Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 442 Ravenclaw, the Creator Goddess, and Her Out-of-Control Life Alchemy

"What exactly happened?"

Faced with Salazar's persistent questioning, Rowena sighed and asked, "Salazar, have you ever heard of a chain reaction?"

Rice: ...

"Royna, you definitely used the time-tamper behind our backs," Rice said with absolute certainty.

Holy crap, how come you know about chain reactions after only a short time out? If Rowena hadn't used the Time-Turner, Rice would have gone to Dumbledore on the spot to request that his house be changed to Gryffindor.

Rowena blinked.

"Time is everything, I'm just saving time."

Rice sighed again: "You're just asking for trouble... Remember our agreement!"

Using a time-turner to read a book—that's very Ravenclaw-esque. But if it's just for reading, that's fine.

After criticizing Rowena's behavior, Rice said he had also heard of chain reactions.

Helga, standing to the side, used her magic to slowly draw a question mark in the air.

"A chain reaction is when the result of a reaction becomes the condition for the next reaction, thus forming a continuous chain of reactions." Seeing Helga seemingly rowing a lifeboat in a sea of ​​knowledge, Rice put it another way: "To put it simply, it's like an avalanche, but the kind that can't be stopped."

Helga understood then, and she realized the seriousness of the problem.

"That's right, the arena I created is now completely out of control. The alchemical life forms inside have evolved beyond my control." Rowena revealed the truth.

Due to the chain reaction, the proliferation of alchemical life forms exceeded Rowner's expectations. As a result, the alchemical life forms in the arena can not only reproduce on their own as Rowner had set, but their strength has also increased so much that Rowner can no longer erase them from the outside world.

"Things are terrible. That land has come to life. The [World Core] has even developed a faint instinct and will, which has caused me to lose control of it. The strength of the life forms born from it has also exceeded my expectations—they even possess domains, or rather, the entire land is a domain."

After listening to everything Rowena explained, Rice felt like swearing.

Rowena, you're a fucking genius!

Les knew all too well the significance of Rowena's experiment. In this experiment, Rowena played the role of a creator goddess, and she actually succeeded!

She created a complete microscopic world, but unfortunately, she eventually lost control of it.

The fact that her life alchemy had reached such a level truly amazed Rice.

This also reflects how boring it was in the dungeon, to the point that Rowena eventually came up with such an amazing experiment.

"I also used some raw materials that I collected in the dungeon..." Rowena even explained why her experiment was so successful.

"I really should thank you for telling the truth," Rice concluded, her sincerity bordering on sarcasm.

If Reina continues to conceal the truth, he'll be in big trouble once he enters the competition venue; he might suffer a great loss.

"Of course, of course." Rowena, who needed Salazar's help, had lost his previous arrogance and looked much more docile.

There's nothing we can do now but hope that Salazar can help her sort out this mess. Otherwise, if that little world continues to develop, who knows what it will become?

"So what do I need to do?" Rice wasn't fooled by Rowena's obedient appearance. As a lifelong friend, he knew Rowena's true nature all too well.

A sincere apology followed by a repeat offense—that's her style.

Before Rowena could answer, Rice began talking to himself.

"You're not asking me to destroy the world, are you?" Rice rubbed his hands together.

If that's the case, then could I... reopen my long-sealed experiments?

Rowena glanced at Salazar, whose emotions had suddenly shifted, and immediately understood.

"Yes, that's right. Please, Salazar, I need you to destroy that little world you created from the inside out," Rowena continued, following Salazar's lead.

Helga, standing to the side, frowned slightly: something seemed off, and she wanted to observe further.

"In fact, this is just like a battle between domains. You need to seize the domain authority of that small world as much as possible. The more you seize, the more the world's core is weakened. Once it weakens to a certain extent, I can forcibly restart it from the outside."

The reboot that Rowena mentioned means erasing all alchemical life forms in the alchemical world, formatting the core of the alchemical world, and starting everything anew.

She did this many times in the dungeon, until she went too far.

"Seize power?" Rice frowned.

"Something akin to a domain. Within a small world, a portion of alchemical lifeforms have acquired the authority over that world, allowing them to expand their domains like the esoteric monks who have fused with divine remains. By killing them, you can reclaim that authority."

There are four types of powers. Initially, there was only the power of wind, but later, due to a sudden change in the world and the addition of a small amount of material, the powers of earth, fire, and water were also incorporated. These four elements constitute the core of the world, which then distributes fragments of the powers to alchemical lifeforms. Salazar, your mission is to reclaim these powers and weaken the power of the world's core.

Rowena further explained.

Rice felt he understood.

Rowena sighed, "I meant well, wanting to use this competition as an opportunity for the children to try to learn about the flow of magic and explore the mysteries of the realm, but things have gotten a little out of my control."

"This is more than just a little..." Rice thought to herself.

However, after hearing Rowena's account, Rice felt that he really had to step in and help Rowena solve the problem.

The loss of control over the alchemical world is secondary; the key is that he can take this opportunity to study things he wouldn't normally be able to.

"It's a deal. I'll go back and make some preparations—you should have explained everything clearly by now, right?"

Rowena nodded repeatedly.

"That's good." Rice left Helga's office.

Watching Rice's departing figure, Helga shook her head inwardly. She could tell that Salazar wanted to do more than just help Rowena solve her problem, but what could she do?

Is there any way to stop him? We're counting on him to do the work!

Back in the common room, Rice found the atmosphere unusually lively. Many Slytherin girls were gathered around Daphne and Astoria, eager to say a few words to them and offer them some encouragement.

