Phoenix Metamorphosis

Herpo the Foul also had a side unknown to others. The reason he had created only one Horcrux was for safety, not immortality like Voldemort.

Even the method in Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled for making oneself whole again had been left behind by Herpo: repentance. One had to truly feel the weight of one's actions.

After discovering that Horcruxes made his soul unstable and incomplete, Herpo developed a way to restore himself. He endured pain that seemed capable of destroying his entire being and became whole again.

Most of Herpo's inventions were actually spells for preserving one's life. Yet those spells themselves were Herpo's taboo, and naturally, almost no one knew of these life-saving methods.

Instead, he deliberately spread the obvious image of a Dark Wizard, allowing some of the evil curses he had created to circulate.

Ryan flipped through the materials in his hands and pressed his acupoint between the eyes. In order to find Ancient Magic suitable for himself, Ryan had already spent nearly half a day in the library.

Magical books—or rather, magical knowledge itself—carried magic. Just like The Invisible Book of Invisibility, which made itself impossible to notice, what risks might books recording even more terrifying magic contain?

Ryan had actually planned to learn Ancient Magic from the start because of the nature of his magic. The Smith Family genealogy called Ryan's magic Ouroboros: near-endless magic backed by powerful regenerative ability.

But after finding the relevant books, Ryan discovered that their requirements were extremely demanding. The strongest spell, one that could summon a rain of meteor fire, required chanting without interruption for nearly an entire day.

Every word was awkward to pronounce, and some were sounds humans could not even make. Moreover, when using it, one had to hypnotize oneself into believing one was a god, using the spell to bring judgment upon evil, and maintain that emotion throughout. It simply was not something humans—or ordinary wizards—could use.

Some books could not be opened at all. The ancient wizards and magical creatures on their covers saw Ryan and refused to open for him because he was underage. Yet those were precisely the Ancient Magic books Ryan estimated he could use.

In the eyes of the Smith Family's ancestors, books without protective measures were books that even young wizards could not use after reading them.

After a long time searching, Ryan finally found a book teaching an Ancient Magic called Phoenix Metamorphosis.

The book's author was Herpo himself. He had created this magic to cling to life.

This magic required the caster to recite an incantation in a birdlike voice. The incantation was a poem praising the phoenix, the immortal bird.

The poem praised the phoenix's greatness and purity from every conceivable angle, describing its traits and abilities in exhaustive detail.

The incantation itself was not particularly long, taking only around three minutes to recite.

Before using it, flames had to be lit around the caster, with Phoenix Feather as the kindling. Once the fire was lit, the caster had to recite it while in a state between sleep and wakefulness.

Once the recitation was complete, the flames around the caster would turn into an immortal bird. So long as the caster's physical body remained unharmed, they did not starve to death, and they had enough magic, the fire-born bird could not be extinguished or sealed by magic. It could teleport and live forever like a real immortal bird.

But if the physical body was injured and awakened, if the magic was exhausted, or if the caster simply woke from hunger, the magical phoenix incarnation would vanish.

However, this was only necessary the first time. Once proficient, flames lit without Phoenix Feather would work as well. One could even transform into an immortal bird using flames imagined within one's mind.

There was also an annotation left by some ancestor: using a wand with Phoenix Feather as its core to assist with casting—most Ancient Magic involved lengthy incantations and did not use wands—meant Phoenix Feather would not be needed as kindling, saving materials. One only needed to imagine the surrounding flames as a phoenix.

Ryan had chosen this magic mainly for the phoenix's teleportation and flight abilities.

As someone blessed with extraordinary talent, once he transformed into a phoenix even once, his flight and teleportation abilities would be unlocked.

As for Nirvana rebirth, Ryan had considered it too, but he was not certain whether he could truly gain it through his cheat after completing the transformation.

Besides, phoenix teleportation was farther-reaching and more stable than a wizard's. That way, I can go to Hogwarts often.

Although Hogwarts had been enchanted to prevent Apparition, it could only stop wizards. It could not defend against the Apparition of magical creatures like House-elves and phoenixes.

