A Web Of Magic

Fred and George were very thrilled when Magnus handed them their share of 100 galleons from the venom sale. They were impressed when Magnus told them about his earnings from his potions. They couldn't wait to sell their own products in Gambol and Japes. To celebrate, they smuggled in butterbeer from Hogsmeade and got the snacks from the kitchens. The party was limited to their close friends. They didn't even invite Charlie and Percy. The former because he was busy with his final year and the latter because he might rat them out to their mom. Mrs. Weasley would not trust them with that kind of money.

A month passed since then and Magnus had been a busy bee. Tonks and he no longer practiced together anymore as she had her exams coming up and was busy. His work during this time had been very fruitful not only in terms of money but also in terms of magical progress. He took a look at his interface to track his progress.

[Magnus Webb

Title: Seer Descendant

Traits: Beast Blood (Magic), Blood Curse (inactive), Beast Blood (Deformation)

Body: 3

Mind: 20

Magic: 33

Impact Points: 1396

School: Divination Lv4 (80%), Healing Lv4 (90%), Charms Lv4 (40%), Transfiguration Lv4 (50%), DADA Lv4 (60%), Potions Lv4 (80%), Herbology Lv4 (10%), Astronomy Lv4 (10%), Magical Theory Lv5 (90%), Mind Arts Lv4 (60%), Care of Magical Creatures Lv3(20%), Runes Lv4(60%), Arithmancy Lv4(50%)

Skills: Wand Magic Lv4 (90%), Wandless Magic Lv4 (50%)]

His stats increased except for Body, but he's used to that by now. All of his schools of magic made progress. He doubled up on Mind arts after his experience with the diadem and made good progress. He even learned three mind spells. Unlike other schools of magic, mind spells do not need a wand and are cast using eye contact. They are nigh untraceable unless the opponent is more proficient at mind arts than you. He didn't want to try those on anyone at school. He didn't know to what extent they can damage someone's mind and he didn't hate anyone at school to the point of trying it on them. Maybe when he learns how to heal the mind, he'll try and test. He can also now trigger the mental battlefield that Newt talked about to resolve his beast blood problem, but he decided to gather more information and try it out in the summer holidays.

It'd be really hard to increase the mind stat without the help of the mind enhancement techniques given by Ravenclaw. As his mind stat increased, he approached the mind limit of an above average a.d.u.l.t wizard. He got another ability when his mind stat reached 20 and his points briefly touched 1500.

[Inspiration mode: Requirements met; Mind: 20, Magic: 30, Impact points: 1500]

For the price of 1 point per second, he can enter a state of inspiration that gave him creative ideas that he had never thought of before. All new ways of using and making spells, brewing and improving potions, anything was possible. But the downside is that he cannot use it for more than 5 minutes at a time or it'll make him dizzy and give him a headache. The backlash is greater than when he used [Instant Read] and [Comprehension mode] together. Another downside is that he cannot control the direction his thoughts go towards. One moment he might be improving a potion but the next his mind might jump to finding creative ways of cleaning a room. He supposed that's the price of a creative mind. He hoped to gain better control through further usage. This would make his experimental capabilities reach a whole new level.

Today Magnus was roaming aimlessly in the castle, he had a free afternoon and he didn't know what to do. He had read up on most of the higher-level curriculum almost up to the fifth year. He's waiting for the new ingredients he ordered and so he had no potions to brew. His friends were either studying or playing around. Helena was busy reading some book. 'How did she find a ghost book?'. So, he had a rare moment of idleness. His feet took him to the corridor of the Room of Requirement and he stood before the entrance. 'Hmm, why don't I try something new? Helena said this was made by Merlin and the Founders. Not much is known about Merlin beyond some of his deeds spread by the Order of Merlin. Why don't I try finding something interesting about him?' Magnus wondered.

He put his thoughts into action as he walked three times in front of the room while thinking about Merlin. An ornate door appeared on the wall in front of him. There was a symbol of a Triskelion on the door knob. He identified it as a symbol of the Druids. They were a small and obscure group of wizards that lived centuries ago in the wildlands of Scotland. They were said to be so good at Transfiguration that they could transform parts of their bodies into animals, but that was never proven. Magnus's curiosity increased at this discovery. 'Was Merlin related to them or is it the other way?'

He entered the door and it vanished behind him. It usually only happens when you wish for extra security. The room smelled of fresh grass and flowers. It only had a pedestal with carvings of different humanoids. They certainly weren't humans as some had horns while the other had wings and tails. This was the first time Magnus had seen something like them. He couldn't recall any magical creature that looked like them. He assumed they were just some decorations. On the pedestal was a book with a Triskelion symbol again. [Identify] only showed question marks. Magnus wasn't surprised, he was just trying his luck. He opened the book and saw lines appearing on it.

'Ah, a student at last. Welcome to the Hall of Merlin. If you are reading this book then you must be the first student to find it. It is enchanted to only appear once. You have met the requirements of the great Merlin Wyllt.'

"Eh, what requirements?" Magnus asked out loudly. He didn't expect any answer, but he surprisingly got one.

'Age, magic, intelligence, curiosity, the list goes on and on. Leave the technicalities to me. What you need to consider is that you have the opportunity of once in a lifetime. Are you game?'

Magnus didn't know how, but he could feel an enticing voice coming off of the book. He had to check his Occlumency shields once to make sure he wasn't being influenced. "What's the game about?" he asked. He's pretty sure that Merlin wouldn't leave anything harmful for students in the school. He checked with a quick divination with his focus crystal. The answer was no danger.

'Well, a trial for succession of course. And unlike the Founders, there are even better rewards. So, what do you say?' the book asked.

"Alright. Seems like fun. I agree," Magnus gave his consent. A chance at the knowledge left behind by Merlin was very enticing. The legends about Merlin are spread all over the wizarding world. The legends are famous even among the muggles. There's probably no one else who had as many stories told about as him. Even if a fraction of it is true, this would be worth it.

'Good, good. Now let the trial begin.'

The floor of the room disappeared, leaving only a small platform that both Magnus and the pedestal stood on.

'The first trial. Jump off the platform and survive.'