novelslam Chapter 161, Section 160: Daily Life and Compensation
Chapter 161, Section 160: Daily Life and Compensation
Chapter 161, Section 160: Daily Life and Compensation
Hermione, one of the trio's strongest fighters, left with Mr. Granger.
She might not cross paths with Ian again during her next vacation. It seems like nothing has changed, but Ian knows that many things have undergone tremendous changes.
of course.
It's certainly difficult to be specific from the surface.
The orphanage returned to its usual routine, much like Ian remembered—thanks to Mr. Granger's donation, the orphanage had a substantial sum of money. A delighted Ms. Elena arranged an extra meal for everyone at dinner, which allowed Ian to enjoy a long-lost pleasure.
[Successfully slaughtered a duck, dissection proficiency +1]
[Successfully slaughtered a chicken, Biological Dissection Proficiency +1]
[Successfully slaughtered a duck, dissection proficiency +1]
……
Biological Anatomy
This is a skill that Ian would have had a hard time mastering at school. After all, even though Ian had defeated some enemies, he couldn't dissect them like a chicken or a duck.
Ian can only gain proficiency from dissecting organisms by thoroughly dissecting them like a butcher, and he will only ever gain a little proficiency from poultry like chickens and ducks.
It is definitely one of the most difficult skills to improve, otherwise Ian wouldn't have taken so many years to upgrade it to level five. Moreover, although Ian has already obtained the extraordinary trait of the [Biological Dissection] skill, [Butcher's Instinct], the scenarios in which it can be used are still quite limited for a wizard like Ian.
After all, wizards rarely engage in close combat with enemies. The Butcher's Instinct is only useful for the Dismemberment Charm taught by Grindelwald, allowing Ian to dismember enemies more meticulously without killing them.
Most people wouldn't use the Living Dismemberment Charm unless they were torturing others, and Ian was unlikely to need to torture anyone while studying at Hogwarts.
Most young wizards would immediately cower in Ian's presence with just a glare, never needing him to use a live dismemberment spell. Therefore, Ian could only resume practicing his [Biological Dissection] skill, which had been stagnant for nearly a year, after returning to the orphanage.
of course.
Although the little wizard doesn't eat people, he still enjoys training his skills immensely. Besides the familiar feeling, another important reason is his premonition.
"My sixth sense has always been very strong, and this skill's legendary trait, which hasn't been awakened yet, will definitely be of great help to me in the field of bio-alchemy."
Yes, that's Ian's sixth sense. If one had to find a field related to anatomy within the realm of magic, it would undoubtedly be the all-encompassing art of alchemy.
Bioalchemy was a sensitive area of alchemy that wizards rarely mentioned, but Ian didn't feel there was any taboo about it. He always advocated that there were only evil people, not evil knowledge.
"Knowledge of bio-alchemy can also help wizards brew potions. There are connections between all magical fields, and there is a reason why the entry requirements for alchemy require knowledge of all subjects."
"In fact, the same applies to brewing potions. If you don't even understand the specific structure of a creature, how can potion makers create potions that help that creature?" This was the profound truth that Ian explained to Lupin, who came to the kitchen to help out, when he was slaughtering chickens and ducks he had bought from the orphanage.
"So, that's why even though I rejected you, you still tried to take advantage of me last night after you went back?" Lupin's expression was quite strange.
While helping the children clean Ian's room, he discovered Ian's diary from the previous night. Of course, calling it a diary was really just a new notebook with only one page of content. Lupin even suspected that the little wizard had deliberately written something and placed it in his dormitory for him to see.
"So, are you tempted?"
The young wizard chuckled and chopped off the head of the chicken in his hand. Then, to Lupin's astonishment, he swiftly dismembered the chicken before it was completely dead, even as it was still struggling and bleeding.
Chicken wings, chicken breast, chicken skeleton, chicken feet, chicken legs... and even the undamaged, still twitching internal organs—all of this happened in just a few dozen seconds. To be honest, seeing this speed that even professional butchers don't possess, Lupin really found it hard to imagine how many chickens Ian had killed before.
