Advanced Elemental Thunder Rune, Thunder Rains Down
The wind howled, and the icy raindrops were stretched into thin silver threads by the rapid airflow.
With each flap of its three pairs of broad wings, the Thunderbird Aether stirred up vortices that tore through the rain.
It let out a loud cry, which was simultaneously translated into Lucien's ears:
"Boss, that long worm down there looks disgusting! Do you want me to help you fight it?"
Lucien, riding steadily on Aether's back, patted its neck upon hearing this, his tone calm and composed:
"No need. You just stay in the sky and watch for me, and help me activate and guide the lightning."
The wind, carrying raindrops the size of beans, slammed into Lucien, but before it could touch his body, it was quietly deflected by an invisible barrier, failing to wet the hem of his clothes.
At this moment, Lucien's smile was joyful, not because of the upcoming battle, but because of the system notification in his field of vision:
[Loan triggered: Advanced Elemental Thunder Rune (Monthly Loan)]
[Loan Details: Obtain Advanced Elemental Thunder Rune, increase the host's affinity for lightning, increase the speed of learning lightning magic, and increase the power of lightning magic by 50%]
[Loan Task: Slay a mature-stage Basilisk]
[Would you like to borrow this, host?]
Loans related to elemental runes have actually been added to the list!
Lucien was in high spirits; it was like a dream come true.
I really want to give the system a thumbs up.
Lucien felt the initial level of Thunder Pattern was worthwhile, as they amplified the power of all lightning magic.
The higher the level of the magic, the more terrifying its increased power.
Moreover, these elemental runes can help one communicate with the corresponding natural elements when casting spells. A basic Thunder Pattern can slightly attract heavenly lightning, allowing magic to reach a higher level.
If you upgrade to a higher level, the attraction to lightning will definitely be stronger, which is essentially an increase in elemental affinity.
Lucien also remembered that after taking out the initial Thunder Pattern loan, the system commented that there would be a "little surprise" once all the elemental runes were collected.
I have to say, I'm quite curious.
As for mature Basilisk, isn't there one right below?
Basilisk typically live for eight or nine hundred years, so this one Basilisk, which has lived from Slytherin's time to the present day and is a full thousand years old, definitely meets that requirement.
"Borrow."
[Ding! Loan application successful!]
[Evaluation: You're one step closer to completing the full collection of elemental runes! Keep up the good work, host! (¯¯)]
What's with this "complete encyclopedia" stuff? What's the system up to lately...?
Before Lucien could finish his rant, he felt a scorching and powerful force surge into his right hand.
Looking down, one could see that the silver-white lightning bolt pattern imprinted on the thumb was becoming more complex and profound at a visible speed, as if it contained the power of thunder itself.
Around the purple arcs that had been leaping endlessly across the surface of the pattern, a more vibrant cyan lightning bolt had suddenly appeared.
A faint aura of pressure emanated from Lucien.
As if responding to a call from the same source, the already stormy clouds overhead became even more violent, with silver snakes dancing wildly and thunder rumbling. At this moment, the power of heaven and earth resonated with Lucien.
"Hey, boss, you smell even better!"
Aether a long, excited cry; the Thunderbird was most sensitive to this pure and powerful aura of lightning.
Lucien chuckled and patted his underling again before turning his sharp gaze to the ground below, shrouded in torrential rain.
The Basilisk's dazzling emerald green scales became a conspicuous target in the dim light. Its massive body twisted and thrashed violently across the muddy grass, trying to shake off the harassment.
The black and red Alchemy Puppet, trailing a bright magical tail, circled and attacked the Basilisk, driving it towards the empty grassland as Lucien commanded.
The black vortex in Lucien's eyes spun even more rapidly.
He muttered to himself, a hint of mischievous planning in his voice:
"You can even eat one snake multiple times!"
The rain poured down, and thunder roared.
On the open grassland.
The enormous Basilisk writhed and rolled wildly in the mud, its hard scales scraping against the ground.
It would occasionally open its enormous mouth, spraying out corrosive venom that emitted white smoke, attempting to dissolve the ghostly Alchemy Puppet that darted around.
Since the doll was inanimate, the Basilisk's yellow death eyes had no effect on it.
However, the Basilisk's enormous size and bone-corroding venom still pose a threat to the doll.