This style is very un-Slytherin, but it's understandable because Daphne and Greengrass carry the hopes of the entire house.

As for Rice, since he usually keeps a low profile and his background is not as illustrious as Daphne's, not many people bother him.

Rice was happy to have some free time and took the opportunity to run back to his dormitory.

Having learned the truth about the match from Reina, he is now considering whether to make some preparations.

"Should I wear that staff?" A bold idea rose in Rice's mind.

He and three other old friends each possessed a magical artifact made from the essence of a deity. Rhys was considering whether to use that one—a wand with the core of Jormungandr's brain nerves and the body of mistletoe bathed in the blood of the god of light, Baal.

The thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before he dismissed it: the staff was too dangerous; he could easily lose control under its influence. If he lost control in the alchemical world, everything would be over, and the contestants would suffer widespread damage.

However, even if he didn't bring a staff, he could bring something else. After all, Rowena had told him that although the beings in the alchemical world possessed abilities similar to domains, they were still inferior to true domain wizards in terms of resilience.

After making his decision, Rice left his dorm room and headed straight for his private room.

While Rice was diligently preparing for the match the next day, Helga's office welcomed a new guest.

Dumbledore pushed open the door to Professor White's office.

"A very interesting door knocker." His first words had nothing to do with Gryffindor; instead, he talked about the office doorknob.

"Professor Arias helped me with it."

Dumbledore's eyebrows twitched: that door knocker looked exactly like the one at the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room.

Aside from the different animals, they are practically identical.

I'm happy to see that you're getting along well with your new colleagues.

Helga waved her hand casually. She got along well with Rowena? Well, most of the time, but sometimes she really wanted to strangle him.

She believed Salazar thought the same thing, and much more frequently than she did.

"The Gryffindor who showed up today is quite an interesting fellow," Helga said, bringing up a topic that Dumbledore was interested in.

"Oh? Professor White, do you have some unique insights?" Dumbledore found a chair and sat down, taking up this interesting topic.

"It's nothing, I'm just excited to see this legendary wizard in person. He's the founder of Hogwarts, and I've never seen him before."

Dumbledore simply nodded and smiled.

"I wonder why he came back to Hogwarts. Surely he can't really be here to lead the team to victory?" Helga and Dumbledore laughed together at this point.

Dumbledore felt he had gotten the answer he wanted. Professor White's attitude towards the man who claimed to be from Gryffindor was quite thought-provoking.

And she's right, what is that person's purpose in coming back? He had been missing for the past thousand years, so why has he suddenly reappeared?

Could a single championship tournament really attract him to show up?

The entire Hogwarts was shrouded in a restless atmosphere. Dumbledore was chatting with Professor White, students were discussing the competition and the Hogwarts founder who had suddenly appeared, independent contestants were touring Hogwarts, and the headmasters of other schools were also busy with their own plans.

Some of them were chatting with students from their own schools, while others went to the professors at Hogwarts, trying to extract information about the competition from them.

The most unique among them is Karkarov.

In the dimly lit underground classroom, Karkaroff blocked the classroom door, while Snape stood in front of the materials cabinet against the wall, organizing the magical materials needed for the class.

Watching Snape slowly and methodically straighten the dried nettles one by one, Karkaroff felt his anger rising rapidly.

"Severus, I think I have something much more important to discuss than packing potion ingredients. If you need it, I can do it with a single spell—"

"Using magic to manipulate potion ingredients is a common mistake for beginners. Your spells will interfere with the properties of the potion ingredients. Something worth tens of gallons could be ruined by you."

Karkarov's tone faltered, and then his entire demeanor weakened considerably.

He said in an almost pleading voice, "Severus, it's fully activated, you know, he's back."

"But he was chased away, wasn't he?" Snape said, sounding a little impatient.

"Yes, that's why I haven't run away yet, but that mysterious powerful figure didn't kill him!" Karkaroff was extremely agitated. He was the wizard who most wanted Voldemort dead, even more so than most Aurors.

"He hasn't summoned us yet."

"But that could happen at any time—"

"Then run away. I'll make an excuse for you, but I want to stay at Hogwarts."

Karkaroff scratched his head: he felt that he and Snape were in the same boat, both of them had betrayed the Dark Lord, which was why he had come to negotiate with Snape.

Judging from Snape's expression, is he determined to settle down at Hogwarts? Well, Dumbledore is here, and if I had the opportunity, I would have made the same choice.

Karlov clearly cannot follow Snape's path.

"At worst, you can hide in Durmstrang's castle. It won't be easy for him to find you, and you're not his top priority."

Snape's words tempted Karkaroff, who decided to stay at Hogwarts for a while during the tournament to see if things would turn around—maybe the Dark Lord would be found and killed by that mysterious man?

……

In the tense atmosphere, half a day passed quickly.

Early the next morning, the principals of each school led their students to the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. Hundreds of independent players also arrived at the same time.

Rice and Daphne, naturally, also walked onto the field yawning.

"How's the preparation going?"

"We're guaranteed to win!" Daphne said confidently.

"Don't be careless. This competition is not as simple as you think. Bring any good stuff you have. If you forgot anything, you can still go back and get it now."

"Everything is ready!" Daphne patted a small crossbody bag at her waist, which was filled with all the magical items she could collect to aid her in the competition.

"That's good." Rice nodded, said nothing more, and waited quietly for the other contestants to enter before the competition officially began.

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 delivered, goodnight everyone~

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(End of this chapter)