"If you mean you told me your ideas for improving the wolfsbane potion in just sixty words, and then threatened me in 4000 words that if I didn't agree, you would transform me into some kind of sewer behemoth, then I think I have already reported your threat to Dumbledore."
Lu Ping stared expressionlessly at the young wizard not far away. His job was to collect duck down and chicken feathers. These byproducts, once properly processed, would be made into useful everyday items by the jack-of-all-trades, Elena. Duck down, in particular, was quite expensive in Britain.
Collecting duck down and making down jackets for children is the best way to prepare for winter.
"That's not some sewer behemoth, it's Warwick, the wrathful beast of Zaun. His body underwent painful experiments and mutated, fusing with sophisticated and complex reservoirs and pumps that can inject alchemically synthesized rage hormones into his veins, which will enhance his ability to hunt down evil criminals."
Ian corrected Lupin's form of address.
"No matter what new name you give me, it doesn't change the fact that you threatened to turn me into a biological weapon. I think I already know why Dumbledore had me keep an eye on you." Lupin's expression was very helpless. He found it hard to comment on Ian's wild and creepy imagination.
"You're talking nonsense again. I clearly just wrote a little fantasy essay in my diary. You're the one who read my diary and then connected yourself to my essay. I won't say who's more despicable." After Ian finished preparing all the ingredients, he went to wash his hands.
"Oh, so your little essay will draw my face on your 'werewolf'?" Lupin remained unmoved, believing that not a single word the little wizard uttered was true.
"I don't know any other werewolves."
Ian, on the other hand, was quite self-righteous.
"You should thank me for being a relatively good-natured werewolf. If other werewolves saw your so-called little essay, I think they wouldn't need to inject you with any of those fantasy potions when they tore you apart." Lupin seemed to be mocking Ian, but he was actually reminding the little wizard in front of him.
He didn't think Ian was that bad a person, just a kid with a lot of bad ideas. After all, how bad could a little wizard who could take care of a bunch of younger brothers and sisters be?
"This is the kind of provocation I'm happy to see."
Ian chuckled dismissively, then glanced furtively towards the door—Aunt Marilyn, who was in charge of cooking, was still out shopping for supplies and hadn't returned yet.
This immediately made the little wizard's eyes light up. He immediately decided to seize the opportunity to show off his cooking skills, so he put the cut meat into a pot of cold water and started blanching it.
"I'll treat you to jelly-flavored chicken and braised duck with vinegar today!" Ian's cooking skills weren't great, but they weren't bad either; he had practiced in the house-elves' kitchen at Hogwarts. Level 3 [Cooking Skills] wasn't Ian's pinnacle, but his creativity was undeniable; the house-elves ate his food with tears in their eyes.
They were so delicious they made me cry.
"Just hearing the name makes me want to lose weight." Lupin suspected that Ian was trying to waste the ingredients, and his eyes were probably full of evidence.
The little wizard brought out a bunch of seasonings that even werewolves wouldn't eat. Before Lupin could stop him, Ian started cooking, leaving Lupin with no choice but to resort to underhanded tactics.
"What are you doing with your wand?"
Ian looked up and saw Lupin holding a wand in the corner.
"Of course, it's about regular maintenance and upkeep."
Lu Ping remained unfazed and answered calmly. However, his disheveled appearance and worn-out wand spoke volumes about the unreliability of his words.
"Are you tattling on me again?"
Ian felt as if he had grasped the standard Gryffindor traits. Sure enough, no sooner had he finished speaking than Aunt Marilyn rushed in.
"I knew it! I knew it! That's why I was so restless before I even got to the gate of the compound!" Aunt Marilyn grabbed a large colander and started chasing the little wizard all over the house.
"Depend on!"
As Ian ran, he secretly gave Lupin the middle finger, who was gloating. Lupin, however, seemed not to notice and continued washing the down, playing his silent and hardworking role.
"Little Ian! You're trying to secretly cook perfectly good ingredients into poop and serve it to us again!" Aunt Marilyn showed no mercy to the young wizard.
Her voice carried a sense of lingering fear.
"No, I'm completely different now. I've been in school and training for a whole year. I'm confident I can create a dish that surpasses General Tso's Chicken and Orange Chicken!"
