The next day.
Defense Against the Dark Arts Class classroom.
Listening to Quirrell's stammering lecture, many young Wizards started to zone out.
Some were secretly chatting, others were scribbling in their notebooks, but it didn't look like they were taking notes.
Lucien, meanwhile, was pondering the insights gained from reading "Identification of Dark Arts" last night.
Due to his SS+ Dark Arts talent, he learned Dark Arts-related knowledge exceptionally quickly.
Even though the book only recorded the characteristics and identification methods of most Dark Arts, Lucien always had a feeling.
It seemed the more he learned of that knowledge, the more he seemed able to grasp some relatively basic Dark Arts.
Even though the book didn't teach specific methods, an intuition would push him to try, a natural flow of magic.
This feeling was very strange, like never having learned to cook, but after tasting a dish once, being able to roughly describe its cooking method.
Lucien thought about his performance in various magic fields, and increasingly felt that the higher the talent, the more disparate the performance in related fields.
For example, his Potion and Alchemy talents were A and A+, respectively. In these areas, he could quickly learn the knowledge and techniques taught by teachers or recorded in books.
However, it was also difficult to break out of the existing knowledge system. That kind of innovative inspiration probably only came with time and luck.
But once it exceeded S-rank, the corresponding talent was simply stepping into a new world.
Like his SS-rank magic talent, which gave Lucien an incomprehensibly vast amount of magic at this age, and it was still growing.
As for his SSS-rank Transfiguration talent, Lucien could feel that once he entered the truly advanced Transfiguration field, its effect would become even more apparent.
Perhaps it was Animagus, or perhaps the initial demonstration of transient magical creature Transfiguration…
Well, Chimera Transfiguration was actually enough, and the fusion of biological characteristics was sufficient to meet the loan requirements.
But it could obviously be refined further.
Lucien thought of yesterday's attempt, starting with subtle fusion Transfiguration of the creature's bones and muscles, not simply superimposing external features, but fundamentally creating a brand new, non-existent creature.
Perhaps he could also try combining the characteristics of living and dead things; no matter how strong the physique or how strange the structure of some creatures, they couldn't compare to many artificial creations.
The more Lucien tried, the more he felt that the author of the chimera handbook was an absolute genius.
He had initially thought that the ancient Wizard's meticulous anatomical observations of creatures were for the convenience of Transfiguration involving living things.
But after attempting deeper Transfiguration fusion, he realized how much help that detailed biological information provided.
He also wondered what that Wizard ultimately created…
Lucien thought of a line on a page of the chimera handbook:
"It is beautiful, it is my creation, it does not belong to this world!"
"Ding-a-ling—"
The bell rang, signaling the end of class.
The young Wizards packed their things and happily escaped the boring Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.
Quirrell, unlike before, did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he subtly glanced at Lucien.
Today, he could begin using the variant of Imperio to start influencing this audacious and peculiar boy.
Quirrell had already decided that during the tutoring session, he would first lecture, focusing on theoretical foundations, and drag it out until the spell was cast.
If Lucien proposed any magic practice during the process, he would refuse with an excuse.
Quirrell truly didn't believe that a young Wizard would genuinely force himself to act against him.
However, thinking back to the last magic duel practice, and that bizarre, frantic laughter, Quirrell still couldn't help but shiver.
But yesterday's promise to his master, and the painful, terrifying punishment that would follow failure, compelled Quirrell to proceed with the plan.
After Quirrell returned to his office, he had barely closed the door when he heard a knock.
He's here!
"Come in."
Seeing the handsome young man with dark gold hair and dark green eyes walk in.
Quirrell put on a false smile. He wanted to complete the task quickly and eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible.
"Alright, today we'll talk about…"
Lucien listened to Quirrell's explanation. This time, he was talking about the techniques and applications of the Shield Charm.
This most common protective spell was indispensable in Wizard battles; the speed and timing of casting were extremely important, a slight miss could lead to a great loss.
But as Lucien listened, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
A low, hoarse voice sounded in his mind.
