Hogwarts Underground Arcade

Harry, Ron, and Zhang San wolfed down their lunch, tossed aside their knives and forks, and raced all the way to Zhang San's little temple.

A winding path led to a secluded place, where flowers and trees grew deep around the meditation chambers. The entrance to the little temple's basement was behind the main hall, and only those holding game tokens could enter.

The two boys and one ghost walked side by side into the temple's first underground level. The spacious basement did not seem dark in the slightest. Luminous pearls embedded in the walls continuously gave off a gentle glow.

Ron set Zhang San's spatial pouch on the ground with its mouth open. Harry stepped one foot into the pouch, and with one inside and one outside, they worked together to easily move the arcade cabinets out of the bag.

"Let's go over the Levitation Charm again..." Zhang San said solemnly as he watched his two eager friends draw their wands. "First, swish, then flick... The incantation is Wingardium Leviosa..."

Harry Potter, inside the pouch, cast the spell first. He waved his wand at the arcade cabinet before him. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The arcade cabinet rose at once, floating up from the ground like a feather caught in the wind.

Once the cabinet had left the pouch, Ron outside took over. He cast the Levitation Charm on the cabinet that appeared before him, making it fly over to the wall and slowly descend.

As Ron cast the spell, Zhang San's heart practically leaped into his throat. It was not that Zhang San doubted Master Ron's skills, but Ron's wand was simply far too old.

Because there were so many children in his family, Ron, the youngest, used secondhand books, stationery, cauldrons, and even robes. Making do with those things was one matter, but the most outrageous part was that Ron's wand was secondhand too.

The importance of a wand went without saying. Unless a wand was as powerful as the Elder Wand, using a secondhand wand for spellcasting was practically asking for trouble.

Especially when one had only just begun learning magic, using a secondhand wand did nothing but harm.

Actually, asking Hermione to help with this would have been the safest choice. But that top student would definitely not support Zhang San opening an arcade and ruining Hogwarts's academic atmosphere. As a witch born into a wealthy Muggle family, she naturally knew just how addictive games could be.

How could young wizards who had grown up in the closed-off wizarding world ever have seen something like this? If they did not become addicted, they would be letting down all the hard days they had endured before.

Before Hermione had suffered enough from being isolated and chosen to accept others' friendship, Zhang San had no intention of bringing home a mother figure to chant in his ear every day. The girl was not bad, but early on, her emotional intelligence was terribly low, and her words were always barbed.

Though Zhang San was reincarnated with memories of his previous life, his personality after reincarnation was still influenced by the age of this life. That was why he could get along with mischievous boys like Harry and Ron, yet could not stand a bossy "housekeeper" like Hermione.

By the time all the arcade cabinets had been placed against the walls, Harry and Ron were exhausted. For first-year wizards, maintaining spells for extended periods was still far too strenuous.

Wizards might not have mana bars, but using too much magic still left them drained and listless.

Zhang San said gratefully to Ron, "Thanks, mate. Once this little temple starts making money, I'll help you order a new wand from Ollivander."

Ron was quite surprised. "A temple can make money?"

"Of course. Burning incense costs money—one silver Sickle per stick." Zhang San answered as if it were obvious.

Harry was stunned as well. "That expensive?"

"What else? These incense candles are made from refined precious wood and can calm the mind and help with sleep. Besides, offering incense comes with game tokens. If I don't raise the price of the incense candles a little, how many people could these machines possibly accommodate?" Zhang San said, looking around.

His senior brother had managed to acquire a total of one hundred arcade cabinets for him, and each could support at most two players at once. In other words, the underground arcade's maximum capacity was only two hundred people—enough for roughly half of Hogwarts's students.

It could only be said that Zhang San had arrived at a bad time. The class entering Hogwarts in 1991 was the smallest in years. When these children had been born, Voldemort had been causing chaos outside, and every wizard had been in danger. Who would have had the mind to have children?

Once the classes of 1992 and 1993 enrolled, Hogwarts's student population would gradually return to a more normal scale of around a thousand.

The current Hogwarts used small-class teaching. Once there were more students in the future, classes would become large lectures. There were only so many professors, while the number of students was always changing.

As for the number of arcade cabinets, it was not that Zhang Da could not get more. It was that these machines needed special treatment before they could be used at Hogwarts.

After Zhang San had died on landing and become a ghost, he viewed the world differently. He discovered that wizards, as a form of life, differed from ordinary humans.

Wizards constantly emitted a special kind of radiation. Once the amount of this radiation exceeded a critical threshold, it formed an energy field. Within this energy field, any device that used electricity suffered severe interference—at best, it would short-circuit and break down; at worst, it would explode on the spot.

That was why Hogwarts had no electrical appliances. The magical energy field created by a school inhabited year-round by several hundred wizards was hell for all electronics. Though Zhang San's little temple lay outside the energy field's range, his worshippers were all wizards.

Once several dozen wizards gathered inside the little temple, its electrical devices would be done for too. The arcade cabinets could not withstand the young wizards' havoc without special treatment, which was why this batch of machines had only been delivered after being consecrated at Mount Longhu.

With the Celestial Masters' Mansion's consecration, these arcade cabinets became mystical artifacts. Wizards' energy fields could not damage artifacts, so Zhang San's underground arcade could open for business without issue.

Because these arcade cabinets had been consecrated by powerful figures, they did not even need to be plugged in to run. They could directly absorb the unconsciously leaked magical energy of players to operate. As long as young wizards came to play, the arcade cabinets could stay powered on.

Very ginkgo!

Once Harry and Ron had rested enough, Zhang San invited them to become the arcade's top players.

The two rubbed their hands vigorously and put on a token show of reluctance. "Wouldn't that be improper?"

"It would be perfect," Zhang San said earnestly. "Only if you two have a great time can we prove the games will be popular with the other students. Besides, the power system has been specially modified. I won't feel at ease unless we test it first."

Ron said righteously, "Helping a friend is our duty."

"The most important thing about Gryffindor is unity," Harry Potter echoed.

Then the two sat down on the long bench. This bench was no ordinary one either. It had been made from old moso bamboo from Mount Longhu. Those old bamboo stalks had been steeped in scripture every day; even if they had not evolved into magical plants, they were not far from it. Using them to make bamboo benches was simply perfect.

Before long, the spacious basement was filled with game sounds like "Hao You Gen," "Move the Mountain, Leave No Home," "All Follow," and "A Lei Ku." Ron and Harry quickly got hooked and, without realizing it, used up a large handful of game tokens.

Fighting games really were the most profitable category in an arcade. Beat-'em-ups would forever be the little brothers of money-making.

Just as Harry and Ron were getting into the groove, Zhang San quietly floated over. "Is pulling off combos fun?"

The two nodded in unison. Zhang San hurriedly said, "The two of you fighting each other is no fun. Beating up Slytherin is what's truly satisfying. That show-off Malfoy desperately needs your education. Brave youths, go challenge him to a duel!"

Harry Potter's eyes lit up at once.