Chapter 1:
[Dex POV]
The water in the tub had gone grey.
I stared at it for a while before deciding I didn't particularly want to know why.
Steam drifted lazily from the old bathtub, fogging the small mirror above the
sink. I sank myself into the warm water as I desperately needed to warm up
my body.
The tub itself had seen better days. The porcelain was chipped around the
edges, the brass tap leaked once every few seconds, and a stubborn brown
stain ran beneath it that I couldn't remember ever trying to clean.
I sank lower into the hot water until only my head remained above the surface.
"Fuck." I rubbed my sore head. My hair felt incredibly greasy.
My fingers still tingled unpleasantly as warmth slowly returned to them.
And my right big toe hurt like an absolute bastard.
I lifted my foot out of the bath. The nail had grown into the swollen skin along
one side, angry and red.
I stared at it, scrunching my face with disbelief.
"Seriously?"
I had an ingrown toenail.
Apparently, I'd had it for months.
Apparently, I'd also done absolutely nothing about it.
"Why am I like this? So freaking lazy."
I lowered my foot back into the water and immediately winced. Twenty years old this year, but still act like a god damn child.
"It's been a year and a half since I graduated from Hogwarts."
Now it's January 1989.
I leaned my head against the cold porcelain and closed my eyes.
Last night memories came back in pieces.
Beer.
Firewhisky.
More beer.
Snow falling around me as I fall on the ground on my way back from the bar,
thinking I'd rest my eyes for a minute.
Then, it was pure darkness.
I had died.
I knew that with a certainty that should have terrified me more than it did.
I had frozen to death in my own garden because I was too drunk to get inside.
Yet this morning, I'd opened my eyes beneath several inches of snow.
That would've been strange enough. The second lifetime inside my head
made things considerably worse.
I remembered televisions that hadn't been invented yet.
The internet. Mobile phones. Movies that hadn't been made.
Marvel. Star Wars. Harry Potter. Especially Harry Potter.
I opened my eyes. "Hogwarts."
My voice sounded strange in the tiny bathroom.
Not unfamiliar.
Mine.
But hearing it after remembering another voice was unsettling.
There weren't two people inside my head. There was just me.
Dexter van Dorme.
But I have the memory of a man of the same age, from another world
awakened inside of me after I died.
He also died from alcohol abuse, after getting cheated on by a woman who
slept with 1000 men for content.
"What kind of world is that guy living in?"
Another world… that thought lingered for a while.
Eventually, I forced myself upright and actually looked at the mirror. Having the
other memory made me want to change everything about myself.
My stomach protruded, not enormously. I wasn't obese. But I have a beer
belly.
I grabbed a handful of my flesh and jiggled it. Then, I laughed.
My arms weren't much better. Little muscle. Pale skin.
A few bruises I couldn't remember getting. I looked toward the fogged mirror.
My face was puffy from years of drinking. Dark circles sat beneath bloodshot
eyes. My skin had the unhealthy yellow-grey complexion of someone whose diet
consisted primarily of alcohol, bread, whatever could be reheated quickly, and
the occasional meal bought from a pub.
I showed my teeth.
"Oh, fucking hell."
Yellow.
Not rotten.
Thank Merlin for small mercies.
But definitely yellow.
My gums weren't looking particularly happy either.
I leaned closer.
"When did I last brush?"
I searched my memories.
Yesterday?
No.
Day before?
Maybe.
"That shouldn't require this much thought."
I straightened and stared at myself.
Twenty.
I was only twenty. "How the fuck had I managed to look this unhealthy at twenty?"
Then my eyes drifted toward the shelf beside the mirror. My wand lay there.
Thirteen inches. Black walnut.Dragon heartstring.
I picked it up. The reaction was immediate. Warmth traveled through my
fingers.
Something deeper answered.
Magic.
Real magic.
I still winced after remembering my ingrown toenail.
"Pretty sure I have pus inside it… I have to go to the doctor."
Instead of Saint Mungo, I opted to go to a muggle doctor.
I lived in a wizarding village, so I took a bus to get to the muggle city– London.
It cost me nothing to fix my ingrown toenail since Britain had a National Health
Service at this point in time.
It took me a couple of days to recover after the doctor cut off part of the nail
and gave me antibiotics to treat the infection.
While I was recovering, I also began working out—doing crunches on the
floor, squatting against the wall, and attempting the occasional push-up.
"I also need to go to the dentist."
I ran my tongue over my teeth and grimaced.
"If I'd paid more attention to my studies at Hogwarts, I could've probably fixed
this myself."
A potion, perhaps. Or some obscure dental charm.
But I hadn't been a good student.
That thought made me remember something.
I limped over to an old cabinet and rummaged through it until I found a folded
piece of parchment buried beneath several years' worth of rubbish.
My final NEWT results.
I unfolded it.
CHARMS — O
DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS — E
TRANSFIGURATION — A
POTIONS — A
HERBOLOGY — A
CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES — P
I stared at it.
"…Jesus."
One Outstanding.
One Exceeds Expectations.
Three Acceptables.
And one Poor.
Seven years at the finest magical school in Britain, and this was what I had to
show for it.
The annoying thing was that I hadn't been stupid.
Charms proved that. I'd always been ridiculously good at Charms. Give me a wand and
demonstrate something twice, and chances were I could reproduce it.
My grades hadn't exactly opened many prestigious doors after Hogwarts.
The Ministry certainly hadn't been fighting over me. So I'd ended up becoming
what I generously called a freelance wizard.
Less generously?
A mercenary— Not the exciting kind.
Nobody was paying me sacks of Galleons to assassinate Dark wizards in
Romania.
Mostly, people paid me to do things they either couldn't do themselves or
didn't want their own names attached to.
Find someone.
Retrieve something.
Escort someone through somewhere dangerous.
Collect potion ingredients from places respectable witches and wizards
preferred not to visit.
Track down stolen magical objects.
