The boy's face darkened as he stared at Li Weide. This guy had wasted so many words with him, only to reject him outright in the end?
"So… you're playing with me?"
Li Weide waved his hand dismissively.
"No, I'm not toying with you. I really did think carefully about your proposal, and I do agree with your theory about fear. But… forgive me for being blunt—you don't yet have the ability to make me feel fear. Naturally, I have no reason to yield to your will. After all, it's not as if I keep rabbits or other pets…"
The boy fell silent. A faint flash of crimson seemed to pass through his pitch-black eyes. Li Weide's words, to his ears, carried nothing but mockery.
"If you've nothing else, please leave. I still need to fix the lock you broke," Li Weide said calmly, making it clear his guest was no longer welcome.
"You're provoking me… But you were right about one thing: without power, one cannot inspire fear. So then… what makes you think I lack such power?" the boy hissed, cold and mocking, his presence like a venomous serpent watching its prey.
Li Weide was about to reply when he suddenly noticed something— the shattered pieces of chair he had tossed aside were slowly floating into the air! He was certain this wasn't his doing.
"So that's it… this is what you rely on?" Li Weide's eyes flickered with a mix of surprise and realization.
Clearly, there were indeed others in this world like him, people with such strange abilities. And one of them was standing right before him.
The boy frowned, puzzled that Li Weide wasn't reacting with fear as he had hoped. Still, that slight doubt wasn't nearly enough to stop him from teaching Li Weide a lesson!
The next second, all the floating fragments came crashing toward Li Weide with force.
Any ordinary child would've been terrified by such a bizarre sight. But Li Weide was no ordinary child.
After hundreds of experiments and thousands of trials, Li Weide could instantly see how crude and unrefined the boy's control over this ability really was.
He didn't even bother to move or glance at the flying shards. Instead, he simply watched the boy, as though studying an excellent specimen.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
The shards halted abruptly right before striking him, suspended mid-air, unable to advance an inch further. Without question, Li Weide's mastery far surpassed his opponent's.
The boy's eyes widened in shock.
"What happened?! No… you… you can do this too? Impossible! That's impossible! How can you do it?! This power is mine alone…"
"And why would you think you're the only one special?" Li Weide mocked with a playful gaze.
The boy's pride was deeply pierced by that look. "So… we're the same kind, then?"
"The same? No, you and I are not alike. You possess this rare gift, yet I see no trace of practice on you. Don't tell me you only use it to frighten ordinary people with such childish tricks? If that's the case, then for someone like you, this power is nothing but a pitiful waste."
With a wave of his hand, the chair fragments clattered back to the ground.
The boy glared at him, eyes burning with fury. "You may have power like mine, but that doesn't mean you can stand above me—"
Bang!
The next instant, he found himself slammed face-down onto the floor. Nothing was on his back, yet he couldn't move a muscle, as if an invisible giant hand had crushed him down!
Li Weide walked up slowly, looking down at him.
"What was it you just said?"
The boy could only stare angrily at the old, worn shoes before him, unable to lift his head.
"N-nothing… I didn't say anything…"
His immobile body and the ever-increasing weight pressing on his back filled him with dread.
"I can feel fear radiating from you. So… by your own theory, shouldn't you be listening to me now?"
Li Weide's gentle voice fell into his ears like the whisper of a demon.
The boy nodded stiffly, even his gaze clearing under the pressure.
Then, just as suddenly, the crushing force lifted, leaving him trembling with relief.
"Good. I like obedient people." Li Weide helped him up, even brushing the dust from his clothes with mock courtesy. "By the way, I still don't know your name."
Gasping for breath, the boy felt the lingering terror of moments ago. He could tell—Li Weide really could have killed him with ease.
"Riddle… my name is Tom Riddle…"
Ding! Connection detected between host and the future Dark Lord! Merit System officially activated!
Ding! Host has thoroughly disciplined a troublesome brat—reward: 50 merit points!
Li Weide: ?
…
Tom Riddle? The future Dark Lord? The Merit System…
"So that's how it is… Tom… Tom Riddle."
Li Weide carefully studied the boy again.
Tom felt a chill under that sudden shift in gaze.
Though he would one day become the feared Dark Lord Voldemort, for now he was just a child who had been thoroughly subdued—and he really did not want to die.
So, before this man who seemed capable of ending him at any moment, Tom's fear was beyond words.
Then, he felt a hand press onto his shoulder—Li Weide's hand.
Cold sweat broke across Tom's forehead.
"Relax, Tom. I just thought your name sounded… familiar, that's all."
And indeed, the name was familiar. Tom Riddle, the Dark Lord—it already explained far too much.
Only now did Li Weide recall two key details he had overlooked: this was Wool's Orphanage, and the headmistress was Mrs. Cole.
Without doubt, this was the very place where the second Dark Lord, Voldemort, had his beginnings.
At last, Li Weide understood—he had been transported into the world of Harry Potter, decades before the story began.
Which meant… this strange power he wielded wasn't some special ability.
It was magic.
(End of Chapter)