Early in the morning, Oren entered the New World and complained, "Headmaster Dumbledore, why did you ban my portal spell again?"
"There are only two of us in the world who know this spell. Do you really need to guard against it so much?"
Dumbledore was squatting at the edge of the little world, fiddling with a brick.
The headmaster looked up from where he was squatting, and Oren felt as though he were hallucinating. In that instant, Dumbledore looked uncannily like an old acquaintance who used to split bricks.
"You're here, child. I marked the position of the boundary wall last night. This morning, it had retreated three millimeters. It seems this little space is expanding every moment."
An old man leaned on a cane and shakily carried a brick over to them.
"No, Headmaster, this..." Oren said in surprise. "You're ruthless, sir. You're even making an old man who struggles to walk carry bricks?"
Dumbledore curled his lip. "Child, this is Nicolas Flamel. We need his experience. Also, you never replied to my letter about whether you agreed to let him join us, so I took that as your consent."
Oren??? Headmaster Dumbledore, you've gone bad.
"I won't reveal what is happening here." Nicolas Flamel shakily extended a hand. "You are Oren Black, correct? Your alchemical ideas are very interesting."
Oren lightly shook Nicolas Flamel's hand, afraid that any force at all might snap the old man's arm.
"Since you're here, I'll return the Philosopher's Stone to you."
Nicolas Flamel accepted the Philosopher's Stone and said in surprise, "I truly never expected you to give it up, child."
Oren shrugged and took a small vial of Philosopher's Stone powder from his pocket. "I can make Philosopher's Stones too."
There simply were not enough Acromantula souls. Otherwise, Oren would