Bab 18: Chapter 18: Pandora's Box
Chapter 18
"That's amazing," I complimented the half-giant as he finished telling me the story of how he tamed the herd of Thestrals.
"Ah, 'twas nothing," the large man said with a blush, "they're gentle creatures, but people judge them because of their appearance."
I gave a sympathetic nod, "People fear what they don't understand."
"Would you like another biscuit?" Hagrid said offering me a plate of those rock cookies.
Smiling I took one, "Don't mind if I do."
"What is happening right now?" Ron muttered from the sidelines sounding confused.
"How can he eat those things?" Harry whispered in shock.
Hermione was equally mystified, "They just clicked I guess."
Ignoring them I took a bite from the cookie and looked around the room.
Hagrid's Rock Cookies- Rank: Ordinary
Description: A failed attempt at culinary art. Eating one will temporarily boost your strength at the cost of your health. Can also be used as an improvised weapon or a paperweight.
Effect: +1 STR, -1 Vit
Duration: 1 minute
"If you want, I can fireproof this house," I offered as I ran a finger over a scorch mark on the table, "just until Pandora leaves."
Hagrid gave a sigh of relief, "I'd appreciate it. Lately she's been really fussy."
"It's probably because she's starting to develop her fire organs," I said gesturing to where my tonsils were located, "Norwegian Ridgebacks are known to develop their fire breath the fastest, typically within 2-3 months of their birth."
"Where'd you learn that," Hagrid asked curiously.
"The Ravenclaw's Personal Library has an encyclopedia on dragons," I explained, causing Hermione to let out a sad whimper at the mention of the library, "Once I knew what breed of dragon Pandora was, I did some research on their habits."
Just then Pandora, who was laying on my lap, sneezed giving off light orange sparks. Rubbing her chin, I looked at the larger man, "You might want to start adding more magnesium in her diet."
"Oh, I'll get right on that," he said extending a hand toward her.
Pandora looked at it cautiously before giving his fingers a lick.
Hagrid looked like he could melt in happiness at the moment.
Taking out my pocket watch, the one Hermione had gifted me for Christmas, I gave a low whistle, "Oh boy, time sure flies by, better start now if I want to make it back before they start quiz night without me."
"You have quiz night?" Hermione said longingly.
"Yep, need to start reviewing with the exams so close."
Getting up I hand the completely docile dragon to the giant man who held her as if she were made of glass.
Using my wand, I got to casting the Flame-Freezing Charm on everything in the house.
Once I was finished, I put away my wand and retrieved my bag. "Well I should get going, it was nice talking with you Hagrid."
"You too Charles, please come and visit whenever you want, Pandora would appreciate it," he said holding a restless Pandora who looked like she wanted to follow me.
"I'll be sure to drop by to talk more about magical creatures," I told him before walking over to the plate of cookies and dumping the entire thing in my bookbag, "Just going to take some for the road."
As I walked out of the hut and made my way up the hill, I took out an earpiece.
"He seemed like a nice enough lad, polite and interested in magical creatures. I don't understand why you don't like him Ron."
"I just don't."
"Don't worry Hagrid, he's still mad about Charles breaking up his fight with Malfoy."
Good it looks like the bugs I placed around the hut were working perfectly.
'When are we going to make our move?' Hermes spoke in my mind.
Keeping my face passive, I answered, 'Soon, have you finished tracking what I asked for?'
(Hermes)
Looking down on the busy street below, the spirit saw a gathering of shifty looking men enter a building.
(Charles)
'Yes, I have eyes on the gang's hideout now.'
'Perfect, once summer break starts, we'll begin expanding our territory into London,' I told him, looking at my stats.
Charles Bell
Class: The Gamer
Title: Overlord
Level: LV 31 Next Level: 0.20%
HP: 1390/1390 (370+ 1020)
MP: 798/798 (760+5%)
STR: 27
DEX: 29
VIT: 32
INT: 71
WIS: 70
LUK: 35
Points: 82
Money: 80,000 G/ 12 S/ 9 K
Inventory: 10,002/12,000
The boost from the Life Nectar was well worth the trouble of return that gnome girl to her village every time I visited the [Plant Dungeon].
