Chapter 125: Formation, Trouble, Power

Ciel's eyes suddenly became bright. The gloom that had been depressing him for several days was suddenly torn apart. He finally understood what the formation condition was for that ancient magic reward from Shadow Thorns. "Light—that's the key. Shadows can't exist without light, and the more intense the light, the deeper the shadows it casts. The greenhouse lighting system is deliberately diffused to promote healthy plant growth, but that means it can never generate the concentrated illumination needed. That's exactly why the Shadow Thorns reward kept wavering between existence and nothingness, never quite materializing." Having figured this out, Ciel's mood immediately became excited. He hurriedly left Hagrid's hut. He didn't even have time to harvest the newly matured batch of Goldfish Vines. He rushed back to the little greenhouse, eager to verify his hypothesis. Taking out that section of Shadow Thorns root, the information that appeared was exactly the same as before. [Extremely small amount of Ancient Shadow Magic insight (Black Iron Tier)]—this information was still flickering in and out. But immediately after, Ciel took out his wand. The Lumos charm he knew by heart. "Lumos!" An additional beam of light shone on the Shadow Thorns. The reward information was still flickering, but his gaze shifted slightly as he noticed something. This time, the information appeared for a longer duration. "It's working. But ordinary Lumos is still too weak? Try strengthening the intensity of Lumos?" Soon, another Lumos burst from his wand tip. Bright light like a powerful flashlight shone on the Shadow Thorns again. This time the effect was immediate. The reward information lasted nearly twice as long as before. The previously vague text was now much clearer. But it still hadn't completely formed. Still in a flickering state. Ciel frowned slightly. Regular Lumos at this brightness was already quite extreme. Still not enough? Suddenly, his mind recalled his previous attempts after Lumos advanced to the Platinum tier. Adjusting the magical particles inside Lumos. Tuning their frequencies to be consistent. This could produce light beams far exceeding Lumos's brightness and concentration. In his conception, this might eventually evolve into something like a "Laser Charm." But his magical perception was still far too lacking at the time. So this idea had never been attempted again. And now, although his magical perception had improved, the "Laser Charm" concept definitely still couldn't be realized. But following this conceptual direction, the light beam produced might be able to make the Shadow Thorns reward completely form. With this thought, Ciel took a deep breath. "Lumos!" The third Lumos was cast. This time, he focused all his attention inside the Lumos charm. Numerous micro-Lumos charms appeared in his mind. These countless particles were each emitting light at different frequencies, ultimately manifesting Lumos's properties macroscopically. And now... Ciel held his breath and concentrated. Using the frequency light charm techniques he learned from Professor Flitwick, he adjusted as many particles' frequencies as possible. Making them as close to the same frequency as possible. At this time, compared to when he first attempted this technique, his magical perception had advanced from Silver to Gold tier. Plus many spell masteries had also advanced to the Platinum tier. He had recently entered the door of Transfiguration. His understanding of spells' microscopic levels far exceeded the past. He easily reached his previous limit. A small portion of the particles in Lumos instantly entered the same frequency. This manifested as the light gushing from his wand tip becoming several times more concentrated than before. The brightness also suddenly soared. A beam of light, like a searchlight, directly hit the Shadow Thorns. Immediately, the reward information on Shadow Thorns became unprecedentedly clear. Except for imperceptible flickering, it had almost completely formed. The shadow cast by Shadow Thorns under this light beam was also unprecedentedly deep and black. For a moment, Ciel even seemed to see these shadows writhing on their own, as if about to come alive? His eyes immediately burst with strange light. This shadow... could it be the part related to the Ancient Shadow Magic reward in Shadow Thorns? "But it's still a bit short. This brightness still isn't enough? If it's not enough, let me try harder." After a moment, Ciel exceeded his previous limit. Nearly half of the Lumos particles began synchronizing frequencies. The Lumos beam shrank considerably compared to before. But the brightness at the center had reached a level impossible to look at directly. One glance was like having that dazzling mark burned into the retina. Of course, though he had only increased the number of controlled particles by nearly double, the burden increased exponentially. In just one or two seconds, sweat beads the size of soybeans appeared on his forehead. Like an athlete desperately trying to solve a complex spatial geometry problem. Nearly overloading! Fortunately, in this brief time, the Shadow Thorns reward information finally completely formed. Even after the light beam from his wand tip disappeared, the text no longer flickered in and out. Even the iron luster on it was much richer than before. Seeing this scene, Ciel finally breathed a sigh of relief. He sat tiredly on the ground, rubbing his temples that ached from excessive mental strain. The small greenhouse now appeared noticeably dimmer than it had before. Had his eyes grown accustomed to the intense light he'd just experienced, making the regular illumination seem inadequate by comparison? Then Ciel suddenly came to his senses. His gaze fixed on that Shadow Thorns root. Or rather, on its shadow under the light. Without the strong light from before, Shadow Thorns' shadow was still so pitch black and deep. Even under his gaze, the shadow really began to writhe like a living thing. Then Shadow Thorns' shadow suddenly extended toward Ciel. Shadows intertwined, like some monster opening its bloody maw, letting out an ancient roar. He suddenly widened his eyes, instinctively gripping his wand. At the same time, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Quirrell stumbled and emerged from a corner. Walking hurriedly with a pale expression toward the castle. In his mind echoed Voldemort's cold, angry voice. "Quirrell. Why are you borrowing my power again? The unicorn hasn't been found yet, and this is already the third time." Quirrell's face showed fear and some resentment. He gritted his teeth and conversed with Voldemort in his mind. "Master. There are really too many dangers in the Forbidden Forest. Earlier I went to a place to look for