Baruk's Grievance and the Magic Seed

Baruk paced back and forth at the door, never stopping for a moment.

A two-meter-long, Acromantula squatted in front of the stone Cabin, its eight eyes fixed on the 1.2-meter-wide door frame. It raised its front legs to measure the width, then lowered them, and measured the width again.

Then I confirmed it, but I still couldn't get in.

It moved to the side, intending to try the window.

The window was narrower than the door frame, and it peered in through its head, its eight eyes lined up side by side.

The two in the very center show Regulus sitting at the table, while the two on the far sides are completely obscured by the window frame, with only a blurry stone wall visible.

It tilted its head to the side, pressing its left eyes against the wall, but still couldn't see everything. It tilted its head to the right, and this time it saw Regulus's profile. Then Regulus stood up and walked to the other side of the desk to get something. Its view was blocked by the wall, so it turned its head back to the left. Regulus had already gone back.

It retreated again, lay down at the doorway, tucked its eight legs in, and stared at the fireplace light shining through the door frame with its two main eyes.

It used to be the size of a palm, and the door frame was as wide as a city gate to it; it could enter and exit however it wanted. Now that it has returned to its original size, the door frame has become an insurmountable obstacle.

It wasn't really in a hurry, but it was definitely feeling a bit aggrieved.

Since it joined Regulus, it has never spent a night outside by itself.

It has a place in every corner of Hogwarts— the desk drawer, the corner of Grimmauld Place, the roof, next to the pillow in Cornwall Cabin. Now it's on the outside, Regulus is on the inside.

Baruk stood up again and walked around the Cabin, his footsteps making a thumping sound.

The stone walls, with their rough joints, were climbable, but the roof only had a chimney, so even if you climbed up, you couldn't get inside.

It circled back, lay down at the doorway, and pawed at the ground with its front paws, creating two shallow furrows.

Then it stood up again, circled in the opposite direction, continued circling, returned to the doorway, and lay down again.

It lay sprawled on the cold stone floor, its eight legs outstretched, its two main eyes fixed on the crack in the door. The firelight from the fireplace shone through the crack, drawing a thin orange line on its head.

It pressed its head against the crack in the door, its eight eyes half-closed, its chelipeds occasionally opening and closing, and then it remained still.

Lying here and lying inside, separated only by a door, but that door made it feel like it had become wild again. Regulus was inside, ignoring Baruk's commotion outside; a Fireproof Stone Box sat on the table.

The inner walls of the stone box were glowing red from the fire, and the bottom was covered with a layer of charcoal. Several Salamander lay on the charcoal, their orange-red bodies almost blending into the embers in the firelight.

Adult Salamander are six to eight inches long, with a flat body, short and thick limbs, a round and blunt head, and a tail that accounts for one-third of their body length.

Dark gray scales are densely arranged on the body and limbs, while orange-red spots of varying sizes are scattered on the back from the shoulder blades to the base of the tail, giving it a bright color.

At high temperatures, these spots emit a faint light, like tiny lamps embedded in scales.

The scales on the abdomen are lighter, more of a beige color, and so thin that you can vaguely see the pulsating blood vessels underneath.

The eyes have vertical pupils, orange-yellow irises, and the pupils shrink to a slit in the firelight.

They lay comfortably on the embers, limbs outstretched, chins resting on the coals, tails patting the flames intermittently. Occasionally, one would roll over, belly up, warm itself for a moment, kick its short legs a few times in the air, and then roll back over.

This thing isn't rare, it's easy to keep, easy to care for, and even more useful.

The Wizarding World has a long history of using Salamander, most commonly for skinning them to make fireproof gloves.

Gloves made of Salamander skin, allowing wizards to handle scalding cauldrons with their bare hands, are standard equipment for Alchemy and Potions.

In the alchemy workshops that require high temperatures, the first thing an apprentice does is receive a pair of Salamander skin gloves. Once the leather is worn through, they're usually ready to go out and earn money.

Salamander blood also has its uses; it's an essential ingredient in over a dozen high-level Potions, especially those involving fire attributes.

The Ollivander family's wand care oil contains a trace amount of Salamander blood, which is said to help the wand maintain stable performance in high-temperature environments. The cost of raising them is extremely low, and the breeding environment is very easy to replicate: an iron pot, a pile of charcoal, and occasionally throwing in a few moths as food, and the Salamander will thrive.

The fireplace in any wizarding family can be used as a breeding ground, but the most valuable part of the industry chain is actually herd management.

Wild Salamander Fire Affinity that is 10-20% stronger than those raised in captivity. The wild populations near the Fire Dragon Reserve are being targeted by major Potions merchants, and harvesting permits are being sold for hundreds of Galleon each.

Regulus opened the stone box, took one out, and placed it on the table.

The Salamander left the charcoal fire, looking rather unhappy. The orange-red spots on its scales dimmed. It began to crawl all over the table, its four short legs scrambling across the wood, its head turning back and forth in search of a heat source.

It climbed to the edge of the table, peeked out to feel the temperature outside, and then withdrew.

He placed his palm back on the Salamander, releasing Natural Magic Power that enveloped it.

The connection was established with almost no resistance. Salamander are small, low-intelligence Magical Creatures with low total Magic Power, simple structure, and little sense of defense, so the Natural Magic Power flowed easily upon contact.

He deepened his Magic Perception.

The Magic Power structure of the Salamander is extremely simple.

