Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 334, Section 333: Ancient Times! Athena!
Inside the house of a stay-at-home girl.

The dim yellow light shone on the walls.

The shadows of ancient runes were reflected in the water. Claire sat in a chair in the corner, slowly sipping her black tea, as if placing a time machine in the drawer just moments before was the most normal thing in the world.

This may be the technology the Titans claimed to have mastered.

After all, they received the first round of benefits from the Creator.

It's equivalent to sharing in God.

It is reasonable to do such things as long as there is special labor involved.

"You've squeezed every last penny out of Japanese anime."

As Ian muttered to himself, he climbed into the open drawer—it looked ordinary, just a regular wooden drawer, but inside it emanated a bottomless darkness.

It's like an entrance to another world.

After he climbed in.

The room returned to quiet.

Just as Claire was about to quietly drink her soup and pick up her game console again to play games...

"Are you sure this won't suck me in and turn me into dust in a black hole?" Ian's head popped out of the drawer again, and he asked tentatively with an uncertain tone.

"Theoretically, no."

Claire put down the soup bowl she was holding.

"Unless you pressed the wrong button."

Her words did make Ian somewhat uneasy.

"Huh? There are buttons like that?"

Ian had been clinging to the edge of the drawer the whole time, never actually falling into the space inside—below was a dark dimension, and Ian could indeed see a time machine with a very familiar design.

"of course."

The female Titan nodded.

"There are a lot of stickers on it, so it should be quite intuitive; they're all tips." It's obvious that she created a "beginner's guide," showing that she's quite aware of how complex her creation is.

"So, I climb in, and then I fall into a time machine that looks exactly like Doraemon's?" Ian's lips twitched; he could indeed see many buttons on the time machine.

“That’s right!” Claire nodded proudly, clearly unaware of copyright law. Of course, perhaps as Titans, they could indeed disregard copyright, a concept that only emerged later in history.

"..."

Ian took a deep breath.

He carefully released his hand. The next second, he felt as if he were being pulled by some force, his vision went black, and his body suddenly felt heavy—a feeling of weightlessness instantly overwhelmed him.

He fell in completely.

Ian felt as if he were floating in a weightless universe, surrounded by darkness, with only the whooshing sound of the wind in his ears. A few seconds later, his buttocks slammed heavily onto a metal surface.

"boom!"

Ian landed on a soft, cold metal surface. Looking up, he saw, sure enough, that he was sitting in a time machine exactly like the one Doraemon used!

"Hiss—" He rubbed his tailbone and looked up to look around.

It really is a time machine exactly like Doraemon's.

Its appearance is rounded and retro, with an overall blue and white color scheme, and the surface is covered with various buttons, dials, and displays. The most outrageous thing is that there are actually several Doraemon stickers on it.

The bulkhead was covered with Doraemon stickers—some of him eating dorayaki, some of him taking out his four-dimensional pocket, and one of them even showed Nobita crying.

Besides.

There are indeed some operation tips on it, as well as stickers for Ian such as "Go Raven!", "Time Travel Begins!", and "Don't Be Late!"

The flavor of the creations made by homebodies is really strong.

"..."

Ian, expressionless, reached out and peeled off a sticker, discovering a line of small print hidden underneath:
[Made by Claire, all rights reserved.]

Well, perhaps Titan the Otaku isn't entirely ignorant of copyright law. At least she's quite adept at plagiarism and taking copyrights for free. I wonder what kind of infringement she's advocating.

"..."

Just then, Claire's voice came from above, like some kind of holographic projection:
Can you hear me?

Ian looked up and saw the semi-transparent image of the female Titan appearing on the top of the cabin.

“I can hear you,” he replied blankly.

"Alright! Now let's begin the time machine operation tutorial!" Claire clapped her hands enthusiastically, holding her game console. Ian could see her clearly from his field of vision.

The video feed switches to a virtual user interface.

"No, you're only starting to teach now? Are you doing this on purpose?"

Ian looked up and shouted.

"Hurry up, stop dawdling."

Claire's voice came from above.

There was no direct response.

He only had a slight smile on his face.

Ian sighed, sat up straight, and began to study the control panel in front of him.

First, locate the dial in the center of the console!

Ian looked down and saw a huge circular dial in front of him, covered with ancient runes, rather than ordinary time numbers.

