In shock and rage, Marcus could no longer endure the revelation and fainted, his head lolling to one side.
In his final moments of consciousness, he stared fixedly at that ancient magic book, his eyes blood-red with desperate longing.
Want it so badly—it's mine!
Wait, why am I so crazed about this?
His consciousness then cut out completely.
Ethan looked at the unconscious Marcus, waved his wand, and cast a healing charm on him.
"Setting such a death trap in a secret chamber—this Mr Black was no saint either," he thought to himself.
Leaving clues while setting lethal trials, as if declaring, 'Weaklings don't deserve the inheritance.' Truly the iron-blooded Black family tradition.
Just then, wisps of fresh blood floated up from the ground like crimson threads, seeping into the book in Ethan's hands. The dry, wrinkled cover became plump and smooth like an old demon absorbing essence.
The skin-like surface was stretching and healing itself.
Magical power surged from within, like countless writhing tentacles reaching out to tempt Ethan's mind, urging him to give everything to it.
However—
[Due to your curse resistance, you are immune to this brainwashing attempt.]
Ethan blinked in confusion. Brainwashing? Was there supposed to be brainwashing? Didn't feel anything! Tch, so weak.
[You have obtained the Necronomicon.]
Ethan's eyes widened: "!!"
Sorry, I spoke too quickly.
The Necronomicon! Ethan had once read about this legendary tome in Hogwarts' Restricted Section. Legend claimed it contained countless blasphemous knowledge that could make people explode just from looking at it!
Raising the dead, controlling spirits, manipulating minds, plague and disaster... even "deicide"! Legend claimed that possessing it meant possessing the whole world.
Only it could allow the Deathly Hallows to display their true power.
Fortunately, it had only briefly appeared in history before being destroyed by Aurors and Unspeakables—at least, that's what they publicly announced. Even related events were sealed away, which Ethan couldn't find even in the Restricted Section.
But now, Ethan had obtained the actual Necronomicon.
His cobalt blue eyes lingered on its sheep-skin-like cover, surging with otherworldly ambition.
Ethan has no interest in conquering the world. He just wanted to use art to give this world a little shock. To make the world bright and righteous.
"With this, I'll surely be one step closer to my dream... Mr Black, you're truly my great benefactor. The world will thank you!" Ethan muttered excitedly, eagerly opening the cover.
The cover and inner pages made sticky tearing sounds as they separated.
On the title page was a densely written passage added later. The handwriting matched that on the paper in the metal scroll—it was Black's handwriting.
Ethan skipped the opening "Users of this book must exercise extreme caution" and read the key parts:
"Since the last time with the Aard Sign that could suppress werewolves, much time has passed. I've hit a bottleneck, because no method seems able to restore my daughter's sanity during full moon nights..."
"But heaven never seals all paths—I accidentally bought this ancient book from an Arab merchant and made a major discovery. It was originally compiled in Ancient Runes—a natural ancient magic textbook! I don't know why no one has heard of it for so long—I'm determined to find a cure for my daughter from it."
"The Patronus! Yes, if the Patronus Charm is powerful enough to repel dreadful Dementors, then ancient magic based on it should produce even greater positive effects!"
"I need to perform the ritual described above, casting Invisible Arts to summon a Patronus and investigate... but where can I find the countless dark souls the ritual requires?"
...I can no longer turn back.
This line was written with such force it pierced the paper. You could feel the writer's desperate determination.
Ethan frowned, noticing something odd. These passages were clearly from different time periods, yet appeared on the same title page. Very strange.
He continued reading:
"From the Patronus summoned by the ritual, I successfully learnt the Ancient Runic version of the Patronus Charm. It's incredibly difficult—completely violates normal spellcasting principles!"
"After a very long time, I finally mastered it—I succeeded. When on the full moon night I held my daughter's human body again, I wept."
Below was the Ancient Runic version of the Patronus Charm! Already a long incantation in normal magic, translated into Ancient Runes it became an enormous passage.
The spell model twisted impossibly, as if challenging geometric spatial limits. Within it, Ethan could see variants of the basic Aard Sign.
"A spell powerful enough to return a full-moon werewolf to human form!" Ethan exclaimed. "If the Fish King's Patronus could defend against curses, then this truly eliminates curses! More aggressive!"
He thought of those souls emanating cold in the pure white door formed by the basilisk's body—the necessary path for advancement.
If he could successfully learn the ancient magic version of the Patronus Charm and combine it with [Lamp]'s effects, he should be able to pass through these souls and get closer to the advancement gate!
Ethan clenched his fists, feeling his heart pound like drums, his eardrums rumbling with excitement!
Lowering his head, he read the complex spell more intently, then suddenly frowned.
"This spell seems incomplete—"
Right, Ethan could sense this spell wasn't complete—only surface-level, lacking more crucial content.
Sure enough, at the bottom, Mr Black wrote:
"I cannot write down the most core runic symbols—they're too ancient, with no corresponding text to express them! Future successor who obtains this book, if you wish to completely learn the advanced Patronus, you must do as I did—follow this book's ritual to summon a Patronus and learn the key symbols from 'it'."
[By reading the manuscript, you learnt the Advanced Patronus Charm (Incomplete)!]
[The Patronus Charm repels Dementors, while the complete advanced version can actually kill them!]
[Even the incomplete version can deal massive damage!]
[Just reading the spell purified your mind.]
[Lamp brightness increased]
Oh ho. So absorbing my own dark matter can also increase brightness? Ah, I have a plan.
Ethan's mind conjured ideas of actively creating dark matter to absorb—a perpetual motion machine. Fully automated production and harvesting mode.
"But I probably can't produce much dark matter myself—after all, I'm the embodiment of [Lamp]."
He nodded, continuing to flip through the pages. What appeared was a ritual description with detailed illustrations.
The illustrations made even Ethan nod approvingly. Very tasteful.
[You learnt Invisible Arts - Beast Splitting Ritual!]
[Description: He was once hunted like livestock, but not anymore, never again.]
[Ritual Method: In absolute despair and terror, kill at least twenty beings who have taken lives, sacrifice their dark souls, recite incantations to summon a Patronus from higher planes.]
[The Patronus sometimes only casts its gaze, sometimes even shows anger—only when offerings win 'its' favour will it rarely appear in person.]
[Supplement: Even without dark souls on hand, they can be artificially created—that despair and suffering will please certain entities even more.]
[You gained a "Well-Read" trait—your comprehension and learning speed increased.]
When the ghostly blue text appeared, Ethan felt his mind clear. The slight chaos from long reading of the Necronomicon also vanished.
"Dark souls stained with blood—" Ethan pondered, his eyes gradually brightening.
In modern times with Voldemort's fall, finding so many purely dark souls might be difficult. But in ancient times, during the 1612 rebellion period, dark souls who had killed weren't exactly rare?
Things were about to get exciting.
Suddenly—
"RUMBLE!" A dull roar came from above, shaking the stone walls and sending dust falling in sheets.
Something's happening?
Ethan's eyes sharpened as he looked up. In his heart, excitement gradually rose.
Speak of dark souls, and dark souls appear. The goblin army.
"Perfect—I used the sacred bones to create a large-scale guardian construct in advance. Even Professor Lupin said it was excellent—should be able to complete this sacrifice ritual in one go!"
He would kill these invading goblins! Sacrifice their polluted souls to gain higher beings' attention. Thus learning those ancient runes that couldn't be expressed in words!
Ethan licked his lips, a card emanating endless cold appearing in his hand.
Pocketing the Necronomicon, he quickly walked toward the well opening.
Can't be late—wouldn't want the kills stolen.
Goblins, here I come!