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After a quick glance, he finally understood why the book was in the restricted section.
Apart from a small amount of text, the book is almost entirely composed of moving pictures.
The entire process of a person dissecting a swallowtail dog carcass was documented, and the operation was extremely brutal.
That's definitely a bit too much for a first-grade student.
Fortunately, Maurice is an adult, so this did not affect him.
He flipped to the very end and finally found the skeleton image that Professor Kettleburn had mentioned.
After a quick glance, Morris made a preliminary judgment that he could assemble the skeleton using this picture.
Immediately afterwards, his gaze quickly compared the blueprints with the fragmented images in his mind.
The curvature of the skull, the number of cervical vertebrae, the connection between the thoracic vertebrae and ribs, the unique tilt angle of the pelvis...
"This is perfect!" he couldn't help but exclaim.
Professor Kettleburn quietly observed Maurice as he became engrossed in his work.
How should I put it? He felt that this child was a bit strange.
Most first-year students, even those from Ravenclaw, would probably turn pale with fright if confronted with a forbidden book filled with dynamic anatomical illustrations.
But look at this child named Maurice!
Just like a toddler receiving candy, his eyes practically lit up!
Chapter 43 Skeleton Dog
"hey-hey!"
"Maurice?"
It wasn't until Professor Kettleburn patted Maurice on the shoulder that Maurice snapped out of his reverie.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor," he said somewhat embarrassedly as he closed the book, "this book is a bit too captivating."
Upon hearing this, Professor Kettleburn gave a strange look.
Is this thing really appealing?
Even he wouldn't have come here to read this book if it weren't for saving his friend's sick swallow-tailed dog.
"May I borrow this book?" Maurice asked.
"Generally speaking," Professor Kettleburn began slowly, "the borrowing of books from the restricted section requires Mrs. Pince's permission. But—I did agree."
"Thank you for your help, Professor," Morris said respectfully.
This was the first time he had ever met such an easy-going professor.
...
After receiving the book, Maurice's nighttime stroll came to an end.
Professor Kettleburn forgave his transgression that evening and generously lent him the banned book.
But as a professor, he ultimately warned Maurice not to come to the restricted book section again, and to go directly to his office when he needed to return books.
Morris naturally agreed verbally.
But... those who know, know.
The forbidden book section was such an alluring place; he had a feeling he would become a regular there.
We just need to be more careful to prevent something like tonight from happening again.
When Morris returned to his dormitory, it was past 1 a.m.
He was not sleepy at all and immediately found the long-forgotten fragments of the swallowtail dog skeleton in the suitcase next to the bed.
He looked at the skeleton diagram of the swallowtail dog and tried to piece it together, copying it from the model.
It only took about two hours to assemble.
The skeleton gleamed pale under the light, possessing an unusual beauty.
Unfortunately, whether it was lost during transportation or due to a mistake by the seller, a piece of the left toe bone of the Swallowtail dog's skeleton was missing, which resulted in it losing a toe.
Seeing this, Maurice clicked his tongue softly, a hint of regret welling up in his heart.
It's no longer perfect.
He plans to go back to the shop in the overturned alley to fill in the details later.
And now, he has achieved his goal.
He could finally attempt to transform the skeleton into a true undead creature.
Morris waved his wand, turning a bowl of water on the table into red paint, and then used a blood-drawing spell to mix his own blood into it.
Then, he transformed his wand into a long, thin calligraphy brush.
Ten minutes later, a standard undead creature conversion magic circle was drawn on the dormitory floor.
Morris was already very skilled at the whole process.
Meanwhile, canned food and fireworks appeared out of nowhere. The previously noisy creatures were now sitting quietly by Maurice's bedside, watching their master's every move intently.
The magic circle glowed with a dark red light on the floor, and the space reserved in the center was just big enough to accommodate the swallowtail dog skeleton.
Morris carefully lifted the swallowtail dog skeleton and placed it in the center of the magic circle.
Then, he straightened up and gently exhaled.
"The world of the living has not forgotten you, and the peaceful rest of death is not the end of your story."
Accompanied by a familiar chant, the magic circle transformed into a vortex, penetrating entirely into the skeleton.
The skeleton was stained with a bewitching red, then returned to its pale color.
The next second, two clusters of eerie blue soul flames ignited deep within his eye sockets.
"Crack, crack..."
The sound of bones grinding together rang out.
It stood up, its posture slightly stiff, yet possessing a somber aura unique to undead creations.
Morris knew that the undead creature transformation ritual had been successfully completed.
This is the third undead creature he owns, a skeletal dog.
Canned food and fireworks curiously observed their new colleague.
At this moment, the skeletal dog seemed to be getting familiar with its new body, pacing around the room, the rhythmic "crackling" sound of bones rubbing together echoing around it.
"Come here," Morris commanded it.
The skeletal dog naturally understood its master's meaning and immediately ran towards him.
However, perhaps because it was not yet familiar with running, it tripped over the carpet.
"Bang."
It collapsed to the ground, and several skeletal parts flew off its body and scattered around.
"..."
Morris was speechless for a moment.
All I can say is that the drop rate is really high.
Fireworks and Canned Food watched this scene from the sidelines, feeling that their new colleague was a bit silly, with eyes made entirely of blue flames that showed no intelligence whatsoever.
Just then, the scattered bone fragments seemed to come alive and moved, as if guided by threads, flying precisely back to the skeletal dog lying on the ground.
The skeletal dog, having reassembled the parts, shook its skull, stood up again, faced Morris, and opened and closed its jaw slightly.
"Woof—"
A dog's bark echoed in his mind.
This surprised Maurice somewhat.
It seems that the skeletal dog not only has the ability to repair itself, but also the ability to transmit sound over a distance.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Joyful barks echoed in his mind one after another, seemingly conveying some kind of simple happiness.
However...
"What's the point of this telepathic communication?!" Morris couldn't help but complain.
As a dog, the skeleton dog can only bark and is completely incapable of conveying complex information.
This can only be considered noise at best.
He rubbed his temples and commanded, "Quiet!"
A moment of silence passed through my mind, then a drawn-out, slightly confused sound came: "Woof...woof?"
Morris sighed. "Go away, you stupid dog."
The skeletal dog silently walked to the corner of the room and squatted down. The soul fire in its eyes went out, and it turned back into an ordinary skeleton.
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