[Sry for the delay. Here is the Bonus chapter for Powerstones!♥]
Huge thanks to Thomas Menegatti for the patronage!♥♥
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The secret passage was long.
As the two of them slowly walked forward, the excitement that had been surging in their hearts gradually settled down.
Tom was no different.
After the initial thrill of using the Killing Curse for the first time faded, a faint trace of fear that had been buried deep inside him began to surface.
After all, no matter how wicked he might be, he was still just a boy.
Thinking back on it now, he still couldn't quite understand why, when he had been hiding so well, he suddenly rushed out and cast the Killing Curse at his target...
What if that Killing Curse hadn't worked as expected? The Alliance member would have had enough time to react and fire a Killing Curse back at him before calmly escaping.
Fortunately... the spell had worked.
"You've known about the Killing Curse for a long time, haven't you, Tom?" Wade suddenly broke the silence of the passage.
Tom nodded. "Mm... I've secretly practiced it on my own."
"Can you tell me where you learned that spell?" Wade asked again.
"That day in the Restricted Section… finding Slytherin's family records wasn't difficult at all, there's information about him everywhere. So… while I still had time, I studied a few other things as well." Tom's voice was a little heavy, as if he were in a particularly low mood.
Wade knew very well, this was the negative side effect of Dark magic.
Dark magic, especially Unforgivable Curses like the Killing Curse, as written in the advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts textbooks, was said to "corrupt the soul" the more it was used.
But Wade thought that explanation was too abstract.
In his understanding, this kind of magic required extremely intense negative emotions, and if used too often, the caster would naturally become influenced by those emotions.
Long-term exposure to such intense negativity would twist even the most normal person into something warped.
Becoming indifferent to human life was, in fact, one of the more ordinary side effects…
"So, you succeeded on your first try, and you used it against a powerful adult wizard?"
Tom silently nodded. Whether it was a stroke of luck or his usual skill, the fact remained that he had successfully killed someone with the Killing Curse!
"Tom, your talent truly amazes me…" Wade couldn't help but marvel at Tom's gift for Dark magic.
He had always known that Tom's talent for Dark magic was exceptional, but he hadn't expected it to be this astonishing.
Wade's own mastery of the three Unforgivable Curses had come from personal instruction by his senior in the dream realm.
Coupled with his magical power, which was already at the level of an adult wizard, he was able to cast them successfully.
And even so, having only recently learned them, he still couldn't achieve the kind of results his senior had demonstrated, like firing off an Avada Kedavra lightning chain to take down over twenty enemies at once…
But Tom—he had learned Dark magic entirely on his own, without any guidance.
By all logic, a first-year student, even if they knew the incantation and wand movement for the Killing Curse, would find it almost impossible to successfully cast it.
Even if they forced it out, at most it would cause an adult wizard to suffer a nosebleed.
Yet eleven-year-old Tom, on his first real attempt against a live target, had successfully used the Killing Curse—entirely self-taught—to take down an elite-level member of Grindelwald's Party!
Tom glanced at Wade, his expression complicated. "I'm talented? If I wasn't mistaken just now, someone seemed to have taken down three people with a single Killing Curse…"
"Ah… looks like you arrived quite early, Tom…" Wade replied with a smile.
"Heh…" Tom let out a stiff chuckle, still affected by the aftershocks of using the Killing Curse just now, to the point that even his laughter seemed a bit strained.
"Have a candy, Tom. Something sweet will help you feel better." Wade extended his right hand toward Tom, a few candies resting in his palm.
"No need…" Tom instinctively refused.
"You're still young. It's normal to feel like this the first time you use Dark magic. When you're older, when your mental resilience is stronger, you'll get used to it," Wade said as he unwrapped a candy and popped it into his mouth.
Before he transmigrated, Wade had studied biology. For the sake of research, what hadn't he dissected? What sanity-blasting things hadn't he seen?
His psychological endurance had been honed long ago, so although tonight had also been his first time using the Killing Curse to Kill a person in reality, he handled it far better than Tom.
Tom said coldly, "Aren't you young too? If I'm inferior, then I'm just inferior. I'll admit that, I won't make excuses."
Wade was slightly stunned at his words. He hadn't expected Tom to be so sensitive about this.
But it made sense. Without Wade around, Tom would undoubtedly be the most talented of his generation.
