Chapter 418

I walked along the street past the shops.

Not with a care in the world.

There was a giant ball of light in the sky, but what could that have to do with me?

So, I just very calmly walked down the street. Perhaps a tad briskly, but I kept my calm. Because I was certainly not responsible for the utter chaos that was unfolding all around me.

People were definitely not running in panic and other Magic Users suddenly teleported into the streets to throw their spells at the giant ball of light that was totally not my fault.

[Good job.]

I blame you, Ddraig.

[I bet you can't do it again.]

I'm not falling for that again.

[Whatever. I knew it was too much for you.]

I felt a small twitch of my eye.

{Don't make me pull you into your soul.} Musū Tengai interrupted. {Ddraig, stop trying to bait him into causing problems}

Yeah, fuck off Ddraig.

{And Wilhelm, stop falling for his obvious baits.}

I chose not to comment.

But I did find a nice spot to watch what was going on. A few dozen Magic Users began casting spells in unison, and my own spell gradually faded away.

Granted, it was just a ball of light that revealed hidden truths...on top of a secretly hidden enclave in the middle of London….

I'm sure it'll be fine.

But I digressed, it was interesting to see them undo my magic. Reminded me of the spell that Ollivander used when I was getting tested for a Wand.

Perhaps there were a few spells to pick up here or there. Just the cursory glance at the first year book of spells, it showed they adopted a lot of magical ways to manage mundane tasks. Which did admittedly pique my interest in many ways.

Did I have anything else I needed to do here? I Commissioned a Sword to be made. A Wand was a no go for now, but that's something I still want to do after picking out some pieces. I doubt I'll use it for anything meaningful, but I am sufficiently interested in owning one. Sent the letter to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. And I picked up a bunch of good stuff.

That seems to be about it. I suppose I'll just meander for another couple hours or so and just do whatever popped into my mind…

[Cast some magic again.]

Musū Tengai let out a sigh but I ignored him.

I could figure it out if I wanted to.

[I'm sure you could.]

I fucking hate you.

But I couldn't deny that it wasn't bothering me with how the Magic was behaving.

It didn't make sense!

Well, the logic was off. The Lumos spell only worked once I had a foci for it to ping off of. Which….was stupid in the simplest terms. That shouldn't dictate if a spell was operable or not! It's not as if it was weighing the conceptual significance of the Foci as a symbol similar to my Yggdrasil.

No, it was….just a foci in the eyes of the 'spell'. Granted, I put more oomph in it than I should have…but that's neither here nor there.

Frankly, it shouldn't have been a problem.

It didn't make sense.

I literally changed nothing other than holding the staff. Yet, it seemingly worked properly then. And I was almost 100% sure that the Staff of Magnus was not the reason it actualized. I'm pretty sure any old Magical Foci would have sufficed there.

So we loop back around to the original question, why wasn't it working until I wielded a foci?

Was that purely because the spell actualized at the tip of a presumed Wand? But that doesn't make sense considering that when I put my Staff away, it lingered in the air for a long while.

My only clue was that the Mana around me acted strangely when I attempted casting initially.

Like it was stirred up and wanted to do something, but fizzled out halfway.

Okay my Academic Curiosity got the better of me. I whipped out the book whilst taking a peaceful stroll down the now vacant street and flipped a few pages until I landed on one spell that shouldn't cause a problem.

"Levitation charm." I hummed.

I used my finger again, pointing at a leaf on the ground. A simple movement that was more of a flick than anything and then I chanted. "Wingardium Leviosa."

It fluttered but didn't move. I quirked an eyebrow because that was vastly different from the initial response with the previous spell. Despite my own self-proclaimed mastery of certain Magics, I would not presume to master a spell on the first try. However, this was a tad more than I had expected after last time.

A stark contrast that did give me pause for concern.

The Mana around me acted similarly, enough to know that something was wrong in comparison, but it was obvious I was missing some important facet of spellcasting here.

After having an increased sample size, I realized that the movement I did actually disturbed the Mana in the air. No, that wasn't quite right either. The word too, they had meaning, the Mana moved according to them. Both the movement and words both meant something.

"Wingardium Leviosa" I cast again, pointing at the same leaf. It jerked slightly but I lost any hold on it fairly quickly.

There was still a sort of disconnect happening between me and the spell.

Why?

