In Char's sight, the guardian tree seed, covered in silver and looking like a work of art, presented a scene he had never witnessed before. The clear light of the diamond level, the purple brilliance of the epic level, and a legendary light were all intertwined. "This... what's going on?" he wondered, puzzled. He looked at the words in the reward information.
[Affected by mythical magic, the guardian tree seeds undergo unknown mutations]
[The final reward level and reward content of this guardian tree seed]
[The final decision will be based on the degree of fulfillment of the conditions]
After seeing these words, Char pondered for a moment. It seemed his Patronus Charm had indeed brought great changes to the seeds, almost like a rebirth. From the current reward information, he could hardly get any useful content. The only thing that was clear was the meaning of the three colors of light interweaving together: for the seeds to mature, certain special conditions needed to be met. "If I can't meet that requirement, then the chances are I'll be rewarded at the diamond level. If I can satisfy it to a certain extent, I can upgrade the reward to the epic level. What's more, it may even be upgraded to legendary!"
A burst of heat erupted in his eyes. He had fantasized about legendary-level rewards before. Unexpectedly, was there really a possibility now? But soon, the burning in his eyes faded. After all, no matter how much he wanted to achieve these conditions quickly, at the moment, he didn't even know what the conditions themselves were. There was no question of raising the reward level. "Fortunately, after pouring so much holy tree potion, the seed seems to have entered a stable state. Even if I stop pouring the potion on it, or even expose it to the air, there's no change." This made him feel a little relieved. In other words, it was not urgent to find out the conditions required to increase the reward level. There was still a certain amount of time. "Then let's take our time. At the very least, it's still a diamond-grade seed. It's already a pleasant surprise."
Then, he put the seed in a bottle and kept it close to his body. As for the remaining guardian tree seeds, after thinking for a moment, he did not choose to catalyze them in the same way again. After all, one seed had consumed so many resources. If dozens of seeds underwent this kind of mutation, it would probably require tens of thousands of bottles of the potion. The production capacity of the magic world might even be paralyzed. What's more, the subsequent cultivation conditions were still unclear. He didn't know if there would be more conditions that needed to be met later. Having this one seed to test the waters was enough, he felt. For the rest, it was better to use the traditional method of treating the seeds to get a steady return. Diversifying his efforts was the safest option.
Therefore, he soaked all the remaining seeds in the holy tree potion. There were almost three hundred bottles left, enough for subsequent consumption. And after doing all this patiently, he breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's it. The planting affairs in the small greenhouse are now on the right track. What I need to do next is to make some more preparations before the storm arrives so I can perform the ritual magic of Demeter again."
Although he already had the Thunderbird potion prepared by Snape, and his own life and recovery ability were no longer what they used to be, and the lightning rods the trolls were building would also be of great help to his plan, he was, after all, facing a potentially mythical existence this time. The other party came prepared. No matter how much he prepared, it would never be too much. And to deal with the existence in the temple on the island of Delos, without a doubt, ancient weather magic was the most cost-effective option.
He looked towards the system panel. The words of ancient weather magic shone with a silver light. Although this level of attainment was not high, in the wizarding world today, almost all ancient magic had been lost. Even a master of spells like Professor Flitwick only knew the principles but did not know any specific ancient magic. There were probably no more than five ancient magic users like him. In addition, ancient magic needed to withstand the will of nature to truly exert its power. Given the danger of this process, Char was skeptical. His level of ancient magic might be the best in the magic world. But he also knew that, in fact, most of his ancient magical attainments were supported by the extremely strong natural will remaining in his body. On the contrary, he himself was unable to keep up with the runes on which ancient magic was rooted. It was just the construction of the three runes to drive the basic configuration of ancient weather magic that had barely reached the minimum threshold for activating it.
There were still two or three days left. If he could go further on the three runes involved, constructing a few more magic nodes, perhaps his ancient weather magic would also be improved a lot. So he dug out the thick book, "Introduction to Ancient Runes," eagerly looking for the next direction. And at this moment, with the qualitative change of his magical perception and the huge improvement in his Transfiguration, the ancient magic knowledge that had once seemed extremely obscure and difficult, as if shrouded in a thick fog, suddenly had a corner of its veil lifted. Suddenly, it seemed as if an endless amount of magical knowledge was unfolding before his eyes. It was all-encompassing. All the magic he had mastered so far, even the magic he had created himself, and Transfiguration, all seemed to be included in the magic runes. His eyes fell on a line of familiar handwriting on the title page. It was Professor Flitwick's. "Give me a magic rune, and I will interpret the entire world with countless nodes."
