The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

Ryze is a genius among geniuses. Given his talent, it's normal for him to have made some progress after being out in school for so long.

As for Ryze, he was naturally aware of his current situation.

Previously, with his genius as a scientific madman, his mind worked incredibly fast, sometimes even more than ten times faster than the average person.

Although his physical speed is already quite fast, it is still far behind his mental speed. Therefore, he is prone to making clumsy or flustered movements whenever he picks up speed.

But this trip to France gave him the talent of a giant killer, and the improvement in speed further enhanced his mobility and agility.

This also allowed his body to begin to catch up slightly with the brain's activity.

Moreover, the Soul Arena in his mind allows him to train in his dreams even while he sleeps and rests. He has now fully adapted to his current physical condition, so even the precision of his movements is much higher than before.

More than half an hour later, a purple mist rose from the crucible in front of Ryze, a symbol of the completion of the Water of Life and Death.

Although it doesn't have the special effects of a juicer, it's still an extremely high-quality potion that can keep a person asleep for eight hours with just one sip.

Ryze extinguished the flames beneath the crucible and poured out the water of life and death.

"The feel is even better than I expected. Although I haven't touched it for more than half a month, I've been practicing my magic control, so it seems to be in pretty good shape," Ryze muttered to himself, then looked at the other five.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to strike while the iron is hot and, while I'm still in pretty good shape, try an improved version of the wolfsbane medicine."

“Now?” Gabriel’s eyes widened in surprise. He looked at the wall clock. “Riz, you’ve only been back for a day and have only looked at the data for a little over an hour. Are you sure there’s no problem?”

This is a wolfsbane potion. Even though honey and fruit greatly reduce the difficulty of brewing, it is still one of the top-grade magic potions.

Rizz nodded.

"Among us, I'm probably the only one who has personally tasted the Honey Fruit and used the healing potion made from it. I also participated in the cultivation of the first batch of Honey Fruits, so my understanding of Honey Fruits should be the highest among us."

Jamie and Penelope exchanged a glance.

Although they felt it was a bit rushed, Reese had created so many miracles this academic year.

Moreover, compared to simply making predictable guesses that are destined to have no outcome, Ryze's unique potion intuition is a talent they don't possess.

"Since you're so confident, then give it a try," Jemma carefully took out some honey candy from a tightly protected refrigerated box and handed it to Reese. "Besides, you brought this in the first place. Without you, we'd probably still be struggling with the original recipe."

Rizz took the piece of fruit that emitted a faint, pleasant fragrance.

He carefully used a knife to cut along the lines of the fruit pulp, then squeezed the pulp to collect the juice.

With his natural talent for juicing, he was very adept at this task, managing to get almost no fruit pulp or fiber mixed into the juice.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, he readjusted the proportions of the materials on the table according to his own ideas.

He reduced the amount of neutralizer and then added more raw wolfsbane and aconite extract accordingly.

“Isn’t this ratio a bit too extreme?” Penelope couldn’t help but remind her. “Even if the honey fruit has a strong neutralizing ability, this is too much.”

"Since it's a test, we should naturally see the maximum effect of the honey fruit juice under near-limit conditions."

Rizz gave himself a stimulant.

After all, the next step was to prepare the medicine, which would take at least four or five hours, and he needed to make sure that he remained mentally alert.

Under the watchful eyes of the other five, the brewing of Rizz began.

For a full four and a half hours, the underground classroom remained extremely quiet.

Penelope and the others knew that Rizzi was highly focused, so they didn't want to disturb him at all. They just took notes with their pens and paper.

Ryze's movements were extremely fast and steady. After the effects of Giant Slayer and Mad Scientist were maximized, he was able to precisely control the speed of magic infusion while rapidly sensing the premonition brought by the juicer in his mind and deducing the next stage of the operation.

With his precise and swift movements, Ryze's potion this time didn't look much different from Snape's previous demonstrations at first glance, with only some minor adjustments.

It wasn't until the most crucial stage, when the honey and fruit were added, that Rez actually began to operate.

At this point, past experience was no longer of any use. Apart from Jemma's one attempt, all the rest were areas that no one had ever tried before.

During the period when the medicinal herbs react most strongly, Rez tried his best to keep the medicine stable and prepared it according to his own intuition.

However, this time it was different from the previous chaotic situation caused by slow reaction speed.

After the medicine produced some special reactions, his brain could realize it within two seconds and quickly come up with a solution.

Then the body will operate according to the results analyzed by the brain as quickly as possible.

Although these techniques do seem haphazard, they no longer give off that chaotic feeling.

Chapter 225: Professor Barbling's Return

Jemma, Penelope, and the others watched as Ryze performed one precise and strange operation after another. Although they didn't understand why, they recorded all the operations and the situation inside the crucible on parchment.