Ian's protest, of course, did not gain Aunt Marilyn's trust.
"You're going to school! Not to learn how to cook! I've never heard of any Hogwarts school being a culinary arts college!" Aunt Marilyn shooed the little wizard, whose sauces were already prepared, out of the house. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the chicken and duck in the pot had only been blanched with ginger and scallions.
"Cooking isn't actually that hard for me. I just want to make dishes that suit Western tastes," Ian said, leaning against the window outside, continuing to argue with Aunt Marilyn.
He was right. When making some common dishes, he could always make them taste better than home-style cooking. After all, his level three [Cooking Skills] were no joke.
"You'd better go back to your room and study what you're supposed to be studying. I've told you countless times, the weirder the dish looks, the tastier it is!"
Aunt Marilyn was also exhausted. She had once taught Ian to cook seriously, and Ian did quite well when she supervised him. However, she could not change some of the little guy's cognitive problems. He was even more stubborn than the parrot she used to have. After a while, she dared not let Ian use his skills.
"Then I'll go back to school and cook it for my classmates."
The young wizard tossed out a few words and jumped out of the window. Lupin, who had heard this, couldn't help but twitch his eye and silently prayed for the students of Hogwarts.
"How could such a fierce guy be a Ravenclaw?"
He couldn't help but ask himself the same question that many people have had.
……
Daily life at the orphanage was always peaceful and serene, with a comforting and reassuring quality. After playing with the children for a while, Ian returned to his room.
Dinner was as usual, decent but not particularly innovative. Everyone enjoyed it, and Ian, aside from a slight disappointment, ate with great relish.
Although he was no longer at Hogwarts, Ian still had another kind of classroom during the rest time after meals—it was always his task to teach his younger siblings some basic literacy and knowledge.
of course.
When Ian was away, Ms. Elena would also teach the children along with the other adults from the orphanage, but their lessons were not as popular with the children as Ian's.
"Whoever can write down ten words they learned today can listen to me tell the story of Resident Evil tonight!" Ian always manages to use storytelling to pique children's interest in learning.
of course.
Compared to the children who were all very happy, Lupin, who was about to go back to his room and lock himself in, had very mixed feelings after hearing what the little wizard said.
He didn't know what Resident Evil was, but he knew that stories with that name were obviously not suitable for children; it was probably just another version of that sewer monster.
Lupin, who was making this guess, also eavesdropped outside the door for a while. Then, he finally realized who had come up with some of the scary stories he had heard from the children before Ian returned—of course, even though he felt that Ian's stories were not suitable for children, Lupin still listened intently outside.
In an instant.
I've almost forgotten my habit of locking myself in at a certain time.
"And so, Ian, who was forced to become the mutant test subject of the Azure Overlord, successfully brought down the evil Umbrella Corporation and, together with the vengeful Alice, chose to clean up the mutated monsters all over the world."
"It seems that everything is gradually returning to normal, but in the pursuit of a strange Licker, they fall into a Licker cave, which begins the story of Ian and his accessory Alice traveling in Wonderland together."
"To find out what happens next, please peel two pounds of sunflower seeds for me tomorrow night." Of course, Ian's storytelling is never just a recitation of the script; he has always been good at adding his own ideas to his stories.
This is not.
In order to hear more vivid and interesting stories tomorrow night, the children all patted their chests and made promises, and Ian immediately took out a big bag of sunflower seeds.
"Don't peel it with your mouth!"
He also reminded all the children one by one at bedtime.
Night falls.
The orphanage gradually quieted down.
Only the occasional bark of a dog in the distance broke the silence. A large black dog lay under a tree not far from the orphanage, warning other stray dogs that were about to come up and do something malicious.
Faced with these rather English-looking male stray dogs.
The big black dog's barking sounded quite frightened.
As mentioned before, although Voldemort's remnant soul was ultimately defeated by the magic of love due to the inertia of fate, some of the butterfly effects have already caused deviations.
……
Life goes on.
Life remains vibrant and full of energy.
a new day.
A new beginning.
Another night of illusion, and Ian failed to enter the dreamlike realm. He woke up early in the morning feeling rather down. He once again wanted to pull the black-robed skeleton out of the small suitcase and beat him up.
however.
