Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 407 The Wronged Spider and the Confused Hercules

Compared to the salamander's violent convulsions and eight-legged kicking, this time it was much gentler.

The tree-protecting hummus is a natural thing, a plant, not so domineering, and it's polite when it comes in.

After the seed entered the magic channel, it wasn't attacked by Baruch's main magic like the fire lizard. It was just gently pushed aside.

A faint bluish-white light emanated from near the eight eyes, seeping out from under the carapace. The light then spread outwards, creeping inch by inch across the carapace, flowing around the eight eyes, and dispersing into a hazy halo.

The halo was unstable, flashing on and off several times. When it was bright, it could illuminate the amber eyes underneath, and when it dimmed, it retracted into its shell, as if something was gently breathing beneath the surface of the water.

Regulus placed his left hand on the back armor, releasing natural magic that seeped into it.

In the case of the fire lizard, the natural magic acted as a buffer between the fire and the spider, and both forces of magic had to grind against each other slowly for quite some time before they were willing to give way.

This time it's different. The magic of the Bowtruckle and the magic of nature are of the same origin. They both face outwards and follow the path of connection and affinity. One talks to the plants and trees, and the other talks to all life.

As soon as the natural magic entered, before it even touched the seed of the Bowtruckle, it collided with the outward tendency it was spreading out, and then flowed along that tendency to wrap around the new module.

Not only did it cushion their way to prevent them from fighting, it also facilitated communication between the two sides, effectively building a bridge between them.

The magic of the Bowtruckle flows through the natural magic to Baruch's visual branch, and Baruch's magic also flows through the natural magic to the new module.

Two kinds of magic that were originally unfamiliar met in the middle of the bridge, and then flowed back to their respective paths along the same bridge.

Both sides hit it off immediately, with little resistance and almost no rejection reaction.

The new module took root in Baruch's magic circuit.

After calming down, the bluish-white light near the eight eyes gradually receded, eventually shrinking into dense, tiny white dots scattered around the eight amber-colored pupils.

It's pure white and inconspicuous; it's usually just a thin layer that you can only see when you get close.

Regulus withdrew his hand and looked at it.

The fire lizard's reaction was passive; the magic was channeled in, and when Baruch encountered fire, his fire affinity was automatically activated. He didn't need to learn or be taught; he was no longer afraid of things he was naturally afraid of. It's that simple.

This time it was proactive; the magic had been connected, but how to use it was something it had to figure out on its own.

Baruch clearly sensed the extra thing on him, tilting his head and darting his eight eyes around as if searching for where the new thing was hidden.

It tried to reach it, but couldn't; it tried again, but still failed.

It was a little anxious; its chelipeds clicked twice, and its eight legs fidgeted restlessly on the velvet mat.

Regulus didn't urge it.

Using something instinctively feels natural, but learning new skills requires practice; these are two different things.

Baruch tried a few more times, closing his eyes and opening them again, turning his head in different directions.

For what seemed like the umpteenth time, the white spots around its eight eyes suddenly lit up, and the pure white halo became even brighter, shining through its shell and covering its eight amber eyes.

Its body stiffened, and all eight legs fell still, as if it too was startled by the light that had been turned on.

Then it stopped. It sensed something, but not in the nest, outside the depression.

The nest was surrounded by spider webs and rocks, with no vegetation. To see the results, we had to go outside.

Regulus patted Baruch's back armor: "Let's go, let's go out and try it."

Baruch got up and moved his eight legs quickly, rushing to the entrance of the nest. He peered into the depression and saw Aragog and the spider swarm still lying in wait at a distance.

Then it took long strides and crawled out of the depression, with Regulus following behind and Hermes also coming out.

He watched the whole thing from inside the lair, extracting, replicating, rewriting, casting spells, and buffering.

He couldn't understand the magical manipulations, but he saw the result: white spots appeared around Baruch's eyes.

He now wants to know what these white spots are for.

Outside the depression, the canopy of the forbidden forest closed overhead, not letting in a single ray of light.

Regulus estimated that about one or two hours had passed since he entered the nest.

He glanced at the surrounding trees to confirm his location.

Aragok saw Regulus come out and tried to go forward, but just as he propped himself up, Regulus glanced in his direction and Aragok stopped.

It lay back down, no longer looking in Regulus's direction, its eight eyes following Baruch from the edge of the depression to the forest clearing.

It noticed a change; something had appeared around Baruch's eyes—a pale white that shone with a faint light.

It's different from when we first entered the nest; it's changed again.

This offspring is different again.

Baruch ignored Aragog and climbed straight out of the depression, heading towards a tree-lined area a little further away. Aragog followed him.

Emerging from the depression, Baruch stopped in a forest clearing, standing in front of an old tree, his eight legs buried in the soft, decaying leaves, his spider head slightly raised.

It was the first time it had truly sensed the things around it, and it was stunned.

The white dots around the eight eyes suddenly lit up, and the pure white halo rippled outwards in circles, standing out conspicuously among the dark red bristles.

"...The tree...is talking..."

Its voice was intermittent, filled with the wonder of discovering a new world.

It quieted down, its eight legs motionless, and the entire spider turned towards the direction of the trees to listen.

The white dots grew brighter and brighter, and halos flowed outwards from the eight eyes, reaching out to touch them.

The trees in the entire forest, their roots intertwined in the soil, their branches rubbing against each other in the wind, each one emanating something extremely light and indistinct.

