Comparable to Asgard…
Helga held a different opinion. As someone who had personally witnessed the entrance magic array of Asgard and even fought the Light God Baldr who guarded it, she felt that although Hogwarts' concealment array could be considered top-tier, there was still a gap between it and Asgard's.
At the very least, this place lacked a gatekeeper on the level of a god.
However, seeing Salazar drenched in sweat, she decided to keep that thought to herself, so as not to dampen her old friend's enthusiasm.
"Helga, if you stood guard outside the gates of Hogwarts, it would be even stronger than Asgard's magic array."
Helga: "…"
"Wow, thanks.. so.. much," she squeezed out those words of "gratitude" through clenched teeth.
"You're welcome, it's only right," Rhys waved his hand, gathering up the sweat from his hard work just now and casually flicking it away.
"But setting up such a large magic array is really exhausting… In the future, you should go ask the Ministry of Magic whether they're interested in adding new concealment magic."
As he said this, Rhys suddenly frowned. He realized that just as Britain had more than only Hogwarts and Hogsmeade as wizarding settlements, the world also had more than just one magical school.
There were as many as seven schools that could barely stand alongside Hogwarts in reputation.
"And there are still so many other magic schools…" Rhys pondered for a moment, then decided to let them fend for themselves.
Because building a protective array for a school was truly a thankless task. Aside from Hogwarts, which they had founded with their own hands, what magical school would be willing to let outsiders know its exact location?
If they wouldn't even reveal their location, how could they possibly allow others to tamper with their protective arrays?
And even if you built it for them, they might not be grateful at all. They might even expect lifetime maintenance, clinging to Hogwarts in the future, perhaps even after he was long gone.
Thinking of this, Rhys completely abandoned the idea of helping other schools build magic arrays. If, in the future, other magical schools were willing to pay a hefty price, then he would just write them a manual and let them handle it themselves.
"Let's head back to the school. We'll deal with the outer perimeter tomorrow," Rhys said to Helga.
"Mm." Helga nodded, took two steps forward, stretched out her hand into the air, and was stopped by something invisible.
"Very nice. You can't see the barrier at all," she praised Salazar's magic.
"Of course. Don't you know who made it?" Rhys said, his face full of pride.
The two of them chatted as they passed through that layer of illusion.
The moment the two of them crossed the barrier, Hogwarts Castle suddenly appeared clearly before their eyes.
Rhys first cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, then crossed the lawn with Helga and headed back to the castle.
When they returned, it was just in time for dinner. After dispelling the charm, Rhys walked straight to the Slytherin table and sat down beside Daphne.
"Rhys? Where did you go? The sun in the sky seemed to flash all of a sudden just now."
Seeing him, Daphne was first delighted, then immediately started telling him about the "big event" that had happened at sunset.
"It's related to that flash." Rhys did not answer her question right away. Instead, he first served himself a portion of Caen-style tripe stew from the dish in front of him, then took a few slices of garlic-roasted mini baguette. Finally, he added a large, plump, and juicy piece of smoked brisket.
It had to be said that after Helga returned to Hogwarts, the food served in the school hall had become more and more refined. The proportion of British dishes in the main courses was rapidly decreasing, while French cuisine was taking up more space, noticeably improving the overall quality of the meals.
"Come on, tell us what happened!" Daphne's curiosity was immediately piqued, and Astoria put down her knife and fork, quietly sitting to the side to listen in as well.
As for the other students, it was as if they heard nothing at all. This was the effect of the anti-eavesdropping charm Rhys had cast.
Anyone who tried to listen in on his conversation with the Greengrass sisters would hear nothing but a buzzing noise. The secrecy of this spell was excellent, allowing them to discuss confidential matters even in the middle of a crowded hall.
"Professor White and I added another layer of 'illusion' to the school. I call it the 'Magic Canopy.'" Rhys explained the effects of the Magic Canopy to the two girls, leaving them staring in astonishment.
"But why go to all this trouble? Hasn't the school already cast strong enough Muggle-Repelling Charms?" Daphne couldn't help asking. She didn't understand why Rhys and Professor White would do this.
"Have Muggles become more of a threat?" Astoria thought for a moment and came up with a reason she wasn't entirely confident about.
"That's exactly it." While polishing off the food on his plate, Rhys introduced the two sisters to the technologies Muggles had developed in recent years.
Satellites that could clearly observe the ground from hundreds of miles away, networks that could communicate across tens of thousands of miles, and all kinds of transportation capable of conquering the skies, the land, and the seas…
If these things hadn't come from Rhys, Daphne and Astoria would have thought they were excerpts from The Quibbler.
"How have Muggles made such huge progress?"
"If this keeps up, what should we do?"
Faced with their questions, Rhys could only shake his head. He didn't know what the magical world should do either. If he had awakened a century earlier, he might have had a solution. But now, even making the true situation of the outside world public required extreme caution. Faced with such a massive gap, he worried that some witches and wizards might suffer a psychological collapse.
But judging from Daphne and Astoria's reactions, the two of them didn't seem to be feeling what he feared most.
You can be afraid. You can worry. You can doubt. You can even feel jealousy or anger. But you cannot surrender, and you cannot collapse and give up. That was the bottom line Rhys set for the witches and wizards of the modern age.
If the entire wizarding world were to completely collapse and give up after learning about the advances in Muggle technology, Rhys would not hesitate for a second. He would take the wizards he认可 and withdraw into seclusion. Even if he possessed power great enough to bring mutual destruction, that bunch of dead weight would not be worth saving.
"So what do you think we should do?" Rhys threw the question straight back to them.
He really wanted to hear Daphne and Astoria's thoughts.
The two of them began thinking seriously, while Rhys took the opportunity to finish off the brisket on his plate.
After polishing off the whole piece of beef along with three slices of garlic butter bread, Daphne gave her answer.
"I think we could try making contact with the Muggles and see what their attitude toward the magical world is like. Maybe start with the Muggle aristocracy. I think that would be more effective. To be honest, the stories about Muggles persecuting wizards go back several hundred years. Modern Muggles might not persecute us anymore."
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI