Chapter 339: Enhancement
Chapter 339: Enhancement
The Room of Requirement is now bathed in a blood-red glow. At the center of the room, a complex Magic Array is embedded in the floor, and three large clusters of blood-red runes float above it, forming an equilateral triangle. Each cluster of runes corresponds to one of the three Dragon Eggs.
These runes envelop the entire Magic Array, not only dyeing the room's dimension a deep red but also making Hermione, who sits at the center of the Magic Array, appear as a vague, dark silhouette.
The entire Magic ritual has now entered its critical phase. The first step is to eliminate the unnecessary elements. The primary consideration here is Hermione's compatibility. Low compatibility can easily lead to a loss of control over the power, so such elements must be removed.
The next consideration is the specific needs. For example, the Dragons from the "A Song of Ice and Fire" world are actually magical beasts. Their beastly intelligence or dragon-like appearance is unnecessary and can be directly eliminated.
The final step is integration and balancing. After all, even though Hermione's body has been enhanced once, its capacity to accommodate new elements is still limited. Therefore, Liam must make some choices.
Fortunately, the records of body modification in Slytherin's archives contain some relevant information. By integrating knowledge from several worlds and formulating a plan with Teacher Luo Zhen, the risks have been minimized as much as possible.
As is well known, Dragons are apex predators in the food chain. They can adapt to most harsh environments and possess one of the highest intelligences among beasts. Additionally, they have naturally robust bodies and acute senses. Most importantly, Dragons have innate spell-like abilities, which is the most powerful aspect of their race.
However, everything in the world is balanced. Such a powerful creature also comes with a host of issues. For example, a Dragon's magic is intrinsically linked to its soul, and to master its spell-like abilities, one must accept its intelligence. Similarly, to gain the Dragon's powerful body, one might need to undergo partial dragonization.
In summary, Dragons have many advantages, but they also have significant drawbacks. Many of their positive traits are tied to negative effects, and some are even detrimental to humans.
If one doesn't want to end up as a large, lizard-headed humanoid with extreme irritability or severe cognitive impairments after the transformation, then careful balancing and selection are essential.
Fortunately, the Magic Array uses Celestial Silver and Dragon Blood from the same source as the Dragon Eggs, allowing the hidden rules within the eggs to manifest as clear patterns before Liam. This gives him the flexibility to make adjustments.
Slytherin likely followed a similar process in the past, but back then, some areas of Magic Research were still unexplored. He only managed to summarize a few basic principles. Voldemort, who studied the work of his predecessors, was perhaps too impatient in his youth and chose the most dangerous path of Transfiguration and bloodline transplantation, accepting all the rules without discrimination. This approach granted him immense power but also a host of drawbacks.
Standing before the Magic Array, Liam extends his hand, and with his magic power, the patterns begin to change.
The three clusters of rule patterns are immediately broken down, and the lines connecting the different patterns are severed one by one using the Heavenly Silver on the Magic Array, leaving behind a multitude of independent patterns.
A large number of complex runes that the human body cannot easily withstand are deleted, along with many parts with strong side effects and the overlapping elements from the three Dragon Eggs. In the end, only the simpler runes remain.
"The greatest truths are the simplest!" Seeing the remaining patterns, which were now less than one-tenth of their original size, Liam couldn't help but think of this phrase. Now it was time to reassemble the remaining parts.
Under Liam's guidance, the patterns began to slowly connect, and as they were sequentially charged by the Magic Array, they started to glow. When all the pattern segments finally linked together, they contracted and converged into a small red ball above Hermione's head.
After a careful inspection, Liam began to chant another spell and tossed a peanut-sized pale golden Celestial Silver Crystal toward the red ball. This Celestial Silver Crystal was created by repeatedly compressing and upgrading liquid Heavenly Silver, a technique Liam had just learned from Teacher Luo Zhen a few days ago. It was the first high-level energy crystal he had mastered, and he had given most of the loot from his last mission as a thank-you gift to his teacher.
Under the influence of magic, the real and the ethereal merged into a small ball that hovered between reality and illusion, then slowly descended. Finally, when it touched Hermione's head, it transformed into a blood-red light and merged with her.
At this moment, Hermione's body began to exhibit a strange suction, drawing the energy from the Magic Array into her. This indicated that the transformation had started to take effect.
The enhancements were fewer than expected. The first was Enhanced Perception, which could boost a person's Sixth Sense. This would allow her to avoid danger in many situations and more easily seize fleeting opportunities and inspirations.
The second was Agile Body, a trait of flying creatures like Dragons, which possess remarkable balance and surprising agility despite their large size. This enhancement would grant Hermione a more flexible body and better balance, enabling her to perform actions that would be impossible for ordinary humans.
The last and most crucial enhancement was Resilient Soul. It is well-known that Dragons have exceptionally powerful souls, making them immune to most soul-control magic. After removing the side effects, the remaining power would increase Hermione's soul resilience by about half.
This might not sound like much, but in reality, it was a significant effect. According to Liam's previous records, even the most powerful Alchemy Masters and Wizards in this world could only achieve this level of soul resilience enhancement without side effects in the best historical cases.
The reason he didn't choose the most appealing physical traits or magical abilities of Dragons was that, during his analysis of the runes, he discovered that these powerful abilities were deeply tied to the Dragon's body or soul. To possess them, one would have to transform entirely into a Dragon, a process fraught with difficulty and the risk of losing one's self to become a mindless beast.
The last trace of light from the Magic Array faded, marking the completion of the magical enhancement. Hermione slowly opened her eyes.
"How do you feel?" Liam asked.
"Hmm—" After a moment of sensing, Hermione tried to stand up but found her legs numb from kneeling for too long, causing her to sit back down.
Liam quickly went over, picked her up, and placed her on a few soft cushions in the corner. He then handed her a cup of Blood Circulation Tea. After taking a sip, Hermione said, "I feel different, but I can't quite pinpoint what's changed yet."
"Don't worry, it's just past lunchtime. We have plenty of time to figure out the differences." He handed her a lunch tray. "You can finish your meal and take your time to adjust. I'll be here with you the whole time."
(End of Chapter)
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