The next morning, June 1st, marked Children's Day.
Ted opened his eyes, and a system notification chimed instantly in his mind.
"Ding~ Talent [Otherworldly Knowledge (Gold)] triggered! Discovered [Grand Master Alchemist Balduran's Alchemy Notes (Blue)]."
[Grand Master Alchemist Balduran's Alchemy Notes (Blue)]
Description: Records the lifetime alchemical insights and experiences of a certain Blood Elf Alchemist.
Cost: 680 Experience Points.
"Wow... Blue quality," Ted whispered, impressed.
Anzu, nestled in his roost, opened one golden eye to glare at his master before tucking his head back under his wing.
Ted quickly dressed and headed down to the Gryffindor Common Room. It was early, and the room was deserted. He found a secluded table, pulled out a random library book as cover, and mentally confirmed the purchase.
680 Experience Points deducted.
That was roughly half the cost of the [Taoist Knowledge (Red)] he had acquired previously. If the Taoist knowledge was a foundation for a lifetime, this had to be substantial.
A flood of information surged through Ted's mind.
Visions flashed: A man with pale skin, long flowing blond hair, and sharp, pointed ears standing over a complex workbench. Green fel energy hummed in the background. Vials of bubbling liquids, ingots of glowing metals, intricate magical alloys, gem cutting, enchantment formulas...
The sheer volume of data was staggering.
When the headache subsided, Ted pieced together the identity of this "Balduran." The notes mentioned a falling out with a Prince (Kael'thas?), followed by a defection to a city in an alien world ruled by the Naaru—Shattrath City. There, Balduran had set up shop on the Scryer's Tier.
'Wait,' Ted blinked. 'The Scryers? This guy is a Blood Elf from World of Warcraft.'
Ted was initially confused. The notes covered everything: alchemy, enchanting, jewelcrafting, blacksmithing... it was all-encompassing.
'In the game, a player is limited to two professions. But this is a real person's life,' Ted realized. 'In reality, a High Elf living for centuries would naturally dabble in multiple disciplines. He wasn't just an Alchemist; he was a Magister of industry.'
Ted did a mental inventory of the new recipes.
Potions:
Flask of Distilled Wisdom: +5 Intelligence, +5 Spirit.
Elixir of Brute Force: +4 Strength, +3 Constitution.
Elixir of the Mongoose: +5 Agility, grants [Lightning Reflexes].
Elixir of Dream Vision: Allows the user to astrally project into the Emerald Dream.
Purification Potion: Cleanses all Curses, Poisons, and Diseases for 10 minutes.
Cat's Eye Elixir: +5 Perception, grants [See Invisibility].
Elixir of Water Walking: Grants the ability to walk on liquid surfaces.
Arcane Elixir: +2 Magic Power (Cap: Tier 6).
Iron-Skin Potion: Grants armor-like skin but reduces Agility.
Living Action Potion: Grants immunity to Stun and Movement Impairing effects.
Destruction Potion: Massive temporary stat boost, followed by a high probability of death upon expiration.
'Some of these overlap with existing wizarding potions,' Ted noted. 'But the Mongoose and Cat's Eye are unique. And the Destruction Potion... well, that's a last resort.'
Enchantments (Permanent Buffs to Items):
Enchant Chest - Major Health: Permanently increases wearer's Vitality.
Enchant Bracers - Superior Strength: +5 Strength.
Enchant Boots - Boar's Speed: Minor movement speed increase + Stamina.
Enchant Weapon - Mongoose: Chance on hit to increase Agility and attack speed.
Enchant Weapon - Sunfire: Wreathes weapon in Holy/Fire damage.
Enchant Weapon - Spellpower: Increases spell damage effectiveness.
Enchant Gloves - Blasting: Increases spell casting speed.
Resistance Enchants: Fire, Frost, Shadow, Nature resistance +2 levels.
Profession Enchants: Herbalism +1, Alchemy +1.
It was clear Balduran preferred Enchanting over traditional potion brewing. The list of weapon and armor enhancements was exhaustive.
Jewelcrafting:
Void Sphere: +2 Magic Resistance.
Runed Crimson Spinel: +Spell Power.
Skyfire Diamond / Earthstorm Diamond: Meta-gems with unique passive triggers.
