Lucien heard the system's voice and quietly picked up Bloodlines and Talents.
As he flipped through the pages, he quickly scanned the system panel's details:
[Loan: Circuit Tablet (Monthly)]
[Repayment Deadline: 30 Days]
[Loan Item: A peculiar stone tablet capable of imprinting the magical circuits of any magical creature (including wizards) for observation and experimentation]
[Loan Task: Witness a profoundly memorable birth of life]
Now that's a find.
Being able to imprint magical circuits would make studying them so much easier.
Having become an Animagus, Lucien's next step was to master Transfiguration fully, which meant exploring new directions in the art. When he first touched a wand, he'd managed a partial transformation into a magical creature—a bird-snake that fell apart quickly, but it was a start.
It gave him a glimpse of the path ahead.
The more he studied Transfiguration, the stronger his intuition grew that transforming into magical creatures was possible. Practicing the meditation techniques from Inspiration and Divination had sharpened his instincts, making that conviction even clearer.
Becoming an Animagus had also revealed the extraordinary potential of Loki's Faceless, his gift for Transfiguration. Its true brilliance shone in the advanced realms of the craft.
To achieve magical creature transformation, though, he needed to crack the puzzle of magical circuits.
Unlike wizards' circuits, those of magical creatures were wildly diverse, practically unique to each species. Lucien had long been frustrated that, while his Sight of Magic was great for observing circuits, he needed the subject right in front of him. It wasn't always practical.
If this tablet could store a large number of circuits for a long time, it would be a game-changer for his research.
Mentally connecting with the system, Lucien asked, "System, how many magical circuits can the tablet record at once, and how long do the records last?"
[It can record ten million circuits simultaneously and preserve them for a century.]
More than enough.
The entire wizarding world, even including all magical creatures, might not fill the tablet's capacity. A hundred years was plenty, too—more than enough to cover the lifetimes of most wizards and creatures.
Sure, some wizards and magical beings lived past a century, but let's be real: some wizards courted death with reckless adventures, and plenty of magical creatures loved a good brawl.
The loan task, though, puzzled him. Witness a profoundly memorable birth of life? A plant's? An animal's? A human's? A wizard's? A magical creature's?
Did "birth of life" mean a newborn's arrival? And it had to be memorable?
Still, since it was a monthly loan, the difficulty should be manageable.
"System, what exactly does 'birth of life' mean?" Lucien asked.
[The moment a life fully enters the world, encountering it as a newborn.]
"So, a baby being born? Any restrictions, like whether it's human or animal?"
[It includes newborns. No restrictions—the key is that it must be profoundly memorable to the host.]
"Got it. I'll take the Circuit Tablet loan."
[Loan: Circuit Tablet (Monthly) has been approved.]
[Note: This tablet aspires to record an era.]
[Item has been delivered to system space and can be retrieved at any time.]
Lucien pulled his focus back to reality.
Daphne had been openly watching him, and when she saw the spark in his eyes as he flipped through the book, a smile tugged at her lips.
Draco was right—Lucien's thirst for knowledge was unmatched. That was good news for her. She thought of her family's library, brimming with books.
Lucky for her, she had plenty to offer.
"Lucien, how long will this book cover my tutoring fees?" Daphne asked.
Lucien thought for a moment. "I haven't read it thoroughly yet, so I can't say for sure, but it'll be at least a year's worth. Don't worry—I take my reputation seriously."
Trading knowledge for knowledge was something he respected deeply.
Daphne's eyes crinkled with a smile. Perfect. Her family's collection could probably keep him tutoring her for years.
"So, Professor Grafton, when do we start?" she asked, her grin and eager expression unmistakable.
Lucien's brow twitched. Why did this kid seem to think tutoring was some kind of game? What had Draco told her?
Had he conveniently left out the daily homework, weekly quizzes, monthly tests, and semester finals? Or did Draco actually think it was easy?
Well, Harry and the others had been keeping up with the pace lately. And Draco, with his solid pure-blood education, had a strong foundation in magic.
Fine, then. Time to crank up the intensity.
With the school's end-of-year exams coming up, it'd be a good chance to kickstart their review early.
---
The Forbidden Forest
Moonlight blanketed the ground.
Two unicorns galloped joyfully.
Seleneia could feel it—she was nearing her time. The foal inside her was nearly fully developed, waiting only for the right moment to meet the world.
Following unicorn tradition, she ran under the moonlight, accompanied by a gentle breeze, letting her magic flow freely through her circuits to prepare for the birth.
Asterion stayed close, senses heightened for any danger, though it was hardly necessary. Few creatures could match a unicorn's speed or track their movements, let alone threaten them. Their shimmering silver horns could pierce most barriers, and paired with their legendary speed, they had few rivals.
As their familiar nest came into view, Asterion began to relax, slowing his pace.
But Seleneia sped up, letting out a clear, resonant whinny.
Asterion's eyes lit with human-like joy. Through her call, Seleneia conveyed one thing: the foal was coming.
The nest grew closer. Seleneia let out another whinny, quickening her pace to charge inside.
Buzz—
An invisible ripple spread from the nest, instantly enveloping Seleneia and Asterion behind her.
Crack, crack…
Two shattering sounds rang out near their horns. Illusory cracks, like spiderwebs, spread from their horns into the surrounding air.
A low, faint voice slithered from a dark corner of the nest, cold and venomous, sliding into the unicorns' ears:
"Ah, you're back."