met free Chapter 99 Gold Coins Acquired and Badge Initially Completed
Chapter 99 Gold Coins Acquired and Badge Initially Completed
Chapter 99: Gold Coins Acquired and Badge Initially Completed (Part 2)
During the routine instruction time on Thursday evening, Karen entered Professor Castor's office.
"After my testing, the resonance frequency of mithril has initially stabilized within this range," Karen reported on the latest progress of the mithril etching. Her speech was steady, but her gaze subtly swept below the professor's rolled-up sleeves. The cursed patterns were still struggling, but their spread seemed to have been temporarily suppressed.
After confirming that everything was alright, Karen calmly ended her report and then changed the subject, "Also, Professor, last week when we were surveying herbs on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, we encountered a small group of giant eight-eyed spiders."
Professor Castor paused slightly as he drew on the parchment, then looked up, his eyes showing a hint of surprise and scrutiny: "Are you injured?"
"No," Karen answered crisply. "Three adults and fifteen spiderlings, all dealt with. We even extracted the venom." He briefly described the battle, then cut to the chase, "Following your instructions, we used 'condensate' to process it; the total amount was close to five pints, and the quality was excellent."
"Five pints?" Professor Castor raised an eyebrow, put down his quill, leaned back in his high-backed chair, and tapped his knuckles on the table as usual. "You little guys have some guts and good luck." A faint smile seemed to flicker across his lips. "Looks like your practical defense course grades will get extra points."
"Professor, about this batch of venom," Karen asked tentatively, "we hope to sell it safely, but it's not really suitable for us to go to Knockturn Alley, and there aren't any other safe channels to sell it."
Professor Castor stared at Karen with his grey eyes. The only sounds in the office were the crackling of the burning wood in the fireplace and the soft tapping of his fingers on the table. After a few seconds, he stopped tapping.
"Bring the stuff tomorrow afternoon." His voice was as steady as ever. "I'll handle it. Those hyenas in Knockturn Alley won't offer a good price, and they can't keep a secret. I'll find a safer channel for the five pints of venom. As for the price," he paused, "it won't be lower than the market price. You can split the profits yourselves."
Karen had no doubt about Professor Castor's connections. "Thank you, Professor!" he said sincerely.
"No need to thank me, this is what you earned through your own strength." Professor Castor waved his hand, his gaze turning to another document brought by Karen, a preliminary report on the magical tolerance test of dragon hide. "Any progress in the research on dragon hide?"
Karen immediately perked up, opened her notebook, and gave a detailed report on the findings of the impact test using the "Itchy Bee Swarm" spell. She focused on describing the annihilation efficiency, the phenomenon of directional enrichment of active magic, and the brief "enrichment channel" state that appeared under high-intensity impact and the subsequent violent backlash.
"...So, I believe," Karen pointed to the diagram of magic flow she had drawn, "that the Dragonskin's 'Rage' isn't merely an obstacle. In the instant it annihilates external magic, especially when forced to accumulate a large amount of active magic under high-intensity impact, a highly active, high-energy-density unstable 'node' briefly forms within it."
"And this point is like forcibly blasting an extremely unstable crack in hard rock. Although dangerous and fleeting, if it can be accurately captured and guided..." His eyes gleamed with thoughtful consideration.
"So I'm wondering if it's possible to use this forcibly opened 'channel' to 'embed' the protective magic we need? Like precisely carving a controllable spillway in a dam at the moment of a flood? It's difficult for the average person to control this point, but I can easily observe it, and with proper protection, it's achievable."
Professor Castor listened quietly, a glimmer of light seemingly flickering in the depths of his gray eyes. He picked up the report, his gaze lingering on Karen's description of the "enrichment channels" and the hand-drawn diagram of the magic enrichment zone.
"A spillway." He repeated the metaphor softly, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the words "unstable," "temporary," and "backlash" on the report. "Good idea, Karen. You've seen the 'possibility' hidden beneath the surface of 'rage.' The essence of alchemy has never been about circumventing the properties of materials, but about understanding them, mastering them, and even transforming them."