The work wasn't glamorous, but being good at Charms and reasonably
competent at Defence meant I could handle myself.
"One disaster at a time."
I checked for dental surgeries around the area my bus could go. There was
one surprisingly close to the hospital I went to to cut my toenail.
I widened my eyes, then read the name again. GRANGER DENTAL SURGERY
"…Granger?"
I stared at it.
Why did that sound familiar?
…
The couple chatted casually while they cleaned my teeth, occasionally asking
me questions despite the fact that my mouth was being held open and there
were several foreign objects inside it.
"So, Mr van Dorme, how long has it been since your last dental appointment?"
"Ahhghh…"
"I see."
'No, you fucking don't.'
I stared accusingly at the dentist.
This was a harrowing experience for someone who had been raised almost
entirely within the magical world.
The other memories inside my head knew what a dentist was, of course.
Until today, my understanding of Muggle dentistry had essentially been that
Muggles somehow maintained their teeth without charms.
I hadn't realized their solution involved putting machinery inside your mouth.
Something buzzed against one of my teeth. I almost cried from the drilling.
My entire body stiffened.
"Relax," Mrs Granger said warmly. 'Easy for you to say.' I protested with my eyes.
Mr Granger was standing beside her husband holding a small tube that
seemed determined to suck every drop of saliva from my body.
I eyed both of them suspiciously.
Wizards called Muggles primitive?
At least when Madam Pomfrey wanted to fix something, she waved a wand at
it.
These people had drills.
Eventually, the instruments were removed and I was allowed to close my
aching jaw.
I immediately ran my tongue across my teeth.
They felt—
"Holy shit. I couldn't remember the last time they'd felt this clean."
The two dentists laughed.
"Unfortunately, cleaning them was only the beginning." Mrs Granger said.
Years of drinking, terrible food, inconsistent brushing and general neglect had
left their mark. My teeth weren't falling apart, thankfully, but there were two
cavities that needed filling, irritated gums that needed attention, and staining
that couldn't simply be ignored.
Then came the bill.
I stared at it with disbelief.
Then at Mr Granger.
Then back at the bill. "How much?"
He repeated the amount.
My eyes twitched.
The surgery was private. Which meant none of this was being rescued by the
National Health Service.
For the first time since receiving another lifetime's memories, I finally
understood why Muggles were afraid of dentists.
It wasn't the drill. It was the fucking bill.
Still, I paid instead of using a charm to run away.
There was something strangely satisfying about it. Like I was slowly fixing up
my life.
As I put my wallet away, I glanced toward the photographs sitting behind the
reception desk.
Most were ordinary family photographs. Holidays. Christmas. A beach
somewhere.
Then I stopped. There was a little girl in one of them.
Bushy brown hair. Large front teeth.
She looked about eight or nine years old and was holding a book against her
chest while smiling awkwardly at the camera.
"It could be her."
I left the clinic and went back to my place.
But this time, before I could start working out, something weird happened.
A transparent panel floated in front of me while I was standing in the living
room. I stared at it. Then I looked behind it.
It was still there.
[TOWER OF ASCENSION]
Floor 1 has been unlocked.
Would you like to enter?
**[YES] [NO]**
"…What?"
"Finite Incantatem." I tried to figure out if it was a curse, but I couldn't find
anything.
"Huh."
I tried several more diagnostic charms.
Still nothing.
The panel remained floating patiently in front of me.
The other memories inside my head were considerably less confused.
'System. Tower. Dungeon. Reward.'
Some sort of supernatural cheat commonly found in fiction.
I became very still.
"No fucking way."
My heartbeat accelerated.
I'd already died once. I'd woken up with another lifetime of memories inside
my head. Maybe this wasn't that ridiculous anymore.
I cautiously touched [YES].
Suddenly, the world disappeared.
"AH—!"
With a girlish yelp, I found myself thrown into another world.
My feet sank half an inch into the muddy swamp. I could hear loud croaking
from all over me.
My wand was raised before I even consciously thought about it.
A new panel appeared.
[FLOOR 1]
*Mission: Slay 10 Spiked Frogs*
*Time Limit: 01:00:00*
*Reward: 10 Galleons*
*0/10*
"Spiked frogs?"
Something croaked behind me.
I turned hurriedly. My expression slowly changed.
"That is not a frog."
It was the size of a fucking dog.
The creature squatted perhaps twenty feet away, staring at me with enormous
black eyes. Green skin. Wide mouth. Four thick legs. And dozens of short black spikes
protruding from its back.
Several of the spikes suddenly rose as it saw me.
My instincts screamed.
"Protego!"
Three black spikes shot through the air.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
They struck my shield and bounced away.
I stared at them with disbelief. One had embedded itself several inches into
the dirt beside my shoe.
"…Okay." I calmed myself down.
The frog croaked again.
"It's not stronger than a Kelpie. But, I have to kill it. So, I'm sorry, frog."
I pointed my wand and casted, "Diffindo!!"
Red light crossed the distance instantly.
The frog was thrown backward. Its flesh was cut from the spell.
[1/10]
"Oh, that's pretty easy."
Another croak came from my left. Then another.
I turned and saw I was surrounded.
"Fuck." I casted a lot of severing spells, killing frogs after frogs while dodging their
spikes.
Soon, only one of the frogs was left.
I killed it by slamming it into a stone nearby using Depulso.
[Completion Time: 00:01:47]
I lowered my wand.
"…That's it?"
A golden light appeared before me. Ten large coins dropped onto my system
panel, which I assume was the inventory.
My eyes widened. I pulled one from the inventory.
An actual Galleon. Ten of them.
"I barely got ten galleons after three days in my last mission. But I managed to
do it in less than two minutes here."
Another notification appeared.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED]
Overwhelming Victory
Clear Floor 1 with more than 95% of the allotted time remaining.
Reward: Diamond Medal ×1, Health Potion x1.
No further explanation appeared.
Another panel materialized right after.
