Return to School

After the transaction with "Death" ended, Lin An spent three full days sorting through all the information again.

He did not trust Death, nor did he trust that contract.

In his view, it was merely a facade established by an extraordinarily ancient existence to maintain balance.

At that moment, his goal was crystal clear—to become one of the greatest wizards in the world.

By his calculations, the process would not take long.

By then, no force other than Death itself would be able to stop him.

After all, it was the embodiment of Death, the core manifestation of the entire system of laws. Almost nothing could contend with it.

Therefore, Lin An decided to take a roundabout approach.

He would make that existence believe that he was merely an obedient tool, a mortal working in its service.

Keep a low profile on the surface, rise in secret.

As for that contract, he had never believed the other party would be bound by it.

How could an incarnation of law be restrained by a sheet of paper? It was nothing more than a temporary measure.

"No matter what, I must first complete the construction of the World Gate."

He flipped through his notebook, densely packed magical runes glimmering in the candlelight.

If he could complete it through his own power, the contract would become meaningless.

If he could not achieve it for the time being, the contract would serve as his final safeguard—provided, of course, that Death truly intended to honor it.

Besides that, he had prepared other contingencies.

The most important of them was the legendary Invisibility Cloak.

It was the only sacred artifact capable of evading Death's gaze.

Ignatus of the Peverell family had relied on it to avoid being found by Death for his entire life.

"If I can properly activate the core law within it, I can briefly escape Death's perception."

Lin An murmured.

However, there was one problem—Dumbledore, Hogwarts's headmaster.

He certainly knew that Lin An had borrowed the Invisibility Cloak from Harry Potter.

If he failed to return it for too long, he would have to face the old wizard's suspicions.

"I need to create a perfect substitute."

Lin An pondered quietly.

But deceiving Dumbledore would be no easy task.

Thus, he came up with a bold plan.

—Extract trace remnants of Law Force from the Resurrection Stone or the Invisibility Cloak, then infuse them into a forged cloak.

As long as the counterfeit bore traces of the Law of Death, even Dumbledore would have difficulty detecting the deception.

Fortunately, Lin An had already mastered the ritual for activating the Resurrection Stone.

It was precisely through that ritual that he had been able to contact Death again and strike that thrilling bargain.

The real difficulty lay in the materials.

"Ordinary fabric cannot withstand the fluctuations of law."

He searched through ancient texts for a vessel capable of stabilizing the power of Death.

"I must find a material that can counterbalance the essence of life."

Throughout the entire Christmas break, he barely left the laboratory.

Magic circles covered the stone floor, and the air was thick with the scent of ashes and herbs.

Steam rose from the cauldrons, while cold light refracted into countless phantoms.

Several experiments failed, and the Invisibility Cloak crumbled into ashes.

But he was not discouraged. Every failure brought him one step closer to the answer.

In the end, using the mane of a semi-spiritual creature, a Thestral, as the core, he fused camouflage fabric with soul runes and created an Invisibility Cloak with a flawless appearance.

It looked no different from the original, and even the flow of magic was nearly impossible to distinguish.

"As long as he does not compare them directly, Dumbledore will not notice."

Lin An stared at the finished product, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

Christmas break ended quickly.

Hogwarts's morning mist shrouded the castle spires, while the corridors echoed with the clamor of returning students.

Lin An pushed open the classroom door, and the familiar aura of magic washed over him.

The students in the classroom were excitedly discussing their holiday adventures, but they all quieted when they saw their professor.

"Today, we will be learning Double Enchantment."

Lin An's gaze swept over the room, his tone as steady as ever.

"Does anyone know what it is?"

After a brief silence, someone raised a hand.

"Mr. Weasley, please answer."

"Uh, Professor, I actually don't know what Double Enchantment is—but I have a question."

"Is it related to the lesson?" Lin An asked, raising a brow.

"Probably not, but... it's a good question. Everyone probably wants to hear it too."

A burst of laughter rose from the classroom. Lin An sighed softly. "Go ahead."

"Professor, I read the new Yu-Gi-Oh! manga published by your company over the holiday. It was fantastic!" Fred Weasley said with a grin. "I want to know, are you as amazing as Yugi Muto?"

Lin An's mouth nearly twitched.

The entire class immediately erupted into commotion, laughter ringing out one after another.

"It really is a good question," Lee Jordan cut in. "I heard that after this manga came out, even professional players started copying the protagonist's deck!"

Lin An sighed inwardly.

That was exactly why he had released the manga.

He had adapted the characters from the original work into wizards, turning card duels into magical competitions unique to wizards.

That way, he could appeal to pure-blood families while avoiding controversy related to Muggles.

As for Duel Monsters in reality, he had long since recreated it in a magic-powered form and designed a genuine Duel Disk.

"Quiet."

Lin An tapped the desk, his voice calm. "To answer your question—yes, I am indeed stronger than him. After all, I created this game."

The students burst into an uproar.

"Professor, can you show us?"

"That's right, let us see what you can do!"

"If you truly want a challenge," Lin An said mildly, "go find my cousin, Susan Bones. Whoever can defeat her may choose any one card from my collection."

The students cheered. A faint smile tugged at Lin An's lips, but he turned and wrote the first magical formula of the day.

"All right, class will continue."

Candlelight reflected off the blackboard, and runes flickered.

Everything returned to calm—yet deep within, Lin An was still calculating the true price of that contract with Death.