An odd Customer
[
Candidate Blood Demon, the 2nd Stage of Tournament of Worth is finalized. Please refer to the following points:
1. Theme of ToW: Survival
2. Total Number of Candidates: 1263
3. Your Group ID: 37
4. Local Time of Teleportation: 11 December 1986 - 11:00 pm
5. The 2nd Stage of ToW will see Candidates teleport to a Random World personalized to their Status, Experience, and Analyzed-Growth just before the commencement of the final send-off.
6. Each Candidate will be sent to separate Random Worlds or different Timelines of the same Random World that would let one show one's true capabilities
7. Irrespective of place, ongoing battle, or conversation, all Candidates will be teleported out of their Time Node to their respective stages, alerting no other Contestant and in-world Character
8. A one-time privilege of quitting the Tournament will be given to all the Candidates. If opted so in between the start and the end of any stage, then the said Candidates will be teleported back to the same Time Node from where they had come from. Their candidature for subsequent stages will stand forfeited
NOTES:
1. Only Contestants from the 2nd Set are chosen as Candidates. Each Candidate can qualify as a Candidate only once
2. The stages within the ToW will be broadcast to any Contestant able to afford such a request. These Contestants will have access to all Candidates' Code Names but not their appearances
]
The first word that came to Kai's mind as he went through the notification was - Trouble.
The second word was a feeling - Elation.
Both words had arisen because of the same point. The 3rd, to be exact. If the System would send him to a Random World or its Timeline based on his stats, experiences, and extrapolated future growth, then he was as good as fucked. Literally.
Such methods would nullify the sheer advantage of Glitch, Kai knew.
Yet, after a long time, a wide smile had surfaced on his face. Despite the presence of Glitch and its related Blood Essences, Abilities, and Skills, if there was a thing that could hope to represent Kai's stats, experiences, and growth, together, then that was - Sabers.
So, in this case, the chances of him teleporting to the Bleach World had just increased exponentially. Yes, it would not be a walk in the park like the 1st Stage. But who said Kai liked those walks, to begin with?
A monstrous risk this would be, he reflected. An even monstrous reward he would get out of it as well.
If he survived, Kai added.
Kai drummed his fingers on the chair's arms and noticed the number of surviving Candidates had dropped by quite a lot. But these 1263 Candidates represented the cream of the crop below the 3rd Set. Moreover, by sending them to personalized worlds, the Systems were trying to test their surviving Skills using their own unrestricted Stats, Kai reasoned.
A sigh escaped out of his mouth.
Since Kai had come back from the 1st Stage, he had been trying quite hard to get his hands on an Artifact. One Artifact would let him get the Title, Novice Collector. Now, it would just raise his Luck by 1 Point, as the current-equipped Title, Coin Master, gave him extra 2 points of Luck, and Novice Collector would give him 3. But Kai was desperate enough to get that single point, too.
Alas! With him at the Malfoy Manor first, and then coming to Diagon Alley, but staying in Darcie's form mostly, it had become impossible for him to get an Artifact. At first, he had thought to make Darcie get her father's wand, as that certainly was an Artifact, being an important item from the main-storyline. Chaos wasn't a fool, though. Such methods didn't work. Nor would they ever. Using Darcie to get the Elementary Magical Aptitude was already a malfunction, a privilege of his Glitch, Kai observed.
Kai ran his hands through his hair, the headache worsening with every next moment.
He looked into the fire and saw the flames dancing over the logs, grinning at him. He grinned back.
'Bleach…' he muttered, canceling the notification. 'I will visit you soon.'
*
*
Afternoon, around 03:00 pm
The Bookshop
"So, the Witch of Endor was an Ancient Necromancer," Darcie summarized.
"That's right," Madam Villanelle nodded. "Not only that but she also had quite a horde of familiars, was proficient in creating Talismans, and could speak many archaic tongues, even that of Gods. Furthermore, it is said that the Dark Arts of making Inferi, reanimated corpses, had been derived from the runic scripts that were found in the past, containing old magic that could've belonged to her. Impressive, right?"
Darcie had to agree.
"OK, that should suffice," her mentor said. "Help me put these books on their shelves. Then you are free for today."
Yet, the longing to know more was clear on her face. Darcie obeyed regardless. She stood up, nodded at Mr. Hillam, who seemed to have woken up from his deep slumber, and then spent a few minutes doing her Page duties.
When she was done, Darcie looked around. It was a difference between jade and mud. No longer there were books strewn all around like abandoned orphans. Nor was there any untidiness about the bookshop. More than anything, now the bookshop truly looked like a library.
Yet, a few books were naughtier than others.
The bells on the door chimed as a customer entered, and to Darcie's dismay, dozens of books came whistling out of their shelves, shouting, giving reasons to buy them.
She took a deep breath and had just moved when her mentor's voice reached her ears. "Oh, Mr. Ollivander!" Madam Villanelle exclaimed. "You didn't have to come by yourself," she said softly. "If you need a book, you could just let us know. I would've sent it to you via Darcie, our Diagon Alley's special owl."
Mr. Hillam guffawed at the joke. Darcie did seem to flutter from one end to the other to them.
Darcie was between the entrance and main counter, and thus nearest to the customer. She neared the wandmaker and asked, "What book do you need, Mr. Ollivander?"
Her gaze was like a still green ocean. Mr. Ollivander looked down at her, smacked his lips, and said, "Ah! That…" he mumbled to himself for some time before continuing, "Forgive me. In truth, I am not here to buy a book, Ms. Darcie."
Madam Villanelle frowned. "Not for a book…"
Darcie recalled their last meeting and the parting words she had told the old wandmaker. She went to her left, carried a little table near the main counter, and then lined two chairs at the opposite ends.
All looked at her in profound puzzlement, her actions a storming mystery.
Darcie then hopped to the back half of the shop on the ground floor and came back with a box in her hand, recently polished. She put it on the table and then looked at the old man. "May I amuse you with a game of chess, Mr. Ollivander?" she asked, almost smiling. "It does seem too cold outside. Perhaps it would be best for me to not roam in the Alley today."
Madam Villanelle looked from Darcie to the wandmaker, and then back to Darcie, sensing some hidden meaning.
Mr. Ollivander opened and closed his mouth, but this time he had collected more courage than before. "Of course," he said, nearing the table. "It will be an honor to play against you, young lady."
As they took their seats, Madam Villanelle shook her head, smiling to herself. Mr. Hillam slumped down in his chair, falling asleep in the next second.
And the main doors remained closed that day till evening, a light laugh of an old man seeping out from the round opening above the door, melting into Alley's air that wasn't so cold.
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AN: Poor Ollivander.... Sigh!