Chapter 16: Holidays
Chapter 16
(Anthony)
"Why are we doing this?" Michael moaned as he bent down to search another patch of grass.
"Ah, don't be like that Michael. This is the first time Charles has asked for help," Terry said as he plucked a four-leafed clover from the ground and placed it in a jar.
They, like a large majority of the Ravenclaws, where currently outside in search for four-leaf clovers.
'And that makes 26,' Anthony thought as he plucked the little green weed.
"What does he even want with all of these?" Michael asked as he shook his own jar.
Terry shrugged his shoulders, "No idea."
Anthony ignored them as he focused on the task at hand, '27. 28. 29. 30. Just three more.'
"Don't you find it strange though? That he asked everyone to help him search for four-leaf clovers today, which just so happens to be St. Patrick's Day."
"Hey nobody is forcing you to be here," Terry said.
Michael pointed an accusing finger at his fellow housemates, "Yes, you are. I told you both I didn't want to go but then you guys took my wand and kicked me out of our dorm room."
"Yes! That's 33!" Anthony declared as he stood up holding his jar. He turned to his friends, "I'm gonna go ahead and turn these in. See you guys later."
He didn't wait for a response as he raced back to the school.
When he finally arrived back at the Ravenclaw common room, he spotted Charles standing behind a table. A small line had formed in front of the table of fellow students each carrying a jar. Those at the front would turn over their clovers and receive a small paper slip.
Everything had begun earlier in the morning, when Charles had declared a scavenger hunt of sorts to everyone present in the common room. The rules had been simple, collect 33 four-leaf clovers and receive a prize. At first no body had seemed interested, until Charles had started taking out things from his hat. Clothes, snacks, makeup, and a bunch of other things.
However, that wasn't what Anthony was after.
"Hey Anthony," Charles greeted him when it was his turn to step forward. "I guessing you found enough, right. Don't worry, I saved you a ticket."
"Thanks Charles," Anthony said handing over his jar with a smile.
(Charles)
"Hey, don't worry about it," I said handing him a piece of paper, "but you should hurry up. The movie is about to start in a few minutes. The location is on the ticket."
"Okay, see you later then," the boy said as he raced out of the room.
"Snacks and drinks are extra!" I yelled after him.
Taking the jar, I opened my inventory and dumped the small green plants inside.
Special Holiday Quest: Irish Luck
Do you feel lucky punk? Well, do ya? Well, let's test it with a small scavenger hunt.
Objective: Collect 777 four-leaf clovers (429/777)
Objective: Find 3 horseshoes (3/3)
Objective: Catch a Leprechaun (1/1)
Reward: ?
The horseshoes had been relatively easy to find as Hagrid had plenty laying around in his hut for when he needed to shoe the Thestrals. The Leprechaun had been harder, but thanks to Hermes' tracking ability they were able to find a small village a few dozen miles away in the forest. Hermes and his remaining doll were able to kidnap one without much trouble and travel back to school before lunch time had even ended.
The only real problem was the four-leaf clovers. There just wasn't enough time to find so many before the end of the day nor could I transfigure them, so I cheated.
Well maybe not cheated per say, but more as delegate some of the work onto others. I was popular enough where people would actually listen to what I had to say, and with Eric backing me up I was able to set up this entire event together.
This had also served as a good way to promote my modified movie projector. Right now, I only had 'The Princess Bride' but I was working on adding more movies later on. 'How did I get them?' you might be wondering. The answer was simple, I bought the local movie theater using a fake identity and some of the money given to me by my other business. It was good to have legitimate businesses to hide some of my dirty money too.
I looked to who was next in line and saw a surprising sight.
"Well, well, I didn't expect you here Daphne," I said amused as the blonde heiress waltzed into the middle of the Ravenclaw common room as if she owned it.
All chattering had ceased in the room, yet she seemed unbothered by the stares.
"Charles," she stated calmly. "Rumor has it, you've thought up of something rather interesting."
Drumming my fingers on the table I nodded, "I might have."
"And here I thought, we were friends," she said with a fake sad expression. "You didn't even think of inviting me."
I just gave her a shrug, "What can I say? It was last minute."
"Ah, I see, last minute. Then I suppose there's no problem with joining you now," she asked with a smile.
There was a brief staring contest between us before I finally smiled back, "Well I suppose not. After all we should do our best to promote inter-House relations."
"Glad you agree then," she said, turning back to the entrance and snapping her fingers. The door opened and a file of green robed students walked in carrying jars filled with four-leaf clovers.
