bioinnovel Chapter 101: Era Division, Spiritual Power Undergoes Another Transformation! Medieval Level!
Chapter 101: Era Division, Spiritual Power Undergoes Another Transformation! Medieval Level!
Chapter 101: Era Division, Spiritual Power Undergoes Another Transformation! Medieval Level!
When Charles saw the author of "The Lost Age," he stared in surprise.
He never imagined that this book was written by his old friend Dark.
Judging from the publication date, this should be a work from when Dac was young.
"I never would have guessed, Dark, that you terrorist were actually a cultured person in your youth, and even published a book?"
Books that are included in the Hogwarts restricted area are not necessarily dangerous books, but they are definitely not the kind of boring, commonplace books.
Furthermore, since Deep Blue had pointed out that he had obtained information about the history of the magical world from this book, Sharl became interested and began to read it carefully.
In this book, Darke's writing style and narrative tone are unexpectedly clear and meticulous, completely unlike the madness Charles displayed when he met him.
Dark used ample historical materials to propose a new periodization for the history of the magical world.
He divided the history of the entire magical world into the near ancient, medieval, ancient, and ancient periods, from recent to distant times.
The division of the near-ancient period extends from the complete end of religious trials and the establishment of international wizarding organizations to the present day.
The most significant marker of the Middle Ages was the establishment of the three major European magic schools, including Hogwarts, and the activities of many of their founders—an epic era.
Countless exceptionally talented wizards emerged during that era. Subjects such as transfiguration, potion-making, and alchemy, which were taught in the near-ancient period, were formally introduced in the Middle Ages, laying the foundation for what we know today.
If the Middle Ages are an epic saga, then going back further, the ancient era is a fantastical mythology.
Whether it's Merlin, the Olympian gods of Greek mythology, or Sumerian, Egyptian, and Norse mythology...
Those bizarre myths still reveal the splendor of ancient times and the lingering ignorance, bloodshed, barbarity, and cruelty.
As for the ancient times before that, here, Dark asserts that there was such an era.
That era was much, much earlier than the mythical ancient times.
That era did not belong to humankind, nor to the ancient gods and heroes; the world belonged to some more ancient and indescribable beings.
In the book, Dark refers to them as the Old Ones, the Great Old Ones.
They once occupied the sky, the earth, the sea, the stars, and the void, but for special reasons, the ancient rulers have all fallen into slumber.
When the last Great Old One and his kin fell into eternal slumber, the Ancient Era ended, and the world entered the Primordial Era...
As Charles watched Darke passionately and unrestrainedly display his talent in the field of history, he felt a strange unease.
Is this meticulous writing style really the same person as the one I saw in Dark?
However, Charles wasn't particularly interested in history.
What caught his attention was another point mentioned by Dark in the book: that the magic of wizards, gods, or demigod heroes was closely linked to the times.
Dark believed that the older the era, the stronger the magical power of the special beings of that era, and even the magical items made from them possessed extremely high magical power.
For example, the gods in ancient mythology might not even need spells; they could shake the universe and bring thunder, lightning, and storms with their own ancient magic.
The objects in their hands, without needing much exquisite craftsmanship, possess a magic that shakes the heavens.
Therefore, in ancient times, the world belonged to the gods and their offspring, as well as those ferocious monsters who could rival the gods. Although wizards had already appeared, they were not the main characters of that era.
However, as time goes by, the intensity of magic from ancient times is slowly declining.
When they fell to a certain point, the gods in mythology could no longer perform miracles, and they all fell from their pedestals. They even fought each other for the few remaining sources of magic, which led to Ragnarok.
Even the surviving gods, as time passed and their magic power further declined, could no longer survive in the world.
The divine body collapsed, the divine kingdom crumbled, the glory of mythology faded, and wizards became the protagonists of the era, ushering in the Middle Ages.
The wizards who had just appeared in history possessed skills that were far more rudimentary than those of today.
However, since the beginning of the Middle Ages was not far from the ancient era, magic still maintained a terrifying intensity compared to today.
A single spell cast by a wizard possesses a power that most wizards today could never achieve in their entire lives.
At that time, the Three Holy Relics of Death, which are still circulated in the magical world as fairy tales, were also created.
Magical items of that strength are simply impossible to manufacture now.
This is not a problem of technology or knowledge, but rather that the magic we have today is not ancient enough, which also means it is not powerful enough to support magic of this intensity.
The closer we get to modern times, the more sophisticated the disciplines related to magic become, but the intensity of magic power shows an obvious decline over time—a pattern proposed by Dark.
The only exception is the last hundred years or so since ancient times.
As the power of magic continued to weaken and the legendary deeds of powerful wizards were gradually lost to belief, the decline in the power of magic in the magical world began to slow down, and even started to rise against the trend, as if in a final burst of energy.
