Salazar's Gift

Moriarty ordered Lockhart, Ingo, and Luke to leave and stay in the hall.

He picked up the notebook.

"Ding~ Host has discovered Salazar Slytherin's Diary. Reward: five Exploration Draws."

Moriarty felt a flicker of surprise. The entire castle had only granted ten draws, yet this diary alone provided five. It made him anticipate its contents.

Moriarty opened the first page. There, in elegant handwriting, was a line.

"Open your eyes to see death, close them to see the future."

Moriarty read it softly. This was the incantation to unseal the castle.

He turned to the second page, which read, "Death is Eternal Life."

"How interesting." Moriarty ran his finger across the page. Even after nine hundred years, the paper remained smooth. Just like the words themselves—no emphasis, as flat as stating a fact, yet the implication sent a chill down the spine.

"Death has always been the secret wizards can't fathom, and eternal life is the pursuit of many Dark Wizards."

Moriarty sat down in the noble chair, resting his hand on the gold-trimmed velvet armrest.

"But in the medieval era of Ancestor Salazar, there probably wasn't even a concept of Dark Wizards. Every Great Mage who reached the Legendary Realm would have explored eternal life."

Those two notes stirred Moriarty's ambition. He eagerly flipped to the third page, only to find words written in crimson blood: "Never trust the Goblins!"

Turning further—third page, fourth page, all the way to the last—they were filled with notes on potions, spells, and runes, as if death and eternal life had never been mentioned, their topic vanished.

Moriarty placed the notebook on the desk. Though it lacked records of death and immortality, it detailed seventeen potions and thirty-four spells invented by Salazar Slytherin.

"I think this knowledge will make my school life less boring." Moriarty smiled in satisfaction. He pulled out his checklist and wrote: "First school year: successfully brew three potions, master five spells."

Having written his plan, Moriarty noticed a rectangular sandalwood box on the table. Time had not faded it; it remained a vivid gold and red.

That color was rare in the castle. Gold and red were Godric Gryffindor's favorite colors—Salazar's friend and rival.

Curious, Moriarty opened the box. Inside was a large ring of keys, the biggest of which, a red one, was labeled "Underground Chamber."

"Luke!" Moriarty called loudly. Grabbing the red key, he strode out of the bedroom. "Take me to the basement. Now!"

Luke popped up. "Please follow me, young master. The basement is divided into two levels. The first is the Vault, holding the master's treasures obtained from the Goblins. The second stores the master's stockpiled supplies."

Unsure whether the Underground Chamber was on the first or second level, Moriarty decided to start searching from the first.

Passing through the hall, Moriarty overheard Lockhart questioning Ingo.

"There's something I've been thinking about for a while, you know, Ingo. You and the House-elf can't leave the castle. So how have you survived for nine hundred years? I mean, where do you get your food?"

"There's a big lake behind the castle, hmph." Ingo didn't answer directly, but gave a cruel smile.

"Oh, alright." Lockhart shot Ingo a disdainful glance and asked again, "And about the castle's wealth—did Salazar really get it from the Goblins? I don't recall any record in History of Magic of a conflict between Salazar and the Goblins."

Ingo glared at him fiercely, his lips moving but no sound coming out.

Moriarty guessed he was cursing Salazar, but dared not speak aloud—perhaps because of the Golden Shackles.

"Come with me, Lockhart. We're going to the Vault," Moriarty said expertly. "As long as you're willing to pay, even a Troll will read your new book!"

Lockhart's eyes lit up as he scurried over, muttering to himself the whole way, as if rehearsing a book launch, looking thoroughly smug.

"Young master, we've arrived." Luke opened the Vault door with a single finger.

The pitch-black basement was instantly illuminated. Piles of gold and dazzling gems and pearls blinded Moriarty and Lockhart.

Luke thought he had hurt Moriarty. He wept, "It's all my fault. I've never been to the Vault before. I didn't know it would be as bright as heaven."

"Aha, this is heaven!" Lockhart covered his eyes, tears streaming down, but he didn't care at all, intoxicated by the scent of money.

After a moment, Moriarty could finally see the Vault's internal structure.

The entire Vault was the size of a football field. Gold bricks formed four walls, airtight and impenetrable. The ceiling was studded with gems, emeralds, diamonds, and pearls. Countless treasures littered the floor.

Crystal partitions separated the various riches. A purple crystal wall stood between the mountain of gold and the mountain of silver; a green crystal wall divided golden vessels from magical materials...

Then there were coins issued by various countries and eras, but in this Vault, they were the least valuable items, stacked in piles in the corners.

"Wow!" Moriarty marveled. He wasn't greedy, but having this wealth would save him a lot of trouble. "Lockhart, take a few gold bricks as funds for promoting your new book."

"Oh~ young master..." Lockhart knelt on the gold-brick floor, tears streaming down, shaking his head at Moriarty with his mouth open.

Moriarty had no idea what he meant, but his tears were certainly from joy.

"Luke, let's go to the second level." Moriarty walked out of the Vault. There was nothing here but money—clearly no sign of the chamber.

