Ancient Staff

Hearing Rhine's words, Ollivander's eyes widened.

No?

Wasn't this request a little too unconventional?

Modern wizards all wanted wands that were lighter, handier, easier to carry, and quick to draw.

As for whether a wand might break?

As long as one did not use it to hit people, or pass one wand between two brothers like the Weasleys, that was absolutely a low-probability event.

Yet Rhine wanted a wand that ran completely counter to current trends, one sturdy enough to use for hitting people?

"That kind of wand is not the direction our Ollivander Family specializes in."

Ollivander said sullenly.

Hagrid looked somewhat disappointed at that.

But Rhine's eyes lit up.

"It may not be your main specialty, but you did not say that no such wand exists."

Ollivander paused, then sighed.

"I had meant to keep you guessing. Young wizards these days are far too clever."

"Fine. I do indeed have a wand with an extremely, extremely long history. Well, perhaps it cannot even be called a wand. Staff would be a more fitting name."

"This is a collectible of the Ollivander Family, a staff older than Hogwarts itself, even older than Merlin."

With that, Ollivander entered the storeroom through a small door behind the counter.

After rummaging around for quite a while, he finally pulled out a long, dust-covered box.

The box alone was over a meter long.

It was also astonishingly heavy. Ollivander could not even carry it out himself and had to use a Hovering Charm to bring it to the counter.

When the box was opened, what appeared before Rhine was a staff made entirely of metal and engraved with all kinds of mysterious patterns.

Ollivander's cheek twitched.

"Mr. Rhine, this is what you wanted."

"But I must advise you against it. This thing weighs at least several dozen pounds. It is a staff used by wizards in battle in extremely ancient times."

"You must understand that wizards back then did not have many spells. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat even more often than they cast magic, which was why a staff like this had its uses."

"But magic has developed to this point. Wizards no longer need to fight hand-to-hand, and this sort of sluggish, heavy, difficult-to-carry staff has long been eliminated by history."

"Though both its melee power and magical power far surpass modern wands, I fear only someone with Hagrid's build could even lift it."

"Not to mention casting gestures and the like. If you choose it, even completing Hogwarts' courses will be an enormous problem."

As Rhine looked at the staff before him, a flash of burning excitement passed through his eyes.

Who could refuse a smooth, straight stick covered in mysterious patterns?

Rhine then reached out and gripped the heavy staff.

As Ollivander repeatedly cried out for him to be careful, only for his expression to immediately turn into one of utter disbelief, Rhine effortlessly lifted the staff.

Made entirely of metal and weighing several dozen pounds, it was almost impossible for any wizard in the magical world to handle. Yet for Rhine, who possessed Bronze Skin and Iron Bones, it felt just right in his hand.

The only thing Rhine found somewhat unsatisfactory was that the staff was still a little too long for his current height.

After all, he was only eleven and had not fully grown yet. The staff was nearly taller than he was, making it troublesome to swing.

"It would be better if it were a little shorter."

Rhine sighed.

The next moment, a section of the patterns on the staff seemed to understand Rhine's words.

The entire staff began to shorten. Its weight remained unchanged, and even shortened, it was still far longer than an ordinary wand, but Rhine could now wield it like a short staff.

Rhine's gaze grew even hotter.

"Holy shit, it can grow and shrink?"

He already had Bronze Skin and Iron Bones. Who could possibly refuse a Ruyi Jingu Bang?

"This is the one!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Rhine chose the Ancient Staff.

Ollivander maintained his expression of utter disbelief throughout, even blinking at Hagrid as a thought rose in his mind.

Is this young wizard Hagrid's relative? Could he be Hagrid's illegitimate son, with Half-Giant blood as well?

Otherwise, what eleven-year-old wizard could casually lift a staff weighing several dozen pounds?

At the same time, as he watched the Ancient Staff freely change length in Rhine's hands, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

This Ancient Staff had been studied by the Ollivander Family before, but a thousand years ago, the Ollivander Family had lost interest in it and treated it purely as a collectible kept at the bottom of a chest.

He had never expected Rhine to make it display such a property.

Ollivander had always believed that wands and their owners chose each other. Even he could not help but think that perhaps this was some sort of special fate.

The subject also piqued his interest.

"Very well, Mr. Rhine. Since you insist, I do believe this staff is exceptionally well suited to you."

Ollivander said after some consideration.

"I will not charge you for it."

"But I hope you can regularly share your experiences of using this staff with me and assist me with some Wandlore research."

Naturally, Rhine gladly agreed.

He also wanted the connections of Ollivander, the Artifact Forging Sect Leader.

If their relationship progressed further and reached Close Friendship, he could obtain the Control Fire at Will talent.

Whether it was alchemy, potion-making, or combat, this talent would likely produce extraordinary results. There was no way Rhine would let such an opportunity slip by.

Ollivander asking for his help suited Rhine perfectly.

Finally, just as Rhine and Hagrid were about to leave the shop, Ollivander remembered something else.

"Oh, right, I remember now. My ancestors studied this staff."

"The notes they left behind mentioned that although the staff was mostly intact, it seemed to have gone through a brutal battle long ago and still had some damaged areas."

"My ancestors made some repairs and restored most of its functions, but because they lacked certain precious metal materials from ancient times, it was never completely repaired."

"Otherwise, it should possess another special magical effect."

Ollivander gave a wry smile.

"My ancestors could still find ancient magical ruins back then. I do not have even the slightest bit of ancient metal material now."

"Mr. Rhine, if you want to restore this staff completely, you will have to find a way yourself."

Rhine nodded, not particularly bothered by it.

For one thing, the staff could be used normally, which was already good enough in his eyes. He did not have a compulsion to make everything perfect.

For another, he remembered that he had just obtained a Metallurgy and Silver Refining talent from Ollivander, which allowed him to purify metals.

Perhaps he could use this talent to obtain some of those ancient metal materials that had already vanished from the world.

But in any case, that was a matter for later.

For Rhine, obtaining a wand that perfectly suited him was more than enough.