Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 393 Rice: I need to borrow something from you

Hermione left the lounge, taking with her a whole case of energy potions from Rice without any hesitation.

Clearly, the young girl wants to explore her field further.

Rice naturally had no objections; he also wanted to see the fully realized library domain.

After Hermione left, Astoria eagerly approached Rice, eager to share her thoughts.

"What's this about the ghostly figure Granger mentioned?"

Rice blinked. "I think it's an image left by someone who entered her territory."

"But she just said your phantom was greeting her!"

"Hmm." Rice lowered his head, lost in thought: The information Hermione brought out this time was truly astonishing. It seemed that as he entered the domain more often, the mark he left in the domain was also "evolving".

Last time, the phantom could only repeat its own actions, but this time it could greet Hermione. If I go in twice more, will the phantom be able to talk to Hermione? And if I go in many times, will the phantom created by the domain even be able to cast spells?

I wonder what the upper limit of the power of the phantom that Hermione's Domain can replicate is? If it can completely replicate his combat power, that would be too overpowered.

He even imagined the scene when Hermione summoned the phantoms of all four of them at once.

If that level of power could truly be achieved, Hermione's domain would have virtually limitless potential, but that would only exist in theory. Rice didn't believe Hermione's domain could withstand the combined might of the four of them going all out.

Another crucial point is whether the phantom is a copy of oneself or Hermione's impression of oneself—in other words, a manifestation of Hermione's memories.

Rice felt that this still needed to be observed. The difference between the two points was quite large. Since Hermione had never seen her at full strength, the strength of the phantom she conjured was absolutely worlds apart.

After sorting out his thoughts, Rice shared his ideas with Astoria.

"Clearly, the phantoms within Hermione's domain are developing. As we enter more often, their ability to act autonomously increases. Eventually, I believe that the phantoms of others, formed from Hermione's memories, should be able to move freely within her domain, and even use magic. It's a domain with considerable potential for growth."

As Rice explained, Astoria was overwhelmed with surprise. Her mouth opened slightly, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

Granger's domain sounds incredibly powerful!

"Then has my shadow been included as well?" she suddenly thought of this question.

"Of course, every time we use the domain together with Granger, it strengthens her domain and makes our phantoms within it more complete."

Hearing what Rice said, Astoria even considered giving up on Hermione's domain, but Rice hadn't finished speaking.

"The benefits of using Hermione's domain are also obvious; we can gain several extra hours every day. Maybe not out of thin air, but it's still tempting enough." In Rice's view, using Hermione's domain is a win-win situation.

They gained extra time, and Hermione reinforced her domain.

Why not?

"Well..." Astoria hesitated slightly.

"When Granger comes over later, we can enter the domain with her, right?" Rice said mischievously, looking at the still hesitant girl.

"You can still secretly compete in Granger's territory behind your sister's back, can't you?"

Astoria was immediately smitten.

I'm already way behind my sister, so if I learn from Granger's expertise, will I be able to narrow the gap between us? Or even... overtake her?

Now she was determined to use her domain with Hermione.

At the same time, she couldn't help but look forward to what her field would look like.

A renewed desire for the field arose in her heart.

In the days that followed, Hermione would find Rice and pull him into the Realm whenever she had recovered enough energy.

To make it easier for him to communicate with the girl, Rice also gave her a teleportation crystal ball. This way, Hermione could contact him promptly.

With each repetition, the illusion of Rass within Hermione's realm became increasingly vivid.

The current Phantom can not only greet Hermione when he sees her, but can even have simple conversations and exchanges with her.

For example, answering questions or something.

As time goes by, the NEWT and OWL exams are drawing ever closer.

Professors like Helga also got busy—her student Cedric was also taking exams this year as a fifth-grader, so she could be considered a stakeholder.

"Salazar, how's your plan going? Are you even preparing for the final exams?"

One Friday evening, Helga caught up with Rice, who had become increasingly elusive lately, in the auditorium and took him back to her office.

