Madam Alsha's residence in the Sixth Ring Wizard City was located in the highly restricted Third Ring. This district served as the residential haven for the nobles of the Blizzard Kingdom and the elite Court Wizards.
However, land prices in the Third Ring were astronomical. As a result, Alsha's residence was not a sprawling manor, but merely an ordinary, upscale duplex.
This three-story, white-walled, red-roofed duplex was actually Alsha's ancestral home. Her family had fallen into severe decline several generations ago, and by her generation, the ancestral estate had long since been sold off. It was only after Alsha became a successful, high-ranking official that she managed to repurchase the property.
Damian instructed the servants to unpack the luggage. He then planned to head straight for the core of the Sixth Ring Wizard City—the Court Wizard Headquarters located directly inside the colossal Wizard Tower.
Before leaving the duplex, Damian drank a dose of Polyjuice Potion. When he used his Innate Transfiguration to disguise himself, he was unable to perfectly simulate a target's unique magical fluctuations. The Polyjuice Potion, however, was different; it flawlessly copied the physical form and the precise magical signature of the person whose hair was used.
Damian had learned from Alsha's memories that a highly sensitive magical detection instrument was installed at the gates of the headquarters. It was designed specifically to prevent individuals from using standard runic illusions or transfiguration to sneak into the facility.
Fortunately, the HP-native Polyjuice Potion could completely bypass this security measure. His disguise would be more than sufficient to deceive the detection instrument.
Many locations within the Sixth Ring Wizard City were equipped with localized Spatial Teleportation Arrays. Damian arrived at a small teleportation point located not far from the Third Ring residential area.
Two guarding wizards were stationed at the teleportation point. Sweeping the area with his True Magical Perception , Damian instantly gauged their strength; these two were merely Second-Level Wizard Apprentices.
"Good afternoon, Madam Alsha. Do you wish to use the teleportation array?" one of the guards said, rising immediately to his feet upon seeing Damian approach.
"Good afternoon. I need to go to the headquarters," Damian replied coolly, presenting Madam Alsha's Level 5 Adjutant badge.
"Please wait a moment." After verifying the badge's encrypted magical signature, the guard adjusted the destination coordinates of the array. The ancient runes carved into the stone platform lit up with a brilliant glow. "It is calibrated. You may enter."
"Thank you," Damian nodded with a polite smile and stepped onto the array. A pulse of bright blue light enveloped him, and after a few breaths, his disguised figure vanished entirely.
The guard closed the teleportation array and turned to his companion. "I heard from my teacher that Madam Alsha successfully broke her shackles and became a First-Level Sorcerer."
"That must be nice," the other guard replied, his expression turning deeply envious. "If I had access to as many high-end resources as Madam Alsha to nourish my Sea of Spirit , I would be able to break through and become a Formal Wizard too."
"Who wouldn't?"
Damian materialized inside the teleportation array near the massive gates of the Court Wizard Headquarters.
The teleportation experience here is far superior to Portkeys and Apparition, Damian thought to himself.
After warping through the array, he didn't feel the slightest bit of nausea or spatial vertigo. In contrast, using Portkeys or Apparition in the HP world resulted in intense physical discomfort. It was a major reason why many witches and wizards avoided using spatial magic during combat, entirely separate from the volatile dangers of passenger transport.
However, this kind of teleportation array must take a massive amount of time and resources to establish, Damian realized. He observed the dense magical runes engraved deep into the ground. These runes were composed of familiar Runic Scripts. The complex, overlapping structure reminded Damian of the Runic Magic version of Transfiguration he had successfully translated, which was also built using a multi-layered, nested spell matrix.
"Madam Alsha," the guard stationed at the headquarters immediately stood up and saluted as Damian stepped off the platform.
"Hello."
Guarding the headquarters was a long-term assignment. The sentries were highly familiar with the mid-to-high-level Court Wizards who frequently used the arrays, especially someone with a profile as distinct and controversial as Madam Alsha's.
Damian approached the towering entrance. Judging purely by exterior height, this ancient spire was surprisingly on par with Aemon's Wizard Tower hidden deep within the Gap World.
However, Damian had seen the interior layout in Alsha's memories. The internal capacity of the headquarters was vastly inferior to Aemon's relic. Every single room inside Damian's Wizard Tower utilized profound spatial folding and Undetectable Extension Charms. It even housed a fully sealed, massive ecological biome on the fourth floor.
The headquarters before him possessed no such spatial mastery; the interior dimensions were exactly what they appeared to be from the outside.
The heavy doors of the tower were wide open. As soon as Damian crossed the threshold, he felt an invisible wave scan his body from within the door frame. This was the magical detection instrument.
Because the Polyjuice Potion flawlessly simulated Alsha's magical fluctuations, the perfect transformation allowed Damian to easily bypass the scan without triggering any alarms.
The first floor of the headquarters functioned as a massive mission hall. It was bustling with activity.
