Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 410, page 409: A Mysterious Danger
Faced with Ian's direct questioning.

The cheetah did not answer directly, but that was tantamount to an answer.

of course.

Seeing that Ian continued to stare at him, the cheetah was somewhat helpless. A glint of something unfathomable flashed in its deep green eyes, but it still did not give a direct answer.

However, it let out a low, ancient snort: "Gods? Titles don't matter. We are ancient echoes, guardians of the rules, and the dream of all spirits living here."

It flicked its tail gracefully, its gaze sharpening, its tone carrying a warning: "Stranger, you possess great power, but in this land, you must remember to restrain yourself. Too much light will attract unnecessary attention, and may even... awaken some ominous creatures slumbering in the desert and starry sky."

Ian felt a chill run down his spine and quickly explained, "I always keep a low profile. I was just passing through this place by chance and had no intention of offending the local gods or rules."

He recalled his behavior in the market. Apart from his conversation with Master Caleb, he hadn't really shown much power. Ian wasn't exactly an ostentatious person either.

After all, he was a Ravenclaw student, not a Slytherin or Gryffindor student. Only students from the latter two Hogwarts houses would cause trouble and act recklessly.

Regarding Ian's assurances.

The cheetah looked a little off.

It shook its head, its voice seemingly tinged with helplessness: "Your very existence is not a threat to us; in fact, your arrival may even be inevitable."

“We don’t mind your activities here.”

The cheetah's response was somewhat unexpected by Ian.

Ian was silent.

He sensed the other party's condescending attitude, which further convinced him that the being before him was no ordinary magical creature, but some kind of deity beyond the mortal realm.

"Then why did you show yourself?" Ian probed. "Did I do something offensive?"

The cheetah slowly stood up, its figure appearing and disappearing in the candlelight.

“No, you were very modest. You did not summon the undead, you did not desecrate the sacred ground, and you did not attempt to steal the resin of the ‘Tree of Life’. You even… respected Caleb’s skills.”

Perhaps this deity is also related to the heritage of the Caleb clan.

"Did I disturb Him during my alchemy studies?"

Ian breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But what the cheetah said next sent a chill down his spine:

“But the ‘divine grace’ on you… is too bright.”

At this point, it paused briefly, then its tone shifted, becoming serious, "Yes, the problem lies in the 'gift' you bear."

"A gift?"

Ian was puzzled, then thought of the blessing of the sun god Ra.

That's exactly what they said.

“That mark from a foreign sun!” The cheetah’s gaze seemed to penetrate Ian’s dream form, seeing the golden divine power flowing within him. “Under this sky, it’s like a lighthouse in the night, too bright, attracting some ‘bad’ attention, just like we are being watched.”

"Some things are very sensitive to the power of the gods."

Its tone became ambiguous, as if it were avoiding something, and it even subconsciously looked up at the false starry sky in the dream, as if something was lurking there.

"A bad gaze? What is it?" Ian pressed urgently, sensing he had touched on a crucial question. "Is it an evil god? Or something else entirely?"

Ian still remembers what happened to him in ancient Egypt.

We can't let it happen again, can we?

There's no way things could be that unlucky!

He never imagined that the "blessing of the sun god" that he hadn't even had a chance to show off back at Hogwarts would become a "danger signal" in this land.

You see, he thought it was a symbol of power, but he didn't expect it could also be a double-edged sword—it could dispel the darkness, but it could also awaken a deeper darkness.
"You mean... there is some kind of being that will be drawn to my divine grace?"

Ian pressed for an answer.

Cheetah did not answer Ian's probing questions immediately.

It gave Ian a deep look, its gaze complex and unfathomable, containing warning, pity, and even a hint of unspoken expectation.

After a long time.

“It’s not ‘attraction’,” the cheetah corrected. “It’s ‘resonance’. Your divine grace is of the same origin as something ancient. They will mistake you for… the ‘key’.”

"A key? A key to open what?"

The cheetah did not answer.

"Could you tell me your name?" Ian decided to try a different approach to find out the situation. If he could find out the other person's identity, he could investigate it himself after returning to reality.

“Who I am is not important,” the cheetah’s voice echoed. “You can consider me a voice of this land, an observer. What matters is why you have come, star traveler? Your arrival has stirred ripples in this ancient web of spirituality. Are you a passerby, or a messenger foreshadowing change?”

