○( ＾皿＾)っ…Many thanks to Patrick Medal for becoming a member!♥♥
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Ding-a-ling!
The bell at the store entrance rang.
Wade and Tom walked in, immediately hit by a strange, unpleasant smell...
The store's merchandise was very disorganized.
Rather than a store, it could be better described as a warehouse for old items.
Secondhand robes were piled up at a counter to the left as you entered, looking like a pile of garbage.
A few plainly dressed adult wizards were sorting through them, hoping to find the right size for their children.
On the right side, there was a huge mess of books.
Most of these books were secondhand textbooks, worn out and old.
There were a few other books, but their condition appeared to be average.
The ones in good condition were probably already picked over...
Tom furrowed his brows as he looked at the trash, feeling a bit relieved.
Although going along with Wade on that risky job was terrifying, it also allowed him to escape the fate of having to buy a bunch of junk from places like this...
Wade was right. If he had bought this garbage from here and brought it into Hogwarts, he would definitely have been looked down upon.
People are judged by their appearance, just like horses are judged by their saddles.
Before others get to know your capabilities, they will, of course, judge you by your appearance!
Unlike the enthusiastic staff at other stores, the clerk in this store was currently slumped over the counter, dozing off.
Only when someone came to check out did he lazily lift his head to process the transaction and collect the money.
Since the store's merchandise was cheap, it was no surprise that the clerk's salary wasn't very high.
It was completely normal for his enthusiasm to be low.
However, despite the clerk's lack of energy, there were still many wizards in the store picking through the items.
Wade quickly spotted what he wanted to buy in the glass display window on the storefront side of the shop.
A bundle of old wands, along with a large bunch of quills whose feathers had all fallen out, were thrown into the same box, looking like a pile of firewood haphazardly tied together...
Tom stared at the second-hand wands, some of which were so broken that the cores were exposed, and his heart sank.
Would using these wands to cast spells really not blow him up?
Wade wasn't too surprised. After all, what kind of good-quality wand could be tossed into a corner like trash?
However, these worn-out wands were actually perfect for Wade.
After all, many of these wands had probably been scavenged from dead wizards, and were more or less covered with "soul rings"...
In other words, after being used by their former masters, these wands had a high compatibility with dark magic.
They were just right for Wade to practice some spells that shouldn't be noticed by others...
After a while, Wade happily pulled out a wand from the pile that had only lost some paint.
"Whoa! Nearly brand new! A rare find!"
Compared to the other wands, which had their cores exposed, this wand was in surprisingly good condition.
"This one's for you." Wade said, handing the wand to Tom as he dove back into the pile of wands.
Tom took the wand and waved it casually. Overall, it felt decent.
Moreover, this wand gave him a strange feeling, like... excitement upon meeting himself?
"That's the one."
This time, when purchasing the wand, there was no Mr. Ollivander nearby to explain things tirelessly.
So, Tom had no idea what material the wand was made from.
However, since it felt decent to use, it would work fine as a backup wand.
When Wade emerged from the pile of wands again, he had five second-hand wands in his hands.
Though they weren't as good in condition as the one Tom had, they were still functional. At least the cores were still securely enclosed inside the wands.
"Why did you buy so many?" Tom asked in confusion.
"Better safe than sorry."
Wade held the five wands in his hand and then looked toward the rest of the store's merchandise.
Tom wasn't in a hurry to leave and instead walked toward the large pile of old books.
Earlier, Toby had mentioned that while there was a lot of junk here, occasionally someone might find something valuable.
Tom thought that maybe hidden in the pile of trash, there might be some valuable magical manuscripts or something similar...
Wade had the same idea, and very subtly, he walked over to the pile of books alongside Tom.
Tom crouched down, furrowing his brow as he used the old wand to push aside several dirty second-hand textbooks, then carefully began searching.
Wade, meanwhile, went around the pile of books, planning to start flipping through from the other side.
Just as Wade rounded the corner and was about to look through the unique old books, suddenly, he felt as if something had flashed before his eyes.
Hmm?!
Wade turned his head in confusion, looking toward the nearby shelf.
This shelf was cluttered with many strange alchemy tools, most of which were undoubtedly damaged.
Wade walked up to the shelf and soon saw the faint blue glow flickering from it.
Like Tom, he pulled out an old wand and began to carefully push aside the jumble of items on the shelf.
For these mysterious alchemy tools, whose origins and uses were unclear, Wade was cautious, even if they were damaged.
At this point, the source of the faint blue light was finally exposed in front of Wade.
It was a golden bar, about the thickness of two fingers, with strange patterns carved on its surface that Wade couldn't decipher. It looked like an exquisitely crafted lighter.
The faint blue light was now flickering over the strange patterns.
Wade gently poked the "lighter" with his wand.
The "lighter" didn't react, and the blue light continued to flicker.
Wade flicked his wand lightly, and a small gecko from the wall flew over, landing on the "lighter."
After a while, seeing that the gecko showed no unusual behavior, Wade finally released the gecko from his spell.
The little gecko hurriedly scurried away, without anything strange happening during the entire process.
Only then did Wade confidently reach out and pick up the "lighter."
In fact, even though this store dealt in second-hand and old goods, it was still a legitimate business and would never buy or sell dark magic items.
Most people wouldn't bring dark magic items here to sell; they would usually go to Knockturn Alley.
What Wade had just done was really just a precaution, just in case.
Wade carefully examined the lighter in his hand and then cautiously pressed his finger against the blue light.
Click!
A thin crack appeared at the top of the lighter.
Wade gently pried it open with his thumb, and a small flicker of bluish flame appeared at the top...
Wade didn't expect that it was really just an ordinary lighter?
No... Wait, an ordinary lighter couldn't randomly emit light like this!
Click!
Wade closed the lid of the lighter, extinguishing the small flame at the top.
"Tom, come take a look at this."
"What's up?" Tom walked over and looked at the lighter Wade had handed him. "Isn't this just an ordinary lighter?"
"Ordinary? Didn't you notice it's glowing?" Wade asked, confused.
"Glow? Where's the glow?" Tom took the lighter, looked at it, and then said with a look of disdain, "It doesn't even open."
"You can't see the light at the top? And it still won't open?" Wade rubbed his chin, staring at the lighter in Tom's hand, still emitting a faint blue glow.
"Well, to me, this is just a gold-plated lighter, and..." Tom tried opening the lighter again. "It really won't open."
Wade took the lighter back and gently flicked it with his thumb.
Click!
The lighter opened.
Tom's eyes widened. "This... I'll try again!"
But no matter how hard Tom tried, he couldn't open the lighter like Wade did.
So, this blue light... I guess only I can see it.. Wade thought thoughtfully, looking at the lighter in his hand, still glowing with faint blue light.
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Read two weeks ahead of everyone:
P^treon: Captain69
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(★‿★)This past week was very productive! Thanks a lot for all the support!🥳♥
This week's goals:-
Every 200 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter
Every 6 Reviews = 1 extra chapter