"Wait—Acromantula venom… cedarwood!"
Newt turned to look at the small bottle on the table, which was made of cedar.
Unscrewing the cap, he used his wand to lift a drop of liquid into the air.
"Sure enough, it's Acromantula venom—and the quality…"
Newt compared it in his mind to the Acromantula venom he had in storage. Very few samples he possessed were as pure as the one Lucien had sent.
"It seems the Acromantula must have been extremely old for its venom to reach this potency."
To be honest, an Acromantula of that age was quite rare, which only deepened Newt's curiosity.
Where had Lucien found so many Acromantulas—and such an ancient one at that? It must have been a massive colony…
Newt looked back at the towering stack of papers. Spurred on by his discovery, his curiosity about the remaining records only grew stronger.
Several sheets floated into his hand.
Centaur…
Newt's eyes widened slightly. Centaurs, after all, were known for their aloofness toward humans; most would even say they found humans distasteful and kept their distance.
"How on earth does that child even have records on Centaurs?"
Glancing at the remaining half of the stack, Newt couldn't help but wonder how much of it was about Centaurs.
Just as he was about to cast a spell to summon the rest, a gentle voice interrupted him:
"Newt, I heard you coughing. Did you catch a cold? The weather here is so damp and chilly. I told you to come back to America with me to recuperate, but you wouldn't listen."
Tina looked at her husband, who was still flipping through the pile of papers, and said softly,
"Come have breakfast first."
"Tina, you go ahead and eat. I'll just read a little more, then I'll join you."
"…"
A minute later, Newt was obediently seated at the dining table—though he still had a stack of papers in his hand.
Tina glanced at the small Qilin, who had shrunk in size. After her initial surprise, she had quickly gotten used to its magical abilities.
"Lumen, what kind of food do you like?"
Hearing this, Newt also looked up, curiously observing the creature. It was the perfect opportunity to study its habits.
"Thank you, Ms. Tina. Some vegetables and fruits will be fine."
Tina nodded, waved her wand, and a plate of fresh fruits and vegetables floated in from the kitchen.
Newt quietly noted that the little Qilin was a vegetarian.
However, the next scene caught him completely off guard. The Qilin gently sniffed the fruits and vegetables, and faint wisps of blue-white energy rose from their surfaces, flowing into its mouth and nose one after another.
This strange method of eating was something Newt had never seen before.
Tina, too, was amazed, saying she had never witnessed anything so unusual.
After watching the Qilin's meal, Newt turned his attention back to the documents in his hand.
The more he read, the more confusion filled his eyes.
"Newborn Centaurs need to bathe continuously for seven days in Windstar Grass juice?"
Newt couldn't fathom how Lucien had learned even that—his records were written as if he had lived among Centaurs for years.
After a quick breakfast, Newt returned to his desk to continue reading.
He finally finished the Centaur section, and this time, Newt found himself unable to make many corrections.
Just like the Acromantula notes, this information was incredibly thorough—so detailed that even he wasn't entirely certain about some of the specifics.
Still wondering how Lucien had managed to get so close to Centaurs, Newt turned to the next section of the documents.
"Unicorns?"
That made him even more puzzled. Wasn't Lucien just a Hogwarts student? And didn't Unicorns naturally reject the presence of males?
So how had he managed to get near one?
"Did he ask a female classmate to help him observe? He couldn't have possibly used Polyjuice Potion to turn into a girl…"
Newt shook his head and continued reading. There wasn't much left—most of the material consisted of Acromantula and Centaur records.
"Changes in Unicorns during pregnancy…"
Reading this section, Newt was astonished. He couldn't help but sigh—Lucien's luck was truly remarkable.
He himself had once encountered pregnant Unicorns and had even been lucky enough to observe a birth from afar.
But to record such detailed observations and characteristics of Unicorns during pregnancy, as Lucien had done, was absolutely unprecedented.
"He's really well-suited for a career involving magical creatures… I just wonder if Lucien has any interest in that path."
Newt took out parchment and quill, quickly writing a reply that included answers to Lucien's questions, words of encouragement, and praise for his achievements—along with a casual inquiry about his Hogwarts house.
Then, glancing once more at the towering pile of Acromantula notes and the bottle of venom, Newt shook his head.
"Hogwarts students are truly improving with each generation."
Newt opened the trapdoor and descended.
A few minutes later, he emerged carrying a small purple bucket.
It was made of purple salt crystal, a container specifically designed to safely store the explosive fluid of Blast-Ended Skrewts.
He placed the envelope and the bucket into his satchel and handed them to the little Qilin.
Just as the Qilin was about to bid farewell and leave, Newt finally asked the question he should have asked long ago:
"By the way, Lumen, what kind of magical creature are you exactly?"
The Qilin's soft, ethereal voice echoed in Newt's mind:
"Mr. Newt, I am a Qilin. Just an upgraded version."
...
Inside the hut enhanced with the Undetectable Extension Charm,
Lucien enjoyed the peaceful silence.
He flipped through The Identification of Dark Arts in his hands.
"Soul-controlling Dark Arts…....
Aside from the most infamous Imperius Curse....…"
Lucien had already learned many of the traits and identification methods of the Dark Arts.
Almost every description of a Dark Art contained the same warning:
Using Dark Arts will ultimately cause irreversible distortion and corruption of both soul and body. Once you step into this abyss, there is no turning back!
A question lingered in Lucien's mind:
If different people used the Dark Arts, would the effects they experienced also differ?
The best comparison would be between Lord Voldemort and Grindelwald.
Hmm… Lord Voldemort's madness and physical distortion—besides his research and use of Dark Arts.. could also have come from the aftereffects of creating Horcruxes and splitting his soul.
In contrast, Grindelwald seemed much more… normal, didn't he?
Physically, there were no obvious mutations; at the very least, he still looked human.
As for his soul, that was hard to say—but he certainly wasn't as utterly insane as Tom.
Or rather, he was mad in a controlled way—able to weave intricate plans and push them forward, instead of relying solely on violence and terror to crush his enemies.
Grindelwald must have used quite a few Dark Arts himself. Wasn't Fiendfyre—the fire that could consume entire cities—one of them? Not to mention his upgraded version of Fiendfyre—the Protego Diabolica, which could even differentiate between a friend and a foe.
"System, using too many Dark Arts will affect the soul and body."
"Does my SS+ Dark Arts talent not prevent or reduce this effect?"
[Unless the host's Dark Arts reach a true SSS level, transcending mortal limits, prolonged and frequent use—or attempts at extremely malevolent Dark Arts—will inevitably have consequences.]
So there were still limitations.
However, it seemed that the higher one's Dark Arts talent, the greater their "resistance" to the effects.
The toll taken on the body and soul would be less severe.
Hmm… Lord Voldemort's talent was certainly powerful, yet he ended up looking neither human nor ghost. Was it because he delved into Dark Arts that were far too extreme?
Those twisted resurrection rituals? The insane act of splitting his soul to create Horcruxes?
Heh, if Fang Yuan (MC: Reverend Insanity) heard that someone's method of immortality was to refine their soul into several separate spirit artifacts, he'd probably laugh out loud.
"System, with my current Dark Arts talent, how frequently would I need to use them before the effects became irreversible?"
[Casting one hundred Avada Kedavra curses every day for a month would cause irreversible effects.]
"…"
Lucien fell silent.
A hundred Killing Curses every day for an entire month?
Interesting.
If that ever happened, the world would probably have to build another prison just for Lucien Grafton.
One that would stand beside Azkaban and Nurmengard in infamy.
__________
11 Advance Chaps- P@treon/DarkDevil1