Looking at how much money I had, I was almost sad knowing a majority of it would be spent in just establishing connections. Some would need to go into buying property and starting up future business. The rest would need to go into hiring people and setting up fake identities.
It kind of reminded me of my past life. Ah, what a fun game this turning out to be.
-Skip-
All too soon it was time to bid farewell to Pandora.
Not that it would be a real good-bye seeing as I could always summon her to my side whenever I wanted. Still it was a shame to see her go, but it was all part of the plan.
What they didn't realize is that by taking her they would indirectly be giving me access to all of the dragons in the preserve. With her ability to appear at my side whenever I called, I could have her bring me even more hatchlings and dragon eggs. It would take time, but I figured that in a decade or two, I'd have a secret army of dragons at my beck and call.
I watched from the shadows as Harry and Hermione tried to squeeze themselves and the crate holding Pandora underneath the invisibility cloak with partial success if you didn't count the odd exposed foot.
Ron was currently laying in a hospital bed after being bit by Pandora. I did warn them that she was venomous, but really it was his fault for glaring at me behind me back, not my fault she chose to take exception to that.
I took a moment to check their progress.
Hermione Jean Granger LV 18
Title: Rival
HP: 450/450
MP: 680/680
STR: 5
DEX: 6
VIT: 40
INT: 63
WIS: 11
LUK: 11
Hermione's natural thirst for knowledge and need to be better than everyone else was one of the reasons why I had taken an interest in her in the first place. She was undoubtedly the most powerful witch of her year, even if no one really knew it. I had quite a few plans laid out for her depending on how things turned out. In chess she would be equivalent to a rook, powerful but predictable.
Harry James Potter LV 12
Title: Boy-Who-Lived
HP: 200/200
MP: 210/210
STR: 6
DEX: 10
VIT: 15
INT: 16
WIS: 7
LUK: 20
Harry on the other hand was proving to be more of a pawn. He had potential, but it was easily squandered by his shy nature and lack of motivation. Worse, he was a poisoned piece with that horcrux still in his head and his inability to rein in his emotions. As things stood, he was more valuable as a sacrificial pawn than anything else.
I watched them hid in the shadows as McGonagall marched away dragging Draco by the ear.
"Wait Professor I can explain. Potter and his friends have a-" Draco pleaded.
"Enough of this nonsense, 20 points from Slytherin. There is no excuse for being out of bed at this hour and furthermore…"
Once they were gone, the two hurried to the Astronomy Tower and threw off the invisibility cloak.
"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!" said Hermione with a certain amount of glee.
"Don't" Harry cautioned her.
"How long do you think we have to wait?" the bushy haired witch asked shivering slightly from the cold.
Harry shrugged as he sat down to wait.
Luckily for them they didn't have to wait long as Charlie and his friends came flying on their broomsticks ten minutes later.
The two got up and cleared space for them to land.
Charlie Weasley LV:?
The red-haired man landed gracefully on the roof, showing he still retained much of his skills as a Quidditch player.
"Hey there," the wizard greeted them with an open smile. "You must be Harry and Hermione, right?"
"Yes," Harry answered back with a half-smile.
"Hm, I don't see Ron?" Charlie asked as he looked around.
"He got bit by Pandora and so he's resting in the infirmary. No one told us dragon spit was poisonous," Harry explained.
Hermione looked sheepish at that and raised a hand, "Actually Charles might have mentioned it once or twice."
Charlie and his friends gave each other a knowing look and chuckled.
"Yeah, the hatchlings tend to be a bit temperamental," he said pulling up his sleeve to show a healing patch of skin with similar fang mark, "got this one just last week for trying to just feed one. Just goes to show you should never treat wild animals as pets."
The two Gryffindors exchanged unsure looks. Oh, were they thinking about me?
Harry apparently thought it was wiser to hurry things along, "Ahem, so how are you going to take her?"
As Charlie explained the harness they were going to us, I focused on Pandora. She'd grown surprisingly strong considering she was only two weeks old. It might be a side effect of my [Gamer] ability but she could already manage a low hover and a weak fireball, that worked remarkably well against zombies. I was genuinely curious how she would turn out once she reached adulthood.
Watching them depart with Pandora, I bid her a silent farewell. All I had to do now was wait.