He paused, his eyes sharpening. "Continue your basic tests. Gain a deeper understanding of the reaction patterns, enrichment thresholds, and stabilization time windows of the dragon skin's active magic under different stimuli. Quantify and extend the 'fleeting moments' as much as possible. At the same time, the design of the protective spell carrier you need also needs to be put on the agenda. A 'container' that can be activated instantly and has a simple and robust structure to withstand the impact of embedding."
"Yes, Professor!" Karen nodded solemnly. He put away the report. "I will continue to deepen the dragon skin test and begin to conceive the preliminary design of the protective carrier. I will also practice my magic manipulation more."
The following evening, Karen returned to Professor Castor's office alone, carrying the heavily protected magical pouch. The professor said nothing, simply taking out a seemingly ordinary black metal box.
"Put it in," Professor Castor said succinctly.
Karen did as he was told and placed the bag into the box. Professor Castor took the box and casually placed it in the corner of his desk next to a pile of messy alchemical equipment and parchment scrolls. "We'll have news within a week," he said calmly.
Karen thanked her again and left.
The wait was shorter than expected. Just three days later, after Charms get out of class, Karen was called away by Professor Flitwick.
"Mr. Hawthorne, please wait a moment." Professor Flitwick's voice was still high-pitched but full of energy. "Professor Eisenberg asked me to pass something on to you. He said it's your team's 'Practical Research Allowance'." The short professor blinked and handed over a heavy leather bag, also enchanted with spatial extension and protective charms.
Karen took the leather bag, its weight making his heart skip a beat. "Thank you, Professor Flitwick!"
"You're welcome, child," Professor Flitwick said with a smile. "It seems you've gained quite a bit from your last 'practical assessment'! Keep up that spirit of inquiry! Oh, and don't forget the dueling skills training on Friday afternoon! I look forward to seeing your new progress in multicasting!"
"I'll be there on time, Professor!" Karen replied, tightening her grip on the leather bag slightly.
He found a quiet corner, opened the bag, and inside were neatly stacked Galleons! He counted them—a total of 475! Although the Selwyn family had previously given Karen a full 2000 Galleons in compensation, this feeling was completely different.
After confirming the information, Karen quickly put away her purse, her heart pounding in her chest, eager to share the news with her roommates.
At dinner time, the four members of Eagle's Nest team gathered again at their secret base.
The flickering firelight from the fireplace illuminated four young, expectant faces. Karen placed the heavy leather bag on the large table in the center, making a pleasant, soft clatter.
"Venom has been sold," Karen said, opening the bag.
"Wow!" Wesley gasped, his eyes widening, and he leaned forward involuntarily, almost poking himself into the pile of gold coins. "This...this is all ours? Four hundred and four hundred and seventy-five Galleons?!" he calculated quickly.
Fabian held his breath, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with disbelief. He picked up a Galleon, the heavy weight and the intricate patterns forged by fairies reminding him that it was all real. "Amazing!"
Ernesto was the most restrained, but his eyes clearly reflected the dazzling gold, and a noticeable smile played on his lips. He picked up a gold coin, expertly flipping it between his fingers with a crisp clinking sound. "Professor Victor's channels are indeed efficient and reliable. This price is fair." He looked at Karen. "How will we split it?"
"As agreed beforehand," Karen said, taking out four small purses. "One hundred Galleons each. As for the remaining seventy-five," he paused, "this will serve as a common fund for our Eagle's Nest team, used to purchase some shared alchemy materials, spellbooks, or exploration equipment. Does everyone agree?"
"Agreed!" "Of course!" "No problem!" the three answered in unison. Seventy-five Galleons in public funds—that's a considerable sum, enough to last until graduation.