"Whistle. I'll admit, I'm impressed," I said looking back at her. I had to give her points for the show of power, marching a dozen Slytherins inside enemy territory certainly took some guts.
All of them exchanged their jars for movie tickets, some looking rather sour at having to do it, before finally walking away.
The last one was Daphne, who took the ticket with a smug smile, "Next time you have something planned, do tell me."
Once she was gone, I looked around to the others, "We really need to get better security than a riddle."
(Room of Requirements)
Special Holiday Quest: Irish Luck
Do you feel lucky punk? Well, do ya? Well, let's test it with a small scavenger hunt.
Reward: Lucky Charm Bracelet, LUK stat is doubled for the remainder of the day.
LUK: 60 (30+30)
Oh, that give me an idea, but first.
Lucky Charm Bracelet-Rank: Special
A golden bracelet with small lucky charms.
Effect: 200% increase of lucky during games of chance.
Effect: Increases the amount of money in drops.
A shame it's wasn't a Legendary item, but it was still better than nothing. I put it on my right hand and opened my inventory window.
So far, I've been putting it off until my LUK was higher but now seemed like a good a time as any.
Random Item Dice- Rank: Special
A 20-sided dice made up of an unknown material with blue glowing numbers. Rolling the die will give you an item that can range from Poor to Special. Can only be used once.
Dice should be classified as a game of chance so the buff from the bracelet should activate.
Grabbing the small dice, I flicked it in the air and watched it fall onto the stone floor. It bounced around for a bit before finally rolling away.
'Do let it be something useful,' I thought as I watched it slow down and finally settle.
I was unable to see what it had landed on before it started to glow white and transform into a ring. I bent and picked it up.
Ring of Water Breathing- Rank: A Little Special
A blue wooden ring with engravings of sea animals.
Effect: Gives one the ability to breath underwater.
"Ugh. I suppose it was too much to hope for a skill book or a blueprint that could help me in making the magic converter," I said with a small disappointed sigh. "Looks like I'll have to do it the old-fashioned way."
Oh well, at least now I'd solved my little breathing problem for when I entered the Underwater Dungeon. Though that still left the problems of how I was supposed to move and attack, seeing as most of my fighting style required me to be quick on my feet and use potions. Perhaps I could create some type of mechanical shark or underwater explosives.
Either way, it would have to wait until I cleared the Zombie Dungeon. The latest mini-boss was proving to be a real pest. We were currently in a stalemate with neither one of use being able to hit the other.
I put the ring in my inventory for the moment and turned to face Hermes, who was in the middle of enjoying a snack.
"Do those actually taste good?" I asked as I watched him swallow the remainder of the fairy.
The messenger spirit tilted his head in thought, "Hmm, I wouldn't call them delicious, so much as filling. The small jolt of magic I get after I eat one is what I'm after."
"Hmm, do you mind?" I said pointing to the cage filled with fairies.
Hermes looked at me in confusion, "What?"
Getting up I walked over to the cage of depressed fairies, one of which was banging a miniature mug against the bars, "I've never had fairy before."
"You sure that's a good idea? Are you comfortable eating something so human-like?" He asked sounding genuinely curious.
"I don't see why it would. They might look human, but they're actually closer to intelligent bugs. I mean they literally lay eggs and live the first weeks of their life as larvae. Plus, have you seen some of the ingredients used for potions, crushed beetle eyes, armadillo bile, dried monkey spleen. This would hardly be called the grossest thing I've eaten," I explained as I reached inside and pulled out a struggling fairy.
"Still, this could be considered cannibalize by some, eating a fellow humanoid," he said concerned.
I raised my eyebrow at him, "I literally saw you eat a crow yesterday."
"Yeesss, and I can get away with that since I'm not a real crow," he said growing an extra pair of wings to prove his point.
"I find the notion of trying to humanize animals ridiculous. When you start placing the same human values on livestock, that's when you've truly lost it. Sure, you can get attached to a particular pet and treat it as a person, but don't just paint everything with the same brush. Empathy is a double edge sword that tends to hurt you more than others," I told him before looking back at the fairy who was trying to bite my hand.
"Wise words coming from a sociopath," the bird said smartly.
I gave a shrug, as I held the fairy by her wings and brought her closer to my mouth.
However, I stopped when it was only an inch away. I smiled as I saw it try to rip off its own wings in order to escape.
Hermes looked at us back and forth, "So are you going to do it?"
