Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 348, Section 347: Desert and Ruins
As dusk fell, Ian left the Pharaoh's final resting place. Standing on the edge of the desert, gazing at the ruins that had slumbered for millennia, he felt a slight pang of reluctance. But more than anything, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction. He carefully categorized and sealed the collected supplies into potion-making material bags, then softly uttered a transformation spell.

"Animagus, Raven Form".

A faint light flickered.

His body rapidly shrank, his skin transforming into feathers, and his limbs into claws and wings. A low, mournful caw shattered the silence, and Ian had transformed into a jet-black raven.

It spread its wings and soared into the sky, disappearing into the twilight.

The desert, scorched by the blazing sun, resembled an endless golden ocean, with sand dunes undulating like waves in the wind. Ian, transformed into a raven, circled above the scorching desert, his jet-black wings cutting through the dry air, his crimson eyes scanning the vast golden sea of ​​sand below. He had just left the Pharaoh's pyramid, reaping a rich harvest, but the Potions Master's greed would not be so easily satisfied.

There are always some rare things in the desert.

He lowered the altitude.

A sharp gaze locked onto a group of desert foxes running among the dunes—the later subspecies of this creature had long since become extinct, and their blood was a top-grade ingredient for making "Phantom Potion".

The raven swooped down, instantly reverting to human form before landing. Ian stepped lightly onto the scorching sand and took a crystal bottle and a silver knife from his purse.

"Don't move, little guy, just take a drop of blood."

The foxes pricked up their ears alertly, but before they could escape, Ian snapped his fingers—

"Petrificus!" (Everyone turns to stone!)

The lead fox froze on the spot, while the others scattered in panic. Ian calmly walked over, grabbed the frozen fox by the scruff of its neck, and lightly sliced ​​its front paw with his silver knife, dripping bright red blood into the crystal bottle.

"Perfect."

He released his grip, dispelling the spell. The fox vanished in a flash, while Ian shook the bottle with satisfaction; the blood shimmered with a faint golden glow in the sunlight.

"Find a few more, and we can start magical cloning when we get back." Don't be fooled by the many powerful magical creatures Ian has killed; that was only because they provoked him first. In reality, Ian isn't one to kill, so he feels that breeding extinct magical creatures and using them as a blood bank is the best fit for him.

After collecting some blood, Ian continued to soar high in the sky as a raven, his field of vision vast. His goal was to find some rare desert magical creatures—mysterious creatures mentioned only in magical tomes. Ancient animals were quite common, and soon he discovered a group of "Sand Shadow Beasts" drinking water at the edge of an oasis.

They are long and slender, covered in translucent scales that refract rainbow colors in the sunlight. They move swiftly, almost blending into the sand and dust; were it not for Ian's other identity as a magizo expert and his keen observation skills, they would have been completely undetectable.

He slowly descended again, transforming back into human form. He took a magic camera wand from his pouch and aimed it at the Sand Shadow Beast to film it. Simultaneously, he used a thin, hair-like silver needle to gently collect a drop of blood from the feet of a Sand Shadow Beast that was drinking water. The magic camera wand automatically recorded and saved the image and sample information.

This was his first step in researching magical cloning. He also discovered a "Sand Spirit Scorpion" among the dunes—its body was entirely crimson, and its tail shimmered with an eerie blue light; its venom was said to be used to create "Soul Revival Potions." Ian excitedly recorded its behavioral patterns and, when it wasn't looking, collected a drop of its venom.

I gained a lot and I am very satisfied.

Just as Ian was preparing to continue his search...

The wind direction in the desert suddenly changed.

The sky suddenly darkened, the wind picked up sharply, and sand began to tumble in the air, forming whirlwinds. The once calm sea of ​​sand began to stir, the distant sky was shrouded in a hazy yellow, and the gale whipped up dust, forming a massive tornado that stretched from the sky to the ground, moving toward him.

Like the breath of an ancient giant, it devours heaven and earth.

"Tsk, even the weather is causing trouble?"

Ian frowned, drew his wand from his black robes, and prepared to cast a spell to dispel the storm. However, just as he raised his hand—he suddenly heard a whisper in his ear.

"Wizard... Wizard..."

The voice was soft and eerie, as if it came from the depths of the earth, or perhaps from the very depths of his soul. This slightly hoarse whisper rang directly in Ian's ear.

It was as if someone was whispering in his ear.

"What the hell?"

Ian paused in his movements.

"A glorious future... I can give you that..."

The sound seemed to come from all directions, or perhaps it had directly entered his mind. Ian stopped what he was doing, his brow furrowed. This was neither ordinary wind nor a hallucination.

