The night wind was biting cold.
As he strolled through the Beauxbatons campus, Lucien checked the details of the newly triggered loan.
[Loan: Advanced Fire Elemental Rune]
[Repayment Limit: 30 days]
[Loan Content: Acquire an Advanced Fire Elemental Rune. Increases the Host's affinity for the fire element, accelerates the learning speed of fire magic, and increases the power of fire spells by 50%.]
Most of the recent loans were tied to elemental runes, which was something Lucien had requested from the System. However, what he really cared about was the loan quest.
[Loan Quest: Operation: Valentine. Use a series of magical means—Alchemy, Potions, Transfiguration, etc.—to intensify the festive atmosphere. Make this day a joyous occasion for those young men and women who are longing for love or have already found their significant others.]
Lucien couldn't help but frown. He really wanted the Fire Elemental Rune; that would leave only the Wind element to collect.
But this mission...
The requirements were incredibly vague. "Intensify the festive atmosphere"?
His first reaction was to recall Gilderoy Lockhart's "stunt" in the original Harry Potter books.
That disaster included, but was not limited to, hiring surly dwarfs fitted with golden wings and harps to play "Cupid" and deliver valentines to students. It turned Hogwarts into a chaotic mess, making the other professors—especially Snape—look like they wanted to poison Lockhart on the spot...
Lucien communicated with the System in his mind:
"System, is this mission like the Fountain of Beauty task, where you're the final judge of whether it passes?"
[Correct! Looking forward to the Host's performance.]
Great. Another job catering to a whimsical client.
Since when did he take on the job of a matchmaker? Or rather, in this part of the world, that would be Cupid's department.
Maybe he could craft some alchemical constructs shaped like little golden-haired cherubs—essentially modeled after Cupid. The idea of delivering love letters was actually worth a try, but the execution needed a serious upgrade from Lockhart's disaster.
Lucien thought about the cosmetic potions and alchemical skincare products he was planning to develop. Those would actually fit the Valentine's Day theme perfectly.
Valentine's Day... February 14th. By his calculation, they would be back at Hogwarts by then.
Heh, at least I'll be on home turf.
Lucien comforted himself with that thought. If he had to complete this loan mission while still at Beauxbatons, it would be inconvenient and frankly, he might just die of second-hand embarrassment.
[Ding! Loan application successful!]
[Evaluation: Love is like a blazing fire... Will the Cupid who shoots the arrows of love find romance of his own?]
---
The next morning.
Walking through the snow-capped Pyrenees Mountains, Lucien couldn't help but yawn, his breath forming a white cloud that quickly dissipated in the cold air.
Even the chill radiating from the ice and snow couldn't drive away his drowsiness. Last night, Professor Shafiq had given him and Riemann remedial lessons. But after going through it once, Riemann still seemed half-confused.
As a result, Professor Shafiq pulled the same move he did during the preliminaries—he suddenly "went on strike" and made Lucien take over the teaching.
Lucien was used to teaching people by now; he just felt like he'd been dragooned into labor again.
He pulled a bottle of Drudge Draught from his pocket and unscrewed the cap.
Glug, glug, glug—
With the dual boost of the potion and the biting cold, Lucien woke up completely. He pulsed his magic slightly, causing the falling snowflakes to automatically divert around him.
After exploring the mountains for a while, Lucien quickly found his target.
In a clearing in the distance, a herd of giant horses, each the size of an elephant, was gathered together.
They had palomino coats, silver manes, and eyes that glowed a vivid, fiery red.
Faint flames flickered across their backs and tails, the heat they radiated melting the surrounding snow.
Lucien observed the local magical fauna: Abraxans.
He pulled two large wooden barrels of single-malt whiskey from his storage and walked toward the herd.
read more inpat****
ilham20
lots harry potter story