The doll's body was engulfed in blazing magical flames, instantly evaporating any approaching raindrops into white mist, skillfully avoiding a head-on collision with the Basilisk.
Suddenly, the Sorcerer's Stone embedded in the doll's chest shone brightly, like a small sun rising.
"Hiss hiss hiss--"
Hundreds of condensed magical beams burst forth from its body, seemingly possessing a life of their own, tracing eerie arcs in the air as they automatically tracked and shot towards the Basilisk!
The Basilisk let out a hiss, neither dodging nor flinching, but suddenly curled up its body, using its torso covered in hard scales to protect its relatively vulnerable eyes and mouth.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Scattered beams of magic grazed the scales, shooting into the surrounding ground and blasting open muddy craters.
Most of the beams of light slammed into the Basilisk's scales!
However, the magic was weakened by most of its power before it even touched the scales. When it actually struck, it could only explode into clusters of dazzling but useless magical sparks, like fireworks hitting a steel plate—seemingly intense, but unable to cause any real damage.
In the blink of an eye, the human figure and the snake's shadow had crossed paths dozens of times.
Just as the Basilisk once again used its body to block the beam of light, completely obscuring its vision—
The puppet stopped, raised its right arm high, and unfolded its structure layer by layer, with dazzling magic rapidly gathering amidst a buzzing sound.
It is preparing to unleash its ultra-high-powered magic cannon once again!
But this is also the opportunity the Basilisk has been waiting for.
Almost at the same instant the doll charged up its energy, the Basilisk's coiled body suddenly sprang open like a spring compressed to its limit!
Its long, slender body transformed into a runaway steam train, hurtling towards them with a brutal force capable of crushing everything in its path!
The puppet tried to interrupt the energy charge and dodge, but the forced halt caused its movements to become slightly sluggish.
The Basilisk's thick, pillar-like tail, accompanied by a shriek, tore through the rain and lashed the doll across the waist!
"Snap--!"
A crisp, piercing cracking sound pierced through the raging wind and rain.
The black and red doll was flung away like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the mud in the distance.
The Basilisk raised its head, its yellow vertical pupils peering greedily across the open grassland at the castle that was faintly visible in the rain in the distance.
There, countless vibrant and heartwarming lives reside...
For the Basilisk, which had been thirsty for too long, it was an irresistible temptation.
It has spent most of its time in hibernation over the years, only occasionally eating, and its last full meal was many years ago.
Moreover, the being that gave it the order also demanded that it carry out a grand massacre.
Desire and commands pushed the Basilisk's murderous intent to a frenzied peak!
Ignoring the defeated puppet, it twisted its body and began to crawl faster towards the castle.
Boom!!!
A massive bolt of lightning, crackling with purple and blue arcs of electricity, crashed down, striking the Basilisk's proud head squarely!
Only after the lightning bolts began to dissipate did the deafening roar resound.
A numbing sensation and a burning pain raged through the Basilisk's body at the same time, causing it to let out a painful hiss as its massive body rolled in the mud, stirring up a cloud of mud.
As the lightning dissipated, the Basilisk shook its charred, smoking head, its bloodthirsty yellow vertical pupils fixed on the newly appeared figure ahead.
A boy stood silently in the torrential rain, his body wreathed in strange arcs of electricity. Two particularly thick currents, one purple and one blue, swam around him gracefully yet dangerously, like living serpents.
Before the surrounding rain could even get close, it was shattered and evaporated by the leaping arcs of electricity, forming a hazy mist around him.
Through the combined obstruction of torrential rain and mist, the Basilisk's yellow eyes, which held the deadly curse, met the boy's calm, dark green eyes.
The anticipated death or petrification did not occur.
When the boy's silver-rimmed glasses met that deathly gaze, the lenses emitted a deep black light, devouring and deflecting the magic and curse contained within the gaze, causing it to vanish without a trace.
Lucien is safe and sound.
He had just observed the battle between the Alchemy Puppet Basilisk and confirmed that conventional magical attacks had little effect on its tough scales.
Lucien's gaze drifted to a spot beside the Basilisk, where dark red blood was slowly seeping out.
That was the damage left by the doll's super-high-power magic energy cannon, but that's all.
His gaze swept over the still-pulsating arcs of electricity on the Basilisk's body and some of its charred and cracked scales.
The lightning strike was quite effective.
Is it lightning itself that has a restraining effect on this kind of creature?
Let's try applying more force then.