Most of the personnel present were combat sorcerers belonging to the Investigator sequence. Typically, Investigators and High Inquisitors accepted field commissions and submitted their operational data here to earn contribution points.
Damian ignored the crowds and headed directly to the second floor using the internal teleportation array. The second floor was a sprawling trading hall, where Court Wizards could spend their accumulated contribution points, Kingdom Gold Coins, or Magic Stones to purchase restricted spells, artifacts, and resources monopolized by the Northern Wizard Alliance.
The trading hall was also quite packed. The Court Wizards were the absolute largest faction in the Blizzard Kingdom. The headquarters of the Northland United Wizard Academy was also located within the Sixth Ring Wizard City. Therefore, at least half of the young apprentices who graduated from the academy were funneled directly into the Court Wizard ranks.
"Madam Alsha, would you like to make an exchange today?" A petite, cute witch with a round face smiled from behind one of the exchange counters.
"I would like to purchase some alchemical materials and browse the restricted High-Level Meditation Methods," Damian said, sliding Alsha's Adjutant badge across the counter.
"A High-Level Meditation Method?" After verifying the badge, the round-faced witch noted that Alsha's official profile had already been updated to reflect her promotion to a First-Level Sorcerer.
A sharp pang of jealousy pierced her heart. If I had that much raw wealth to burn, I could easily become a Formal Wizard too, she thought bitterly. However, the professional conduct she had cultivated over years of service prevented her from showing any outward hostility. The trading hall hosted many powerful, deeply connected figures; a clerk who lacked caution would have been quietly eliminated long ago.
Madam Alsha possessed massive fame within the Sixth Ring Wizard City, and she had plenty of envious detractors. Naturally, vicious gossip spread rapidly. It was an open secret among the capital's elite circles that Alsha possessed notoriously poor magical aptitude, and that she had brute-forced her promotion purely by hoarding and consuming astronomical resources.
The round-faced witch politely returned the badge and handed Damian a thin, magazine-sized magical booklet. "Your permissions have been updated, Madam, and the restricted inventory list has been synchronized. When you find the items you wish to exchange for, simply mark them in the back."
"Thank you." Damian nodded with a gentle smile. He took the booklet and found a secluded, quiet corner of the hall to sit down.
The design of the magical catalog was very similar to the communication cards and transaction ledgers Alsha had used to host her underground exchange circles.
It utilized synchronization magic, displaying a constantly updating list of items available strictly based on the user's security clearance. It felt somewhat akin to a tablet ordering system in a 21st-century restaurant.
Damian skipped the materials section and flipped directly to the index for Meditation Methods. There were hundreds of basic, foundational techniques listed at the front. He ignored them all, flipping straight to the restricted pages detailing High-Level Meditation Methods.
The highly classified inventory displayed before him heavily contradicted the intelligence Link Watson had previously shared. Damian distinctly remembered the Court Wizard Captain stating that there were only two High-Level Meditation Methods available for exchange within the Northern Wizard Alliance.
However, the options revealed by Alsha's security clearance were not limited to just two. Alsha was a Level 5 Adjutant. Her administrative permissions were exponentially higher than Link's mid-tier Level 7 Investigator rank.
The catalog explicitly listed seven different High-Level Meditation Methods, complete with detailed technical descriptions.
The seven available methods were: Brass Book, Sigh Core, Heart of the Earth, Chapter of Elements: Chapter Two: Chapter of Thunder, Chapter of Elements: Chapter Six: Chapter of Flame, Wizards Manual - Part One, and Star Gazer.
To Damian, every single one of them was incredibly tempting.
A Formal Wizard who relied strictly on a basic technique could only engrave a maximum of seven standard Runic Models and one Innate Spell into their Sea of Spirit.
By mastering a High-Level Meditation Method, a sorcerer could safely expand their mental capacity, allowing them to engrave significantly more spell models. Furthermore, advanced techniques permanently increased total mana capacity , further reduced runic guidance time , and vastly accelerated overall casting speed.
However, the specialized reinforcement direction of each High-Level Meditation Method varied wildly.
Brass Book strictly reinforced rare metal-element magic. Mastering it allowed the wizard to engrave two permanent metal-type Innate Spells: Mithril Armor and Golden Halberd.
Sigh Core provided a massive boost to wind-attribute magic. Cultivating it granted the Innate Spell Sigh of Wind.
Heart of the Earth reinforced earth-attribute elemental magic. It granted a powerful, passive buff called Blessing of the Earth.
Chapter of Elements: Chapter Two: Chapter of Thunder significantly boosted thunder-attribute magic.
Chapter of Elements: Chapter Six: Chapter of Flame significantly boosted fire-attribute magic.
Wizards Manual - Part One was incredibly peculiar. It provided no elemental boosts, focusing solely on reinforcing existing Innate Spells.
