The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 116 The System Advises Me to Become a Traitor to Cao Cao (Bonus Chapter Event in the Author's Note)

Moriarty saw right through the White Wizard's thoughts.

But how could Moriarty send out his men?

In Moriarty's team, Flint and Foley were too old, while Marcus and Jericho were too young.

Lockhart was a diplomatic expert, a handsome man, and quite well-known in the European magical world.

He also wrote a novel called "Sailing with Vampires," and those who don't know him would definitely think Lockhart is very familiar with vampires.

Unfortunately, this book is the problem!

Only Moriarty knew that Lockhart's past was fake. Although Lockhart had been improving his combat experience recently, his strength was increasing too slowly, and he still found it difficult to deal with vampires with malicious intentions.

Moreover, Moriarty was reluctant to let Lockhart visit the vampire; he wanted to keep that golden brand for England to make money.

Seeing Dumbledore pretending to be deep in thought, Moriarty also adopted a serious expression of contemplation.

Old Deng caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but wonder if he was overthinking things and whether Moriarty really hadn't set up a small organization.

In fact, Old Deng was not lying. Although there was an element of testing Moriarty involved, he genuinely had no one else to send.

The two fell into deep thought. The principal's office was quiet. Suddenly, the system issued a task!

"The system has detected that the host needs to visit the Jewish Marquis. Four candidates and four corresponding tasks are now available for the host to choose from."

Candidate 1: Quirinas Quiro.

Mission 1: Paigelo visits the Jewish Marquis to uncover the secret of the Headless Vampire Ancestor. Reward: 10,000 points. No penalty for mission failure.

Candidate number two: Bill Weasley.

Task Two: Send Bill to visit the Jewish Marquis... Rewards are the same as above, no penalties.

Candidate number three: William Romer.

Task Three: Send William... Reward: 50,000 points! Failure to complete the task will result in the host being transformed into a toad for thirty days.

Candidate number four: Lucius Malfoy.

Mission Four: Send Lucius... Reward: 80,000 points! If the mission fails, Lucius will be killed by the vampires, and the host will be punished by having to take over Narcissa Malfoy.

Please make your choice within four minutes. Every choice you make is crucial.

Moriarty first ruled out Bill Weasley, for the simple reason that Bill was no match for the Marquess of Judah.

Moriarty had originally planned to exclude William, also citing his youth as the reason; William was a year younger than Bill.

However, the third task given by the system puzzled Moriarty.

Why does Bill only get 10,000 points for doing the same task?

William will be rewarded with 50,000 points for doing it.

Bill has a "mmp" in his name that he's not sure if he should say.

Moriarty was indignant for Bill; they were both working-class people, who did Bill look down on?

Furthermore, the punishments for the two people who failed to complete the task were different!

Bill failed to complete the mission, and Moriarty will not be punished.

If William fails to complete the mission, Moriarty will receive a 30-day Toad Trial Card.

This time it's William's turn to be angry. We're both working-class people, who does he think he is?

Moriarty inquired with the system, and the system gave a very official reply: "All the tasks provided are to help the host become the mastermind behind the scenes as soon as possible. Please choose with confidence. Host, you have three minutes left to make your choice."

Moriarty began to consider the remaining two candidates.

"Quirinas Quirrell!"

"Lucius Malfoy!"

To be honest, it was a bit unexpected that Lucius became the fourth candidate given by the system.

Moriarty had no intention of telling the various British families about his feud with the vampires.

However, since the system chose Lucius, it means that Lucius is capable of the job. Come to think of it, as a well-known pureblood, Lucius is quite adept at diplomacy, social interaction, and negotiation.

As a pure-blooded family that has lasted for hundreds of years, their confidence and demeanor, stemming from their heritage and traditions, are impeccable and would not be looked down upon by vampire marquises.

Lucius is also a graduate of Slytherin House at Hogwarts, making him a representative of the Slytherin family and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Now look at Quirrell.

The Quirrell of today is not the crazy Voldemort servant that Harry Potter was in his first year.

Three months have passed, and Quirrell should have recovered from his injuries. He has plenty of travel experience—no one knows where the Jewish Marquis lives, and Moriarty will probably have to find out the exact location from Countess Swann.

Furthermore, Quirrell has dealt with vampires more often than the average wizard.

His advantages are also obvious.

Judging from his own strengths, Lucius seems to be a little bit stronger than Quirrell.

But Lucius is different from Quirrell.

Moriarty could summon Quirrell with a letter, but with his current strength and influence, he couldn't summon Lucius with a letter.

Persuading Lucius to visit the Jewish Marquis was undoubtedly a difficult task.