"You say you're lost. Yes, you have indeed strayed far, far off course. The road home is full of thorns, and the starlight has been obscured by dark clouds."

This seems to be a manifestation of divination.

Its gaze seemed to pierce through the dream, looking directly at Ian's essence: "You carry the scent of change, and also the aura of danger. You have come into contact with a tributary of time that you should not have, and you also possess some divine grace. This could easily disturb beings that should not be disturbed. My warning to you is all I have to say."

After saying that, it lay back down on the thick branch, its body gradually blending into the shadow of the tree, and then its entire figure began to become blurry.

"Remember, traveler, respect the rules of this land, and beware the whispers in the shadows. Your choices may bring a different dawn or a deeper twilight."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire dream began to fluctuate violently.

The entire grassland dream began to tremble violently, like a reflection in water being shattered by a pebble. The starlight dimmed, the herds of beasts vanished, and the vast land crumbled before Ian's eyes.

The scene of the grassland shattered and vanished like a reflection on the water. Ian sat bolt upright in bed, his heart pounding, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead. Outside the window, dawn was breaking, and a few rays of sunlight shone through the cracks in the thatched hut's window, casting dappled patterns of light on the muddy ground.

The lingering echoes of the dream remained vivid; the cheetah's cryptic words reverberated in his mind. "A bad look"? "Whispers in the shadows"?
Could there be an unknown and enormous threat lurking on this African continent? And does this threat seem to concern the gods? Perhaps it is the prelude to another Ragnarok.

Could this be a coincidence?

Ian was somewhat confused. Whether the female Titan Lyle's time machine was normal or not, it seemed to be taking him to some kind of divine twilight era.

Ian would never believe there was no trickery involved. After all, there are no coincidences in the wizarding world, let alone the Titans' arrangements.

That female Titan was the origin of all things, the first prophet to appear on Earth, and the source of the prophets. It is reasonable to say that she could control all of this.

"But what is the purpose?"

Ian remained confused. He took a deep breath, suppressed his chaotic thoughts, got up, walked to the window, and pushed open the simple wooden window.

The cool morning air rushed in, carrying the fragrance of earth and grass.

His gaze unconsciously drifted to the vast forest outside the window, its silhouette silhouetted against the morning mist. In that instant, he seemed to glimpse—in the deepest shadows at the edge of the forest—a blurry, slender figure, seemingly composed of darkness itself, flashed by. The movement was so fast it was almost an illusion. The figure even seemed to turn and "look" at him, with a cold, inhuman scrutiny.

Then the figure completely blended into the shadows and disappeared.

"Was it that god from before, or the so-called shadow?" Ian's pupils contracted slightly as he focused his mental senses, but there was nothing there except for the normal forest atmosphere.

Is it an illusion caused by the influence of dreams?
Or... is that the "bad stare" the cheetah was talking about already quietly descending?
No one knows.

The morning's confusion was interrupted by a knock on the door. The innkeeper, the taciturn old wizard, stood at the door with a wooden tray on it. On the tray was a steaming bowl of something that looked like corn porridge, along with a few flatbreads and a pot of tea that emitted a strange aroma.

"Breakfast," the owner said succinctly, handing over the tray. It was unexpected that such a place would offer breakfast; this was quite thoughtful service.

"Thank you." Ian took the tray and casually asked, "Boss, has anything unusual happened around here lately?"

"I'm new here and want to learn more about the local customs and culture." Ian tried to conceal his true purpose, though he actually wanted to find out if anything strange had happened.

Just like in ancient Egypt and ancient Greece, before Ragnarok or a catastrophe, there were always some unusual things that happened in advance, which the people could not perceive but they could tell.

After all, he has seen and experienced a lot, which has given Ian a very good mind with a wealth of judgment experience.

Simply put, his already formidable intelligence has become even more extraordinary. Of course, most Hogwarts students probably wouldn't understand this.

Also normal.

After all, being one step ahead of one's time is genius, but being far ahead of one's time is just being an oddball that ordinary people can't understand. I don't know who said that, but it's very reasonable.

"Ok?"

The boss raised his cloudy eyes and glanced at Ian, seemingly trying to gauge his intentions, before slowly replying, "Do you want to know something special?"

"Let me think about it."

