Spider Nest
After several explorations last semester, Skylar was already very familiar with the terrain of the Forbidden Forest.
He knew a great battle was about to begin, so he gestured for Dobby and Winky to leave first.
He donned the Night Star Cloak, which he had modified with his alchemy and was engraved with "Guardian" runes, now radiating faint light blue ripples into the surrounding air.
He donned the Duelling Gloves, which he had re-woven with a layer of black and white yarn from the tails of Unicorn and Xiezhi (a mythical beast). When he gripped the wand, it emitted a clear, pleasant sound, and the grain of the Vine Wood subtly shimmered. The well-read Skylar knew that this was because the "power of death" within the wand had been neutralized by the "power of holiness" of the gloves, causing a transformation in the wand's core.
The power of death is not the end.
So what comes after death?
Skylar had high hopes for his wand.
He put on the Ravenclaw's Diadem, and a familiar spiritual power appeared in his mind. Skylar's pupils changed between four colors: orange-red, emerald green, azure blue, and milky white. Nothing within a hundred meters could escape his perception.
He also put on the Slytherin's Locket, though he hadn't yet cracked its secret. He suspected that only Parseltongue could unlock its secrets.
He made his way to Aragog's lair on his own.
He didn't try to hide himself, so he was quickly discovered by the swarm of Acromantula. Countless, densely packed Giant Spider appeared from all directions, surrounding Skylar layer by layer.
"Aragog! Aragog!" several small spiders kept calling out. Although they were speaking English, it was hard to understand them because they would click and clack their large pincers with each word.
Aragog emerged very slowly from a hidden burrow. His body was the size of a small elephant, his body and legs a dark gray, and each eye on his ugly head with its large claws was covered by a white film. He was blind.
"What's going on?" it said, clicking rapidly with its two large claws.
"A person," said a little spider. "There's only one this time, and it's different from the two that came last time."
Aragog asked in a weary, aged voice, "Is that Hagrid?"
Skylar calmly replied, "I'm not Hagrid, I'm his friend. He sent me to find you."
Aragog hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "Hagrid never sends anyone to find me. You should tell me first, what does he want with you here?"
"Hagrid sent me here because he wants me to go deep into the Spider Cave to retrieve something."
Aragog seemed enraged, his large claws snapping and opening, making a clicking sound. "You dare lie to me! Children, kill him!"
The Acromantula, who had been eyeing the area for a long time, began to click excitedly, their countless long legs moving rustling as they slowly approached Skylar, like patient predators preparing to pounce.
Skylar was prepared for this outcome.
The moment he was surrounded, he used "Divine Insight of Amaterasu" to observe the location of every spider in the area. In an instant, he fired four Sonic Boom Charm in succession in all directions. The four Sonic Boom Charm exploded at the same time, creating an astonishingly loud noise that stunned all the spiders within the observation range. The spiders' unique, piercing screams rose and fell.
Skylar took a deep breath, gripping his wand tightly, intending to cast a spell he had never used in actual combat.
"Fiendfyre Burning Heaven!"
A wisp of azure flame shot out from the tip of the wand, landed on the ground, and burst into flames with a "whoosh." The flame seemed to have a life of its own, rising and falling, expanding and spreading with crackling sounds, until it finally swirled high into the sky like a tornado, its momentum truly astonishing.
After the fiery tornado dispersed, it transformed into various ferocious beasts— Fire Snake, Chimera, and Fire Dragon —emitting terrifying rumbling sounds. Centered on Skylar, they charged in all directions, burning the Acromantula to pieces, scattering them in all directions.
The Fiendfyre, imbued with cursed power and also known as the devil's flames, cannot be extinguished by physical means. Spiders tainted by the Fiendfyre face certain death no matter where they flee. Moreover, the massive swarms of spiders, in their dense charge and scramble, spread the Fiendfyre even more rapidly. One spreads to ten, ten to a hundred, and soon, the visible area is filled with burning, screaming spiders, the entire scene resembling a hell on earth.
After this battle, it's likely that less than one in ten of the Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest survived, thus relinquishing their throne as the overlords of the Forbidden Forest.
The instant the Fiendfyre was unleashed, Aragog seemed to sense danger and hurriedly retreated towards the crypt. Despite its age and massive size, it moved with surprising agility and speed!
Skylar rushed towards Aragog.
The biggest problem with the Fiendfyre is that it cannot distinguish friend from foe; it burns everything in its path. If Skylar continues to stay here, even he himself will be in danger.
As he charged forward, he unleashed the "Wind-Spinning Vortex Curse" with his wand, the whirlwind acting like a propulsion system to accelerate his progress. At the same time, the wind fueled the flames, making the Fiendfyre behind him burn even more fiercely.
Although Aragog is blind, its hearing has become more acute due to its long-term reliance on hearing. It judged Skylar's location by the sound of the wind as Skylar moved, and at that moment, it stretched out its large claws like lightning to grab Skylar!
Skylar's left hand drooped slightly, and a pure silver dagger slid from a hidden pocket in his sleeve into his hand. After being infused with magic, the "Unbreakable Curse" on it was activated, and his hand, gripping the dagger tightly, could faintly feel its sharpness. Skylar narrowed his eyes slightly, his feet not pausing for a moment, and swung the dagger in a Z-shaped motion. The dagger seemed to pierce through tofu, and with a light slash, it cleanly and neatly severed the pair of large claws that were attacking him!
