The Enchanting Table

"Class."

Kayson tapped the lectern in front of him. It was still solid gold and had not been secretly chipped away by that mischievous little wizard.

The young wizards below quickly opened their alchemy textbooks and pulled folding alchemy discs from their pockets, then looked up at Kayson on the podium with worshipful eyes.

Kayson himself felt somewhat awkward. He stepped down from the podium and casually picked up one student's alchemy textbook to look through it.

"Ancient Runic..." he murmured.

Ancient Runic...

Ancient Runic...

Ancient Runic... What the hell was that?

He fell unusually silent, then glanced farther back in the book.

Soon, the sweat about to form on his forehead mysteriously vanished.

Ancient Runic was a type of magical writing. It had other names as well; for instance, the runes Odin had supposedly learned after trading one of his eyes in Norse mythology were another name for Ancient Runic.

In alchemy, it was mainly inscribed onto alchemical materials to form magical circuits. But that bastard at Flourish and Blotts had not written a single thing about runes in the books he sold him.

That damn bookseller...

It seemed he needed to pick a dark and windy night to sack the man and beat him up.

After skimming through it a few times, he returned the book to the student.

Using writing to grant objects magic? That was nothing difficult for him. Really.

"Have you learned how to use Ancient Runic?" Kayson asked.

"Yes, Professor."

Kayson nodded. "Forgive me for joining halfway through as your professor. Your previous professor also left rather abruptly, which means I may have some slight misunderstandings regarding your progress. I hope you understand."

"But you all know runes, right? I remember Hogwarts has a professor of Ancient Runes, and they teach runes."

After saying that, he gave the students no time to respond and returned directly to the podium.

"As for rune inscription, I think the previous method of filling carvings with Mithril was extremely crude. You carve grooves into an object and fill them with Mithril, which already contains magic. That is Mithril's magic, not the object's own magic."

"So I developed a more advanced way to use runes. Of course, it cannot really be called inscription. I call it enchanting."

As he spoke, Kayson took out Obsidian and made a base. Then he pulled out four fist-sized diamonds gleaming with light and embedded them into the four corners of the Obsidian base.

He then took out a blank book and casually tossed it onto the Obsidian tabletop. The book floated into the air just like that.

"Someone give me something. I'll show you how this thing works," Kayson said casually, leaning against the Enchanting Table.

"Um, Professor, what does it do?"

"It can directly apply the power of Ancient Runic to an object and enhance it. Weapons can become stronger, tools can become more durable, things like that."

After Kayson finished speaking, the students all exchanged glances. The next moment, the entire classroom erupted into chaos as everyone tried to send their belongings onto the podium.

A minute later, after the first spell shot from the wand of one shameless little wizard, the students in the classroom instantly abandoned all moral restraint. Before long, the final victor stood before Kayson.

"Give it to me," he said, holding out his hand.

"Um, Professor, it isn't that I don't trust you. You know that a wand is the most important thing to every wizard, so I want to ask one more question."

"It is completely safe," Kayson added.

The little wizard hurriedly handed over his wand.

"Ashwood, Unicorn Hair... What is your name?"

"Cedric Diggory, sir."

"...Aren't you a third-year?" Kayson asked, stroking his chin.

"Last year's alchemy professor thought I was progressing too quickly, so he let me attend class with the fourth-years."

"Oh... Very good, very good. What effect do you want?"

"You can choose the effect?" Cedric asked in surprise.

"Would alchemy be something so inconvenient? Of course, you need to write the runes corresponding to the magical effects in this book. You can use your own book too. This thing will automatically absorb runes within a certain range," Kayson said proudly.

"All right, I'll write them now. Can I use this book?" Cedric asked, pointing at the floating book before him.

"Whatever you like." Kayson even handed him a quill.

Cedric took the quill, dipped it in ink, and wrote long passages of runes across the pages.

Kayson had not recognized them at first, but he had built the Enchanting Table himself. From his perspective, transparent boxes floated above every section of runes.

Some reduced magical consumption, some increased spell power, some increased spell transmission speed, and one was responsible for warming hands in winter.

"Is this enough?"

Cedric wrote down all the runic magic he wanted, then raised his head and asked Kayson.

"Mm-hm. Now, do you want to enchant your wand yourself, or do you want me to enchant it for you?"

Cedric scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. "Professor, I've grown attached to my wand, so..."

Kayson nodded, his eyes curving into crescents as he glanced sideways at Cedric. "I understand, I understand. Young people always have an inexplicable possessiveness toward the things they value. The kind where they get unhappy if someone else even touches it."

