The Hidden Wizard and the Personalized Random World?!

Monday, 8 December 1986

02:00 am

Two hours had passed since his Identity Period.

Kai was sitting by the fireplace within the suitcase, his expression thoughtful.

Opposite him, seated on a chair, Petyr was reading the book, Daemonologie, In Forme of a Dialogue: the Magical Truth.

Standing behind Kai was Cersei, massaging his head gently.

After the routine entry of the Journal and spending an hour in meditation, trying to decipher the tales' runes, Kai had contacted Meg.

The ex-priestess and the fallen 13-floor Contestant had never heard of the Book, though.

She didn't deny that she must have never come across it during her adventures, but it didn't mean it was unreal. Maybe some of the top factions in the Primordial Tower knew of this myth and were actively pursuing it. There was no knowing it, however.

Death… Deathly Hallows… Kai thought of the words and frowned.

"Cough!" Petyr cleared his throat. "Hear this, my lord."

Kai pushed Cersei's hands away. She threw her head towards the boy with a feline's fury. "Must we tolerate his existence?" she demanded. "Make him disappear, my love."

Petyr smiled. "Tell me again, my lady," he said slyly, "when was the time you prophesied something for our lord?"

Kai felt amused. Cersei's ferocity made her look more luscious. Give her a glass of wine now, and that would be a scene to behold in itself, he imagined.

"You dare!" she spat.

"Cut it off," Kai broke the confrontation. "What is it, Petyr?"

Petyr shut the cover of the book and put it aside. "The true mystery of this new adventure isn't the Book, my lord," he said, smiling. "You get to know the name of the book, the place it was last seen, the broken ritual, and the ritual's nature, including the fact that the ritual to call upon Death might be in the Book.

"Yet, there is one more thing about it. Supposed, Unknown, and Hidden, all have used such words regarding the wizard that had accompanied the author, James VI, and who assisted him in writing the Book. There is some profound mystery here, and none are being prudent enough to realize it."

Cersei giggled in Kai's arms. She sniggered and said, "Littlefinger, you fool! Has your slyness blinded you finally? You think my love here hasn't thought about it already? You presume too much. Even I can tell that there is some force in the background of this myth, making everyone dance at its fingers."

The corner of Petyr's mouth twitched ruefully. "When one has nothing to do," he quipped, "one often overreacts, my lady."

"You…"

"Enough!" Kai snapped, rubbing his temples with his thumb and middle finger. "That's why I don't call you two together. I've had enough of your bickering. Go, disappear. Let me spend some time at peace."

Cersei's face had gone all red in anger. She threw the nastiest look at Petyr, pecked Kai's cheek, and vanished. Petyr stood up as well, and disappeared, giving Kai a bow.

Kai sighed, shook his head, and leaned back.

Only 10 minutes were left to his Identity Period, he observed. The notifications appeared then.

…

[

Candidate Red, the 2nd Stage of Tournament of Worth is finalized.

Please refer to the following points:

 1. Theme: Survival

 2. Total Candidates: 1263

 3. Candidate Red's ID: 37

 4. Local Time of Teleportation: 11 December 1986 - 11:00 pm

 5. The 2nd Stage will see Candidate Red teleport to a personalized Random World

 6. Personalized Random World's Criteria: Candidate's Stats, Experience, and Projected-Growth

 7. Candidate will be teleported out of his Time Node, preventing time loss

 8. A one-time privilege of quitting the Tournament will be given to the Candidate

]

…

Fuck! Kai cursed, going through the 5th point again.

This was completely opposite to the 1st Stage where the Systems had normalized various Candidates' Stats to put them on equal footing and test their Survivability.

Now, though, if the Systems were send him to a Random World, personalized to his Stats, Experiences, and Growth Potential, then Kai was as good as fucked.

Because such a Random World would nullify the sheer advantage of Glitch.

Yet, after a long time, a wide grin surfaced on Kai's face.

Despite the presence of Glitch, if there was one more 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 Random 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?

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.

Kai looked into the fire and saw the flames dancing over the logs, grinning at him. He grinned back.

Bleach… 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.

------------- Vol 11 - Darcie Malfoy - A Unique Character - Ends! --------------

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