“This dial is for setting the time,” Claire’s voice entered his ears through some kind of magic. “You can rotate it to select the target year. The outer ring represents the century, the middle ring is the year, and the inner ring is the month and date. It’s very simple and straightforward, so be careful not to select the wrong time.”

Ian tried to rotate the outer ring, and the runes shimmered with his movements.

Why do I feel like you speak so fluently?

Ian grumbled as he adjusted the watch face.

“Because I’ve built several different models of time machines,” Claire replied earnestly. “Although each one is slightly different, the basic principle is the same.”

"Next, inject magic to activate the positioning system!"

She continued her introduction.

Hear the words.

Ian drew his wand and tapped the center of the dial. Instantly, the entire interior of the time machine glowed with a soft blue light, and the runes on the dial began to flow, as if they had come to life.

“Now, set your target time—300 BC, Greece!” Claire’s voice really did have the feel of a beginner’s tutorial voice.

“This is the target year for your first mission,” Claire explained. “The absorption of that place, there’s a talking rose somewhere.”

"So I still need to go and find it, right?"

Ian nodded.

Continue observing the other buttons.

“This red one is the start button,” Claire said, pointing to a prominent red button in the middle. “After you press it, the machine will start a three-second countdown and then teleport you there.”

"That sounds pretty simple." Ian frowned. "Is there anything I should be careful about?"

“Of course there are.” Claire’s tone suddenly became serious. “First, you cannot change key points in history; second, you must complete the mission within the time limit, otherwise you may be trapped in that era; third, if you encounter danger, press the green button immediately, that is the emergency return button.”

Hear the words.

“Sounds like a game tutorial,” Ian muttered.

“Actually, what you’re doing right now is more complicated than playing video games.” Claire said with a smile, but this did not comfort Ian; instead, it made Ian feel quite helpless.

Ian took a deep breath.

Ian carefully adjusted the scale, stopping the outer ring of runes on a symbol resembling an olive branch, representing ancient Greek civilization, while the middle ring was positioned at the point of "300 BC".

"The final step!" Claire's image suddenly zoomed in. "Press the red start button!"

Hear the words.

Ian nodded.

His finger slowly approached the red button.

“Wait a minute,” Claire suddenly added, “I have another suggestion.”

"What?"

“Don’t let anyone see your time machine, okay? There are gods in that era that you know,” she said. “And the power of the time machine was stolen from them.”

Ian was stunned.

"..."

He didn't know how to evaluate it.

Close your eyes.

The red button was pressed.

"Three...two...one..." Accompanied by a low hum, the entire space began to distort, blue light flickered, and the surrounding scenery quickly blurred.

The time machine began to shake violently, and the surrounding darkness began to distort, forming a colorful tunnel. All the Doraemon stickers on the cabin walls floated up.

It swayed gently in the air.

"Good luck!"

Claire's voice faded into the distance, "Remember to collect nectar from the night-blooming cereus!"

Before Ian could even get angry, a strong pulling sensation struck him. Ian felt as if he had been thrown into a spinning kaleidoscope—his figure disappeared into the drawer, leaving only the time machine covered in stickers silently floating in the darkness, waiting to be activated again.

Outside the room, Claire put down her teacup, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"I hope you don't mess things up."

she whispered.

My gaze drifts out the window to the boundless universe and starry sky.

“After all, this timeline is more fragile than ever before.” Claire’s voice echoed in the empty room, but Ian could no longer hear what she was whispering.

Ian had never experienced such a terrible journey.

If the time jump brought about by the time converter is like being suddenly pushed, then the experience of using this "Doraemon" time machine is like being stuffed into a washing machine.

Then throw it into the eye of the hurricane and stir it wildly.

"Ugh—vomit—"

A wave of intense dizziness washed over him, and Ian gripped the armrests of his seat so tightly his knuckles turned white. A vibrant, multicolored torrent of time spun wildly outside the cabin, forming a dizzying vortex. His vision was stretched into blurry patches of color, and his ears were filled with a piercing buzzing, as if thousands of mandrakes were screaming simultaneously.

"Damn Titan, this is not for human use, it's far more terrifying than a time-tamper!" he roared inwardly, but his mouth was already too full to speak, and his voice was swallowed up by the torrent of time.