As soon as the office door closed, Helga couldn't wait to ask Rice about the preparations for the final exams.

When Helga brought this up, Rice's face stiffened: it was like when the end of the semester was approaching and his group members, who hadn't been active for half a semester, started asking about his project progress.

Even though he didn't write a single word, you didn't do anything either!

When questioned by Helga, Rice simply stated that he would definitely prepare. He explained that he had been busy lately and had been delayed, but he would take action when the time was right.

Helga looked on suspiciously: Salazar, are you serious? You're not just trying to fool me, are you? The school year is almost over!

Huh? Could this guy be secretly giving his students special training or intensive lessons?

But on second thought, Helga felt that Salazar probably wasn't that kind of person; he was probably just a little busy—if this were exposed, how could he face her and Rowena? He'd be laughed at for at least ten years!

"I really don't know what you, as a student, have to be so busy with," Helga muttered under her breath.

"You have the nerve to say that?!" Rice sprang up like a snake that had been stepped on. "Want me to give you a list of the parts I recently made for the doll?"

Helga chuckled and shut his mouth.

Salazar is quite talented at making doll parts; he makes them quickly and well, doing the work of three people. Plus, with the children needing to study for exams, Helga has given Salazar even more work.

Seeing that Helga had given in, Rice stopped pursuing the matter and instead asked about her preparations.

"I'm ready." Helga took out her wand, pointed to the wardrobe behind her, and the door popped open, revealing a doll standing quietly inside.

The doll has been fitted with a chainmail.

"A top-of-the-line Automaton, plus the Godric Armor. Even if Voldemort, whom they call him, came, I'm confident I could take him down with just this one puppet." Helga proudly introduced the Automaton she had specially prepared for the final exams to Rice.

Compared to the version sold to the public, this doll's service mode has been removed, and the extra space is used entirely to install combat modules.

In Helga's view, such a doll, paired with that Godric armor, was enough to defeat all the professors at Hogwarts except for her and Dumbledore.

There was a hole in the doll's neck, a gap that Helga had left to store the "good stuff" that Rice brought later.

Despite its formidable fighting power, the puppet seemed somewhat powerless against their students because it lacked a domain.

What Rice needs to do is to fix this weakness and, incidentally, add a touch of killing intent to it. And the raw materials for all of this will naturally be sponsored by the Secret Order.

"There's no time like the present, I'll go today." Rice felt that if this was delayed, he would have to do it himself anyway, so it was better to get it done sooner and let Helga arrange the follow-up operations.

"Okay." Helga had called Salazar over today precisely for this reason. Seeing that he had finally agreed, she was overjoyed.

She had already discussed it with Salazar. The Secret Order definitely had the ability to detect exposed divine remains. All they had to do was wait for them to come to them and directly open a seal that buried the divine remains to lure out the Secret Order monks.

The monks who were fished out were used as tools to strengthen the puppets.

"And what about the time?"

"After the final exams, I'll have Henry arrange to meet with Dumbledore—that'll be the perfect time to talk to him about the Multi-Force Tournament."

This trial might cause quite a commotion, so Dumbledore needs to be sent away. If Dumbledore suddenly appears and instantly kills the trial doll while Daphne and the others are locked in fierce combat, the scene wouldn't be pleasant.

Helga nodded.

"I'll leave these matters to you to arrange."

Rice stopped talking nonsense and walked straight out of the office.

This time, instead of returning to the lounge, he left the school and headed north, eventually arriving in Finland before midnight.

"After so long, it's really hard to find." Night had already fallen, and the Finnish countryside was pitch black. Rice had gone through quite a bit of trouble before finally finding a small hill where the remains of the gods were buried.

A spell ripped through the night sky, and the hill trembled. Earth and rocks collapsed, finally revealing a stone slab.

The stone slab was carved with four animals: a lion, a snake, a crow, and a badger. Rice reached out and poked the snake relief on it, and the snake relief came to life, wriggling its body and disappearing into the soil.

With the disappearance of the serpent carving, the reliefs of the other three animals also disappeared.

