The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 6 Salazar's Gift

Moriarty ordered Lockhart, Ingo, and Luke to leave and stay in the hall.

He picked up the notebook.

"Ding-dong~ Host detected that Salazar Slytherin's diary has been discovered. Five exploration draws will be awarded."

Moriarty was slightly surprised. The entire castle only offered ten draws, while this diary offered five, which made him look forward to its contents.

Moriarty turned to the first page, where there was a line of elegant handwriting.

"Open your eyes to death, close your eyes to the future."

Moriarty read it softly; this was the spell to unseal the castle.

He turned to the second page, which read, "Death is eternal life."

"How interesting." Moriarty ran his finger across the page. Even after more than nine hundred years, the paper was still smooth. Just like this sentence, there were no outstanding words. It was as plain as stating a fact, but the result was chilling.

"Death is a mystery that wizards can never understand, while immortality is what many dark wizards pursue."

Moriarty sat down in the noble chair and rested his hands on the gold-trimmed down armrests.

"However, in the Middle Ages when Salazar lived, there was probably no concept of black wizards. Every archmage who reached the legendary level would have explored the possibility of immortality."

The two notes ignited Moriarty's ambition, and he eagerly turned to the third page, only to find it written in crimson blood: "Never trust fairies!"

Turning the pages further, the third page, the fourth page... all the way to the last page, are notes on potions, spells, and runes. It's as if death and immortality have never been mentioned before; their topics have disappeared.

Moriarty placed the notebook on the desk. Although it no longer contained records of death and immortality, it detailed the 17 potions and 34 spells invented by Salazar Slytherin.

"I think this knowledge will make my school life less boring." Moriarty smiled with satisfaction, took out his list, and wrote: "First year, successfully concocted three potions and mastered five spells."

After writing down his plans, Moriarty noticed a rectangular sandalwood box on the table. Time had not faded the box; it remained a vibrant golden-red.

This color is not common in the castle; gold and red is the favorite color of Salazar's friend and nemesis, Godric Gryffindor.

Moriarty curiously opened the box, inside which was a large bunch of keys, the largest of which, a red one, was labeled "Underground Chamber".

"Luke!" Moriarty shouted, grabbing the red key and rushing out of the bedroom. "Take me to the basement, quick!"

Luke jumped out: "Please come with me, young master. The basement has two floors. The first floor is the vault, where the master keeps the treasures he obtained from the fairies. The second floor stores the supplies the master has stockpiled."

Since he didn't know whether the underground chamber was located on the first or second floor, Moriarty decided to start his search from the first floor.

As Moriarty passed through the hall, he heard Lockhart ask Ingo a question.

"There's something I've been thinking about for a long time. You know, Ingo, you and the house-elves can't leave the castle, so how have you survived for nine hundred years? I mean, where did you get your food?"

"There's a big lake behind the castle, hmph." Ingo didn't answer directly, but instead gave a cruel smile.

"Oh, alright," Lockhart gave Ingo a disdainful look, then asked, "So, regarding the castle's wealth, did Salazar really get it from the goblins? I don't recall any record of Salazar having a conflict with goblins in the History of Magic."

Ingo glared at him fiercely, his lips moved but no sound came out.

Moriarty guessed that he must be cursing Salazar, but he dared not utter a sound, perhaps because of the golden shackles.

"Come with me, Lockhart, we're going to the vault," Moriarty said shrewdly. "Even a troll will read your new book if you pay enough!"

Lockhart ran over with his eyes shining, talking to himself all the way, as if he were rehearsing the press conference, looking very smug.

"Young master, we've arrived." Luke opened the vault door with one finger.

The pitch-black basement was instantly illuminated, and the mountains of gold and glittering gems and pearls blinded Moriarty and Lockhart.

Luke believed he had hurt Moriarty, and he cried, "It's all my fault. I've never been to the vault before, and I didn't know it was as bright as heaven."

"Ah, this is paradise!" Lockhart covered his eyes, tears streaming down his face, but he didn't care at all, intoxicated by the scent of money.

After a moment, Moriarty was able to see the internal structure of the vault.

The entire vault was as big as a football field, with four walls made of gold bricks, completely airtight. The ceiling was inlaid with gems, jade, diamonds, and pearls, and the floor was covered with countless treasures.

Crystals became the markers for classifying various treasures; a purple crystal wall separated mountains of gold and silver, and a green crystal wall separated gold utensils and magical materials...

Then there are the gold coins issued by various countries and in various years, but they are the least valuable items in the vault, and they are piled up in the corner.

"Wow!" Moriarty exclaimed. He wasn't greedy, but having this wealth would make his life easier. "Lockhart, take a few gold bars as funds to promote the new book."

"Oh, young master..." Lockhart knelt on the gold-brick floor, tears streaming down his face, shaking his head at Moriarty with his mouth open.

Moriarty didn't know what he was trying to express, but his tears were certainly tears of joy.