"The centaur tribe has been quite restless lately. They had a few arguments with the River Spirit tribe to the east over some hunting grounds. The commotion is quite big and could last for a long time."

"Of course, this is quite special for you outsiders, as you can watch them fight from a distance, but for us, it's already quite common."

"Just be careful not to come into contact with those bastards."

"Also, Old Babu's warthog at the south end of the market was bitten to death by something a few nights ago. Its blood was sucked dry, causing panic among the people who are worried that it's a vampire."

"It turned out that his son had brought back a super huge vampire bat. It was a false alarm—well, our place isn't exactly a big place."

"There shouldn't be anything else special." Although the shop owner seemed like a man of few words, he answered Ian's questions in great detail.

Perhaps it's because he's cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

This can be seen from the fact that they prepare breakfast for their guests. Keep in mind, this isn't the era of free services; most hotels don't even offer breakfast.

Even in relatively developed cities in Western countries, whether you are a Muggle or a wizard, breakfast may be available, but you have to pay for it separately; it's not free.

Also normal.

After all, in this era of underdeveloped transportation and globalization, even wizards rarely traveled across large regions. Those who could travel, whether wizards or not, were all wealthy.

Wealthy people rarely try to get something for nothing and are generous with their money. Bosses, of course, want to make as much money as possible, and breakfast can sometimes cost more than the room rate.

of course.

The food offered is indeed better. However, Ian isn't suited to a gluttonous personality, so the breakfast prepared by the shop owner is just what he likes.

Very simple.

It certainly wouldn't be very delicious, but it certainly wouldn't be very bad either. Ian, whose palate had been spoiled by house-elves, had no intention of looking for delicious food in this era.

The main reason is that Africa is a food desert.

"Yes, I understand." Ian nodded quickly after listening to the shop owner's explanation, showing no sign of disappointment or anything else on the surface. In truth, he was somewhat disappointed; it was all about local tribal conflicts and ordinary mysterious events, not the information Ian was looking for.

This was not shown.

He thanked the owner, who nodded and turned to leave.

"So, we still need to go out and investigate later, and find people who know as much information as possible—such as officials from this market or officials from the local Ministry of Magic."

He was making plans in his mind.

Ian carried breakfast back to his room and closed the door. He didn't eat it immediately, but instead skillfully took out several small alchemical tools from his purse.

As the saying goes, when you're out and about, whether you're a girl or a boy, you have to protect yourself. He has quite a few tools: a silver needle that can detect most common toxins, a crystal plate that is sensitive to dark magic energy, and even a spider-shaped miniature construct specifically for detecting subtle curse fluctuations.

These are all signs of caution.

Ian was incredibly focused. He took samples of every food item and drink and tested them with practiced speed and skill, as if he had done it a thousand times before. The silver needles didn't turn black, the crystal plates didn't glow abnormally, and the miniature spider constructs didn't sound any alarms. His entire operation was executed flawlessly.

"Looks like everything's alright." Ian was relieved and began to savor his African-style breakfast. It looked like corn porridge, but he knew it was called "Ugari."

After all, he is a well-educated student of Ravenclaw, so it is perfectly normal for him to know some of this useless knowledge. Not to mention that Ian also has a system that allows him to learn and increase his experience points.

can only say.

Ian is too well-rounded.

The food had a rough texture but was full of grain aroma, and it tasted surprisingly good when dipped in a spicy stew sauce, which exceeded Ian's expectations.

The biscuits are also crispy.

It's also very delicious.

The tea had a unique herbal fragrance, and drinking it made one feel refreshed, clearly indicating that some mint-like herbs had been added.

It may not be considered a magic potion, but its effects are still beneficial to people.

As Ian ate, he continued to ponder the dream and the "hallucination" of the morning. The warning from the local deities was no unfounded. What could possibly be so deeply taboo that even the ancient spirits of this land felt such profound apprehension?

Could it be another evil god like Seth Appepp?

This is perhaps the most likely scenario.

Of course, it could also be something more ancient and indescribable, but in any case, it must be something that the local gods greatly fear and dare not even mention.

"A creature whose name cannot be mentioned, hmm, what a familiar feeling. Voldemort was still too ahead of his time." Ian couldn't help but sigh to himself.

Just as his thoughts were racing, there was another knock on the door.

The innkeeper's voice came from outside the door.

"Guest, someone is looking for you."

(End of this chapter)