He had seen this line of words before, but only now, when he had really started to get in touch with the mysteries of magic runes, instead of being a temporary recruiter, did he realize the relevance of these words. Professor Flitwick's words were by no means flattery, but came from the heart. Everything was a magic rune. If you understood them, you basically understood the world.
Then, he cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, seizing every minute and every second, wandering in the magical world revealed by the runes. On the system panel, the light on his Occlumency flickered even brighter than usual. This time, he had entered a state of flow, deeper than ever before, just like a legendary epiphany. In this state, when the alarm clock he had set in advance rang, he was awakened in a daze. His eyes were full of shock. "Did the alarm go off? I clearly set it for two full days." After ruling out the possibility that someone was playing a prank on him in the empty library, he finally reacted. "It's been two days?" His eyes widened in disbelief. But he still felt that only a moment had passed. He had just started reading the book not long ago.
Until half an hour later, he shook his head, recovering from this subtle feeling of time dislocation. "No wonder the legendary scholars who study magic runes tend to stay more secluded than those studying any other discipline. It's even said that some scholars starved themselves to death during research without even realizing it. The mystery of magic runes is truly wonderful." Then, his gaze fell on the system panel. A hint of joy appeared on his face. This time, in comprehending the runes, his own magical attainments seemed to have improved considerably. Almost every kind of magic had seen significant growth. Even those spells that had reached the diamond level shone noticeably brighter. Especially the many insights gained from the Philosopher's Stone destruction ceremony; during the two days of contemplation on the runes, a lot of it had been digested. Above the words "Transfiguration," a faint golden light had even begun to emerge amidst the silver light.
"A pity. That state before was after I learned Occlumency and was able to enter a flow state. It's been so long, and I've only experienced it once. Compared to this state, the flow state pales into insignificance. If only this state could be maintained all the time. Then my magical attainments would improve at an astonishing speed." But soon, he also smiled bitterly and shook his head. Being able to enter once and gain a lot of benefits from the magic text was already a pleasant surprise. As for maintaining that state at all times, what good things was he thinking about?
Immediately following, his gaze fell on the ancient weather magic on the system panel again. But compared to other magic that had made great progress, the silver light of it had only brightened up a barely perceptible sliver. This turned his previous joy into a sigh. The reason for no improvement was very simple. At this moment, he still only mastered the three basic structures of the runes that could activate it. It wasn't that he couldn't master more magic nodes, but next, he needed to build which nodes to enrich these configurations, and he was completely bewildered. After all, when he had harvested the Elber tree before, all he had gotten was the Black Iron-level ancient weather magic perception. The rune structure that could be understood from it was really only the most basic configuration. It was equivalent to his reference textbook on the subject only going so far. To continue to expand and deepen, he either needed to be extremely talented and able to deduce and complete the subsequent "textbook" content by himself, or he had to find another way. And he didn't even think about it. He just gave up the former and chose the latter. Was he kidding? Deducing the subsequent runes on his own? He didn't think he was so talented. With just his limited magical talent, it was better not to dream of things that only geniuses could achieve. It was better to rely on the planting system, which was more suitable for him.
"If only more diamond-grade Elber trees could be planted. Then, if we harvest them when they are ripe, perhaps we can create a sequel to the ancient weather magic." But this road also made him frown slightly. The Elber tree he had planted in the sky earlier was indeed mature, but it was a plant with few seeds. This was one of the reasons why it was so cherished now. To wait until this tree produced seeds, he estimated that it would take a long time, possibly several years or even more than ten. He didn't have that much time to spend waiting here. "Then what other ways are there to obtain an Elber tree?"
After meditating for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up. He thought about the origin of the Elber tree he had on hand. It had been given to him by Professor Flitwick during a class on the levitation spell. The professor had said at the time that it was a souvenir he had stumbled upon. Could he provide some clues to help him get more? Then, he glanced at the sky outside. The sky was gloomy, dark clouds were gathering, and the air was heavy and stagnant, even more so than before. Obviously, a thunderstorm bigger than the previous one would come soon. But before that, he still had some time to ask Professor Flitwick about this issue.