The gold coins were quickly and carefully sorted. Wesley, clutching his money bag, grinned from ear to ear: "I'm going to collect all the Comet, Nimbus, and Sweep models! I'll subscribe to Quidditch Weekly for another year! And save the rest! Hehe!"
Fabian, however, was already making plans: "I want to buy a more professional plant guide and specimen preparation tools, as well as that book, 'The Magical Moss Under the Moonlight.' I can finally place the order!"
Ernesto tucked the purse into the inner pocket of his robe, regaining his usual composure. "I don't really have anything I want to buy." He looked at Karen. "And you? Ready to throw yourself into your alchemical endeavors?"
Karen nodded, weighing her share of Gallon: "Most of it will be used for materials, since I don't need it anywhere else anyway."
Moreover, "His gaze swept over his three roommates, and his expression turned serious, "I plan to start trying to make the disposable protective gear I mentioned before. This encounter in the Forbidden Forest has made me realize even more that this thing is very necessary, but there's no need to make the best one right away."
"Protective gear?" Wesley's interest was piqued. "The kind you're talking about that can block some evil curses?"
“Yes.” Karen walked to his alchemy table, picked up several parchment sheets covered with rough sketches, and said, “The initial idea is to make them in the style of badges, easy to carry and instantly activated. The core is a one-time use ‘Ironclad Charm’ or ‘Obstacles.’ The trigger mechanism will be a simple pressure sensor or magical impact sensing rune.”
He then pointed to the sample of a deep green Welsh green dragon's belly scales that Professor Castor had given him on the table. "As for the materials, our initial consideration is to use treated dragon skin for the outer layer, taking advantage of its instantaneous annihilation and enrichment properties to see if it can briefly channel the impact energy when attacked, buying time for the activation of the core protective spell or providing additional energy buffer. The inner layer will use a thin sheet of mithril to etch the rune substrate of the protective spell, serving as the carrier of the spell."
He showed the sketch: "The challenge lies in how to stably 'solidify' the protective spell onto the mithril substrate and ensure that the spell is released instantly and completely upon activation, while also considering how to utilize the fleeting energy channels of the dragon skin. This requires further research, especially in magic manipulation; I need to be able to instantly construct and anchor the protective spell onto the substrate."
"That sounds complicated," Wesley scratched his head, but his eyes were full of anticipation. "But Karen, you can definitely do it! Need me to help you test it out? I'm tough!"
"It's still early; we're only in the theoretical design and basic materials testing phase," Karen smiled. "Once we make the initial prototype, we'll definitely need your help to test its effectiveness."
"Ready at any time," Ernesto replied succinctly.
Fabian adjusted his glasses: "If you need my help recording data or finding information, just ask."
With funding and a clear goal, Karen's research pace accelerated dramatically. He first focused his efforts on in-depth research into dragon hides.
The alchemy platform at the Eagle's Nest became his main battlefield. The deep green dragon skin sample was fixed to a specially made clamp. The tip of Karen's wand glowed steadily, and his Eye of Truth was fully activated. In his vision, the dormant dark red active magic flow inside the dragon skin resembled a lurking magma riverbed.
"Itchy Swarm!" Karen whispered the incantation, and a sparse patch of magical light shot from the tip of her wand, precisely covering a corner of the dragon skin sample.
*Whoosh!* In the Eye of Truth's vision, the dark red "magma" was instantly enraged, violently retaliating against the invading point of light! Karen was completely focused, capturing the minute disturbances and enrichment signs of the magical flow at the moment of annihilation. He constantly adjusted the strength, density, and duration of the spell.
Karen patiently probed the violent tendencies deep within the dragon's hide, recording the intensity, range, duration, and extremely brief enrichment window of the active magic reaction during each annihilation.
"Test point A7, intensity 30%, duration 3 seconds. Annihilation efficiency 92%, peak active magic enrichment occurs 0.3 seconds after annihilation."