I was doing everything 'right'. I could easily analyze such a simplistic spell if I looked into it, so I didn't believe it was something beyond my means.

"Wingardium Leviosa" I cast again.

Nothing changed as the leaf only sputtered before falling back to the ground.

This doesn't make any sense.

The spell wasn't properly actualizing. A Wand shouldn't be the deciding factor, that's just ridiculous. The last spell notwithstanding….but even that is confusing me.

None of this makes sense.

I jerked my head to see a lightning bolt streak through the sky. Sir Wiggles landed on my shoulder, and with a gust of wind he was joined with his apparent paramour.

"Did you deliver the letter?" I rubbed them both on the head.

The faint 'affirmative' confirmation through our link was all I needed.

I let out a tired sigh.

This mystery was going to annoy me until I solved it.

Dammit Gramps.

Well, I need to see how the locals cast their spells, thankfully there was one last place I wanted to go before heading home.

[***]

I pushed open the ragged door, quite a few gazes greeted me but they were less inquisitive than last time.

"Afternoon, Tom." I pulled up a chair at the bar.

"I expected you some other day, lad." He looked me over with a nod. "Suppose you buying that drink now?"

"Looks like it." I rubbed Sir Wiggles again. "Don't suppose you got any fresh veggies either?"

"Got some carrots." He waved his Wand, they floated over and he cut them off with another motion. No words spoken. He had a plate float over and set the food down as both the Rabbits happily jumped down to their meal.

Funny how he didn't even bat an eye at my bunnies.

But honestly, I was more interested in his apparent silent casting.

"What'cha want then, laddy?" He asked.

"I honestly have no idea. What's the most popular drink around these parts?" I leaned back.

"If you want somethin smooth and easy on the throat, the young'uns prefer some ButterBeer. If you want something stronger, our other best seller is some good ol' Fire Whiskey. Got a few different proofs if ya want too."

"Never had either of those, hit me with a bottle of both."

"I'll start ya off simple then." He nodded gruffly, moving around his bar.

The Butterbeer was basically what one would expect in a beer, even though it looked rather simple on the outside. I didn't know how to feel about something called a ButterBeer, but….first sip of it and it was rather smooth and easy to drink. Could understand where he was coming from then.

An interesting taste, but not in a bad way.

"Not bad." I admitted.

"Try this one then." He chuckled, uncorking a more traditional bottle for what I assumed was the whiskey he mentioned. He poured it into a small glass. "This'll put some hair on your chest."

"Bottoms up." I looked at it a moment before downing it in one go. It certainly did burn going down, but in a good way. And surprisingly, it hit me hard. Much harder than something of this amount had any right to. It took a lot to get me drunk, but this was…something that could cut down on that amount significantly.

There was a spark of Magical Energy in it too.

Magic Whiskey, how quaint.

"Not bad I suppose. But why is it called – " Before I could finish, a small flame spewed out of my mouth. I blinked, taking a moment to reboot. "I retract my question."

Tom smacked his leg with a deep laugh. "Never gets old!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh at the foreigner." I rolled my eyes, taking the bottle myself and pouring it into the glass. "So what was the deal with that big ball of light earlier?"

He scratched his head. "Blimey if I know. I did hear some of the Aurors that came through though, said that about half the Wards around the alley fizzled out. Lots of muggles caught sight of us, they had to go obliviate a few hundred if what the Auror said was right. They be saying that it was a terrorist attack, or something or another. I don't buy it though, no one was hurt, probably some prank gone wrong, I say." He gruffed.

….woops.

Oh well, it seems like it worked out fine.

"Got another question if you don't mind. Something I noticed about the way you all do Magic around here. We don't use Wands back home, so I was wondering. Do you lot not learn to cast spells without your Wands?"

"You mean some Wandless magic?" He furrowed his brow. "That some advance stuff lad. Even Dumbledore was said to only know a bit of Wandless Magic."

So it is possible.

The….why?

What was I doing wrong?

"What about silent casting? I saw you doing that a moment ago."

"Oh that?" He shrugged. "Just some tricks. Most Wizards and Witches pick up a few spells they can do silently after a few years. For the more complicated stuff, still gotta say the words."

Hmm.

Well, let's find some volunteers to experiment with.

There weren't too many people here, and it wasn't a tavern like back in Skyrim. Ordering a round of drinks for everyone probably wasn't going to go the same way as it would here. Honestly, they'd probably think I was weird.

