In the face of natural disasters, the difference in survivability between those with magic and those without becomes apparent very quickly.
For a wizard like Terence Barrow, surviving this sandstorm wasn't difficult.
Perhaps by the time the storm from the north reached them, its power had already diminished significantly.
Sure enough, when the sandstorm arrived, it had been reduced to a downpour of sand and a fierce gale. After all, this wasn't a true natural disaster, but merely a shockwave.
Hiding behind a large rock at the valley entrance, Terence cast a protective charm that enveloped him in a spherical shield. It not only blocked the howling wind but also kept the raining sand completely at bay.
After the sand rain passed, the world was enveloped in a thick yellow haze. Covered head to toe in sand, Rey stumbled out of the fog, meeting Terence Barrow's shocked gaze.
"I didn't expect you to survive."
That was the first thing Terence said upon seeing Rey.
Surprised, yet maintaining his poise. As a true heir to Slytherin's teachings, he stood in stark contrast to Rey.
Rey was caked in dust and grit; only his eyes, nose, and mouth showed any hint of skin color. The rest of him was grey. Unlike the immaculate Terence Barrow.
"Scourgify."
With a look of mild distaste, Terence waved his wand lightly. The dust and sand on Rey vanished instantly. Only then did Rey take a deep breath, feeling significantly lighter.
In the sandstorm earlier, he had lost all autonomy, tossed around helplessly by the shockwave. Just when he thought he was dead, his vision went black, as if something had covered his eyes.
By the time his vision returned, he had been dumped onto the ground. The shockwave had passed, the sand rain had stopped. Rey stumbled out of the sandy mist and saw Terence safe and sound inside his protective bubble.
Surprisingly, the massive sandstorm had saved him a lot of time, carrying him all the way to the valley entrance in one go. Talk about good luck.
---
"Thanks. I made it back alive."
Rey replied, acknowledging the magical cleanup. He could tell from Terence's expression that the other boy hadn't expected him to return.
"I'm very glad you're back. Otherwise, my teacher would have had a hard time explaining this to his friend."
It was a clumsy explanation for his relief, making the atmosphere a bit awkward. Terence had definitely said too much.
But Rey wasn't petty. And Terence wasn't a bad person.
After all, Terence had given him the one-time teleportation stone. Without it, who knew if Rey would have survived?
Even if the motive was just to keep Rey away from Helena, it didn't change the fact that the stone had saved his life.
The sandstorm had engulfed the entire Valley of Evil Spirits. It would take a long time for the dust to settle completely.
Just as Rey turned to look back, a short-legged, chubby dragon waddled out of the sandy mist. There wasn't a speck of sand on it. It walked just as it had before, its chubby tail swaying comically with every step.
It had been separated from Rey during the storm, but surprisingly, it had found its way back to him.
"What are you looking at?"
Seeing Rey staring into the mist nearby, Terence asked, confused.
Rey paused. Terence's confusion seemed genuine—he apparently couldn't see the chubby dragon.
Terence should have been able to see it. At the very least, he saw it when they first entered the valley and chose their Guide Spirits.
Why couldn't he see it now? Although puzzled, Rey didn't elaborate.
He simply replied, "Nothing. Just wondering if the evil spirits got caught in the disaster too."
The chubby dragon waddled over and snuggled against Rey's leg.
This little guy was special. It was the one who had broken Reppel's Petrifying Curse with a single bite.
When they first arrived, Terence hadn't shared all the information about the valley, keeping some things to himself to maintain the upper hand.
Since that was the case, Rey decided not to mention that the dragon was still following him. One shouldn't have the heart to harm others, but one must always have the heart to guard against them. Besides, keeping a secret wasn't exactly harming anyone.
Thinking of Terence's cunning nature, Rey simply didn't feel like sharing more than necessary.
"How did you kill that dragon?" Terence assumed the evil spirit Rey killed was a dragon, since the chubby dragon was his Guide Spirit.
"Oh, when I got there..."
At Terence's prompt, Rey launched into a story. Mixing three parts truth with seven parts fiction, he spun a tale of a lucky fool's adventure.
Basically, Rey claimed he got the Specter Bead and returned safely purely due to luck.
Lucky that the evil dragon's nemesis, a blood demon, showed up. Lucky that they were evenly matched and severely injured each other. Rey just swooped in effortlessly at the end to claim the prize.
