Ding~ You've Triggered an Epic Quest

Looking at the wooden door before him, Adam swallowed.

Damn, this whole process... the Fidelius Charm?

Grandma, who exactly are you bringing me to meet...

"Creak—"

The wooden door slowly opened. Under Adam's startled gaze, a somewhat pale face was revealed behind it—so pale it looked like a corpse, especially since the person was wearing a set of pure white silk clothes.

"Oh, Emma, I'm so glad I received your letter earlier."

The man spoke slowly, his eyes full of joy.

"Back then... how many years ago was it? You wrote saying you were going to China, and then we never heard from you again... This must be Adam?"

He reached out a trembling hand and waved.

"Quick, come in, don't stand outside."

Sitting down on the sofa, Adam swallowed again.

"Grandma, who is this old gentleman?"

He looks way too much like someone I've seen in a movie...

"He's... a friend of our family."

Grandma's expression was complicated, and with her vague words, Adam felt even more certain his guess might be right.

Damn, Grandma, your connections are this hardcore?

"Emma, come chat with me for a while."

A woman's voice suddenly rang out. Emma looked over, stood up with some surprise, nodded to Adam, and hurried upstairs with the lady.

"I hope you like French black tea."

Just then, the old man walked over carrying a tray with a pot of black tea and several cups.

"Let me help."

Seeing his hand trembling constantly, Adam figured he wasn't up to the delicate task of pouring tea and wanted to lend a hand. But the other man waved off his help.

"What a good child. But the magical world is more convenient for the elderly than you might imagine."

The teapot suddenly rose on its own, walked over to a teacup, poured a cup, then moved to the next cup, while the cup of black tea floated over to Adam.

"I don't know if your grandmother introduced me. My name is Nicolas Flamel. Your grandmother is the daughter of a friend of mine."

Having suspected as much, Adam forced down his shock and nodded.

"I'm Adam. Adam Reed."

"Mm, as expected."

Nicolas Flamel smiled wryly.

"Alright, then... let's get down to business."

Once both cups of tea were poured, Nicolas Flamel looked at Adam.

"Your grandmother explained in her letter that you sense Hogwarts will face danger soon, so you don't want to go. Is that right?"

"Yes, but unfortunately it seems I can't avoid it... Can you help me?"

Adam's eyes lit up. If it's him, maybe it's really possible.

Though he had now signed a contract with the Clow Cards, Adam still didn't feel safe staying at Hogwarts. At best, it gave him a little more ability to defend himself.

After all, the Clow Cards were from a shoujo manga, and they didn't seem to have particularly outstanding combat skills, while Voldemort's reputation was earned through killing.

"If it's about transferring schools, I'm afraid I can't help."

The light in Adam's eyes dimmed.

"However, I can give you this."

Nicolas Flamel took a button out of his pocket.

"This is a Portkey."

"A Portkey?"

"Yes. A magical item. When activated with the corresponding spell, you'll be directly transported here."

Nicolas Flamel pointed at the floor beneath them.

"This is the only way to quickly escape from Hogwarts. At the same time, this house is protected by powerful magic. Besides the two of us here, only my wife, Emma, and Dumbledore can enter—Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts, you know that, right?"

"Yes, I know."

Adam frowned.

"But I don't know how to activate a Portkey... I don't even know any magic yet."

"If I could know when you'll be in danger, I could set the activation time as the Portkey's maker. Unfortunately, I haven't foreseen that."

Nicolas Flamel stared into Adam's eyes.

"Though I didn't foresee this, I do know that Hogwarts will indeed face some... unpleasant events soon. So if you truly are in danger, learning to activate a Portkey on your own beforehand would be the best course."

Adam gripped the button in his hand and nodded.

"I understand. Which book can I learn this spell from?"

"Learning magic directly from a book is very dangerous. I've found a teacher for you."

Nicolas Flamel took out a letter and handed it to Adam.

"Give this to Dumbledore. He'll guide you in learning the spell. He and I are on good terms, and he happens to owe me a favor recently."

"Beyond that, I'd also like to ask you for a small favor."

Nicolas Flamel stood up, walked to a nearby shelf, picked up a red gem, and placed it in a pouch.

Under Adam's now-calm gaze, Nicolas Flamel handed the pouch to Adam.

"Give this to Dumbledore along with the letter—hand it to him personally, alright?"

Ding~ You have triggered an epic quest [Escort the Sorcerer's Stone to Hogwarts]. During this quest, events such as "Death Eater Attack" and "Voldemort's Pursuit" may occur. Quest reward: None.

It was as if a voice rang out in his ears. Even though he had spent the last few seconds frantically mentally preparing himself, Adam couldn't help but swallow hard.

"But... aren't you and Dumbledore close? Why not hand it to him yourself? Or have him come over..."

"Have some sympathy for an old man like me. Going out isn't easy."

Nicolas Flamel smiled.

Unable to explain how he knew about the Sorcerer's Stone, Adam couldn't press further.

Of course, Adam couldn't easily refuse either... After all, he wasn't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone. So, with Nicolas Flamel providing a Portkey and a safe destination for it, what reason did he have to turn down a request that, from his perspective, seemed like a simple errand?

"Alright, I'll be sure to hand it to Headmaster Dumbledore personally... What is this?"

Adam couldn't help but ask anyway.

"I thought you'd hold back your curiosity... This is a Sorcerer's Stone."

The original term for the Sorcerer's Stone was "Philosopher's Stone," but Nicolas Flamel used "Magic Stone" instead, clearly not intending to let Adam know too much.

Great. Now it felt even more real.

But shouldn't this thing be in Gringotts, taken by Hagrid to give to Dumbledore?

How could it be entrusted to a child like him... Wait!

Adam fell into deep thought about which was more reliable—a child or Hagrid.

By the time he returned home with the Sorcerer's Stone, Adam still couldn't believe he was carrying a stone that could grant immortality and turn things into gold.

"Adam, you're back!"

"Was Diagon Alley fun... Huh?"

After dinner, he went up to his second-floor room. Kero and Suppi from the Book of Sealing immediately started bickering impatiently, when suddenly Kero seemed to sense something and said:

"I feel a huge surge of magical energy!"

"Huge magical energy... This?"

Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out the pouch containing the Sorcerer's Stone.

"That's right! Such a massive concentration of unclaimed magic... It's the Philosopher's Stone?! Adam, where did you get this?"

Kero actually recognized the Philosopher's Stone?

Well, that made sense. Kero was the Sealed Beast representing the sun and Western magic. Given Clow Reed's vast experience as a great mage, he might have actually seen the Philosopher's Stone before... Adam remembered that Clow Reed could even travel between parallel worlds.

Too bad...

"Kero, someone asked me to pass this to another person. No funny business, okay."

Especially since both of those people were incredibly powerful... Did anyone really think Nicolas Flamel, who had guarded the Sorcerer's Stone for over six hundred years, was weak in combat?

"Mmph... But with the Philosopher's Stone, we could form bodies and move freely, and we could use the Sweet Card. I really want to eat cake~"

Kero's voice was full of reluctance, as if he was chewing on something.

"Idiot, don't you have the Twin Card over there?"