The Old Ones of Hogwarts

Chapter 39: Eat Quickly! The Power of Cognition!

Ian was drawn to the apple, which was as dazzling as a work of art.

Pandro urged him on from the side.

"Quick! Eat it before the old witch sees it, or she'll definitely take it away!" Pandro said as he rushed forward and stuffed the golden apple into Ian's mouth.

"Ahem!"

This was Ian's first time trying to eat something from the Enchanted Realm. Pandro's behavior was a bit rough, and he almost choked. Fortunately, the apple, which was as big as a fist, melted in his mouth.

"Ian is shining!"

Ariana's exclamation rang out.

Ian was unable to see her expression.

Because he now only felt a warm and strange power flowing through his body in an instant, a peculiar feeling as if his soul was being cleansed, he couldn't help but close his eyes to feel it more closely.

My body felt as if it had been infused with vitality and life.

"Bang!"

It wasn't that Ian had blown up, but rather that there was the sound of something hitting the wall in the hall. Immediately afterward, Ian vaguely heard Pandro's somewhat flustered voice.

"That woman heard me call her an old witch! Get out of here! Get out of here!"

"Ian, we'll be waiting for you in town!"

……

Ariana and Pandro's voices intertwined.

Gradually drifting away into the distance.

Ian didn't know how much time had passed. When he opened his eyes again, the furniture in the hall was back, and the witch was looking at him with a complicated expression.

"I can't believe they actually found it..."

The witch clicked her tongue in amazement.

"I remember you said, teacher, that you cut down the last golden apple tree in the world?" Ian couldn't see the changes in himself through the panel while he was in the dreamlike illusion.

He felt an unprecedented clarity in his mind.

"Clearly, someone smuggled seeds here before I cut down the last golden apple tree," the witch explained, giving Ian an explanation that made his eyes widen.

"Before me, were there other people who could do this?" Ian was quite surprised.

The witch shook her head.

"Foolish little fellow, no wizard is as special as you, and naturally no wizard will receive the same favor as you. All I said was that I brought a seed here."

"I don't know what kind of method it is, but there are too many brilliant wizards in history, and many legends of the past, who could have done such a thing that defies common sense."

The witch stared at Ian's youthful face.

Whispering softly.

"After all, what makes a legend a legend is that they can create impossible miracles." The tapestry on the wall seemed to tremble slightly at the witch's soft murmur.

The flames in those paintings seemed to burn even more fiercely.

"Perhaps I can find some useful information in the school library." Ian nodded thoughtfully. There are certainly not many wizards throughout history who can be called legendary.

"You might as well ask your damn butcher friend. Since he was able to bring you back this golden apple, it means he already knew where it was planted."

The witch rolled her eyes at Ian as if he were an idiot.

"He doesn't have much memory left either."

Ian gave a helpless reply, admitting that he had, of course, considered this approach as well.

"He's really pitiful."

The witch gave a forced smile.

"Teacher, I apologize on his behalf. He has always been a very reckless fellow." Ian lowered his tone considerably and spoke with utmost sincerity. "I promise to find you your mirror, and anything else you desire, as compensation for his deepest apologies to you."

Upon hearing this...

The witch's expression wasn't so bad.

"All I want is my mirror."

After a brief pause, she added.

"And that giant dragon he promised to capture!"

Good guy!

as predicted!

The witch really was hiding deep inside the castle, eavesdropping the whole time!

"Of course, no problem!"

Ian quickly nodded in agreement. However, although Ian, the frustrated teacher, had calmed down a lot again, he still couldn't help but curse Pandro once more.

"Damn troublemaker! Evil executioner! Disgusting and despicable plunderer!" She went on to hurl a string of nasty insults at Pandro.

"He must have been an extraordinary person when he was alive?"

Ian tentatively asked.

He could certainly tell that the witch knew a lot about Pendro.

"My foolish apprentice, why do you always ask such idiotic questions?"

The witch gave Ian a disdainful look.

"The answer has actually been presented to you all along, but you chose to ignore the truth." The witch sighed heavily, and her words left Ian completely bewildered.

What did he ignore?

How come he doesn't realize it himself?

"Teacher, I admit I'm an idiot, so could you tell me who he is?"

Ian was filled with an irrepressible curiosity.

"You're a little pig, but I'm not."

The witch scoffed, "Let me tell you, even if you go and tell him again, he can keep jumping around here for many more years after he remembers. Do you think I'm the kind of person who would make trouble for myself?"

Teacher Mara definitely doesn't like Pandro.

What she said makes perfect sense.

Ian didn't know how to respond.

"Do you know? All the creations in this castle, and the abilities I've shown you, are not magic; they are simply a form of shaping brought about by cognition."

The witch suddenly and abruptly began to express her feelings.

"Cognition?"

Ian seemed somewhat surprised.

"Yes, in this land far removed from the mortal world, your perception determines what you can do here," the witch nodded and continued to explain patiently.

"I believe in the power of knowledge, while he believes he can do anything he wants... Three times in a row, he proved that his understanding was more firm than mine."

The witch subtly explained why she was no match for Pandro.

His tone also carried a hint of resentment and... loneliness.

"Is that even possible?"

Ian found it hard to believe that someone could be using "the power of thought" in a dreamlike world.

"Yes, it's so unreasonable. Knowledge can't even beat belief. Isn't that an impossible miracle?" the witch sighed.

While Ian was still pondering whether her words contained any hints.

The witch raised her head.

His gaze fell upon the scattered fragments of armor outside.

"You need to take responsibility for reshaping these guards for me."

Another sudden turn of events.

Ian was taken aback. They were just talking about Pandro, how did Teacher Mara suddenly make such a 365-degree turn!

hiss!

The brain circuits of an old woman!

"Huh? Didn't we agree that he would find you a dead dragon to guard the gate?"

Ian stared wide-eyed with an innocent expression.

"That's compensation, and this is your duty as an apprentice." The witch sneered as she grabbed a copy of a potions textbook that Ian had brought in.

"I can only sculpt tiny figures, not animated Iron Man."

Ian shrugged.

He was met with a cold laugh from the witch.

"If you don't know how, then go and learn."

Such familiar words.

"Is this considered a new assignment?"

Ian was beginning to feel his presence waning.

"I don't expect you to learn it in a few days, but I will check your progress regularly." The witch, reading the potion text, tore another corner from her dress.

"Next time, go back to that little girl's town first, and then come find me." With a gentle toss from the witch, fragments of a dress covered in runes landed in Ian's hands.

"I'm afraid there won't be enough time."

Ian's figure has begun to fade.

"It'll be in time; things are different now."

The witch's voice carried a nonchalant certainty. She never looked up again, continuing to read the textbook copy that Ian had brought in.

"Tick-tock~ Tick-tock~ Tick-tock~"

The clock is ticking.

Ian suddenly opened his eyes in the real world.

Unusually, he didn't look at the time on the wall or at the fragment of the dress in his hand. Instead, he eagerly opened his personal panel immediately.