Even in the last hundred years, among a group of ancient wizards who should have continued to be weak, there have emerged several individuals with extraordinary talent and magical power comparable to wizards of the Middle Ages.
Such powerful magic, combined with the increasingly refined and advanced knowledge of magic, makes these wizards' combat strength extremely astonishing, enough to rival the top wizards of the Middle Ages.
Darke also offered a separate explanation for this phenomenon, linking it to the religious trials of the Middle Ages.
Against the backdrop of that fanatical, frenzied, and bloody era, incredibly, the four founders of Hogwarts and the founders of several other magic schools emerged.
At the same time, there was an explosion of many outstanding wizards whose strength far surpassed that of wizards in the previous or subsequent decades. They seemed to be products of a specific period, born from an inexplicable force, and were the chosen ones favored by the times.
Dark wrote down his speculations on this.
"I don't think it was just religious judgment, or that those ignorant mortals could have driven the wizards to that point."
"Based on the strength recorded in the records of the four giants, they could easily wipe out an army. If these giant-level wizards had joined forces at that time, their power would have completely overwhelmed the Muggle army."
"But they were forced to build shelters and leave a legacy, which means they were in a desperate struggle and in dire straits."
"This was definitely not something a Muggle could have done during the Inquisition. At that time, there were records of unusual astronomical phenomena in many places, and the constellations underwent unusual changes. I believe that what posed a threat to the giants was the combined result of the fanatical and frenzied atmosphere on the ground at that time and the unusual astronomical phenomena..."
"The successive births of Grindelwald, Dumbledore, and Voldemort in the last hundred years are strikingly similar to the births of the Four Great Wizards and other wizards in the Middle Ages. The celestial phenomena are also gradually changing, and the dangers of the past may be about to return."
"I believe it is related to the lost ancient times, and the sleeping Great Old Ones may be about to awaken."
"I will continue my search for the lost era and explore the deepest secrets of the magical world..."
"This book, *The Lost Age*, will become the first chapter of my academic masterpiece!"
Ciel flipped through the entire book and was surprised to find a comment in the blank space at the back, which turned out to be from Bathilda, the author of "A History of Magic".
In his commentary, Bathilda directly criticized Dark for being unorthodox, saying that his claims about ancient times were all speculation, lacked any historical basis, and were nothing but insane delusions.
However, other eras are well-researched and have ample information, so they are still quite good.
Bathilda hoped that Dark would get back on track and not fall into any bizarre fantasies, and perhaps achieve even greater success in the history of magic.
After reading all this, a thoughtful look appeared in Charles's eyes.
Are what Dacker is saying really just insane delusions?
At least from the text, Charles could not discern Dark's madness at that time.
Now, Dark has successfully entered the dream world of R'lyeh, which proves that he has indeed found the ancient ruins and even become a member of the ancient era.
Furthermore, with Darke proclaiming the imminent return of the Age of the Old Ones, the credibility of his words in the book undoubtedly skyrockets.
"Is it the return of the ancient times?"
Charles felt a slight unease.
According to Dark, this is a far greater scourge than anything like Grindelwald or Voldemort.
Even the very birth of these individuals is a form of resistance against the return of the ancient past.
But after thinking about it, Ciel realized there was nothing he could do.
He's still lamenting that he can't enter the dream world of R'lyeh, and can't reach the rocks and seawater of R'lyeh.
Preventing the return of the ancients is too far-fetched for him at present.
However, the dating method proposed by Dark in the book allowed Sharl to have a clearer understanding of the strength of wizards in the magical world.
The vast majority of wizards today possess magic from the near-ancient era.
Even top wizards like Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick haven't escaped this level yet; they've only reached the pinnacle of the near-ancient level.
But Dumbledore is an anomaly, whose magical abilities rival those of the Middle Ages in this near-ancient era.
If we also consider the more refined and advanced magic that Dumbledore possessed from the near past, Dumbledore would have been a terrifying force in the Middle Ages; the four great masters of Hogwarts might not have been his match.
Grindelwald and Voldemort probably belong to this level as well.
As for Ciel, his magical power is still at the near-ancient level, but he has not yet reached the top level of the near-ancient era.
After all, given his age, even with the feedback from the Ancient Dragon form, he has not yet reached his full potential.
In terms of mental strength, it is even higher. Due to the four deductions of the brain sealing technique, coupled with the fact that a lot of knowledge has been stored in the memory palace, Xia Er's mental strength has reached the top level of the near-ancient era.
Looking at the ancient times, few wizards could rival him in spiritual power.