I lowered the small insectoid creature, "Of course not, I'm not a monster. Just wanted to see how truly desperate these things could get."
"Then can I have it?"
I looked at the squirming fairy then placed it back in the cage, "No, I like this one's spirit. I'll keep it alive for now. Besides, it just gave me an idea."
(Library)
After showing Madam Pince the note, I walked into the forbidden section of the library.
"Let's see. The War of 1230. No. How to crossbreed pets. Interesting, but no. Tales of the Bizarre. No." There were skill books as well, but their stat requirements meant I couldn't use any of them yet.
It had occurred to me that the reason why I hadn't gotten anywhere in my magical battery project was because I was overthinking it. The curse of having such a high wisdom. So instead of trying to learn something new, I should first master the basics.
"Aha, Cursed Mirrors," I said taking the book from its chained shelf. I'd been neglecting this skill, but perhaps now would be a good time to brush up on it.
[Arcane Mirror] (Active) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%
Description: You have innate knowledge of how to craft enchanted mirrors, which can have a wide array of effects.
Effect: You can create a mirror from thin air.
Cost: 100 MP
(Time Skip)
"What do you think Hermes, do you think it will work," I asked as I walked down the steps to the Zombie Dungeon.
"I don't see why it shouldn't," the raven said flying beside me.
"Well let's get this over with," I said taking out my rapier and wand.
Seeing a zombie stumble out of the ally way, I sent a mana bolt that took out a chunk out of the street.
"Actually, Hermes, why don't you spread your wings too."
"Hehehehe, I thought you'd never ask," the spirit said sprouting an extra pair of wings and growing three times its size.
Hermes
Class: Low-Level Spirit
Title: Messenger Spirit
Level 1/100 Next Level: 82.34%
HP: 400/400
MP: 500/00
STR: 30
DEX: 150
VIT: 40
INT: 50
WIS: 60
LUK: 23
Skills:
Spirit Body: This allows the spirit the ability to affect the real world by granting them a temporary vessel. Killing the body does not kill the spirit, only returns it back to the ethereal plane where it will rest until called again. Costs: 10 MP per minute.
Spirit Magic: An innate skill allowed to all spirits. Spirits can call upon the will of the world to cast magic not unlike wizards.
Murder of Crows: Allows one to summon a flock of birds to distract opponents. Cost: 10 MP
Size Manipulation: Give one the ability to change their size at will.
Teleport: Can teleport to anywhere in the world so long as you have a clear image in your mind. (Certain spells can block this ability.) Cost: 30 MP
Magpie Nest: A pocket dimension capable of storing a number of items. (Time still passes in this dimension.)
Seeing as Hermes was a messenger spirit it made sense that a majority of his skills had to do with carrying and getting around places more easily. That didn't mean he was worthless in a fight, as he could still cast the same spells as me. The only real downside was that he could not regain his magic until after a long rest.
Hermes flew over a group of zombies and began to cast his first spell, "Incendio."
A cone of fire burst from his open beak, washing over the poor undead turning them into cinders in an instant.
"Hey, don't burn the loot," I shouted as I used [Charge] to blink in front of several undead and cut them down, silver Sickles falling instead of the normal bronze Knuts. I was thinking of buying a film studio soon, so every bit helps.
Killing all four hundred zombies and the three Liches only took a few minutes this time, which was natural considering how many times we've actually fought them.
"Hermes, your attacks won't work anymore, so why don't you step back for now," I suggested as I put away my sword and replaced it with a large mirror in the shape of a Roman tower shield.
I didn't have to wait long as a ghostly being came out of the ground, turning the soil a dark black color.
"Uurrraaahhhh!" It moaned as it floated in the air, clothes moving by an invisible wind.
I narrowed my eyes as it pointed a withered finger at me, and spectral chains erupted from the ground.
Jumping away, I charged towards it.
I dodged every attack, since given their ghostly nature, the chains could neither be blocked or attacked.
It tried to fly higher when it noticed I had closed the distance, but it was too late as I activate [Double Jump] and [Flying].
The ghost wizard sprouted chains from its body and sent them at me when I was only a few feet away.
'Perfect,' I thought as I held up the large shield in front of my body.
Cursed Mirror Shield-Rank: A Little Special
A cursed mirror in the shape of shield crafted by Charles Bell. Can trap a ghost inside its reflection so long as it isn't already occupied. (Status: Empty)
The instant the ghostly chains touched the surface of the mirror they were sucked inside, pulling on the ghost wizard still attached to them.
