Overall, it was quite smooth.
Aside from the pity that Ed, that bastard, survived, everything else was basically under control.
Successfully saving Merle and keeping his hand, smoothly integrating into the team, and even gaining a reputation as a "lucky star" and "child prodigy" among everyone... but there was one thing that Louis found very problematic, even feeling a faint sense of unease.
It was the number of Walkers last night.
It was too wrong.
He clearly remembered that in the original series' plot of the camp attack, although it was sudden and tragic, the number of Walkers wasn't particularly large.
Not long after Rick and the others returned to the camp, the battle was basically over.
Even considering the editing and pacing of film and television, where the real situation would be more prolonged, it shouldn't have been as difficult as last night.
You know, this time they had an early warning, most of the combatants had weapons and were well-prepared, and there was even him, this "Wizard," providing support like a cheater on the roof... even so, the battle lasted nearly all night, and the number of Walkers was beyond imagination!
This anomaly in numbers immediately made him think of what happened a few days ago when saving Merle in Atlanta.
It was the same that day.
The number of Walkers on the streets near the department store was also far beyond the original plot.
If the dense crowds of Walkers on the main road were attracted by him and Rick riding horses and the subsequent thunder, then what about the dozens that inexplicably appeared in the Fire Escape?
Even when he climbed onto the roof to rescue Merle, a Walker actually squeezed through a gap in a door locked with chains! These details never appeared in the original work at all!
"And the sudden thunderstorm back then..."
Louis was never afraid of changing the plot; he even took the initiative to change the fates of those who were supposed to die.
He had originally attributed these anomalies to a series of unpredictable chain reactions triggered after he, the "butterfly," flapped its wings, like that sudden thunderstorm.
But the unusually large-scale Walker horde at the camp last night made him involuntarily develop another even more unsettling thought.
"The extra Walkers... could they have been attracted by me?"
This wasn't paranoia or baseless speculation, but an unpleasant deduction based on his suspected "Magical Creature Affinity" constitution.
Although Louis was extremely reluctant to admit it, in all fairness, the most "magical creatures" in this world were probably these Walkers... and he could indeed vaguely sense their unique, cold, and deathly aura, much like a "Dementor."
Although he hadn't yet had the chance to conduct a more rigorous comparative experiment, such as he and Rick staying separately in different places to see which attracted more Walkers.
But Louis felt that the idea of "Walkers being more interested in him than in ordinary people" was likely spot on.
Just like the attraction of catnip to cats, there seemed to be something extremely tempting to Walkers about him.
He just didn't know what aspect this "affinity" was... Thinking on the bright side, maybe they treated him as some kind of "superior kin," and as long as he was strong enough, perhaps he could influence them to some extent?
But combining his previous experiences: the Walkers going into a frenzy after smelling blood under the office building, the Walker horde relentlessly pursuing him in Atlanta... Louis leaned more toward the terrible possibility:
They didn't treat him as kin, but as some kind of top-tier ingredient! The kind that smelled even more enticing than ordinary humans!
At the thought that he might be a special recommendation on the Walker menu, Louis couldn't help but shudder.
"However..." he thought again, "if this affinity constitution really exists, does that mean when I put on a raincoat covered in flesh and blood to disguise myself as one of them, the effect will be better than for ordinary people?"
"Could it be... that I could control or even guide them to some extent, like the Whisperers?"
If that were the case, this seemingly fatal "passive skill" might also become a trump card for winning by surprise.
Of course, the specific effects would still need to be tested later under the premise of ensuring his own safety.
Thinking of this, Louis couldn't help but sigh.
Good ideas are fine, but ultimately, one's own strength is the most important thing.
Although he had been working very hard to learn magic, the ones he truly mastered were still only a few.
The Levitation Charm, however, was practiced to perfection, even reaching the level of wandless and non-verbal casting.
But while this thing was okay for dealing with Walkers or providing support, if he really encountered living people with guns, his means of attack were still too limited.
His Charms textbook only detailed the casting essentials and gestures for first-year spells.
The "Aguamenti" from before was something he had barely managed to learn from that second-hand "practical magic compendium."
Fortunately, the previous owner of that book had noted many insights in the margins; otherwise, he wouldn't have even learned this amateurish life skill.
Even so, he could now only condense some fresh water for drinking, falling far short of the level in the original work where water flow could be controlled for attacks.
And the fact that he was able to learn the healing spell "Episkey" beyond his level was purely a stroke of luck.
The previous owner of that "practical magic compendium" seemed to have aspired to be a Healer, leaving dense notes and diagrams next to this spell.
Coupled with the extensive modern medical knowledge he later learned from Dr. Gale at Harrison Hospital, the combination of the two allowed him to barely cross the threshold.
However, unlike Aguamenti, the spell Episkey seemed a bit strange.
When casting it on others, he could always feel an inexplicable resistance, and the effect was merely accelerating healing and preventing infection.
But when used on himself, it was exceptionally smooth, the mental burden was much smaller, and healing some abrasions or cuts was almost instantaneous.
"Was Episkey in the original Harry Potter like this too?" Louis frowned.
Although he was a Harry Potter fan, his understanding was mainly regarding the plot and characters; he wasn't really that clear about the specific effects and usage restrictions of each spell, only knowing the general idea.
Adding to that, he used to enjoy reading HP Fanfiction, where the endless stream of settings made it difficult for him to clearly distinguish which restrictions were real.
"Sigh, if I had known I would transmigrate, I would have read less Fanfiction and more of the original work..." Louis sighed.
If the spells in the original work had this kind of "internal vs. external" restriction, then so be it. But if not... what was the reason for this difference?
Was it because of changing to a different world? So the restrictions on spellcasting had also changed?
Or was it that there was some fundamental difference between him and the people of this world?
And speaking of differences, besides the biggest one, "magic"... "Could it be... the walker virus?" An absurd thought that made his heart skip a beat suddenly popped up.