Protag Journey -
In the early morning, a figure arrived at the foot of the High Hay, outside Buckleberry.
The hobbits of Bucklebury were filled with fear and vigilance towards the Old Forest, having been warned since childhood about its dangers, so few people approached the High Hay.
Hundreds of years ago, to resist the encroachment of the Old Forest's trees, the hobbits of Bucklebury specifically set up defenses on the eastern land, planting a row of hedges.
Today, these hedges have grown tall and dense, like a magnificent wall, extending all the way from the Brandywine River, past the Willow River, to the end of the hedge, forming a large arc stretching over twenty miles.
Luke walked for several miles along the High Hay, but could not find a gap through the hedge.
And it was impossible to climb over.
Having no other choice, Luke pulled out the two bone-chopping knives from his waist.
The bone-chopping knives flew from his hands, transforming into two spinning, flying knives, continuously cutting and hacking at a spot in the hedge.
In an instant, fragmented leaves and branches flew everywhere.
A progressively deeper hole was carved into the hedge wall.
Finally, the hole was broken through.
A hole several meters deep, large enough for one person to pass through, appeared. Looking through the hole, one could see the Old Forest on the other side.
Luke crawled through the hole.
Between the hedge wall and the Old Forest was a 100-foot-wide buffer zone, where no trees grew except for weeds, as if the trees of the Old Forest could avoid it.
Luke kicked the ground, and faint traces of burning could still be seen.
It seemed that the hobbits of Bucklebury and the Old Forest had engaged in a fierce battle back then, even resorting to fire attacks to force back the advance of the Old Forest's trees.
Stepping across the buffer zone, Luke arrived at the edge of the Old Forest and walked straight in without stopping.
As soon as he stepped into the forest,
Luke felt a sense of oppression.
It was as if countless pairs of eyes were watching him with malice and unfriendliness.
He looked in the direction of the gaze, finally settling on the ancient trees.
These trees looked very old, tall and large, with their branches gesticulating wildly, and faintly, one could hear whispers and murmurs, as if they were conspiring something.
Luke outwardly acted as if he hadn't noticed, but he secretly became alert and wary, constantly sensing the surrounding trees with his magic.
Suddenly, a thick branch fell, directly striking towards Luke's head.
"Protego!"
Luke reacted quickly, and an invisible shield appeared above his head, blocking the falling branch.
Since obtaining "Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection," the first spell Luke chose to practice was the Shield Charm. The Shield Charm could block most spell attacks and all physical attacks, making it arguably the most practical spell for self-preservation.
However, this spell was quite difficult, and some Hogwarts seventh-year students might not even master it, let alone Luke, who didn't have a magic wand.
Luke also practiced tirelessly for a whole month before he could barely cast the Shield Charm successfully.
And sure enough, the first thing he did after learning the Shield Charm was to come to the Old Forest to practice it.
Seeing that the attack missed, the previously silent trees around him stirred, their branches and leaves moving without wind, making rustling sounds.
Luke felt the malice of the surrounding trees towards him intensify, and he no longer held back.
The two bone-chopping knives at his waist instantly flew out, selecting the largest oak and pine branches, cutting off two wrist-thick, straight branches, and controlling them to return to him.
Now was the time to run, Luke immediately turned and ran out of the forest with the branches.
The oak and pine trees, whose branches had been cut, were enraged by this action, letting out a muffled growl. Their entire massive bodies twisted, and their dry bark fell off, revealing thick trunks.
The ground shook, and soil heaved, as if a dragon was turning over. Thick roots broke through the ground, attempting to trip or strike him.
"Oh my, such a temper? I just took a branch, that's all! So petty!"
Luke complained as he ran, the two bone-chopping knives flying around him, cutting off the attacking roots one by one.
But when faced with huge roots as thick as buckets, the bone-chopping knives were helpless and could not cut them in one go.
"Leg-Locking Curse!"
The spell hit the roots, and the roots stiffened, involuntarily intertwining, forming an unbreakable tangle of roots that could no longer pose a threat to Luke.
Luke was delighted; he hadn't expected the Leg-Locking Curse to be so useful, actually locking up the roots.
Luke had no desire to fight. Taking advantage of the two trees being preoccupied, he immediately left the Old Forest without looking back, crossed the buffer zone, and squeezed through the hedge wall hole, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Looking at the oak and pine branches in his hands, Luke grinned. Although he was a little disappointed that he couldn't sign in, being able to get backup materials for a magic wand was still a gain.
After slightly concealing the hedge hole, he returned to Buckleberry with the branches.
Back at Drogo Baggins's house, Luke borrowed tools from Drogo and began to process the branches. He peeled off the bark, trimmed off the excess parts, and carefully polished them. Finally, two straight, smooth little sticks were laid out before him.
Picking up an oak stick that could barely be called a magic wand, Luke tried to inject magic into it. His eyes immediately lit up, and he smiled.
Magic flowed smoothly through the stick, and apart from a slight sluggishness, it was perfectly suitable for making a magic wand.
Putting down the oak, he picked up the pine and tried to inject magic.
The pine also conducted magic, but the sluggishness was more pronounced compared to the oak.
This meant that the trees of the Old Forest could completely serve as materials for making magic wand cores!
This conclusion made Luke very excited. Although he still didn't know how to make a magic wand, the appearance of magic wand core materials gave him hope.
As for the sluggishness encountered when injecting magic, Luke had some theories: this might be due to the magic wand wood not being compatible with him.
In the magic world, the wood of a Wizard's magic wand varies. For example, Harry Potter's is holly, Lord Voldemort's is yew, Dumbledore's Elder Wand is elderwood, etc. If an incompatible magic wand is used, it is easy to fail to exert the proper power, or even cause unpredictable accidents.
Oak and pine were not suitable for him, so Luke was quite curious about what his own magic wand wood would be?
He remembered that the Old Forest had a wide variety of tree species, so perhaps he could make a few more trips to the Old Forest and get more wood to try one by one.
However, he still needed to do one thing first.
Luke's gaze fell on the two pots of Dittany. After more than a month of magic irrigation, the Dittany had grown to one meter tall and was almost mature.
It was another moonlit night. Luke held the two Dittany branches with both hands and continuously injected magic into them. Under the irrigation of magic, the Dittany became even more vibrant and succulent, as if water could be squeezed out of them.
At a certain moment, the Dittany reacted, and the silver moonlight was attracted and gathered by the Dittany, emitting a faint silver glow.
Bathed in the moonlight, the Dittany grew rapidly. In just a moment, it grew to an adult's height and emitted a strong, fresh herbal fragrance.