The black-robed skeleton seemed to have calculated the timing perfectly. As soon as Ian opened the small leather suitcase, one of its pale bony hands would immediately reach out and grab the zipper to seal the suitcase again.
He pulled it open.
It closed.
He pulled it open again.
It closed again.
This tug-of-war continued until breakfast time, finally ending when Ian was called away by Catherine. Unbeknownst to Ian, who was cursing under his breath, the black-robed skeleton unzipped its pants and peeked out shortly after he left. After looking around for a moment, it crawled out again and crawled under Ian's bed.
I wondered if it wanted to jump out and scare the little wizard tonight. Anyway, after Ian returned home full, he didn't notice anything unusual about the space under his bed or the small suitcase.
"How much longer until I can return to the Dreamland?" Ian sat at his desk, utterly frustrated, with a jumble of random parts in front of him.
Just as the little wizard was sighing and groaning as he assembled the device...
"Knock knock knock~"
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Ian didn't even need to turn around to tell who it was from the footsteps and the "emotional individual" he sensed—it was Lupin, the unkempt werewolf who looked like a homeless man.
"So you've finally changed your mind?"
Ian raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Lupin.
"No, I will absolutely not drink any liquids you offer, nor will I eat any food you give me." Lupin remained as wary and defensive as ever.
A flawless version after careful inspection!
Judging from his behavior after breakfast—preferring to spend all his money to buy wolfsbane potion in Diagon Alley rather than let the young wizard brew it for him—he was genuinely worried that Ian might use him as a test subject for the sewer behemoth.
"How about I get a vial of blood?"
Ian persisted relentlessly.
Lupin pretended not to hear.
"What are you doing?"
He glanced at Ian's desk and abruptly changed the subject.
"Of course, it's about creating a groundbreaking masterpiece." Ian held up the device, which was already mostly assembled, and pressed the shutter directly in Lupin's direction.
The sudden flash of light startled Lupin. After regaining his senses, he immediately checked himself over and found that he was not missing any limbs or had been attacked by a soul, which relieved him.
This guy is clearly misunderstanding Ian more and more.
"camera?"
He looked at the square box in Ian's hand. If he hadn't seen the photograph protruding from the bottom of the box, he would have really thought it was an urn containing ashes.
"Yes, but it's just a prototype. I haven't designed the appearance yet." Ian defended his artistic talents, shaking the photos that the box had spat out in his hand.
"A magic instant camera—all you need to do is buy my special potion and fill it with it, and you'll get a photo that moves instantly, saving you the hassle and hassle of developing photos with a traditional camera." Ian first gave a detailed introduction to his work, then looked at Lupin with expectant eyes.
"This kind of camera is definitely in high demand. How much do you think you would be willing to pay for it?" Ian's intention was to conduct some market research.
however.
He had barely finished speaking.
The next moment he realized he had asked the wrong person.
"I'd rather save my money than buy this fancy stuff," Lupin said after thinking it over carefully, giving a truly honest answer.
"Useless? All flashy? Ha! Do you know how advanced this camera is, how ahead of its time it is!" Ian waved the photos he had taken in front of Lupin.
"I even added a beauty filter! Look how melancholic and handsome I made you look! All the witches would go crazy for my creativity!"
Ian’s tone was full of certainty.
Wizards are human too.
Who wouldn't like to look better?
"Beautified?" Lupin looked at the photo Ian handed him with some surprise. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he really wouldn't have believed that the person in the photo was himself.
At that moment, he seemed to have grasped a new concept.
"Now you know how amazing this is."
Ian chuckled and snatched the photo from Lupin's hand.
"Wasn't this a gift for me?"
Lupin watched with some regret as Ian tucked the photo into his pocket.
"One sheet of photo album paper costs one silver sieco." Ian didn't even bother to shrug; he knew he couldn't squeeze a single penny out of Lupin, a grown wizard.
"It's just a piece of paper. Even with your potion, the cost shouldn't be this high," Lupin said, clicking his tongue in surprise. For him, one silver coin was already a huge sum.