Unaware of my scheming, the two children celebrated at finally having the source of their troubles gone.
I silently watched them head down the staircase, the two somehow completely forgetting about the invisibility cloak they left on the floor. Without a second to waste I bent down to pick it up.
Cloak of Invisibility-Rank: Legendary
Description: The Cloak of Invisibility is a magical artifact capable of turning the wearer invisible. It is one of the Deathly Hallows, three powerful artifacts said to be crafted by Death itself. It is said that he who collects all three Hallows will be the Master of Death, whether this is true or not is up to debate. What is known is that the original user, Ignotus Peverell passed it on to his decedents until it reached Harry Potter. [Hidden]
Effect: Turns user invisible when worn.
Effect: Resistant to magical attacks that would otherwise damage it. (Does not protect wearer.)
Effect: [?]
Interesting. So, it had some parts I couldn't see. This is starting to feel like the beginning of a-
[Quest has been made.]
Mastering Death
Description: The secret behind the Deathly Hallows is one of the greatest kept mysteries of the world. Who actually created the Hallows? What was their purpose? Is 'The Tale of Three Brothers' more than just some children's fairytale? Unveil the truth by collecting all three.
Objective: Collect all three Hallows.
Objective: ?
Objective: ?
Reward: ?
Placing the cloak in my inventory I started to make my way back to my room.
Death huh?
(Lake)
Jogging along the shore of the lake I allowed my mind to wonder.
While yesterday's events proved fruitful, it also marked the start of a huge deviation from the original story. It was safe to assume that many of the events would play out differently, now that Harry didn't have the Cloak of Invisibility.
It wasn't as if I was particularly concerned of keeping the original timeline, but if things became too unrecognizable it might spell the end of my future knowledge much sooner than I planned.
Perhaps gifting Harry another cloak would minimalize some of the damages, because there was no chance in hell I was giving it back.
Nearing the school, I spotted a group of people running to meet me. Getting closer I saw it was the rest of my housemates, all looking extremely happy. Looks like the news of Gryffindor losing 150 points was finally out.
Slowing down I waved to them, "Hey guys, why are you all run-oof!" I faked being nearly knocked over as Lisa came in for a flying tackle.
"We won~ We won~" Lisa sang.
"What did we win?" I asked unbothered by Lisa hanging off my neck.
"The House Cup!" Padma explained sounding just as excited as Lisa, "Gryffindor somehow lost a whole bunch of points last night. They were our only real competitors for the House Cup this year, but now that they're in last place, it practically guarantees us the win."
"Wow, that's unbelievable," I said with a shocked face. "Still we shouldn't count our chicken before they hatch."
Lisa let go of me and grinned, "That's why we're counting on you Charles, you better not lose the next Quidditch game."
Smiling back, I nodded, "Then I guess I better train extra hard."
(Charms Classroom)
"Protogo!" I yelled summoning a transparent shield to deflect the binding curse. Sidestepping a stunner I countered with a spell that created a bright flash of light, hoping to blind the smaller man.
Flitwick wasn't fooled however as he continued to send jinxes my way. "I must say, I'm impressed by your progress. Very few can cast spells so well in the heat of battle. But you'll have to do better than that if you want to be champion. Many of your opponents will be older, better trained, and have more experience."
Just as I was about to send another jinx his way, I felt my wand get yanked out of my grip and into the awaiting hand of the small wizard.
"It's my defeat," I admitted with a sigh as I walked over to him.
"Now, now, no need to feel discouraged," the charms professor said with a chipper voice, "You've got plenty of talent for getting this far in only a few months."
"I suppose," I said sounding dejected and taking a seat on a nearby chair.
Flitwick frowned and took a seat too, "I noticed you were a bit distracted during our duel, is something the matter, Charles?"
"I-well- no, never mind," I said trying to sound hesitant.
The small professor placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "You know you can tell me if something is bothering you."
"I-I-" I stumbled out before looking down on my lap, "I'm worried."
"What about?"
Running a hand through my hair I looked him straight in the eye, "Professor tell me the truth. (gulp) D-Do you think there's a chance I might not be human?"
That seemed to catch him off guard as his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and his breath hitched. "Ch-Charles, what brought this on?"