But now, no matter how hard he tried, he could only be second…
Understanding the reason, Wade smiled and said, "Tom, I think you've misunderstood. Tonight wasn't my first time using the Killing Curse."
And that was the truth.
Senior had not always taught Wade magic in such a gentle and peaceful way.
Wade's current dueling ability wasn't solely due to his talent either.
After all, Senior's ability to create dreamscapes was unrivaled in the world, and the dream battlefields she simulated were just as realistic as the real thing.
Wade had no idea how many times he had fought in those simulated battlefields before developing the level of battlefield awareness he had now.
As for the Killing Curse, it was naturally a spell Wade had practiced frequently in those dream battlefields, which was why he could use it so skillfully.
When Tom heard Wade say this, however, he misunderstood.
He thought Wade must have undergone special training in all kinds of Dark magic within his family before he ended up wandering the world…
No wonder…
That damned pure-blood family! That damned foundation!
If only I could have received that kind of training too…
Although Tom was envious and resentful, this line of thinking unknowingly lightened his sense of defeat quite a bit.
It wasn't because you, Wade, have more talent than me — it's just that you had an earlier start!
"Got any more sweets? Give me one too," Tom reached out his hand.
"I thought you didn't want any?"
"I've changed my mind!" Tom said firmly.
Might as well take advantage of the rich kid! Humph!
Wade grabbed another handful of candies from his pocket and handed them over.
Tom immediately snatched the whole handful, grabbing all the sweets from Wade's hand.
"Hey, you really have no shame… what are you doing digging into my pocket? At least leave me some!"
After transferring all the candies from Wade's pocket into his own, Tom finally stopped, looking satisfied.
"Alright, since you like sweets so much, I guess I know what to get you for Christmas," Wade said helplessly, spreading his hands.
"I don't like sweets. I just like eating what I snatch, especially from you," Tom sneered.
"You rascal, you're only acting so arrogant because you know I won't fall out with you over something this trivial," Wade replied.
"Heh." Tom gave a slightly bitter laugh.
Since he couldn't win in a proper fight, he could only take petty advantages like this to barely soothe his wounded pride.
Fortunately, this scoundrel Wade didn't fuss over such things at times like this. Thinking about it that way, maybe this rascal wasn't always so annoying and was actually likable…
Suddenly, Tom shivered in alarm!
Why am I having such ridiculous thoughts?
Tom shook his head vigorously, forcing those dangerous thoughts out of his mind.
Wade suddenly said, "Tom, in the future, do you want to accomplish something big?"
Tom raised an eyebrow slightly. "What kind of big thing?"
Wade said, "Something like… what Grindelwald is doing."
As soon as Wade finished speaking, he felt the snake body of Nagini tighten sharply around his wrist.
Tom asked curiously, "Didn't you say he's bound to fail?"
"Grindelwald's vision requires sacrificing the interests of most people. That would bring too much resistance. Relying only on a few stirring slogans, it's indeed difficult to succeed," Wade shook his head.
"Do you really have a way to avoid that?" Tom asked.
Wade smiled and said, "Actually, whether we succeed or not, there's already a clear standard. If… my ideas can even gain Dumbledore's approval, then there's no doubt they're right."
"In my opinion, aiming to rule the world like Grindelwald is the most foolish goal. What we should do is guide the world instead."
"As long as our purpose is always to make the world a better place, then naturally, people will help us make it happen."
"There was an old saying from The Lord of the Rings: 'Even the smallest person can change the course of the future. If you stay true to your goals, you will find many followers. So even in failure, hope remains—as long as the company stays true.' That's the principle."
"Lord of the what?"
"Ah.. It's.. um.. a thing I saw in Canada.. Haah.. the air is quite chilly tonight.."
As Wade finished speaking, the tight coil of Nagini around his wrist gradually loosened.
"You plan to.. Guide the world…" Tom muttered to himself, deep in thought. "Then how do you plan to guide it?"
"Haha~ No rush. Let's observe first. Once we thoroughly understand the structure of this world, we'll naturally find the best point of leverage," Wade replied calmly.
After all, Wade had only arrived in this world for about two months at most. He had plenty of time to continue improving his strength while slowly observing this world.
Although the system's presence wasn't particularly strong, its ultimate achievement—becoming the Dark Lord to ascend as a god—was still very appealing to Wade.
Besides, since he had come to this world, if he did nothing at all, wouldn't his transmigration have been in vain?
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