Chapter 757: Lively Hogwarts During the Holiday

“What am I supposed to learn?” Tom asked.

He had a great need for golden apples right now.

Not because he needed them to extend anyone’s lifespan. The people closest to him had either already received enough longevity or simply weren’t at the point where they needed it yet.

What Tom wanted was the divine essence contained within them.

During yesterday’s conversation, Mystryl had pointed out that Tom possessed a trace of divine essence within his body. It was pitifully weak, however, and the boost it provided was limited.

If he could accumulate more of it, he could use the transformation of his life essence to drive his own strength to a higher level.

That was what caught Tom’s attention.

He wasn’t an impatient person by nature. He had only been at Hogwarts for five years, yet in that short time, he had already accomplished things countless wizards could never achieve in their entire lives. ℴ

He had gone from a complete beginner in magic to a legendary wizard.

But after reaching the legendary level, although his rate of advancement was still astonishing compared with others at the same level, the contrast with his earlier progress was simply too great. Tom was having trouble adjusting to it.

And now he had another enemy outside that he couldn’t afford to underestimate.

After obtaining his Divine Realm, Tom had finally gained a real understanding of just how powerful a false god could be.

Quetzalcoatl was severely wounded, but there was no guarantee it wouldn’t recover rapidly over the coming months.

A Wizard King was one thing.

But if Quetzalcoatl recovered to the level of a demigod, Tom would be in serious trouble.

For once, Tom felt a genuine sense of urgency.

He wanted to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

That was why he had set his sights on the golden apple tree.

The divine essence contained in each golden apple was considerably weaker than that of the original apple, but small amounts could still add up. As long as he had enough of them, they should eventually meet his needs.

Mystryl smiled. “It’s a little technique for converting the laws of the world into nourishment. My good friend Chauntea, the Goddess of Agriculture, likes using it to accelerate the growth of plants. The divine spell is called the Garden Benediction, though it can also be called the Blessing of Life.”

“Your golden apple tree has already earned the right to enter her garden. Naturally, it can withstand her power.”

Tom fell silent.

He realized that although he hadn’t known Mystryl for very long, there was already a rather tragic gulf between the two of them.

You call a god’s power a little technique?

Well… all right. Perhaps in front of the Goddess of Magic, a being of a higher divine order, the Goddess of Plants really wasn’t worth mentioning.

After a moment of silence, Tom asked, “Mystryl, are you sure I can learn Chauntea’s magic? And how do you know another god’s techniques?”

“Because we’re good friends.” Mystryl sounded completely matter-of-fact. “Back when Chauntea visited my personal plane, she helped me plant quite a few rare flowers and plants. She did the initial planting, but I couldn’t keep bothering her with all the maintenance afterward, could I?”

“So I converted some of her simpler divine spells into magic. As long as they don’t involve particularly profound divine domains, I can reproduce them.”

“Anyway, since I’m the one who suggested it, that means I believe you can learn it. But first, you’ll need to make up for your lack of knowledge about the magical laws of my world. Then we’ll need to modify the spell according to the laws of your world.”

“There is, however, one thing you can do ahead of time. Move the golden apple tree out of this pocket world.”

“Why?” Tom asked, puzzled. “It’s safest here.”

The only reason Tom was willing to leave such an important golden apple tree in someone else’s pocket world was because Newt’s reputation was beyond reproach.

Otherwise, he would have carried it with him.

If he moved the tree outside, both the difficulty of guarding it and the chances of someone discovering its secret would increase.

Mystryl explained, “A pocket world isn’t really a world. At its core, this space is essentially a singularity. The energy it contains is limited.”

“Even though you keep a large number of creatures here, this place is still separated from the real world by a barrier. The magic I’m going to teach you requires the golden apple tree to absorb fragments of the world’s laws, as well as the essence of life drifting through the natural world. That’s why this place isn’t suitable.”

“All right. Then give me a little more time.”

Since that was the reason, Tom could only accept it.

“Of course. You haven’t even learned the spell yet. I’m just giving you a heads-up so you can prepare.” 𝖋𝙧ⅇ

…

After thinking it over, Tom decided to transplant the golden apple tree to Dalaran.

It was his territory, and he had practically used every defensive measure at his disposal on the city. He only needed to designate a certain area as a restricted zone, and that would eliminate most attempts at prying eyes.

As for anyone who could get past ordinary magical traps, Tom had already thought of a solution.

Rowena Ravenclaw.

Ravenclaw was about to be resurrected, and she was someone who preferred peace and quiet. Tom could simply turn that area into Ravenclaw’s private domain. She could stay there whenever she had nothing else to do and keep an eye on the tree at the same time.

Tom had intended to go to Dalaran and look for a suitable location, but the time he had agreed upon with Dumbledore had already arrived.

He could only head to Hogwarts first.

Although the school had officially entered its holidays, Hogwarts was still quite lively.

The Hogwarts students had left, and Grindelwald had taken the Durmstrang students away as well.

Yesterday, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick had escorted the Uagadou students back to Africa.

Even so, there were still students from Ilvermorny, Castelobruxo, and Mahoutokoro at the school.

All together, the number of students hadn’t decreased by all that much.

“Thank you for your help, Tom.” Dumbledore smiled gratefully. “You’ve really done us a huge favor. As of now, Minerva and Filius still haven’t returned. Our warm and hospitable friends at Uagadou insisted on keeping them at the school. Oh, right. I already told Minerva to bring you some souvenirs.”

“Then bring me a few extra pieces of ivory,” Tom said. “I’ve been learning to sculpt lately, and I need ivory for materials.”

“Oh? Since when did you take up that sort of hobby?”

Dumbledore didn’t seem particularly bothered by Tom using ivory for sculpture.

There were plenty of things that were sensitive or controversial in Muggle society but completely ordinary in the wizarding world. Even someone like Dumbledore wouldn’t concern himself with Muggle laws.

Still, it was strange that Tom had suddenly taken an interest in sculpture.

The timing was particularly delicate. There was always the possibility that the Muggles and wizards could end up at war one day.

Even if Tom knew what he was doing, shouldn’t he at least consider how the young witches around him might feel about it?

“I might as well do something with my free time.” Tom smiled casually. “I need something that can help me calm my mind. Sculpture is actually pretty good for that. It forces you to concentrate and focus completely on shaping a single piece.”

In truth, this was also something Mystryl had specifically requested.

Many spells in the D&D world required runes as auxiliary components. These runes were different from conventional Rune scripts. They had to be physically represented in the material world before they could take effect.

And the more intricate and accurate the runes were, the better the resulting effect.

“Among mortals, every legendary archmage is also a master sculptor. If you want to go further down this path, you need to start practicing now.”

Since Mystryl had put it that way, what else could Tom do?

He could only agree.

Seeing that Tom clearly didn’t want to elaborate, Dumbledore gave a slight nod and didn’t press him further.

The two of them entered the Great Hall.

Dinner had just ended.

When Tom arrived, Fontaine was speaking with one of the accompanying professors from Ilvermorny, apparently giving him some instructions.

A moment later, Fontaine announced to all the students that he would be remaining at Hogwarts for a while.

The Ilvermorny students immediately erupted into an uproar.

Many of the sharper students were already looking at Dumbledore and Tom with unmistakable wariness.