Looking down at my hands, I spoke in a melancholy voice, "You know, I'm not stupid. I can hear them whispering behind my back, saying I'm part giant because of my height and strength."
"You shouldn't let rumors bring you down."
Shaking my head, I continued, "I don't. It's just that maybe they're right. I never knew my parents; all the orphanage told me was that I was found abandoned as a baby by a passing police officer at a nearby park." This was false by the way, not that anyone would know, as I had spent a meticulously amount of time and resources creating my made-up origin story. Any evidence that would contradict it had been either erased or modified to the point where the fake looked more real than the truth. "Any aspirations I had of meeting them and being a happy family died right there, after all they chose to abandon me so callously. I never allowed myself to wonder about them after that. It wasn't until I received my Hogwarts letter that I was forced to start thinking about them again. Could one of them have been a wizard? Could they have had some reason for leaving me? How would I feel about them if I knew the whole truth? I know it was stupid but a part of me wanted to believe."
I let my eyes water as I used the back of my hand to wipe unshed tears. The small professor bought the act as he placed a comforting hand on me. "When I arrived at Hogwarts, I was so busy with everything that I momentarily forgot about them. It wasn't until recently when I began to notice strange things happening to me, that I started wondering about them again."
"Strange how?" Flitwick asked in a concerned voice.
Sniffling I looked down at my hands, "I noticed it a few weeks ago, but didn't want to bring it up incase it was nothing. Lately I felt like I'm starting to become someone else. There are times when I sense myself get overly competitive, especially during Quidditch as if something is pushing me to be the best. I've also felt myself get sudden burst of strength and speed when I push myself, almost like my body was adapting."
I spared him a quick side look to judge his reaction before looking down and taking a deep breath, "I-I scraped my knee last week, during my morning run but when I went to clean it, I-I found that it had already healed itself. Even I know that's not normal! Worse, today I woke up to find myself levitating a foot off my bed! It was only thanks to the fact that everyone else was asleep that I wasn't caught. What next, am I suddenly going to grow scales and start breathing fire?"
"I certainly hope not, I think Madam Pince might have an issue with that," Flitwick said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood and failing miserably.
I gave him a forced smile, "It's just that for the longest time, I was certain I knew who I was, but now I'm not so sure."
"(Sigh.) I can understand it's not easy," the charms professor started, "to suddenly feel like something you thought was true to suddenly be thrown into question. But you need to keep one thing in mind, we become the people we are through the choices we make, not by the blood in our veins. We cannot change our heritage, but we can change how we act on it."
"I suppose your right, Professor. Still I wish I knew what I was, if only to put it behind me," I said hopingly.
Flitwick hummed in thought, "If you're really that curious, there is an ancestry test that you may take at the Ministry. We can go together when I go to submit your dueling application."
I gave him a shocked look before a grateful smile graced my lips, "Thank you Professor."
"No, need. It's my pleasure to help my students."
(Daphne)
"Your turn Daphne," Pansy said after using her bishop to capture the blonde's rook.
Daphne glanced at the chess board, having gotten lost in thought. It only took a second for her to assess her options and choose the one that would secure her the victory.
"Queen to B4. I believe that's checkmate," the blonde witch declared offhandedly.
Pansy looked shocked before seeing that what she said was true.
Yet despite the victory Daphne felt nothing as she went back to thinking about her latest problem.
Ever since she had gotten the Sword of Gryffindor from Charles she had been in a constant state of anxiety and paranoia.
Thinking back on it, she was almost positive that this was another one of his tests, probably as a way to see how she handled pressure.
Oh sure, the sword was without a doubt a great bargaining chip, but it would be meaningless if she didn't know how to use it. She was smart enough to know that presenting it to her family wouldn't guarantee her a proper position in the family business. At most she would receive praise and some early estate before her father felt like passing on the title to her, but nothing more. Worse it would also lead to them finding out about Charles, who she wanted to work under her, not her family.
She also couldn't outright sell it on the black-market without it ultimately being traced back to her. The selling of a national treasure was not exactly looked at favorably by the Ministry.
Her best bet would be to use the sword to enter some sort of agreement with the goblins. Rumor has it that they've been after the sword ever since it was first made. The problem was how to make it so they wouldn't double-cross her. It would be easy for them to play ignorant once they had the sword seeing as she couldn't go to the authorities for help.
