Crouch seemed to sense something.
He slowly turned his head, and the sunlight fell on Barty Crouch Jr.'s face.
Then he froze.
This poor man probably thinks he's hallucinating.
His dead son, a man he had personally confirmed had passed away, was now standing in his living room, staring at him expressionlessly.
"Who are you?" Crouch asked, trembling.
Barty Crouch Jr.. did not answer.
He started walking towards his father.
Crouch seemed to realize the danger only then, and he frantically tried to get his wand, groping wildly at his waist, his hands trembling violently.
He finally drew his wand, but it was too late.
Barty Crouch Jr. had reached him and grabbed his neck with his greyish-white hands.
"Stop—no—" Crouch managed to squeeze out a few broken words.
Perhaps Barty Crouch Jr. overestimated his strength, or perhaps Crouch unleashed his power in the face of adversity; with a sudden struggle, he actually managed to break free.
Crouch staggered backward, panting, and picked up his wand. "Faint," he chanted, but before he could finish, his eyes widened and he clutched his neck.
Black, spiderweb-like patterns rapidly spread out from there.
Thump!
The wand fell to the ground, Crouch collapsed straight down.
The breath of life has vanished.
Barty Crouch Jr. looked at his hands and laughed cruelly.
He then strode forward, bent down, and took the still-warm wand in his hand.
His immediate priority is to report to his master that the operation has failed.
The Christmas holidays are coming to an end.
For most people, this is a very good holiday.
Aside from the huge amount of holiday homework assigned by the professors, everything was perfect.
Morris resumed his previous routine.
The last day of the holiday, Ship in a Bottle, in the studio.
It was so close...
Morris looked at the magic circle Gate of Two Realms on the ground and couldn't help but feel nervous.
Success or failure hinges on this.
Magic circle, activate!
As before, after the magic was injected, a black hole appeared in the center of the magic circle, from which white mist continuously poured out.
This time, however, Morris did not immediately use magic to create Gap Energy Crystal.
The mist swirled and accumulated in the room, quickly filling every corner.
Seeing that the concentration was about right, Morris waved to the skeleton standing next to him, "Seventy-seventh attempt."
Incidentally, this skeleton is the only one among the fifty skeletons to become a third-tier undead creature.
Morris temporarily named it " Skeleton Number One ".
Upon receiving the command, Skeleton Number One raised its hand and began to Energy Gathering.
Yes, it is harnessing Energy Gathering.
Morris is currently attempting to imprint a model of Energy Gathering magic onto his skeleton.
Unfortunately, the success rate remains zero to this day.
As Skeleton Number One moved, the white mist in the room swirled and began to converge towards its palm.
Time passed by, second by second.
Finally, five minutes later, the white mist in Skeleton Number One's palm suddenly receded.
A bead fell down.
"It's done!"
Morris shouted excitedly, stepped forward, took the bead from Skeleton Number One's hand, and examined it carefully.
no problem!
This is undoubtedly a very standard Gap Energy Crystal!
This also means that Morris can finally get rid of the days when he painstakingly condensed energy crystals.
Although the efficiency was pitifully low, this was just the beginning.
If he could have dozens, or even hundreds, of skeletons simultaneously helping him condense energy crystals, and then use those energy crystals to strengthen undead creatures...
That would be a snowball effect of improvement!
Thinking of this, Morris let out a sigh of relief, feeling incredibly relieved.
After instructing Skeleton Number One to continue condensing Gap Energy Crystal, he left the room and walked to the deck. He stretched, feeling that the sky had brightened considerably.
The Ship in a Bottle is drifting on the edge of the Black Lake.
Although it's very cold, there's no ice here.
Suddenly, Morris noticed a strange little dark shape in the lake. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was actually a person.
Who would swim in a lake in this temperature?
Just as he was wondering what was going on, the man suddenly poked his head out and waved at him.
It's Krum.
Morris propelled the Ship in a Bottle slowly closer and tapped the edge of the boat with his wand.
A wooden ladder suddenly extended out of thin air, passed through the bottle wall, and landed steadily on the water in front of Krum.
Krum looked up at the ladder, and without hesitation, grabbed it and climbed up, his movements swift and efficient.
He climbed onto the deck, and only then did Morris realize he was only wearing swimming trunks.
"Aren't you cold?" Morris asked curiously.
Krum shook his head and casually wiped the water off his face.
"No," he said. "I'm used to it; I'm exercising."
Oh, so they were winter swimming.
Morris initially thought the other person had accidentally fallen in – Durmstrang's ship was nearby.
"It's warm inside this bottle," Krum suddenly said.
"Yes," Morris nodded, explaining, "This place has temperature regulation. Would you like to come in and have a seat?"
Krum accepted.
The two entered the living room, Morris tossed a robe to Krum, saying, "I have some food here that you might like; it's all Muggle stuff."
Krum didn't stand on ceremony, took the robe and put it on, casually asking, "You really like Muggle stuff?"
"Yes," Morris said, bringing over two plates of cake, "Especially the food. I'm a pure Muggle-born wizard."
" Muggle-born wizard?" Krum was taken aback.
He subconsciously believed that Morris came from a wizarding family.
After all, the other party is a master of flying broom design.
Muggle don't have this kind of sport.
Morris suddenly remembered that Krum came from Durmstrang, the school that didn't accept Muggle students.
"You discriminate against Muggle?" he asked directly, his tone flat.
Krum answered seriously, "No."
"That's good." Morris shrugged.
In the Wizarding World, many wizards are stuck in their ways, believing that Muggle-born wizard are inferior, which they find both laughable and pathetic.
Morris forked a piece of cake and stuffed it into his mouth, then dropped the subject.
Krum, however, became interested in the bookshelves in the corner of the living room.
"Those are just some random books I bought," Morris said. "They're all somewhat useful. If you're bored, take a look."
Krum smiled.
"I really enjoy reading," he said happily, pacing back and forth in front of the bookshelves.
He was curious to know what Morris usually read.
It must be extremely profound.
With this idea in mind, he picked up the outermost book, whose cover read, "One Hundred Little Tricks to Make Witches Beautiful and Elegant".
"?"