In his mind, the long-silent system notification sound rang continuously. Ian was slightly stunned, then a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“It truly is a different kind of harvest.”
He hadn’t experienced such rapid and continuous growth in alchemy skill level for a long time. At his current level, conventional alchemy operations and known knowledge systems had long ceased to provide effective experience; only by engaging with and understanding this completely different, self-contained and deeply profound new knowledge could he once more advance that nearly stagnant progress bar.
“Indeed, just relying on one’s own resources will eventually reach an end,” Ian thought in his heart, “I still need to constantly come into contact with new things, ignite new sparks of thought in order to grow better. Musa… truly a treasure.”
He was absorbed in the ocean of knowledge, forgetting the passage of time. Until a familiar hunger pang returned from his stomach, he realized night had deepened and it was time to resolve dinner.
Hmm.
Or should I call it a late-night snack?
After all, it was already quite late.
Closing the notebook and carefully putting it away, Ian stepped out of the room again. The inn’s lobby seemed more lively than before, with faint sounds of noisy arguments coming through.
Arriving at the lobby, he saw the innkeeper standing at the door with a gloomy expression on his face, opposite him were several wizards dressed in attire suggesting a wild ambiance, with tattoos on their faces.
There were both men and women, emotionally agitated, pointing at the innkeeper and shouting: “Surely there is a problem with your inn! My brother Kabu, although… although he lived a bit wild, but he has always been in good health! How could he simply collapse here and now become that ghastly figure! You must have used some vicious curse!”
“Indeed! Pay up! Otherwise, we’ll smash up your shabby inn!”
“Hand over the culprit!”
These people were obviously relatives of the Dark Wizard Kabu who had been carried away. They were here to make trouble and extort money, and they likely did not share deep familial affection with the Dark Wizard.
The innkeeper’s face appeared harsh.
But he wasn’t too panicked; as he tried to explain, he subtly made a gesture to the attendant beside him. The attendant understood and slipped out immediately.
“Everyone, everyone, calm down!” The innkeeper raised his voice, addressing the relatives and others around, “Mr. Kabu’s situation has already been investigated by the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic. It is an issue with his own old ailments, and it has nothing to do with our inn! Making trouble here is futile!”
Regarding this explanation.
Clearly, the relatives of the Dark Wizard were not satisfied.
“Bullshit! The Ministry of Magic has surely been bribed by you!”
“Exactly! We won’t leave today without a proper explanation!”
As these people became more and more unreasonable, someone even started to draw a magic wand, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
“Let’s flee, flee flee.” The onlookers all kept their distance, pointing and laughing, but most wore expressions of enjoying the spectacle without intervening.
At that moment, hurried footsteps approached, and the enforcement personnel from the Ministry of Magic who had left before returned, led by the senior Auror.
His face was pale, and his sharp gaze swept over those causing the disturbance.
“It’s you again! The Kabu family!” The Auror’s voice carried undeniable authority, “The conclusion from the Ministry of Magic’s investigation is clear, Kabu had a magic power backlash due to his own reasons, unrelated to others! You’re gathering here to cause trouble, threatening public safety, do you wish to spend some days in the detention room?”
Seeing the arrival of the enforcement personnel, and sensing their strong stance, the troublemakers’ air immediately deflated. One ringleader-looking elderly woman still tried to argue: “Sir, my son he…”
The elderly woman’s words had not yet finished.
“Enough!” The Auror rudely interrupted, “Any objections, file them at the appeals office at the Ministry of Magic according to procedure! But now, leave immediately! Or face arrest for disturbing public order!”
The enforcement personnel behind him promptly moved forward, displaying magic handcuffs, their gazes unfriendly.
Kabu’s family saw this and realized any further disruption wouldn’t yield benefits and might even implicate themselves, so they reluctantly put away their wands, grumbling foully, and left the inn dejectedly under the “escort” of the enforcement personnel. Watching their embarrassed figures leave, the onlookers erupted into laughter and discussion.