She was sure there had to be a right answer, even if she couldn't see it.
Looking over to her right, she saw Malfoy sulking on the couch. After his plan to expel Potter and his friends had failed, he'd kept mostly to himself.
Pansy followed her gaze as she set up the board again, "I don't understand why he's so upset. He got what he wanted, didn't he? Gryffindor lost any chance at winning the House Cup, Potter and his friends are pariahs in their own house, and any worries of being seen as weak were erased. I'd say that was a win no matter how you looked at it. Couldn't have planned it better myself if I tried."
Something about that statement racked at her brain. "He's just mad that he got in trouble as well. Well that and he practically gave Ravenclaw the House Cup?"
The black-haired witch looked confused, "Why? Doesn't he know we're 'allied' with Ravenclaw? Sure, I'd love for Slytherin to win but even I know that's impossible at this point. Better it be Ravenclaw than Hufflepuff or Gryffindor."
"Draco seems to disagree," Daphne said making the first move on the board.
"Honestly, can't he see the big picture," she said with a huff.
Right, the reason why Slytherin and Ravenclaw seemed to be getting along so well right now was all due to the upcoming announcement of the student store. The Board of Governors had finally made their decision and chose to accept their petition. As expected, there had been some opposition by those like Dumbledore and some of the teachers who believed such things were unnecessary and would unjustly favor those with more money like the Purebloods. Not that it changed anything. Say what you will about Lucius Malfoy, but he was a skilled politician.
Word had also finally gotten back to her father that it was her idea, meaning she could expect a reward of some kind when she got home.
Those more savvy in politics had already started to move out in the open, hoping to secure favor with as many students from other houses before next year when the real fight for dominance would begin.
With everyone looking out for talented followers, it made sense that a majority chose to turn to the Ravenclaws. She already had to stop more than one person from trying to poach Charles from her. Not that they would have succeeded as even she couldn't bringer him to her side just yet.
"Do you think Ravenclaw will invite us to their end of the year party for winning the House Cup?" Pansy asked moving another piece, "I have my eye on this third year Ravenclaw, not particularly social but they're smart and in desperate need of money."
"I'll see if we can get some invitations," Daphne said casually.
"Can you imagine a day when Slytherins would actively be trying to befriend other Houses? If I'd known everything that would happen this year, I would have made more of an effort to befriend them. What I wouldn't give to be a seer," she lamented.
"Come now, you now that's not how divination works. No one can predict things to such… a degree-"
Her eyes widened in shock as her mind recall certain events.
"Your little war with Pansy. I can give you the tools to win."
"…passed over for your cousin in the family business must have just grated on your pride."
"Found it a couple months ago while I was exploring the castle's hidden passageways. You'd be surprised what's hidden at this school."
"…I would appreciate it if you held back from doing anything, for let's say a few weeks."
Suddenly everything started to make sense. How Charles always seemed to be ten steps ahead of everyone else, how he just knew things about people that shouldn't be possible, or how he always seemed to find important items.
"…a seer," she whispered to herself.
(Room of Requirements)
May had official started, and with the end of the year only a few weeks away, I figured now was the time to add any finishing touches to my skill set.
Looking at the books laid in front of me I wondered what sort of skills I would get.
Out of the eight books that I had gotten from Daphne five of them turned out to be skill books, the other three gave a brief history on the clans.
As always, I thoroughly read any skill books I thought of absorbing as I wanted to be sure there was no hidden surprises. Three of them taught the basic martial arts used by the Dragon, Tortoise, and Tiger clan, or at the very least what they deemed as unimportant enough to be learned by outsiders. It was a good thing I already had a basic martial arts foundation, as I noticed they intentionally left out the basics. The other two skill books consisted of meditative technique meant to increase one's magic and a magic technique to strengthen the body's defenses.
Taking the first one I began the process of absorbing them.
You have obtained the skill book [Dragon Clan's Basic Martial Arts]
Would you like to learn this skill?
You have obtained the skill book [Tortoise Clan's Basic Martial Arts]
Would you like to learn this skill?