"Luke, let's go to the second floor." Moriarty walked out of the vault, which contained nothing but money; there was clearly no sign of a secret room.

Once you reach the second basement level, it's not as dark as the first floor. The armor hanging on the walls always reflects some light.

Moriarty paced around, searching for the underground chamber, where, in addition to armor, there were also weapons forged by fairies, such as greatswords, hammers, spears, shields, and scepters.

"Found it!" Moriarty shook his head as he looked at a snake sculpture. "Salarza was such a stubborn old man; the place where he kept those strange and unusual things was always filled with snakes."

Moriarty inserted the red key into the snake's mouth, and with a crisp "click," a hidden door appeared in the wall.

Moriarty glanced at the hidden door, which could only accommodate one person at a time, tightened his grip on his staff, and strode inside.

The danger that Moriarty was wary of did not materialize. The hidden door led to a room containing only an ordinary stone altar with an egg on it.

Sensing a faint magical energy emanating from the egg's interior, Moriarty gently placed his hand on it and indeed felt a soft pulsation, as if there were a small heart inside.

Moriarty suddenly heard a system notification:

"The egg in your hand is called the Undying Phoenix Egg. As a rare magical creature, the Undying Phoenix contains fire elemental magic and is an anomaly among phoenixes. It cannot undergo rebirth because it cannot be killed, which is why it is difficult to hatch."

This was the first time the system had explained so much to Moriarty, making him realize that this egg was not simple.

"Host detected to have discovered, touched, and possessed the immortal phoenix egg. Reward: three exploration draws."

"A rich source of fire elemental magic has been detected in the Undying Phoenix Egg. The path to advancement in elemental magic is now open for the host. Would you like to choose?"

Moriarty asked, "The path to advanced elemental magic? What are the benefits of choosing it?"

"Because the Harry Potter world lacks a complete wizard ranking system, the system provides a path for advancing in elemental magic."

Elemental magic can help the host better study magic and complete tasks faster.

As long as the host possesses the corresponding magical element, they can unlock the corresponding elemental magic.

The host has currently unlocked two elemental magics: fire and water.

"Water element?" Moriarty asked curiously. He had just unlocked fire element magic through the Undying Phoenix Egg, so when did he unlock water element magic?

Moriarty hadn't been exposed to magic for long, but he quickly realized: "It was during the battle against the dark wizard! Ice magic circle Ice Serpent Dance! I understand, in essence, ice is a variation of water, so ice magic belongs to water elemental magic."

"If the Slytherin family's inherited magic is all water elemental magic, what reason do I have not to learn it?" Moriarty said with a smile. Compared to the treasures in the vault, knowledge is the real wealth.

"The system does not allow one person to unlock multiple elemental magics at the same time, so the host can only choose one elemental magic to learn."

It is recommended that the host choose the water element. If the host chooses the water element, due to the host's excellent performance in the "Battle Against the Dark Wizard" quest, the host will become a level 25 novice wizard.

If the host chooses the fire element, they can only start as a level 3 magic apprentice.

"A magic apprentice and a novice wizard?" Moriarty toyed with the immortal phoenix egg in his hand. "It fills in the gaps in the hierarchy of magic in the Harry Potter world, redefining magic levels according to elemental magic power. It's getting more and more interesting. Alright, I'll choose the path of water elemental magic."

"Unlocking the water element requires 2000 points."

Moriarty paid out the points, leaving him with 600 points. Fortunately, he still had 18 exploration draws left.

With a soft "ding-dong" sound, a large amount of information flooded Moriarty's mind.

There are ten titles on the path to advanced elemental magic.

Apprentice Wizard, Novice Wizard, Senior Wizard, Magician, Magician, Archmage, Grand Archmage, Archmage, Legendary Archmage.

Once he reaches level 99, the legendary archmage, what awaits him is level 100, becoming a god!

Moriarty shook his head slightly, pulling his thoughts away from his reverie, and opened the shop to check out the water elemental magic.

The "Ice Disaster in the Prison" alone costs 5000 points, while the "Water Creation" that can collectively restore vitality costs even more, at 10000 points.

Moriarty set his sights on a passive spell: Tide.

When injured, it can restore a small amount of its own life force every three seconds.

During combat, you can add a layer of Tide to the enemy. When you add three layers of Tide, the chance of freezing the enemy increases significantly.

It only costs 800 points, which isn't expensive, but it's very useful.

"I'm still 200 points short. Maybe I should go see a wizard in England."

Moriarty narrowed his eyes, thinking about how to get more points. If he stayed in the castle, the system would definitely not issue any more tasks.

At this moment, the Ice Moon Necklace in the system space suddenly emitted a dazzling white light!

"Ding-dong~ The host's water element magic power is detected to correspond with the Ice Moon Necklace. The host has obtained the right to use the Ice Moon Necklace and is rewarded with one achievement lottery draw."

(End of this chapter)