Then he got up hastily and walked towards the Ravenclaw Head's office. And a moment later, he was grateful for the coming storm, because Professor Flitwick was carrying a heavy suitcase, sitting still in his seat. There was also a small, pocket-sized flying broom next to it. It seemed to be a children's model. The professor looked at the sky outside the window, his face full of resentment. "Merlin, behold. When I was planning my summer vacation itinerary, the Muggle weather forecast didn't predict a storm this big. I was also planning a broomstick ride across the Channel. Well now, all my plans have gone to waste!"
Char breathed a sigh of relief. This storm had really helped him a lot. Otherwise, to see Professor Flitwick again, he would definitely have had to wait until the next semester started. "Professor." He greeted him.
Professor Flitwick also looked delighted. "Ah, Char. You're still at Hogwarts? Oh, yes. Mona was on the Hogwarts Express. She seemed to have received an urgent letter and left as soon as she got off the train. Don't worry, kid. This storm will sweep across half of England. Maybe many of your classmates who have returned home are now reinforcing their ceilings with hammers. Then you'll make a fortune if you stay at Hogwarts. Believe me, this place is not afraid of any storm."
After Char chatted with him for a while, he then got straight to the point. "Professor, do you remember the Elber tree you gave me during the Levitation Charm class? I'm very interested in this plant. Could you please tell me how you got it?" When this question was raised, he thought the professor might ask him for some details, or maybe he was a little too old and might not remember clearly what had happened. But what surprised him was that he beamed with joy when he mentioned this. "Sure! That was my highlight. Ah, Char, have you ever heard of a wizard duel?"
He paused. He had seen one in the second chapter of the original novel in his previous life. At that time, there had been repeated vicious attacks on Hogwarts. In order to divert the students' attention and also to show off, Professor Lockhart had taken the lead in organizing a dueling club. At that time, it had attracted the keen attention of all the young wizards. Even Snape, contrary to his usual behavior, had gotten involved and had a standard duel with Lockhart. Thinking back on these things, he nodded. "Yes, Professor. It's probably a long platform, with people waving their wands to each other and performing formalities, and then they start fighting one on one."
Professor Flitwick's smile widened. "Have you ever heard of the Wizarding World Dueling Tournament? Hosted by the Mosa Club, the wizarding world's longest-established dueling club, this is the eleventh time, the ultimate gathering of dueling enthusiasts in the wizarding world! By the way, when I was young, I won the championship in that tournament. Merlin, now that I think about it, I wonder why I was so brave when I was young. Let me tell you about my experience as a duelist—"
Char quickly interrupted him as he was reminiscing about his glorious days. "Professor, aren't you going to tell me where the Elber tree came from?"
He patted his head. "Oh, yes. That's what I was going to say. That was part of my prize as the Duel Champion."
This time, his expression became more and more shocked. "Prize?"
Professor Flitwick nodded seriously. "That's right. The Mosa Club has hosted a dueling tournament, which has always attracted countless wizards to participate. A very important reason is that they always have unexpected prizes. Let's not talk about Galleons or anything like that. And weapons and armor made by goblins. Various ancient alchemical items. Rare plants like the Elber tree. They are definitely treasures!" Speaking of this, his expression became even more mysterious. "It is said that it is a reward of the highest level. The Mosa Club can fulfill the champion's wish. They claim that as long as there is something in the magical world, as long as it can be accomplished with magic, there is nothing that they will not satisfy. Unfortunately, this kind of reward rarely appears. The next tournament will be held in seven or eight years. I wonder if it will appear then. Maybe you can try it then, Char."
As he spoke, a thoughtful look appeared in Char's eyes. The Dueling Tournament, and the Mosa Club, which spent a lot of money behind this competition... could it be that the Elber tree, which was on the verge of extinction, originated from here? This was something he hadn't expected. And at this time, his brows tightened slightly. There was a strange feeling coming from his spiritual eye. It seemed as if his sixth sense was reminding him that this tournament and the club were not that simple. This pool of water was very deep. He had the same idea. "Such competitions have always been held in the wizarding world. The more they continue, the more precious the reward. The power of this Mosa Club is extraordinary. I can't get the Elber tree from them... we'll think of a solution later."
Right at this moment, outside the window, the air was stagnant and dull. Suddenly, it loosened, and immediately there was a whistling sound of wind, extremely horrific. The wind blew so hard that the leaves rustled. He looked out the window. The sky had become even darker. There was a faint rumble of thunder in the sky. Professor Flitwick exclaimed, "The storm is coming. Merlin, behold. This is even bigger than I expected!"
At this time, Char took a deep breath. There was a deep glint in his eyes. "Yes. The storm is here."