Trial of Illusions

Skylar reached out and touched the Lion's Roar Bracers on the altar.

A deafening roar erupted, its volume comparable to the previous colossal Manticore.

Skylar was stunned for a moment, his hand pausing in mid-air for a while. Then his expression turned serious, as if he had made up his mind, and he gripped the Lion's Roar Bracers with both hands.

A blinding golden light burst forth, instantly turning the entire Chamber of Secrets into a white blur. Skylar was struck dumb; a powerful warm current flowed from his hands into his body, rushing straight to his heart. In an instant, Skylar felt as if his heartbeat was on fire, and he let out a painful howl.

When Skylar came to his senses, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment: empty streets surrounded by many strangely dressed wizards. Their attire was completely different from that of modern wizards; their fluffy robes were covered with carvings and various strange symbols engraved in black and blue ink.

Skylar frowned slightly. Could he have... time-traveled?

At this moment, he felt incredibly real about himself and his surroundings. His mind was filled with knowledge of spells, his spiritual power was overflowing, his magic was radiating vitality, and his body was brimming with life force. All of this was still with Skylar, which undoubtedly made Skylar feel much more at ease in this unknown situation.

Don't forget, he himself is a Pensieve user, and he has also entered other people's memories for experimental purposes.

When using the Pensieve, what is actually displayed inside is a memory that has been preserved within. In that memory, Skylar can only be considered an observer. None of the characters or creatures in the memory can see him, feel him, or talk to him, or even fight him.

But the situation he was in now was clearly different from the process of using the Pensieve — Gryffindor had not sealed his memories in the arm guards. According to Skylar's judgment, this should be similar to the nightmare magic and illusion magic that the Hag were good at, which would put the subject into a false world dominated by their own fears.

Judging from Skylar's current state of mind, he was most likely trapped in some kind of illusion woven by Gryffindor. However, this illusion was far too vast and too realistic—there were at least a hundred ancient wizards of various appearances, expressions, and postures on the entire street. Judging from their clothing alone, it was difficult to guess what era this was. Many of them had already noticed Skylar, who was dressed in modern clothes, and were gathered together whispering among themselves.

Is this... a test of facing an unknown environment?

Skylar sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead. It was indeed very Gryffindor- esque— Gryffindor's ideal successor would certainly be someone with a similar personality to himself, so it wasn't hard to guess—

In this situation, the young Gryffindor wizard's first stop would undoubtedly be the busiest pub on the street, where he would drink with a few drunkards, perhaps even get into a fight, and finally, recognize their worth and successfully extract the first piece of information he had gathered.

The first stop for a young Ravenclaw wizard is undoubtedly a museum, art gallery, or library—places rich in humanities, history, and geography. Consulting these materials is indeed one way to get to know the ins and outs of a place.

The situation is less certain for the young badgers—those cowardly like Zacharias Smith would likely hide immediately and wait for rescue, or at the very least, wait until a few of their companions are gathered before daring to act with the courage of numbers; others, like Cedric Diggory and Newt Scamander, would usually choose to keep a low profile, avoid the surveillance of the surface world, and secretly make contact with people in the underworld...

As for Slytherin, haha!

Let me show you the power of spending money!

Skylar grabbed a handful of Galleons and scattered them on the ground. Although Galleons were minted as currency when Gringott founded Gringotts in the 15th century, the gleaming gold coins were a form of hard currency in any era!

The reason is that magic cannot create gold!

"Who can answer my question—" Skylar declared loudly, "these gold coins are his, and only one person can receive them. But if you answer incorrectly," Skylar's tone suddenly turned cold, "You will bear the consequences!"

Many people looked fearful and went back inside without warning, closing the doors and windows tightly, leaving no gaps.

A slight smile played on Skylar's lips; hadn't he just obtained firsthand intelligence?

The Magic Eye reveals that not everyone here is a wizard; there are also ordinary people among them. Since they don't exhibit any magical energy fluctuations, it can be inferred that this is a place where wizards and ordinary people are allowed to live together peacefully.

However, the way people looked at him was full of wariness, which showed that the people in this place had lived in isolation for many years and had very little communication with the outside world. That's why they were so wary of Skylar, who was obviously an outsider just by his appearance.

Looking around at the buildings constructed from a mixture of mud, sand, and stone, Skylar sensed something was amiss. This was at least from the 15th century, and considering the era of Gryffindor, it could even be as far back as the 10th century. He frowned, deep in thought, as he observed the dusty streets.

He looked around at the houses with their doors and windows tightly shut, and a few bars, bakeries, pharmacies, and blacksmith shops that were still open... He finally realized where this uneasy feeling came from—it was too clean here!

