Chapter 184: Weird Wizard's Chess
Early morning.
Sean flew the Leisure Broom into the Room of Hope, still contemplating his next intermediate alchemical project.
Ron walked in clutching his chessboard. He and Harry often held private matches, and although it hadn't improved their win rate much, they never tired of it.
"I always feel like someone's watching us, don't you, Harry?" Ron looked around the room in confusion, scratching his head.
"Lars Schneider is useful..."
Harry was still studying the personalities of the chess pieces. When facing the ever-changing battlefield of the chessboard, something seemed to awaken within him.
His ability to adapt was impressive, and his win rate was catching up to Ron's, making him one of the best chess players among the first-years.
While they were whispering, Sean had an idea. He slowly shimmered into view, unnoticed by Harry and Ron, who were deep in discussion.
Soon after, Weasley & Green's Wizard Wheezes began stocking "Weird Wizard's Chess."
It followed the standard rules, but the pieces themselves offered a variety of choices:
For instance, the Knight, Lars Schneider. If ordered to advance continuously, he could move an extra square after three moves. But if ordered to retreat, he would do all sorts of annoying things.
Or the Knight, Flick Santiago. A brave but brainless fellow. Sometimes he could move an extra square and turn the tide of battle; other times, that extra square would land his head under the enemy's blade.
These alchemical creations, casually made by Sean, not only honed his proficiency in imbuing objects with will, but also provided the final piece to reach the [Adept] level:
[Intermediate Weird Wizard's Chess: Novice (19/300)]
[Intermediate Wizard's Chess: Novice (119/300)]
[Intermediate Leisure Broom: Novice (100/300)]
Now, it was just a matter of grinding proficiency over time.
Sean busied himself once more.
The Great Hall was in chaos these days. Someone had owl-ordered the first set of Weird Wizard's Chess, and these absurd yet logical sets quickly became a craze at Hogwarts. Some wizards bought multiple sets just to collect all twelve different Knights.
The most powerful among them was the "Gandoka Knight." In desperate situations, this knight could shatter two enemy pieces at once.
"This is way too overpowered!" the students exclaimed.
But that didn't stop them from wanting to collect it.
Unfortunately, the probability of this knight appearing in a Weird Wizard's Chess set was extremely low.
"The Great Green, we're already being generous. At least we let him appear, right? Once in three hundred sets! How ethical! You know, some unscrupulous merchants wouldn't even include such a rare item—"
"They only release them once in a while when business is slow... Like the Wizarding Lottery. If fools keep buying, no one wins. When fewer people buy, ha! A winner appears! And then the fools rush to give away their Galleons again!"
That was the twins' explanation.
Hearing this, Sean suddenly felt that the Weasleys winning the lottery might not have been purely a matter of probability.
Weasley & Green's Wizard Wheezes was booming, accumulating a large base of loyal customers even before officially opening. Fred and George ran out of the castle early every morning. As they put it: "We wake up every day to the sound of Galleons arriving."
Christmas passed.
On the last day of the holidays, Sean went to see Professor Terra. He had finished the books, and today was the day she would test his progress.
Alchemy Office.
Professor Terra sat on a constantly shifting chair.
A quiet Christmas, free from the atrocious essays and assignments of her apprentices...
She was unusually relaxed.
"Weird Wizard's Chess? An interesting exploration..."
She even cracked a joke.
It was a small test, mostly in written form. As Sean scribbled furiously, Professor Terra thoughtfully supplemented his knowledge with insights beyond his experience.
When Sean emerged from the office, his notebook was significantly fuller. The professor told him to come back tomorrow for the results.
Sean walked away with a light step, while Professor Terra looked at his test parchment with amusement.
She was willing to give this test a score of one hundred and five; the extra points were just to make her adorable student proud.
Suddenly, a paper airplane flew into the Alchemy office, landing in Professor Terra's hand.
Notably, it had flown straight through the wall.
The Professor's mildly interested gaze deepened.
"Seeing my ritual techniques and still daring to probe? Which corner of the world did this fool crawl out of?
"If the vastness of magic has birthed such a filthy magical world, and self-righteous pure-bloods..."
Her gaze sharpened. She seemed to be murmuring to herself, yet also making a declaration:
"Let the Uagadou lot go and have a good 'talk' with them..."
The paper airplane flew back out through the wall of the Alchemy office.
Inside, the Wizarding Wireless was blaring:
"...The British Ministry of Magic reiterates that all unauthorized nocturnal gatherings will be subject to strict scrutiny..."
"Scrutiny... Oh, that's a British Ministry rule..."
Deep in the night.
On the last day of the Christmas holidays, Sean achieved the final six proficiency points.
[You have practiced crafting a Weird Wizard's Chess set to the Novice standard. Proficiency +3]
[You have practiced crafting a Weird Wizard's Chess set to the Novice standard. Proficiency +3]
[A new Alchemy Title has been unlocked. Please view.]
Sean rubbed his temples. After seeing the Mirror of Erised, he had devoted even more time to Transfiguration, surpassing all other branches of magic, which led to increasing fatigue.
Balancing Alchemy and Transfiguration was a massive drain on a wizard's mental strength.
But the rewards arrived on schedule.
[Title: Intermediate Alchemist]
[Significantly increases perception of Alchemical magic. Significantly improves Alchemical talent. Slightly increases the wizard's control over Alchemical rituals.]
Control over Alchemical rituals?
Sean tapped his bookshelf, and it spat out a book: A Deep Analysis of Alchemical Rituals.
This was the final book in Professor Terra's five-book series, detailing the historical evolution of alchemical rituals, along with the professor's own understanding and practice.
For the Weird Wizard's Chess, Sean had imitated the professor's ritual.
(End of Chapter)
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