Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 361 Regulus: I'm in.

Hermes straightened up in front of the training dummy, tugged at his askew collar, and looked directly at Regulus: "Teach me..."

.

Regulus, of course, would not agree.

For magic of the Fiendfire level, the problem isn't whether you know how to do it, but whether the conditions are right.

To reach the level of an adult wizard, one must have a deep understanding of the principles of black magic and the binding mechanism between curses and elements.

One must have sufficient mental strength, controllable emotions, and the ability to separate and switch between rationality and sensibility.

In the middle, it is also necessary to use willpower to control the self-destructive tendency of the Fiendfire. This step alone can burn the vast majority of people who have tried it.

It's difficult to release them, and even more difficult to bring them back; one wrong move and it could lead to a major accident.

If wizards are just consumables, you can just teach them directly, set them on fire, burn the enemy and burn yourself, and everyone will perish together.

But Hermes was clearly not a consumable.

The Murseb family has practiced dark magic for generations, so Fiend and his group certainly do, and Abros can probably both release and control it; if they were going to teach it, they would have already.

He didn't teach, for a simple reason: Hermes's conditions weren't met.

Asking a young man who is still fascinated by dark magic to tame a cursed creation is something even the most reckless person wouldn't do, unless it's not their own child.

Regulus looked at Hermes and slowly shook his head: "Fiercefire, you're too early."

Hermes neither refuted nor objected.

He certainly wouldn't ask, "Then how come you are?" It wouldn't be surprising if Regulus did anything.

He simply nodded, which was taken as agreement.

"You're not bad at using spells."

Regulus continued, "Your magic output, casting speed, and mastery of dark magic are top-notch among junior wizards. What limits you is something fundamental, not a particular spell."

Hermes listened with a frown.

"Hogwarts teaches how to cast spells, wave a wand, use hand gestures, pronounce spells, and control magic in a basic way."

These are the technical aspects, which all young wizards are learning; the only difference lies in their talent and the amount of practice they do.

But what truly distinguishes ordinary wizards from skilled wizards is not technical skill, but rather mental fortitude, emotional control, willpower, and the precise manipulation of magic.

Regulus looked at him, his tone flat: "Among pure-blood families, those that truly value the essence of magic will begin training young wizards in these skills once they reach a certain age, but not every family does."

He took two steps forward: "Some families only teach social skills and bloodline theory, some only teach how to get by in the Ministry of Magic, and some families don't even have these things, so naturally they can't teach them."

Hermes' eyes darted around, unusually thoughtful. He thought for a moment, then frowned, then relaxed: "My father mentioned it."

Regulus looked at him but didn't reply.

There was a moment of silence.

Hermes felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze. His eyes darted to the wall beside him, then back to him, where he found Regulus still watching him, waiting for him to continue.

He had to add himself, "But I haven't practiced it."

"Mr. Mooreseber isn't teaching?"

Hermes lowered his head and remained silent.

A soft slur came from the corner. Avery covered his mouth, his shoulders trembling, and Baruch bobbed on his head.

Alex pursed his lips and turned his head away, pretending to look at the runes on the wall.

Hermes ignored them, staring only at the floor.

Regulus knew exactly what was going on.

The Murseb family has practiced dark magic for generations, so it's impossible that Abros doesn't know Occlumency.

The fact that a family specializing in dark magic has managed to keep its members from going mad for generations, that they know how to get married and have children, and that they can raise their children and send them to Hogwarts speaks volumes.

If you don't want to go crazy and want to be a proper dark wizard, Occlumency is a must-learn skill, and Abrose couldn't possibly not know it.

But he knew his son.

Hermes was gifted with spells; he could learn them quickly, master them after seeing them once, and become proficient after practicing them twice. He was very skilled in using dark magic.

But their mental orientations were different; Hermes had no patience for things that required quiet contemplation.

The brain-blocking technique requires sitting down, quietly feeling the boundaries of one's consciousness, distinguishing the sources of emotions, and building a defense line in one's mind.

This kind of thing requires patience, self-reflection, repeated feelings and adjustments, and patiently working through it little by little, like a battle with yourself in your mind.

Hermes couldn't sit still.

All young wizards at this age are the same; they yearn for powerful spells, dazzling magic, and anything that can make other young wizards widen their eyes and gasp in amazement.

The things you create in your head are invisible and intangible; you can't use them to fight or show off. They're slow and boring to practice, so who would be interested?

Even if you're interested, interest alone isn't enough. The threshold for mental magic is much higher than for ordinary spells. You need to know what your mental space looks like before you can start building a defense.

Most twelve- or thirteen-year-old wizards don't even understand the concept of mental space.

So Abrus probably taught it, Hermes probably listened, tried it out, found it didn't have any immediate effect, and then gave up.

Moreover, it's the same in any family when a father tries to teach his son but the son doesn't listen.

The relationship between the father and son in the Muirseber family may be somewhat unique.

Hermes carried out Abrus's instructions to his son very thoroughly. He stopped black magic as soon as Abrus told him to, and came to train with Regulus without hesitation.

But execution and understanding are two different things.

Hermes' method of execution was to simply copy his father's words verbatim, without changing a single word or even bothering to modify them.

He obeyed, but he didn't think about it.

Abros asked him to watch how Regulus trained, probably not expecting Regulus to teach him step by step.

He only knew that Hermes would take things more seriously after being outshone by his peers than after being nagged by his father a hundred times.

It's only natural for a son to disobey his father, but he does obey Regulus.

Regulus didn't care about any of that.

Hermes' role here is different from Avery and Alex; he is the one responsible for the physical force.

