The wind in the Forbidden Forest brushed gently past.
As Lucien felt the Shield Charm breaking apart, he still bent down to pick up the Qilin horn.
He examined the short horn in his hand—it looked like a piece of white pearl art.
Can it dispel magic?
That was practically a bug in this world.
Hmm, better test it again.
Lucien casually Transfigured a small pebble on the ground into a delicate cup and summoned it to his hand.
As the Qilin horn drew near the cup, the object instantly reverted back into a pebble.
Lucien raised an eyebrow. It could even dispel Transfiguration.
The effect seemed to activate within roughly a one-centimeter range from the horn's surface.
If this could be refined into a weapon…
Turned into a bullet—the results would be, well, tsk tsk.
Ignoring magical defenses and striking directly into a target's body.
Hmm—if I add the Delayed Truth potion to the bullet for an explosive effect.
Or incorporate some poison.
Making defensive gear—shields or thin armor—could work too, but that would require a lot of material.
"System, how often do Quilin replace their horns?"
[A Quilin in its growth period replaces its horns once every six months.]
That was normal—but in that case the quantity was indeed limited.
Lucien reminded himself he wasn't some monster; he wouldn't deliberately saw off Lumen's horns.
Besides, he might not even be able to cut through them.
If he waited for natural shedding, there would still be four horns a year. For armor, that volume might not be enough.
No—what he wanted was the horn's inherent anti-magic property. If a thin layer of horn or powdered horn retained that effect, then a smaller quantity would suffice.
Made into the surface of protective gear, or refined into an interlayer—as long as the outer shell's thickness stayed within one centimeter.
Ah, there is a small problem.
Lucien looked from the Qilin horn to his wand. If it was anti-magic, how could he work it with magic?
And since even Transfiguration was undone, any magically created tools wouldn't hold either.
Would he have to get cutting machines or something from the Muggle world?
He didn't even know the horn's hardness yet. If it couldn't be processed, how could he use it? This short horn wasn't sharp—hardly a dagger.
And for a wizard to act as a close-quarters assassin seemed a bit strange. In that case it would be more practical to have Lumen flash behind the enemy and ram them directly.
Lucien rubbed his temples; it felt like finding a treasure chest without a key. Forcing it open might not even work.
Just as he was about to slip the Qilin horn into his Undetectable Extension Charm pocket, his hand froze.
This thing wouldn't break the Undetectable Extension Charm, would it? What kind of reaction would that cause? Would everything inside the space vanish—or explode out?
Not only could he not store it inside an Undetectable Extension Charm pocket, but even carrying it on him might be dangerous.
If he accidentally brought the Qilin horn into one of those expanded spaces, what would happen then?
"System, can the shed Qilin horn be stored in the system space?"
"You've always said that only items produced by the system can be stored. But isn't the Qilin created by you? So the horns it sheds should count too, right?"
[…]
[The host is correct.]
In an instant, the Qilin horn vanished from Lucien's hand, already stored safely in the system space.
Looking at the single, lonely short horn still on Lumen's head, Lucien said,
"Next time your head feels itchy, pay attention to whether another horn has fallen off... If it does, remember to pick it up and bring it back. I have a use for it."
"Okay, Master. Oh, right—what about the scales I shed?"
Lucien didn't hesitate before replying,
"Keep those too."
Although experiments had shown that the Qilin horn's anti-magic effect was far stronger than that of the scales, the number of scales was far greater. Looking at Lumen—already about the size of a horse—who knew how many scales would shed from its body?
Even if they couldn't be processed easily with magic, simply stringing them together into light armor or embedding them into a shield would be sufficient.
They could still block most ordinary spells.
At the very least, it was better than taking spells directly with his bare body.
"Alright, let's go find the Mooncalf now."
…
Inside a dark cave.
A soft glow shone from the tip of Lucien's wand.
Several pale-gray Mooncalves, their large round eyes bulging adorably, scampered up to him, prancing around Lucien and Lumen.
"Lumen, help me ask if they're willing to come with me."
At his words, Lumen turned to communicate with the Mooncalves.
It took some effort—Mooncalves weren't very intelligent magical creatures, and explaining things to them proved somewhat difficult.
"Master, they said they need food, a cave, moonlight, and… a place to dance."
Lucien nodded. In other words—room, board, and entertainment.
Moonlight wasn't an issue either; Newt's letter had already explained how to replicate that environment.
Hmm, on full moon nights, he could even let them out for some exercise.
To be honest, the Mooncalves' dances under the moonlight were quite fascinating to watch.
When Lumen conveyed Lucien's promised conditions, the Mooncalves began dancing even more energetically.
Lucien wasn't at all surprised by how smoothly things went.
With Lumen's natural affinity for animals and the comfortable conditions he could offer, it was only natural that magical creatures were eager to follow him.
Taking out a white gourd, Lucien gently collected the Mooncalves inside.
Then he entered the gourd himself, leaving Lumen outside to keep watch.
Inside the gourd's space, Lucien waved his wand, and a cave gradually formed out of the barren ground.
Following Newt's notes, he then used Alchemy to craft a small moon lamp.
He enlarged the moon lamp and made it float in the air.
Soft moonlight spilled gently across the ground.
The Mooncalves immediately poked their heads out of the cave one by one, scampering into the moonlight.
Bathed in the silvery glow, they looked momentarily confused—until one of them began to dance. The others quickly followed, swaying and hopping rhythmically under the light.
Watching the scene, Lucien felt a quiet sense of accomplishment and calm.
It felt as though he had opened a ranch—or perhaps a small magical zoo.
These Mooncalves were now his first residents.
Hmm, this was only a single enclosed space for now.
If he planned to raise more magical creatures, it would be best to choose ones with similar habits to the Mooncalves—gentle and peaceful by nature.
Lucien then exited the gourd space.
Next, he still needed to solve the issue of their food supply.
Fortunately, the Forbidden Forest was full of resources, and Lumen could help gather some while they were here.
Lucien tucked away the white gourd and stepped out of the cave.
"Lumen, let's go. Let's visit Aragog and the others again."
__________
11 Advance Chaps- P@treon/DarkDevil1