"The duration is about 0.5 seconds, the enrichment range diameter is about 1.5 centimeters, and the backlash fluctuation is weak—" Karen quickly wrote down the observation data in the experimental record book while operating the equipment.
"Karen, take a break. You've been watching all morning." Fabian walked into Eagle's Nest carrying a newly borrowed book on herbalism.
Seeing Karen's almost frozen focus, he couldn't help but remind her.
"Almost there, this test sequence will be completed soon." Without turning her head, Karen pointed her wand again, "Itchy Bee Swarm! Strength 40%!"
》」
This time, the backlash of the dark red magic was even more fierce, and the enrichment zone formed after its annihilation was larger and brighter, like a miniature dark red sun flickering beneath the dragon's hide for almost a second before reluctantly and slowly subsiding. Karen's eyes lit up, and she quickly recorded the data: "The enrichment duration has significantly increased to 0.8 seconds! The backlash intensity has increased by one level! A good sign!"
Meanwhile, the Duel Club classroom on Friday afternoons became another battlefield for Karen to break through the bottleneck of magic control.
"Concentrate! Mr. Hawthorne! Magic is an extension of your will, and spells are the manifestation of your thoughts! Don't try to 'push' the two spells with brute force; let them 'flow' out naturally, like directing your fingers!" Professor Flitwick stood on his high cushion, his voice sharp and penetrating, his small body containing astonishing energy.
Karen stood in the center of the arena, sweat soaking his temples, his right hand, gripping his wand, trembling slightly from the continuous output of magic and intense concentration. Two floating dummy targets stood before him.
"Impedimenta! Confringo!" he growled, thrusting his wand forward with all his might.
Buzz! Metaphor!
Two beams of light shot out from the tip of his wand almost simultaneously! Like two incompatible torrents colliding, they emitted a piercing magical hiss, then simultaneously disintegrated into specks of light, not even touching the edge of the dummy.
"Ah!" Karen exclaimed in frustration, her chest tight from the backlash of magic.
"Rhythm! Karen, watch the rhythm!" Professor Flitwick shouted excitedly, waving his little fist. "Two spells are fighting in your magic circuits! They need their own 'channels' and 'timing,' but they must maintain overall harmony! Imagine your mind as playing a polyphonic piece of music! Two hands playing different melodies, but together they form a complete piece!"
Karen gasped for breath, closed his eyes, and tried to calm the surging magic within him. Although the Eye of Truth was primarily for external use, he now attempted to look inward, sensing the flow of his own magic through his wand and the pathways in his body.
He raised his wand again, this time with a different, more rhythmic motion, his wrist flicking gently.
"Obstacles galore! Shattered to pieces!"
With the Eye of Truth activated, Karen clearly "saw" that a condensed stream of magic first branched off from the core, flowing along a specific, shorter path to the wand, forming the initial runic structure of the Barrier Charm; almost simultaneously, another, thicker but slower stream of magic set off along another path, beginning to construct the base of the Armor Charm.
Under his precise guidance, the two streams of magic, like two nimble fish, completed their rune constructions just before reaching the tip of the wand, maintaining a subtle phase difference—*Whoosh!*
This time, two beams of light shone clearly! They struck the dummy squarely!
"Excellent!" Professor Flitwick jumped up excitedly, almost falling off the mat. "That's it! Karen! You've got that subtle feeling! Hold on! Remember this harmonious rhythm! The parallel branching of the magic circuits is key! Keep practicing until it's as natural as breathing!"
Karen gazed at the two mannequins, each shrouded in a different protective spell, and felt the wondrous rhythm of his magic being successfully channeled for the first time. A look of immense exhilaration spread across his weary face. He had finally cracked open the door to multiple spellcasting!
With the excitement of this breakthrough and the data accumulated from the dragon skin tests, Karen plunged into the design and initial testing of the protective badge.
The clanging and tinkling sounds from the Eagle's Nest grew more frequent. Thin sheets of mithril were being cut into circular substrates the size of fingernails. Karen used a specially made...