You have obtained the skill book [Tiger Clan's Basic Martial Arts]
Would you like to learn this skill?
Clicking yes on all three I watched as they dissolved into golden dust and entered my head.
[Dragon Clan's Basic Martial Arts], [Tortoise Clan's Basic Martial Arts], and [Tiger Clan's Basic Martial Arts] combine with [Martial Arts] to create [True Martial Arts.]
True Martial Arts (Passive/ Active) LV 10 EXP: 0.00%
Description: You have found the answer to what every Martial Artist in history has been looking for since they first learned to throw a punch. You are able to harness your lifeforce, Ki, and use it to enhance your abilities. Passively increases attack speed and power.
Effect: Passively increases bare-handed attack speed by 100%
Effect: Passively increases bare-handed attack power by 100%
Effect: Able to use Ki strikes when active.
I blinked as I found new concepts form in my mind. Ki was in essence life-force energy, it determined how attached someone was to the mortal plane. Those that were sickly or close to death typically had a low amount of Ki, while those that were healthy and young typically had high amount of Ki. Ki didn't measure how much total life-force energy, just how much you had at any given time, meaning things like injuries could affect it easily. What was more interesting was that this energy wasn't just limited to wizards, but also their non-magical counterparts.
[Quest has been made.]
Teach a man to fish.
Description: Muggles have generally been preyed on by wizards and other magical species. Right the wrongs and teach them how to defend themselves.
People taught: 0/10
Reward: 200,000 EXP, +5 to all Stat, Title: Equalizer
Interesting, so normal people really could learn it. If I remember correctly, the Three Clans were still trying to find a way to incorporate magic into their fighting styles, something that was impossible when you consider that magic was more of a mental power. It was like trying to imagine yourself into being stronger than you were and then attempting to punch a brick wall, you wouldn't get anything except a broken hand and more disappointment. That wasn't to say there wasn't magic that couldn't mimic such results, it just wasn't the real thing.
Still, this presented an opportunity. Depending on who I taught I could gain quite a bit of influence and manpower, something that I was clearly lacking until I produced more dolls. Sure, it technically meant breaking the Stature of Secrecy, but when has the law ever stopped me before. If I wanted to be smart about it, I would need to teach the masters of various martial arts and let them develop the skill in their own unique way before ultimately learning them myself.
I would need to think carefully on this, the last thing I would want was for the people I taught to gain some misguide sense of justice and try to start another witch hunt.
This task would best be suited for the Doctor.
Shaking my head, I focused on absorbing the other two skill books.
Mana Reinforcement Technique (Active) LV: 1 EXP: 0.00%
A basic type of combat magic used to strengthen and increase their bodies' defenses. Members of the Three Clans are taught at a young age to sense the magic inside them and mold it throughout their bodies.
Increases STR by 10%
Increases DEX by 10%
Increases VIT by 10%
Increases VIT recovery rate by 10%
Increases stamina recovery rate by 10%
Cost: 50 MP per minute.
If the book was to be believed, which I was partially skeptical of, mana reinforcement would be strong enough to take the full force of a blasting charm once fully mastered. Of course, that could just be propaganda as it also said, that no non-clansman could ever fully master this technique. But still, if even 1/10 of Chinese wizards new this skill, it made sense why China was currently ranked first in the magical world. It made me curious how I stacked among their members.
Magic Weapon (Active) LV: 1 EXP: 0.00%
An advanced weapon technique taught to disciples of the Three Clans to prepare them in the use of Chi Artifacts. Channeling magic through an object transforms it into a magical weapon for a short time, capable of affecting even those with indeterminable form.
Increases weapons Attack power by 10%
Duration: 10 Minutes
Cost: 50 MP
Right, the Chi Artifacts, I really wanted to get my hands on one of them if they weren't so closely guarded and had a number of safeguards designed to stop theft. Not to be confused with wands or normal enchanted weapons, Chi Artifacts were practically in a category of their own. They were sentient weapons crafted through a secret method, most likely illegal too, and imbedded with strange powers that could range from simple effects that would make everyone around it laugh uncontrollably to vaporizing everything in a 1 km radius. As I said, I really wanted one.
"Well at least now, I can finally get rid of the ghost wizard instead of always having to seal it," I thought out loud.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone