Chapter 94: The Treasure House
Chapter 94: The Treasure House
It is common knowledge that defeating a boss means gaining experience and loot.
Of course, that's only if you don't get counter-killed by the boss and end up losing your own life in the process.
Turning a Dark Lord into experience is definitely a tricky business.
Take the unfortunate Quirinus Quirrell as a cautionary tale. This young and gifted wizard was too naive and arrogant, fantasizing that he could learn more magic from Voldemort and putting that fantasy into practice at the cost of his own life.
Compared to tracking down Voldemort's scattered remnants hiding in some unknown nook or cranny, going after his Horcruxes is undoubtedly a simpler and more effective way to harvest experience. And the best Horcrux to target would be the one left in the Room of Requirement: Ravenclaw's Diadem.
Albert was convinced that finding Ravenclaw's Diadem would definitely trigger one or two panel tasks, or even more, which would mean experience and skill points.
After reaping the rewards of the task, he could also do Albus Dumbledore a favor and gain some benefits from the centenarian.
But how should he explain things to Dumbledore?
Well, it's quite simple—just say it was a chance discovery.
Yes! A small probability event.
He could say that Fred and George, during one of their night wanderings to avoid Filch, accidentally stumbled into the Room of Requirement, and he, following that lead, further uncovered the method to enter the room.
Upon discovering the Room of Requirement and realizing its wondrous nature, a Gryffindor like himself wouldn't be able to resist the urge to explore and experiment. In the course of testing the room's capabilities, he stumbled upon this place and, while exploring, happened to hear whispers that led him to the suspected Dark artifact.
The rest would be easy. All he had to do was mention to Dumbledore that he had found something that resembled Ravenclaw's Diadem.
Then, he could lead the Headmaster to this spot, and everything would be resolved.
Albert truly believed that Dumbledore would have no reason to doubt him because every word he said was true, and a story woven from truths was naturally true as well.
Based on speculation, Dumbledore should also be aware of the existence of the Room of Requirement and perhaps even know how to enter it; he just never imagined that one of Voldemort's Horcruxes would be hidden there.
The only troublesome part of this whole affair was choosing the right moment to inform Dumbledore, and that timing had to be appropriate—a very important consideration.
Of course, all of this hinged on finding Ravenclaw's Diadem and there being sufficient benefits to make the risk worth it for Albert.
What if there weren't any benefits?
Well, that was a load of bull.
Albert took a deep breath, marveling at the astonishing sights before him. He raised his camera and snapped a photo.
"My photography skills are getting better," Albert remarked as he glanced at the picture before tucking it into his robe pocket. Then, he cautiously made his way towards the pile of wobbly, broken furniture in front of him, picking up a Fanged Frisbee from the dusty table as he passed by. This item had been left here for too long and had completely lost its magic.
Albert placed the Fanged Frisbee back on the table and lifted his head, his gaze falling on the pile of books in the distance.
He quickened his pace, reaching the stack and pulling out a book.
It was easy to discern from the cover that this was a book on potion-making. It had once belonged to his Potions Master, Severus Snape, as indicated by the bat drawn on the first page and the professor's initials, "SS."
The book was filled with illustrations, and several pages bore stains and even tears, suggesting that its previous owner hadn't taken very good care of it.
To the right of the book pile were several suits of rusty armor, alongside a weapon rack holding rusty swords and a bloodstained battle-axe.
Albert's eyelids twitched as the visor of the armor in front of him suddenly moved. A small, iron-blue creature resembling a tiny demon crawled out from inside the armor, its eyes fixed on Albert. Just as it was about to spread its wings, a flash of red light passed by, and the unfortunate little creature tumbled back into the armor, creating a crisp sound.
Albert put away his wand and turned his attention back to the bloodstained axe, wondering what it had been used to chop.
However, he soon averted his gaze and continued strolling through the passage between the piles of trash, observing the towering heaps of garbage and the objects nearby: some shabby furniture, boxes, a chair missing a leg, old brooms, broken baseball bats, discarded newspapers, tattered school robes, and other unrecognizable junk.
Perhaps, some of these items were evidence of a student's failed spell, or maybe a legless table that had been tossed here by the house-elves tasked with maintaining the castle's appearance.
Albert even spotted some burnt crucibles, abandoned herbs, and old, broken bottles, some containing solidified potions, while a few others sealed with wax still emitted an ominous green glow.
The trash passage came to an end, with two paths branching off to the left and right.
Albert paused, his eyes falling on a giant specimen that had been processed and no longer emitted any foul odor.
Perhaps, some professor had once used this giant specimen to teach a class.
To be honest, even up close, the giant gave Albert an inexplicable sense of oppression, especially the club in its hand, which looked extremely lethal.
One hit from that club, and you'd be done for.
However, as long as one was careful, Albert believed that with the magic he currently possessed and his understanding of giants, taking down a giant shouldn't be a problem.
But creating a specimen out of such a massive creature was no easy task, especially when it came to deodorizing, sterilizing, and preserving it. One had to wonder how bored and masochistic the person who did this must have been.
As Albert shifted his gaze away from the giant, he noticed a new task popping up on his panel:
"The Fearless Challenger":
"You have discovered a mountain giant specimen and felt a sense of oppression from its massive body. As a brave Gryffindor student, try to defeat a giant and showcase your valor and fearlessness.
Reward: 3000 experience."
Albert was left speechless. Where was he supposed to find a giant, and why did proving Gryffindor's bravery have to involve challenging a giant?
Did he have the wrong idea about Gryffindor's bravery? Or had Gryffindor's bravery always been synonymous with recklessness?
Albert suppressed the urge to criticize and consoled himself with the thought that a thousand readers would have a thousand Hamlets.
Everyone had their own interpretation of courage.
However, it was good to be able to activate a panel task. After all, having a task meant gaining experience, and he wasn't going to turn that down.
But where would he find a giant?
Well, he could just borrow one when Harry Potter enrolled in his third year.
(End of Chapter)
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