Enchanting Table

"Class begins."

Kayson tapped the lectern in front of him. It was still solid gold, not covertly gouged out by some mischievous young wizard.

Soon the young wizards below flipped open their alchemy books, pulled out folding alchemy disks from their pockets, and one by one looked up at Kayson on the podium with worshipful eyes.

The man in question, however, felt a bit awkward. He stepped down from the lectern, picked up a student's alchemy textbook at random, and glanced through it.

"Ancient Runic..." he murmured.

[Ancient Runic...]

[Ancient Runic...]

[What the hell is Ancient Runic?]

He fell into a rare silence, then flipped further back.

Soon his forehead, which had been on the verge of sweating, dried up again.

So-called Ancient Runic was a type of magical script, also known by other names—like the runic letters Odin in Norse mythology traded his eye to learn, which were another name for Ancient Runic.

In alchemy, it was mainly used to inscribe alchemical materials, forming magical circuits. But that bastard at Flourish and Blotts hadn't written a single record about runes in the book he sold me.

Which book-selling bastard...

It seemed he'd need to pick a dark, moonless night, stuff that guy in a sack, and give him a beating.

After a casual glance, he returned the book to the student.

Using words to imbue objects with magic—that was child's play for him, really.

"Have you learned the application of Ancient Runic?" Kayson asked.

"Yes, Professor."

Kayson nodded. "Forgive me for stepping in mid-term as your professor, and your previous professor left abruptly, which means I'm a bit off on your progress. I hope you understand."

"But you all know runes, right? I recall Hogwarts has a professor of Ancient Runes who teaches exactly that."

After saying this, he gave the students no time to respond and returned directly to the lectern.

"As for rune carving, I think the old method of filling grooves with Mithril is quite crude. Carving slots into an object and filling them with Mithril, which already contains magic—that's the Mithril's magic, not the object's own."

"So I've developed a more advanced way to apply runes. Of course, this isn't carving; I call it enchanting."

With that, Kayson pulled out Obsidian, crafted a base, then produced four fist-sized diamonds that gleamed with light, setting them into the four corners of the Obsidian base.

He took out a blank book, tossed it casually onto the Obsidian tabletop, and the book floated up.

"Someone give me something, and I'll show you how this thing works." Kayson leaned lazily against the Enchanting Table.

"Uh, Professor, what's it for?"

"It can directly apply the magic of Ancient Runes to an object, enhancing it—like making weapons stronger, tools more durable, that sort of thing."

After Kayson spoke, the whole class exchanged glances, then in unison erupted into chaos, all trying to send their belongings up to the podium.

A minute later, after the first spell flew from the wand of a young wizard who didn't play fair, the moral restraints of the classroom vanished instantly. Soon, the final victor stood before Kayson.

"Hand it over," he said, extending his hand.

"Uh, Professor, it's not that I don't trust you, but you know a wand is the most important thing to a wizard, so I'd like to ask one more thing."

"It's absolutely safe," Kayson added.

The young wizard quickly handed over his wand.

"Ashwood, Unicorn Hair... what's your name?"

"Cedric Diggory, sir."

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

"Last year's alchemy professor thought my progress was too fast, so he let me attend classes with the fourth-years."

"Oh... good, good. What effect do you need?"

"I can choose the effect?" Cedric said, a bit surprised.

"Is alchemy such an inflexible thing? Of course you can. Just write the runes for the corresponding magical effect in this book—or use your own book; this thing will automatically absorb runes within a certain range." Kayson said smugly.

"Alright, I'll write them now. Can I use this book?" Cedric pointed at the floating book in front of him.

"As you wish." Kayson even handed him a quill.

He took the quill, dipped it in ink, and wrote long passages of runes across the book with flourish.

Kayson didn't recognize them at first, but since he'd crafted the Enchanting Table himself, in his view, each rune segment had transparent boxes floating above it.

There were ones for reducing magic loss, increasing spell power, boosting spell transmission speed, and one for warming hands in winter.

"Is this enough?"

Cedric finished writing all the runic magic he needed and looked up at Kayson.

"Mm-hmm. So, do you want to enchant your wand yourself, or should I do it for you?"

Cedric scratched his head sheepishly. "Professor, I'm attached to my wand, so..."