At the same time, the Basilisk hesitated briefly; its Death Glare seemed ineffective against living beings?
Its instincts, originating from ancient creatures, were frantically warning it that this tiny human being before it instilled in it an unprecedented sense of dread.
"You... are not Harry Potter..."
A malicious hissing sound emanated intermittently from its massive maw, its meaning clearly reaching Lucien's ears.
"But... he still has to die..."
Lucien watched as the Basilisk slowly coiled up, assuming an attack stance. His magical power surged like a flood, rapidly converging on the wand in his hand.
On the surface of the wand, dazzling magical flames intertwined and leaped with purple and blue lightning bolts filled with a violent aura, emitting a deep hum.
The amplification from the Advanced Elemental Thunder Rune is indeed remarkable.
The 50% power boost allows lightning magic to leapfrog its original tier.
Beyond its power, this elemental rune greatly enhances its affinity for the lightning element.
Now, with just a slight thought, the surrounding free-floating lightning elements surge forth as if summoned, flowing smoothly and swiftly.
and...
Lucien felt the vast sea of lightning surging and accumulating within the thick clouds above his head.
His perception of natural lightning had never been so clear; it seemed he was just a hair's breadth away from directly controlling it.
The higher the level of the elemental runes, the more acute their perception of nature.
And then, by drawing upon the power of heaven and earth?
Just then, a clear, loud cry pierced through the thunderclouds and penetrated the rain curtain, reaching Lucien's ears.
Having received Aether's confirmation, Lucien's lips curled slightly as he looked at the Basilisk poised to attack and chuckled softly:
What are you waiting for?
"Kill--"
The Basilisk's furious hiss had just exploded—
The thick, silvery-white lightning paste, as thick as mercury, transformed into a waterfall cascading from the sky, instantly engulfing the Basilisk with its majestic power!
Immediately afterwards, a thunderclap even more violent and magnificent than before exploded in the sky above Hogwarts!
Inside the castle.
At first, when the first thunderclap rang out, it startled some of the young wizards, but they only slightly turned their ears and did not attract much attention.
However, just moments later--
Boom!!!
The second roar, filled with fury and destruction, descended with overwhelming force.
The entire ancient castle seemed to tremble at the loud noise, and even the hanging portraits fell silent in shock.
It was as if a god wielding thunder had unleashed his fury upon humanity.
It was around dinnertime, and students were scattered throughout the castle.
The earth-shattering roar caused a minor commotion.
Conversations and exclamations echoed throughout the corridors and common lounges.
Soon, the young wizards, positioned high in the tower, took advantage of their superior visibility to be the first to spot the anomaly in the meadows by the distant Black Lake.
The unusual scene there was so captivating that it was impossible to look away.
The sky seemed to have been torn open with a huge hole, and thick, inky clouds swirled wildly, forming a massive vortex.
At the center of that vortex, countless thick, blazing bolts of lightning, as if defying the laws of nature, burst forth wildly from the clouds!
They are not fleeting flashes of lightning, but rather a continuous accumulation and outpouring!
It was like an inverted mountain built entirely of lightning.
Thousands of lightning bolts intertwined and erupted, their blinding light even briefly dispelling the darkness around the castle, illuminating every terrified and stunned face with a deathly pale light.
In the castle corridor, by the window, the young wizards, drawn by the thunder, huddled together, straining to look out.
"I can't see it! That lightning was too blinding, and now it's so dark!"
"Don't worry! I brought it! I bought a pair of binoculars specifically for watching Quidditch Match, I never thought I'd use them here!"
The young wizard eagerly raised the telescope to his eyes, gazing at the meadow that looked as if it had been plowed.
The next second, he gasped sharply, his voice trembling:
"Merlin... Merlin! A snake! A huge snake!!"
"What snake? Let me see it!"
The person next to him snatched the binoculars, and after just one glance, was so startled that he almost dropped them.
"Merlin's beard! It... it's still moving!"
"I know, I know! I've read about it in books! It's called 'transcending tribulation'! It means an animal is about to transform into a human!"
"Wake up! You must have been brainwashed by those novels you bought from the Seventh Workshop! We only have magic here! Where would you find animal transformations or tribulations?"
Another student, staring intently out the window, spoke with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, his voice trembling slightly:
"Look... isn't there... a figure near that giant snake? Damn it, it's too dark, I can't see anything at all!"