"Just... a little help... save me... save me... I will grant you great power... all you need to do is... open the seal for me."

The sound continued to appear.

"supernatural event?"

As a legendary wizard, Ian was extremely sensitive to magical fluctuations. This whisper contained an ancient and powerful will, even carrying a faint echo of divinity. He sheathed his wand and instead pulled a compass-shaped magical detector from his purse. The pointer spun wildly, finally pointing to a sand dune in the northeast.

There seemed to be nothing unusual there, but the detectors showed strong magical fluctuations.

"interesting."

Ian strode towards the dune, the sand beneath his feet growing increasingly soft, sinking deeper with each step. When he reached the center of the dune, suddenly, the sand beneath his feet began to collapse!
quicksand!

But Ian remained calm and waved his wand—he cast the spell again.

"Firmamento!" (Earth solidification)

Ian quickly cast a "Sand Solidification" spell, solidifying the quicksand into a hard ground. The originally soft quicksand instantly solidified into rock.

Then, he waved his wand and chanted "Sand Removal," slowly removing the surface sand. As the sandstorm raged, a massive stone building gradually came into view. It was exquisitely carved, with dark gold runes inlaid on the lintel, and although weathered by time, it still exuded majesty and mystery.

"This is no ordinary ruin..."

Ian muttered to himself.

He stood steadily on it, looking down at the strange things that were gradually appearing beneath his feet. Beneath the sand, a huge stone slab could be vaguely seen, covered with ancient hieroglyphs and sealing runes.

"There really is something."

Ian crouched down, his fingers lightly touching the stone slab. Silver-gray magic seeped into the cracks like flowing water. The runes on the slab lit up one after another, then quickly extinguished, until finally—

boom!
The entire expanse of quicksand collapsed, revealing a massive underground entrance. Stone steps led downwards, ending at an ancient palace buried by yellow sand for countless years.

The whispers grew clearer, as if urging him to move forward.

"Come in... Wizard... Your reward awaits..."

Ian chuckled softly and stepped down the stairs.

"Alright, let's see what kind of 'glorious future' you can offer me." Ian walked slowly closer, pushed open the heavy stone door, and an ancient and oppressive aura rushed out.

The palace's interior was far more magnificent than it appeared from the outside. It was also somewhat empty and dark, with tall stone pillars supporting the dome, and the walls were covered with ancient hieroglyphs and magical runes, telling the story of the rise and fall of an ancient god.

Ian's eyes swept over the hieroglyphs. He was also proficient in ancient magical languages, and he carefully deciphered the characters, quickly extracting the key information.

"This is the tomb of the god Set... He was sealed here by the gods for his rebellion and ambition... Anyone who enters this place, if you hear his whispers, do not respond, lest you be corrupted by his will..."

Ian pieced together a shocking message. The whisper in his ear returned, this time more urgent and fervent: "Wizard! Save me! I will grant you endless power! I will make you the master of the world!"

Ian did not respond, but continued deeper into the palace. As he walked, he used his magic camera wand to record the inscriptions and patterns on the walls, and collected samples from some altars and pillars. He discovered that the air here was filled with a strange divine energy, as if residual divine power had not been completely sealed away.

"Don't rush, let me rummage through this place and see if you have anything to offer." Ian wandered through the palace like a professional archaeologist, but even more like a greedy potion master. He found several well-preserved alchemical artifacts, one of which was the "Eye of Set," said to absorb moonlight and convert it into alchemical energy; another was the "Heart of the Desert," a crystal containing the power of the desert gods, extremely rare, and the core material for making the "Desert Summoning Potion."

He also discovered an ancient alchemical manuscript with Set's totem engraved on the cover. He flipped through a few pages and found that it contained some long-lost alchemical techniques and divine power conversion formulas.

"I'll take this back and study it; maybe I can come up with some new formulas." He put the manuscript into his magic bag with satisfaction, while Seth's whispers in his ear grew increasingly impatient.

"Save me! Save me! I will give you everything! You will become my new chosen one!" Seth cried out urgently, but Ian ignored him completely, focusing on looting the treasures in the palace.

The "Cauldron of Chaos"—a pitch-black alchemical crucible containing divine blood that never dries up—is the core ingredient for creating the "Potion of Immortality."

"Eye of the Storm"—a sapphire set at the top of the scepter, containing a portion of Set's divine power, capable of controlling the weather.

The "Godslayer Dagger" is a pair with the one found in the Pharaoh's tomb, and the blade is engraved with the curse that "the god-slayer will be killed by the gods."