But that was not a loophole. Ordinary House-elves could not harm wizards in the first place, even under their masters' orders. Phoenixes would not harm innocent life either. These creatures could be said to be on the whitelist by nature.

With an incarnation of a phoenix, a magical creature already powerful to begin with, his other identity presumably would no longer be bound by those so-called chains.

And thinking about being able to see Pe—pah, no, Hogwarts—often, Ryan became even more excited. He kept taking notes, warming up his voice, and checking rare characters and pronunciations against the Magical Phonetics Chart, hoping to learn it as soon as possible.

As the ultimate skill for a shut-in, I have to master it.

The moon shone bright amid sparse stars. Within a grand ancient castle, faint light flickered. It came from four silver-bright braziers, each burning crimson feathers that crackled and popped.

A delicate-looking boy sat cross-legged in the center of the four braziers. From time to time, he uttered birdlike syllables.

This is the third time. If it fails again, I'll be out of feathers, Ryan thought, wiping away sweat. Then he focused completely, forming the image of a phoenix in his mind while murmuring the incantation.

About three minutes later, a gust of wind roared from nowhere. The four piles of flames did not go out. Instead, they burned even more fiercely.

Then the not-yet-burned feathers transformed into ruby-like liquid. Carrying flames, they gathered above the boy's head and formed the shape of a phoenix, like a crown forged from fire.

Ryan felt a pulling force from above his head.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The flames danced, and the phoenix opened its eyes.

A wondrous instinct flooded Ryan's heart. Spread his wings and soar. Joy—joy unlike anything he had ever known. Flying, how wonderful. The sky, humanity's forbidden realm, had now been set foot upon by Ryan.

Ryan felt incomparably carefree and relaxed. With a ringing phoenix cry, he saw his own figure in full for the first time outside the system and mirrors. A black-haired, fair-skinned boy sat quietly in place, his eyes closed.

Wonderful magic filled Ryan's current "body." Ryan suddenly shot toward his own physical body and sank into its heart.

A phoenix tattoo emerged on Ryan's chest, and a brand-new, complete skill appeared on his panel.

Race: Wizard

Strength: 15 (the ordinary human limit is 10)

Constitution: 29 (the ordinary human limit is 10)

Magic: 21 (the ordinary human limit is 10)

Skills: Thinking lv.3 (32%) Body Modification lv.3 (61%) Alchemy lv.3 (4%) Charmcraft lv.3 (79%)

Potion-Making lv.2 (4%) Transfiguration lv.2 (64%) Gun Kata lv.2 (5%) Martial Arts lv.2 (9%) Detection lv.2 (7%)

Phoenix Metamorphosis lv.1 (50%)

He had fifty percent proficiency on his first success. Still, adding three more braziers really had made it easier to get started. Ancient Magic simply was not meant for humans to practice.

But next time, it would not be so troublesome. Ryan opened the Phoenix Metamorphosis skill for a detailed look: Flight lv.1 (12%), Teleportation lv.1 (2%), Nirvana lv.1 (0.1%).

The phoenix's abilities of flight, teleportation, and Nirvana rebirth were all listed under Phoenix Metamorphosis.

"I have obtained the key to immortality. Mwahahahaha!"

At a thought from Ryan, boom, he flashed into the air above his family's orchard amid flames that ignited without wind. Yet no gale howled around him, and a strange sense of lightness swiftly swept through his entire body.

Even without transforming into a phoenix, he could still use the Flight skill. The incantation and complicated magical ritual had merely been the key.

"Eternal youth, immortality, walking through the air—this power has me high as hell. Heh heh heh, hahahaha!"

"Diffindo!" The spell's power had indeed increased greatly. Having completed the magic, Ryan could now be said to have broken free of the chains and officially stood on an equal starting line with adult wizards.

From now on, he would add another activity to his nightly routine: flying and teleporting. That was how he would grind Phoenix Metamorphosis proficiency.