Alive, standing, growing upwards.

It never knew that the forest was alive, never knew that the silent trees had been whispering something all along.

It listened intently, its eight eyes filled with growing astonishment.

Then, that bit of surprise gradually froze.

Its chelipeds slowly drooped down, its forelegs, which had been swinging halfway, stopped in mid-air before falling back to the ground.

The spider lowered its head, and the white spots around its eight eyes were still lit, but the light no longer spread outward; it had receded and converged inward.

It heard something else; the surrounding trees didn't like it.

"...Trees...don't like...spiders..."

Baruch turned to look at Regulus, his rough voice full of grievance, listless, his chelipeds completely closed and pressed against his lower jaw.

Then I turned back to look at the trees; their eight legs were still stuck in the decaying leaves, motionless.

Regulus looked at the aggrieved Baruch and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Trees certainly don't like spiders; the giant eight-eyed spider is an invasive species in the Forbidden Forest, which is not surprising.

They spin webs to occupy land, prey on and destroy things, build nests among tree roots, and entangle tree trunks with spider silk.

Trees have a longer memory than any other living thing; they remember that this thing shouldn't be here.

When Baruch first heard about the forest where he had lived his whole life, he eagerly went over to talk to it, only to hear a word of disdain.

The transformation was successful, and the results were even more direct than expected.

But connecting with magic is just opening a window; whether the things outside recognize it is another matter.

The first step to getting plants to stand with you is to hear their voice, even if they say "get out."

Whether the feedback mechanism can be tested on Baruch in the future depends on whether this spider can gradually change the minds of the plants and trees in this forest.

Baruch, this crucial task rests on your shoulders.

He stepped forward, reached out and patted Baruch's big head, softening his voice as he coaxed it, "You're different. They don't know you're a good spider. Once you get to know each other, they won't dislike you anymore."

Baruch raised his spider head, and eight amber eyes stared at him, looking pitiful: "Really?"

Regulus nodded, his face full of certainty: "Really."

It then asked, "...Baruch...good spider?"

Regulus smirked at it: "Good spider."

Baruch was immediately appeased.

Its chelipeds reopened, making a series of clicking sounds, and its eight legs bounced up and down, its front legs flailing.

"Baruch...good spider! Regulus...good spider!"

It became happy and couldn't help but turn its head to look at the trees. The halo of light brightened, and it made up its mind to get along well with them.

Hermes watched from the sidelines the whole time.

He could see the result: Regulus modified Baruch, giving it an additional ability, which was easy to understand.

A spider, which was initially unafraid of fire, now has glowing white spots around its eyes and can talk to trees.

Change it once, and you'll have something else too.

But he couldn't understand the methods.

Now he stared at Baruch, and the white dots around his eight eyes lit up again.

Its dark red bristles, the reddish-brown markings at the joints, the scaly keratinous layer on its carapace, and now these white spots make it look less and less like an eight-eyed giant spider.

His eyes betrayed his undisguised enviousness.

Then he looked at Regulus and said directly, "I want this too."

Regulus turned to look at him, his brow furrowing slightly.

This method, originating from the book "Transfiguration: Beyond Form," was originally designed for human use.

The book is full of descriptions of human transformations, but when applied to Baruch, they are used in a negative way.

Hermes is a human, a wizard, and the one he needs to raise as a source of strength; it's not impossible to use him.

But what this guy actually asked for was for him to have a turn too.

It's not "Regulus, teach me this," "How is this done?" or "I want to learn," it's "I want this too."

That's where the difference lies.

Hermes was gifted and had a direct desire for power; he would chase after anything he wanted, which was his strength.

But his focus on power was always on becoming stronger, not on understanding it.

He was made to practice magic manipulation, and he did so because Regulus made him. As for himself, he had no intention of figuring out what magic manipulation was all about.

He was made to practice Occlumency, and he did so, following the three steps exactly as Regulus instructed, never asking why.

He obeys and carries out orders, but he doesn't think about it.

Now that I've seen this technique, a wizard who wants to climb the ranks should naturally think, "Teach me this skill."

Once you've learned it, it's yours to use in the future, and you can also share it with others.

Hermes, however, was thinking, "Change it for me too."

He wants results, not methods.

Baruch is a spider and can only passively accept being transformed, while Hermes is not a spider.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he positioned himself as if he were a spider.

Not satisfied.

"You want to learn," Regulus looked at him, his tone harsh and merciless, "or you want to be reformed by me?"

After asking the question, he ignored Hermes and turned to look at Baruch.

Hermes stood there, stunned, his brow furrowing.

Want to learn? Want to be transformed?

All he wants is to become stronger. Baruch became stronger, and he also wants to become stronger. What's the difference?

He always did the same thing: Regulus would teach him if he could, and ignore him if he couldn't. That's how it always was.

Why is this the reaction this time?

He didn't understand immediately.

Regulus made his statement and then left it at that.

He had no choice but to figure it out himself.

He never liked to think about these things.

But now that Regulus had asked him, he had no choice but to think about it.

If you want to learn, you have to learn and practice on your own, just like practicing black magic. You have to recite the spells yourself, adjust the magic yourself, and bear the consequences yourself if you make a mistake.

To be reformed means letting others do the work while you don't have to think about anything or take any responsibility, just lying there waiting for the result.

So, Regulus wasn't rejecting him?