Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 167 It's still no problem to fool children.

There's a saying among Muggles: If something looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it is a duck.

However, this statement does not apply in the magical world, because magic can truly transform one species into the appearance of another, even transcending the distinction between living and inanimate objects.

While talking to Rice, who had just returned to the dormitory, Daphne felt that something was off. Then she suddenly realized that the flow of magic around Rice was not right.

After careful observation, Daphne became convinced that the Rice in front of her was a fake.

Then she took action without hesitation.

Regardless of whether the counterfeit was made by Rice or not, Daphne was determined to take drastic measures.

If it really was a spy with ulterior motives who infiltrated the Slytherin common room, then Daphne felt she had a clear conscience. If the fake was something Rice himself had made, then Daphne would feel even more justified in giving him a good beating.

Daphne was surprised to find that taking action had all the advantages and no disadvantages, so she made up her mind instantly: she would let the enemy or Rice know that she, Daphne, was also a witch with fighting power!

She raised her hand and unleashed a basic attack spell.

However, although the spell was basic, its destructive power was by no means weak. Moreover, Daphne started her attack extremely quickly, and most wizards couldn't react in time, let alone Rhys's avatar, which acted almost entirely on simple logic and instinct.

The next moment, the heart part of Rice's fake body was pierced by a spell.

For an ordinary wizard, this would be a fatal wound, but this was a fake body made of magic and mud, so Rice's fake body could still move.

Seeing that her spell had failed to kill her opponent, Daphne continued her attack without hesitation. However, all of her subsequent attacks were blocked by Rice. The moment she was hit, Rice transferred her consciousness back to the fake body and controlled it to block Daphne's subsequent extremely fierce attacks.

"Excellent awareness, fantastic attacking techniques, Daphne Greengrass, you should stop!" Rice said to Daphne.

Daphne didn't answer, but kept outputting information without stopping.

Rice was exasperated: If this continues, the magic stored in the fake body will be completely consumed by this girl!

"I really am Rice, stop right now! I can explain!" Rice dismissed several attack spells with a backhand, feeling a surge of annoyance: "If you keep being naughty, I'm really going to get angry."

Daphne finally stopped attacking.

After the relentless attacks ceased, Rice's anger gradually subsided, replaced by admiration for Daphne: her vigilance was truly commendable.

These are the qualities a wizard should have!

However, Daphne's cessation of attack did not mean she had let her guard down. Her wand was still pointing at Rice's avatar, while her other hand gripped her necklace.

Obviously, once she continues to sense something amiss, she will immediately unleash her most powerful attack, employing a two-pronged approach to ensure that the "person" in front of her is dealt with thoroughly.

Once the attack spell on the necklace Rice gave her is triggered, only one of Rice's avatar and the Slytherin common room can remain.

Wait a moment……

Rice suddenly realized something.

"Calm down! Don't cast the spell from the necklace in here!" He was starting to panic: the Slytherin common room was below the surface of the Black Lake, and when Rice made the necklace, the power of the offensive magic attached to it was not reduced at all.

Although Hufflepuff had cast defensive magic on the castle walls and windows, Rice hadn't bothered to try attacking them, so he didn't know the maximum defensive capacity of the castle walls and windows.

More importantly, Rice felt that these spells probably hadn't been maintained much in the past thousand years—this was far too difficult for a little wizard who didn't even understand the flow of magic, and who knew how much defense was left.

If Daphne's spell accidentally hits the wall of the lounge, or worse, the window...

With a bit of bad luck, the entire Slytherin House would have been submerged underground by the lake, resulting in the complete annihilation of the house. With a bit of luck, Slytherin would have had to move out of their thousand-year-old common room—it had become a dangerous building!

Seeing that the imposter before her knew the secrets of the necklace, Daphne couldn't help but relax a little: this meant that the other party was most likely something that Rice had conjured up.

This made Daphne even more annoyed: Rice really... didn't treat her as a helper at all! She could have been helpful too!

Otherwise, why would she practice spells so diligently? She could have just given up.

Rice considered for a moment and made a decision.

"I'll be going out of town for a couple of days. Can you help me control this fake body?" Rice decided to hand over control of the fake body to Daphne.

Rice trusted Daphne more than Ravenclaw, who had lost all credibility with him.

"It's not difficult. It can act on instinct and answer simple questions. You'll only need to intervene in special circumstances—and the probability of that happening is very low," Rice said before Daphne could refuse.

Daphne really wanted to refuse, because she would rather go on an adventure with Rice than control the fake body.

Kreis's next words touched her.

"You're the person I trust the most. I believe you can complete this task, right?" Rice unleashed his ultimate move.

The effect was remarkable; Daphne's attention was immediately shifted from "I'm going away for a few days" to "the person I trust most".

Daphne: "W-Is this real? Am I really the person you trust the most?"

"Of course!" Rice nodded without hesitation—he wasn't exactly lying; when it came to taking care of the fake body, Rice truly trusted Daphne the most—she was far more reliable than Ravenclaw.

Daphne's face flushed with excitement, and she eagerly agreed to Rice's request, promising to help him control the avatar when necessary while Rice was away from campus.

"That's great." Rice smiled slightly: he was now gradually figuring out the knack of soothing children.

He first repaired the damaged parts of the fake body, and then transferred control of the fake body to Daphne.

First do this, then do that, and you'll be able to control this body!

The operation was not complicated. After about ten minutes, Daphne was able to smoothly control the clone of Rais created by the Transfiguration spell.

"Very good." After praising Daphne, Rice completely disconnected from the fake body.

Next, he needed to hurry to the places Vigo had mentioned.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Hehehe, here comes the second update!

(= ^ ^ ^)

I tried having the AI ​​draw a picture of Daphne again~ but, it looks strangely familiar...

Moreover, AI's control over age is really subtle.

(End of this chapter)