“Tsk, truly ignorant, Kabu brought upon himself, yet wants to blame the inn?”
“Right, do they really think the inn pays so many gold coins to the marketplace management for nothing every year? Without such protection, what inn could survive?”
“Well now, the family can reunite in the detention room, haha!”
Ian happened to reach the doorway, heard the crowd’s discussions, and casually chuckled as he quipped: “This really does resolve things; they’re together now.”
His words were not loud, but many present heard them. This quip tinged with dark humor immediately resonated with more people, triggering an even bigger wave of laughter.
“Well said! Together they are indeed!”
“This gentleman has it absolutely right!”
However, some wizards who were either well-informed or perceptive glanced at Ian with a mix of awe and caution amid the laughter. They might not know Ian’s specific prowess, but sensed this distinguished-seeming foreigner was not to be trifled with, perhaps even linked to Kabu’s sudden collapse.
In most wizard lands, especially in Africa where primitive power laws are highly esteemed, strength equates to status, the sole measure of others’ respect or disregard. Ian’s current intangible aura of calm and unfathomable depth made them feel they couldn’t afford any neglect.
Ian disregarded those varied glances, casually strolled out of the inn, once again merging into the bustling night market. He wasn’t particularly concerned about the situation of the Dark Wizard’s family either.
Such Dark Wizard families weren’t rare in Knockturn Alley, but those Dark Wizards were smarter; even before losing their minds, they knew better than to cause trouble in Diagon Alley.
Do they really think Aurors are easy to deal with?
It’s not like they are elite wizards; actually, even elite wizards like Harry Potter’s dad, Little Sirius, find facing Aurors extremely challenging.
Those who become Aurors are at least small elites. Of course, in Africa, the really powerful wizards in the Ministry of Magic might not be as many, but relatively speaking, the wizards on the street aren’t very capable either, right? That’s how this place is; the strong are exceptionally strong, the weak are exceptionally weak.
Instead, it’s those middle-level wizards who are few. As he pondered in his mind, Ian strolled through the night market, found a popular open-air food stall, and ordered a giant scorpion tail beef steak grilled with magic flames and smeared with special spicy sauce, paired with an ice-cold local beer with mint sweetness, enjoying his meal thoroughly.
The night market’s atmosphere was lively and relaxed, full of vibrant street energy.
After eating and drinking, he leisurely walked through the market to digest.
“This really is a rare sight.”
In a relatively open area, he saw a wizard in a fancy robe standing on a makeshift stage, showing several Muggle technological products to the surrounding wizards.
The wizard held a phone, large but indeed a phone, from which voices from other places could be heard, causing the wizards below to exclaim in amazement.
“Look! This is the ‘magic’ of the Muggles!” The presenter loudly declared, his tone mingled with wonder, disdain, and a subtle hint of concern.
“They don’t use magic wands, don’t need spells, yet can achieve telecommunication, aerial transport! I’ve heard they are developing something called the internet.”
“Once successful, it can connect information across the whole world!” The wizards’ reactions varied. Some watched intently, like Muggles watching magic tricks, finding it novel and amusing; others showed disdain, deeming these mere gimmicks inferior to true magic.
Yet some furrowed their brows, showing deep unease and vigilance in their eyes.
Ian stood at the crowd’s edge, quietly observing everything, observing the complex expressions on those wizards’ faces.
“The era of technological explosion truly impacts the Wizarding World significantly.”
Ian pondered. This impact wasn’t solely on a material level but also psychologically and perceptually. When Muggles, leveraging technology, achieved many feats even ordinary wizards struggled with, that fear stemming from the unknown and the potential shifting of status begins to grow quietly.
Ian recalled the blond-haired, charismatic, dangerous individual and the trends he stirred. Era shifts always accompany pain and chaos.
The Magic World cannot remain unaffected.
Wizards’ fear of Muggle development is the most crucial reason Grindelwald could attract followers. And now, this fear has already quietly begun to grow in this era.