Snatching the Magic Orb

Slipping through the door, Allen was surprised to find not a room, but a spiral staircase passage. The murals hanging on the walls on both sides emitted various sounds—some like pained groans or horrific wails, others like the torturous screams of hell, and still others like the sharp, grating screech of fingernails against a chalkboard. The convergence of these sounds, coupled with the dim, eerie green light, was truly hair-raising.

Allen stepped as lightly as possible, following Mr. Borgin up the creaky, old wooden stairs until they reached a heavy, vermilion wooden door. The hunched Mr. Borgin pushed it open, and before Allen could take a proper look, a snap echoed, and the room flooded with light, rendering everything clearly visible.

A ghastly, pale light bathed the entire room, which was a windowless storage chamber. Directly opposite the door, Allen's eyes were immediately drawn to a collection of bizarre biological specimens, mummified remains, and animal and plant organs floating in jars of formaldehyde.

The left wall was lined with storage cubbies reaching all the way to the ceiling. In the right corner, several bronze trunks were stacked neatly. Beside the trunks sat a long silver table, upon which rested a withered human hand on a cushion inside a glass case, a stack of blood-stained playing cards, and a dull, unmoving glass eye. Also on the table were various colored potions and glassware arranged on an iron rack. As his gaze swept across the corner of the table, Allen's heart skipped a beat: a creamy-yellow sphere sat casually on a wooden shelf next to a pile of crystal balls. The Invincible Scholar System chimed in his mind, and Allen knew that the unassuming sphere was the Magic Ball of the Goddess of Luck Fols he had come for.

After turning on the lights, Mr. Borgin sat at the long table, placed the tray down gently, pulled open a drawer to retrieve and put on gloves, and selected a purple potion from the rack, seemingly intent on carefully studying the necklace's power.

Allen's brain raced—how could he secure the magic ball? Disguise himself as a customer to buy it, snatch it while the man was off guard, or play it safe and steal it after Mr. Borgin finished his research?

Just as Allen was frantically cycling through these thoughts, the worst happened: the Miaomiao Wizard Robe could only cloak him for half an hour at a time, three times a day. Now, the half-hour was up! Allen's figure suddenly appeared in the storage room, completely exposed. Mr. Borgin immediately sensed something amiss; he whipped out his wand and pointed it at the empty space where Allen stood, leaving Allen only enough time to conjure a mask to hide his face.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" The spells Mr. Borgin fired in rapid succession were dodged by Allen with agile movements. The spells struck the shelving unit behind Allen, shattering jars and sending liquid splashing everywhere; a skull tumbled to the floor, its jaw clacking open and shut.

Allen lunged at Mr. Borgin with lightning speed, causing the man to scramble away in terror. Allen had no desire to hurt anyone; his target was not Mr. Borgin, but the magic ball on the table. Allen snatched the magic ball from the shelf and bolted toward the door.

Mr. Borgin leveled his wand and fired desperately from behind: "Impedimenta! Impedimenta! Stupefy! Stupefy!" In the narrow, spiral stairwell, Allen moved with the agility of a monkey, leaping and dodging the incoming hexes. But even the best stumble. Allen failed to notice a vine suddenly lashing out from the stair railing; even though he jumped in time to avoid being entangled, he was struck squarely by a Stunning Spell from behind.

Fortunately, Allen's Miaomiao Wizard Robe reflected Mr. Borgin's Stunning Spell back at him, forcing the man to cast a Shield Charm to protect himself. Seizing the opportunity, Allen instantly activated the robe's invisibility function and escaped.

I actually forgot about that; otherwise, the fight would have been over sooner. Avoiding harm is human instinct, after all! Allen chuckled, reactivated his invisibility, and left the shop.

Quickly exiting Knockturn Alley, Allen felt the dazzling sunlight wash over him, warm and pleasant. He bathed joyfully in the sun, leaving the gloomy Knockturn Alley behind as he walked further and further away.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Magic Ball of the Goddess of Luck Fols. The magic ball can dispel all negative status effects and is highly effective against curses. Time remaining until mission termination: 13 hours and 43 minutes."

Time was tight. Allen checked the map in his mind and was astonished to find that the Lizard-man was located in the Muggle world, specifically in downtown London—Baker Street Station.

Allen made an immediate decision, hailing a taxi to the nearest subway station before transferring to Baker Street Station. There, he found a bronze plaque the size of a poster, which read: "This platform is part of the world's first underground railway, opened in 1863. Certified." Generally, London subway platforms were lined with advertisements, but Baker Street was different; there was space for promotional posters above the seats on every platform. These posters vividly depicted the scene when the station first opened in 1863, making it a veritable museum of London Underground history. However, Allen had no time to admire the posters, for he discovered that the icon representing the Lizard-man, which had just been showing him here, was already moving rapidly toward another location.

Allen felt at a loss—was he meant to chase its trail indefinitely? While he stood there in confusion, he looked at the subway map he had just picked up (in London, passengers could take a small subway map, slightly longer than B5 paper, for free at every station). Comparing it to the Lizard-man's trajectory in his mind, Allen was shocked to discover that the Lizard-man's path overlapped perfectly with the subway lines!