Hogwarts, Great Hall.
This was no longer a place for eating.
The long tables had been removed, replaced by rows of top-spec "Alchemical VR Pods."
Students wore thick goggles, holding motion-control wands, waving frantically at the air.
"Charge! For the glory of Gryffindor!" Ron shouted, slashing at the air.
"MISS!"
A huge red warning box popped up in mid-air.
"Warning: Your skills are too trash. Kicked from dungeon by system. Please top up 10 Galleons to respawn."
Ron took off his goggles in despair. "Top up again? All my pocket money went to buying Ivan's antivirus USBs!"
On the podium, there were no professors.
Only a massive holographic projection playing a recording of Ivan:
"Students, current mode is 'Potions · Battle Royale'. Please brew a 'Draught of Living Death' within ten minutes. Failures will be forcibly Transfigured into toads by the system. Good luck."
Meanwhile, in the Staff Room.
Professor McGonagall was fretting over a magic mirror (actually a beauty camera app).
"Is this the 'Metaverse'?" She looked at herself in the mirror wearing cat ears and a JK uniform, feeling dizzy. "Ivan said this is to 'bridge the gap with students'..."
"This is simply indecent!" Snape pushed the door open, holding a bottle of hair growth potion.
But he looked a bit different today—or rather, very different.
His virtual avatar had been set by default without his consent to be... an aloof, gothic Lolita big sister?
Snape looked down at his virtual black-stockinged legs, then touched the non-existent lace hem, his face darker than a cauldron bottom.
"Potter!" Snape roared at the air. "Why is my character a cross-dressing man in a skirt?! And why is my bust size D-cup?!"
Ivan's voice came from the air: "Oh my, Professor Snape, system big data shows there lives a tsundere little princess in your heart. This is 'appearance born from the heart', nothing to do with me."
> [System Alert: Snape (Humiliation + Murderous Intent): Emotion Value +999!]
Just then, the main screen in the center of the lounge lit up.
A burly man with blonde hair, blue eyes, an eight-pack, and massive pecs appeared on the screen.
He wore a tight white tank top, muscles nearly bursting the fabric, but had Dumbledore's signature long beard on his face.
"Good afternoon, Severus, Minerva."
The muscle man spoke with Dumbledore's voice, even flexing his biceps. "Look at my new image! Ivan designed the 'Peak Grindelwald' template for me. Isn't it full of power?"
Dead silence in the lounge.
McGonagall dropped her teacup.
Snape stared coldly at the screen, sparks flying from his wand tip. "Headmaster, if you dare wear that to the Great Hall, I will use Sectumsempra to slice your pecs into sashimi."
"Oh, don't be so serious, Severus." Muscle Dumbledore blinked (a disastrous action on that wrinkled old face). "This is to attract young students. By the way, I'm here to tell you some bad news."
The screen switched to the "Metaverse Map."
Next to the area representing Hogwarts, a large cluster of red-glowing buildings suddenly appeared.
That was... Knockturn Alley? No, bigger than Knockturn Alley.
"Tom is causing trouble in the Metaverse." A trace of gravity appeared on Dumbledore's muscular face. "He established an independent server called 'Dark Lord Metaverse'. Now, 80% of the students have run over to his side."
"What did he do?" McGonagall asked.
"He's selling 'NFT Skewers'." Dumbledore sighed. "Every roasted kidney skewer is made into a unique digital collectible, priced at 100 Horcrux Coins. Plus, he launched a 'Mining' event—students who help him chop trees and dig coal in the virtual world earn 'Dark Lord Points' to redeem for real-world... Dragon Oil Conditioner."
Snape sneered. "Stupid. What use are virtual things?"
"The problem is," Dumbledore pointed at the transaction data on the screen, "he just used the earned virtual assets, leveraged through 'DeFi' (Decentralized Finance), to... buy the deed to Hogwarts."
"What did you say?!" Snape and McGonagall screamed simultaneously.
"The current Hogwarts, in the Metaverse, belongs to 'Riddle'." Dumbledore spread his hands. "Tom just sent a notification requiring us to vacate the castle within an hour because he's turning it into the 'Server's Largest Internet Cafe', charging 50 Galleons per hour."
Just then, Ivan ran in hurriedly holding a tablet.
"I just went to the toilet! How did that kid Tom hack the server?!"
"He not only hacked the server but changed my avatar too!" Ron's virtual projection suddenly jumped out, crying. "Look!"
