Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 362 You Chase, I Escape

Avery hopped to the center of the arena, twirled his wand, and gestured to Regulus with his chin, his expression eager to try.

He had been watching the fun from the sidelines, and now that it was finally his turn, he wasn't nervous at all; he just found it amusing.

He said enthusiastically, "I'll do it."

Alex followed behind, looking somewhat reluctant, but he didn't back down and walked over as well.

Regulus glanced at Avery: "Stand still."

Avery took a breath, shrugged, and assumed a ready stance.

"Legilimens".

""

Regulus's mental power pushed forward without any hindrance.

Hermes at least had something that could be called the edge of consciousness, although it was as thin as fog and would dissipate with a breath, but at least it existed.

Avery had nothing; his mental space was wide open.

Regulus's will simply walked in, without feeling even the slightest resistance; it was so smooth that he himself paused for a moment.

Two seconds later, Regulus withdrew.

Avery blinked, then blinked again, looking completely bewildered, and then asked, "You're in?"

Regulus put down his wand: "Going in and coming out again."

Avery's expression was priceless; his mouth opened and closed, his brow furrowed and relaxed, and he was completely bewildered about how he should feel.

He even sounded a little aggrieved: "How come I didn't feel anything?"

Regulus looked at him, recalling the Legilimency he had faced with Voldemort at the Christmas dinner.

That was an extreme maneuver, a triple barrier, a mental folding, a spatial topology, a false path, each layer pushed to its limit in the face of Voldemort's will.

For Avery, it wasn't about pushing his limits, but it was still a matter of finesse. He went in and out gently, afraid of using too much force and messing up the kid's brain.

Regulus looked at him, his tone slightly hesitant: "That's precisely the problem."

They can't even sense being invaded, and their perception of their own mental space is almost zero.

Someone else's will came in, took a look around, and left, without him even knowing it.

If someone with malicious intent comes along, they can rummage through his memories like turning over a drawer.

Avery swallowed hard, his aggrieved expression turning into a less than pleasant one.

When it was Alex's turn, he didn't say anything, he just nodded.

Regulus raised his wand: "Legilimens."

"6

Alex is in a slightly better situation than Avery.

When the mind was pushed in, he could feel the invasion, panic flashed in his eyes, and he instinctively wanted to back away.

There is discomfort, a rejection reaction, and a vague defensive instinct at work in the mental space.

But that's about it.

Unstoppable, he was pushed in. He just had a slight advantage over Avery, knowing someone had entered, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Regulus stepped back, and Alex sighed, his face also looking rather pale. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Regulus put down his wand and looked at the three people in front of him.

"Hermes, with the best talent, strong attack power, but weak defense, and easily swayed by emotions, Occlumency is exactly what you need."

Hermes did not speak, but simply listened.

He looked at Avery and Alex.

"The two of you, in terms of mental strength, are at the average level of a second-year student at Hogwarts—"

'

Before they could react, he added, "Not very good."

Avery's lips twitched, and Alex lowered his head slightly.

Regulus then changed the subject: "Avery's intuition is actually not bad. He was slow to react when he was invaded, but he recovered very quickly after he came out."

Alex could sense the intrusion; this was the most basic step, something many people couldn't even do.

Avery listened, a slight smirk playing on his lips, which he quickly suppressed.

Alex also looked up, his brow relaxing slightly.

These two people are actually useful in their own way.

Avery is the face to the outside world, the spokesperson, the person who can stand in front of the crowd and speak, and the future network node of the pureblood circle.

Alex is meticulous and cautious, well-suited for handling specific tasks, and can unite mixed-race and gentle purebloods.

However, the fact that each has its own use does not mean that it can be ridiculously bad in one aspect. It does not need to be top-notch, but it must at least be sufficient.

And to be honest, their qualifications are not ordinary, so they cannot be judged by his standards.

In a normal frame of reference, a second-year wizard who can consistently cast the Ironclad Charm and execute effective spell combos in combat practice would not be considered shameful even by fifth or sixth grade.

He was far inferior to Hermes, more than one level below him, but compared to ordinary junior wizards at Hogwarts, he had long since surpassed them.

That's not enough. If you follow him, you have to move up. It doesn't matter if you can't reach the top, you have to reach a high level.

So, we still need to practice.

Regulus began assigning tasks.

"Hermes, practice Occlumency with me, practice Legilimency with me at least twice a week, and practice manipulating magic on your own. I just told you the method, start from your fingertips."

Hermes nodded.

As for Avery and Alex, they should start with the basics of magic manipulation and practice in real combat, without touching Occlumency for now, and focus on building a solid foundation first.

"So what should we practice now?" Avery raised his hand.

Regulus looked at his head.

