Chapter 212. Locke's Happy Full Moon
"Got a drop, got a drop!"
Duncan's eyes widened in delight, and he cheered again and again as he looked at the dazzling array of items in the pack.
He didn't know whether it was because his luck was good today, or because his strategy of praying to gods and Buddha had worked.
This time, apart from one or two pieces, everything he drew looked rather decent.
Especially those two animal magic cards with a special lustre, which he couldn't take his eyes off, his heart full of joy.
That meant he would learn two more powerful spells, and he instantly felt that all the hard work of this period had been worth it!
Smiling from ear to ear, Duncan looked at the items in the pack like a Niffler that had suddenly run into a mountain of gold, hesitating over where to start.
After thinking for a moment, Duncan took out from the pack a magic item that looked special at a glance.
It was a frame with silver edging, densely carved with patterns, a little heavy in the hand, but with a calming coolness.
The frame held a square photograph, its four edges blank, with only a bright full moon in the centre emitting a glow.
But this full moon looked a little unusual, not quite the same as the moon Duncan usually saw in the sky.
Its shape was round, but it was divided down the middle, one half giving off a milky-white light, and the other as black as ink, like the Black Lake.
It was like… a Chinese yin–yang Taiji diagram, only the dividing line was not so soft or regular.
Duncan tilted his head slightly and raised the frame a little to examine it.
When he fixed his gaze on the white area, a surging vitality instantly welled up through his body, and he seemed to become much more energetic.
But when his line of sight shifted to the black area, that exciting vitality dissipated again at great speed.
He rapidly calmed down, and in the blink of an eye became incomparably clear-headed, and he gradually worked out the answers to several problems that had been troubling him.
"Interesting…" Duncan raised an eyebrow and looked at the rows of small letters at the side of the frame. "Locke's Happy Full Moon."
[Legend has it that there was a wizard named Locke, who was unfortunately bitten by a werewolf in his childhood, and his parents, disgusted with him because of it, abandoned him in the wild.]
[Fortunately, a newly married couple happened to pass that way, and, unable to bear how pitiful he looked, took him in and raised him as their son.]
[His adoptive parents treated him very well, as their own, but they feared he would feel inferior, so they did not tell him he was a werewolf.]
[However, as time flew by, he gradually noticed that something was off, because every month he would have one day on which he lost his memory.]
[No matter how he asked about it, his adoptive parents only smiled and told him that this was normal, that they had it too, and that he need not worry.]
[Although he was somewhat puzzled, he did not pursue it too much, and he gradually got used to it, and everything seemed to be developing in a good direction.]
[Until one day…]
[When he woke up that morning, he found his home a mess, as if it had gone through a fierce fight, and both his adoptive parents were covered in wounds.]
[Pressed again and again by his questioning, his adoptive parents had no choice and reluctantly revealed the information that he was a werewolf…]
[When he was small, every time he transformed, they could still control it, locking him up and then clearing his memory before dawn.]
[But as he grew older, his strength grew with him, and they were no longer his match, and it became harder and harder to restrain him.]
[Until last night, he broke free of the ropes and tried to smash the window and get out, and his adoptive parents threw themselves in his way, but were bitten by him a few times because of it.]
[Locke instantly felt everything go dark before his eyes: he had actually harmed the adoptive parents who treated him best, turning them into beings that most people despise.]
[He grieved for a long time, then, under his adoptive parents' encouragement, walked out of the gloom, and spent all the rest of his life travelling through libraries across the world.]
[He swore to research a potion that would turn werewolves back into normal people, so that his adoptive parents could live that same joyful and carefree life as before.]
[But even until his death he never succeeded.
When people found him, they found only this photograph and a suicide note by his side.]
[The yellowed pages recorded his life and the function of the full moon on the photograph.]
[That was the fruit of his life's research, able to let werewolves control their own power, only he never got to try it himself before he died.]
[Note 1: When normal beings are shone upon by the white half of the full moon, they can recover their energy; when shone upon by the black area, they can rapidly become calm.]
[Note 2: When werewolves are shone upon by the full moon, they can temporarily control their power within one day, and can switch freely between human and wolf states.]
"What a pitiful person…" Duncan sighed with emotion after reading the whole story.
"I just don't know whether the person in the story really existed."
"If he did, he was truly remarkable.
To have researched such a formidable item—Merlin could come back to life to pin a medal on him and it wouldn't be too much!"
"If this photograph were to spread, it would absolutely make those werewolves fight each other to the bitter end!" Duncan muttered, and hung the frame on the wall.
He thought of an old good man he had seen at home a long time ago, Remus Lupin, who had rushed to his house before Christmas to ask Newt for help.
At that time, Lupin was wearing a wizard's robe worn thin to the point of pilling, but he brought him an exquisite, expensive music box as a Christmas gift.
"Find a chance to let Lupin try it.
If the effect is good, then he won't have to go on living that rootless, wandering life anymore!"
So thought Duncan silently, and he took another item out of the pack: a crystal-clear, brilliantly coloured, blood-red lollipop.
And it really did seem to be made of fresh blood.
Hardly had Duncan taken it out when a bloody smell spread through the air, making him frown in disgust.
[Never-Ending Scarlet Lollipop: Legend says it is made from the blood of Cain, progenitor of vampires.]
[Note 1: Just like its name, this lollipop will never be finished.
If you have special quirks and can endure that strange taste, this lollipop will be a fine way to pass the time.]
[Note 2: This lollipop has an enormous attraction for vampires, so never take it out in front of them, or you will see an unbelievably frenzied side of them.]
[Note 3: If you want to seduce a little vampire girl, please bring this lollipop and you will become a successful weird uncle!]
[Note 4: This lollipop seems to possess marvellous magic; long-term consumption will produce effects beyond your expectations.]
"Another item about vampires—now I've gathered the two famous dark creatures."
Duncan muttered, "But it's a pity I don't know any vampire friends, so for now this lollipop won't be of any use…"
With that, Duncan tossed the Never-Ending Scarlet Lollipop back into the pack and turned his gaze to the other items.
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