Aragog let out a painful scream, and a large spray of dark green liquid gushed from its mouthparts.
Skylar's movements were fluid and graceful. Before Aragog could spray his venom, he leaped forward, nimbly rolled, and landed beneath Aragog's body.
As he stood up, he forcefully raised the dagger upwards, and with a "thud," it pierced Aragog's chest. Without pausing, he pulled the dagger towards Aragog's tail. The dagger slid smoothly down Aragog's chest, across his abdomen and tail, with a long, sharp "ripping" sound, like cloth being torn by sharp shears.
Having passed through Aragog's massive body, Skylar continued charging forward without looking back, ignoring the deafening crash of the enormous object falling to the ground behind him.
The cave's end is a vast and expansive underground space.
There were no other creatures in the cave.
This is why Skylar deliberately revealed his location from the beginning. Rather than infiltrating into an unknown crypt and being ambushed by Acromantula lurking in the shadows, it was better to choose the battlefield himself from the start and lure the Acromantula out to deal with them.
Skylar's Magic Eye scanned the surroundings, and a faint magical fluctuation permeated the air.
He explored the cavern following the fluctuations in magical energy and found an underground spring. At the source of the spring was a magic circle that shone with a thick emerald green light, and above the center of the circle, a ball of liquid energy emitting seven-colored light floated in mid-air.
The seven-colored energy was like a cloud, constantly changing shape in mid-air, with strands of magical power as fine as hair emanating from it, penetrating the barrier of the magic circle and seeping into the spring water.
Skylar speculated that this might be the answer to the mystery of the Acromantula's reproduction.
Aragog has long lived because he has been drinking this spring, which is full of vitality. The entire group of Acromantula drinks this spring regularly, which is why they have such an amazing reproduction rate.
The magic circle was extremely complex, with layers of ancient runes that acted as barriers, trapping the seven-colored power in the center. At the core of the magic circle was an Ancient Runic Magic Symbols, the very same "Isa" seen on the freezer door!
The core of the magic circle is like a door, while this "freezing" magic rune is a lock. Once this rune is broken, the entire magic circle can be opened.
Skylar was now certain that he had found the real Hufflepuff treasure.
Skylar put away his wand and dagger, closed his eyes, and visualized every stroke and line of the "Freeze" rune, simulating countless times in his mind how to cast the rune using the ancient magic.
With Skylar's mental strength, plus the boost from the Diadem of Wisdom, it should only take a few minutes.
Learning Guruni magic for the first time must be incredibly difficult, because it's like a baby learning to speak for the first time—a process from zero to one.
Think about it, how long did it Skylar from his first encounter with grunni spellcasting (starting from watching the Goblin Sacred Fire Kaunaz last semester) to finally mastering his first Ancient Runic Magic Symbols, "Eihwaz," making it tangible and displaying its full power?
Although "freezing" and "protection" are very different in both their graphic depictions and their inherent meanings, experience can still be learned from them.
Skylar raised his right hand and drew the "freeze" rune in mid-air with his index finger. The rune took shape in mid-air, radiating an astonishing chill, and then turned into a beam of white light that shot into the magic circle.
It worked!
Perhaps Skylar is not yet able to materialize the "Freeze" spell, but being able to shoot the spell like a spell and feel the chill within it already shows that Skylar has initially mastered the spell.
Besides "Guardian," "Freeze" is the second magic rune that Skylar has mastered, which is already a remarkable achievement. Thinking of those transmigrators in his previous life who could easily treat Guruni's spellcasting as toys, Skylar felt a surge of envy, jealousy, and resentment.
The magic circle was successfully deciphered, and the emerald green glow slowly dimmed.
Skylar raised his right hand and gently beckoned in mid-air, and the seven-colored energy floating in mid-air flew into Skylar's hand.
The moment his hand touched that energy, he felt an extremely cool and magical power flow from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. His body underwent noticeable changes, and his bodily functions, from skin to muscles to bones, were strengthened. Even his senses, such as vision and hearing, became more acute than before. The magic power he had exhausted by using the Fiendfyre Curse was not only instantly restored, but after it was fully restored, it began to increase wildly until it was about 30% higher than before before it stopped.
Skylar knew that this energy was the "Source of Life" described on the Elf Tablet, and like Ravenclaw's "Crystal of Wisdom," it belonged to the highest level of magical power.
Having absorbed the Source of Life that Hufflepuff had cultivated throughout his life, Skylar's body resembled a perfect alchemical artifact, with various intricate Magic Runes appearing on his skin. These runes were not black, but rather radiated a rainbow-like glow.
Skylar could feel his body brimming with intense vitality, which was constantly transforming Skylar, giving him not only a more powerful self-healing ability but also the potential to hold more magical power. Skylar's body was like an expanded container; as the space inside increased, so did Skylar magical power.
Skylar carefully sensed the changes in his body and the accompanying ultimate techniques. This technique left behind by Hufflepuff could stimulate a huge amount of life force within his body, and as long as he did not die, any serious physical injury could be healed instantly.
[Hufflepuff's exclusive secret technique - Creation Regeneration - learned!]