Baruch lay there, his eight amber eyes fixed on Regulus, his chelicerae occasionally snapping. He had nowhere to put his legs and was getting bored.

"I'll find you a sparring partner."

Regulus nodded to Baruch.

Baruch bounced off Avery's head, landed on the floor, and ran on eight legs to Regulus's feet.

Regulus tapped his finger, the Transformation Charm faded, and Baruch's body began to grow larger.

The carapace is expanding, and a fine layer of keratinous texture appears on the surface. The bristles change from fine down to coarse bristles, and the dark red base color deepens and becomes more intense.

The eight legs slowly lengthened, with warm-colored lines growing at the joints. They made a cracking sound as they stretched, each sound muffled and deeper than the last.

A dozen seconds later, an adult eight-eyed giant spider, over two meters long, stood on the floor of the Room of Requirement.

The House of Response sensed the change, and the ceiling automatically rose, expanding the space in all directions.

Avery's expression changed instantly.

Baruch, who was only the size of a palm, was very familiar to him. He would perch on Regulus's shoulder, huddle next to the pillow, and at most rummage through the drawers. He looked quite cute.

It was just perched on his head, all fluffy and beautiful.

But this one now has eight thick legs supporting a body over two meters long, covered in dark red bristles, with eight amber eyes in two rows, and large pincers clattering against the floor.

This is a completely different thing.

Alex's face turned even paler, and his body trembled slightly.

Hermes was also startled, clearly stunned for a moment, and a hint of wariness flashed across his face.

Then, seeing Avery and Alex's reactions, he changed his expression, crossed his arms, and put on a "you guys can't do it either" look.

Avery stood there, staring at Baruch for a long time.

The shock on his face slowly faded, and his eyes began to shine.

They're cute when they're small, but they're even more handsome when they grow up—so handsome!

His dark red bristles, his eight legs longer than himself, and the force with which his large pincers slammed onto the floor.

He took half a step forward, trying to get a closer look, but then one of Baruch's main eyes turned to face him, and he stepped back.

Alex, on the other hand, calmed down first.

Baruch was raised by Regulus, and Regulus wouldn't let Baruch eat them; the logic is that simple.

He took a breath, tried raising his hand, and waved at Baruch: "Baruch?"

Baruch's large claws snapped twice, loudly and heavily.

It took half a step forward, its large body sank, its eight legs braced on the ground, and it lowered its head slightly in Alex's direction.

Alex didn't move, but Avery jumped back a step.

Alex glanced at Avery, then looked back at Baruch, and muttered to himself, "Not cute at all anymore."

Baruch continued waving his claws, first clicking on Avery: "...Little Spider."

The sound was several tones deeper than when it was the size of a palm; it was deep, rough, and carried the unique frictional syllables of the eight-eyed giant spider.

Then he pointed at Alex: "...Little Spider."

Regulus's lips curled up: "Don't bite, just chase. If you catch up, you can spray spider silk."

Baruch clicked his foot and stomped his eight legs on the spot, making the floor thump loudly, as if he were very excited.

Then it turned around, and all eight of its eyes were fixed on Avery and Alex.

Avery cursed and turned to run away.

Baruch charged forward, his eight legs landing alternately, each step creating a series of muffled thuds on the wooden floor. His body, over two meters long, moved with astonishing speed.

As Avery ran, he flicked a petrification spell back, which struck Baruch's back armor, sparking as it bounced off.

Adult eight-eyed giant spiders have considerable magic resistance, so the spells cast by young wizards are almost like tickling them.

He cast another knockback spell.

Baruch tilted his body, three of his eight legs adjusted simultaneously, and his whole body dodged to the side.

Then it accelerated, its eight legs moving rapidly across the wooden floor.

Avery was cornered and raised his wand to activate the Armor Charm.

Baruch raised one of his front legs and slapped it down, causing the silver barrier to shake violently. He slapped it again, and the armored spell shattered, the silver light scattering into fragments.

Before Avery could react, Baruch had already turned around, his backside facing him, and his silk-spinner opened with a "poof."

A strand of spider silk shot out, thick and tough, wrapping around Avery's body, starting from his neck and wrapping it tightly around him, his arms close to his body, his legs together, with only his head sticking out.

Avery fell straight to the ground, unable to move.

He cursed, then laughed, looking quite pleased with himself, and yelled at Alex, "Run! Run! Baruch, go after him!"

Baruch looked down at him, his large claws clicking twice.

The two main eyes at the top have "triumphant" written on the left and "happy" carved on the right.

Then it turned and looked at Alex.

Alex held his wand aloft, ready to fight back.

Baruch charged forward, and Alex took off running, turning back to cast a spell as he ran.

Aside from your weapon, the red light hitting Baruch's back armor only sparked, but it was completely useless.

