Riddle's voice suddenly became distant, filled with the essence of memory.
"In that era, wizards didn't have the luxury to slow down, to savor every spell and master its foundation perfectly. One of Slytherin's goals in founding Hogwarts was to create a safe fortress where young wizards could slow down and learn."
"But the other three founders had a different view of magic. They upheld the philosophy that spells serve the wizard completely. They didn't consider which 'Intent' best suited each spell; they emphasized filling the spell with the 'Self'."
"And so, the Sorting came to be. The atmosphere of each House pushed young wizards' personalities to extremes, making it easier to manifest that 'Self'."
"This caused Slytherin's goal to fail. The competition between Houses made it impossible for young wizards to slow down."
"Coupled with the admission of Muggle-born students, the castle's security became even more flawed."
"This became the flashpoint, and Slytherin eventually left Hogwarts."
Hearing this, Basil forgot to chew the steak in his mouth.
While dealing with Hermione feeding him, he exclaimed in his mind, "Slow? Didn't you tell me before not to suppress the growth of spells? And wait, so Slytherin didn't leave Hogwarts because of the so-called blood purity dispute? But because of different magical philosophies? What about Voldemort then? What was he? I feel like he would agree more with the other three founders' philosophies."
"It's different. By 'slow' here, I mean the introductory phase. Everything else you said is correct. If I hadn't seen the power brought by your clear Killing Intent, I would also agree with the other three founders. As a descendant of Slytherin, I believe that for functional spells—like Apparition, Healing, and Defensive spells—one should choose the most fitting Intent to drive them. But for attacks, I uphold using one's own negative emotions, dark psychology, and Killing Intent to drive them. In other words, the dark self."
"I think that's fine. Just drive Dark Magic with negative emotions and White Magic with positive ones. If it's too detailed, there's just not enough time. Plus, spells have the characteristic of being 'alive' and growing on their own. It's better to get started early," Basil sighed, thinking about how long it took him to master the Killing Curse.
"It's not the same. A spell mastered with perfectly fitting Intent has stronger spirituality. Take the Fire-Making Spell, for example. The perfectly fitting Intent tells it its true nature: 'You are fire.' An imperfect one is like telling it: 'You are the embodiment of my rage.' While this is also fire, it is not the true fire. Only when it truly recognizes itself will it become part of the wizard's instinct. When facing danger, even without a wand, it can appear with undiminished power. Like the innate talent of a magical creature. Just like you did today."
Hearing this, Basil hurriedly opened his personal panel.
In the Family Traits column, a new talent had appeared.
It looked very illusory, flickering in and out of existence.
Basil had a feeling that if Riddle hadn't pointed it out, he wouldn't have even seen this talent.
> [Heart of Killing]
> [Note: Spell Damage +33. Can absorb [Killing Intent] to grow.]
"Directly adding damage? Now I really can 'Expelliarmus your life'."
"Could it be that my [Plant Affinity] was created by my ancestor in the same way? Which spell was it?"
"Was it that after gaining a heritable talent, they deliberately erased the method to monopolize it?"
Then, he stopped his musing and continued to ask Riddle, "Does this talent conflict with the Killing Curse? 6 points of [Killing Intent] gives 36 damage on the Killing Curse. And it won't be consumed. But if it's absorbed, it just has broader applicability. But overall damage is a loss."
"No conflict. Rather than 'absorb,' 'contain' is a better word. [Killing Intent] is actually a combination of will and magic power. Magic power is a constant energy that isn't consumed. [Killing Intent] is naturally the same. Your talent [Heart of Killing] is equivalent to naturally possessing 33 points of [Killing Intent]."
Basil's face darkened. "If that's the case, Voldemort, who killed so many wizards... his Killing Curse would have—"
But he was interrupted by Riddle halfway through his thought. "[Killing Intent] is on the level of 'Intent,' not the near-infinite 'Heart' (Mind). Every wizard has a limit to their capacity. [Killing Intent] is just a shortcut to reach that limit faster. Otherwise, this world would be ruled by Dark Wizards."
"So, [Killing Intent] won't accumulate indefinitely."
"But your [Heart of Killing] can. That's why I suggest you slow down. Although a strong Self combined with a spell can also birth a talent, it will only birth one. But slowing down and slowly mastering spells one by one will birth multiple talents. When every aspect is complete, you will be an omnipotent God!"
"What's the difference between this and the abilities gained from self-introspection in the Introspection School?"
"One is passive, like rolling dice; the other is active."
---
Entering November, the weather became extremely cold. The mountains around the school were gray and covered with ice and snow, and the lake was as cold and hard as quenched steel.
Every morning, there was frost on the ground. From the upstairs windows, Hagrid could be seen wrapped in a long moleskin coat, wearing rabbit fur gloves and huge beaver skin boots, de-icing broomsticks on the Quidditch pitch.
The Quidditch season had begun.
During these days, aside from killing ants one by one with the Killing Curse to slowly accumulate False Health and [Killing Intent]...
Basil had been trying to slow down.
To recreate the miracle of [Heart of Killing].
But slowing down was truly too difficult.
If his magic power was low and his talent poor, it would be one thing.
But with a magic stat as high as 13, and the 8% reduction in learning difficulty from the [Doctor of Sorcery] Echo, he simply couldn't slow down.
Sometimes, just reciting an incantation and waving his wand casually resulted in mastering the spell.
A spell that wasn't mastered perfectly from the start was like Yang Kang acknowledging the thief as his father.
Mistakenly believing he was a Jin person.
Even after learning later that he was a Song person, he couldn't break the cognition formed since childhood.
And a spell not perfectly mastered was even harder to correct than that, because the spell would combine with the wizard's Self.
This was equivalent to correcting the spell while also going against one's own instincts.
So, a perfect start was crucial.
However, current spells were just too easy for Basil to pick up.
It seemed that unless it was a high-difficulty spell with high magic requirements, he couldn't slow down.
Sigh, he had originally planned to look at the books from the Introspection School!
He hadn't even had time to use Professor McGonagall's note yet.
Thus, in the eyes of other students, Basil became somewhat detestable.
In class, he mastered spells instantly, learning them as soon as they were taught, yet he would still sigh and look dissatisfied.
If it weren't for his Arthurian charisma and handsome looks, he would probably have fallen into the same situation as Hermione when she first enrolled.
Basil hadn't thought about unequipping [Doctor of Sorcery].
But a dangerous power like [Killing Intent] would undoubtedly corrupt a wizard's soul.
Not to mention he also had the upgraded [Heart of Killing].
He feared that as soon as he unequipped [Doctor of Sorcery], he would turn into a giggling Voldemort II.
"Do I really have to practice with the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse? What if I accidentally learn them?"
On the stands of the Quidditch pitch, Basil sighed.
Today was Saturday, and also the day of Harry's first Quidditch match.
Unlike in the movie, Dumbledore did not appear at this match.
Harry was in the changing room; the players hadn't come out yet.
Basil, Ron, and Hermione were in the top row, sitting with Neville, Seamus, and Dean.
To give Harry a surprise, they had used a bedsheet stained by Scabbers the rat to paint a huge banner that read "Potter for President." Dean, who was good at drawing, had also painted a large Gryffindor lion underneath.
Then, Hermione had cast a clever spell to make the paint on the banner flash in different colors.
The match was about to begin.
Basil shook his head, trying to lift his spirits.
This was a duel between Harry Potter and a brand-new version of Draco Malfoy.
A match that even a normal transmigrator wouldn't see.
What kind of fierce battle would ensue between the hard-trained Draco and Harry?
Would Quirrell pull any dirty tricks?
Unknowingly, the gloom between Basil's brows dissipated.