There was someone else at the bar, a few seats down. Looked a few years older than me, and his own Fire Whiskey looked empty as he got the last few drops out of it into his glass.

So, I slid my bottle down to him.

He was surprised at my sudden action, looking at me for a moment before topping off his glass proper. "Thanks." He nodded.

I got up and sat a bit closer. "No problem, got more than enough to share."

"Can I help you, Mr…?"

"Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "That name sounds familiar. Some Pureblood family?" His tone was riddled with distaste.

"Hopped over here from Japan, actually. Just checking things out since my Daughter will probably be going to be attending Hogwarts coming this year." I replied.

"Hogwarts?" His eyebrows raised, a nostalgic look about him. "I miss my Hogwarts days. Best days they were. Merlin, what I wouldn't give to go back to then." He paused, holding a hand out. "Name's Robert Troft."

"Nice to meet you, Robert." I said politely. "Good things to say about Hogwarts?"

"Mostly good, but you know, it is a school. I was a right prat when I was younger, but I still miss it." He grinned. "Doing lines in detention beats the desk job I got at the Ministry. When I was told I was a Wizard, I didn't think my life would end up with basically doing the same my dad does, but with my Wand."

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." I mused.

"Ain't that the truth." He took a drink. "Tell your Daughter to actually do good on her work. I was too caught up on everything else, barely passed my OWLS and NEWTS, couldn't get a better job. Best advice I never got, those grades matter far more than I was told in my schooling."

"That bad?" I could guess that this OWL and NEWT was some sort of acronym for their testing.

"Had to start in the mail room grabbing parcels off the owls before I was allowed a promotion to desk jockey." He snorted. "Have a mate, same year, Muggle Born just like me, but only a bit better grades. Guess where he is now?"

"Where?"

"He works in the Department of Magical Creatures!" He grumbled. "Might be able to swing something like that myself, in a decade or two."

"Why not look for something else?"

"Whatcha mean?" He frowned. "Not many places want to hire a Muggleborn as is, much less one who barely passed Hogwarts."

"You have Magic, get creative. You don't have to do a desk job for a living. Hell, I was reading the first year book of spells an hour ago, use those to restore cars or something." There was a spell meant to repair things. I didn't look into it deeply, but it was there. "Shit, go steal from some drug dealing cartels in South America."

"Anyone ever tell you that you're a bit mental, mate?"

I shrugged. "All I'm saying is, I wouldn't feel bad about robbing rich criminals."

He didn't say it wasn't a good idea.

He could fucking do Magic, why was he sitting behind a desk for a living?

If you want to forgo any sense of ethics, he could rob people out on the street and get away with it without a problem. I obviously don't condone that, but it seems like he hasn't even considered any other avenue.

But I was going off on a mental tangent.

"Got an offer for you." I glanced his way.

"Buddy, if you're gonna ask for what you think you are, I'm gonna slug you in the mouth."

"Hey, I have standards."

"What, am I not good enough for you?" He frowned, though his lips quivered for a second before he laughed. "Alright, whatcha want. But seriously, if you're trying to proposition me like some kind of rentboy, I'll seriously deck you."

I rolled my eyes. "Right, just let me be brief then. Not from around here, back home, we don't use Wands. Just wanted to see some Wand Magic used from a different perspective, see how it works."

"Alright, how does that work, and what are you gonna pay me?" He raised an eyebrow.

"A simple Diagnostic Spell, it'll basically let me look at what your Magic is doing while you cast. I just need physical contact. And I'll give you a hundred Galleons." I just threw out the first total that came to mind.

"That's it? What do you want me to do? What's the catch."

"I promise, that's all I want. Maybe see you cast a Lumos and a Levitation Charm. Nothing else, and I promise not to do anything else either."

"Sounds sketchy as fuck mate."

"Yeah, it probably does from your perspective. Would it help if I said I inherited a literal mountain of gold from my Gramps?"

"Funny, I think I don't have any moral quandaries anymore." He smiled happily. "How are you gonna do this?"

I just put my hand on his shoulder and cast, holding a Structural grasp on him. His Magic Resistance was….lacking compared to a normal Magus. That was the first thing I noticed, probably about a tenth as effective in that department.

Strange.

"Alright, can you cast a Lumos for me?"

