"How does it feel to win House Cup this time?" Ian asked while sending his cousin Susan to the train station.
"Of course it's great!" Susan smiled proudly, "Didn't you see Professor Sprout's look like that? She almost broadcast the good news to the whole school!"
Ian smiled, "I guess you guys haven't had it so easy this year, right?"
Susan curled his lips. "What do you think? With Hermione here, there's no such thing as 'easy'. She knows almost as much as I do, so it's not easy to get points. But..."
She raised her chest slightly and said with a bit of pride, "Fortunately, I have learned two more years of knowledge than her, so I can still beat her for the time being."
"Then you have to work hard, she will catch up with you in a few years." Ian joked.
"Hmph, we'll talk about it later." Susan snorted, but there was no real displeasure in his tone.
The two were chatting and unknowingly walked to King's Cross Station. Susan dragged his suitcase and looked back at Ian: "You really don't need to send me back? I can get home just by Apparition."
Ian shook his head. "Okay. I also want to stay with the professors for a while." Susan waved his hand at him, "Don't do any more dangerous experiments!"
"Don't worry." Ian responded with a smile.
The train whistle sounded and the steam dispersed in the sunshine. Ian watched the train go further and further away, his expression suddenly became calm and distant.
The next moment, he, Apparition, appeared at the experimental base on the moon.
--
The silver-gray vacuum world was silent. Ian passed through the energy shield and entered the dome laboratory built by Magic Metal.
He walked towards the huge "World Gate", his fingertips lightly touched the golden threads flashing with runes, and said softly:
"I can't believe it. I thought I had reached the peak of Alchemy."
He sighed softly, his eyes flashing with thought, "Looking back now, there are so many loopholes in these talisman formations that I feel embarrassed."
So he spent two full weeks tearing down and rewriting the entire structure.
With the help of Dragon Tongue Magic's understanding and the new discoveries made after Department of Mysteries's study of time and space, he almost completely revolutionized the system of this "door".
The complicated formations were streamlined, the energy guidance was optimized, and new rules and patterns were engraved into the metal layers.
"Perfect." Ian looked at the result and smiled slightly, "At least in my opinion. Maybe a real alchemist master can find many flaws, but with my current knowledge, this is the limit."
He took a step back and took a deep breath.
"Then, the first stop - the future."
Ian activated Philosopher's Stone, energy surged like a tide, World Gate slowly opened, and a spiral space-time tunnel took shape in Void.
"Theoretically, I should be able to travel to the future three hundred years later."
With the huge roar of energy, he stepped into it--
In an instant, he felt that time was as long as years, but also as if it was fleeting.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a barren desert in front of him.
"... It looks like this is not the future I imagined."
Not far away, there is a stone tablet floating in the air, with a note written "To Ian·Bones" attached to it.
He immediately cast Detection Spell, and the magic power shook in the air. There was nothing within hundreds of meters, not even an ant.
After confirming that it was safe, Ian waved his hand and drew the tablet in front of him.
The screen lit up, and a familiar figure appeared on the screen--
It is "himself".
"Hello, past me. Welcome to 2093 AD."
"... It's only been a hundred years?" Ian frowned slightly.
"Future Ian" in the video smiled, "You must be wondering why there is only a hundred years. Because restricted by the laws of the universe, you cannot travel to a future that exceeds a hundred years. Even if you can, there will be serious consequences."
He paused and continued, "I left this terminal, which contains all the information on technological progress in the past hundred years, as well as basic knowledge on how to use Mana Crystal Fusion technology and magic. Although it is just an introduction, it is enough to save you from many detours."
"As for the magic part - I won't tell you. The meaning of practice is not only the result, but also the process."
In the video, he smiled slightly, with the calmness of an older man.
Ian was speechless. "When did I start saying such big things?"
"Finally, a few caveats."
"First, don't interfere with time at will. Even if you have the ability, don't try to jump in time in any dimension. Death once said that doing so will lead to extremely serious consequences."
"Second, don't Resurrection too many people easily. Unless you find a way to fight 'death', enough is enough."
"I know you still have tons of questions, but that's it for this conversation. Good luck."
The screen went out, Ian was silent for a moment, and sighed.
"Communicate with your future self... the world is indeed getting more and more ridiculous."
He pursed his lips and suddenly chuckled, "However, based on my understanding of myself - I will never let it go like this."
As soon as the thought came up, World Gate shook violently, and an invisible force swept over him, swallowing him whole.
His consciousness shook for a while, and when he opened his eyes again, he had been forcibly brought back to the present.
"It seems that my future self really understands me." He shook his head with a wry smile.
He knew very well that the future version of him was probably so powerful that it would be easy to stop him.
So he stopped trying.
Ian took out the tablet and browsed the information.
"Not bad... the information is comprehensive, covering everything from psychology to astrophysics. It also has a technical focus on aerospace, which is exactly what I like."
He closed the tablet and a smile appeared on his lips, "With these, the earth will be able to enter interstellar civilization within a few decades. And with Magitech - the process will be faster."
He then copied the data and passed it to the research team for analysis.
"The combination of magic and technology will be the real starting point of Wizarding Civilization."
After doing this, Ian walked to World Gate again.
"Morgana, start the first dimension travel experiment."
The voice of artificial intelligence echoed in the laboratory, "Confirm the command. Professor, are you sure you want to conduct a test? The failure probability is as high as 95.3%."
"That's why we have to try. Failure can expose problems." Ian responded in a deep voice.
"Understood. Start Fusion space and time energy... completed. Energy supply stable. Rune circuit check passed. Boundary breaking operation begins - record all energy readings."
With Spatial Tremor, the whole laboratory seemed to be slightly distorted. Ian held the console tightly and felt that the world beneath his feet was shaking.
An hour later, the shaking finally stopped.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked, "Morgana, was it successful?"
"Insufficient data to judge."
"Reasonable." Ian smiled bitterly, "Write it down - we will optimize turbulence control in the future."
"Recorded."
He carefully checked the external environment through the observation window. After confirming that there was no danger, he slowly stepped out of World Gate.
However - at that moment, his movements froze.
He looked up and saw a sky he had never seen before, shining with light that did not belong to any known world.
--