Ron's avatar had turned into a... pig wearing a pink bunny girl outfit?
> [System Alert: You have been muted by Admin "TomRiddle" and forcibly changed to skin "Peppa Pig".]
"Hahahaha!" Snape actually laughed out loud, though maliciously. "It seems the Potter family's aesthetic indeed needs recasting."
"Stop laughing!" Ivan gritted his teeth. "He's using our computing power to mine 'Horcrux Coins'! If we don't stop him, he'll suck Hogwarts' entire power grid dry, and the real castle will collapse too!"
"Then cut the internet!" McGonagall said decisively. "Cut all magic supply!"
"No." Ivan shook his head. "Students are in class in the Metaverse now; cutting the net means stopping classes. And... Tom is still livestreaming."
On the screen, Voldemort's avatar appeared.
This time he wasn't nose-less; he had photoshopped a high nose bridge and dyed his hair rainbow-colored, looking like a cyberpunk rock singer.
He sat by a pile of code-made skewers, making a peace sign at the camera:
"Fam, double tap 666! Send an 'Avada Kedavra' Rocket, and the streamer performs sword swallowing live! Order a 'Dark Lord NFT' now and get a voucher to kiss the back of Professor Quirrell's head!"
The chat scrolled frantically:
[User_Draco]: Streamer is generous! I bought ten! Can you make my dad stop cross-dressing?
[User_Hagrid]: Tom, can you make skins for Blast-Ended Skrewts too? They want to look cooler.
[User_Snape]: GET OUT OF HOGWARTS!
Voldemort looked at the scrolling chat, laughing proudly:
"Dumbledore! Ivan! See this? This is the power of capital! My net worth has surpassed Gringotts! I'm going to demolish Hogwarts and build 'Riddle Disney'! The entrance will be Snape's office!"
Snape's face turned green instantly (though virtual).
"I'm going to kill him." Snape said calmly. "Real or virtual."
"Don't rush." Ivan suddenly revealed a wicked grin. "Tom forgot one thing. The base code of this Metaverse is written in 'Python', but I buried an Easter egg."
"What Easter egg?" Dumbledore asked.
"Remember that 'Anti-Addiction System'?" Ivan snapped his fingers. "I made it into a 'Logic Lock'. Once it detects the user is 'Tom Riddle', the system forcibly pops up a window—"
On the screen, the partying Voldemort suddenly froze.
Immediately after, a gigantic pink window covered the entire livestream room.
Inside the window was a cute Hello Kitty, playing a loop in the sweetest voice:
"Dear Mr. Riddle, your online time has exceeded 2 hours. For your health, please do eye exercises immediately. Countdown starts now: 5, 4, 3..."
Voldemort clicked the "X" frantically, but it wouldn't close.
"What is this ghost thing?! Quirrell! Turn it off!"
Quirrell (whose avatar was a chibi figure that only nodded) spread his hands nearby: "Master, system alert: You can only close the pop-up after finishing the Eighth Set of Radio Calisthenics."
"I am the Dark Lord! I don't do radio calisthenics!!" Voldemort raged impotently.
But he couldn't resist the system's power.
In the next second, Voldemort's rainbow-haired avatar was forced to start stretching.
"One two three four, two two three four, twist, jump..."
Every student and teacher saw this in their VR vision.
The arrogant Dark Lord was clumsily kicking his legs in the Metaverse, his movements even less standard than Hagrid's.
"Hahahaha!" Ron rolled on the floor laughing. "He looks like a marionette!"
"This is the power of 'Admin Privileges'." Ivan clapped his hands. "Tom, since you like the Metaverse, dance enough in there. Professor Snape, please go tie up the real Voldemort still burning the boiler, don't let him cause trouble."
Snape huffed, but the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "My pleasure."
However, just as Ivan thought victory was secured.
The Voldemort doing radio calisthenics suddenly stopped.
A red light flashed in his avatar's eyes.
"You think this is over, Potter?"
Voldemort's voice became low and distorted.
"I don't just sell skewers in the Metaverse; I sell 'Cheats'. Now, every Slytherin student has purchased my 'Invincible Mode' plugin!"
On the screen, thousands of Voldemort clones in black robes holding wands appeared.
Ignoring the Hello Kitty pop-up, they charged straight at the Gryffindor server.
"For the Greater Traffic! CHARGE!!"
The Great Metaverse War was about to break out.
read more inpat***
ilham20
please vote..