Sunfire Pendant / Ring of Arcane Force: High-level magical jewelry schematics.
Living Statues: Figurine - Felsteel Crab, Figurine - Shadowsong Panther (Trinkets that can summon temporary guardian constructs).
Materials Processing:
Transmuting Primal Elements (Fire, Water, Air, Life, Mana, Shadow).
Refining Fel Iron, Adamantite, and Khorium.
Creating Mooncloth (Spellcloth, Shadowcloth).
Ted sat at the table for over half an hour, sweat beading on his forehead as his brain struggled to index centuries of elven craftsmanship.
"Ted?"
A voice broke his trance. Hermione was coming down the stairs, looking concerned.
"What are you doing here? You didn't go for your morning run."
Ted jolted, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Oh. Just... thinking. Had a lot on my mind."
Hermione frowned, walking over to check on him. "Are you alright? You're soaking wet."
"I'm fine," Ted managed a weak smile. "Just a really intense daydream."
Later, at breakfast in the Great Hall, Ted and Hermione were joined by Harley. They were halfway through their meal when Neville, Ron, and Jerry finally dragged themselves to the table.
They looked dreadful. Dark circles hung under their eyes, and they moved with the coordination of zombies.
"Why do you three look like Inferi?" Harley asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even Malfoy looks more alive than you lot."
Speaking of Malfoy, he wasn't there. Having been possessed by a Dark Lord for half the year, his father had pulled him out of school early to recuperate at Malfoy Manor. With exams canceled, there was no reason for him to stay.
Hermione crossed her arms. "Even if exams are canceled, you shouldn't ruin your sleep schedule. Did you stay up all night?"
Ted narrowed his eyes. 'Did they sneak into the Forbidden Forest without me?'
Ron groaned, dropping his head onto the table. "It's all Neville's fault!"
Neville looked aggrieved. "I told you I didn't understand the clue! But you guys kept dragging me into analyzing it until dawn... Waaah!"
"Tre—"
Before Neville could say the word "Treasure," Jerry—who was slightly more awake—slapped a hand over Neville's mouth.
...
Ted withdrew a small red-and-white sphere from his pocket.
This Poké Ball was significantly smaller than the rudimentary version Hermione had seen used on Chicken Bro. It had been optimized, refined, and shrunk to the size of a walnut.
'My inspiration came from the Undetectable Extension Charm,' Ted mused, turning the sphere in his fingers. 'In Fantastic Beasts, Newt Scamander fits an entire zoo into a suitcase. I just simplified the interior design.'
This one didn't hold a zoo. It contained a space roughly the size of a shoebox, furnished with a cozy hamster nest.
Under the watchful eyes of his friends, Ted clicked the button. The ball popped open, and a bewildered white mouse materialized on the stone floor.
It was a standard magic lab mouse, transfigured and enhanced.
"We shall affectionately call him 'Stuart Little Brother'," Ted announced.
"Go on, little brother," Ted ordered gently. "Scout ahead."
The mouse twitched its nose, nodded intelligently, and darted into the open mouth of the Slytherin statue.
Ted closed his eyes, syncing his mind with the construct. His vision shifted, dropping to floor level. Everything became blurry and desaturated.
'The old saying "a mouse's vision is short-sighted" is literal,' Ted noted, struggling to focus.
Through the mouse's eyes, he saw the rough stone of the tunnel floor. He passed a massive, discarded snake scale—likely a shedding spot for the Basilisk—and walls scarred by centuries of movement.
Finally, the mouse emerged into a structure that resembled an underground dwelling. It scrambled up a table leg, revealing a circular room lined with bookshelves.
"Looks clear," Ted said, opening his eyes. "Let's go."
He handed out safety helmets to the group—a precaution that made Ron roll his eyes but accept nonetheless.
The corridor beyond the statue's mouth was long and narrow. Once, it might have been adorned with reliefs or murals, but the Basilisk's passage had worn the stone smooth. A thousand years of slithering had erased history.
However, as they reached the end of the cramped tunnel, the space suddenly expanded.
"Extension Charms," Hermione whispered, awestruck.
