Acromantula-Dragon in the [Shadows]

"How rude of you, Nick, to keep guests waiting outside for the sake of your flawed theory."

The voice came from a young girl—crisp, sweet.

And indeed, the one who appeared was a young girl, her black hair tied in a braid.

She wasn't a standard beauty—drooping eyelids, a flat nose, a wide mouth—but the combination held a strange charm.

"That's not a flawed theory, Perenelle." Nick, who looked more like the girl's father, pouted childishly after she appeared. "I tested it. As long as you leave the ground beyond seven miles, the [Gaze] weakens with the ascent."

"Come in, you two," Perenelle said.

"Yes." Gemma was a bit flustered, nearly leaning against Harry.

But Harry's attention was mostly on the cauldron at the center.

Only after stepping into the room did he get a full view of it.

He realized then that it looked more like an engine shaped like a cauldron.

A transparent crystal lid, a periscope connected to the glowing dome, an intricate steering wheel, a device beneath the high-backed chair resembling bicycle pedals...

Its purpose was laid bare.

"This is the control console of the 'Ant Nest'!" Nicolas Flamel's voice rose a few decibels. "Leaving our cottage and stuffing it into a pocket to move is still too much trouble. This is more fun."

"And we can observe the neighbors without even stepping outside."

As he spoke, he was already seated in the high-backed chair, pulling a lever that seemed to be made of fishbone.

The silver-gleaming periscope turned, projecting a light screen onto the wall covered in white root-like tendrils.

At the edge of the image, a metallic green-gold jewel beetle hurriedly flew past, the wind from its wings sending tiny blades of grass fluttering like falling leaves.

"This is close-up. I also—" Nick quickly shut his mouth and stopped what he was doing.

Perenelle had already walked to Nick's side, arms crossed, her expression sour.

"Almost forgot you two were supposed to be on a date." Nick grumbled as he got up and moved to the left side of the room.

There, built into a hollow in the wall, was a shelf that looked like a hollowed-out peanut fitted with partitions.

It was filled with crystal vials holding colorful liquids, metal discs, delicate silver scales, and various tools made of bird bones and fish spines.

He took a device resembling a diving mask from it and put it on his head.

"Why don't we get straight to the point."

He looked at Harry.

"Indeed... Albus didn't lie to me."

"Your blood, your limbs and bones, even your shadow—all flow with a foreign magic."

"Very, very strong magic."

"Your right arm, in the magical vision, seems not to exist. Your life aura naturally suppresses the life around you..."

"No, your shadow is nurturing a life form—no, a dragon!"

"Wonderful, too wonderful!"

Nicolas Flamel seemed to have transformed. No longer gentle and refined, he spat saliva, hopping around like a monkey.

[[Retirement Rejection of a Six-Dynasty Veteran] completed. 100 experience points, Gold Magic Knowledge·1, Gold Talent Entry·1 credited.]

—Huh?

—How did it complete?

Harry was very surprised.

But even more surprising was that Nicolas Flamel could see through [Shadow].

The dark magic power brewed from negative emotions, the combination of [Dark Qi] and [Desperate Path of the Big-Headed Hairy Monster].

And he could even detect the Acromantula-Dragon within.

Of course, the Acromantula-Dragon was still inside the wooden fence enchanted by Dumbledore.

This all started with the Big-Headed Hairy Monster.

It was also called the Russian Demon, looking like a watermelon-sized gray stone.

The so-called [Desperate Path] was actually a [Negative Energy Space] inside its body.

It served as its eyes, its mouth, and its stomach.

Its hunting method was to project the [Negative Energy Space] ahead, creating a [Desperate Path], following behind its prey to make them step onto it, until they were exhausted and fell into despair.

Finally, it would contract the [Desperate Path], manifesting a pitch-black mouth on the ground to swallow the prey.

It seemed formidable, but its power was too low.

In fact, the Big-Headed Hairy Monster often failed. Even if Muggles discovered it, they could drive it away by kicking it.

However, the Gold Grade [Desperate Path] had now completely merged with Harry's spirit, as well as the shadow projected by his negative emotions and [Dark Qi].

Even before drawing the [Shadow Corps] spell, Harry's shadows had begun to develop the ability to nurture life.

Human emotions could already brew [Non-Existence].

In fact, a Patronus was a [Non-Existence] brewed from positive emotions—it was just that few wizards could maintain it permanently on their person.

Let alone infusing it with [Dark Qi].

The Acromantula-Dragon, a pure Dark Magic Creature, served as the best template.

A [Shadow] that had nurtured life could also provide stronger, more stable dark magic power.

It was akin to forming a [Nascent Soul] in cultivation.

But precisely because of this, Nicolas Flamel was truly astonishing.

"You're surprised?" Nicolas Flamel said with a smile. "It seems the rumors are true—the Boy Who Lived indeed wields stronger dark magic than Voldemort."

[Ding ding ding! This wretched old man dares to question the legitimacy of the Savior Lord! Please prove him wrong with undeniable facts and blind his murky dog eyes!]

[Reward: 10 experience points, Silver Magic Knowledge 1]

"The stronger the light, the thicker the shadow." Harry replied with a bright smile.

—Gandalf's Flash Spell, activate!

The holy light from the Maiar of another world combined with [Righteous Qi].

At that moment, Harry radiated brilliant light all around, like a blazing sun.

It illuminated even the shadows, leaving only brightness behind.

"Ah, my glasses."

With a crack, the lens of Nicolas Flamel's "goggles" developed a fissure.

"What you said is only a partial truth." Harry said gently. "The darkness you see is merely the projection of my radiant light."

"The darkness you see is merely the projection of my radiant light!"

"That line is amazing!"

"Who does Nicolas Flamel think he is, slandering Harry!"

It was already the afternoon of the next day. Neville muttered to himself as he jotted the line down in [Potter's Quotations].

[Ding ding ding! The [Glory of the Savior] quest is complete. Reward: Bronze Magic Knowledge 1]

"He's just too old, with too narrow a perspective." Harry said.

"So in the end... did you two actually go on a date or not? Did Nicolas Flamel agree or not?" Hermione and Draco asked in unison.

"Hmph, women." Ron instantly brimmed with confidence. "Hermione, you may be better at studying than me, but your vision is still too narrow—you don't know how to focus on greater interests."

"Foolish, Granger. They already spent the night outside, and you're still hung up on whether it was a date." Draco sneered.

Hermione ignored him completely, her gaze fixed directly on Harry.

"Maybe yes, maybe no—it all depends on your definition of a date, Hermione." Harry said calmly. "As for Nicolas Flamel, he's very willing to contribute to the Space Program."

"Excellent!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "I'm definitely going to raise a frog from the moon in my fish tank!"

"Your so-called greater interest is a frog?" Hermione scoffed.

"Wait, Ron." Harry suddenly thought of something. "Do you have a particularly round purple stone in your fish tank, with a maple-leaf-shaped red spot on it?"

"Yeah, I picked it up in the grass."