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Before me stretched an endless desert.
Pale, flat, and empty.
The strangest thing was the lighting; there was no sun in the sky, and the sky was just an infinitely extending gray-white canvas covered with a thin layer of mist.
But everything was bright and open.
At this moment, Maurice was finally able to confirm that he was no longer in his original world.
He was in the limbo between life and death.
The Gate to the Two Realms has been successfully opened.
"very good."
Morris suddenly laughed.
My heart suddenly started racing, which was especially noticeable in the quiet environment.
It wasn't fear, but something much hotter, something much more surging.
Excitement, thrill, trembling...
He turned around and walked out of the lounge without waiting.
Through the corridor window, he discovered that outside the castle's stone walls, all around lay the same pale desert.
The interior of the castle hadn't changed much; the stone walls, sculptures, tapestries, and all the furnishings were in the same positions as Maurice remembered.
There were no living humans or ghosts in the corridor, the portraits on the walls were blank, and even the armor was no longer moving.
In the courtyard, the original vegetation has disappeared, leaving only pale white gravel, just like outside.
The stone beast statues are still there, standing quietly.
Morris didn't linger; he went straight to the gates of Hogwarts, opened them, and stepped out.
He moved away from the castle step by step, leaving a series of footprints on the sand-like ground.
After walking about a few hundred steps, he stopped and turned around.
From afar, Hogwarts Castle stands silently in the desert.
Vast and complete, yet empty.
It's truly spectacular.
Morris is now completely unable to comprehend this place.
Although he knew this was a world between life and death.
But... why is there a Hogwarts here? And why is it surrounded by a desert? What is the purpose of this place?
Questions surged like a tide, but there were no answers.
interesting.
"Let's wander around for a bit first."
As Maurice pondered this, he began to wander around.
He also tried casting a few simple spells with his wand—the magic did not fail.
This reassured him somewhat; at least he wasn't unarmed here.
After randomly choosing a direction and walking for a while, Morris finally saw a different building.
There is a point about a few hundred meters away.
As he got closer, he realized it was a small wooden cabin, standing alone in the desert.
But just as Maurice was about to get closer to investigate, a wave of dizziness washed over him.
It seems the time for the Life-and-Death Water to be used has come.
His vision went black, his body suddenly twisted, and when he came to his senses, he was back in his dormitory.
Looking around, the magic circle was still on the floor, only its color had faded.
The clock on the wall showed it was 2 a.m.
He returned to his original world.
"Meow--"
The sound of canned goods sizzling came from the side.
The next second, Morris felt something cold in his arms—his silly cat had jumped into his arms.
The canned food cried out urgently a few times.
As its master, Maurice was able to roughly understand its meaning.
"You mean... I suddenly disappeared just now?"
The canned food nodded vigorously.
Morris seemed to be deep in thought.
So it seems that what just happened wasn't a dream.
He had indeed entered the space between life and death.
Moreover, it involves physical penetration.
That was a real, existing space!
"Don't worry," Morris reassured Canned Food before lying down on the bed.
He was exhausted, probably because of what had just happened.
Almost instantly, he fell into a deep sleep.
...
The next day, Maurice woke up around noon.
Fortunately, it's Saturday, so there's no school today.
His head was still a little dizzy, but he couldn't wait to enter that magical world again.
There are just too many problems!
But before that, Maurice consulted the Book of Wizards as usual.
On the last page of the book, new content slowly emerges.
"Energy convergence?"
An inexplicable spell.
Therefore, Morris temporarily postponed his plan to enter the portal to the two worlds a second time, intending to focus his attention on this new spell first.
According to the description, this spell can gather various energies floating in the air, such as magic.
The first attempt to build a spell model for a particular spell is always difficult and takes a lot of time.
But building it later becomes much easier.
If Morris were to cast the Weakening Curse now, he wouldn't even need to think; he could subconsciously construct the spell model in an instant.
The same goes for the Shadow Concealment Technique. You might be a little unskilled at first, but now you can master it effortlessly, almost instinctively.
Just like riding a bicycle, once you learn it, you won't forget it.
After two hours of effort, Morris finally succeeded in constructing the spell model for energy convergence.
Different spell models have varying degrees of complexity, with energy convergence being one of the more complex ones.
"Energy convergence!"
With the chanting, the spell was successfully activated.
Morris extended his right hand, palm up.
Suddenly, something seemed to gather in his palm, carrying a faint, almost invisible light, and kept churning.
Is this what they call "magic"?
It has no color and no shape.
The light spun and twisted erratically for nearly a minute.
Finally, with a "poof," it completely dissipated into the air, leaving no trace.
Upon seeing this, Morris frowned and withdrew his hand.
The convergence failed.
So what's the reason?
Is it because the magic concentration here is insufficient, or is it because his technique is flawed?
He tried a few more times, with little difference in results.
Ultimately, he had no choice but to put the magic on hold for the time being.
It was already noon. Morris went to the restaurant, ate some cake, and returned to his dormitory to prepare to enter the portal between the two worlds again.
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