Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 322 The Mermaid's Vigilance and the New Characteristics of Dark Algae

"You guys give it a try," he excitedly shared his discovery and techniques with his roommates the next day. "Concentrate and imagine this frequency—" he carefully described the feeling and the subtle adjustments to the frequency.

Wesley, Fabian, and Ernesto all tried seriously for a long time.

"No way," Wesley was the first to give up, rubbing his temples. "I can only feel my head buzzing, like there's a bunch of slugs having a party inside."

"I can vaguely feel the magic vibrating in a certain way," Fabian said, frowning as he tried to perceive it, "but to think of it as tentacles reaching out to sense the environment—I have absolutely no idea, I can't sense any feedback at all."

Ernesto was slightly better off: "I think—I seem to—feel a very, very vague fluctuation, but I can't be sure what it is, let alone discern the emotion. This would probably require extremely high precision in mana control and perceptive talent." He looked at Karen, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible admiration.

Karen understood. This was likely the unique effect of combining Slytherin's frequency technology with her own extraordinary magical perception granted by the "Eye of Truth." It wasn't just a tool to influence living beings; it could potentially develop into a powerful underwater environmental perception and early warning system, and perhaps even extend beyond the underwater environment.

He recorded this new discovery in detail in his experimental notebook, marking it as "sound wave perception (preliminary)," and noted its enormous potential as well as its current drawbacks of high consumption and low accuracy.

Perhaps due to the previous nighttime collection operations, or perhaps due to the faint fluctuations that Karen inevitably emitted during her subsequent underwater practice tests of sound wave perception, the Black Lake mermaid tribe seemed to have become noticeably more vigilant.

A few days later, when Karen went into the water again for his routine sonic exercises and environmental surveys, he clearly sensed the difference.

His "Eye of Truth" could see that, behind the shadows of the distant reefs and large seaweed, there was an even stronger magical aura than usual—clearly the merfolk on guard. They didn't approach actively, but their gazes, or rather, their scrutinizing magical focus, were firmly locked on him, constantly monitoring his every move. The atmosphere in the lake was somewhat tense. They might not necessarily realize that what happened before was Karengan's doing, but they had clearly noticed and sensed the recent anomalies, and thus began to monitor the strange creatures appearing near their waters.

Karen tried a different strategy. Instead of activating the sonic device, he tried using the techniques he was practicing to emit a very gentle, extremely faint vibration in the direction where the mermaids were hiding. He tried to mimic the Parsnip language, trying to infuse the subtle vibrations of the aquatic creatures with an intention of "harmlessness," "exploration," and "friendliness," which was much more difficult than imitating a specific frequency.

It seems to have a slight effect.

A slight ripple and intertwining appeared in the distant magical halos representing the vigilant merfolk; they seemed to be communicating rapidly in a language Karen couldn't understand. The intensely hostile scrutiny fixed on him lessened somewhat, replaced by a deeper sense of confusion and bewilderment. They still hadn't appeared, nor approached, but the intensity of their surveillance seemed to have shifted.

Karen realized that the merfolk's intelligence and perception of magic might be higher than they had anticipated. They might not be able to understand the specifics of this strange fluctuation, but they could vaguely sense that it didn't seem to contain direct malice—though they could also have completely misunderstood. However, achieving truly effective communication, at this point, seemed fraught with difficulties and risks.

He stopped trying, completed his scheduled practice, and quietly left. Back at the Eagle's Nest, he told the others about what had happened.

"It was expected that the merfolk would be on high alert," Ernesto analyzed. "After all, we essentially trespassed into their herb garden" and took some things. They didn't attack immediately, probably because they hadn't caught us in the act, and also because they were wary of Hogwarts students. But I'm a little curious what they're going to do with this dark algae. Are they going to eat it? Although untreated dark algae certainly isn't harmful."

"They might sense the difference in the friendly frequency you're trying to emit, but they certainly won't understand its specific meaning," Fabian said. "Communicating magical intentions across species isn't that simple, especially since mermaids also have their own language. Relying solely on the sound waves of creatures like the Kaba and Grindylow is probably not enough. I wonder if there's any further research in those unopened journals left by Slytherin."

Karen nodded, agreeing with their assessment. Exploring the unknown was important, but engaging in unnecessary conflict with the local magical intelligent beings would be foolish.

On the other hand, research into the fundamental properties of dark algae continues. Fabian practically lives in the Eagle's Nest, conducting various tests on those deep blue algae.

One night, when he and Karen were the only ones left in the Eagle's Nest, he made a new discovery.

To test the sensitivity of dark algae to light, Fabian placed a small sample into a completely opaque, sealed black box, leaving only an observation hole connected to a refining endoscope that could magnify and capture faint light.

"Karen, come quick!" After a while, Fabian suddenly exclaimed in a low voice.

Karen walked over and peered into the viewing mirror. In the enclosed, dark environment, the dark algae didn't emit the same faint, strange magical glow as ordinary plants! It was a deep, almost purplish-blue light, very dim, yet stable. More importantly, through the "Eye of Truth," Karen saw that in this darkness, the magical flow within the dark algae became more active and orderly, as if it had been channeled by some force.

"It glows in the dark? And its magic is more active?" Karen was also surprised.

"Yes!" Fabian exclaimed excitedly. "And look at the wavelength of this light—it's very specific, barely illuminating its surroundings. It's more like a signal? Or rather, a manifestation of an energy state? Slytherin chose it, perhaps not only because of its potion properties, but also because it's a 'dark light' indicator plant! It might even act as a passive energy conductor or amplifier in complete darkness!"

This discovery immediately sparked Karen's imagination: "Slytherin's laboratory is hidden deep within the rocky walls at the bottom of the lake. Although he has magical light sources, some experiments—perhaps require an environment of absolute darkness? Or, are there areas of the laboratory that are inherently poorly lit? Could he be using this dark algae in some devices in those places, taking advantage of its properties in the dark?"

"Very likely!" Fabian agreed. "Perhaps the magic arrays in those observation pools, or in the areas deep within the laboratory that we haven't yet explored, will have applications! Next time we go in, we can pay special attention to those completely dark corners, or devices that look like they need to be embedded to activate."

Although this is just a conjecture and cannot be verified at the moment, it provides an interesting new direction for research in the Slytherin Laboratory. They recorded the "dark-light properties" and "enhanced magical activity in dark environments" in detail in the Dark Algae's files, and highlighted the speculation that "it may be related to the laboratory environment."

That's how research works; an unexpected discovery can often connect previous clues and open up new avenues of thought. The Eagle's Nest team's research is gradually unveiling the layers of Salazar Slytherin's underwater laboratory.