He shrugged, and took out his Wand, holding it up. "Lumos."

It actualized without any problems whatsoever.

And I watched his Magic.

I was genuinely surprised at what I was seeing. From what I could tell, he had no…..Magical Organ that I was familiar with. There was no Core, no Circuits, and no visible…Container, to hold and mold Magical energy.

How strange.

Gramps was telling the truth there.

"Can you cast that one a few more times?"

"Sure." He said simply. "Nox. Lumos. Nox. Lumos. Nox. Lumos. Nox."

I watched each time as the Mana round him moved, how it swirled and shaped to his command.

The more I watched, the more confused I got. Every idea that popped into my head was quickly squashed due to inconsistencies of each casting.

What was going on?

It was like….the spell just worked.

It felt like he, as the caster, was wholly irrelevant.

He was somehow pulling Magical Energy into himself, but his body wasn't shaping it.

No, from what I could gather, the Wand was….the Wand was acting the part.

"Cast the other one, please."

He held his Wand to his glass. "Wingardium Leviosa." The glass levitated with a flick of his wrist it moved through the air, following his Wand movement. "That enough, or keep going?"

"That's fine." I breathed out, moving my hand away. "Thanks."

"Whatever, mate." He set his Wand down. "You good for it?"

"Yeah…" I said absentmindedly, fishing through my ring to find the pouch that was connected to my vault and put the money on the counter. Was it 100 Galleons? I think it was a bit more than that, but I wasn't really paying attention.

"Cheer, mate." He finished off his glass. "Gonna head out, appreciate the coin." He patted my shoulder, and grabbed his stuff, heading out.

I didn't really care. I was stuck, staring at the wall because I was currently processing what I had just witnessed.

Wizards and Witches – presumedly, the same, I haven't checked a Female version of their Magical society. Wizards and Witches…they don't have a proper Magical Organ.

A contradiction. Their Wand acted as the replacement ... .sort of.

It's like their Wand was a hand-held Magic Circuit, without a better comparison.

Maybe that wasn't even correct, but it was the closest approximation.

I think I understood now. The Mana wasn't refined by them, like a Magus. As a Magus, we use our Circuits to combine both our own Magical Energy – Od, and the Magical Energy of the World – Mana. There are many terms for it, a common one being Prana, but most just call it Magical Energy for simplicity's sake unless a differentiation is needed.

Wizards..they don't have that. They don't combine it with their own reserves. They had a sort of…..container in the form of their body, but it didn't actually hold any Magical Energy. No, it felt more like it directed it. I almost wanted to call it like a Core, but that was wrong too.

If Artoria's Magic Core was a solid ball, then a Wizard had a sort of….wiffle ball? That kind of practice plastic ball that had a bunch of holes in it.

Mana constantly flows through them, non-stop. A Wand, it seems, is how they overcame this deficit. A Wand forcibly directs the Mana that flows into a Wizard's body.

A Wizard can never run out of Magical Energy. But they can also harm themselves by forcing themselves to push past a certain limit. And their output seems to have a very hard cap.

A low floor, but a low ceiling as well….

Equivalent exchange in that regard.

It would explain why Wandless Magic was so difficult. It took extreme mastery to force the chaotic Mana running through your body into a certain shape without a Foci.

It's kind of ridiculous now that I think about it.

However, that still left some questions to be answered, like….why was the Mana acting in certain ways.

It responded to his casting in a way that was….unnatural.

Mana shouldn't be moved to fill a certain shape without a proper Ritual. A Ritual was a connection with the Greater World, a resonance. So why was it acting like that every time a spell was cast?

The idea was absurd. A Ritual cast over the entire world that dictated the rules of their Magic? No, not even a Magic God could accomplish such a thing. Meridia might be able to, but it would require a constant eye on things as the nature of Mana was nebulous and chaotic.

You couldn't just snap your fingers, and lay down the laws, so to speak. The nature of Magic – spellcasting, was an ever changing field.

Back home, there is something like that because of the nature of the Planetary Wills. Gaia and Alaya strike down the display and persistence of Magecraft because it goes against their will. Magecraft was afterall, a product of a bygone era, and the ruthless Will of Humanity only looks towards the future. And Magecraft is doomed to fall in time.

The rules, if they can be called that, are set. Magi work to get around the rules as best as they can, but they're all aware of them.

So…..what is enforcing the 'rules' here?