[Floor 1 has been cleared.] *You may now choose:
[EXIT TOWER]
[REPEAT FLOOR]
[CLIMB TO SECOND FLOOR]
I frowned.
"Repeat?"
I touched it.
Another message appeared.
[CLEARED FLOOR REPEAT]
Previously cleared floors may be challenged repeatedly during the same
Tower Entry.
Repeat Reward: 10% of original mission reward.
Floor 1 Repeat Reward: 1 Galleon
My eyebrows rose.
"So I can farm it? But, it's too wasteful."
It was better for me to climb up to the second floor.
"How often can I enter the tower?"
The system responded.
[Tower Entry Limit]
– One entry per day. "Right. So I can climb up as long as I want. But if I get out, I need to wait a day
to get back in, is that it?"
"What happens if I die in here?"
For the first time, the panel turned red.
[WARNING]
–The Tower is not an illusion.
–Injuries sustained within the Tower are real.
–Death within the Tower results in death outside the Tower.
I looked at the dead frogs scattered around me. They didn't disappear. I
picked up some spikes and muttered, "Can I bring them outside?"
The system didn't respond. So I just exited the tower with those spikes being
put in my inventory. I also grabbed a few of them with my hand just in case.
When I returned to my room, I realized the spikes in my hand were still there.
"I can bring stuff out of the tower– Wait."
The spikes inside my inventory had disappeared.
"So I can only bring back stuff that I can hold huh?"
As I held the spikes, I suddenly thought of something.
"With this tower… Can I find something that will cure my mom?"
My parents were tortured by the Death Eaters when I was ten years old. The
happy family turned into a tragedy after my dad lost his life, and my mom lost
his mind.
She was still in Saint Mungo, with an appearance no less of a doll. I gripped the spikes and said, "Maybe… in the upper floors. I can find the
answer."
Picking up all the spikes and wrapping them up in a brown parchment, I went
to a potion shop inside the wizard village.
My drinking buddy worked there. He was also from Hogwarts, we were in the
same Hufflepuff house together.
Tobias Fletcher. Unlike me, he has received Outstanding in Potions and
Herbology, which allowed him to work with a master Potioneer.
I placed three spikes on the counter of the apothecary where he worked.
Tobias stared at them with disbelief and asked, "What the hell is this?"
"Frog spikes."
"Frogs don't have spikes."
"A new species then."
Tobias touched his large ears as it was his habit and picked up one of the
spikes carefully.
"Where did you get it?"
"Work."
"Of course." He scoffed slightly. "Is that why you didn't come to the bar for the
last few days?"
"Nah, I stopped drinking."
"Why? No money? You still owe me for the tab–"
"I know, I know." I said defeatedly. Then, I gave him seven galleons to pay off
my debt.
He grinned and finally he began checking the spikes earnestly. Tobias spent almost twenty minutes testing it before finally shaking his head.
"It's definitely magical, but I've never seen anything like it. I'd need the
creature itself to tell you much more."
"The whole thing?"
"Preferably."
I nodded and said, "I'll see if I can pick one up."
After returning home, I repeated floor 1 of the tower.
Then, I grabbed a frog corpse.
"It's so fucking heavy."
It must have been over 70 kilograms.
I threw it over my shoulders. The thing was slimy, heavy, and smelled like
swamp water.
[EXIT TOWER]
A moment later, I was standing inside my house with a giant dead frog across
my back.
"Right."
I threw it inside a wooden crate and used a levitation charm on it. Then, I
brought it to my friend's shop.
...
I returned to the apothecary less than an hour later.
Tobias wasn't alone this time. An older wizard stood behind the counter
wearing stained work robes. "My master," Tobias explained. "Master Bell."
I dropped the wrapped corpse onto their worktable.
THUMP.
Both men stared at the crate with intrigue. Those two have very similar
temperaments.
Master Bell slowly removed the covering. The frog's enormous mouth
appeared.
The old guy flinched a bit.
Tobias looked at me and asked, "Did you just kill it? It's still warm."
I didn't reply. For the next four hours, the two potioneers examined practically
every part of the creature.
Blood. Skin. Spikes. Eyes. Tongue. Bones.
Even several internal organs.
By the end, their worktable looked like the aftermath of a particularly disturbing
biology lesson.
Master Bell finally removed his spectacles.
"Remarkable."
"Valuable?" I asked with a grin.
Tobias rolled his eyes. Master Bell, however, nodded.
"The spikes possess properties similar to porcupine quills, though
substantially stronger. The skin has some resistance to minor magical effects.
Its blood and several organs also possess useful potion properties."
He looked at the dissected creature. "For a complete specimen in good condition?"
I waited.
"Approximately fifty galleons."
"Fifty?!"
One galleon was worth around 25 usd at this time, or 20 pounds.
The entire frog would give me around 1000 pounds.
"Of course, a live specimen would value twice the amount of the dead one."
The master said slowly.
I shook my head and said, "There's no way to get a live one."
"Pity. An egg maybe?"
"I'll try to see if I can get the egg."
The potion master bought the specimen from me.
In two days, I earned 61 galleons. They bought the spikes too from the first
run, giving me an extra ten galleons.
"It's time for me to see the upper floors."
Chapter 2: Floor 2.
[Dex POV]
I entered Floor 2 the next day. This time, it was a cave.
{Floor 2 Mission: Kill 10 Army Ant in an hour.}
"Only ten?" I gulped my saliva immediately. The sounds coming from the deep cavern
made me think there were thousands of these ants inside.
"I should be more careful here."
First, I cast a disillusionment spell on myself. Only then did I enter the dark
cavern.
"Lumos!"
A ball of light shot from my wand flew straight into the cave, revealing
hundreds of dog-sized ants crawling all over the cave wall.
The ants immediately rushed to follow the light, as if they were drawn to it.
I ran after them while controlling the light.
*Crack*
I realized I had stepped on something brittle even though the cave was made
of stones.
As I checked what it was, I realized it was a skeleton.
"Damn it." I wiped my forehead with disbelief.
