Chapter 477: The Stone Necklace
Chapter 477: The Stone Necklace
Injecting a mind into an automaton is not an easy magic to master, but Bode was once an outstanding graduate of Ravenclaw, achieving "Outstanding" in several N.E.W.T. exams. Therefore, he eventually managed to complete the task successfully.
The automaton slowly opened its eyes, initially expressionless, but its demeanor gradually softened, even taking on a touch of solitary melancholy, somewhat resembling Bode.
Bode waved his hand in front of the automaton, then withdrew it under the automaton's puzzled gaze, asking nervously, "Hello? Do you know who I am?"
"Master", the automaton replied slowly.
"Great!" Bode asked again, "Explain the potential risks of irreversible transformation... Oh, and tell me about the seven elements of spatial magic, as well as the calculation formulas for constructing a magic space."
Wade glanced at Bode and nodded approvingly.
The first question was at the level of N.E.W.T. exams, while the latter two were far beyond what could be learned in school, possibly even the results of research by the Department of Mysteries known to only a few people.
Bode used this method to verify how much of his knowledge the automaton had inherited after the mind injection.
After the automaton answered all the questions, Bode was almost jumping with joy.
"Did you hear that, Wade? He knows everything! Even better and more organized than I expected! Merlin, this is the best automaton I could ever imagine!"
"Good for you", Wade said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, smiling. "What will you name him?"
Bode, who had clearly thought about it beforehand, said without hesitation, "Caspian."
Wade asked, "Caspian? The guardian of gems?"
"Exactly", Bode said eagerly. "He will be a great help to our research."
Wade gestured for Bode to step aside and whispered, "I need to remind you, Mr. Bode, although Caspian was created to assist your research, you should not mistreat him."
Bode nodded, "I understand. He's like a child to you, right? Don't worry, I will take good care of him."
"It's not just that", Wade corrected. "We never sell such custom, large-scale automatons to avoid unfortunate incidents."
Bode: "... Unfortunate incidents?"
Wade looked at him and asked, "Mr. Bode, can you guarantee that your thoughts will never betray you?"
Bode wanted to say "no" decisively, but after some hesitation, he shook his head.
He had seen many inexplicable phenomena in the Department of Mysteries and heard about various bizarre incidents handled by his colleagues at the Ministry of Magic.
Bode knew all too well that human thoughts are diverse. Even the same person often has conflicting rationality and desires, morals and emotions, and their thoughts can be filled with contradictions, frequently negating and betraying themselves.
"See, that's the problem."
Wade continued, "The automata sold by magic workshops have many restrictions to ensure they do not harm or betray their owners. However, you requested a high level of intelligence, so I had to reduce some of these restrictions. Therefore..."
"Could he betray me?" Bode asked, his face turning pale.
"No, it's not that easy. He is like a child you need to raise yourself. What he becomes depends on how you treat him."
Wade said, "Most children do not betray their parents, but if you frequently abuse or harm them, giving them only negative feedback... I can only say that an automaton's loyalty will not be higher than that of a house-elf."
Bode, who had been full of worries, relaxed a bit after hearing this. "I understand... Wade, even if you don't trust my character, you should trust my wallet—I don't have another galleon to buy a new automaton."
Bode made a joke, shrugging his shoulders. "So... of course, I would never harm him casually."
"In fact, I have never punished house-elves, even though some of my colleagues find it entertaining. I find it cruel."
"Cruel?" Wade was taken aback, asking, "What do they do?"
Bode shook his head, "Don't ask. You don't want to know... In any case, I am very grateful for your help with our magical research. Here is the agreed-upon payment... and the necklace."
He placed a leather pouch on the table, opened it, and reached inside with his entire arm, feeling around for a while before pulling out several heavy money bags and placing them on the table, followed by an ancient-looking wooden box.
Wade opened the wooden box first. Inside, it was lined with black velvet, and compared to the soft sheen, the stone necklace seemed like a playful child's haphazard creation.
He cast a few detection spells first, confirming it wasn't a dangerous dark magic item before picking up the necklace to examine it closely.
The flat stones varied in size and shape, reminding Wade of Fiona’s metal box filled with all sorts of buttons.
Both sides of the stones were inscribed with ancient runes, which Wade couldn't decipher. He asked directly, "Do you know what these runes mean?"
"My colleagues have deciphered them and believe it might be an ancient spell, something like this—"
Bode held the necklace and whispered, "Omaga, fada, te aamorgan, layota, neupsrangayota..."
He muttered a string of words, and the stone necklace emitted a faint glow, quickly dimming as if the power was insufficient.
"See, it's been too long, and it can only do this much. We haven't found a way to recharge its magic power", Bode said with a sigh. Then, realizing this might make the necklace seem less valuable, he quickly added, "But a long time ago, it was likely a protective or healing magical item."
Wade took the necklace, examining it closely.
Bode rummaged through the bag and pulled out a thin notebook. "This is our old research notes. I'll give it to you; it should be helpful."
Wade was surprised. "I thought the Department of Mysteries' research couldn't be disclosed?"
While no one knew if it had ever been leaked, there was indeed a rule that research materials couldn't be disclosed, and the Unspeakables generally didn't discuss their work with others.
Bode laughed. "What needs to be kept confidential isn't this kind of content. After all, this necklace... well..."
"It's not that important", Wade finished the sentence for him.
Bode sighed in relief. "That's right."
Wade flipped through the notes, focusing on the parts he could understand. The Unspeakables had analyzed the meaning of the runes and concluded that the necklace was designed to heal mental injuries or protect the mind from external harm.