With an extremely fine magical needle, he needs to concentrate all his attention on the tip of the wand, using an extremely condensed stream of magic as the most precise engraving knife, while guiding the magic to etch the core rune structure representing the "Ironclad Charm" onto the mithril substrate. At the moment the rune is completed, he injects the magic required to construct the complete spell, "solidifying" it within the substrate.
This is much more difficult than simply casting a spell! The tip of the magic needle moved with difficulty on the mithril substrate, making a faint hissing sound.
The Eye of Truth stared intently at the tip of the needle.
He constantly adjusted the intensity of the magic output, the speed of the etching, and the timing of injecting solidified magic. The Eye of Truth faithfully recorded the abnormal nodes in the flow of magic at each failure—where there was a delay, where there was a conflict, and where the newly etched rune structure was destroyed due to the magic injection being too fast.
After several failures, this time he deliberately slowed down the etching speed. At the crucial connection point of the rune, the magical output became extremely gentle, like a feather brushing against the skin. Just as the last rune node was about to close, a glint flashed in his eyes, and the timing of injecting solidified magic into the tip of his wand precisely timed the moment when the flow of magic was smoothest—the "window"!
Metaphor!
The mithril substrate emitted an extremely faint, vibrato-like sound, like the plucking of a harp string! A faint, steady white light shone from the etched rune lines, lasting for about two seconds before slowly fading away.
Success! Disposable Ironclad Spell Rune Base Plate!
Karen breathed a long sigh of relief. It went even more smoothly than expected, with only three boards wasted. Picking up the successful baseboard, she could feel the stable protective magic fluctuations contained within it.
With the experience gained from the initial success, the subsequent etching efficiency began to improve. A few days later, a dozen shimmering mithril rune substrates were neatly arranged on Karen's alchemy table. Next came the more daunting challenge: the bonding of the outer dragon skin and the design of energy guidance.
Karen carefully placed a small piece of treated dragon skin onto an activated rune base plate. Using specially made, highly mana-conductive mithril wire, he attempted to etch tiny guiding runes along the edge where the dragon skin met the base plate, hoping to channel some of the violent energy that would accumulate upon the dragon skin's annihilation into the base plate, thus enhancing the instantaneous activation strength of the protective spell.
Metaphor!
The Ironclad Runes on the base plate were instantly activated! A phantom of an ironclad shield, much brighter and more unstable than usual, suddenly popped out, but it only lasted for less than half a second before bursting like a soap bubble with a "pop"! At the same time, fine scorch marks appeared on the edges of the dragon skin that were hit by that violent energy.
Without hesitation, Karen immediately changed his experimental approach. He selected a new piece of dragon hide, concentrated all his energy, and focused a highly concentrated beam of magic at the tip of his wand. He then carefully etched three tiny, exceptionally dense, pitted runes into its inner layer. This was more energy-intensive than etching guiding runes, requiring an absolutely solid structure without the slightest flaw.
He then covered the dragon skin etched with the "Pockmarked" rune onto a new mithril rune substrate, ensuring that the "Pockmarked" was aligned with the three core magic nodes of the Ironclad Rune on the substrate.
The final step: simulate the impact!
Karen pointed his wand at the covered dragon skin sample. This time, he used a slightly more powerful knockback spell, keeping the magic intensity at 50%.
Flipendo!
An invisible shockwave slammed into the dragon's hide!
The Eye of Truth instantly detected: the dark red magic within the dragon skin erupted like a lake of lava thrown into a giant rock! A violent surge of energy swept in! When it slammed into the three pre-set tiny runes—bang! bang! bang!
Like an invisible giant hammer slamming into an anvil! The three runes trembled violently, but their structure was incredibly sturdy, and they withstood the impact! On the side of the runes facing away from the source of the impact, the kinetic energy of the violent collision was converted into intense pressure fluctuations, instantly forming three extremely brief but incredibly high-pressure magical "cavities"!
