219- From Egypt

If Rhys had to sum up curse-breakers in one sentence, it would be: How do you even dare?

In his view, curse-breakers were constantly flirting with danger, recklessly probing its edges. Most of them lacked real power and knowledge, yet they still insisted on diving headfirst into ancient ruins as if they had a death wish.

If they were only exploring medieval wizard sites or ruins that medieval wizards had already "discovered," it wouldn't be too concerning. But if they stumbled upon ruins dating back thousands of years? That was another story entirely.

The real nightmare would be if, either through carelessness or deliberate meddling, they unearthed something that he and his old friends had buried back in the day. That would be a disaster waiting to happen.

But Rhys's opinion didn't dampen Gemma's enthusiasm for becoming a curse-breaker.

She simply assured him that she would be careful.

Seeing her determination, Rhys didn't press the issue. Instead, he decided he'd keep in touch with his senior through letters in the future—just in case she really did stir up some ancient catastrophe.

If she ever found a ruin from thousands of years ago, he might just have to go on an expedition himself.

"By the way, where did you get that dust you used during Duel Night? It seemed rather extraordinary," Rhys shifted the topic to the main reason he had sought her out.

"Oh? You've got a good eye!" Gemma praised him. Most students hadn't even noticed the dust she had used, but he had. His keen observation skills were truly impressive.

"I found it by chance last year while traveling in Egypt. I suspect there might be an undiscovered ruin there," Gemma confided in him.

Hearing the words "Egypt" and "ruin," Rhys's eyes lit up. Now this was interesting.

He wondered if Gemma would be willing to share the location with him.

It was unlikely. Rhys understood the unspoken rules of this field. An undiscovered ruin was a lifetime opportunity for someone like Gemma Farley, who aspired to be a curse-breaker.

He doubted she would reveal the information just because he asked—especially since, unlike most people, he wasn't even particularly interested in the treasures that might lie within.

Perhaps sensing the eagerness in his expression, Gemma's eyes gleamed mischievously. She told Rhys that she would take him to explore the ruins—after he graduated.

"It's not an option right now. You're too young, and ruin exploration is dangerous," Gemma said smoothly. It was a clever excuse, using his age as a reason to withhold further details. By the time Rhys graduated, he might no longer care about this ruin. And even if he still did, she would have had several years of lead time to explore it first, securing every possible advantage.

For a moment, Rhys was tempted to forcibly extract the location from her memories. He could even erase the incident from her mind afterward with a Memory Charm.

I can't do that to a student of Hogwarts!

But he dismissed the thought almost immediately.

First, there was no guarantee that this ruin had anything to do with Helga Hufflepuff.

Second, and more importantly, it would be crossing a line.

A wizard who broke their principles once would find it easier and easier to do so again, until they eventually became one of those despicable dark wizards.

He was one of the founders of Slytherin House. How could he betray his own students for the sake of personal interest and a mere hunch?

No—he would take the honorable route.

"So where exactly did you find it?" Rhys pressed on, appearing somewhat insistently inquisitive.

Gemma Farley frowned slightly.

"I can trade you a piece of information in exchange."

What Rhys said next eased some of the displeasure in Gemma's heart—at least he wasn't expecting a free handout.

But what kind of information could possibly compare to an undiscovered ruin? She was already thinking of a way to decline.

"It's a palace left behind by the Norse gods. Most likely, it has never been excavated before."

Gemma: "?!"

Her eyes widened in shock.

If Rhys was telling the truth, then the value of that site would far surpass the ruin she had discovered.

While Egyptian history was certainly older than Norse mythology, the worth of a ruin wasn't solely determined by its age. It depended on who had built it and how many times it had been explored before.

But… the Norse gods were mythological figures…

Gemma hesitated.

"It's from a highly reliable source," Rhys added.

Now, Gemma was truly intrigued, but she needed to hear more details before making a decision.

"My family has collected a vast number of letters exchanged between ancient wizards. Among them, a few are particularly valuable—they're letters between the founders of Hogwarts," Rhys continued, leveraging these wizarding correspondences as his ultimate bargaining chip.

"The four founders built Hogwarts together, didn't they? Why would they need to send letters to each other when they lived in the same castle?" Gemma immediately picked out a flaw in his argument.

"They founded a school together, not a prison," Rhys couldn't hold back his sarcasm.

Why did people always assume that after establishing Hogwarts, the founders were sealed inside the castle forever?!

Couldn't they leave to take care of other matters?

To be fair, it was an understandable misconception.

Nowadays, Hogwarts' Heads of House really did seem like they were trapped inside the school.

With heavy teaching responsibilities from Monday to Friday and piles of grading on the weekends, their free time was minimal. Being able to visit Hogsmeade was already considered a luxury—most of them rarely even made trips to Diagon Alley.

"Alright, go on," Gemma shrugged, signaling for Rhys to continue.

"The letters mention the aftermath of Ragnarok. The founders sealed off the main battlefield, but traces of the gods remained—such as their temples and residences. These remnants had no place in the world anymore. Among the four founders, it was Salazar Slytherin who took on the task of erasing their presence. He destroyed many sacrificial sites and used magic to conceal the false gods' palaces," Rhys explained.

He was telling the truth.

After Ragnarok, they had indeed spent considerable effort cleaning up the aftermath. If left unchecked, the corpses of false gods and the battlefields tainted by magical corruption would have caused endless trouble for future generations.

The wonders left behind by these so-called deities couldn't be allowed to remain either—lest belief in them rekindle. Some of their palaces had, in fact, been hidden away by magic.

Rhys figured he could pick one of the less dangerous palaces and let Gemma explore it.

The most immediate benefit of this approach was that he could keep a certain level of control over her actions—ensuring she wouldn't end up unearthing something that should never see the light of day.

At first glance, Rhys' explanation seemed reasonable, but after some careful thought, Gemma found it difficult to believe.

"The Norse gods… they're just myths, right? There's no such thing as gods in this world," she said skeptically, clearly unconvinced by the idea of Ragnarok.

Rhys raised an eyebrow—This girl has a pretty solid worldview.

Normally, he would have praised Gemma for her rational thinking. But right now, he needed to convince her.

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