The dark magic of the Murseb family, combined with his pure pursuit of power and his own magical talent, puts him at a much higher potential than the other two.

Abros throws people at him, and he does it his way.

Regulus's voice rang out: "You have two choices."

Hermes raised his head.

"Continue practicing dark magic. You have enough talent to reach a considerable level before graduation. When you reach your later years, you can try your luck with Aurors."

Hermes' eyes lit up slightly.

"Or you could stop for now and practice the more basic things, like Occlumency, magic manipulation—slow to show results, not visually appealing, and boring to practice. Once you've mastered it, you'll reach a level of..."

He looked into Hermes' eyes: "You will be even more powerful."

Hermes, of course, believed Regulus; if he said it would be even more powerful, then it would be even more powerful.

But he still tried to think about it for a moment, then stopped and asked directly, "Is this how you train?"

Regulus thought about it for a moment.

There's nothing wrong with this arrangement; that's how he did train, but it's not just that.

He nodded: "That's how I practice."

Hermes no longer hesitated: "I'll listen to you."

Then he thought about it again, and this time he came up with something, his tone hesitant: "...A guardian deity?"

Regulus glanced at him sideways: "Are you happy?"

Hermes' mouth closed.

A short, sharp "pfft" came from the corner. Avery couldn't hold it in and let out a breath. Baruch shook his head, his front legs gripping Avery's hair tightly, and clicked twice in dissatisfaction.

Alex pursed his lips, turned his head, and shrugged.

Hermes glared at Avery, but did not refute.

That's undeniable.

The guardian spirit needs happy memories, strong enough and pure enough.

The environment at the Murseb family's house was gloomy, harsh, and involved in black magic.

He probably thought about whether he had enough happy memories to sustain his guardian spirit, but no one ever asked him directly.

Regulus asked the question, but Hermes could not answer it.

Regulus didn't linger on that: "We'll talk about the Guardian later. Let's practice Occlumency first."

He briefly described the three stages.

"Recognize your own emotions, know what you are thinking and feeling right now, and distinguish between what is your own and what is instilled from the outside world."

Push your emotions aside, let them recede to the edge of your consciousness. You know they're still there, but they can't interfere with your judgment.

Finally, build a barrier so that when others' will encounters your spirit, they cannot find an entry point.

He looked at Hermes: "Once you've done these three steps, you can figure out the rest on your own."

Hermes frowned slightly and listened attentively.

"These three steps are consistent with the underlying logic of magic manipulation. They all involve making your own will take the lead. Magic manipulation is about making magic obey you, while brain shut-off is about making your mind obey you."

He added, "It also has an additional use for you. Dark magic amplifies the user's negative emotions. The stronger the emotions, the more powerful the spell, and the easier it is to lose control. So this is a required course."

Hermes listened, and his expression became much more serious than before.

It wasn't that Regulus spoke particularly well; he simply admired Regulus and knew how capable Regulus was, so whatever Regulus said was naturally correct.

Regulus raised his wand: "Let me show you just how fragile your mental defenses are."

Actually, he doesn't need this. He can already break down the structure and use the Mind Control Technique step by step. A single eye contact is enough.

The direction the wand points is a form of psychological suggestion, letting Hermes know what is about to happen and making him nervous.

Nervousness exposes weaknesses.

Hermes was indeed nervous.

"I won't delve into your memories, I won't touch your privacy," Regulus said calmly, "I'll just go in and let you experience what it feels like to be invaded."

Hermes nodded.

"Legilimens."

Regulus's spiritual power pushed forward, slowly and firmly.

Hermes felt something push in his head from the outside.

He instinctively wanted to hold on, but found himself unable to find anything to hold on to.

He imagined there should be a door, a wall, and a barrier, but none of these things were there.

He had only a loose edge of consciousness that had never been tested, like a thin mist that would dissipate with a gust of wind.

Regulus's will penetrated deep into the core of his mental space.

The oppressive feeling surged in from all directions, immense and inescapable.

It was neither malicious nor aggressive; there was only a will far stronger than his standing in his mind, filling the entire space, watching him.

Hermes felt extremely uncomfortable. He felt as if he were naked, completely exposed, and unable to hide anything.

Regulus went inside, but didn't move around, didn't rummage through his memories, and didn't touch any specific thoughts.

He simply stood there, his very existence telling Hermes that her defenses were meaningless.

Then he exited; the whole process took less than two seconds.

Hermes broke out in a thin layer of sweat, his eyes glazed over, and his body swayed slightly.

He shook his head, blinked several times, and wiped his face with his palm, as if trying to erase the lingering feeling of invasion from his mind.

Regulus asked calmly, "You felt it?"

Hermes took a deep breath and nodded.

"Your mental defenses are thinner than parchment; they'll break at the slightest touch."

Regulus put away his wand.

"If it weren't me standing in front of you today, but any other person who can manipulate minds, all your memories, intentions, and weaknesses would be laid bare before them."

Hermes looked unwell.

Regulus is right; he really hadn't thought about that.

His mind was filled with thoughts of how to attack, how to unleash even more powerful dark magic, and how to bring down his opponent.

Defense was almost entirely absent from his training.

"I'll help you practice the Occupy Barrier technique. I'll apply pressure regularly using Mind Control, and you'll learn to build a barrier while under external intrusion."

Regulus looked at him and explained the training arrangements.

"Practice controlling magic yourself, starting with your fingertips. No wand, no spells. Let the magic flow from your fingertips. First, learn to control the flow and intensity of magic. Ask me if you have any questions."

Hermes nodded.

Regulus turned to Avery and Alex.

"You two should give it a try too."