Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 217 The Tuner of the Resonance Compass

Chapter 217 The Tuner of the Resonance Compass

For several days in a row, under the close supervision of Nico and Castor, Karen used the "Eye of Truth" to repeatedly observe and compare the sealed Horcrux and Soul Fragment, and used this to draw a diagram.

Nico was responsible for analyzing the diagrams and the actual operational data of the sealing array, constantly fine-tuning the protection around the lead box to ensure absolute safety. Castor, meanwhile, held the diagrams recorded by Karen and the rudimentary prototype of the "Resonance Compass," lost in thought. His fingers unconsciously traced the rough mithril base and runes of the compass, his gray eyes seeming to hold the calculations of stars.

“The basic principle is feasible,” Castor finally broke the silence in the lab after three days of analysis. His voice remained cold and detached, but carried a penetrating insight that seemed to see the essence of things. “It can capture the ‘disturbance’ of the soul, like the ripples caused by a pebble thrown into water. But right now, it can only tell you ‘there is a stone’ and ‘approximately how big the stone is,’ it can’t distinguish who threw the stone, much less guide you to the location of the thrower.” He picked up the compass and pointed to the heavily sealed lead box on the stone platform. “Now, we have two completely different ‘stones’—one huge, heavy, and deep underwater, the other smaller, broken, and floating on the surface. We need to teach this compass to ‘hear’ their unique ‘sounds of falling into the water.’”

Karen's spirits lifted; he knew a crucial improvement was about to begin. Nico also put down the crystal ball, casting a concerned glance at him. "Karen," Castor looked at him, "those diagrams you recorded are the 'sounds' of their soul fluctuations. We need to convert the characteristics of these 'sounds' into 'frequencies' that the compass core's sensing rune array can recognize and amplify."

He walked to an auxiliary workbench on one side of the stone chamber, where more sophisticated alchemy tools and several pure mithril substrates were already laid out. "The notes Lucian Sinclair has compiled here by Nico contain a design for a rune array that captures highly sensitive magical fluctuations. Its brilliance lies in the combination of 'resonance amplification' and 'directional filtering.' It's like an extremely fine net, capable of capturing the slightest ripples, but we need to adjust the shape of the net's 'mesh' and its 'tension' so that it resonates most strongly only with ripples exhibiting specific characteristics."

Castor picked up his engraving knife, his movements precise and steady. He began etching runes onto a new mithril substrate. His movements and methods were not entirely the same as those recorded in Lucian's Diary, incorporating much of his own understanding. The rune lines became more fluid and intricate, intertwining to form a three-dimensional, seemingly breathing miniature magic circle.

“Notice here,” Castor pointed to a newly inscribed core rune group, composed of three nested, constantly rotating arc-shaped runes. “Traditional ‘Symphony Runes’ seek broad-spectrum empathy. I’ve broken it down, adding variations of ‘Prism Refraction’ and ‘Echo Focus.’ The inspiration comes from Karen’s descriptions of the sharpness of thorns piercing and the fracturing of glacial fissures. The former requires capturing that condensed, sustained frequency of malevolent impact, while the latter requires recognizing that chaotic, explosive frequency.”

As he inscribed, he explained, his language concise yet hitting the nail on the head: "The vibrations of a Horcrux are like heavy drumbeats, echoing from the abyss. The vibrations of a fragment are like shattered glass, sharp and piercing. The core of the compass needs to be like the best tuner, able to clearly distinguish the different timbres and rhythms of these drumbeats and shattering sounds. What your 'Eye of Truth' sees is the most intuitive 'score'."

Tell me, when you sensed the Horcrux impacting the seal, was that "greedy sucking sensation" more like a continuous fluctuation in terms of energy flow, or a series of pulse-like thrusts?

Karen immediately recalled her observations: "It was pulsed, teacher. Each 'piercing' motion of the thorns corresponded to a powerful, concentrated burst of soul energy shockwave, like the bite of a venomous snake. After the impact, there would be a brief 'sucking' contraction, as if drawing something out, before charging up to pierce again. There was a very distinct rhythm!"