Star Gazer was the undisputed top choice for sorcerers specializing in divination and prophecy magic. The method also included the blueprints for a matching, high-tier alchemical artifact known as the Book of Prophecy.
Damian was immediately struck with decision paralysis. The tactical advantages offered by the seven High-Level Meditation Methods were staggering.
He immediately eliminated Chapter of Elements: Chapter Two: Chapter of Thunder and Chapter of Elements: Chapter Six: Chapter of Flame. These were clearly the only two methods Link's Level 7 Investigator rank had clearance to view.
They were evidently inferior to the others; they purely strengthened basic elemental output, and their utility was far too singular for Damian's ambitious combat style.
Next, he eliminated Star Gazer. Damian had absolutely no innate talent for prophecy magic, nor had he ever bothered to master a single divination spell in either world.
He then crossed out Brass Book. Metal-attribute magic was exceedingly rare, and Damian hadn't collected a single runic matrix related to it. While it was rumored that Mithril Armor possessed terrifying magic resistance and the Golden Halberd could effortlessly shatter standard Runic barriers, it didn't synergize with his current arsenal.
Sigh Core was deeply tempting. Wind magic was highly common and relatively easy to master. Furthermore, the Innate Spell Sigh of Wind released a highly destructive gale capable of rapidly decomposing physical matter. However, its major drawback was that it could be easily completely neutralized by a standard wind-attribute Runic shield.
Heart of the Earth was equally enticing. Earth magic was widespread, and the passive Blessing of the Earth buff was famously powerful. As long as the affected wizard remained in physical contact with the ground, the buff constantly accelerated the recovery speed of their Sea of Spirit and passively absorbed earth mana to continuously heal internal injuries.
While its reliance on terrain was a slight restriction, most combat occurred on the ground. Even if a sorcerer was fighting inside a multi-story building, as long as the architecture connected to the earth, the buff remained active—though the extraction efficiency dropped the higher one went.
Wizards Manual - Part One possessed the most mundane name, yet it was the technique Damian coveted the most.
After carefully analyzing the detailed introduction, Damian discovered that the Wizards Manual not only reinforced existing Innate Spells, but it actively fortified the actual spirit crystal core of a Formal Wizard.
The crystal core was the absolute foundation of a Formal Wizard's power. The most significant change during the promotion from a Third-Level Apprentice was the Sea of Spirit violently condensing from a formless reservoir into a tangible, physical crystal core located within the pineal gland, perfectly bridging the wizard's life force with their raw magic.
Furthermore, Aemon's texts stated that once a sorcerer reached the terrifying heights of a Second-Level Wizard, the Sea of Spirit underwent a second massive qualitative change. The wizard's consciousness would abandon their mortal flesh and reside entirely within the indestructible crystal core. If they achieved this, the destruction of their physical body no longer resulted in true death.
For instance, if a Second-Level Wizard's heart was completely annihilated in combat, as long as the crystal core remained intact, they could effortlessly regenerate their organs and return to life.
By reinforcing the crystal core directly, Wizards Manual - Part One essentially allowed a wizard to walk the path of a Second-Level Sorcerer prematurely. It offered the terrifying opportunity to integrate one's consciousness into the core while still only a First-Level Formal Wizard.
Not only did it massively enhance mental defenses against dark arts like the Imperius Curse, but it safely expanded the core's surface area, allowing far more Innate Spells to be permanently engraved.
However, Damian recalled a critical detail from Alsha's extracted memories. She knew of highly restricted alchemical secret techniques that could also artificially reinforce the spirit crystal core during the First-Level stage.
Damian didn't know if the Wizards Manual was magically compatible with those external alchemy techniques. The risk of a fatal conflict made him struggle to finalize his choice.
Unsurprisingly, Alsha had originally intended to exchange her points for Heart of the Earth. The sheer survivability offered by the technique was perfect for wealthy, cowardly nobles like the Syndicate Boss who were utterly terrified of aging and death. In fact, the vast majority of noble wizards who brute-forced their promotions using Azure Jade Incense and resources chose the Heart of the Earth method.
Knock. Knock.
Suddenly, someone rapped their knuckles twice against the table in front of him.
"What are you staring at so intently?" a crisp, playful voice rang out. "Sister Alsha~"
The newcomer didn't wait for an invitation, casually pulling out the chair opposite Damian and sitting down.
During his entire trip to the headquarters, Damian had crossed paths with many wizards who recognized Madam Alsha. However, the trading hall wasn't a social venue like her underground exchange circles; the sorcerers here were strictly focused on business. Most merely offered a polite greeting and sensibly kept their distance.
Damian had been sitting in the secluded corner for quite a while, and this was the very first person to actively disturb him.
Damian looked up, his eyes falling upon a striking, golden-haired girl with slightly pointed, elongated ears. Accessing the stolen memories, he instantly recalled her identity.
"Your Highness Erin. It has been quite a long time," Damian said smoothly, offering the girl a warm, perfectly crafted smile.
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