unicorns, and there was actually a group of Acromantulas there. This is definitely that half-breed Hagrid's doing! Also, every night, Hogwarts professors act like they have nothing better to do. They actually take turns patrolling the Forbidden Forest." Speaking of this, Quirrell was grinding his teeth in hatred. "How many Galleons do these professors make per month? They have to patrol the castle and guard the Forbidden Forest edge. That old bastard Dumbledore is simply an old capitalist, exploiting professors like this... he should be hanged from a lamppost! Master, these professors patrolling the Forbidden Forest are causing me too much trouble, seriously affecting my progress in finding unicorns." Hearing Quirrell's complaints, Voldemort snorted coldly. But he didn't overly blame Quirrell. After all, he only had Quirrell as a useful subordinate now. The carrot-and-stick approach was something Voldemort was very familiar with. After a moment's contemplation, Voldemort's expression darkened with frustration. "We have no alternative. Without locating that unicorn soon, my diminished power won't be sufficient to overcome the protections ahead. Quirrell, compose an anonymous message to Lucius Malfoy. Instruct him to create a distraction at Hogwarts—something significant enough to draw Dumbledore and the other professors away from their vigilance. For the content, write exactly this... I'll also show you a method to deliver it untraceably, directly into Lucius's hands." Hearing this, Quirrell was immediately overjoyed. "Yes, Master. As long as Lucius Malfoy can do something useful and distract those professors, I will definitely find the unicorn." Then Quirrell, back in his room, immediately disguised his handwriting and wrote a letter. He waved his wand. The letter burned to nothing in a strange black flame. At this time, in the magnificent Malfoy Manor, Lucius Malfoy suddenly gripped his wand, his face pale. He stared at the black flames on the desk before him. And the letter gradually forming in the flames. Fear that had been absent for years surged through his heart again. This method of sending letters... Lucius had only seen it once in all these years. "Hiss..." Somehow, the Dark Mark on his arm seemed to phantom ache. Lucius stood frozen for a long time. His gaze lingered on the contact information for the Ministry and Dumbledore. But finally, his gaze passed over the Malfoy family photo on the desk. His mind filled with the scene of this strange letter, completely ignoring the Malfoy family's defensive magic. He still used trembling hands to carefully pick up the letter. The content made Lucius pause. Then he let out a long breath. His whole body nearly collapsed. His face was full of relief at surviving a disaster. Great. The letter's content wasn't asking him to kill someone. Or to convene another Death Eater gathering. It was merely asking him to use his influence as a school board member to cause some trouble for Hogwarts. Just keep Dumbledore and the professors busy for a while... that would be enough. Though it wasn't something he could do casually, compared to the worst-case scenario Lucius had imagined, this was much better. After a long time, recovering from his fear, Lucius began thinking about how to complete this task. Soon, the scene from today's Hogwarts Great Hall ceremony appeared in his mind. And before this award ceremony, there was his scene of objecting to giving Ciel Sprout the little greenhouse usage rights. To be honest, though Lucius Malfoy had heard from Draco that he had suffered many losses at Ciel's hands, his previous objection was partly to vent for his son. But more importantly, it was to assert the school board's presence. Otherwise, if everything went so smoothly, would there be any need for the school board to exist? Occasional opposition, regardless of results or the proposal itself, was something the school board had to do. Just like Dumbledore would occasionally yield to the board's objections, taking back certain proposals to revise before resubmitting. It was all unspoken understanding. But now, Lucius had no choice. He really had to cause trouble for Hogwarts from this angle. Otherwise, the one in trouble might be the Malfoy family. Lucius's eyes betrayed his fear as he obediently began composing the letter. "Dear..." "Dear Father?! What? What did you call me?" In the little greenhouse, Ciel had originally been fully on guard against the shadows extending from Shadow Thorns. He had even gripped his wand. But when those intertwining shadows spelled out the word "father" on the ground before him, his brain couldn't help but short-circuit. The Shadow Thorns' shadow seemed to nod, spelling out another line of shadow-formed text. "Father." Even the magical aura emanating from Shadow Thorns visibly became more cheerful. After observing for a long time, Ciel could finally confirm. Shadow Thorns hadn't undergone some dark magic transformation. It was truly expressing emotion, treating him as "father." His expression grew troubled and uncertain. "I'm aware that many magical plants possess emotions. Some can even speak and display intelligence rivaling that of humans. Yet every text I've studied on Shadow Thorns contains no mention of such capabilities. Could the Deathly Hallow's influence, combined with its absorption of Ancient Shadow Magic, have transformed my cultivated specimen into an entirely new subspecies? One with emotions, consciousness, and even rudimentary literacy?" Ciel gazed at his Shadow Thorns with a mixture of wonder and disbelief. Even though it felt incredibly weird, he found himself gradually accepting that the plant had decided he was its father. This was the British wizarding world, after all. Compared to everything else that happened here, maybe this wasn't so strange? More than becoming a father, Ciel was currently more curious about something else. His gaze fell on the dense shadows extending from Shadow Thorns. "Son. Ah no, I'll just call you Shadow. Your shadow... is this the so-called Ancient Shadow Magic?" Shadow Thorns' shadow swayed in confusion. Obviously, having just gained consciousness, it didn't know the term "Ancient Shadow Magic." So Ciel, after pondering, pointed to a stone not far away and gave a more direct command. "Use your shadow to attack it." The next moment, the shadow extending from Shadow Thorns surged, wrapping around the stone like a monster. Silently, the hard stone was torn to fragments. His eyes immediately showed a strange light. "This power?" [Chapter Complete] *** Want more? Check out my Patreon for: ✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories ✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics ✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl ???? 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