There are no Gods, Gramps already said that….

Why does moving a Wand in a certain way cause the ambient Mana to resonate so vividly. Why do non-Divine Words cause the same phenomenon?

Because….that's the rules set. But who set it….

"You alright there, lad?" Tom was standing across from me on his side of the bar. "You've been sitting there standing for a while."

"…yeah, I'm fine." I strained a smile. "Can I get some… no, .all of your Alcohol?"

"….huh?"

"I can pay."

I wanted a drink right now.

He just shook his head weirdly and fetched me another bottle.

At least I sort of figured out how to play around with the Magic here. I was fairly sure I could cast a spell successfully if I wanted to at this point after seeing how Robert's spells actualized. I had to connect my internal Magical Energy with the ambient Mana to produce the proper phenomenon rather than use my Circuits to take in the Mana and mold it that way.

Annoying, but not too difficult to overcome.

Kunou shouldn't have an issue, a Wand would do that automatically. And it can translate well enough even after leaving here, the same underlying concepts of how the spells work will remain the same.

It just didn't make sense!

I don't know why it was working this way. Only that it did for some reason!

I was about to pour myself a glass, but the space in front of me seemed to spontaneously combust. Rather than fire bursting everywhere, a creature appeared, wreathed in flames that took a moment to dissipate.

Still, it landed upon the bar in front of me, fire seemed to dance between its feathers.

…..a Phoenix.

"The Headmaster's Phoenix." Tom exclaimed, many other clamoring around the place. While there was a bit of excitement, it wasn't to the point where I would expect when a Phoenix suddenly appears.

It seems that it's well known at this point.

"You are the most beautiful Bird I've ever seen in my life." I couldn't help but praise it. It wasn't just its physical appearance, it was utterly brimming with such a warm and encompassing life energy.

It set down a letter it was holding in its mouth. It stared at me for a good long while, as if to judge me. Originally, I would think it'd hate me, being a Devil and all. I was objectively a Dark aligned being, and a Phoenix stood firmly in the light side. But I also was blessed by Izzy and Meridia, the two sides that a Phoenix represents, life and death.

After a good long moment, it pushed its head into my hand and I gently rubbed the back of its head.

Seeing it frill happily did bring a smile onto my face. But it also nudged at the letter with its talon.

"I presume this is for me?"

It didn't respond, but the look it gave me was like 'Are you an idiot'?

I took the letter, seeing an unfamiliar wax seal. I broke it to read the letter.

'Dear Mr. Schweinorg,

I am admittedly surprised to receive a letter from you. We do not often receive correspondence regarding transfers from most Eastern Countries. I have read your letter and I do believe we can come to some kind of arrangement. Hogwarts is a most wonderful school and I do think we can accommodate a foreign student should we hash out the details. Should you find it satisfactory, I am available Two Weeks from today for a sit down if you would be inclined. I invite you to bring along your daughter as well. We would be thrilled to give you a tour of our illustrious School. My schedule is often busy these few weeks before a new semester, but if you have any questions or concerns, please owl me – or send your wonderful Rabbits – and I will respond with due haste.

Sincerely,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.'

"Huh." I set the letter down. "Is that really his full name?" I asked the bird.

He let out a soft squawk of confirmation.

"Who has 5 names?"

The Phoenix made a noise, I think It was the equivalent of a chuckle. It then nudged me.

"What?"

It nudged me again, jerking its head towards the letter. "Are you asking me for a response?'

It nodded.

"Jeez, fine." I took out some paper from my ring and penned a response with confirmation on the date. "Here you go, you demanding bird."

The Phoenix squawked happily, but it didn't disappear.

"What?" I blinked.

It just continued to stare at me.

What do you want from me? Can't you see I'm trying to drink my current troubles away?

"Hey…" I nudged the mythical Bird. "Want a drink?" I offered.

The Bird did the equivalent of a shrug. So…I poured him a glass. And I watched the legendary Bird grab the glass of Fire Whisky with its beak and down it all in one go.

It looked at me.

I looked at it.

I then poured myself a glass, and threw my head back to drink it all, slamming the glass down.

I looked at it.

It looked at me.

Then it gestured to its own glass.

Why was I feeling competitive against this Bird? Well It didn't matter, I find it highly unlikely that a Phoenix can out drink me.

What's the worst that could happen?

[***]

A/N

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