After all, thanks to Ritz's actions, the potion inside the crucible had quickly stabilized.

It's worth noting that even Jema almost messed up when she tried this place before, and made several mistakes here.

Now that the new methods Rizzi provided have proven effective, they can naturally use similar methods to confirm their own results when trying them out.

After successfully navigating this crucial stage, all that remains is the final wrap-up.

Ultimately, the preparation of the medicine continued until 1 a.m.

As the last wisp of smoke dissipated, a faint blue hue appeared inside the crucible.

Although the color still looks a bit murky, it is already very close to the original color of the wolfsbane medicine.

The moment the Ritz stalled, the five people around it immediately gathered around to check on it.

“You really did it…” Gabriel murmured, his voice filled with disbelief. “Three months ago, when you first tried, you blew the crucible away, and now you’ve managed to do it all by yourself.”

This is the second time that Rizzi has cooked this dish since he returned more than half a month after leaving.

Judging from its smell and color, this is undoubtedly a successful medicine.

At least that's how it appears on the surface.

Rizzi, however, did not show any joy.

He dipped a glass rod into the liquid, held it to his nose to examine it closely, closed his eyes to feel the magical fluctuations, and then shook his head toward the pungent smell.

“Although they do look very similar, they are at most a semi-finished product,” Rizz sighed, and asked the fish to inspect them.

"Although the drug's structure is indeed more stable, the amount of honey fruit is indeed a bit conservative. If the method is adjusted further, the drug's efficacy could probably be improved a bit. However, even if we push it to the limit, it will probably only allow the werewolf to retain a little bit of vague rationality after transforming under the full moon. It's still far from true success."

As Penelope had previously stated, his attempt was a rather radical one, testing the limits of honey fruit.

From this perspective, the attempt has been a complete success.

The range of those unknowns in the formula became much clearer during this brewing process with Ritz.

"At least the path to improving the wolfsbane medicine has been confirmed to be viable. The next step is to continue adjusting the dosage and methods."

Although it's already past 1 a.m., I'm feeling a little sleepy.

They even had the time to meticulously review the entire process using their recorded cooking notes, discussing and calculating every unexpected technique and operation Ritz used.

Ryze explained in detail the parts where he could give a reason, but for the parts where he relied entirely on intuition, he could only shake his head and tell everyone to test it themselves.

The review and discussion lasted until after 2 a.m.

Although everyone was physically exhausted, they were mentally extremely excited.

After more than three months of hard work, I can finally see the future.

The potion that Rizzo brewed may indeed still be a semi-finished product, but it is already very meaningful that it allows the werewolf to retain a sliver of sanity amidst his madness.

It's fair to say that Ryze's attempt saved them at least a week or two.

“There’s still nearly half of the honey and candy left. If we use them sparingly, it should be enough for two or three more complete brewing attempts,” Jemma Farley said, glancing at Ridge as she tidied up the parchment, her tone brimming with an air of self-assured trust.

"That final attempt must be left to you. After all, we need to confirm the final recipe and cooking process, and it's safest to leave this task to you now."

Although the others were somewhat surprised by Jemma's reaction, they all nodded.

Ryze's demonstrated control over the potions had made them realize that his talent in potions was rapidly becoming apparent.

“I’ll organize tonight’s data into a more intuitive form as soon as possible, and then we can discuss the formula later,” Penelope yawned, announcing that they should go back to sleep.

The next morning, the dining tables in the auditorium were still noisy.

Not only were the students playing Wizarding Auto Chess engaged in a passionate match in the Great Hall, but the Daily Prophet also published an interview with the Hogwarts Duel Team.

The front page features a huge animated photo at its center: Ryze and several senior students from the Duel Club are gathered together, displaying dazzling light magic.

The report devoted considerable space to praising Ryze's performance as the youngest dueling champion in the history of the junior division of the Duel Tournament. In addition to stating that this record is almost impossible to break, it also described in detail the changes in Ryze's performance during the competition.

This reignited the enthusiasm of the Hogwarts students, which had just begun to wane.

However, realizing this situation, Ritz did not go to the Great Hall at all after getting up this morning.

He went straight to the classroom with the ancient magic runes that he hadn't seen in a long time.

After the Easter holidays, Professor Barbling had already completed her academic paper and returned to Hogwarts.

She wrote a note to Reese last night, asking him to come over today when he has time.

"It's been a long time, Professor Barbling. You look much thinner than before. Have you finished your ancient alchemy thesis on converting gold?" Ryze looked at Professor Barbling in the office and couldn't help but sigh.

Professor Babling was away from the school for three months. Although Reese had maintained correspondence with her during that time, even Professor Babling herself did not expect it to take so long this time.

