Chapter 6: The Hanging Heart Finally Died

On the ground floor, in a dark little room, there was a simple arrangement with a shabby wardrobe and a small iron bed, making the room look bare.

In the dark corner in front of the bed, Tom sat on a gray blanket, his eyes focused on his right hand.

Wrapped around his right hand was a small green snake.

"Hisssss..."

Tom continuously made hissing sounds, just like a snake.

The little snake seemed to understand him, as it nodded in a human-like manner.

After a while, the little snake crawled off Tom's hand, slithered through the narrow window, and quickly disappeared.

"Wade... What is your powerful secret? I will soon get the answer... What you can do, I can do too!"

Tom silently clenched his fist as he watched the direction the little snake had disappeared in.

...

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Thud!

A gray mouse fell straight down from the windowsill.

Wade picked up a green stick nearby and poked at the mouse. It felt like poking a stone.

After thinking for a moment, Wade made another simple gesture with his hand.

"Finite Incantatem!"

"Eeek!"

The gray mouse, which had become as stiff as stone, suddenly came back to life. It jumped up from the ground and ran off crazily.

However, with so few furnishings in the room, the gray mouse had nowhere to hide and could only keep running toward the windowsill, which was about half a meter high.

"Immobulus!"

Thud!

"Finite Incantatem!"

"Eeek!"

"Immobulus!"

Thud!

"Finite Incantatem!"

"Eeek..."

...

After more than ten rounds of this, the gray mouse stopped running.

It lay on its back in the corner, playing dead.

Wade paid no more attention to the mouse and continued flipping through the curse book in his hand.

Sure enough, practicing these offensive curses was much more effective when there was a living target.

However, Wade was somewhat confused. Even with his talent, how was it possible to successfully cast a moderately difficult spell without a wand after just ten or so attempts?

The learning speed seemed a bit too fast!

Moreover, when facing Tom's attack the other day, Wade realized that his magical attack, when it hit him, felt like a gentle breeze...

It wasn't even a threat—it couldn't even be strong enough to function as a fan...

According to the book's explanation, the reason for this phenomenon was simple: it was due to the massive disparity in the magical power between the two, and it had little to do with practice.

Logically, this shouldn't have happened. Tom was supposed to be the future Dark Lord, and his talent should have been extraordinarily strong.

At the same age, even if Wade's talent was stronger than his, it shouldn't be to the point of utterly overwhelming him.

In the end, Wade found the answer to the problem in the section of the book that discussed the principles of magical power.

[...When a wizard gets older, their magic power just gets stronger, feel me? But once they hit adulthood, it's like they hit a cap, ya know? If they stop practicing or just ain't using their powers, that magic gonna dip or straight-up disappear, no cap.... And like, real talk, they say the power of a wizard's magic is tied to the strength of their soul too, fam....]

After finishing the reading, Wade suddenly remembered something: he wasn't truly Tom's peer.

In fact, after transmigrating, only his physical age had regressed. His actual age was already that of an adult! Therefore, his soul's strength was likely still that of an adult.

From this, Wade formed a preliminary hypothesis: the magical power he currently possessed had already reached that of an adult's magical strength!

When he fought with the underage Tom, even if Tom were exceptionally gifted, it was still an adult fighting a child... it was hard not to overwhelm him.

'So... can my magical power continue to naturally increase? If it can't grow naturally, is there a way to break through this bottleneck?'

Regarding this question, Wade wasn't in a hurry. As the former youngest biologist, breaking through the limits of the human body had been his primary research topic before he transmigrated.

Now, however, the object of his research had shifted from ordinary humans to wizards...

...

Tom absentmindedly flipped through the book in his hands, but his gaze never really fell on the pages.

In fact, the little snake he had sent out hadn't returned, which made him feel uneasy.

He was well aware that whenever Wade closed the door to his room, that was when he carried out his secret practice.

Tom had sent the little snake to spy, intending to wait for it to return and tell him what it had seen, so that he might be able to uncover Wade's secret to growing stronger.

But now, the little snake that should have returned long ago still hadn't shown up...

Another hour passed, and Tom could no longer wait. Taking a deep breath, he walked toward Wade's room.

Wade's room was on the 1st floor.

As soon as Tom went up, he saw the door to Wade's room.

But... the door was slightly ajar! It seemed like it was waiting for someone...

Tom barely held back his unease and slowly pushed the door open.

Inside, Wade was gently poking at a gray mouse on the floor with a green stick.

But... Tom suddenly felt that the stick looked somewhat familiar?

Wade turned his head and saw Tom peeking around the door, a gentle smile spreading across his face.

The merit points are here...

"Tom, you're here! I was just about to tell you about our special abilities. I've discovered a very interesting use for them."

When Wade stood up, Tom finally understood why he felt the stick in Wade's hand looked so familiar...

It was, in fact, a small snake that had somehow become stiff and rigid!

Tom's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally sank...

Ding! Detected that the host has caused some changes in the future Dark Lord's life trajectory, rewarding the host with 100 merit points!

Wade: H-hundred?

...

Hogwarts.

The blazing fireplace made the circular headmaster's office warm as spring.

"Almondo, I happen to be going to London. These two children, I'll take care of them," Dumbledore said, shaking the two letters in his hand.

"Oh, of course, no problem..." Depet sat at his large desk, stroking his somewhat disheveled white beard, his murky eyes looking at Dumbledore. "Has it been confirmed? Is he really coming to London?"

"Not confirmed yet, but there are signs pointing to it. However... you know, I can't ignore any news related to him... especially since this information comes from a very reliable source," Dumbledore said, carefully placing the two envelopes into his coat pocket.

"Mm... It was Scamander who wrote to inform you, right? I remember he didn't graduate from Hogwarts in the usual manner..." Depet asked somewhat casually.

"Yes... But I assure you, Almondo, Newt is absolutely trustworthy. Moreover, his abilities are indeed widely recognized," Dumbledore said with a serious expression.

"Mr. Scamander has indeed proven his abilities and stance through his actions. I don't mean to question his trustworthiness. I've always trusted your ability to judge people. So... there's a very high chance that he really has gone to London. Are you prepared?"

Dumbledore took a deep breath. "Of course, I've been prepared to face him for years. It's just that over these years, his movements have become very secretive, and he hasn't shown up in front of me again."

"Good, I'm glad you've made your final decision... If you need help, feel free to let me know. Although I'm a bit older, I'm not yet so useless that I can't wave my wand..."

"I will, Almondo... And I sincerely thank you for your understanding and help over the years."

"Alright, no need to get sentimental. Without my help, you would have done just fine. Go, head to London, and settle everything once and for all... And of course, after it's over, don't forget to deliver the acceptance letters to those two children. They're both at the same Muggle orphanage, and a professor must personally go and explain the situation to them."