Cedric awkwardly scratched his head. For some reason, hearing Kayson put it that way made it sound a little strange, but he still admitted it.

"Place your wand on the book. It will float up. Then put your hand on the book, activate your magic, and draw out the power contained in the runes. Apply it to your wand. It's very simple. Give it a try."

Cedric gave an affirmative hum and gently placed his wand on the book. The wand was instantly caught by a force and floated into the air.

Then all he had to do was activate his magic and apply the power of the runes to the wand.

Everything was perfectly normal. There was not the slightest problem.

The next moment, Cedric's eyes rolled back, and he fell stiffly backward.

"...???" Kayson scratched his head and lightly nudged Cedric with his foot.

"Hey... Hey? Diggory? Diggory? Cedric!"

As Cedric fainted, commotion began to rise below the podium. Some even claimed that Cedric had tried to apply too much magic to his wand, causing Kayson to sense his greed and secretly curse Cedric to death.

"Quiet." Kayson studied Cedric for quite a while. Only after confirming that Cedric was merely suffering a protective fainting spell because his magic was about to run dry did he raise his head and rebuke them.

The students below the podium were still chattering.

"Quiet!" It did not work.

Kayson was speechless. He summoned a small golden bell into his palm and lightly tapped it with a finger. In an instant, the ringing spread outward like ripples in water, forcibly silencing the students below and making Cedric, who had been lying sprawled on the podium, jerk upright.

"Professor... I-I'm fine, right?" Cedric asked nervously, rubbing his head.

"You're fine. Your magic simply doesn't allow you to enchant your wand with so many effects. Your magic was about to be exhausted, so your body forced you into a protective faint," Kayson explained.

"Huh? Am I that weak?" Cedric asked awkwardly.

"You aren't weak. You're just too young."

"Then did my enchantment succeed?"

"...At the very least, you won't need to worry about your wand freezing your hand in winter. You only completed that one enchantment, but it's a good start."

"For bravely standing before the Enchanting Table to enchant your own wand, and for using your wand to stage a full-blown brawl with your classmates in the classroom before ultimately standing before me, Hufflepuff gets ten points."

As Kayson spoke, his originally stern expression finally broke, and he smiled.

"Thank you, Professor..." Cedric sighed in relief and moved to pick up his wand and return to his seat.

"Ahem, aren't you going to continue enchanting your wand?" Kayson asked from the podium.

"I still can?"

Cedric turned back in surprise.

"Why not? Of course, this is a privilege for being the first. Those who come after you will not get the same benefit. If you still want to enchant it, give me your wand." Kayson held out his hand.

Almost the instant he finished speaking, Cedric's wand appeared in his hand. Kayson placed it on the Enchanting Table, and vast amounts of magic, together with runic words, poured into the wand. The originally waxy-white wand shimmered with a rippling purple glow.

"Go try it."

Cedric took back his wand and instinctively gave it a flick while holding it.

Everyone looked toward a large hole in the classroom floor. Below it was the Potions classroom... and Snape's pitch-black expression.

"Cedric Diggory?"

Snape's hawk-like eyes immediately found the culprit, and he snapped without hesitation, "Hufflepuff loses ten points!"

Kayson hurried over. A dark oak plank appeared in his hand, and with a few quick motions, he repaired the floor.

"Ahem, well, everyone should take this as a warning. When testing wands in the future, find an inanimate target. Don't casually fling them around like Cedric did."

"See? One casual flick, and ten points went flying away."

"This is only because it's me." Kayson deliberately paused after speaking, making Cedric think that this professor he had just met—no, met for the second time—was surprisingly kind. Perhaps Kayson intended to return the points to him.

"...If it were another professor, they might really give those points back to you. But since you ran into me, well."

Kayson said maliciously.

"Oh..." The Hufflepuff students wilted like cabbages in winter, while the Gryffindor students greatly enjoyed that little O. Henry-style joke.

As for Slytherin and Ravenclaw, they had nothing to say. It had nothing to do with them.

Before long, it was nearly time for class to end.

"Your assignment is to study this Enchanting Table and write an essay of no fewer than three thousand words. It would be even better if you can make a replica capable of enchanting things. Class dismissed."

After saying that, Kayson left the Enchanting Table where it was and prepared to leave the classroom.

Only when he reached the classroom door did his pace slow.

"Hufflepuff, ten points."

"Ohohohohoh!!!"

"Long live Professor Kayson!!!"