Runespoor and the Admission Letter

Luna had just been about to soothe the owl when the stream not far away suddenly churned violently, and a massive figure rose out of the water.

Thanks to the support of the meditation method, the sudden turn of events failed to affect Wizet.

He sensed the figure thrust out its tail and sweep it sideways toward the two of them.

At the critical moment, fear did not cloud his judgment.

Wizet grabbed Luna's arm, and the two of them dove forward at the same time, narrowly dodging the blow.

Bang!

The figure's tail grazed Wizet's shoulder and stabbed hard into the grass.

The ground shook violently. The figure yanked its tail back, sending dust and scraps of grass flying everywhere.

Hiss, hiss!

More water sprayed out. The figure let out a cold, sinister flick of its tongue, emerged from the water, and landed on the bank.

It was a strange snake Wizet had never seen before. With its body reared upright, it was at least more than two meters tall.

What amazed him most was that this strange snake actually had three heads.

The three-headed snake was not only enormous and bizarre-looking; its body was also covered in a layer of orange-red, thornlike scales.

The orange-red on those scales was not especially vivid. A deathly gray seeped through it, giving it the feel of something old and declining.

As the three-headed snake hissed lowly, Wizet could clearly see that in the head on the viper's right side was hidden a pair of fangs gleaming with a ghostly green luster.

This three-headed snake was as thick as a wagon wheel. It twisted and writhed as it lunged toward them.

Hiss, hiss!

The three-headed snake attacked again. The head on the right shot out abruptly, opening its bloody maw wide and revealing the sharp fangs inside.

Although that snake head's attack was completely unexpected, it was held back by the other two heads and failed to bite Wizet at the first moment.

Wizet seized the chance and retreated again with Luna, narrowly avoiding the snake head's killing bite.

The snake head plunged into the grass, once again sending up a cloud of dust and grass clippings.

"Wizet, this is a Runespoor. It may be old, so it isn't very agile." There was not the slightest panic in Luna's voice. "All three of its heads have minds of their own. They're very prone to infighting."

At that moment, the snake head in the middle opened its eyes and made a "hiss, hiss" tongue-flicking sound, as if saying something.

The snake head on the left was also flicking its tongue, constantly shaking its head, as if scolding the other two heads.

The three snake heads looked at one another, each baring its fangs, and actually began attacking each other.

Just as Luna had said, the Runespoor was infighting.

"This is a XXXX-class magical creature. Why would it appear here?" Luna climbed up from the ground.

"You're hurt!" When she saw the blood seeping from Wizet's shoulder, her voice filled with panic.

Luna hurriedly pulled Wizet up and supported him as they ran in the direction of home.

As if realizing its prey was about to shake it off, the Runespoor stopped fighting among itself and chased after Wizet and Luna at tremendous speed.

Through the meditation method, Wizet could sense the movement behind him.

The Runespoor was astonishingly fast, like a motorcycle at full throttle. In just a few more seconds, it would probably be able to attack again.

Just as he was thinking of a way to deal with it, Luna pushed him forward a step ahead of him and said in an unusually resolute tone, "Wizet, you're injured. I'll lure it away."

Wizet was utterly taken aback.

He had never imagined that, in such a critical moment, Luna would actually do this.

In his previous life, no one had ever treated him this way.

He suddenly looked back. Everything around him seemed to slow down.

The three snake heads drew closer and closer to Luna, and Luna's pale golden hair flew up.

Through Luna's eyes, Wizet saw not the slightest panic, only composure and determination.

Protecting her family?

Wizet recalled his previous life. After he understood that he was in an orphanage, he had once yearned desperately for his family to take him away.

Any kind of family would have been fine, no matter what price he had to pay.

In that moment, he understood Luna. He understood why Luna would make such a decision—

Back then, Luna had been powerless and had lost her family.

Now, she did not want to repeat the same mistake.

Wizet was the same. He had finally gained family with great difficulty, and he was unwilling to see anything happen to them—especially because they were protecting him.

The details of Ancient Magic: Shield surfaced in his mind, every single one of them so clear.

He was confident now that he could complete this magic.

His wish in this moment was incomparably intense—the Runespoor absolutely could not hurt Luna!

Wizet pressed his hands together, and the Obscurus was squeezed to draw out a powerful force of ancient magic. That power surged wildly through his body.

The Runespoor's fangs were right there, almost touching Luna's slender neck.

His gestures flowed in one seamless motion, power gathering between his hands into a ball of light and spreading outward nonstop...

The cluster of light scattered once more, but this time, the power did not return to Wizet's body.

In the next instant, silver-blue light seeped over Luna's entire body, then rapidly expanded outward, turning into a spherical barrier.

The barrier shimmered with dazzling silver-blue light. The Runespoor's fangs struck it and instantly shattered into countless specks of starlight.

A sudden flash of understanding came to Wizet, and he pulled apart the index fingers and thumbs that had been pressed against each other.

The barrier immediately expanded outward, forcefully shoving the Runespoor back into the stream.

This was the first time Wizet had cast shield magic, yet the scale of the barrier was astonishingly vast.

To maintain such an enormous barrier, he kept squeezing power from the Obscurus.

The Obscurus grew restless because of it. The chains sealing it shook continuously, as if they might snap at any moment.

Hiss, hiss!

The Runespoor came charging back, its three snake heads hissing in unison.

After all, this was only shield magic. At least for now, it had no offensive power and could not inflict enough damage on the Runespoor.

Just then, a tabby cat suddenly darted out from the distance.

The tabby cat leaped up and swiftly transformed into a human in midair.

An elderly witch wearing glasses appeared. She was dressed in dark green robes and held a wand in her hand.

She pointed the wand at the Runespoor, then gave it a gentle flick...

The stream water around the Runespoor turned into an iron cage, imprisoning the furious Runespoor within.

"Merlin's beard! Thank goodness neither of you were hurt! Episkey!" The witch quickly came up to Wizet, emerald-green light appearing at the tip of her wand.

Wizet felt a tingling numbness in his shoulder. In the space of a single breath, the bloodstains and wound on his shoulder had all vanished.

"Is this magic too?" Wizet took Luna's outstretched hand and sprang up from the ground.

"Yes!" The witch pressed her lips together as she spoke, barely showing her teeth, which made her look rather stern.

"In the future at Hogwarts, you'll be able to learn all of these spells. Fortunately, I arrived in time. If you had been bitten by a Runespoor, I'm afraid you would have had to go to St. Mungo's for treatment again."

"Thank you!" Wizet thanked her repeatedly. "May I ask, madam... what should I call you?"

The witch gave a faint smile. "I forgot to introduce myself! Minerva McGonagall, professor of Transfiguration at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts' admission letter. The purpose of my visit is to deliver it into your hands." She took a parchment envelope from her pocket and handed it to Wizet.

Wizet accepted the parchment envelope with both hands. There was a wax seal at the flap, bearing a shield-shaped crest.

At the center of the crest was a capital letter "H," surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake...