Chapter 702: Christmas Trip
Chapter 702: Christmas Trip
“Merry Christmas!” On Christmas morning, Liam’s first action after waking up was to turn his head and greet Hermione, then grab the wand by his bedside and wave it at the curtains. The curtains quickly opened, and a warm, gentle ray of sunlight illuminated the entire bedroom.
“Merry Christmas to you too!” Hermione also woke up at this point, smiling as she turned to kiss Liam’s cheek. “Hurry up and get up. We need to get ready and head to the rendezvous point to see what Christmas gifts our friends have given us.”
After quickly getting up and dressing, Ryan and the others put on thick clothes and teleported to the rendezvous point, a cave about ten kilometers away. In the center of this cave, which had been built at the same time as the Manor, they saw a pile of gifts haphazardly stacked on a platform.
“The number of gifts seems much higher than in previous years,” Hermione commented after a quick glance at the pile. “It looks like we’ve made a lot more new friends this year.”
The process of opening gifts was incredibly enjoyable, as it allowed Ryan and the others to feel the affection and goodwill contained within each gift. Most of the gifts came from people they had befriended after the war, such as the Guerrilla Fighters who had fought alongside them, the Hostages they had rescued from dark dungeons, and even Wizards who had survived or recovered on the battlefield thanks to Liam’s supplies.
“Headmaster’s gift this year is truly precious,” Liam said as he unwrapped a gift from Professor Dumbledore, revealing an ancient parchment notebook. Upon opening it and glancing at the first page, he immediately realized that the content of this notebook was likely extraordinary.
On the first page, Liam saw the name Nicolas Flamel. After flipping through a few more pages, he noticed the uneven handwriting, indicating that Nicolas Flamel was already in a very weakened state when he wrote this. Further examination revealed that the notebook was no more than ten years old.
“What are you looking at?” Hermione, curious, moved closer to see what Liam was holding. Unfortunately, he was now taller than her, so she couldn’t see over his shoulder as she used to when they were first years. She had to move around to his side to see what he was holding. “Is this a gift from Professor Dumbledore? But I don’t see anything special about this notebook.”
“This is just a very ordinary notebook,” Liam said, flipping back to the first page. “But it contains Alchemy notes left by Nicolas Flamel. From the age of this notebook and the content I’ve just read, it appears to be one of his last notebooks.”
“That’s incredibly valuable,” Hermione said, almost disbelievingly. “Why would Professor Dumbledore give you something like this? It’s not just because you’re an Alchemist. I bet there are Wizards in Europe who would fill the Gryffindor Common Room to get their hands on this notebook.”
“And if you include those who can’t even read it, they might form a line around Hogwarts Castle,” Liam shrugged. “But I understand why Professor Dumbledore gave it to me. I think he believes I’m reliable and that this notebook will help improve my skills, which will be beneficial in the ongoing war against the Dark Lord.”
Dumbledore’s reasoning was easy to understand. At Liam’s level, a Wizard’s path of power is set and unlikely to change. So Dumbledore could trust him with this valuable item, hoping that Liam would be more effective in the war to come.
“It seems that even though you and he have disagreements, Professor Dumbledore still believes you are firmly on the same side,” Hermione concluded. “That’s true. The areas where we clash are minor. Professor Dumbledore, having been a leader for so long, isn’t overly rigid. He can tolerate our differences as long as the overall direction is correct.”
“You’re right. The Professor Dumbledore we know is a good person in every sense,” Liam nodded. “He’s willing to unite all forces willing to join him, as long as they share the same goal.”
Of course, in private, Liam believed that Dumbledore had realized after his confrontation with Voldemort that even with the full power of the Elder Wand, he could only ensure a stalemate. Therefore, to defeat Voldemort, he needed to join forces with him.
After tallying the gifts, Ryan and the others returned to the Manor. Once they had put all the gifts away, Liam invited Hermione. "Let's take a trip to another world and relax. The battles we've been through lately have been quite exhausting."
"You're right; I feel uncomfortable all over and could really use some relaxation. We were only getting four hours of sleep a day for a whole month. If our bodies weren't much stronger than ordinary people's, we probably wouldn't have made it", Hermione nodded. "Oh, by the way, can we visit a world we haven't been to yet this time? It would be nice to explore something new."
"Of course we can", Liam smiled and nodded, then led Hermione to the underground Laboratory. Since others were staying at the Manor, they chose the underground base to avoid being seen by guests and to keep their secret.
"Since we're going to relax, the world's level shouldn't be too high, or we'd be busy fighting. But it also shouldn't be too low, or it wouldn't be interesting", Liam said to Hermione once they reached the underground base. "I think a level six world would be perfect. What do you think?"
"Like the world where we met those vampires?" Hermione thought for a moment and nodded. "I think that kind of world would be great. I just hope it's not one we already know."
"Let's see", Liam said, opening the door to the Multiverse Emporium and leading Hermione inside. Rose Crystal was sitting on top of a cabinet, holding a smartphone from the Twilight World and watching Tom and Jerry, giggling occasionally. When she heard Liam and Hermione's footsteps, she turned her head and asked, "Big Brother, what are you doing here?"
"We're planning to visit a new world to relax. Do you want to come with us?" Liam invited the Doll.
"Of course, I'd love to", Rose Crystal quickly put away her smartphone and nodded eagerly. "It's fantastic to explore a new world again."
With that, Rose Crystal retrieved a small backpack modified from a Spatial Bag from a corner of the emporium and slung it over her shoulder. Then she flew to Liam's left side, reaching up to hold his free hand.
"Let's go, then", Liam injected 32 Deviation Points, and the emporium door transformed into a swirling vortex of blue and white light. After confirming everything was ready, Liam led Hermione and Rose Crystal through the portal.
"Ha, at least we're not in a forest this time", Rose Crystal smiled, looking around. "This pit looks like it was dug by intelligent beings."
"Right, based on the size and design of the machinery, it's very likely human", Liam scanned the area and concluded. As someone who had inherited mechanical design knowledge, he could often deduce the user of a machine with just a glance.
"Hey, this looks a lot like late 19th-century machinery", Hermione observed the steam engine below their feet, which was full of rivets. "I visited old factories in Manchester with my parents before, and the machines there were similar."
"19th century", Hermione's reminder made Liam realize that everything here indeed resembled the First Industrial Revolution era. However, Liam didn't think he was just in a typical steam-powered industrial age. This was a level six world, which meant it concealed forces beyond the technology of this era.
Fortunately, it was only a level six world, so it shouldn't be as terrifying as some of the worst, like Cthulhu's Candy or Elevated Ammonia Levels. Liam decided to take it one step at a time and see how things unfolded.
(End of Chapter)
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