Kayson nodded, his eyes crinkling into crescents as he glanced sideways at Cedric. "I understand, I understand. Young people always have that inexplicable possessiveness over what catches their eye—the kind where you can't stand anyone else even touching it."

Cedric scratched his head awkwardly. He didn't know why, but when Kayson put it that way, it somehow sounded a bit off. Still, he admitted it was true.

"Place your wand on the book. It'll float up. Then put your hand on the book and channel your magic to draw out the runic power within. Imbue it into your wand. It's quite simple—give it a try."

Cedric hummed in acknowledgment and gently laid his wand on the book. The wand was instantly caught by some force and floated into the air.

Next came channeling his magic, infusing the runic power into the wand.

Everything was perfectly normal. Not a single problem.

The next moment, Cedric's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed stiffly to the floor.

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

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

With Cedric's collapse, the classroom below the podium began to stir with commotion. Some even went so far as to claim that Cedric had enchanted his wand with too much magic, that Kayson sensed his greed and secretly cast a curse to kill him.

"Quiet." Kayson spent a long time studying Cedric, confirming that he was merely in a protective coma from nearly exhausting his magic—nothing serious—before he looked up and barked.

The classroom below kept chattering.

"Quiet!" No use.

Somewhat exasperated, Kayson summoned a small golden bell into his palm and tapped it lightly with his finger. In an instant, the bell's sound spread like ripples of water, not only forcing the young witches and wizards below to shut up but also jolting Cedric, who was lying prone on the podium, upright with a start.

"Professor... I'm, I'm fine, right?" Cedric rubbed his head, speaking with lingering fear.

"You're fine. It's just that your magic couldn't handle enchanting your wand that much. You were about to run out of magic, so your body went into a protective coma," Kayson explained.

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

"You're not weak. You're just too young."

"Then did I succeed in enchanting it?"

"...At least when you use your wand in winter, you won't have to worry about it being cold to the touch. That's the only enchantment you completed. But it's a good start."

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

As Kayson spoke, his originally stern expression finally cracked, and he said with a smile.

"Thank you, Professor..." Cedric sighed in relief and reached for his wand to return to his seat.

"Ahem. Aren't you going to enchant your wand anymore?" 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. Latecomers won't have such good fortune. If you still want to enchant it, give me your wand." Kayson held out his hand.

The moment he finished speaking, Cedric's wand was already in his hand. He placed the wand on the Enchanting Table, and as a torrent of magic poured into it along with runic inscriptions, the originally wax-white wand shimmered with a layer of iridescent purple light.

"Go give it a try."

Cedric took his wand back and instinctively tapped it in his hand.

Everyone's eyes turned to a large hole in the classroom floor—the Potions classroom below... and Snape, whose face was pitch black.

"Cedric Diggory?"

Snape's hawk-like eyes zeroed in on the culprit without hesitation. "Hufflepuff loses ten points!"

Kayson hurried over, a dark oak plank appearing in his hand, and patched up the floor in a few quick moves.

"Ahem. Well, let this be a lesson to everyone. From now on, when testing your wands, aim at an inanimate target. Don't just wave them around like Cedric did."

"See? One careless wave, and that's ten points gone."

"Lucky for you, it's me." Kayson paused deliberately after saying this, making Cedric feel—somehow—that this professor he was meeting for the first time, no, actually the second time, was surprisingly kind. Maybe he even had thoughts of giving the points back.

"...If it were another professor, they might actually give you those points back. But you happened to run into me."

Kayson said this with great mischief.

"Oh..." The Hufflepuff young witches and wizards wilted like winter cabbages, while the Gryffindors thoroughly enjoyed this little O. Henry-style joke.

As for Slytherin and Ravenclaw, they had nothing to say. It was none of their business.

Soon, it was almost time for class to end.

"Your assignment: study this Enchanting Table and write a paper of no fewer than three thousand words. If you can replicate a working imitation, even better. Class dismissed."

With that, Kayson left the Enchanting Table where it was and headed for the door.

He only slowed his steps when he reached the classroom entrance.

"Hufflepuff, add ten points."

"Ohohohohoh!!!"

"Long live Professor Kayson!!!"