Imagine this: it's nearing autumn, and the breeze is getting cooler. In your picturesque estate, you're sitting in your magnificent villa, enjoying a steaming hot pot with your wife and son by the warm fireplace.

Your wife's radiant smile and your son's happy face fill you with joy. Just as you're about to thank Merlin before taking a bite of your roast meat, an uninvited guest bursts into your home.

This person tells you to visit a vampire who has lived for who knows how many years.

Furthermore, you'd better find out the secret of the headless vampire ancestor, and speak gently and act softly, otherwise you'll be dragged into a coffin by the vampire and drained of your blood.

Are you completely confused?

Is this even human language? Even Voldemort wouldn't be this unreasonable!

If it were Moriarty, he would probably kill that person with the Killing Curse, and then kill his soul again!

Clearly, if Lucius is chosen, completing the task will not be difficult for him; the real challenge lies in persuading him to make the visit.

It's impossible to compare them in a short time.

Moriarty then turned his attention to the mission rewards and penalties.

Regardless of whether Quirrell completes the mission or not, the rewards and punishments are fairly standard.

Ten thousand points, no more, no less, and there's no penalty.

But compared to the reward Lucius received for completing the mission, it's nothing.

Even Hagrid could see the difference between 80,000 points and 10,000 points.

If it weren't for that outrageous punishment, Moriarty would have chosen Lucius without hesitation!

Unfortunately, the penalty for failing the mission is...

Is this a takeover of Narcissa?

"System!" Moriarty exclaimed seriously, "Do I look like Cao Cao?"

"No, Cao Cao was Chinese, but the host is now British."

"Have I ever expressed any words or actions that show my liking for married women?"

"No, the host is surrounded by young girls. The oldest women I've met so far are Mrs. Kova and Diana."

Moriarty had a knowing look on his face. Don't let Diana's youthful appearance fool you; she's actually an ancient elf who's lived for hundreds of years!

Maybe even bigger than Nicolas Flamel?

"Host, you have two minutes left."

"Alright, I'll ask you again. Since I'm not like Cao Cao, and I haven't shown any interest in married women, why was the punishment set as taking over Narcissa's affairs?"

For the first time, Moriarty was confused by the system's punishment. He had never felt anything wrong with the previous elimination of him, since high risk comes with high reward.

But this time?

To take over Narcissa's mantle? To become Draco's stepfather?

The system is playing a bit too far.

Moriarty felt his system was starting to go astray.

But the system said, "I thought you'd be overjoyed to hear you were taking over Narcissa's business, and exclaim, 'Is this for real?'"

Moriarty: "Huh??? Something's not right with you."

The system explained: "If Lucius cannot reach an agreement with the Marquis of Judah, given Lucius's arrogant nature, he will most likely be killed. After Lucius's death, the Malfoy family will become easy prey."

Although the host doesn't care about money, Lucius's connections and status are still quite considerable.

Taking over Narcissa is said to be a punishment, but if the host doesn't have a virginity complex, it's not too bad. This is to allow the host to take advantage of the situation and take over the Malfoy family.

Once the host digests the Malfoy family and makes them part of the Slytherin family, the chances of becoming the mastermind behind the scenes will greatly increase, and the time it takes to become the mastermind behind the scenes will also be shortened.

To reiterate, the entire premise of this system is based on the host becoming the mastermind behind the scenes.

The system alerts the host that one minute remains.

It was the last minute, and Moriarty had to make a difficult choice—there was no reason not to choose. Sending someone to visit the Jewish Marquis was part of his plan, and there was a reward for making the choice, so why not?

Of course you should choose it!

William was excluded by Moriarty because Moriarty didn't want to become a toad, and also because William's mission rewards and punishments were too bizarre; Moriarty couldn't understand why there was such a difference.

However, with the selection time approaching, Moriarty could not dwell on William's matter any longer and needed to choose between Quirrell and Lucius.

Who should we choose?

Choosing Quirrell is just a matter of a letter, and you'll get 10,000 points. Even if Quirrell doesn't find anything, Moriarty won't lose anything.

Choosing Lucius will definitely be a complicated process, but it could potentially earn you 80,000 points. Even if Lucius unfortunately passes away, his wife and children... will be well taken care of by Moriarty...

"Host, five seconds left!"

five--

Four--

three--

two--"

Moriarty shouted before the word "one": "I choose—"

Bonus Chapter Event: Guess why the rewards and penalties for choosing William's mission seem so outrageous. Leave your guesses in the comments, and if anyone guesses correctly, I'll add a 4000-word chapter!

(End of this chapter)