought to himself.
Fatigue washed over him, and Dudley fell into a deep sleep.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, and Dudley slowly opened his eyes. After a night's rest, Dudley felt very good, his whole body filled with strength. The spiritual power consumed in yesterday's battle had completely recovered, and due to his sequence advancement, it had even increased considerably.
"My control over spiritual power has also strengthened," Dudley felt the power within his body and thought to himself.
In the morning, when Dudley appeared in the Great Hall with Harry and the others for breakfast, he suddenly noticed many people's gazes falling on him.
"What's happening?" Dudley was somewhat puzzled.
"Don't you know yet? Regarding your Sheriff—oh no, Interrogator identity—all the heads of houses have already notified their respective houses. After all, only when everyone knows about this can you exercise your authority," Percy appeared at the right time and explained.
"I see." Dudley nodded in understanding. Although he wanted to keep a low profile, for the sake of role-playing, he had to choose to be high-profile at certain times, like now.
"You should be able to understand my feelings now," Harry said with schadenfreude. When he first came to school, he was pointed at wherever he went—that feeling really wasn't pleasant.
"By the way, Dudley, if you have any questions about prefect privileges, you can ask me. For example, we prefects have our own bathroom, so you don't have to use the public bathroom with other students," Percy said.
"Prefect bathroom?" Dudley's expression moved slightly. That was indeed convenient. However, Dudley had no special requirements for bathrooms—as long as they were usable. Wait, it seemed some old acquaintance really liked bathrooms... he couldn't remember clearly. Never mind.
Ron and Harry beside him cast envious looks. This was the first time a first-year student could use the prefect bathroom.
"Hmph!" Just then, a cold snort came. Malfoy and his two companions entered the Great Hall, and after seeing Dudley and his group, they snorted disdainfully.
However, this time Malfoy didn't mock them verbally. He seemed to completely ignore Dudley's appearance and sat at the Slytherin table with Crabbe and Goyle. Different from before, this time Malfoy came to the middle of the first-year students, lowering his head and saying something to them.
"How strange. He seems to have grown a brain today—he actually didn't mock us," Ron couldn't help but complain. They basically had to exchange insults whenever they met, especially when Malfoy knew he couldn't beat Dudley. He would seize every opportunity to mock Dudley and Harry, doing his best to slander them.
"Maybe yesterday's whipping cleared his head a bit," Dudley said with a light laugh.
"Hahaha." Ron and Harry remembered Malfoy falling to the ground last night, retreating in embarrassment, and couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you doing? Laughing so happily," Hermione sat beside Dudley and asked curiously.
"Nothing," Dudley shook his head.
"We have Defense Against the Dark Arts class later. How well have you mastered what you learned before?" Hermione asked.
"Hermione, here you go again!" Ron frowned.
However, this time Hermione didn't scold them. Instead, she took out a notebook and handed it to Ron, saying, "I've already highlighted the key points. You two just need to glance at it briefly, so you won't know nothing when Professor Quirrell asks questions."
Ron's eyes lit up, and he quickly took Hermione's notebook. Compared to the dry and boring textbook, Hermione's notes were much more organized. She had streamlined most of the useless content, leaving only the core knowledge.
"Hermione, if you had been like this from the start, you'd definitely be my best friend since entering Hogwarts," Ron said sincerely.
"Shut up," Hermione said with playful anger.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts? We might be getting a new professor soon," Dudley said while eating cheese.
"What?" Harry looked over in surprise.
"Is Professor Quirrell sick? Or... it couldn't be Professor Snape..." Harry's face changed.
"What's wrong? Is Professor Quirrell unable to withstand the pressure and helping Snape steal the Philosopher's Stone?" Ron said in a low voice.
Hermione covered her mouth, looking terrified.
Dudley: "..."
"What are you all thinking?" Harry glanced at Ron and said, "Isn't it that Snape is forcing Professor Quirrell to steal the Philosopher's Stone for him?"
"We once encountered Snape forcing Professor Quirrell to do something in the corridor. And I saw Professor Snape limping this morning—his leg was injured, and it looked like a dog bite. I suspect he tried to get past that three-headed dog last night."
Dudley frowned. Snape's leg was indeed injured—he had noticed it last night. But obviously, this should have been left behind when stopping Quirrell. Harry and the others really had vivid imaginations.
"You'll know soon enough. Anyway, Quirrell probably won't be able to continue teaching," Dudley didn't elaborate. Now wasn't the time to tell Harry about this. He could tell him after Quirrell's matter was dealt with.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances, all feeling that Dudley was hiding something from them.
An hour later, when Dudley saw the perfectly fine Professor Quirrell appear in the classroom and begin teaching, he fell into silence.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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