All around him was a chaotic interplay of light and shadow, with the past and future flashing rapidly before his eyes—he saw a collapsed castle, a burning forest, a little girl dressed in Muggle clothes crying, an old man sitting by the window writing a letter… These images had no logic, no order, as if someone had cut up the entire history of the world and scattered it randomly into the air.

"Is this time travel? Or mental derangement?" Ian was almost in tears.

He tried to grasp something, but grasped nothing. His body seemed no longer to belong to him, but had become a speck of dust in the river of time, drifting aimlessly.

Suddenly, a piercing buzzing sound rang out, like countless old radios simultaneously playing different channels. Then, just as Ian thought he was about to use the disposable time machine...

A violent impact suddenly struck.

“Claire—” Ian forced out the name through gritted teeth, nearly being flung out of the time machine, “and you call this—'a little bumpy'?”

Perhaps when Claire created this time machine, she didn't consider that the user would be a minor wizard. Even as a legendary figure, Ian's physical abilities were clearly inferior to those of the Titans. In fact, even if Claire were an underdeveloped Titan, her physical abilities would still far surpass those of Ian.

Fortunately, this terrible experience didn't last long.

The time machine burst out of the time tunnel.

Ian's body jolted violently, and the world before him was reassembled once more—at this moment, all of Ian's muscles ached as if they had been trampled by a herd of ferocious hippogriffs.

at last.

The destination has been reached.

He recovered from the shock of the time machine, got up from the ground, dusted off his robe, and found himself lying in a narrow alley.

The stone-paved ground was rough and cold, and a faint smell of dust and earth filled the air. Ian slowly sat up and rubbed his slightly numb arms.

Then he looked down at his side.

On both sides were mottled lime walls, and the corners were piled with fragments of pottery jars. The air was filled with the mixed smell of olive oil and soot. The time machine covered with Doraemon stickers was gone.

"Where's the time machine?"

Ian looked down and searched, finding an ancient bronze ring lying on the ground. The ring was engraved with fine runes, and it was a miniature version of Claire's time machine.

"He's quite good at pretending..." Ian picked up the ring and put it on his finger. The ring automatically adjusted to fit his finger size, and the cool surface quickly warmed up with his body heat.

The moment he put on the ring, Claire's voice rang in his mind: "This is disguise mode. It will automatically adjust its shape according to the environment to avoid attracting unnecessary attention."

"Oh, right, I don't know what you're doing right now. This is just a beginner's guide I recorded." Claire's voice trailed off with a hint of excitement.

She seemed quite pleased to be a "game designer." Outside the alley came a cacophony of shouts, clanging metal, and crackling flames.

"You mean, I fell like a potato just now so this thing could turn into a ring?" Ian couldn't help but complain, but he didn't get a response.

"It seems there really is no way to communicate across time; we can only record information." He sighed, stood up, straightened his clothes, and slowly walked out of the alley.

The scene before him made him hold his breath for a moment.

The city he lived in was a typical ancient Greek city-state, with simple yet magnificent architecture, towering stone columns and exquisitely carved temples lining the streets.

However, at this moment, all of this has been torn apart by war.

Thick smoke billowed, flames raged, and the entire city seemed to have descended into hellish chaos. The streets were filled with panicked civilians, clutching children and carrying bundles, fleeing between burning houses. The cries of women and the elderly rose and fell, mingled with the distant clanging of metal and the neighing of warhorses.

Ian looked up and saw a fierce battle taking place in the square not far away. On one side were Spartan warriors clad in red cloaks and wielding spears; they were burly and swift, moving with the precision and ruthlessness of war machines. On the other side were Greek soldiers equipped with various weapons.

Despite outnumbering the Spartans, they suffered repeated defeats under the Spartan offensive.

"Is this a time of war?"

Ian couldn't help but frown.

He quickly moved behind a collapsed wall.

Try your best to avoid being noticed.

On the cobblestone streets, Spartan warriors clad in scarlet cloaks clashed with Athenian soldiers. Spears pierced shields, bronze swords severed arms, and blood splattered in the scorching air.

suddenly.

Ian heard a roar.

"Athena! You have betrayed me!"

It was a furious roar that echoed throughout the city.

(End of this chapter)