On the second basement level, it wasn't as dark as the first. The armor hanging on the walls reflected faint glimmers of light.

Moriarty paced, searching for the Underground Chamber. Besides armor, there were greatswords, warhammers, spears, shields, scepters, and other weapons forged by Goblins.

"Found it!" Moriarty shook his head at a serpent sculpture. "Ancestor Salazar really was a stubborn old man. Any place he stored his oddities always involved snakes."

Moriarty inserted the red key into the serpent's mouth. With a crisp click, a hidden door appeared in the wall.

Glancing at the narrow passage, just wide enough for one person, Moriarty tightened his grip on his staff and strode inside.

On alert, Moriarty braced for danger, but none came. The hidden door led to a room with only a plain stone altar, on which rested an egg.

Sensing a faint release of magic from inside the egg, Moriarty gently placed his hand on it. Sure enough, he felt a soft pulse, as if a tiny heart beat within.

Suddenly, Moriarty heard the system's prompt.

"The egg in the Host's hand is called a Phoenix Egg. The undying phoenix, as a rare magical creature, contains Fire Elemental Magic. It is a variant among phoenixes—it does not undergo rebirth because it cannot be killed in the first place, which is also why it is so difficult to hatch."

The system explained so much to Moriarty for the first time, making him realize this egg was no ordinary thing.

"Detected that the Host has discovered, touched, and possesses the Phoenix Egg. Reward: three Exploration Draws.

Detected that the Phoenix Egg contains dense Fire Elemental Magic. The Elemental Magic Advancement Path is now unlocked for the Host. Does the Host wish to proceed?"

Moriarty asked, "The Elemental Magic Advancement Path? What benefit is there in choosing it?"

"Since the Harry Potter world lacks a complete wizard ranking system, the system has provided the Elemental Magic Advancement Path.

Elemental magic can help the Host better study magic and complete tasks faster.

As long as the Host possesses the corresponding elemental magic power, the corresponding elemental magic can be unlocked.

Currently, the Host has unlocked two types of elemental magic: Fire Element and Water Element."

"Water Element?" Moriarty asked curiously. He had just unlocked Fire Elemental Magic through the Phoenix Egg. When had Water Elemental Magic been unlocked?

Moriarty hadn't been in contact with magic for long, but he quickly figured it out: "It was during the battle with the Dark Wizard! The Ice Magic Circle, Ice Snake Dance! I understand—from a magical essence perspective, ice is a transformed state of water, so Ice Magic belongs to Water Elemental Magic."

"If the Slytherin Family's inherited magic all belongs to Water Elemental Magic, what reason do I have not to learn it?" Moriarty said with a faint smile. Compared to the treasures in the vault, knowledge was the true wealth.

"The system does not allow a person to unlock multiple elemental magics simultaneously, so the Host can only choose one elemental magic to study.

It is recommended that the Host choose Water Element. If the Host chooses Water Element, due to the Host's excellent performance in the 'Battle with the Dark Wizard' task, the Host will become a Level 25 Junior Wizard.

If the Host chooses Fire Element, the Host can only start as a Level 3 Magic Apprentice."

"Magic Apprentice and Junior Wizard?" Moriarty toyed with the Phoenix Egg in his hand. "Filling in the gaps in the Harry Potter world's magical ranking system, reclassifying magic by elemental power—this is getting more and more interesting. Alright, I choose the Water Elemental Magic Advancement Path."

"Unlocking Water Element requires 2000 points."

Moriarty paid the points, leaving him with only 600 points. Fortunately, he still had 18 Exploration Draws.

With a soft "ding," a massive surge of information flooded Moriarty's mind.

The Elemental Magic Advancement Path had ten titles.

Magic Apprentice, Apprentice Wizard, Junior Wizard, Senior Wizard, Magic Scholar, Magic User, Archmage, Grand Archmage, Great Mage, Legendary Great Mage.

Upon reaching Level 99 Legendary Great Mage, what awaited him was Level 100—Become a God!

Moriarty gently shook his head, pulling his thoughts back from the daydream. He opened the shop to browse the Water Elemental Magic spells.

Just one "Ice Prison Calamity" cost 5000 points. The "Water Genesis," which could collectively restore vitality, cost even more—10,000 points.

Moriarty had his eye on a passive spell: Tidal Wave.

When injured, it could restore a small amount of vitality every three seconds.

In battle, it could add a layer of Tidal Wave to enemies. When three layers were stacked, the chance of freezing the enemy increased significantly.

It cost only 800 points—not too expensive, but practical.

"Still short by 200 points. Maybe I should go meet the wizards of Britain."

Moriarty narrowed his eyes, thinking about how to earn more points. If he stayed in the castle, the system would undoubtedly not issue any tasks.

Just then, the Ice Moon Necklace in the System Space suddenly emitted a dazzling white light!

"Ding~ Detected that the Host's Water Elemental Magic corresponds with the Ice Moon Necklace. The Host has gained the right to use the Ice Moon Necklace. Reward: one Achievement Draw."