It gave a howl as it cut the chains, but it was too late as I finished closing the distance and bashed the mirror into it, trapping it inside.
I landed on the ground and turned the shield around so I could look at it.
"I can't believe it actually worked," Hermes, now in his raven form, said landing on my shoulder.
The ghost banged on the surface of the mirror angrily, but it was useless.
"I'll admit, I also had my doubts." I said shaking the mirror causing the ghost to bounce around, "But I'm glad it worked."
It was a shame I didn't get any EXP since I had trapped it instead of killing it, but at least I was able to knock out two birds with one stone. Since ghosts were mostly composed of magic, all I need now was find a way to extract a portion of their magic and I'd be one step closer to my goal.
(Time Skip)
[Quest Failed]
Special Holiday Quest: Easter Hunt
Think you can play against the greatest hide n sneak player of all time.
Objective: Find all 3 Easter Eggs. (0/3)
Bonus Objective: ?
"I'm disappointed in you Hermes," I said shaking my head. "I thought finding targets was your talent."
The spirit's head was cast downcast.
"Oh well, if even you couldn't find them, then I suppose the quest was out of our league for now."
"I'll try harder next time," Hermes announced with conviction.
"Good, then let's drop the matter," I said holding up my arm for him to land.
He did so a moment later.
"Hopefully Daphne is having better luck than us," I said petting his head.
(Daphne)
Locking the door behind her, Daphne breathed a sigh of relief as she took out the book tucked under her shirt.
Going over to her bed she reached under it and pulled out a suitcase.
She opened it to show more books, each with Chinese writing on the cover.
Finding them had been easy enough, as she still remembered how to get into her father's private treasure room.
Knock! Knock!
Her eyes widened in surprise as she hurriedly threw the book inside and kicked the suitcase under the bed, something she immediately regretted as she stubbed her toe.
Clutching her foot in pain she turned around, "W-who is it?"
"Daphne, it's me!" came the voice of Astoria, Daphne's younger sister.
The blonde witch let out a sigh of relief before angrily marched to her door and throwing it open.
"What do you want Astoria?" she said in annoyed voice.
"Nothing," the small, black haired 9-year-old said with a wide grin, rocking on her toes.
Daphne gave an eyeroll, "If you have nothing to say, then don't bother me."
Just as she went to slam the door Astoria spoke again, "Who's Charles? Is he your boyfriend? Are you-mmmffff."
The rest was unsaid as Daphne covered the younger girls mouth and dragged her inside.
Daphne slammed the smaller girl against the wall, "Now you're going to tell-Eww! Astoria that's disgusting!"
The blonde was forced to let go as the smaller girl licked her hand.
"I'm telling mom!" Astoria shouted gleefully as she raced to the door, only to be pulled off her feet and be suspended in the air. "Hey no fair! You're not allowed to use magic!"
"Now then, tell me where you heard that name," Daphne said forcibly as she kept her wand steady.
The small girl gained a defiant look as she crossed her arms, "No."
The witch narrowed her eyes before gaining a smile, "I see, then perhaps you don't care what happens to Snowy."
Suddenly Astoria's eyes widened with worry, "You wouldn't!"
"I hear that there's been an infestation of redcaps in the area lately. It would be a shame if Snowy found himself outside the safety of the grounds," Daphne said darkly.
"Okay, I'll tell you! I heard you mumbling it in your sleep. That's it I swear!"
"Have you told anyone else?" she growled out impatiently.
"…No."
"Looks like the redcaps will be dinning very soon."
"Cousin Nicolaus! He knows but that's it!"
The blonde heiress stared at her sister for several moments before finally releasing the spell causing the later to fall down.
Astoria scrambled to her feet and ran out the door.
Daphne meanwhile was having an internal debate if she should confront her cousin or let things stay as they were.
It didn't take her very long to decide as she would rather avoid the teasing from her older male cousin.
She couldn't help but think what Charles was doing at the moment.
(Room of Requirements)
Ducking under a kick, I prepared to throw a punch at the training dummy only to have my feet swept under me.
Before I could react, a metal fist crashed into my jaw, snapping my head in one direction where another punch awaited me.
I rolled with the punch to try and get away, but felt hands grab my ankles and throw me into the air.
I tried adjusting myself in the air, but a foot planted itself in my stomach caused me to fold in on myself. Next, I felt something slam into the back of my head causing me to hit the ground.