The ants were climbing on top of each other to get to the light.
"BOMBARDA!" I shot an explosive spell at them.
It killed more than 10 ants at the same time.
[Mission Complete]
I ignored the panels since the ants had finally noticed my existence.
"INCENDIO!"
I lit up the ants on fire. They screeched in pain. I turned back and ran from the ant army. There were hundreds of them.
Killing a few of them didn't change anything.
"Accio Skeleton."
I pulled the corpse I stepped on before with me as I ran outside the cavern.
The ants were narrowing the distance. I breathed heavily, picked up the
skeleton and quickly exited the tower.
…
Inside my bedroom. I huffed and kneeled on the ground, gagging slightly from
the high pressure exercise situation.
"I'm not built for running. Next time, I'm bringing a broom."
Feeling a prick on my left hand, I turned and saw the corpse next to me.
"AH!" I yelped like a girl again, and pushed the hand away.
"I forgot about that for a second."
The dried husk of a man– or woman, was wearing an eastern style clothing. I
picked it up since I saw something inside the clothes the corpse wore.
A small pouch.
"I'm sorry for taking this, but I had taken you out of the cave, so I guess we're
even."
I emptied the pouch onto my bed. There wasn't much.
Several strange coins. Two small books. And a dagger.
I picked up the dagger first.
It was beautiful. It has a silvery luster that shone in the littlest of light. The design was far too beautiful for something designed to stab people.
The blade was narrow and slightly curved, while delicate silver patterns
decorated the handle. Strange writing had been engraved along the blade.
I stared at it. Then my heart skipped.
"No fucking way."
I knew that writing.
"Tengwar?"
Elvish. From fucking Lord of the Rings.
I stared at the dead body. Then back at the dagger.
"You're from Middle-earth?"
No response. Understandable, considering he was dead.
I grabbed the first book. The writing inside was equally incomprehensible, but
the Tower apparently decided to help.
A panel appeared.
[Minor Spellbook — Word of Closing]
– Contains magical knowledge concerning the sealing of doors, gates and
passages through the imposition of the caster's will.
Would you like to learn? –
I looked at the second book. The same thing happened.
[Minor Spellbook — Fireball]
–Condense magical power into flame and launch it toward a target. Would you like to learn? –
"Fireball?"
That sounded considerably less subtle than Tolkien magic. Then again,
Gandalf had thrown fire around before.
More importantly The Tower considered me capable of learning magic from
another world.
I carefully placed both books beside my wand.
"I'll deal with that later."
Something was bothering me.
I felt like I'd forgotten something important.
"Oh!" I slapped my forehead.
"My reward."
I'd completed Floor 2 before the ant colony noticed me. I had been slightly too
occupied with not being eaten alive to check what I'd received.
"Tower rewards."
[FLOOR 2 — COMPLETION REWARDS]
–Mission Reward: 20 Galleons
–First Clear Reward: Lesser Physical Enhancement Potion ×1
–Achievement: Mass Extermination
Condition: Kill 10 or more enemies with a single spell.**
Reward: Bronze Medal ×1
– Mission complete in 3 minutes, 23 seconds. Reward: Diamond Medal x1
A small red bottle appeared in my hand.
[Lesser Physical Enhancement Potion]
– Permanently increases the user's physical constitution by a minor amount.
I drank it without thinking much. Nothing really happened after that.
I shrugged after waiting for ten minutes and grabbed the book.
First I picked up the fireball spell.
[Use 1 Bronze Medal to learn?]
"Oh. I thought I could learn all the things I wanted. Turns out there's a price to
pay."
The bronze medal could be used to learn new skills. I wondered what the
Diamond medal would do.
I didn't move on to Floor 3. Not yet.
There was something I wanted to test first.
Floor 2 contained thousands of Army Ants. The mission only required ten.
Killing more than ten simultaneously had already earned me a Bronze Medal.
So what would happen if I killed all of them?
The next morning, I returned with my broom.
"Bombarda!"
*BOOM!* The explosion tore through a mass of ants below mThe explosion tore through a mass of ants below me while I floated above
them.
I banked hard as several leapt from the cavern wall.
"Ignisphaera!"
A blazing sphere nearly a metre across formed before my wand.
I flicked it downward.
The fireball screamed into the mass of ants.
BOOM!
Flame erupted throughout the chamber.
Dozens vanished inside the blast while hundreds more caught fire.
I stared down from my broom.
"…Okay."
A grin crept across my face.
"That's considerably better than Incendio."
But it took almost 3 seconds to cast.
...
The next day, I did it again.
And again.
And again.
Floor 2 became part of my daily routine. Wake up. Exercise. Eat. Enter the Tower. Commit atrocities against the local
ant population. Come home. Shower.
By the second week, I'd mapped most of the cavern.
The colony was far larger than I'd originally imagined.
There were tens of thousands of them.
Tunnels descended underground into enormous chambers filled with eggs.
Some passages were so densely packed that I couldn't see the stone beneath
them.
Fortunately, Army Ants had one critical weakness. They couldn't fly. Some
parts of the cavern were so big, they couldn't even climb the wall to get to me.
"Bombarda!"
*BOOM!*
I became disturbingly efficient. I learned where they congregated. Which
tunnels would collapse.
How to lure thousands toward a floating Lumos before setting the entire
chamber on fire.
I even started bringing food.
There was something deeply wrong about eating a sandwich while watching
several hundred giant ants burn beneath me.
I even found one more corpse in there. This time, I received some martial arts
books instead.
...
On the twenty-third day, a notification appeared.
[Achievement Unlocked]
– Army Slayer # Slay 10,000 creatures of the same species.
– Reward: Silver Medal ×1
I stopped midair.
"Ten thousand?"
I looked down at the army. Their numbers had diminished a lot.
...
It took almost a month.
On the thirtieth day, I entered the deepest chamber.
There were no eggs anymore. No workers pouring endlessly from tunnels.