Each syllable was strange, but Lucien heard it clearly.
However, this didn't cause him any unusual feelings.
What is this?
magic?
Lucien instinctively looked at Quirrell, finding him still lecturing normally.
No, that's not right. "Identification of Dark Arts" mentioned that some very subtle curses could be cast silently without affecting one's normal activities.
But, silently?
Then that incredibly clear voice in his mind…
If it's Dark Arts, a curse, isn't this too obvious?
Quirrell isn't just openly telling him he's doing something bad, is he?
Lucien slightly adjusted his sitting posture, pulling out a brass pocket watch from his left pocket, and secretly gripping his wand with his right hand hidden in his wide sleeve.
Seeing Lucien's movements, Quirrell didn't pay much attention, he just took out a pocket watch.
Heh heh, in the end, he's just a snot-nosed kid, talking about needing tutoring, acting like he loves to study.
But he couldn't help it, he found it too boring, didn't he?
Quirrell continued to cast the variant of Imperio while reciting from his prepared lecture notes.
He had only recited less than one round so far; a total of five recitations would be enough for this week's influence.
Lucien's mind was racing.
Assuming the strange words were a Dark Arts curse, then it was most likely something that affected the mind and body, and subsequently controlled a person.
Unless Tom didn't want the Philosopher's Stone anymore and wanted to expose himself now, directly fighting Dumbledore to decide the Philosopher's Stone's ownership.
Otherwise, he would absolutely not allow Quirrell to use harmful Dark Arts on him, as that would immediately reveal their abnormality.
Hmm, even if it was a curse that controlled the mind and body, it wouldn't be something that would take effect in a short time or with a single use.
While such Dark Arts might be powerful, those that worked extremely quickly often had obvious side effects.
Dumbledore wouldn't even need to observe carefully; teachers like Professor McGonagall would notice something was amiss.
Once they followed the trail, Quirrell and his accomplice would still be completely exposed.
Lucien rubbed the watch cover, seemingly ready to snap it open at any moment.
If it was a control-type Dark Arts with relatively subtle traces, it often required multiple castings on the target, eventually affecting the person's mind and body.
But he hadn't heard that strange voice during the last tutoring session.
Was it that Quirrell didn't have time to use it then, or that he didn't know this magic at the time?
And he could hear that voice, not just hear it, but hear it very clearly and distinctly.
Dark Arts…
Lucien instantly connected it to his Dark Arts talent.
Did this talent not only bring Dark Arts resistance, reducing the effects he would suffer when using Dark Arts, but also increase his sensitivity to Dark Arts?
No, it's more than just sensitivity.
Right now, it was as if someone was personally demonstrating a type of Dark Arts to Lucien.
It wasn't like just reading a book and not seeing the specific methods.
Following his intuition, Lucien tried to imitate the strange syllables in his mind.
magic naturally flowed to his throat and tongue, creating a unique tremor.
Quirrell's explanation was about to conclude, and he was secretly pleased because he was about to finish reciting the first round of the curse.
And that brat Lucien remained quiet and well-behaved, not suggesting any practical Shield Charm practice with him.
Quirrell suppressed the urge to smile and prepared to recite the next round of the curse.
But then, an extremely subtle sound suddenly echoed in his mind:
"heviods ~ yieyss ~ mowam..."
The voice was very noisy and blurry, and Quirrell subconsciously tried to hear it clearly.
But the more Quirrell listened, the more familiar it sounded, and the more he realized it was actually like…
The Dark Arts curse he had been practicing these past few days!
"Click!"
Quirrell heard a crisp sound, belonging to the real world.
Looking at the source of the sound, he saw Lucien snapping open the cover of his pocket watch, seemingly wanting to check the time.
But Lucien was staring at him with a half-smile, a hint of chilly depth in his dark green eyes.
Lucien didn't open his mouth to speak.
Yet the voice echoing in Quirrell's mind grew clearer, though still faint enough to be barely noticeable, Quirrell was almost able to make it out:
"Professor, are you trying to teach me this magic?"
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