Avery yelled from the other side, "You used the wrong spell! Do you want to remove its fangs?"

Alex ignored him and kept running.

But the giant spider had too many legs, and it was very agile.

Baruch adjusted his direction with all eight legs at the same time, twisting his body into a sharp turn while running at high speed. Before Alex could react, he was cornered against the wall.

He raised his armored spell, and Baruch swept his front leg across, shattering the barrier with a single kick—even more fragile than Avery's.

But the instant the Ironclad Curse shattered, Alex dodged the second strike, slipped, rolled, and stood up again to create another barrier.

Baruch not only had many legs, but also many eyes, so he could see everything without turning his head.

It stretched out one of its hind legs, and with a gentle poke of its claw at the barrier, crack, it shattered again.

Alex was positioned directly in front of Baruch's rear end. Without even bending over, he sprayed spider silk, wrapping Baruch from head to toe, just like Avery, leaving only his head exposed.

With a single strand of silk still attached to the silk-spinning device, Baruch dragged Alex toward Avery, making a rustling sound as he pulled it across the floor.

When they reached Avery, they placed the two of them side by side.

Then it raised its front legs and tapped each one in turn.

First, Avery says: "...Little Spider."

Then click on Alex: "...Little Spider."

The sound was deep and rough, and the large claws clicked twice more, making the air tremble.

Avery and Alex were entangled on the ground, lying side by side, with only their heads showing.

Avery's eyes lit up with excitement as he craned his neck to get a better look at Baruch's large frame.

Alex stared helplessly at the ceiling, but a smile played on his lips.

Then the two turned to look at each other and burst out laughing.

Baruch circled between the two men, leaving a ring of footprints with his eight legs, and was quite satisfied.

Then he ran back to Regulus, lowered his body, tucked his front legs in, braced his hind legs on the ground, flattened his carapace, and stared up at him with all eight amber eyes.

Its large claws tapped the floor rapidly and frequently, while its rear end swayed slightly from side to side.

Regulus's lips curled into a smile as he patted its shell: "Untie them and continue."

Baruch propped himself up on his eight legs, clicked with satisfaction, and wobbled back up.

Avery was still gurgling on the ground when he turned to Alex and said, "Now I believe it can kill us."

Alex paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Then Avery's expression changed. Looking at Baruch who was walking over, his eyes lit up again, and he murmured, "I really want to have one."

Alex stood calmly to the side, sensing that the man was probably quite ill.

Baruch snapped his large claws together, gripped the spider silk, and with a gentle pull, the silk broke, and the two men rolled out of the web.

Before they could even get their bearings, Baruch took a few steps back, his eight legs stomping on the floor, his large claws clicking loudly, his amber eyes darting back and forth between the two men.

For the next two hours or so, the room was bustling with activity.

Baruch was having more and more fun. Every time he caught someone, he would drag the two people together, point at them one by one, and call them "Little Spider."

Then he ran back to Regulus, got his shell patted, and then excitedly ran back to continue the chase, having a great time.

Avery and Alex began to discuss tactics, splitting up to run, one on the left and one on the right, hoping to at least prevent Baruch from chasing both of them at the same time.

As a result, Baruch spit out a piece of spider silk that stuck to the ceiling, his whole body swung up, directly intercepting Avery who was running slower, and then fell down to block Alex, entangled the two of them into a cocoon side by side.

The two were wrapped in spider silk. Avery, panting heavily, told Alex to slow down, but Alex pointed out that Avery had short legs.

Hermes sat cross-legged in a corner of the field, closed his eyes, and followed Regulus's three-step method to identify emotions, push them aside, and try to build a barrier.

At ten o'clock, Avery and Alex were exhausted and collapsed side by side on the ground. The spider silk had just been untangled, and there were still remnants of silk hanging on their bodies. Their hair was a mess like a bird's nest.

Avery threw his head back, panting heavily. Alex propped himself up on his arms, his face covered in sweat, his wand rolling at his feet.

Baruch had shrunk back to the size of a palm, perched on Regulus's shoulder, his bristles fluffy, his eight legs curled up, his claws occasionally opening and closing with a satisfied click.

Hermes was in no better shape. He sat cross-legged for more than two hours, his mind highly focused, repeatedly trying to build a barrier in his mind but failing each time. He was pale and swaying as he stood.

Fortunately, as he gets older, his physical strength and magic power also increase, and he can walk on his own.

The corridor was quiet, with only the orange glow of torches casting halos on the walls and the flames swaying gently in the wind.

The sound of four people's footsteps echoed in the stone-paved corridor.

Moonlight streamed in through the high window, casting long, silvery streaks across the floor.

Avery and Alex walked ahead, still discussing how to coordinate their next operation.

Hermes walked at the very back, his head bowed.

He was thinking, am I happy?

A