Only the remaining ants. I spent nearly three hours hunting them.
The last one tried escaping through a crack.
"Accio!"
It flew backward. I caught it with another spell.
"Diffindo."
The ant shattered. Green fluids flew everywhere.
Then, there was no more chittering sound coming from the cave.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked]
– Colony Extinction
# Completely eradicate an established monster population.
– Reward: Gold Medal ×1 …
It was already mid-February.
Almost a month has passed since I first entered Floor 2.
My body had changed considerably during that time, although I barely noticed
it happening.
The bloating was gone, I'd finally reached five-foot-ten, and more importantly,
my stamina had improved tremendously.
A month ago, running from the Army Ants had left me on my knees, struggling
not to vomit.
Now I could spend hours flying through the caverns, climbing through tunnels
and fighting without feeling like my lungs were going to explode.
Whether that was because of the Lesser Physical Enhancement Potion or
because I'd finally stopped abusing alcohol, I wasn't sure.
Probably both.
"Now, how can I use the gold and silver medal?"
I knew the bronze medal would allow me to learn skills from books.
But silver and gold? What were their functions?
Especially the diamond medal. I had two of those.
Picking up my wand, the broom, and adorning a cloak, I entered the third floor
of the tower.
This time, I was transported into a grassy plains. But the sky was cloudy,
without any traces of sunlight there.
[Mission: Kill 10 Giraphon.] It was a giraffe-like creature, with wings.
I felt bad since they looked so majestic running in the grass, but I killed them
anyway and took some of their byproduct to sell.
The mission gave me my third diamond medal.
"Alright. So 30 galleons, a physique potion and a medal. There's no hidden
requirement this time?"
After finishing the mission, I took out the golden medal. "Use a medal?" I said
with uncertainty.
I never tried those before.
And that was actually the method.
I felt like an idiot to be agonizing over it for days.
[Gold Medal Random Draw.]
Receive one of the following rewards.
-Talent
- Bloodline
- Ability.
{Claim the reward?}
"Yeah sure." I replied casually.
The medal disappeared, and I saw a roulette going on.
The system notification chimed in as the prize was picked.
[Night Raven Bloodline — Intermediate.]
A diluted bloodline originating from a magically evolved species of raven
adapted to nocturnal environments. Effects:
— Night Vision
— Enhanced Eyesight
— Enhanced Spatial Awareness — Lesser
— Darkness Affinity
— Increased affinity toward Corvid creatures
—Integrate Bloodline?--
I picked yes instantly. There wasn't anything painful as the integration began. I
only felt quite itchy all over my body.
Then, I took out the silver medal.
"Use medal."
[Silver Medal Item Draw]
-Prize; Skillbook, weapon, item, materials.
I started the draw again, and it ended on an item.
The item fell onto my hand while the system showed me the item description.
[Northern King's Cloak — Excellent]
Type: Enchanted Clothing
A cloak crafted for a northern ruler whose lands endured brutal winters and
constant warfare.
Enchantments:
— Winter's Protection
— Lesser Magic Ward
— Ironweave
— Self-Mending
— Interchangeable design. "King of the North?"
I thought it was similar to Jon Snow's cloak from Game of Thrones with its
thick black wool.
I put it on instantly and the cloak billowed in the wind.
"Wait, interchangeable design?"
…
The next day, instead of going to the apothecary to sell monster byproduct or
the tower to climb, I went to the pub instead.
Not to drink, but because I received a job offer from my mercenary work.
My contact– a former hit wizard who stopped after losing his arm— was
waiting for me near the fireplace.
"Evening Julie." I greeted him.
He was a guy with a girl's name.
The scarred man glared at me and said, "Mooley. Call me that, or no job."
I laughed and said, "I apologize. Just missing with you, that's all."
He nodded and said, "There's not a lot of jobs in the winter. This time, it's quite
dangerous. It's understandable if you want to reject it… of course, you always
reject the dangerous ones."
I laughed wryly at his sarcastic words and said, "I treasure my life, and my
limbs, unlike a certain someone else."
"Enough banter. The job's in Ireland." He snorted, drank his firewhiskey and
began telling me about the job.
A week ago, some rural village had encountered something strange. Livestock
were killed in the dead of night. People losing their sanity. A wizard from the ministry went to check, but she fell into a coma and still
hasn't woken up yet.
"It might be a spirit… a ghost maybe."
"Not werewolves?" I asked him cautiously.
He snorted and said, "Werewolf kills boy. They don't leave after you go
unconscious."
I nodded and asked, "What kind of spirit do you think it is?"
"It's not a ghost, since no matter how weak the girl from the ministry is, a first
year at Hogwarts can fend off a ghost."
My eyes lit up as I remembered Lockhart's book titles.
"What about a banshee?" I asked.
Mooley snorted and said, "The world hasn't seen a banshee in hundreds of
years now. No soul would have that much festering resentment to turn from a
ghost into a banshee."
He continued on with the reward.
"300 galleons if you can banish them. The ministry will check it after you're
done to make sure you did it properly."
I snorted and said, "Why don't any of the Auror do it themselves?"
"Cowards, a bunch of them." Mooley mocked sarcastically. "So you're
accepting the commission?"
"Alright. Sure." I replied easily.
"Good boy!" Mooley slapped my back with a lot of strength, which made me
jerk forward a bit. He laughed heartily and ordered beers for us, but I only pretended to drink
and went back to my apartment.
Since it was a Ministry job, I could just use the Floo Network to get to Ireland
tomorrow.
…
Ireland. Rural village.
After taking the Floo network, I had to ride the broom for another hour to get to
the village by the seaside.
Thankfully, the cloak kept me warm.
February winds over the Atlantic were fucking brutal.
I eventually descended behind a rocky hill and walked the remaining distance.
The village had around a thousand residents.
Grey stone houses clustered along narrow streets leading toward the harbour.
Fishing boats rocked violently against their ropes. Further inland were green
fields divided by ancient stone walls, with sheep and goats wandering across
them.