"The exact cost is definitely a secret, but if you think the price is too high, it's not my fault. This thing costs much more to make than something like an eyebrow pencil."
Ian gave a very serious answer.
Lupin didn't quite understand what the little wizard was saying next.
but.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
"Why are you so obsessed with making money?"
This was a question that Lupin couldn't understand. In his opinion, young wizards were already very wealthy, and students at Hogwarts didn't have any major expenses.
"you guess?"
Ian did not respond.
"I guess you want to be hanged on a cross," Lupin replied seriously. Having wandered for so many years, he was familiar with how Muggles punished capitalists.
"..."
The little wizard hadn't expected Lupin to be so sarcastic.
"Your wolfsbane potion must have been bought in Knockover Alley. I can smell the sea through your clothes and the bottle cap," Ian retorted, not to be outdone.
He chose to use the sharp blade of truth to hurt people.
"??????"
Lu Ping was taken aback at first, then as if he realized something, he hurriedly took out the wolfsbane medicine. He carefully opened the bottle cap to check it, looking quite panicked.
"You mean this potion was watered down?"
He spoke his interpretation, his tone filled with surprise and uncertainty. Lupin's potions skills weren't bad; based on his own abilities, he hadn't detected anything wrong.
"Of course not."
Ian gave an answer.
Just as Lupin was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
"It was a shady merchant who added a little bit of wolfsbane to the water."
The little wizard corrected Lupin's misuse of words.
"..."
Lupin was struck dumb, his expression one of utter devastation, as if he had lost a beloved person.
"It seems I'm still too naive, lacking the guts of those unscrupulous merchants." Ian sighed, taking the bottle of drugged "pigment" water from Lupin's stiff hand.
"I have to go back and find them!"
Lupin, regaining his senses, looked indignant. After snatching back his wolfsbane potion, he gritted his teeth and prepared to turn and leave—he clearly wanted to settle accounts with the wizard who sold him this fake potion.
"If I were them, I would have run away long ago."
Ian's words plunged Lupin into a state of utter despair.
"Oh, by the way, did you come to me wanting me to analyze your wolfsbane potion?" Ian was still curious about why Lupin had come to him.
"Of course not."
Lupin sighed, somewhat uneasy.
"There's a letter for you, delivered by an owl..." he said, pulling out an exquisitely crafted envelope, which even had gold trim.
Judging from its appearance.
Lupin must have tried to remove the gold trim, but he was unsuccessful.
Perhaps noticing Ian's strange gaze, the somewhat embarrassed and down-on-his-luck werewolf changed the subject, "You have a good relationship with the pure-blood families?"
His words startled Ian slightly.
immediately.
As if he had just thought of something, Ian immediately took the envelope from Lupin's hand.
"Hahaha! No! This time I have to use 'older sister, older sister, older sister' to describe how I feel!"
Ian saw the signature and wording on the envelope, then immediately threw away the half-finished magic camera in his hand, letting out a laugh that Lupin found somewhat inexplicable. Perhaps feeling it wasn't quite right, Ian even whistled to bring the Black Phoenix back, then grabbed its throat and made it laugh in his place.
"Hehehehehe~"
This is finally the standard.
It perfectly captures Ian's feelings at this moment.
"What's wrong with you?"
Lupin couldn't understand why the little wizard's mouth was stretched almost to the back of his ears.
"Of course it transcends class."
Ian knows.
The compensation he was owed had arrived. He immediately tore open the envelope, ignoring the long letter inside, and then vigorously shook the envelope against his desk before writing it down.
"Crackling, crackling~"
Say something.
Despite having some expectations, Ian was still taken aback by the huge pile of keys that fell out; dozens of keys were all marked with addresses.
"Are these the keys to Gringotts?"
Lupin also came over in surprise.
"No!"
Ian reached into the envelope again and pulled out a thick stack of land deeds stuck inside. Like a nouveau riche, he slammed the deeds down in front of Lu Ping.
"They are the keys to Diagon Alley."
Yes.
Ian received a street's worth of compensation in Diagon Alley.
Or perhaps it's... a gesture of goodwill.
[P.S.: The additional 2 will only be finalized tomorrow. Tonight, I'll be working all night!]
(End of this chapter)