With his considerable magical power combined with his top-tier spiritual strength from the near-ancient era, and especially with the various powerful spells he mastered, Charles's strength has surpassed that of the near-ancient era, creating a qualitative difference between him and other wizards today, placing him at the medieval level.
However, it is still quite a distance from the top level of the Medieval world, such as Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort at his peak.
Charles put down "The Lost Age" and let out a soft sigh.
According to Darke's final statement, this book seems to be only an early work of his, and we may find more of Darke's writings about ancient times later on.
If so, he might be one step closer to the true history of the magical world.
His mind was racing with thoughts, but he quickly suppressed them.
The brain-sealing technique, refined through four simulations, was enough to allow Charles to remain calm even when faced with information that defied common sense.
No matter how many secrets you know, without the corresponding strength, they are nothing more than topics of conversation.
This information can only be converted into real benefits when one has sufficient strength!
At this moment, Xia Er glanced at his total number of deduction points and couldn't help but frown.
Before arriving at Hogwarts, he had thoroughly searched R'lyeh in his dream world.
I thought these points would last at least a semester, but things didn't go as planned. I used them up so quickly after arriving at Hogwarts that I couldn't make ends meet.
Of the more than 30 million points, less than 10 million remain.
But there are many other places where points are needed. Leaving aside the follow-up deductions of the brain occlusion technique, just the speed reading of various books to improve mental strength requires Xia Er to constantly invest points to save time.
Furthermore, my Dragon Language Magic hasn't been improved in a long time.
If the plan goes smoothly, Xia Er will eventually gain the Cerberus transformation and even the Phoenix transformation.
Neither of them is inferior to the Ancient Dragon, and they naturally require just as many points.
Charles sighed.
"Having just caused such a ruckus, both Dumbledore and Voldemort are probably paying extra attention to me."
"This is not the right time to go to the Room of Requirement and eat the crown."
He licked his lips.
"Bear with it, just bear with it a little longer."
"The Forbidden Forest expedition should yield quite a few rewards. Just that group of eight-eyed giant spiders alone will provide a significant number of points, not to mention the various magical creatures deeper within, such as unicorns and harpies..."
Just thinking about it made Charles feel his saliva starting to flow into his mouth.
"After the Forbidden Forest trip, when Dumbledore and Voldemort pay less attention to me, I'll go and eat the diadem."
"The plan to cultivate all sorts of amazing plants and animals can now begin."
"As for now, never mind, I'll just have to make do with it for now."
"Cerberus, here I come!"
Soon, Charles arrived at the trapdoor at the end of the fourth-floor corridor once again.
Two or three days have passed, and the three-headed dog Louie has long since recovered from its injuries and its previous ferocity has been completely restored.
Upon hearing the creaking sound of the trapdoor opening, Louie immediately let out a terrifying roar.
But the next moment, when Ciel dispelled the illusion spell and appeared before Louie, the ferocity on Louie's three heads gradually turned into confusion, and then into terror.
It could never forget the time when it was forcibly sterilized by Sharl; that little wizard was simply inhuman!
When Ciel returned this time, Lu Wei could clearly smell from him that Ciel had become stronger again.
It's so much better than when I came last time!
Lou Williams' three heads quickly began to plot.
The middle head recovered from its terror and let out a series of threatening growls.
"We are Cerberus, inheriting ancient bloodlines! How could we allow a mere wizard to do such a humiliating thing to us?"
"Bite him! Kill him!"
The other two heads just pursed their lips.
"You go ahead and do it, I'm not going."
"Keep your voice down, or this little devil will hear you."
"Forget it, we probably can't beat him anyway. It's just a cut, it'll grow back. Let's just bear it, or..."
Before Ciel could even make a move, the three heads started howling and arguing, making Ciel's head buzz.
"That's enough!"
"If anyone barks again, I'm not just here to get them neutered, I'll chop their head off too!"
With Ciel's threatening whisper and the powerful magic emanating from the tip of the mithril wand, Luwei's three heads were simultaneously gripped by terror.
The next moment, all three heads showed fawning expressions.
Louie, the three-headed dog, turned around and spread its hind legs.
Cerberus can tell the difference between having its small head chopped off and its large head chopped off.
As for dignity? What is that? We Cerberus don't care about that stuff.
A few minutes later, Shire arrived at Hufflepuff's Kitchen with fresh Cerberus ingredients, looking quite satisfied.
After finishing a pot of incredibly nourishing Cerberus soup, over 60,000 deduction points were added to his account.
Then he went to the door of the common room, knocked on the door knocker and played "Blue and White Porcelain," savoring the gushing magical vinegar, and gained nearly 100,000 points.
"Hufflepuff really made the right choice coming here!"
"I'm not worried about points these few days before heading to the Forbidden Forest. I just hope the materials there won't disappoint me."