The Book of Set—a record of the most forbidden black magic of ancient Egypt, including how to steal the authority of other gods. Ian stuffed these items into his purse one by one like he was shopping in a supermarket, completely ignoring the increasingly hysterical whispers around him. At this point, Set was not only in a hurry but also somewhat broken down.

"Wizard! You are blaspheming God's domain!"

"Help me break the seal! Otherwise you will suffer an eternal curse!" He even started threatening Ian, seemingly not quite right in the head, unaware that this wouldn't frighten Ian.

"Help you?" Ian finally stopped and turned to look at the sealed door at the deepest part of the palace. He scoffed, "Do I look like the kind of fool who would be fooled by 'glorious future'?"

As soon as Ian finished speaking, the entire palace trembled violently. The ancient runes on the walls lit up one by one, their crimson light flowing like blood between the cracks in the stone. The whispers instantly transformed into a deafening roar:

"Blasphemer! You will pay the price!"

Seth was truly enraged. The next second, the surface of the wall rippled like water, and one by one, metal-cast guards broke free from the stone wall. Their bodies were made of black iron and bronze, with glowing scarab gems embedded in their joints, and eerie green flames flickering in their empty eye sockets.

Crack, crack—the sound of metal scraping against metal echoed through the palace as dozens of guards, armed with spears and scimitars, marched in orderly steps toward Ian.

"Oh? An alchemical golem?" Ian raised an eyebrow, waved his wand lightly, and used the Vulcan's Path to power, along with his own exclusive magic, Radiant Journey.

A blazing wave of fire swept out, but—the moment the flames collided with the metal guard, they scattered and vanished as if hitting an invisible barrier, leaving not even a trace of scorch.

"Magic immunity?" Ian narrowed his eyes. "Interesting."

He was surprised.

The guards continued to close in, their spears aimed at his throat.

"Alright, let's try a different approach then."

Ian sneered, retracting his wand into his sleeve and instead pulling a magic wand from his purse—

A six-barreled rotating Gatling gun.

The gun was covered with Greek runes, and every bullet in the belt was plated with mithril, with the bullet heads soaked in the blood of a god-slayer.

"Times have changed, Lord Seth."

—Da da da da da! !
The gun barrel spun wildly, spitting out flames, and bullets poured out like a torrential rain!

Metal Guardians’ magic immunity was meaningless against physical impact. The first row of guards was instantly blasted to pieces, with bronze fragments and black iron debris flying everywhere!

"That's it?" Ian said, advancing while firing. "I thought God's creation could hold out for a few more seconds!"

"You damned wizard! Once I'm free, I'll torment you for ten thousand years!" Seth's roar echoed through the palace. Soon, the scattered metal fragments began to writhe as if alive, reintegrating into the walls. Then, new guards crawled out of the stone walls again, seemingly endless.

"Interesting! Looks like I almost forgot there was a treasure here!"

While destroying the metal guards, Ian frantically analyzed the runes in the palace and eventually found the core of the runes that created and recycled these guards.

It's somewhere on the ceiling.

There is a stone slab.

It is the core of these guard operations.

"Core Control Runes!"

Ian leaped into the air and pried the entire stone slab off the dome! The next moment, the metal guards, deprived of their energy and rules, crumbled like sand.

"Thank you, Lord Seth."

Ian stuffed the slate into his money bag and turned to rush toward the exit.

"I'm very happy with this gift!"

Of course Ian had to run, because the moment the stone slab fell into his hand, the entire palace began to collapse, except for Seth's seal, which remained unmoved, its shriek almost piercing his eardrums.

"You'll regret this! Wizard! I'll find you! I'll tear your soul apart!" Amidst these roars, Ian had already returned to the ground.

"You didn't save me, and you even destroyed my temple! You will be killed by me! I'm coming back!" The palace behind him began to shake violently, and Seth's roar echoed throughout the desert. The tornado outside had dissipated, and the desert returned to calm. Ian hefted his bulging money bag and hummed a cheerful tune.

"This trip to Egypt was unexpectedly like a vacation."

He transformed into a raven and soared into the sky once more, leaving behind only the Tomb of Set, which was once again buried by the yellow sand, and a certain ancient Egyptian god who was driven mad with anger.

Beneath the sea of ​​sand.

You can still hear that unwilling roar.

"Wizard! I will tear your soul apart! I will make you burn under the eternal sun!!" The sound of chains clanging echoed through the buried ruins.

Seth's divine power surged wildly through the prison.

But they were never able to break free.

(End of this chapter)