My cloak changed into an elegant black suit, which allowed me to mingle with
the muggle better.
I walked into the nearest pub to gather some information about the incident.
As I opened the bar door, I realized the atmosphere inside the pub was quite
depressing.
Everyone's eyes were on me as I walked to the counter. Wary, uncomfortable,
fearful.
I walked toward the counter, putting my broom that I had transfigured into an
umbrella leaning on the table. The bartender looked me up and down. "Evening, sir. Whiskey? Scotch? Or is
champagne more appropriate for the occasion?"
Several people laughed.
I looked down at my suit. Maybe I'd overdressed. It's a very nice suit.
"Oh, I'm not drinking on the job."
"And what job would that be?"
"Investigating the things that have been happening around the village."
The amusement immediately disappeared from his face. He leaned forward
and asked quickly, "You're with the force?"
I reached into my jacket and showed him the identification I'd prepared earlier.
"Inspector Dexter Morgan. At your service."
The bartender's eyes brightened. "About bloody time."
I put the tag inside my pocket and asked casually, "So, what happened?"
Suddenly everyone wanted to talk.
"Started with the O'Connell goats—"
"Bollocks, it started before that!"
"My wife heard the screaming three weeks ago!"
"Tommy saw the woman!"
"Tommy was drunk!"
"He was not!"
I raised both hands and said, "One at a time." A chair scraped behind me. "Inspector Morgan?"
The sultry, feminine voice caught my attention. I turned to the source and
momentarily forgot what I was doing.
She was young. Probably around my age, perhaps slightly older.
Very pale skin. Long, wavy red hair. Sharp cheekbones and enormous eyes
that made her look strangely familiar.
'Anya Taylor-Joy?'
Not actually her. But fucking hell, the resemblance was uncanny.
She approached and asked, "You're investigating the livestock deaths?"
I froze for a few seconds, then I replied, "Yes."
"Interesting." Her eyes turned sharp. She reached inside her coat. Another
badge appeared.
A real one.
"Detective Constable Evelyn Byrne."
'Fuck.'
She got in front of my face and asked, "Which station are you attached to,
Inspector Morgan?"
I maintained my smile and said, "London. Forensic Department."
Her eyebrow rose. "London?"
"Yes."
"And they've sent an English police inspector to investigate dead goats in
County Clare?" "Oi. Didn't you hear? He's from the forensic department!" The bartender yelled
at the girl.
From their short interaction, I could deduce that the woman didn't have a good
relationship with the townspeople.
She backed down, but kept her eyes at me. Then, she left the bar.
"Anyway, is there a place for me to stay the night around here?" I asked the
bartender.
He pointed me to the only motel in the town.
I checked into one of the rooms and decided to enter the tower since it's
already 5 in the evening. I didn't want to waste my daily chance.
The third floor rerun.
"How do I get the other medals? Can I only get them when facing a huge
number like those ants?"
The Giraffon was still running around the grassy plain without a care in the
world. They flapped their wings, but they couldn't fly.
I sighed as I felt really bad about killing these majestic creatures. They didn't
even attack me when I approached them. They would just run away.
"Anyway. That girl… she's incredibly gorgeous." I mumbled as I waved my
wand casually at the giraffe with wings.
But instead of killing them, I used Winguardium Levioasa, a levitation spell
while the creature was flapping its wing.
The creature was startled as it suddenly floated from the ground.
"HUOOARR"
It shrieked and flapped its wings madly, taking to the sky. It flew without me
controlling it, which surprised me. "Hmm?"
The creature looked to be really enjoying its own flight. I was pretty sure it was
crying.
Its tears floated on the grass without touching them.
I collected a few just to be safe.
"Is it the creature's dream to fly?" I muttered, feeling slightly melancholic.
Then, I casted the same charm on the 9 other Girafon. They danced in the
sky, flying as majestic as a pegasus, and circled the grassy plains a few times.
I could fill an entire 2 liters flask with their tears.
I smiled and waited till it was almost the time to finish up the mission to kill
them.
But then, the system notification chimed in.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked]
— Giraffon's Longing
● Beneath a sky where sunlight no longer reaches, grant a Giraffon the
flight its kind has long yearned for.
Reward: Bronze Medal ×1, Giraffon fur x1.
I froze.
"What?"
Another notification immediately followed.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked]
— Dream of the Giraffons Grant flight to every Giraffon inhabiting Floor 3.
Reward: Silver Medal ×1, Tears of Giraffon x1
I checked the reward immediately. Since it came from the tower, I could check
their description too.
The tears were given in a transparent vial. The property was similar to the
ones I collected myself.
[Giraffon Tears]
Magical Ingredient
Tears produced when a Giraffon's deepest longing is fulfilled.
Properties:
— Spiritual Nourishment
— Mental Fortification
— Emotional Restoration
— Strengthens resistance against mental and spiritual interference.
*Could be consumed directly.
"Oh, this is amazing."
I wondered if this could help my mom's current state.
…
After gathering some information, I staked out in the night sky on my broom
that night to find the creature that had been terrorizing the town.
"They said it came from the stone house at the end of the village."
I hid my presence under the disillusionment charm. Suddenly, I saw a glowing
ball of light coming from the house.
It was almost midnight. The villagers told me the 'thing' usually came out at this hour.
I descended slightly and saw an unexpected sight.
The girl I saw before, in the pub.
She was holding a white wand, casting Lumos to illuminate her surroundings.
My eyes lit up immediately.
Chapter 3: Banshee.
[Dex POV]
Hidden in the night sky, I watched over the girl– Evelyn searching the ruins
with her wand.
"She doesn't seem like a mercenary. So why is she here?"
Her satin dress fluttered in the cold night wind. She came here without even
wearing a coat.
Her nose had turned red, so were her fingers.
My new bloodline allowed me to see every detail without needing a source of
light.
"Hmm."
I saw a translucent figure emerging tens of meters away from the stone
house.