Rice casually tapped the stone slab, and it shattered into a pile of fragments, revealing a deep, dark opening. A thick, pungent stench of blood emanated from it, soaring into the sky.

As the cave entrance opened, a rustling sound echoed from the depths of the cave. A dozen seconds later, a swarm of blood-red worms crawled out of the entrance.

These insects were originally found in the cave, but they were mutated by the blood of the divine remains. Each one was dozens of times larger than an ordinary insect and was entirely blood red.

Rice ignored the insects, because they were already dead; what kept them moving was only the resentment emanating from the remains of the god.

Driven by resentment, the insects will try to stay away from the cave, but once the resentment dissipates, they will also vanish into thin air.

The real challenge is dealing with the big guy that's about to come out.

As the insects gradually disappeared, a strange friction sound echoed inside the cave.

Before it could even show itself, Rice unleashed several attack spells into the cave, instantly silencing it.

"Can't you just lie in the mud and rot away quietly..." Rice clicked his tongue, feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

The remains of those false gods slain back then still harbor resentment after a thousand years. Even though their divinity has mostly dissipated and their bodies have decayed, they still stirred the moment the seal was broken, attempting to escape and seek revenge against their old enemies.

Unfortunately, even if he does nothing, the remains will collapse on their own when the sun rises tomorrow morning—unless they are replenished with fresh flesh and blood.

After doing all this, Rice found a rock to sit on, cast a few concealment spells on himself, and quietly waited for the arrival of the secret order monks.

Rice didn't have to wait long.

As the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, accompanied by three loud bangs, three people dressed in hooded robes appeared on the hill.

The three walked in a hurry and did not notice Rice sitting to the side, hiding his figure.

"This should be it."

"Be careful, the divine remains inside may not have completely lost their vitality yet."

"Seriously, we already have enough divine remains in the organization, why do we have to come here to collect them?! This is practically working for the Finnish Ministry of Magic..."

The three of them complained as they slowly approached the cave entrance.

The closer they got to the cave entrance, the more solemn their expressions became. The Secret Order had collected countless divine remains, and the various unexpected situations they encountered could fill a book, so they couldn't afford to be careless.

"Exciting, exhilarating..."

"Yes, I also feel my heart beating very fast. This is my first time collecting divine remains."

"?!"

The leader of the trio's expression changed drastically, and a layer of sand instantly appeared on his body, but it was too late.

"Do you people from your secret order really like to travel in groups of three?" Rice's voice sounded behind him.

The leader immediately rushed into the cave. Possessing the Sand Domain ability, he instinctively wanted to run towards areas with deeper soil layers.

His choice was correct; the sand did indeed save his life, suppressing the restless blood in his body. But his two companions were not so lucky.

They stood frozen in place, and large and small bumps began to swell up on their skin, like boiling water.

Wave, wave!

With two loud bangs, two blobs of red liquid emerged from their bodies. The two esoteric monks, who had not yet awakened their domains, were instantly transformed into mummified, dried corpses.

Blood is also a liquid.

"It's a domain expert... I warn you, leave now and I can pretend nothing happened, and everything here is yours. But if you insist on doing something reckless, you will provoke an organization you shouldn't have messed with!" The secret cultist deep inside the cave already knew about the situation outside. After seeing Rice's actions, he immediately realized that the one targeting him was a powerful figure with a divine domain.

He didn't want to have a conflict with this kind of person—he had a bright future ahead of him and didn't want to fight to the death.

However, what he didn't know was that in Rice's mind, the mentally challenged had no right to bargain in front of the strong.

Rice tilted his head, surveyed the deep cave, and said, "Alright, leave the remains of the god on your body to me, and you can leave."

Monk: ...

The remains of a god were left behind?! This is to kill him!

Realizing the reality, he decided to take a gamble, but just then, a torrent of water rushed into the cave. It struck him with overwhelming force, knocking him unconscious.

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.

Update here~

Goodnight, babies.

(End of this chapter)