Life in the dungeons was dull and monotonous.
Before Rowena regained her sanity, she could still patrol the depths of the dungeons tirelessly on pure instinct. But once her mind was restored, the days became unbearably boring.
Sometimes, just encountering a dark creature that had escaped its enclosure could be the highlight of her day.
After enduring the boredom for some time, Ravenclaw finally started finding ways to amuse herself.
Using the enchanted soil Rhys had gifted her, she expanded the entrance area into a flat space the size of a sports field. Then, she built countless castles and marketplaces on the ground, and conjured numerous tiny humanoid figures using Transfiguration.
With her profound magical expertise, the castles and marketplaces on the plain were almost indistinguishable from real medieval structures in the outside world.
She was even bored enough to create entire magical creatures in the forests, actual lords inside the castles, and had those lords declare war on each other...
What was truly bizarre was that these little figures didn't seem to be under Rowena's control.
They operated with their own behavior logic—how she'd managed that was anyone's guess. It involved extremely advanced Transfiguration.
When Rhys and Helga broke the seal and saw the scene before them, they were both utterly stunned.
Rhys: Not gonna lie, Rowena… your sandbox looks pretty fun.
Helga: What was I even feeling guilty about just now?! She's literally like a god here!
Upon hearing their voices, Rowena—entirely engrossed in watching her sandbox—just waved her hand, signaling Salazar not to disturb her mood.
Rhys was about to say something, but Helga stopped him. She concealed her presence and quietly walked over to Rowena's side, craning her neck to observe the scene in the sandbox.
Because Helga had hidden her presence so well, Rowena assumed it was Salazar approaching. Without turning her head, she began explaining her creation to "Salazar."
"I've divided this sandbox into over a dozen regions. Each region has its own lord, with lesser lords beneath them—almost identical to the outside world. One of the lords is close to unifying the entire sandbox. This sort of thing isn't unusual. When it happens, I'll reshuffle everything." Rowena spoke with great enthusiasm, clearly completely immersed in the miniature world she had built.
Just as she was introducing the sandbox to Salazar, something unexpected happened: the lord she had just praised as being on the verge of unifying the sandbox was ambushed and killed by armed forces from a small nearby town while inspecting his territory.
Rowena's eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, "Interesting, interesting!"
"So all these little figures in the sandbox have minds of their own?" Helga whispered. She was starting to feel like this "storyline" was getting a bit ridiculous—was Rowena orchestrating all of this herself?
"Yes! That's the best part! The entire sandbox—huoooō!!" Rowena let out a strange yelp—only when Helga spoke did she realize something was wrong. She turned her head and was so startled she nearly jumped.
"Helga? How—?!" For a moment, Rowena's usually sharp mind seemed to freeze. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that her long-lost friend would suddenly appear before her.
"It's a very long story…" Helga sighed softly, then began telling Rowena what had happened to her after she left the school.
"These years must've been so hard on you, Rowena." By the end of her story, Helga's emotions had once again grown complicated.
Rowena looked cheerful on the surface, but at the root of it—wasn't it just because life inside the seal had been unbearably dull? For Rowena, wasn't this no different from a kind of punishment?
Rowena was still in a state of shock.
It took a long time before she finally processed everything: "So I can say that the true culprit behind all of this is—"
Rhys: ??!!
The moment he heard that, he didn't hesitate for a second and turned to leave—but in the next instant, a spell shot out and bound his ankles.
"Hehehe~~ Salazar, we need to have a little chat," Rowena's voice sounded beside his ear.
…
Most of the sandbox near the sealed entrance was now in ruins.
What had just occurred resembled an apocalyptic disaster: violent winds, floods, and earthquakes had destroyed most of the sandbox, along with the castles, buildings, and miniature figures atop it. The few areas that hadn't been obliterated were still heavily affected—almost none of the remaining figures were functioning normally.
Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff now sat beside the wreckage. Helga had transfigured two stools and a small table from the dirt, and the two of them sat face to face, chatting.
At the center of the table, there was a small, unremarkable puddle of water.
"This sandbox is just… ruined now? What a shame," Helga said, looking at the wreckage of the sandbox with visible regret.
"It's fine. I can just make another one with some time." For Rowena, building a sandbox had become second nature. Maybe in ten days or so, the whole thing could be up and running again.
"Shrinking people down and putting them into the sandbox would be so fun—we could let the students come in for training. I think I just saw a miniature fire dragon in there?" Helga had realized that Rowena's sandbox wasn't just a way to kill time for herself—it might actually serve other purposes too.
Rowena thought it over and realized Helga was right. This could definitely be used as a training tool for young, inexperienced witches and wizards.
Although the little figures had their own behavior logic, Rowena could still take direct control over them when needed—making it perfect for student drills and trials.
"Can we move it outside?"
"No problem, just best not to take it too far from the seal…"
The two of them excitedly began discussing future training plans.
The magical world had enjoyed peace for too long, and the separation from the non-magical world had grown so vast that students had virtually no room for practical experience.
Things couldn't go on like this—it might be better to toss them all into the sandbox to train their spellcasting skills.
"By the way, have you found a student you're satisfied with?" Rowena asked casually as they chatted.
"No, not yet. But I've got a new idea—tell me what you think?" Helga shook her head, then shared with her friend a concept she'd been working on—testing young witches and wizards for their innate control over magic.
"Sounds like—" Rowena had only just begun to reply when the small puddle on the table rippled a few times, then quickly expanded. Rhys's face emerged from its surface.
He opened his eyes, looked at the two women seated at the table, and smiled. "Sorry, I think I passed out for a bit. What were you two talking about?"
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