[Note: Read up to Chapter - 175 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Crack!
Aris appeared before the gates of Shafiq Castle with a sharp crack.
He rubbed his temples, feeling woozy, and muttered under his breath,
"Apparition might look flashy, but the distance is far too short…"
It had taken him over a dozen Apparitions just to get from Flamel's residence in Paris back to England.
After that ordeal, even Aris—already skilled at the art—felt as though his head were spinning. He was exhausted, as if he'd been stuck on a train for days on end. Pure torture.
"Looks like I'll need to set up a teleportation circle sooner rather than later," he sighed.
With that thought, he lifted his head, eyes falling on the looming castle gates.
In truth, over the past few weeks, aside from his alchemy studies, he hadn't slacked off in his research into magic circles either.
The magic circles recorded in Merlin's manual were fairly basic, and under Moss's deductions most of them had already been cracked. The most critical among them was the Nine-Five-Seven. But even so, those circles were nowhere near enough to satisfy Aris.
Back in the golden age of the elemental magic world, magic circles were as vital as core technologies are in the modern age.
Could you even call it a magical world without them?
So Aris resolved to bring the brilliance of elemental magic circles back into this world.
And right now, the one he was most desperate to perfect was the teleportation circle.
Travelling the hard way was simply too much—tedious, exhausting, and a massive waste of time.
Up ahead, the great castle gates creaked open, as though recognising the return of their master.
A graceful young woman stepped out to greet him.
Shirley hurried over, offering him a freshly scented towel.
"Master, you must've had a hard journey. I've prepared lunch for you—shall I bring it out now?"
"Have Luna and the others eaten yet?" Aris asked casually.
"Not yet," Shirley replied earnestly. "Miss Luna and your other classmates are still at the training ground."
"So dedicated?" Aris raised his brows in mild surprise.
The little ones were working so hard that he almost felt embarrassed to criticise them.
"Let's head to the training ground first," he decided after a moment's thought.
"Yes, young master!" Shirley agreed at once. After all, the meals were being kept warm by the elves—there was no risk of them going cold.
The two made their way quickly to the training ground.
Even before they stepped inside, Aris could already hear the voices of the young wizards chanting their spells.
"Great fire elemental spirit, heed my call and burst into flame, condense into a scorching fireball…"
"Great wind elemental spirit, heed my call…"
Hearing it made Aris wince slightly. He even felt second-hand embarrassment for them.
The whole scene gave off a daft middle-school club vibe—so much so that you could feel it through the wall.
Still… even these corny little chants, which Aris himself thought nearly useless, seemed to be having a decent effect, didn't they?
As soon as Aris stepped into the training ground, he spotted Harry rubbing his palms together, conjuring a small fireball and hurling it straight at a target.
"Success! That's the tenth one today!" Harry shouted, looking at Ronald with undisguised excitement, clearly showing off.
"I've managed eight so far—bloody hell, I'm two behind you!" Ronald grumbled. Sparks flickered in his palm, but the fireball he'd been guiding fizzled out with a pop, adding one more failure to his tally instead of a success.
"By the looks of it… Hermione's getting quicker at this," Harry remarked, glancing over to where the bushy-haired witch was blasting fireballs in rapid succession at her target.
Her proficiency was plain to see. Hermione could now launch a fireball in just a couple of seconds, and her chanting had sped up as well. She'd even begun to shorten the incantation to just a few key words—almost like a quick-cast—and still managed to produce a solid fireball.
On the far side, Cho was attempting much the same, though in her case it wasn't fireballs but whirlwinds swirling into shape.
From what he could see, the elemental affinity and magic control of the two girls were far stronger than Harry and Ron's. Clearly, a whole term studying under Aris at Hogwarts hadn't been wasted.
The results spoke for themselves.
But what truly caught Aris off guard was Luna.
"She can already manage a whirlwind, too?" he murmured in surprise.
Right then, Luna had conjured a neat little vortex and was holding it delicately in her hands, studying it as though it were some rare magical creature.
It was almost a picture of tranquillity.
Even while practising, the girl radiated calm and gentleness—an air that was, frankly, adorable.
"Miss Luna's got real talent," Shirley said softly, unable to keep quiet after watching the children's progress over the past few days.
"Of course—I know that well enough," Aris replied with a slight nod.
Then, after a brief thought, he added, "No need to disturb the little ones. Let's just watch for a bit, then slip away."
And with that, he left the training ground quietly.
"Looks like we can run a bit of simulation training this afternoon!"
The two practice arenas had been sitting empty for the past couple of days, and Aris had been biding his time—waiting until the little ones could reliably conjure fireballs before testing their combat skills.
Of course, the training wouldn't be limited to elemental magic; they could use any spells they'd learned so far.
And their opponent? Aris himself.
After returning to the castle, Aris grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading up to the roof of the main building.
There stood a covered tower block—spacious, sturdy, and perfect for what he had in mind.
He'd been mulling it over for some time now: if possible, he absolutely had to construct a teleportation circle here. Even a basic one, capable of holding only a few coordinates, would be invaluable.
"Moss, pull up all the data we've gathered on teleportation arrays. Start constructing a complete array diagram—I want a functioning teleportation circle set up here."
The moment Aris gave the order, Moss's figure flickered into projection before him.
The elf-like light-brain zipped about the tower before returning to Aris.
"Master, are you certain you want to build the circle on the roof?"
"Is there a problem?" Aris asked, brows knitting slightly.
"Given the instability of the structure, Moss recommends placing the circle at ground level. At least then you won't risk the array failing if the building takes damage."
"It's fine. My castle isn't about to crumble that easily," Aris replied with a small smile.
"Very well, Master. Moss will retrieve the teleportation array data for you at once."
No sooner had the cheerful voice faded than a pale-blue glow spread from Moss's form, projecting onto the floor.
Lines began to etch themselves across the stone beneath their feet.
This teleportation array was clearly far more complex than the test arrays Aris had studied before—larger, too. Fully spread, the diagram stretched nearly ten metres in diameter, something Aris hadn't anticipated.
Luckily, the tower roof had enough space.
It wouldn't interfere with the circle's construction.
With Moss assisting, Aris began carefully carving the intricate lines into the stone. He channelled magic to trace the complex patterns, embedding crystals to form circulation nodes that tied the array together.
Slowly but surely, a magnificent and mysterious magic circle took shape across the rooftop…
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Drop Power Stonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 175 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]