For the next few days, Charles continued this monotonous life.
He spends part of his time simulating and deducing in his mental world to improve his combat skills and enhance his proficiency with common spells.
Most of the time was spent in the forbidden book section, constantly browsing materials there while filling the memory palace with knowledge.
In his free time, he either goes to play with Lou Williams or plays music at the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room to make up for his deduction points deficit.
However, to those who are interested, all of this presents a different picture.
Dumbledore kept a close eye on the Ciel's movements every day, and he was somewhat surprised to see that the Ciel was actually obediently reading those trivial discussions in the forbidden library that did not help his strength.
He had been feeling a vague unease, which kept him focused on Charles.
Looking back now, I think I was probably overthinking things.
"It seems that although Charles Evans is a genius, he is still a child at heart, enjoying solving these complex problems and engaging in rambling discussions to demonstrate his abilities."
Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief.
If Charles continues his obsessive pursuit of power, he'll probably have a major headache.
Suppressing such a genius is extremely difficult.
But since Ciel has "willingly fallen into depravity" and "lost his ambition through frivolous pursuits," then things become simple.
Those books containing practical and profound magic are precious, but Dumbledore's connections are more than enough to borrow many of these rambling and fantastical theories from magic scholars all over the world.
If all else fails, try talking to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; you could borrow a portion of their collection from their library.
A slight smile appeared on Dumbledore's lips.
"If you like watching these, then take your time."
"With the collections of the three universities, it's enough for you to see until the end of time."
"As for going to see Cerberus every day..."
Dumbledore thought for a moment.
"It's a bit cruel for Louie, as it tries to get me to send it away every time, but it's worth the suffering if it can distract Shire."
"Furthermore, Wissengamo doesn't seem to have passed any legislation regarding the protection of Cerberus, so neutering Cerberus isn't illegal."
"I'll suffer this three-headed dog for now, and I'll take the blame for the bad reputation later. Anyway, I'll only suffer for another year at most, which is about three hundred times. I'll just bear with it and it will pass."
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office, Quirrell had a crystal ball in front of him, on which Ciel's movements over the past few days were vaguely displayed.
Quirrell reported to Voldemort with a respectful expression.
"Master, Charles has been reading these books in the forbidden book section for the past few days. I have checked them all. All the truly profound magic books have been moved away. What is left for Charles are just some magical musings and strange theories."
"Just as the master expected."
Voldemort sneered in his mind as well.
"After all these years, Dumbledore hasn't changed much. He talks about love all the time, but he's not willing to give any real benefits."
"He is extremely guarded against advanced magic, and even his Order of the Phoenix can't learn it from him."
"He's still pulling this stunt on a genius like Charles Evans? Foolish, utterly foolish!"
Quirrell quickly replied.
"Master, should I go and contact Charles and try to win him over to your side?"
Voldemort shook his head.
"People don't cherish things that come too easily."
"Wait a little longer, let Ciel wait a while longer, and when he is completely desperate and has no other choice, I will step in. At that time, I will definitely be able to bring Ciel into my camp."
Even Lucius at Malfoy Manor learned of the changes to the forbidden book section through his connections with the school board.
He gave a cold laugh.
"Dumbledore, that old bee, finally did something decent. How could he let a mudblood like the Shire learn the truly advanced magic from the Forbidden Library?"
"This Mudblood is already so arrogant; what if he learns even more advanced magic?"
Since Charles had wasted the last few days and his strength hadn't improved at all since entering the forbidden book zone, Lucius was completely relieved.
"Tonight, Charles can't delay any longer; he has to go to the Forbidden Forest no matter what."
"I will make this mudblood pay for what he's done!"
Meanwhile, at this time, Xia Er, who was considered to have been wasting his time these past few days, was completely ignoring what others thought.
Only he himself knew what changes had taken place in him over the past few days.
While his magical power had indeed stagnated, the area of his memory palace in his mental world had expanded several times over compared to before, resulting in a mental strength increase that was even greater than Charles had anticipated.
He now has a subtly different demeanor than he did a few days ago. He seems to possess a profound accumulation of knowledge, exuding the air of a scholar, and even his gaze has become more profound.
This is precisely the change that a wealth of knowledge brings to a person's temperament; as the saying goes, "A person with a wealth of knowledge naturally exudes elegance."
After Ciel filled his memory palace with yet another large book from the forbidden section, the quantitative change over the past few days finally reached its peak.
boom!
His spiritual power, which had reached its peak, suddenly began to rise again, exhibiting a qualitative change.
Charles's eyes gleamed with barely suppressed joy.
"This is……"
"Their spiritual power has undergone another transformation..."
"Entering the medieval level?!"
(End of this chapter)