Ancient people faced many dangerous and powerful dark magical creatures, some of which didn't harm the body but devoured human souls. Wizards also used far more evil spells than the Imperius Curse to attack each other, so they needed specialized items to protect themselves.
But times had changed, and many magical creatures had vanished from the Earth, becoming mere legends. Over the long years, the necklace had been reduced to something like a small glowing light.
After finishing the notes, Wade looked up and saw a hint of guilt in Bode's eyes. He smiled, "I'll keep the necklace. It will be useful for my recent research on mind-related magic."
"Such magic is very dangerous", Bode warned. "Unless you have Professor Dumbledore's permission, it's best not to delve into it lightly."
"I understand", Wade said, putting the galleons and the necklace away. "It was a good transaction. I should head back to school."
He said goodbye to Bode, nodded to Caspian, and left the room.
The automaton Caspian had remained silent throughout the conversation, sitting in his chair. Only after Bode escorted the young wizard out did he lift his eyes, focusing on the one who had created him.
"Bang!"
The wooden door closed, and Bode turned around. Caspian resumed his calm, unbothered demeanor.
...
Wade spent the next few days studying the necklace.
After all, he had recently fallen victim to a mental attack, and his vigilance against such threats was at its peak.
Although Dumbledore had resolved the issue, what if someone used the Hall of Thought again to issue invisible commands to the world?
Well, even Voldemort would find that difficult. However, if the magic from the Hall of Thought affected only one or two people, its power would be even more potent and harder to defend against.
If he could restore the necklace or learn the rune magic inscribed on it, perhaps he wouldn't be so passive.
The people at the Department of Mysteries seemed to think it had little value, but Wade didn't agree. When he used his second sight, he noticed that the magical patterns around the necklace were still nearly perfect, and the ancient runes were even more captivating.
But it had run out of energy. The same arrangement of runes, when inscribed on the same material or on a gemstone or metal necklace, did not work at all. Clearly, the correct incantation was necessary for it to function.
Bode’s incantation was fully reconstructed by Wade, and the necklace obligingly glowed for two seconds, but nothing else happened.
Then Wade noticed an issue—the runes on the necklace seemed to have a beginning and an end, but they actually formed a loop. This meant that the starting point of the incantation could be any position in the sequence of runes.
Moreover, how to punctuate the incantation, which parts needed to be drawn out, and which parts needed to be emphasized—all these crucial elements for the spell’s effectiveness—were not indicated on the necklace.
There were potentially hundreds of thousands of ways to recite the incantation using a brute-force approach.
After several days of study with the Time-Turner, Wade had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that the Silenced had good reason to consider this item useless. The time spent trying to revive it would be better spent inventing something similar on his own.
Wade casually placed the stone necklace back on the storage shelf and left the wardrobe space.
Not long after, a sneaky figure drifted in.
The cloak picked up the necklace, pretended to have a head, and fastened it around the collar, securing it with the collar. Then, it floated out triumphantly.
The cube automaton, who was working on the spatial modifications, noticed this figure floating back and forth three times and said irritably, “Why aren’t you tidying up the library? What are you doing here?”
“Look!” the cloak proudly displayed its new accessory, saying, “I have a necklace too!”
“Put it back! Put it back quickly!” the broomstick slapped the cloak, saying, “This is something the master values a lot. What if you break it?”
“It’s just for a quick try-on; it won’t get broken!” the cloak dodged the broomstick’s attack and said, “Besides, I think the master doesn’t like it anymore. He didn’t even put it back in the box today.”
The cube automaton shook its head and continued its work. However, Phoenix Mikhail was drawn by their argument and flew over to watch curiously.
The cloak and the broomstick began to play, and the necklace, which wasn’t properly secured, fell to the ground with a “clunk.”
“Oh!” the cloak exclaimed.
“It wasn’t me who broke it!” the broomstick immediately flew away.
“It’s not broken! It just fell on the ground.”
The cloak used its hem to nudge the necklace and found it to be intact, sighing with relief.
Just as it was about to pick it up, Phoenix Mikhail suddenly lowered its head and pecked at it a few times.
The stone necklace flashed with a red light, looking as if it might melt under Mikhail’s pecks. The cloak, no longer daring to play, quickly picked it up and rushed to put it back on the shelf.
“Click!”
A light, crisp sound was heard as one end of the necklace swung and hit something below, causing it to crack.
The automata looked at each other in shock and then ran out one after another, as if afraid to be blamed if they stayed.
…
Wade walked around the castle, checking his final exam scores. As expected, he had achieved high marks in every subject.
The exams for the fifth and seventh-year students were also over, and the entire school was in a state of carefree celebration. The end-of-term feast was as sumptuous as ever, satisfying everyone’s appetite.
Of course, Wade had to temporarily return the Time-Turner to Professor Mcgonagall. Sometimes he wished she would forget about it, but he learned that she didn’t have the authority to keep it either. During the holidays, she needed to send the Time-Turner to the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic.
“This is just a learning aid. It’s useful, but you shouldn’t become addicted.”
Percy, in a senior’s tone, lectured, “Wade, being able to take all the classes at once is a testament to your excellence, but you must also be careful not to make mistakes in these details. Don’t try to exploit legal loopholes.”
Wade: “…”
When he returned to the dormitory, smelling of food, and entered the wardrobe space, he found several automata standing in a line, waiting for a scolding.
(End of Chapter)
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