I spit out some blood and rolled out of the way just as foot slammed into the place where my head had previously been.
Turning around, I caught the punch aimed at my back and pulled it toward me to unbalance the dummy only for it to detach it arm and send a roundhouse into my chest.
[Physical Endurance]'s level has risen by one.
[Physical Endurance] (Passive) LV 19 EXP: 0.00%
Description: The body's durability increases and you take less damage.
Effect: 21% decrease in damage taken by physical attacks.
Sliding to a stop I checked my health and saw that it was dangerously low. "Pause training," I called out, causing the dummies to stop in their attacks.
I let out a tired sigh as my body screamed in pain from the brutal beating I'd just received. Thankfully, it didn't last long as [Gamer's Body] got rid of the pain and the injuries.
A towel landed on my head, which I used to wipe away the sweat and blood.
Hermes landed on the head of one of the training dummies, "I don't know why you insist on doing this suicidal training. Every week you fight these things until you're literally beaten into the ground. Why do you torture yourself like this? Do you enjoy pain or something?"
I gave him an eyeroll, "It's so I don't grow arrogant or complacent. Nothing brings downfall more than laziness and overestimating oneself. What's the verdict?"
"You managed to beat 229 training dummies in 65 minutes. Averages out to 3.5 dummies per minute, so a little worse than last week," Hermes called back the results of the training session.
"It does seem that way," I said standing up.
"Perhaps it's time for you to learn a new skill," the spirit advised. "You currently lack wide area spells or skills that can immobilize your opponents."
That was true, I've mostly been focusing on skills that would help me in one on one fights, seeing as my only real challenge were the zombie wizards. Maybe it was time to branch out.
"Okay. Do you have any ideas?" I asked offhandedly.
"I do actually," Hermes said expectantly as he took out a book from his inventory and flew toward me.
I grabbed the book and opened it to a page that was bookmarked. I gave him a raised eyebrow, "Greek myths?"
"Just read it."
"Hephaestus' Golden Net," I read out loud.
"Yes, the Greek God of Smiths created a golden net to-"
"-trap his cheating spouse and her lover in the act. Yes, I know the story," I interrupted, flipping through the pages. Sometimes inspiration came from unlikely sources. "Hmm, alright let's give it a go."
Calling forth a sphere of mana in one hand, I thought about the best way to go about it. Different designs flashed through my head, until there was only one left.
Bringing my hands together, I concentrated mana to my fingertips until they glowed blue. Taking a deep breath, I started to pull them apart while stretching my mana until there were five thin strands.
A skill has been created through a special action.
[Mana String] (Active) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%
A string made from mana. It has physical durability and disappears after some time as mana scatters. Mana String can be manipulated according to the user's wish, and since it is made of mana it can even affect objects or creatures of indeterminable form.
Duration: 10 minutes
Cost: 2 MP
Shaking my hands, I dismissed them.
"Mana String," I said, testing out the skill. A long transparent string with a blue hue sprouted from my finger. It looked much stronger and polished than my earlier attempt, reminding me almost of a fishing line.
"Hmm, so it moves according to my will huh?" I said as I made the glowing white string race around the room like a snake. Calling it back I made it levitate parallel to the ground and tried to stand on it, like a tightrope. "Oh, so it's capable of holding me up, but what about?"
The line slowly began to rise in the air meaning it was completely possible to fly using it, but perhaps weaving it in the shape of a harness would provide better stability. I think I had a book on knot tying stashed away somewhere.
Jumping down to the ground, I then made the string go after Hermes.
"Hey! This wasn't part of the deal!" the spirit bird complained as the string followed him around the room.
Seeing that I wasn't going to catch him, I instead recalled it. Turning to one of the training dummies I pointed my palm at it and called forth a dozen mana strings to wrap around it.
A Skill has been created through a special action.
[Bind] (Active) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%
A skill to tie an enemy with a string made of mana. It has physical durability and disappears after some time as mana scatters. Since it made of mana it can even affect objects or creatures of indeterminable form.
Duration: 10 minutes.
"That's strange," I said after reading the description.
"What is?" Hermes said landing on my shoulder now that the threat had passed.
"I got another skill that's similar but lacks the part where I can freely control the string."
"Hmm, maybe that's because they sound similar but aren't. Bind could apply to other things like ropes or webs."
"I suppose that could be true, something to test out later," I agreed, making a mental note to try and create different magical constructions in the future, like a net or a sword. But for now, I need to practice with what I had right now.