Talent! And a Gift!

Ian felt like a balloon.

He had been stuffed full of things that did not belong to him.

"I'm tainted!"

A tidal wave of murderous intent churned within Ian's little head. His reason was almost completely suppressed, and the boundless killing intent was like a flood in desperate need of an outlet.

Perhaps Teacher Mara was guiding him.

Or perhaps it was a creature's instinct.

After Teacher Mara's instruction sounded in his ears, Ian began chanting the incantation with almost no hesitation.

"Avada Kedavra!"

It was practically a roar.

Ian had never imagined he would cast the Killing Curse under such circumstances.

As the incantation resonated.

Magic power and killing intent gathered and merged within Ian, flowing to his fingertips and surging into the unknown wand. Green light nearly illuminated the entire castle.

Like a blazing meteor.

Dazzling.

Overwhelmingly powerful.

Unfortunately, there were no living creatures or souls where Ian had aimed his wand. There was only an ancient blue-gray wall, mottled with age.

This was a spell that only worked on living beings, so naturally it did not damage the wall itself. Even so, green light spread across the wall like a spider web.

It flickered for a long while.

Before gradually fading away.

Once the killing intent Teacher Mara had poured into him was released, Ian's reason reclaimed the high ground. Beside him, the Witch seemed very satisfied with the result.

"It seems your dullness is limited to certain areas. At least when it comes to magic, you possess talent superior to that of many others." The Witch did not stint on her praise.

"Oh my God!"

Ian stared at the green light slowly fading from the wall, unable to believe that this was a spell he had cast.

He.

An eleven-year-old Young Wizard.

He had not even entered Hogwarts to study yet.

What had he done to deserve this?

And yet he had cast such a sinful, terrifying spell!

The Killing Curse!

The foremost of the Three Unforgivable Curses! A spell that made countless people pale at its very mention!

He had learned it just like that? There were people born to be kings and generals in this world—could there really be people born to be prisoners of Azkaban too?!

Ian naturally knew that the main reason his Killing Curse had possessed such power was the killing intent Teacher Mara had instilled in him. Everyone knew that the power of this spell was closely tied to murderous intent.

However.

Even with that reason.

It did not change the fact that he had truly learned the Killing Curse.

Name: Ian Prince

Class: Bloodline Sorcerer

Magic Power: Level 4

Skills: Lumos Charm (Level 1): 76/100

Wingardium Leviosa (Level 1): 11/100

Killing Curse (Level 1): 7/100

...

The panel would not lie.

With only one casting of the spell under Teacher Mara's guidance and assistance, Ian had directly mastered a Level 1 Killing Curse and even gained seven points of proficiency!

What did Level 1 represent?!

It meant that even without any more help from his teacher, he could still cast the most basic Killing Curse. The many insights regarding this spell had also become knowledge in his mind!

"Unforgivable Curses? Teacher Mara, you call that relatively simple magic?" Ian was still immersed in shock, his brain practically frozen. He felt little joy at having learned a new spell.

"In my era, no such distinction existed." The Witch walked to the wall and gently touched it. The lingering green light and faint cracks vanished completely.

"Wizards who went out without even knowing the Killing Curse were generally lambs awaiting slaughter." Her explanation was surprisingly difficult to refute.

In Ian's view.

Teacher Mara was, at the very least, a witch from before the Middle Ages.

For witches and wizards of that era.

Learning a few Killing Curses before heading out did seem to make a certain amount of... sense?

"Remember how this felt."

The Witch turned and instructed Ian.

"This magic requires intense killing intent. Although you look like you will not be a good person when you grow up, it is not easy for a wizard your age to possess such powerful killing intent... I suggest you try hunting some animals. That can also help you accumulate the killing intent needed to cast this spell."

"Of course, it cannot compare to killing people or harboring malice toward your own kind. If you kill someone with your own hands, perhaps you will truly master this magic."

The Witch clearly had no way of knowing Ian's progress in learning. Her patient instruction carried a hint of temptation.

Sure enough.

What kind of kind White Witch could possibly teach her apprentice the Killing Curse right from the start...? Ian's earlier instincts about this teacher had probably not been wrong.

"All right, I'll moonlight as an animal butcher..." Ian naturally would not follow the Witch's last suggestion, which she had seemingly tossed out casually. He was not Voldemort, someone who would stop at nothing for power.

Besides.

He had actually already learned the Killing Curse, so there was no need for him to accumulate killing intent to get through the door. Still, Ian did not think he should tell the Witch that.

It was not because he wanted to keep a trump card.

Why consider such complicated matters in the Misty Illusion?

Other than Ian.

No one had ever been heard of communicating with the souls within the Misty Illusion. Even if any secret was exposed in this place, it would not have the slightest effect on Ian's life in the real world.

The only reason he did not want to tell the Witch this astonishing fact was that her opinion of him was bad enough already. He did not want to reinforce her belief that he did not seem like a good person.

After all.

Even with the Witch's unusual teaching methods, a wizard who could learn the Killing Curse in one go would surely be considered exceptionally gifted in Dark Magic, wouldn't they?

Well.

Even Voldemort might exclaim that he knew his stuff?

Looking at the seven whole points of proficiency on his panel, Ian dearly wished that he could progress just as rapidly in learning other magic.

"Teacher Mara, could you teach me another spell? Something a little less dangerous..." Ian felt that his progress with the Killing Curse might have been a special accident.

"Greedy."

The Witch replied coldly.

However.

The next moment, she suddenly laughed softly.

"Still, greed for knowledge is not a bad thing, nor is it unpleasant." Clearly, Ian's "thirst for knowledge" happened to be exactly the sort the Witch greatly appreciated.

Yet.

Faced with Ian's delighted gaze.

The Witch did not begin teaching him. Instead, smiling brightly, she reminded him in a teasing tone.

"Are you sure you still have enough time to learn a new spell?"

Perhaps.

This teacher possessed some means of seeing how long Ian could remain in the Misty Illusion. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Ian began to feel his surroundings blur.

"Ah?!"

Ian's figure slowly began to fade.

Everything around him seemed to be drifting away... As his soul was about to leave the pure land, Ian only vaguely saw the Witch tear off a corner of her gown.

She inscribed something upon it, then placed it in Ian's hand.

"Consider it homework."

"My dear apprentice, do not disappoint me..."

The illusion vanished.

Reality returned.

When Ian opened his eyes and looked at the clock.

The Witch's expectant whisper seemed to still echo in his ears.

He sat up.

And raised his hand.

The Gown Fragment that had crossed the boundary between life and death with him, bearing ancient knowledge, now lay quietly in his hand, gleaming with silvery radiance beneath the moonlight.