The bright light pulsed rhythmically, approaching step by step, growing brighter with each one.
Hermione wanted to go in, but Weilan pulled her back, wanting to retreat.
Weilan’s concerns were not unfounded.
If the sound of the Goblin language being chanted could incite a desire for battle, then anyone emerging from the cave might harm them.
“#*&€..%…”
The sound from the cave grew sharper and louder, carrying a maliciousness that pierced the eardrums, causing the anger in Weilan’s heart to surge.
The metal gears on the cave walls began to turn with the chanting, creaking and groaning.
A heavy, sturdy metal door slowly descended from the top of the cave.
Hermione ignored his attempts to stop her, determined to go inside.
Weilan really wanted to punch her.
“No, no, this is the influence of the Goblin language.”
“The Ear-Shrivelling Charm and Silver Protection are barely holding it off; I must forcibly remove Hermione.”
“Hermione cannot enter this cave! If she goes in, she’ll never come out.”
Weilan steeled himself, crossing his left arm across her chest and supporting her thighs with his right hand, using his strength to lift Hermione horizontally.
The metal door had already descended more than halfway.
Weilan saw that the bright light in the darkness was shaking more violently, and a blurry human figure was rapidly running, holding the light.
Hermione struggled in Weilan’s arms.
Weilan carried Hermione, retreating step by step, wanting to quickly drag her away from this dangerous place.
Just as the door was about to hit the ground, a loud “Clang—” suddenly rang out, so deafening that even the chanting of the Goblin language couldn’t drown it out.
The door was stuck and stopped descending.
Someone slid out with a slide tackle, emerging from the gap between the door and the ground.
Weilan looked closely and found that the person who came out was Professor Dumbledore.
However, his agile movements were beyond Weilan’s expectations.
Standing still, Professor Dumbledore calmly brushed the dust from his grey robes and waved his wand again.
Another “Clang—” echoed loudly.
The door hit the ground, and the light and shadows shifted.
The metal door transformed into the appearance of a giant stone, sealing the entire cave tightly.
The chanting of the Goblin language disappeared.
Hermione put her arms around Weilan’s neck.
Their eyes met, a little awkwardly.
“Cough, cough, cough—”
Hermione seemed to be choking on something, coughing repeatedly, her entire face and neck turning bright red.
She flipped out of Weilan’s arms and stood properly in front of Professor Dumbledore.
Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore had, by a “coincidence,” become interested in a ladybug on a blade of grass just moments before.
He observed the ladybug intently, only looking away after Hermione had stood properly.
“Hello, Professor Dumbledore.
May I ask what fruit was the password you told me for your office last time?”
Weilan looked at Professor Dumbledore’s calm and amiable face, speaking with a hint of probing.
“It’s ‘Quill Sugar’.”
Weilan felt relieved.
This was indeed Professor Dumbledore, not some other strange entity.
Professor Dumbledore did not blame Weilan for his strange question.
He waved his hand, signaling for the two of them to follow him down the mountain.
Although Professor Dumbledore only walked in small steps ahead, Weilan and Hermione had to jog to keep up with him:
“Weilan.
I truly didn’t expect to meet you and Hermione here.
Would you mind telling me why you’ve come?”
“Well, Professor…”
He and Hermione roughly explained what had happened.
“I see.
Weilan, you led a classmate on a dangerous trip up the mountain, so Gryffindor must lose twenty points.”
“For violating legal regulations and using magic outside of school, Gryffindor must lose another fifty points.”
Weilan lowered his head, kicking a stone at his feet, remaining silent.
“But you caught the culprit of the robbery and helped these Squibs who were misled by Gannag.”
“And at a critical moment, you used the Ear-Shrivelling Charm, allowing Mr. McCarthy of the Magical Enforcement Team, Ron, Hermione, and those Squib villagers to regain their senses, thereby preventing an impending tragedy.”
“Your actions will earn Gryffindor one hundred points.”
