Chapter 16 A Step to Heaven
In the game, there's a term called "squid procrastinator."
It refers to hoarding resources like a squirrel, waiting for a crucial moment.
Basil was such a person.
Therefore, the newly acquired Hagrid data required activating an echo with gems.
He resisted the urge to check it for the time being,
just like Harry, Neville, Ron, and Malfoy.
With a smile, he followed Hagrid, walking along narrow paths and through dark forests.
Finally, they arrived at a black lake.
On the opposite shore, a majestic castle stood atop a high hill, its spires towering, windows shimmering under the starry sky.
"That's Hogwarts!" Basil murmured in his sleep.
In his mind, the gray, immovable fortress suddenly gained color.
Time seemed to stand still.
His body vanished from its spot.
Appearing in his mind was a small world composed of Hogwarts Castle, mountains, lakes, docks, the Quidditch pitch, and the Forbidden Forest.
It began to slowly expand.
Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and London also appeared on the edge of this illusion.
He now realized that what was in his mind was a real, small world.
And now, the two worlds began to overlap.
[Ding! Personal Information Update]
[Added. Identity: Hogwarts Prospective Student (20 gems daily)]
[Buzzing sound. Starting self-check]
[Achievement component missing. Library component missing. Arena component missing. Ball component missing. Homework component missing]
[Forbidden Forest component missing. [Historical Corridor] missing]
[Spellbook component unique [Connecting to Parallel Worlds] changed to [Traversing Nearby Worlds]]
[Hogsmeade. Diagon Alley. London not activated]
As the two worlds overlapped, Basil returned to his original location.
Simultaneously, a massive influx of information flooded into his mind.
In the game, the main cheat code for players who are time travelers is the [Spellbook].
Moreover, they are the only time traveler in the Harry Potter world they've entered.
All player interactions, duels, team formations, and guild creations rely on it.
The [Historical Corridor] is a projection of the future created by the [Spellbook] using the time traveler's time-space talent to gather the temporal turbulence caused by the Time Jackers destroying a large number of time converters in the Forbidden Forest.
The [Echoes] in the game are obtained by fighting within these projections.
The so-called [Connecting to Parallel Worlds] is literal; after adding another player as a friend and obtaining permission, one can travel to that player's world.
The current [Nearby World Travel]
relies on the similarity of world properties, the attraction between the system and missing system components to travel.
This information was obtained before; it requires 30,000 gems.
Now, only the cause and effect, and the official name, are known.
The activation of Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and London will likely require him to arrive there personally.
He went to London and Diagon Alley before, but it wasn't activated.
This is because the Hogwarts in his mind hasn't officially merged with the Hogwarts in this world.
Even after merging, the Hogwarts in his mind doesn't disappear;
its phantom remains.
Therefore, now, with just a thought, Basil or his spells can appear anywhere in Hogwarts.
He can go clubbing in the Potions professor's office or picking his toes in the headmaster's office.
Standing here, he can give Quirrell a thorough cleaning of the back of his head in the Great Hall. The
[Quick Map] in the upper right corner of the game has been integrated with the entire castle in a more concise way.
He can zoom in to view all the buildings in Hogwarts,
including but not limited to bathrooms and girls' dormitories.
This means that the magical plants in Professor Sprout's greenhouse are also completely open to him.
He can blink, 'take pictures,' and create summoning cards.
If the Forbidden Forest component hadn't been lost, the magical creature resource library could also be collected in this way.
This wasn't a fantasy.
Hogwarts was now practically one with Basil.
He was Hogwarts.
Even if his physical body died,
his soul wouldn't travel to the afterlife.
He could be resurrected anywhere in Hogwarts by spending an equivalent amount of gems.
If he died in another world, he'd have to pay an extra 100 gems for the journey.
"Now, what do I have to fear from Voldemort?" Basil couldn't help but think.
He reached into the air with his right hand, and the red Philosopher's Stone appeared in his hand.
He stuffed it into his pocket, and it returned to its original position a second later.
Now, he suddenly wanted to run to the Headmaster's office and tell Dumbledore, "I am the Headmaster!"
"Bow down!" Hagrid's roar jolted Basil from his reverie about Hogwarts.
Unbeknownst to him, he was already on the small boat, propelled by magic, slowly moving forward.
He was with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Since a small boat could only carry four people, Neville had consciously found another boat.
Now, the small boat ahead of them was approaching the cliff.
They were about to pass through an ivy canopy covering the cliff face and enter a dark tunnel leading to the dock beneath the castle.
However, Basil, still at the back, could see everything clearly.
The castle lights reflected on the lake, preventing complete darkness.
Basil also noticed the only three-person boat.
Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were in one boat.
Basil guessed it was more likely due to the weight of the two chubby boys.
"Basil, that pesky Malfoy is staring at you!" Hermione wrinkled her nose.
"No," Basil said, quite surprised, "he's looking at Harry."
Harry and Ron didn't seem to care.
They were both absorbed in the solemn atmosphere of heading to Hogwarts.
Basil narrowed his eyes; he was in high spirits and needed something to cheer him on.
"Betrayal! This is a shameless betrayal!" Draco stared intently at the bespectacled boy.
He was the one who met him first.
Yet Harry Potter had chosen someone else.
The pure-blood traitor Weasley, the disgrace of the pure-bloods, Neville Longbottom more like a Squib, a collateral member of the Granger family.
Had the Malfoys truly fallen?
Just one summer.
Everything changed.
Their family no longer held a seat on the Hogwarts board of directors.
Several shops were raided under various pretexts.
Even Goyle seemed a little disobedient.
He reached for the snacks without permission.
"No, this isn't real!" Malfoy roared inwardly.
Unaware, the vines on the cliff face were slowly moving, reaching for him.
Splash!
In the dark tunnel, Hagrid, lantern in hand, looked back.
"Who fell in!"
screams rang out,
drowning out Crabbe and Goyle's voices.
At the bottom of the deep lake, a gigantic tentacle wrapped around the drowning Malfoy.
It swept over the small boats and lifted him before Hagrid.
Without much thought, Hagrid took off his mole-skin coat and wrapped it around Malfoy's shoulders.
But the coat was far too big for Malfoy; he looked as if he were shrouded in a black circus fur tent.
His thin, bony face peeked out from the collar, filled with terror.
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(End of Chapter)