Curse Experiment

Ezio purchasing two wands was not out of greed, but rather a practical necessity.

When unable to perform wandless magic, a wand is an essential tool for a wizard; if he were ever forced to lose the wand in his hand, he would need a spare ready to go.

The principle of "better safe than sorry" is something an assassin must always keep in mind. Often, the opportunity for an assassination exists only for a fleeting moment; missing it can easily lead to unnecessary trouble. More comprehensive preparation allows one to handle more complex situations, ensuring that everything is foolproof.

If Snape were unable to perform wandless magic, he would inevitably become a lamb for the slaughter the moment his wand was knocked away, regardless of how profound his magical attainments might be.

Although Ezio was only a boy with a physiological age of eleven, his strength was in no way inferior to an adult's; in fact, he was stronger than many. In terms of leverage and technique, he could outclass most people by a wide margin. In hand-to-hand combat, killing a dozen or so ordinary people would be effortless for him. What he had learned were ruthless techniques meant to kill in a single strike, not mere sparring or brawling.

Combat and killing are related, but they can also be vastly different things.

The sky had gradually darkened. Ezio had no intention of staying at the Leaky Cauldron. Perhaps it was the noisy atmosphere, the filthy environment, or simply the lack of security one feels when first entering the magical world—he preferred to stay in an environment he was familiar with.

Pulling up his hood, he left without a sound. Ezio easily found a hotel; in this era, there was no surveillance to speak of. As long as he wasn't seen, it was an excellent place to rest.

Of course, registering at the front desk was out of the question. Ezio chose to "freeload"—not because he couldn't afford it, but because it was an easy way to expose himself. Without anyone noticing, Ezio casually picked the lock of a guest room and claimed it as his temporary shelter.

The hotel he chose had low foot traffic, and its best room was rarely occupied because the price-to-performance ratio was poor. With that kind of money, one could easily choose a better hotel. The wealthy looked down on it, and those without money couldn't afford it, leaving it in an awkward position.

Before attending Hogwarts, a young wizard does not have a "Trace" on them. In a magic book that recorded information about the Trace, Ezio had gained a general understanding of what it actually was.

The Trace is a form of contract magic. As long as a young wizard is registered at any magical school recognized by the Ministry of Magic—including, but not limited to, Hogwarts—they sign this magical contract. Before the age of seventeen, the age of adulthood in the magical world, any magic performed by the young wizard while no adult wizard is nearby will be recorded and reported to the Ministry of Magic.

However, this magic is not precise. If there is a source of magical interference nearby—that is, other adult wizards—the magic will not take effect. In other words, by taking advantage of the presence of an adult wizard, a young wizard can perform magic while underage.

The Trace is primarily intended to guard against Muggle-born young wizards. The Ministry of Magic detests it when they perform magic in front of Muggles. While it is difficult to expose the existence of the magical world, it inevitably causes trouble for the Ministry, as they must then modify memories and cover up the existence of magic, which is both labor-intensive and exhausting.

Ezio didn't particularly care about this restriction. After all, there were many loopholes in such crude defenses. For instance, if he needed to use magic in the Muggle world, he could simply keep an adult wizard by his side. As for how to bring them along, it certainly wouldn't be a case of the person helping out of the kindness of their heart.

But before registering for Hogwarts, Ezio could use magic recklessly. There was no Trace on him, and the Ministry of Magic would not detect him.

As long as he wasn't discovered by the Ministry, he could spend the next month and a half learning and using magic to his heart's content.

"Lumos... Oh, this is quite simple. It seems my magical talent is decent. After all, I have never lacked focus, and perhaps it is because I possess a mature soul? Magic is a matter of the mind. I just don't know if the Trace's judgment is based on soul age or physiological age. If it's the former... I'll verify it when the time comes. For a first-time spell outside of school, at most I'll just receive a warning. I'm not Harry Potter."

Ezio quickly finished flipping through the first-year Charms textbook. It didn't contain many spells, just a handful. The first-year textbook focused on the fundamentals of magic, with a heavier emphasis on theoretical knowledge; learning the spells was merely to help understand the theory.

These basic introductory spells only required reciting the incantation correctly and waving the wand properly to be learned quickly. Ezio's hands were steady, and he didn't stutter; succeeding on the first try was perfectly normal.

"Should I try challenging something more difficult?" Although trying to run before one has learned to stand often leads to falling, he happened to know a spell that was very difficult but had very low requirements for casting. This spell didn't even require a gesture; it only required two things:

First, sufficient magical power.

Second, the resolve to kill the target when reciting the incantation.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A bolt of green light shot out. The rabbit he had bought in Diagon Alley, intended as dinner for Neil that night, kicked its legs once and collapsed, dead. Neil, standing to the side, curiously inspected the dead rabbit, then turned to look at Ezio, flapping its wings in protest as if to say: 'Meat that doesn't struggle or fight back has no soul!'

In reality, however, the rabbit truly had no soul left.

Killing a rabbit meant for Neil's dinner naturally didn't give Ezio any sense of guilt. He closed his eyes and sensed carefully. As an assassin, he had precise control and insight into his own body. The keen perception honed through countless deaths and battles allowed him to not miss a single fluctuation in his body when he entered a focused state. He was sensing the feedback from his body after using the Killing Curse.

He wanted to know if this evil dark magic, this Unforgivable Curse, truly had any harmful side effects on him.

"If it only induces emotions, I can ignore it." Ezio opened his eyes. He hadn't detected a single anomaly. "Voldemort hasn't killed as many people in his entire life as I have in a single day at the training grounds. So, can I interpret it this way: the side effect of soul fragmentation caused by the Killing Curse stems from the user themselves lacking sufficient indifference toward the act of taking another's life?"

"Does anyone feel guilty for drinking a glass of water today?"

Ezio shook his head to himself, offering a cold and rational evaluation: "I have no feeling for this whatsoever."

"However, there are many ways to kill. Limiting oneself to just the Killing Curse is actually quite narrow."

"Petrificus Totalus." Ezio flicked his wand and pointed forward, and another rabbit was frozen in its cage. "Diffindo."

The petrified rabbit was instantly shredded, but strangely, its separated body did not spray blood violently. The blood remained congealed within the severed flesh until Ezio lifted the petrification spell, at which point the blood flowed out normally.

Neil protested even more intensely, complaining that Ezio had wasted its second dinner of the night.

'How am I supposed to eat this when you've made it like this!'