Weilan looked at Professor Dumbledore in surprise, finding that the cerulean eyes behind his half-moon spectacles were now smiling as they met his own.
They crossed another large rock.
“But Weilan, I hope you understand that you have violated the Reasonable Restriction on Underage Wizards Act, and a letter of accountability from the Ministry of Magic will be on my desk within days.”
“Therefore, as a personal punishment for you, I need you to help me research something for the foreseeable future.”
Weilan understood the hidden meaning in Professor Dumbledore’s words.
The punishment was likely not the true objective; the item he hoped Weilan would research was the main priority.
“Here, it’s this.”
Professor Dumbledore stopped, extended his hand, and held a coin between his fingertips, shaking it in the sunlight.
Professor Dumbledore was not in a hurry to hand the coin to Weilan.
He put the coin back into his pocket and instead began to speak about what he had seen in the ruins.
“It is said that the great Wizard Merlin, who was skilled in ‘time’ magic, sealed Gannag, the Goblin King who brought chaos and strife, deep within the ruins.”
“On the stone walls of the ruins, I deciphered some knowledge—about the method Merlin used to seal Gannag.
Would you like to hear it, Weilan?
I believe it might be useful to you.”
Weilan nodded.
So Professor Dumbledore, in a powerful, ancient tone, recounted the ancient knowledge from those stone walls:
“‘Chaos’ and ‘War’ represent a dynamic; only with the flow of ‘time’ will chaos breed and war begin.”
“When time stands still, those creatures impulsively attacking each other can only become motionless statues.”
“Therefore, ‘time’ inherently restrains ‘chaos’ and ‘war’; as long as a seal is made using a time-stopping spell, that arrogant Goblin King can only immediately be confined to a prison, becoming a helpless captive.”
After saying this, Professor Dumbledore closed his mouth and walked in silence, seemingly giving Weilan time to process.
【Absorbed important knowledge, Experience +3】
The suddenly flashing subtitle surprised and delighted Weilan, and he continued to look at his right eye’s field of vision.
【Experience Level: 2 (0/40)】
【magic Power: 6/60】
【Recharge Speed: 3 magic Power/hour】
【Skill: Minute Observation lv.2 (Active skill, consumes 8 magic Power per use, lasts for 10 minutes)】
(Skill effect: Can enhance subtle traces and magic traces that appear on an object over time, and based on this, re-enact scenes the object experienced in past time and space, while also re-enacting magic the object once cast, suffered, or experienced.)
【Skill: Seer lv.1 (Active skill, consumes 15 magic Power per use, 1 use, 12-hour cooldown)】
(Skill effect: After use, a coin divination can be performed.
Divination content is limited to events that have occurred in the past and are related to the diviner themselves, and the divination can only give ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers.
The specific method is to take any coin, with the numerical side being no and the reverse side being yes.
Clench it in your right hand, silently recite the divination question three times, then toss it; when the coin lands, the upward-facing side is the divination result.)
The trees by the roadside gradually grew denser.
The autumn wind covered the ground with a layer of scorched yellow fallen leaves.
Weilan stepped on them, listening to the rustling sound of the leaves, remaining silent for a long time.
The Golden Finger had upgraded.
Not only had the total magic Power and recharge speed increased, but the original Minute Observation had gained the ability to re-enact magic.
As for the new skill, Seer, Weilan pondered for a while before realizing that “divining the past” most likely meant divining things that had happened in the past but Weilan did not know about.
Perhaps it needed further upgrading for Seer to gradually divine the past, present, and future.
But, for now, this skill was absolutely practical!
Many tricks and schemes attempting to deceive would lose their effectiveness in front of Weilan.
This was exhilarating good news.
He enjoyed it for a while before remembering to continue asking:
“So, Professor Dumbledore, did you discover anything else in the Goblin ruins?”
“Also, Professor Dumbledore, this ruin seems to corrode one’s mind, making people unreasonably irritable and belligerent.
Aren’t you afraid of these things?”