The figure was a woman with long white hair that covered her body. She
walked instead of flying, leaving a trail of ectoplasm on her path. But the
waves quickly washed those away.
"No wonder I didn't find any traces." The woman slowly floated upward.
Evelyn finally noticed the figure.
Startled, she shot a stunning charm at the ghost. But her magic flew past the
ghost without affecting it.
"AHHHHHHH!" The ghost began screaming. I covered my ears immediately
as I felt the scream messing with my mind.
Evelyn staggered as she took the brunt of the mental attack. Then, the ghost
swatted her claw at Evelyn.
The young witch was thrown to the sea by the impact.
"Damn it!" I flew down immediately. The banshee flew in the opposite direction
from Evelyn.
I had to choose whether to save Evelyn or go after the ghost.
"It's so freaking cold!"
I jumped down into the sea to search for the girl. She was sinking down slowly,
and I barely managed to pull her back to the surface.
I grabbed my broom and pulled myself out of the sea with Evelyn in my hand.
"Wounds?"
The girl was bleeding, and she also lost consciousness.
"Damn it."
…
Back at the motel room.
I laid Evelyn on the bed. Then, I took off her dress, revealing her naked body. Not because I was a pervert, but because of the large gash on her upper
body.
"Shit."
She wasn't waking up. Her blood wasn't stopping.
Her pulse was there, and she was still breathing, but no matter how many
times I called her name or shook her shoulder, there was no response.
Just like the Ministry witch.
A magically induced coma.
"The Banshee scream."
I took out some of the Giraffon tears I've collected.
"Please work."
I poured a small amount between her lips. For several seconds, nothing
happened. Then Evelyn suddenly inhaled deeply.
Her fingers twitched. The unnatural tension in her face slowly disappeared.
I breathed in relief.
"Oh, thank Merlin."
She still didn't wake up, but her breathing became considerably stronger.
That was enough for now.
I was left with three bloody claw marks across Evelyn's upper torso.
"It will take a long time if I want to bring her back to Saint Mungo."
Fortunately, Tobias knew what I did for a living. After seeing me return from one too many jobs covered in blood, he'd put
together a small emergency kit and practically forced me to buy it.
I pulled it from my bag.
Blood-Replenishing Potion. Pain-relieving potion. And—
"Dittany."
I took out the tiny bottle.
Essence of Dittany was expensive enough that Tobias had specifically warned
me not to waste it on scratches.
*Hisss*
Green smoke seeped through the wound after I dropped the potion on the
injury.
Her lips were turning blue since she lost a lot of body heat so I gave my cloak
to her.
[Winter's Protection]
The enchantment gradually warmed her.
I wasn't so fortunate. My drying charm had taken care of the seawater, but it
hadn't restored the heat I'd already lost.
So I sat beside the bed wrapped in the motel's thin blanket, shivering while
watching her.
Eventually, some colour returned to her face.
"Good."
I checked the bandages again. The wound had started bleeding through one
side.
"Did I miss a spot?". I needed to drop the potion again. So I was taking off her bandages.
While I was unwrapping her top, Evelyn's eyes opened. Her eyes immediately
locked at me– a strange man, seemingly taking off her clothes.
"AH! RAPIST!"
She smacked my head as hard as she could.
*TWHACK*
I gritted my teeth and held her wrist while she struggled.
"Calm down. Your wounds are severe!"
"Let go of me!" She demanded.
"Stop moving unless you want the wound to open again!"
She froze in realisation, feeling a pang of pain coming from her torso. Her
breathing was heavy.
I slowly released her wrist and said, "You owe me for the Dittany."
"You're… a wizard too?" She asked slowly.
"Yeah." I replied casually.
…
After fixing up her wounds, I rested on the chair while she laid down on the
bed.
"Do you know what that thing was?" She asked suddenly.
I sighed and said, "Possibly a banshee."
"That's impossible. If it's a banshee, I would've fallen into a coma from her
scream… like my mother." I turned to her and asked, "Your mother is the Ministry witch investigating that
thing? I heard she's in a coma."
She nodded slowly, tears pooling in her eyes.
I finally understood why she came here.
"So you want revenge?" I asked.
She didn't reply.
I sighed and said, "After you recover, go back home. Then, send me the
money for the treatment. I don't have a lot of money, you see?"
She sat up and said seriously, "I'm not leaving until I kill the banshee."
"You can't kill what's already dead. You can banish it, but not kill it."
"Then I'll stay until I banish the banshee away."
Realizing I couldn't convince her to leave, I stood up and said, "Alright then.
We'll start in the morning. Get some sleep."
The next morning, after we woke up.
"For the banishing ritual, we need to either grab the banshee, or use
something belonging to it. However, since it came from the sea, I don't want to
spend days in there to find her body or something belonging to her."
Evelyn asked, "Can't we find something in the stone shack?"
"I don't think so. She doesn't even look at the place when she comes up."
"So we have to trap the banshee. How?" Evelyn asked.
"Using a salt circle. Someone has to keep replenishing it while the ritual is
underway. Otherwise, it can easily slip away."
I turned to Evelyn and said, "You should do the ritual." She nodded in agreement.
It might seem like I was helping her, but the ritual would take three days, for at
least 6 hours a day.
From midnight till dawn.
It was a hassle, so I was letting her do it instead.
"Let's go have breakfast."
She went to her room first to change and clean herself up before going
outside.
There was a restaurant near the motel. They have seats facing the sea.
I sat on the outdoor table with Evelyn and said, "We need candles."
"I'll buy those." Evelyn said while eating the food with a frown.
I looked at her with disbelief and said, "Food not suited to your taste?"
"It tastes gamey. Who eats fish early in the morning?"
"A lot of people." I chuckled. "Why don't you get the bread and egg?"
"I can't eat eggs." She replied with a meek voice.
"Ah, so you have an egg allergy."
"No, I can eat it. I just don't. It came out of a chicken butt. It's digusting."