Whether it was the 10th or 15th century, Europe countries should still be in an agricultural society. So why are the main products of animal husbandry, such as cattle, sheep, horses, and donkeys, nowhere to be seen, and not even a single piece of horse manure can be found on the ground?

Does this mean their economy doesn't revolve around agriculture and animal husbandry? Then what do they eat?

While magic can increase food production, it cannot conjure food out of thin air.

Skylar smiled; this illusionary world was getting more and more interesting!

At that moment, a tall man with a rugged appearance and a touch of heroism walked over. He was wearing fiery red armor, with a Griffin embroidered on his chest in special ink. His fiery red hair almost made him think he was seeing the Weasley family.

"Young man, let me answer you!" The man stepped forward, a smug, unrestrained smile on his face. "Gryffindor, Godric Gryffindor, young man, are you from out of town?"

Skylar remained unmoved, staring intently at the man before him.

Only when he approached did Skylar sense a completely different aura from the Weasley —he was surrounded by intense heat, with an invisible wave of flames pressing down on the surroundings. Skylar also took the opportunity to glimpse the "Sword of the Brave" hanging at his left waist and the wand hanging at his right waist.

Yes, it's definitely a young Gryffindor.

"I advise you to leave here right now. I'm doing this for your own good. Alright, hand over the money to me obediently!" Gryffindor reached out to snatch the money pouch from Skylar's hand.

Skylar showed no fear, and sneered, "You haven't answered any of my questions yet. How is your forceful seizure any different from that of a robber?"

Skylar's reaction surprised Gryffindor. He frowned and said, "Kid, you don't know who I am? My identity... heh heh, it'll scare you to death if I tell you—listen, kid, I mean no harm, but a terrible battle is about to break out here. If you don't want to die, get out of here now, and hand over all your money. You've already attracted the attention of many desperados by showing off your wealth. I dare say if you don't hand over your money now, you might not leave here alive."

"Tsk tsk," Skylar chuckled. See, the whole story's ins and outs are now clear, aren't they? The difference is, Skylar himself has been caught up in the storm. "Don't try to scare me. I just came out of the deep mountains. My master said there are very few warlocks in this world who can rival me. Now you say someone wants to kill me? I'd like to see who has the guts!"

The word "warlock" is rarely used in modern times, and its meaning is more often associated with a certain honor, such as Dumbledore's position as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot of Wizengamot. However, in ancient times, the word actually meant battle mage, describing a wizarding profession that specialized in combat, equivalent to a Muggle knight.

Skylar was well-versed in wizarding history, used these commonly used ancient terms precisely to better integrate himself, as an outsider, into this world of illusion.

Skylar put the purse back into his pocket, but a gold coin was still clutched between his left thumb and forefinger. He flicked it lightly, sending it flying towards Gryffindor. "Now," Skylar said with a smile, "This is what you deserve. By the way, what's the name of this place? And I just came from the deep mountains, what era is it now?"

Gryffindor caught the gold coin with lightning speed, saying irritably, "You've got quite the nerve. I'm serious, you think I'm joking? Fine, I don't care if you live or die—it's the early 10th century, this is Rivermouth Village in Woodcroft, located east of the River Wye. You know the Wyvern of Wye? This place is very close to Winged Dragon territory, which is why wizards are accepted by the Muggles in this village; they need their help to protect the village."

A glint flashed in Skylar's eyes. It seemed Gryffindor hadn't fabricated a vision for him, but rather had him join an adventure from his youth, using it to judge whether his performance met their standards.

Skylar wasn't like those Muggle readers from his previous life who had been brainwashed by wizards. They regarded the novel *The Legend of King Arthur *, which the Ministry of Magic had deliberately distributed in the Muggle world, as a treasure and as true history. They shamelessly discussed the era of Merlin's birth on websites and used this as a basis to frequently criticize diligent fan fiction authors, showcasing the superiority complex unique to trolls. This often baffled Skylar from his previous life; using the setting of one novel to criticize another was simply...

In fact, according to the true history of wizarding that Skylar was familiar with—

By the early 10th century, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table should have already appeared in the world. Schelling would certainly be familiar with the history of the Wyeth River. One of the Knights of the Round Table, the "Madman" Knight Cadogan, gloriously completed his battle of fame here—the slaughter of the Wyeth Pterodactyl!

As for Woodcroft, the peaceful coexistence of wizards and Muggles is only due to the external threat of the Wyvern of Wye. Skylar knew perfectly well that in the near future, the wizards here would be driven out by the Muggles and forced to leave. The most famous of these people was Hengist of Woodcroft, who eventually settled in the Scottish Highlands and founded the now-famous Hogsmeade Village.