"Very good." A knowing glint flashed in Castor's eyes as he quickly sketched another area on the new substrate with his carving knife. "Then, for the Soul Weapon's identification core, we need to enhance its ability to capture pulse peaks and specific attack rhythms. Embed the corresponding runes here, so that they will only resonate most strongly with pulses that match this specific rhythm and intensity." The runes he carved were like precise gears, meshing together.

The entire improvement process, devoid of cold numbers and complex formulas, felt more like a magical dialogue about the soul. Karen diligently tried to understand Castor's every metaphor and the magical philosophy behind each rune variant. Nico, meanwhile, offered occasional suggestions regarding the magical capacity limits of the mithril substrate and the overall energy balance of the rune array. The two used this opportunity to impart more alchemical knowledge to Karen.

After a nearly sleepless day of adjustments and numerous small-scale simulation tests, the new compass core array was finally completed. It was much more complex than the previous prototype, with a pale golden magical glow flowing across the mithril substrate, and invisible energy threads seemingly flowing between the runes, giving it an overall more acute and precise feel.

"The first field calibration test." Castor's voice carried a hint of solemnity. He held up the newly made compass core module, which was not yet fitted with its casing, and gestured for Karen to prepare to record the data.

Under Nico's close watch, Castor slowly and extremely carefully brought the compass core closer to the lead box containing the horde of the crown artifact. The distance was kept at more than two meters.

When the core array enters the range of influence of the Soul Weapon's dissipating fluctuations, a sudden change occurs!

Buzz!

The entire core array suddenly lit up! It was no longer the blurry, uniform glow and light of the previous prototype. This time, the runes on the substrate seemed to be ignited one by one!

The sensing runes that Karen needed lit up one after another.

"It's a success!" Karen couldn't help but exclaim, her voice filled with excitement. "Its reaction to the Horcrux has been significantly amplified! And it's targeted! It captured the rhythm of the impact and the Horcrux's unique fluctuations! The reaction to the dissipating soul fragments has been almost completely filtered out!"

Castor carefully observed the rune's reaction pattern, his gray eyes sharp as an eagle's: "The reaction strength is sufficient, and the directionality initially meets expectations. But it's not refined enough. The pulsating resonance delay is about 0.3 seconds, and the rune's form isn't condensed enough, indicating that the 'grabbing' of the characteristic frequency isn't perfect, with energy dissipation and slight interference." He pointed out the problem, but his tone wasn't disappointed; instead, it carried the excitement of a researcher discovering a new issue. "The energy guidance path of the core array still needs optimization, especially the magic flow node between the resonant ring and the frequency lock. It needs to be smoother to reduce the lag. Karen, is the 'sucking sensation' you perceive an inward contraction or outward diffusion of energy?"

"It's inward! Teacher, a very clear force contracting towards the core!" Karen replied immediately.

"Okay. Then the corresponding rune's terminal convergence structure needs to have its inward guiding force strengthened." Castor quickly noted down the key points.

Nico, observing the rune array's reaction and Castor's analysis, nodded with satisfaction: "A very successful improvement, Castor. Karen's perception is the key. Although we're still far from locking onto Voldemort's main soul, this step is crucial in distinguishing between the Horcrux and the fragment—two targets of the same origin but different forms. This proves our approach is entirely correct. The rest is about refining it, making this 'tuner's' ears even more sensitive, better able to capture the target's unique 'soul voice'."

The first calibration test, while revealing shortcomings, brought immense hope. The compass core was no longer a vague detector; it began to possess the rudimentary ability to "identify" the characteristics of specific soul targets. With Castor's alchemical skills combined with Karen's talent, the research progressed rapidly. Karen gazed at the array of runes flashing with directional red light, filled with a sense of accomplishment. This was no longer a cold alchemical creation, but the beginning of a magical masterpiece that fused the wisdom of her mentor, her own talent, and her understanding of the essence of the soul.