Chapter 77. The Workroom

The month of January was already well past halfway over, plus February was a month that was a couple days short so it was decided that the first evaluation would be at the end of February.

That meant that I had extra time to prepare.

The very first book I opened was a treasure mine of offensive curses, they were all immensely complex though. I would be spending a lot of time just figuring out how they worked.

I didn't want to work with a teacher though because I worked better all alone.

Plus, as my intelligence increased, converting the information into knowledge would get easier and easier over time.

I was also curious about the 'Work Room' that had been prepared for me. It was where I would be spending most of my time anyway, my curiosity was valid.

I was wary about taking any of the books that Maguire had given me there, he had been expressive about how important the books were and I should make sure not to get even a single scratch on them.

So I would not just be improving my physical and magical abilities, I also had to force my brain to be able to hold a lot of information.

Good thing we were in a world with magic, although a spell to increase the capacity of my brain would probably come with backlashes.

Good thing I was equipped with more than enough information then, I would find a way to deal with the backlash.

Maguire returned with more books like he said he would, setting up a large, gilded mahogany bookshelf in my room for the books.

Not just that but he spent his time arranging the books in the order that I should read them in.

Maguire was actually helpful, he had also read most of the books although in his case, he was merely a connoisseur of knowledge.

It was why he was working for Carleton. Carleton provided the perfect avenue for him to study subjects that were straight-up banned by the Ministry of Magic.

I would make sure to ask him whenever I needed help with something. As a matter of fact, I would be asking him a lot.

I didn't have the time to waste on being confused.

It was mid-afternoon and I planned to go to the Workroom before the end of today so I had better get started.

I got out the first book that Maguire directed that I begin with, settling into the table and chair already prepared.

There was a stack of empty books and quills on the table that hadn't been there before.

It was time to get to work.

Understanding how the first spell worked took more time than I had been expecting.

It was a curse that shattered bones without leaving a mark on the skin.

So once you cast it, the person would immediately go down in unbearable agony but they would look just fine on the outside.

It was also a time-delayed spell, depending on how much one mastered the spell, it could take as much as a week before the effects of the spell hit.

It was useful if you wanted to leave no tracks.

It was also ridiculously complex.

The spell for it was 'Concutere' pronounced (Con-cue-ter), it produced no light as it was a stealth type of curse but the hand movement for it was plain impossible.

If the very first spell in the first book was this difficult to wrap my head around, how would I deal with the rest of the books on the bookshelf?

The best I could do was memorise the information that the book gave about the spell and then try my luck in the Workroom.

I had Stugg show me the Workroom which was fortunately quite close to the new room that I had been moved to.

It was convenient because I would be spending a lot of time in both rooms, easy access was absolutely necessary.

There was a crackling fireplace inside my room but outside, the full impact of how cold winter got, hit me.

Good thing I wore a woolen trench coat. I followed behind Stugg who was dressed in nothing but a shabby piece of cloth that was about as thick as a sheet of paper.

Wasn't the House-Elf cold?

"Here is the room, Audric sir." He stopped in front of an average-looking door.

"Thanks." I muttered, keeping my gloved hands inside the pockets of my coat.

Stugg brought out a bunch of keys, unlocked the door and then handed a spare to me. "Sir can just call out for Stugg and Stugg will come." He reminded me before taking his leave.

I watched the stubby creature wobble away, he only got as far as the middle of the corridor we were on before he vanished.

All that was left was me and the Workroom.

I braced myself and pushed open the door, caught off guard by what was beyond the door.

It was dark, a thick darkness that felt like light couldn't penetrate.

I hesitated for a split second, I wasn't going to wind up dead if I stepped in, right? Carleton wouldn't want to murder off his secret weapon, right?

The room was intimidating, it was clear that sinister magic was used inside of it.

I straightened my back, if there was anything dangerous about the room, Maguire would have told me.

It was already evening, I didn't have much time left today and I planned to at least, learn the basics of one spell before today ended.

I stepped in, it felt like I was passing through a cloud of compressed air. It felt thick and warm all around me, pressing me in on all sides.

It felt like I popped through because the darkness quickly subsided and I found myself inside a room.

The walls, ceiling and floors were nonexistent, it reminded me of the mist present at the meeting place of The Cabal.

Perhaps similar magic was used.

Without being told, I could tell that If the door wasn't unlocked for me to get in, I wouldn't have been able to get in.

The room was empty save for the vaguely humanoid-looking figures at the far end of the room.

The first time I saw them, I got a fright because I was already creeped out.

The room was lit but I couldn't see any windows or light source, there was no single candle either.

I warily made my way across the room and now that I could clearly see them I was even more creeped out.

The humanoid figures were people.

The group of people standing and staring at me were beyond creepy but it was clear that they weren't alive.

Their eyes were empty and remained unblinking, all they did was stare right ahead even when I moved closer to them.

They all looked roughly the same age but that was the only similarity they had. Some were short, some tall, some average. All genders were present too.

They all looked to be my age as well.

Did Carleton add this because of me or did he always practice his magic spells on objects transfigured to look like teenagers?

It's not like it was a much better situation if the addition was made because of me. It meant that he thought the perfect training tools for me would be things that looked my age.

Both situations were sick.

I undid the Transfiguration spell on one of the teenagers, curious to see what they had been before they were transfigured to mimic living people.

It was so accurate that I could see the veins beneath their skin and little body hairs if I looked close enough.

It was a straw doll. They had all been straw dolls before someone well versed in human transfiguration made them look like people.

I tried turning the straw doll back but the best I could do was make it look like a mannequin.

I didn't have time to play around though, I would still practice human transfiguration till I got this good but for now, I was here to learn the bone-shattering spell.

I pointed the Elder wand at a randomly chosen straw doll, taking a deep breath.

"Concutere!" I shouted to make the spell easier to cast, going through the motions of the hand movements that were needed to cast the spell.

I was slow because I wanted to make sure I correctly replicated every movement as was shown in the book.

The first sign that gave away the fact that I had made a grave mistake with the spell was when a dark purple light flashed from my wand.

'Concutere' did not produce light while casting.

The straw doll that I cast the spell on immediately shattered into pieces, not just its bones if it had any, to begin with but its entire body shattered like it was made of glass.

The force of the explosion blew me and the rest of the straw dolls off our feet, the explosion also came with the perfectly rendered scream of a dying human.

It was so stunning that I could only remain on the ground and watch in horror as the other straw dolls got to their feet, returning back to their positions with blank looks on their faces.

Ignoring the fact that they were covered in splatters of the one straw doll that had shattered to pieces.

It had exploded in a spray of blood and gore, the blood a bit too excessive. It was enough to make anyone feel sick.

It felt like I had truly murdered someone. 

The straw doll that had shattered quickly reverted back to how it was and only then did its terrifying screams stop.

There was blood splattered on my face and hands, and all down my coat, it even felt warm like it had come from a living person.

I stared at my hands in horror, although I knew that the straw dolls weren't living people, the visual they provided begged to differ.

If I had been truly Imperiused, the trauma of what I had to do would slowly build up and when Carleton finally released me from his spell, I would go insane from the memories.

Was that what Carleton wanted to happen?

Reacting to the situations as they came was far better than them getting stored till I gained full control of myself again.

It didn't hit any less hard though.

I couldn't remain seated on the ground, I had to get up and keep fighting.

Power was the one true currency in this world and to get it I was prepared to go through any means.