Ethan's eyes shone as he suddenly slapped the painting onto the door of the Ravenclaw Common Room.
In an instant, brilliant white light burst forth.
A rectangular frame appeared on the door.
The moment it appeared, like a black hole, it instantly drained the magic from Ethan's body!
"Ugh!"
Ethan's pupils contracted sharply, and pain stabbed through his whole body like needles!
He gritted his teeth and held on. With a hurried glance, he caught a glimpse of the blurry scene beyond the rectangular frame.
Faintly, he could make out a dark blue sofa.
--It was the inside of the Ravenclaw Common Room!
He'd done it!
Ethan's eyes lit up. He grinned, baring his gleaming white teeth.
At that moment, he was like a predator shedding its disguise, erupting with a terrifying presence!
The students around him couldn't help taking a step back!
W-what was happening?!
In the space of a breath, the scene within the frame grew increasingly blurry and unsteady.
It was like a passage on the verge of collapse.
Summoning the last of his strength, Ethan roused every cell in his body and leaped straight into the frame!
The next second—
"Whoosh!"
The frame caved inward and vanished from the door, revealing the bronze door knocker with its eagle's head once more.
It stood quietly before them all.
As though nothing had happened.
"..."
Dead silence filled the group.
Everyone stared at the empty doorway, rooted to the spot.
It was a long while before someone finally broke the silence.
"E-Ethan? Where did he go?"
Michael swallowed and spoke hoarsely.
Could he really have passed through that strange door, broken through Ravenclaw's barrier, and entered the Common Room directly?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
This was a test set by one of the Four Founders. How could a first-year student have beaten it?
Prefect Robert came back to his senses.
He collected himself, then hesitantly walked up to the door and pressed his ear against it.
Uh... the door was too thick. He couldn't hear a thing.
Robert straightened up, his face burning. He coughed twice to ease his embarrassment, then tentatively reached out and knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock."
The muffled sound echoed through the top floor.
Outside the window, the moon hung high in the sky.
The other houses were probably fast asleep by now.
And they were still miserably waiting outside, getting their intelligence crushed by Ravenclaw's door knocker.
A few seconds later—
At last—
With a click, the door opened from within.
Ethan's pale face, damp with sweat, appeared in the gap.
Robert's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was seeing!
He'd actually cut through the Gordian knot and passed the test set by Lady Ravenclaw!
W-what kind of magic was that?
He'd never heard of anything like it!
Robert's face felt as though it were on fire.
He looked at Ethan, who seemed to have just been fished out of the water.
His black hair clung in strands to his forehead. His lips were bloodless, as if all his life force had been drained away, and he looked utterly exhausted.
He could barely stay upright, leaning against the door and relying on sheer willpower.
Yet—
Only his cobalt-blue eyes were shining.
Like stars in the night sky, their dazzling light made Robert instinctively avert his gaze.
...It was the light of a thirst for knowledge.
It was the light of someone who defied convention, refused to follow the paths taken by those before him, and struck out on his own—a true hunger for knowledge and exploration!
Only then did Robert understand.
Which of the two of them truly embodied the spirit of Ravenclaw.
Ravenclaw never rejected the strange; those who were different had their own unique value.
Just like their head of house, Professor Filius Flitwick.
He might be short and his heritage might be questioned, but no one would overlook his great achievements and abilities.
...If it weren't for Ethan, I might have forgotten Ravenclaw's true teachings.
Robert felt a wave of emotion.
He looked at Ethan with wonder and admiration.
It was a shame he would graduate next year.
By then, he didn't know whether the other students would be able to accept someone as eccentric as Ethan.
To help Ethan get along better in Ravenclaw, he could at least put in a good word for him as Prefect.
Robert composed his expression and smiled. "We should thank you for opening the door for us—"
Ethan smiled too. "You're thanking me too soon."
Robert: ?
Before the Prefect could react, the door slammed shut in his face.
It nearly took the tip of his nose off.
Robert: ???
An awkward silence settled over the stunned students.
Michael raised a trembling finger and pointed at the door.
"He... Ethan just shut the door on us?"
"He expects us to figure out how to get in on our own???"
"Nooo—!"
He scrambled over to the door on all fours and pounded on it with a clatter, wailing, "Boss! Master! Father! Please let me in, sob sob sob!"
But the only answer was the cold, silent door.
The eagle's head on the knocker seemed to be looking at him as if he were an idiot.
"..."
Robert's expression twisted. The corners of his mouth twitched twice as he clutched his forehead, vexed and helpless.
...So much for helping Ethan get along better.
The kid had never wanted to get along with them in the first place!
Now it seemed that the ones acting like fools all along had been the supposedly clever upper-year students.
Inside the Ravenclaw Common Room.
Hearing the commotion outside, Ethan cheekily stuck out his tongue.
You thought you could get in by riding on my coattails?
No way!
Figure it out yourselves!
"Ah, to keep them from developing the bad habit of relying on others, I've really gone to a lot of trouble."
Ethan wiped away a couple of crocodile tears, deeply moved by his own sacrifice.
He leaned against the doorframe and slowly slid down, slumping onto the floor.
I can't move...
But—
Ethan hadn't expected that he could actually break through the enchantment on the Ravenclaw door!
And this was only a first-tier, blue, Rare card.
If he went up to Purple Epic and Golden Legendary, to even higher-tier paintings, just how powerful would they be...?
Now Ethan understood.
As long as he wrote down an effect, it would definitely come true.
If it said it could open a door, then it would open a door.
No matter what magic the other party used to protect it, the only thing that mattered was how much magic he himself had.
Ethan held out his hand.
The card for [Gate of Opening] crumbled into dust in his palm and disappeared.
[Artwork has been destroyed!]
[Replacing the paper with a different material will allow it to continue upgrading and produce a longer-lasting effect.]
[Your artwork left a deep impression on everyone, increasing your Soul Fusion Degree!]
[28%→29%!]
A familiar warmth flowed through him, like someone had cracked a steaming hot spring egg over his head.
His body, which had been unable to move, gradually regained feeling.
Only by raising his Fusion Degree could he gain more magic.
That would let his artwork have an even greater effect.
He needed to keep tormenting—no, spreading his artwork!
He was only 1% away from breaking through the 30% mark.
Ethan pondered, wanting to do something big.
What about holding a small art exhibition at school?
The problem was that if he wanted to hold an exhibition, he'd be better off using proper oil-painting canvas, made of linen or cotton.
Not the paper he had now, which Luna had given him.
Every week, Luna had her owl bring him a new batch of art supplies.
That covered what he needed for his usual practice.
Ethan was very grateful. Whenever he had time, he wrote to Luna and chatted with her, almost every day.
Luna's owl, Carrot, had even lost some weight because of it.
Behind every perfect painting were countless hours of practice, all of which consumed a great deal of art supplies.
Wasn't there a saying: "Poor people shouldn't take up art"?
Unfortunately, he just loved it.
"What a money pit..." Ethan sighed mournfully.
The most pressing thing was to find a way to earn some money, upgrade to more professional art supplies, and prepare for the exhibition.
"I need to figure out how to make money at school. I wonder if I could help the professors with a few things?"
Before you continue