“The paper did take much longer to complete than I expected. I initially thought it would only take a month at most, but there was nothing we could do about it. Although Ms. Ravenclaw helped us solve the most critical difficulties, the subsequent alchemy experiments also wasted a lot of our time because many parts of the data were omitted. Fortunately, we still managed to complete it successfully in the end,” Professor Babling shook her head.

She looked at Ryze with a smile: "But first of all, congratulations! The youngest dueling champion in history, you've really given Hogwarts a huge boost. Even I didn't expect you to actually be able to reach the end by relying on light magic and ancient magic."

She took out a uniquely shaped gold coin and handed it to Ryze: "Consider this my congratulatory gift to you."

Chapter 226: Gold Coins Worth Hundreds of Galleons

Ritz paused for a moment, then took the gold coin from Professor Barbling's hand.

The gold coin feels heavy in your hand, and it looks quite similar to a Galleon, with a similar weight.

However, this gold coin is softer than a regular Galleon, and the patterns and magical markings on it are quite different from those of a real Galleon.

While Galleons are indeed made of gold coins, they are created by wizards and goblins using magic. After undergoing a magical transformation, the properties of gold undergo subtle changes. Furthermore, Galleons are made using special magical techniques, giving them unique properties.

Let alone the goblins of Gringotts, anyone who has ever seen a real Galon can basically tell the difference between these gold coins and Galons at a glance.

The Galleon originated because long ago, when wizards used gold and silver coins for transactions, there were always wizards skilled in shapeshifting who could turn worthless things into gold and silver for a considerable period of time to fool others.

These methods might be acceptable for fooling Muggles, but around the time of Christ, the abundance of counterfeit gold coins on the market completely disrupted the trade of items within the wizarding world.

Thus, Galleons, which could not be perfectly created by the Transformation spell, were born during that period.

Rizzi read a book in the library that said the earliest Galleons in England were most likely born after Merlin signed some kind of agreement with the fairies around the fifth century AD.

Today, the wizard image on the surface of Galleon is said to be Merlin's head, while the red dragon on the back symbolizes Wales, the kingdom ruled by King Arthur.

The magical markings on the gold coin in Ryze's hand had virtually nothing to do with Galleons; they were entirely produced by the few fine ancient runes engraved on the side of the coin.

"Is this gold made using that ancient alchemy that can transform gold?" Ryze asked, examining the gold coin.

“Yes, genuine gold is made from silver of equal quality. In addition to this alchemy, there is also a technique that can convert brass into silver,” Professor Barbling explained to Rez, leaning back in her chair.

"Whether in terms of its inherent characteristics or magical properties, it is no different from real gold, and it will not revert to its original silver over time."

She pointed to the gold coin in Ryze's hand: "The magic attached to it comes from that ancient text. It can slightly enhance one's appearance, although the effect is not very significant. It's probably just a placebo effect, but the magic can last for about half a year. During this period, it should be pretty good as a talisman."

Hearing that it could enhance the power of magic, he wondered what the principle behind it was, but it was clearly a profound theory that he couldn't yet grasp.

"So, Professor Barbling, how much money would it cost to obtain this coin-sized piece of gold?"

Professor Babling didn't answer directly, but instead held up a finger and waved it in front of Reiz: "That's about it. Want to take a guess?"

"Ten Galleons?" Ryze casually gave a number, after all, the value of gold itself was there.

However, he shook his head immediately after speaking: "No, I think it should be one hundred Galleons."

Professor Barbling shrugged lightly: "Considering the loss of various magical materials and the cost of the alchemy array, the cost of making this gold coin is roughly a little over one hundred Galleons. Then, adding that magical effect to the coin cost another one or two hundred Galleons. Currently, it's indeed impossible to make money from gold using it."

The main reason is that some of these magical materials either became extinct or turned into expensive and rare materials after thousands of years.

It could even be said that the magical creatures that produce certain materials were hunted to extinction by the wizards of that civilization thousands of years ago.

It took them nearly three months to find a substitute for those materials.

Ryze couldn't help but complain, "Spending a hundred Galleons to create a gold coin worth one Galleon sounds like a really expensive deal."

“Magical research is expensive, Rhett Butler. We were prepared, so we’re not too disappointed,” Professor Barbling explained simply.

"Although the cost is high now, at least we have reproduced the lost art of alchemy. If one day in the future we can find some cheap alternative materials and further improve the transformation process, perhaps someone can really change the wealth structure of the magical world with this technology."

"However, as things stand, we still have a long way to go, and we are still far from catching up with the Philosopher's Stone."

Upon hearing Professor Babling mention the Philosopher's Stone, Ryze raised an eyebrow slightly.