Ancient Passage? First Deduction of Apparition!

Just as Professor McGonagall was filled with regret over her earlier attitude toward Charle, Charle had already been pulled along by Goblin Bashir as they began to Apparate.

The space before his eyes twisted and shifted, the scenery spiraling away into the distance.

In an instant, Charle found himself outside the familiar St. Mungo's Hospital.

But to his surprise, Goblin Bashir's Apparition was clearly far smoother than Professor McGonagall's.

Throughout the Apparition, Charle had kept his eyes fixed intently on the distorted space, yet the dizziness was nowhere near as intense as it had been with Professor McGonagall's Apparition.

After landing, Charle did not feel the world spin around him either. He merely swayed slightly before regaining his footing.

A strange glint appeared in Charle's eyes, and he began to believe that Goblin Apparition truly differed from the wizarding version.

Whatever else might be the case in other fields, when it came to Apparition, Goblins were clearly far superior to wizards.

At that moment, Deep Blue's prompt sounded, confirming the point as well.

The host has acquired material for reference. The Deduction Points required for the first deduction of Apparition have been reduced by 3,000 points.

Excitement surged through Charle's heart.

Three thousand points might not seem like much, but before this, Charle had already observed Professor McGonagall's Apparition several times. No matter how much longer he watched, he could no longer reduce the cost.

Yet now, simply observing Goblin Apparition could reduce it further!

Professor McGonagall was Hogwarts's Deputy Headmistress and a master of Transfiguration. She was undoubtedly among the foremost wizards.

Her magical attainments were not something ordinary wizards could compare to.

But could this Goblin Bashir possibly be some unprecedented genius among Goblins?

No matter how he looked at him, he seemed like an ordinary Goblin.

Yet this ordinary Goblin's Apparition had already surpassed Professor McGonagall's limit. That was enough to prove that the Goblin version of Apparition really did seem different from that of wizards.

Curiosity appeared on Charle's face as he eagerly asked Goblin Bashir.

"Wow, Professor McGonagall brought me here by Apparition before. God, it felt like I was being stuffed into a toilet."

"But this time, Mr. Bashir, your Apparition was so much smoother!"

Goblin Bashir wore a smug expression.

"Of course. How could wizard Apparition possibly compare with ours?"

"Hehe, even Apparition itself was copied by wizards from us Goblins. But that is only a crude imitation."

"A pirated version can never beat the original."

"Our Apparition is not only smoother, but far surpasses that of wizards in both range and stability. We can also easily reach places wizards cannot."

Goblin Bashir immediately took Charle around to demonstrate.

With a loud crack, an enormous stone statue appeared before Charle in the wilderness.

Then there were rocks where sea and sky met, with what seemed to be a cloud-shrouded island visible in the distance.

Countless sights flashed past amid repeated Apparitions.

During this time, Charle gradually drew out from Goblin Bashir exactly what distinguished Goblin Apparition from wizard Apparition.

According to Goblin Bashir, the reason for the differences in smoothness, precision, distance, and even why one could pass through places where the other was barred was that wizards and Goblins traveled through different passages when Apparating.

If Goblin Apparition was like taking a train along broad, smooth railways all the way—

Then wizards had imitated the principle and built themselves a narrower, rougher mountain path, riding through it in a carriage that jolted and lurched at every turn.

Naturally, the results were worlds apart.

Furthermore, anti-Apparition spells could block the "mountain path" built by wizards themselves, yet they could do nothing about the "railway" used by Goblins. They simply could not stop them.

That was why even the anti-Apparition spell set by Voldemort could not prevent an elderly House-elf from Apparating.

After hearing the information he had pried out of Goblin Bashir, Charle suddenly understood. More than half the doubts in his heart regarding Apparition had been cleared away.

But another question became increasingly prominent.

The spatial passage—or whatever else it might be called—used by wizards for Apparition had been constructed by wizards themselves.

Then what about the one used by Goblins?

When Charle asked Goblin Bashir, Bashir looked at him as though he were an idiot.

"Of course it is innate. Since the birth of this world, before the Goblin race was even born, this ancient passage has always existed in the world."

"It is only because you wizards lack the talent to use it. Only noble Goblins can do so. It is an inborn gift of our race!"

"If you insist on putting it in human terms, then just think of this passage as a gift from the gods."

Hearing Bashir's words, Charle's pupils contracted slightly.

Since the birth of the world, before the Goblin race had come into being, this so-called passage had always existed.

Goblin Bashir had even called it a gift from the gods?

He seemed to have heard this theory somewhere before.

Charle remembered. When Dak had abducted him into the basement, Dak had once muttered crazily about certain things.

In those mutterings, he spoke of the Great Old Ones and the Ancient Ones, who had ruled this world in the Remote Era. Some things they had left behind still existed in this world, but wizards and other races simply regarded them as innate and failed to see them for what they were.

By tracing those things and delving into the history of the Remote Era, one would discover that so many great beings had once appeared in this world.

Those inconceivable spells, when traced back to their origins, were all connected to those great beings.

Then could this passage, regarded by Goblins as "a gift from the gods," be the same?

The thought flashed through Charle's mind, but he quickly suppressed it.

This was not something he was capable of considering right now.

Strengthening himself was the priority. Even if the era of the Great Old Ones that Dak spoke of was destined to return, as long as he was strong enough by then, he could skewer the Great Old Ones and roast them!

The next moment, Goblin Bashir brought Charle back to the entrance of Gringotts.

Goblin Bashir bid Charle farewell with great delight, declaring that Charle was the most polite, wise, and perceptive young wizard he had ever met.

"Mr. Charle, you will certainly make a fortune in the future and own an underground vault at Gringotts that will be passed down through generations."

"When the time comes, I will definitely help you arrange a vault in the best location."

In response to Goblin Bashir's blessing, Charle gave a meaningful smile.

"Is that so? One day, I will definitely enter Gringotts's underground vaults."

After all, Gringotts's underground vaults contained far too many good things.

Compared to this place, Hogwarts's Room of Requirement was little more than a junk heap aside from Ravenclaw's Diadem.

How could the things students regarded as treasures or dangerous objects compare to the discerning eyes of magical families that possessed underground vaults?

The items stored here were treasures considered precious throughout the entire Wizarding World.

Hufflepuff's Cup was merely one of them.

Charle believed that among the collections of those ancient magical families, there might well be items even more precious than the cup.

If he could loot Gringotts's underground vaults clean, the Deduction Points would definitely explode.

Even setting everything else aside, the mountain of magic-infused Galleons piled up in Gringotts alone could provide an astronomical number of Deduction Points.

But that was a matter for later. At this moment, Charle's attention was focused on the Deep Blue System.

After observing Goblin Apparition several times, the Deduction Points required for the first deduction of Apparition had finally been reduced to a level he could accept.

Ten thousand points!

If he performed a Second Deduction on that basis, it would probably cost only fifty thousand points. He was not far short of that amount and could gather it with a little effort.

And even the first deduction alone would bring Charle enormous benefits from Apparition.

At the very least, he could run away directly whenever he encountered danger!

Thus, a moment later, Charle decisively said in his mind.

"Deep Blue, deduce Apparition for me!"