Nicolas's Fantasy Book

There weren't many people in the Gryffindor common room. After greeting the people he knew, Loren returned to his dormitory and dragged a black suitcase out from under his bed.

The House-elves cleaned every day, so there wasn't a speck of dust on the suitcase.

He dug out the two booklets truly buried at the bottom, then sat cross-legged on the carpet before the window and examined them carefully in the sunlight.

The cover of Complete Guide to Hieroglyphs was dark overall, bearing only the simply arranged title and Nicolas's signature in the lower-right corner. There were no grooves or anything of the sort.

He took out the small picture card Nicolas had given him. It was thicker than ordinary parchment, with a matte texture, like the cards used for printed business cards in the Muggle world. Its background was pure black.

On the card, the younger Nicolas Flamel had his eyes narrowed, as though resting them.

Loren placed the card upright in the exact center of the cover of Complete Guide to Hieroglyphs.

Red, blue, green, and yellow trails of light overflowed from the card's edges. Streams of flowing light extended from all four sides, mingling together without actually crossing, giving it a somewhat sci-fi feel.

When the light trails spread across the entire book, Nicolas Flamel on the card opened his eyes—silver eyes gleaming with Rune symbols.

Whether it was due to the changing light or not, Loren felt that Nicolas's hair in the picture had become a little whiter as well.

There were many magical portraits at Hogwarts. They could move freely between portraits and communicate with people. The one Loren had interacted with the most was The Fat Lady at the entrance to the common room.

He tried communicating with Nicolas in the portrait. "Hello? Can you talk?"

The figure's gaze followed Loren's moving mouth, but he did not speak.

Unable to get a response, Loren tried opening the booklet, but the entire book had become like a single whole and could no longer be opened.

Loren thought of Tom's Horcrux diary, which seemed to communicate through writing. He fetched a quill, dipped it in ink, and wrote "Hello?" beneath the card.

The ink vanished at once, as though the book had absorbed it. Nicolas in the portrait spread his hand as if to display something, and then four circular icons appeared beneath the portrait.

The circles were each about the size of a Bronze Knut and arranged in a row. The first contained an open book, the second two crossed wands, the third a boiling crucible, and the fourth a balance scale used for weighing.

Loren guessed the book represented theoretical knowledge, the crossed wands knowledge related to spells, the boiling crucible potions, and the final scale alchemy—a reference to alchemy's principle of equivalent exchange.

The intense sense of familiarity made it feel like a smartphone app from his previous life. Could it be touch-controlled?

Loren thought so, and acted on it. He tapped the first icon with his finger—the open book.

Nicolas's silver eyes in the portrait lit up. Loren's gaze was drawn to them, and the moment their eyes met, he felt dizzy. Then he felt a pulling force on his nose, as if someone had stuck a finger into his nostril and dragged him forward.

By the time Loren came to his senses, he had arrived in a library. Bookshelves stood everywhere, packed with books. The space was broad and brightly lit, with white marble beneath his feet.

"Welcome to Nicolas Flamel's Fantasy Book World!" a voice sounded from behind Loren.

Loren turned around and saw a ghost identical to the Nicolas on the card floating in the air. Its lower half gradually blurred away, and its feet were already invisible, like a holographic projection from his previous life. The virtual person's voice was somewhat shrill and sounded slightly distorted.

"Did magic put a library inside this book?" Loren's eyes shone with delight.

"Of course not. This contains every book Nicolas has read over the past several centuries. Many of those books can no longer be found in reality."

"Memory Magic shaped this library. It is somewhat similar to a Pensieve, but more tangible, and you can browse through the books as you please."

"The book also contains an Alchemy Lab, a potion room, and a Duel Chamber. They are all virtual spaces created through Memory Magic combined with alchemy."

"Right now, you are only a conscious entity. When you enter the world within the book, your real body falls asleep. When you awaken, everything that happened here will become a strand of memory and return to your mind."

Virtual Nicol gave a brief introduction to this fantasy book.

Loren was dumbfounded. What kind of futuristic thinking was this? Virtual space, realistic simulation—if it had an internet connection too, Nicolas would have created a metaverse.

Loren then asked what he truly cared about. "What about the flow of time? Is time here consistent with time in reality?"

Virtual Nicol smiled. "You have a sharp mind, but everything here is merely your imagination—or rather, this is your dream."

"Neither time nor space exists here. If you read a book, perhaps only a second will have passed in reality when you wake up, or perhaps an entire night. That depends on your state."

"Then can I bring other people in?" Loren considered this question equally crucial.

"Loren, this is your dream. Nicolas merely put things into it; he did not make any rules. Everything depends on you." Virtual Nicol's voice grew hazy. He did not deny the possibility. "I am only responsible for teaching, though. I cannot tell you how to do it."

Loren hated things without instructions, so he began wandering around the library aimlessly.

There seemed to be fewer books here than in the school library, but there were many that Hogwarts' library did not have. More importantly, he could freely read some of the books from the Restricted Section here.

"I really don't lack books!"

The school library alone had enough books to study for a long time, and there were all kinds of manuscripts in the Room of Requirement. With this place added on top of that, Loren felt a deep sense of despair.

After wandering around for a while, he decided not to stay any longer. "I want to see the other rooms."

"Of course!" Virtual Nicol spread his hands.

Loren heard the sound of gears turning, and then the entire world shifted like a changing slide. The bright library became a classroom.

It was like an ordinary classroom at Hogwarts, with a high ceiling and gray stone walls, but it was completely empty, without any desks, chairs, or benches.

Virtual Nicol floated in midair and introduced it to Loren. "This is the Duel Chamber, a place to improve your practical combat ability. Nicolas believed that fighting was an extremely important ability for an alchemist."

"How do I practice? Will it spawn monsters for me?" Loren looked around. It was an enclosed space, and he could see its limits at a glance.

Floating in midair, Virtual Nicol became even blurrier. Red, yellow, blue, and green light flowed across him before transforming into people Loren knew well—Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape...

"I can transform into anyone and duel you based on your impressions and Nicolas's records. I can also..."

As he said this, Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell, and Professor Snape emerged one after another from halos of light, floating around Loren expressionlessly.

To be honest, having four professors float around you without expression was extremely stressful. Loren found it rather unsettling.

"It can even simulate multiplayer battlefields." Virtual Nicol looked rather proud of himself.

"So, a brawl, huh?" Loren saw right through him.

Afterward, Virtual Nicol showed Loren around the Potion Room and the Alchemy Lab. Those two places could simulate brewing potions and conducting alchemical experiments. The experimental materials were simulated based on Nicol's memories and possessed the corresponding properties and effects.

However, anything Loren created would exist only in his memories; it did not truly exist.

"Then, what should I call you?" Having finished exploring and prepared to leave the Fantasy Book, Loren turned back to look at the figure floating in the air.

The virtual figure smiled.

"Call me Flamel."