After taking the green, crooked cedar wand into his hand,
it felt as though the entire world had changed in an instant.
His mind became sharper.
His previous habit of carelessly practicing on the desks and chairs in empty classrooms, then tossing them back without cleaning up, would probably never happen again.
His thoughts also became more organized.
Even the smallest details at the edge of his vision entered his mind.
A stream of information flooded into his head as well.
So-called true damage ignored armor and magic resistance, dealing damage directly.
That 50% meant that half the damage from any spell or [basic attack] he cast would be true damage.
The part about enemies being unable to lie meant that, before the effects of spells cast with this wand were dispelled, they would be unable to lie just as if they had taken Veritaserum.
His status panel updated accordingly.
ID: 000000001 Grimoire Level: 3 (1100/100) Name: Ryan Smith/Basil Granger Race: Wizard Identity: Hogwarts Gryffindor (Fire Spell Bonus +1%) First-Year Student (Receives 20 Gems Daily) Enrollment Date: 1991/07/27 Health: 10+15 (Echo Bonus: 1000 False Life: 142·341) Magic Power: 7+9 Luck: 3~7 Family Traits: True Sight (Permanent), Dragon Blood of Red Dragon (Awaiting Ignition), Plant Affinity (Awakened), Potions Mastery (Awakened)
This True Sight was the manifestation of his ability to see through reality.
The "sight" here did not refer solely to the eyes, but to the combined sensory abilities of vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and so on.
While his senses—his insight—were enhanced by 10%, his ability to discern lies had also received specialized improvements.
Through a telescope, he could tell whether a man speaking a mile away was telling the truth.
He could lick the sweat of someone who was speaking or take in a faint scent to determine whether they were lying.
He could also judge the sincerity behind someone's words simply by touching less than an inch of their skin.
Compared to that, noticing Voldemort's attention was nothing remarkable.
Still, unfortunately, one thing differed from what Basil had imagined.
He had indeed gained a second "magic power" bar, one that radiated rationality and was as clear as crystal.
It overlapped with his original "magic power," which was full of majesty and blazing heat.
But they merely coexisted in concept.
The "magic power" flowing through his body had not doubled with the appearance of the second Wand Appearance Component.
Other than gaining an additional talent and a few unusual abilities, nothing else had changed.
So-called true damage was not much more useful than a curse against ordinary wizards with frail bodies—that was, low physical defense—and no spiritual power filling their Magic Fields.
At most, it gave him more tricks.
Even ordinary spells without intent infused into them could now be used like curses or other advanced spells.
It would only be especially useful against Magical Creatures with high physical and magical defense, or elite wizards who had mastered using spiritual power to fill a Magic Field.
"The Bermuda Triangle is the area with the most extreme magical field disturbances on Earth. Even more so than the Black Forest in Albania."
Elsewhere, at Voldemort's command, Quirrell, who had been lecturing with his back to the students, stiffened and stumbled over his words.
Why does the master want me to contact this brat?
Quirrell did not dare think further. He turned around and abruptly changed the subject.
"Mr. Granger, come to my office after class. I found the answer to your previous question."
Basil nodded.
He took the bait!
The little man in his heart excitedly pumped his fists.
Inside the Defense Against the Dark Arts office on the third floor, Quirrell stood with his back to Basil.
Quirrell removed his turban, revealing an astonishingly small, bald head.
A face grew from the back of that bald head.
That face was deathly pale like chalk. Its red eyes glowed, and beneath them were two thin, snake-like nostrils.
Across from him, Basil took a battered Diary with a black cover from his schoolbag.
At the same time, his azure eyes abruptly lost focus.
A voice rang out from the book.
Yet Basil's mouth moved along with it. His clear, clean, textured voice now sounded exceptionally eerie.
"Long time no see, Voldemort. My so-called original self. You shameful failure."
"A failure?" The face let out a hoarse sneer. "A discarded remnant, a little brat yearning for fatherly love, a fragment of lowly Riddle. Who gave you the courage to mock me—the purest one, inheritor of great Slytherin's bloodline, one step away from becoming the King of Wizards?"
"The King of Wizards?" Two sneers overlapped. "Oh? Who is hiding beneath that stinking turban? I thought it was some pathetic nobody."
"Enough!" the face barked. "State your purpose! You must understand that you are merely the most insignificant of the five safeguards! (Nagini was not yet a Horcrux, and Voldemort did not know that Harry was one.)"
The Diary mocked, "Your 'loyal' servant sent me to Hogwarts. He wanted me to kill this boy, thereby concealing the fact that the so-called Malfoy family is now nothing more than a toothless tiger. He wanted to tell the other families that even though Malfoy had lost his seat on the Hogwarts Board of Governors and had several shops seized, they were still not to be provoked."
The face's red eyes narrowed tightly, its emotions unreadable. "Sent 'me'? So they truly do not believe I will rise again?"
The face began questioning and answering itself. The Diary also fell silent at the appropriate moment.
By "they," he meant all the Death Eaters, Malfoy included, who had slipped back among his enemies after his defeat and claimed that they were innocent, unaware, and under The Killing Curse.
"Did they not know that I had taken measures against death long ago? Did they not witness me prove time and again, when I was stronger than any other wizard, that my potential was boundless?"
"My answer to myself is that perhaps they believe there exists an even greater power capable of defeating Voldemort... Perhaps they have already pledged themselves to someone else... Could it be that leader of the rabble, that protector of Mudbloods and Muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"
"But clearly, that is not it. They do not fear Dumbledore. They simply believe that I cannot rise again!"
Quirrell, controlled by that face, and Basil, "controlled" by the Diary, both began trembling in anger.
"Master, quell your anger!" Quirrell begged repeatedly.
"Shut up!" x3
The face then continued, "Therefore, I believe that aside from my friends suffering in Azkaban, those traitors who call themselves my servants must pay a severe price. The Death Eater big tree has too many rotten branches and leaves. It needs pruning."
He turned his head toward the Diary.
It seemed to carry a deeper implication.
"So, we also need to replenish ourselves with fresh blood. This boy you are possessing is one of them."
The Diary, along with the "controlled" boy, raised its head. "He is also a servant I value. In fact, I came to find you because I hope you can find a way to get me out. A truly safe route. Not something as crude as Lucius Malfoy's method—using a cover woven from unicorn tail hair to suppress me, then having an owl drop me into this boy's arms."
"Safe? Hogwarts is the safest place. If you want safety, you should stay away from me." The face said this first, then pointed the Alder Wand toward the other side of its head.
A flash of red light passed, and Quirrell lost consciousness.
Thanks to classmate Tilted 45 Degrees, classmate Moon Amid Hidden Clouds, for their monthly votes, and to the other readers for their recommendations and continued reading!
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