The room was massive, a duplex mezzanine carved from the bedrock. The walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with towering bookshelves. Serpentine sconces along the walls suddenly flared to life, burning with eternal, cold celestial fire, illuminating the space in a ghostly pale light.
In the center of the hall stood an incredibly long workbench cluttered with antique glassware. The contents of the vials had long since dried up, turning into black sludge or fine powder. Whatever Salazar Slytherin had been brewing here, Time had claimed it first.
"Don't touch anything yet," Ted warned. "I'll check the upper level."
He ascended the stairs carefully. The rooms on the second floor were unlocked. They contained rows of shelves, storage containers, and cages equipped with their own spatial expansion charms.
But everything was dust.
Ted reached for the skull of an unknown beast. As soon as his finger brushed the bone, it collapsed into powder, crumbling like a dry biscuit.
'This chamber is connected to the castle's ward scheme,' Ted realized. 'That's why the structure and the lights survive. But the magic doesn't extend to preservation of organic matter.'
This was likely what Voldemort had found fifty years ago. A treasure trove of knowledge, but a graveyard of materials. No wonder Tom Riddle had to work at Borgin and Burkes; he inherited a library, not a vault.
Ted scanned the bookshelves on the lower level. Gaps were visible in the dust.
'Tom took the best stuff,' Ted concluded. 'The books on dark magic, bloodline modification, and forbidden rituals are gone. He looted the place.'
However, Riddle's career at Hogwarts was cut short. After killing Myrtle, Dumbledore's gaze had locked onto him. Tom never dared to return to the Chamber. He likely stashed the stolen books in the Room of Requirement—which eventually led Quirrell down his dark path, and ultimately, brought Voldemort back from Albania.
'Karma,' Ted thought. 'Every sip and bite is preordained.'
The group stood before the remaining shelves, hesitant. The sheer volume of ancient parchment, scrolls, and leather-bound tomes was intimidating.
"We need to copy everything," Ted said, pulling out his wand. "Start scanning and categorizing."
Even with the "good stuff" missing, the leftovers were a goldmine. Salazar Slytherin's "trash" was still legendary knowledge.
The subjects covered were vast: Ancient Runes, Magical Zoology, Bionics, Pre-Merlin Magic Systems.
Ted began to read a scroll on magical theory. Slytherin's notes proposed that magic originated from the soul—or a "pseudo-soul"—of living beings. He theorized that prolonged use of magic etched itself into the bloodline, passing down through generations.
'So Slytherin believed Muggle-borns were actually the source of new magical bloodlines,' Ted mused. 'Irony. The man hated Muggle-borns, yet his theory validates their power.'
Slytherin wrote extensively about "Bionic Magic"—spells derived from mimicking magical creatures.
Horcruxes? Based on the soul-splitting nature of dark entities.
Shrinking Charms? Mimicking the Occamy.
Weather Charms? Derived from atmospheric spirits.
"I would call it Biomimicry," Ted muttered. "Learning from nature."
But then, the text took a darker turn. Slytherin detailed experiments on humans—attempts to graft creature abilities directly into wizards, bypassing the need for wands. To be born with the power of a dragon or a lethifold.
It was unethical, cruel, and undeniably brilliant.
"Ted," Ron said, staring at a wall of scrolls. "This is... this is enough to study until we're forty. I thought we'd be done by fifth year!"
Ted laughed, patting Ron on the shoulder. "Don't assume older is better, Ron. If ancient was always superior, we'd still be living in caves. Modern magic is systematic, optimized. We stand on the shoulders of giants."
"Besides," Ted gestured to a section of grim-looking texts, "a lot of this is cruel. Slytherin was a Dark Wizard for a reason. We don't need to learn the torture parts."
'If I had a choice,' Ted thought, 'I'd prefer Ravenclaw's archives. Or Hufflepuff's food charms.'
Salazar's path was not his path.
'System check,' Ted thought.
[Skill Up: Bloodline Modification +3] [Skill Up: Magizoology +2]
Ted froze. 'I only scanned the titles and skimmed a few paragraphs. That was too fast.'
The knowledge in this room was potent. It was infectious. Just being near it was warping his skill tree.
'We need to be careful,' Ted realized. 'This isn't just reading; it's exposure. Willpower influences magic, but magic influences the mind.'
_______________________________
Word count: 2002
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