Hiss!
"It worked!" Karen couldn't help but exclaim, clenching his fist tightly! Passive pressurization! Using the energy of the impact itself to accelerate the activation of the defense! Although the duration was still short, it proved that his idea was entirely feasible! The strength and response speed of the defense had both been qualitatively improved!
Over the next few days, Karen entered a frantic optimization phase. He repeatedly tested the impact of the shape, size, and distribution of the pitted runes on the "suction" effect; adjusted the magic storage capacity and structure of the runes on the mithril substrate to adapt to this passive yet powerful activation method; and optimized the bonding process between the dragon skin and the substrate to ensure efficient energy transfer.
At the same time, he didn't abandon his training with Professor Flitwick. His dual-casting became increasingly proficient, and the switching between the Barrier Charm and the Armor Charm became smoother. He even began to experiment with adding more subtle mana diversions to his dual-casting techniques, laying the foundation for more complex spellcasting skills in the future.
Finally, on a Friday evening, ten finished pieces were neatly arranged in front of the alchemy table in the Eagle's Nest.
"These are disposable protective badges?" Wesley picked one up, examining it curiously. "They look pretty cool! Much cooler than those Slytherin guys' brooches! How do you use them?"
"It's very simple." Karen picked up one and demonstrated. "When in danger, squeeze it tightly, or subject it to a sufficiently strong magical impact, such as a curse. When the dragon skin is impacted, the internal 'pressurization' structure will instantly and passively activate the 'Ironclad Charm' in the base plate below. It will instantly release a shield that is roughly equivalent to one Stunning Charm or Repulsion Charm, covering the wearer's upper body for about five seconds. If the user infuses magic into it during use, it can be extended by about five seconds."
He paused, looking intently at his three roommates: "Remember, you only have one chance. It's a one-time use item. Once activated, the runes in the mithril substrate will become completely ineffective due to energy depletion. The dragon skin outer layer can still provide some physical protection, but the magical protection will be gone. Its purpose is to buy that crucial moment of reaction time, or to block a fatal sneak attack."
Fabian carefully stroked the dragon scale patterns on the surface of his badge, feeling the restrained power it contained. "This is already remarkable, Karen! In crucial moments, it could be the difference between life and death!"
Ernesto picked up his own badge, examining every detail carefully, his fingertips feeling the toughness of the dragon skin and the faint magical fluctuations of the mithril base. He then hung the badge in an easily accessible spot inside his robe, the movement natural and fluid.
Wesley grinned and hung his badge on the most conspicuous spot on his chest outside his robe. "Thanks, Karen! I feel much more confident going into the Forbidden Forest now!" He imitated Karen, gently squeezing the badge and feeling the mithril base plate warm up slightly, as if in response.
Karen watched as her three roommates accepted and wore the badges. Wesley's ostentation, Fabian's cherishing, and Ernesto's swift and hesitant action filled Karen with a sense of peace and pride. All the tireless research she had done over the past few days seemed incredibly worthwhile at that moment.
"This is the first version, and there are still many areas for improvement." Karen picked up his own badge and hung it around his neck, the cool dragon skin against his skin. "For example, the protective strength, duration, and even the activation method. I will continue to study these. And," he looked at Fabian, "the potential growth areas of moonmoss have been marked. When the time is right, on a clear night, we can go and confirm them, and also test the reaction of these badges in a real combat environment."
Fabian's eyes behind his glasses lit up instantly, filled with scholarly anticipation. "Yes! Moonmoss in its natural environment only appears on clear nights! That's the best time to observe and collect it! I can't wait!"
The fireplace flickered warmly, casting long shadows of the four boys across the wall piled high with books and alchemy equipment. Outside the window, Hogwarts Castle was already twinkling with lights, the night gentle and peaceful. Inside the Eyrie, the boys' voices echoed as they discussed the moonlight, the Forbidden Forest, and their new adventures.