No wonder the townspeople were badmouthing her. She was extremely picky.
I sipped on the coffee and read the Muggle newspaper to pass the time.
Suddenly the bartender approached me and said, "inspector. There was
another case last night."
"Really? Where?" Evelyn and I went to the house of the attacked muggle. A 50 year old man fell
into a coma after hearing the banshee's scream.
"Do you know what's causing this Inspector?" The mayor asked.
"I'm still investigating it. I'd like to employ your help. Can you check and see if
all the cases have similar conditions?"
"Like what?" The mayor asked.
Evelyn was sweating nervously.
But I had memories of watching a lot of crime dramas.
"Lead paints. Or something containing lithium. Some livestocks also died,
right? I need your help to check the water source, the feed for the goats, and
maybe then, we'll find a common denominator here."
The townspeople were nodding along with my words.
Suddenly, a young boy walked forward and said, "Um… I don't know much
about the goats… but Mister Walsh went to the house on the hill last night. I
think, Mister Maguire also went there before he lost his mind. Some goats also
razed there."
"See, common denominator." I turned to Evelyn with a smirk.
We spent the entire afternoon investigating the old house. An old case was
uncovered.
A young lady went missing thirty years ago. People said she jumped off the
cliff or the sea took her.
Anyway, confundus charm on Old Patrick, the owner of the land who rented
the house to the girl before revealing something else.
The girl said a group of men were harassing her. Then, she disappeared
before Old Patrick could confirm it. "A deep resentment would create the banshee. The girl must've been attacked
by those men." I muttered.
Evelyn nodded and said, "She attacked only the two men… no one else."
"Yeah, they might have something to do with it. But since they lost their mind,
we can't figure it out now." I muttered.
Evelyn nodded slightly, wearing a conflicted expression.
We found a box belonging to the girl at Old Patrick's house. We used that to
prepare for the ritual inside the stone hut.
Using a Muggle-Repelling Charm, I set up the place before midnight, when the
banshee would appear.
I drew a large circle of salt around the ritual place. Then another right in front
of it.
Margaret's wooden box sat inside the circle with Evelyn, surrounded by six
candles.
Evelyn has a serious expression. I placed my hand on her shoulder to calm
her down.
"You can take a break in between the chants. But don't do it longer than a
minute." I told her.
She nodded and said, "I understand."
At midnight, when the moon was shining down on us, the creature slowly
climbed out of the sea.
Every candle suddenly went out. I knew that the ritual had begun.
"She's here."
A woman's crying drifted in from the sea. Evelyn went pale. The candle lit itself
up again, but this time the flame color was blue. I pointed my wand at Evelyn and casted, "Muffliato."
The crying became muffled beneath an irritating buzzing. It was a sound
dampening spell.
A white figure rose beyond the collapsed wall.
The banshee.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Even through Muffliato, pressure struck my mind. But compared to yesterday,
it was manageable.
"Depulso!"
The spell struck her with enough force to disrupt her form.
She flew backward, straight across the salt line. But she stopped an inch away
from the boundary, before she would be trapped.
"Damn." I cursed.
I tried another spell, but she turned her body into an incorporeal form.
She lunged at me, and knocked the wand out of my hand.
Evelyn kept chanting as I told her to never break her concentration.
The banshee swiped its claw at me. I grabbed onto the only thing I could find
to protect myself.
The elven dagger.
*Clang!*
The dagger blocked the banshee's claw. The tengwar letters on the dagger
started to glow. I did a combat roll and picked up my wand again.
Holding one wand in my right hand, and dagger on the left one, I dashed
towards the banshee and threw the dagger at her.
She had to swipe it away, but I shot a depulso charm again while her body
was in solid form, blasting her straight to the boundary.
My second attempt also failed.
"Accio dagger."
The dagger flew back to my hand. I rushed and jumped at the banshee,
stabbing the dagger at its torso.
The blade managed to hurt the creature.
She yelled and fell into the boundary.
"Good lord. That's so intense." I huffed and picked up the dagger back. The
banshee knocked on the illusionary wall as she was trapped by the salt circle.
If she stayed in there till the sun came up, then she would have to emerge at
the same spot the next day, making her perpetually trapped as long as the salt
circle wasn't destroyed.
I relaxed a bit, even eating a small sandwich as I waited for sunrise.
By three in the morning, I was bored out of my mind.
Evelyn continued chanting beside Margaret's box. Sweat covered her
forehead from maintaining the ritual for so long.
Something caught my attention when the witching hour was at its peak. Part of
the salt had changed colour.
Black. The white salt had turned black. The banshee immediately lunged toward that section. The invisible boundary
flickered violently.
"Oh, fuck."
I poured fresh salt on the ground and covered the corrupted section.
The barrier stabilized instantly. More salt turned black.
Now I understood why Mooley had warned me that somebody needed to
maintain the boundary.
The banshee wasn't merely trying to cross it. Her presence was corrupting it.
"Would've been nice if you explained this part, Mooley."
Another patch darkened. Then another. I ran around the perimeter replacing
them.
By four in the morning, I wasn't bored anymore.
The banshee and myself lost most of our energy in our game of tag.
The sun slowly rises up from the Atlantic ocean, signalling the end of the first
day of the ritual.
Evelyn picked up a camera from her side.
"Did it capture the pictures?" I asked.
Evelyn scoffed and said, "I think it did. Need to process it first to know."
She paused and said, "I didn't expect you to be a fame chaser."
I smiled and said, "I'm not. It's just proof for the ministry. Or else I can't claim
the reward."
Also, if there was evidence, Lockhart wouldn't come to find me and erase my
memories… hopefully. …
Life in the fishing village wasn't bad now that the attacks had stopped.
Evelyn and I spent most of the next two days together, and I learned quite a
lot about her.
She was twenty-two, two years older than me.
She'd attended Beauxbatons rather than Hogwarts, which explained why I'd
never seen her before.
More surprisingly, she worked for the Ministry