Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 563 Merlin's Prophecy
"A stingy old man."

Cohen immediately retorted.

“It’s not that I’m unwilling, Cohen,” Merlin said earnestly, then spread his hands to show his current ghostly state. “You see, I’m just a shadow now, I can’t repair your soul…”

"Really?" Cohen asked suspiciously. "Then how did you give me the rewards before?"

“Actually, most of those are things you earn yourself,” Merlin said. “Things like sin points, goodwill points, and quests that create entanglements with other people—these all attract intense emotional fluctuations in others, and you can’t help but absorb those fluctuations…”

"So, the soul strength I acquired could have been monetized long ago, but you were just acting as the valve..." Cohen feigned sudden realization, "You're so wicked, lying to this underage Dementor! Just wait, I'm going to write you into my book—"

“Hey!” Merlin said, “I’m not doing this to stifle your efforts—rapid expansion of abilities often leads people astray, I’m just worried that you’ll go down a path you’ll regret…”

“So how am I supposed to get a huge amount of soul strength now?” Cohen said. “Even Dumbledore has 99 points, so Helbo certainly can’t be lower than him. Even if we ignore Helbo’s Horcrux which is impossible to find, I’m still more than 40 points short of getting there, unless he’s like Voldemort and tears his soul into a bunch of low-strength fragments.”

“Herbo himself created the Horcrux, so he naturally knows the dangers of it,” Merlin said. “He only made one and claimed that no one could find and destroy it… However, in terms of soul strength, you are actually only thirty points short, because the system still has enough to raise it by sixteen points.”

"Furthermore, 99 is the limit of the human soul, so you don't need to worry too much about the upper limit of the threat posed by Herbo."

"So where should we get the next thirty-odd points?" Cohen lay down on the small bed in the corner like he was giving up.

"Continue with the tasks in this system?" Merlin blinked.

"You mean that mission to put me on the wanted list?" Cohen stared at the ceiling. "If I were to be pragmatic, I could just have Edward put me on it... wait a minute!"

Cohen suddenly thought of something.

Since Merlin said that he doesn't actually need to devour other people's souls to gain soul strength, and that all actions that generate sin or goodwill points can allow Cohen to gain soul strength...

What could be worse than killing the most respected elder in the wizarding world, Dumbledore?
Especially in an environment where Voldemort is elusive and attacks everywhere, destroying one of the good guys' flags is obviously the most evil thing to do.

This was precisely the plan that Cohen and Dumbledore had discussed long ago.

“I can tell you’ve already made up your mind,” Merlin said with a smile. “It’s about time, Cohen. You should leave.”

"Why?" Cohen wondered why Merlin was urging him to leave.

“This is a safe house where time has stood still,” Merlin said. “If you stay here too long, there will be some irreversible effects. I’m an illusion, which is why I’m fine.”

“And what about this…emmmm…little elf?” Cohen pointed to Bernie lying on the ground. It really looked like a house-elf that had changed color, with ears like bat wings and two eyes the size of tennis balls.

“Bernie was killed by Herpo.” Merlin looked at Bernie sadly. “He was young then. I brought him here before he died so that he could continue his life here. Once he was ready to face death, he would push open the door and leave.” “Oh…” Cohen responded dully.

“It’s time to go, Cohen. Maybe I’ll be back in a few decades,” Merlin said. “Once the Helpo thing is over, your ‘system’ will disappear from your life, and Bernie and I won’t bother you anymore—but I still look forward to seeing you in reality.”

Confined to a small room, facing death and the rest of his life, perhaps chatting with Merlin and being a good Cohen's system are the only hopes for this little elf to live.

It's not hard to imagine what choices Bernie would make after losing his will to live after leaving Cohen.

“I don’t expect much. I already have enough old men in my life,” Cohen said. “The old man who promised to let me attend his banquet last time still hasn’t written to me.”

"Hahahaha, I'll treat you to a meal, I promise."

Merlin stroked his long beard and laughed heartily.

"When Edward was struck by the Death Curse, was it you who saved him?" Cohen suddenly turned around and asked as he was about to step out the door.

“I have a pact with Death,” Merlin said. “He also desperately wanted to take Helpo’s soul because Helpo broke his rules—but I must clarify that I wasn’t actually there. It was Death who saved your father; he borrowed my image for a moment.”

"Looks like he doesn't like you much either," Cohen quipped. "He kicked my dad with your face in his footsteps."

"I guess he's a bit unhappy that your father extended your life and summoned Herpo's soul," Merlin said with a chuckle. "Goodbye, Cohen. Oh, and I reckon you have about a year left to prepare for Herpo's return—it'll take at least a year for him to come back, and his remnant soul should have sent him the signal a few days ago..."

"There's enough time to level up, but finding the Soul Weapon is a bit of a hassle." Cohen walked out the door, returned to his castle, and turned to look into the room.

"Keep searching, you will find it."

Merlin smiled and said,
“I believe my prophecies because they never go wrong—and my next prophecy is that ‘Cohen Norton will completely defeat Voldemort and the despicable Halberd and live the happiest and most fulfilling life.’”
-
After leaving Merlin, Cohen took another look at his system panel.

The goodwill and evil values ​​are gone; they have all been added to my soul strength at a ratio of 1000 to 1.

[Soul Strength: 67]

At the same time, the items in the shop no longer had prices—Cohen could take whatever he wanted, but unfortunately, they were not actually of any use in finding Helbo's Horcruxes.

That makes sense. If there really was something like a Horcrux locator, Merlin would have killed Helbo himself long ago, instead of just banishing him from this world.

[Oh, and Cohen, could you please bring some corn pie next time you come? Bernie woke up and told me he'd like to try it if he could; he hasn't had it in a long time.]
(End of this chapter)