Terence Barrow wasn't stupid. No matter how sincere Rey sounded, he scoffed internally. If you don't want to tell me, fine. But don't treat me like an idiot. If luck could solve everything, what's the point of Felix Felicis?
However, just as Terence was mentally dismissing the story, Rey asked mysteriously, "Do you know why I had such good luck?"
"Why?" Terence asked curiously, though he had a guess. He figured Rey would mention drinking Felix Felicis.
"Because I drank an entire bottle of Liquid Luck."
Chuckling, Rey pulled the empty vial from his pouch and tossed it lightly in the air, looking smug enough to punch.
"Felix Felicis. You actually drank it?"
Terence caught the empty vial and sniffed it.
"It really is Felix Felicis!" High-quality Felix Felicis was hard to come by. Terence didn't believe a kid Rey's age could brew it. Furthermore, even standard Felix Felicis wouldn't give someone enough luck to casually kill an evil dragon spirit.
But as soon as Terence sniffed the residue, his expression changed.
The vial Rey threw was indeed for Felix Felicis, and it was of the highest grade. Just smelling the residue made Terence feel euphoric, as if good fortune was imminent.
Aside from his teacher, Salazar Slytherin, Terence had never met another wizard capable of brewing Felix Felicis of this caliber.
"Where did you get such high-grade Felix Felicis? And you drank the whole bottle? Do you realize the kind of heaven-defying luck a full bottle gives you? And you used it all just to get a Specter Bead?"
Terence asked, looking at Rey as if he had wasted a national treasure. His rapid-fire questions stunned Rey, who was still trying to act smug.
Apparently, to Terence, the value of that bottle was astronomical.
"Good thing I did! Salazar Slytherin's Liquid Luck is potent. Otherwise, escaping from Death would have been a joke."
Rey rejoiced internally, feeling a wave of retrospective fear.
He had to drink a high-potency bottle just to escape Death. If he had drunk only a little, or if the quality had been average, then...
The consequences were unthinkable. In short, he was alive right now thanks to that potion.
---
Terence became very serious about the potion. Once he learned it was a gift from Salazar Slytherin, he stopped asking questions.
With such powerful Felix Felicis, Terence would believe it even if Rey said he sneezed and the dragon died.
Salazar had brewed that potion purely to challenge his own mastery of potioneering. He made only one bottle of such supreme quality, and it was the one Rey held.
First, the ingredients were incredibly rare. Second, Salazar believed his own power was sufficient without relying on luck. So, although Terence knew of the potion's existence as Salazar's student, he had never received a drop.
"Since you're back, let's leave the valley," Terence said calmly, glancing at the smug Rey. His brief loss of composure vanished as if it had never happened.
"Yeah, okay."
Rey nodded in agreement, dropping the act.
He could tell that Terence was feeling a bit down after learning about Salazar's gift. It wasn't quite resentment toward his teacher, but he was definitely unhappy. As the disciple, he hadn't received even a drop, while Rey got the whole bottle.
"Listen. Leaving the valley involves passing through an illusion. In this illusion, you just need to kill all the evil spirits that appear, except for one. Promise to take that one out of the valley, and you'll pass the test."
Before leaving, Terence offered some final information about the Valley of Evil Spirits. Presumably, he hadn't mentioned it earlier because he thought Rey was going to die anyway.
"How do I kill them?" Rey asked. With new information, it was better to be clear.
"The spirits in the illusion are very weak. You can kill them with a thought."
"Oh, that simple?" Rey asked again to confirm. Terence had dug enough pits for him already.
Terence tilted his head, stared at Rey, and explained impatiently, "That simple. If you don't believe me, you don't have to do it. Anyway, you drank so much Felix Felicis. Unless a misfortune of equal magnitude occurs to cancel it out, that luck will stay with you for a long time. At the very least, your luck will remain invincible until we leave the valley."
"Is this Liquid Luck really that powerful?"
"Nonsense! It's a masterpiece brewed by my teacher. You dare doubt it?!"
Terence looked like he was about to explode at Rey's repeated questions.
If not for his aristocratic pride, he might have beaten this brat who got a bargain and still acted innocent until he was crawling on the ground looking for his teeth.
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