He had seen seven and a half circles of Mandrake, two and a half circles of Whomping Willow, and the Salamander's circle wasn't even a circle; it was more like a straight line, with only one tendency operating within it from beginning to end.

Fire Affinity.

This Magic Power power permeates its entire body, from its scales to its blood, internal organs, and bones; wherever it flows, that place becomes immune to fire.

It neither insulates nor withstands heat; Magic Power itself possesses this property. Flames lose their ability to harm when they come into contact with this Magic Power. It's the same thing as the decomposition tendency of Mandrake and the shock Conduction of the Whomping Willow; the Magic Power of Magical Creatures naturally carries a certain tendency, which is how they exist.

But apart from being immune to fire, Salamander have no other Magic abilities. They are not fast, cannot bite, and their skin is not thick. They can't even escape when carried away by an owl.

With a simple structure and a pure function, the entire species' Magic Power serves only one purpose: to prevent flames from harming it.

Its Fire Affinity very strong; an adult Salamander can lie in a hot coal fire and its scales won't change color at all, but besides that, it can't do anything else. The Bowtruckle can communicate with plants, but it has only perfected a single attribute. Its Magic Power can sense the emotions and state of trees, but that's all it can do.

Puffskein's Magic Power was so weak that it was almost imperceptible; it was merely alive, without any noteworthy Magic Power tendencies.

Some Magical Creature are far more complex.

The Fire Dragon possesses Flame Breath, Scale Hardening, Flight Lift, and High Temperature Tolerance.

Its Magic Power structure is a multi-layered and intersecting complex system, with each circuit working independently yet collaboratively with the others. The Occamy can freely scale its body according to the size of the space, an ability that involves Spatial Perception and real-time adjustment of its own Magic Power structure, making it far more complex than single-attribute creatures.

The Thestral ' Spatial Perception is an extremely advanced Magic Power ability that allows space to recede. This is a complex synergy of multiple Magic Power, and the entire Magic Power system is frighteningly precise.

Needless to say, the Phoenix Rebirth from Fire, Healing Tears, Load-bearing Flight, pierces through any Magical Barrier, and Immortal Cycle.

It's not just a collection of multiple abilities; each Magic Circuit supports the others, making it a Magic Power system where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. This difference isn't about degree; it's the Magic Power structure that has been shaped by the species' evolution, which itself determines their upper limit. The Salamander's upper limit is fire resistance; it doesn't need to do anything else. Evolution has given it Magic Power structure just enough to survive in flames.

The Phoenix's potential far surpasses that of any other creature of its kind; its Magic Power structure is a complex system of nested layers, with each circuit working in tandem with the others.

Simple things may be focused and efficient, while complex things are needed to cope with changing environments.

This has nothing to do with strength or weakness; it's a difference in survival strategies.

But simplicity does not equate to weakness; the Salamander's ability to survive in flames Dobby other Magical Creature.

If given the chance, he would like to examine the Magic Power structures of those Magical Creature one by one.

How does the Thestral's spatial travel cause space to regress? How does the Phoenix's life reignite from the ashes?

How does the Occamy's scaling ability link its Spatial Perception with its own Magic Power structure in real time?

Do the Fire Dragon's Flame Breath and the Salamander's Fire Affinity share any common underlying structure?

"We'll talk about these things later," Regulus said, pulling himself out of his thoughts and getting back to work.

He channeled his Magic Perception into the Salamander's body, located the Fire Affinity Magic Power, and began to extract it.

Natural Magic Power enveloped the Salamander's Magic Power, drawing it outwards and condensing into a small ball of orange-red light at the fingertips. The light was not very bright, and there were extremely fine lines flowing on its surface. It felt slightly warm when held in the palm of the hand.

He held the ball of light in his palm, closed his eyes, and began to replicate it in his Consciousness Space.

The Salamander's Magic Power structure is a node that is activated when it senses flames, switching its Magic Power tendency from normal to Fire Affinity, and instantly imbuing its entire Magic Power with this attribute.

The structure was clear, and it took less than half a minute to complete a precise replication in the Consciousness Space. There were no branches or levels; it was just a single point.

The Magic Seed is the material embodiment of the fact that the Salamander is not afraid of fire.

The Salamander that had been extracted lay motionless on the table.

The orange-red spots on its scales all darkened, turning into a dull, earthy brown. Its four legs lay limply on the table, and it stopped flapping its tail.

Its eyes were half-closed, its vertical pupils were dilated, its reactions became sluggish, and it no longer searched for heat sources.

He didn't die, but he was severely weakened.

Having its Magic Seed removed is equivalent to uprooting a large portion of its core abilities.

But as long as they aren't completely drained, they won't die; they'll just wilt for a while.

Whether they can recover depends on their own fate.

Regulus placed it back on the embers of the Stone Box and let it roast on its own.

When the Salamander encountered a heat source, it instinctively pressed itself against the charcoal, gave a slight twitch of its four legs, and then remained still.

To be on the safe side, he took two more adult Salamander, extracted a portion of Magic Power from each, and fused the three portions of Magic Seed together.

The larvae escaped unscathed; they were too small and lacked the Magic Power to be suitable for sample extraction.

Three adult Salamander lay motionless on the embers, their scales dull and gray.

He glanced at them but paid them no further attention.

He doesn't care whether he can recover to his previous level.

When we need rare and high-end Magical Creature like the Occamy or the Demiguise in the future, we can study in detail how to minimize losses while extracting them. The Salamander isn't worth the effort.

Next up is Baruk.