Lucien heard the system's voice and silently picked up the Greengrass Family book Bloodline and Talent.
As he opened the book, he swiftly scanned the information on his system panel:
✨~~~~✨
Loan: Circuit Imprint (Monthly Loan)
Repayment Period: 30 days
Loan Content: A peculiar stone tablet capable of imprinting the magic circuits of any magical creature, including wizards, for observation and experimentation.
Loan Task: Witness a memorable birth of life.
✨~~~~✨
Good stuff.
Being able to imprint magic circuits would make observation far easier.
Now that he had become an Animagus, perfectly mastering Transfiguration meant he needed to explore new directions within the discipline.
Back when he first came into contact with a wand, he had already attempted an incomplete form of magical creature Transfiguration.
Although the Occamy had quickly collapsed, it had still opened a door.
It showed Lucien a possible path.
As he continued to deepen his studies in Transfiguration, he increasingly felt—on an intuitive level—that magical creature Transfiguration was indeed feasible.
Following the meditation methods from Inspiration and Divination, the more his inspiration grew, the stronger that sense of intuition became.
Moreover, after becoming an Animagus, he had personally experienced the depth of the Transfiguration talent brought by Loki's Mask.
This talent would truly reveal its power in the higher realms of Transfiguration.
To achieve magical creature Transfiguration, the issue of magic circuits had to be resolved.
The magic circuits of magical creatures were vastly different from those of wizards and extraordinarily diverse, often unique to each species.
Lucien had long been troubled by the fact that, while the Eye of Peering Magic was an excellent tool for observing magic circuits, it required a specific target in front of him and could not be used freely at any time.
If this stone tablet could store a large number of magic circuits and preserve them for extended periods, it would greatly enhance his efficiency in researching magic circuits.
He communicated with the system:
"System, how many magic circuit samples can Circuit Imprint record at once, and how long can those records last?"
It can record ten million magic circuits simultaneously, and the records will last one hundred years.
That was more than enough.
How many wizards were there in the entire magical world? Even counting every magical creature, it would be difficult to fill the capacity of this stone tablet.
As for its duration, it was excessive as well—long enough to span the lifetimes of most wizards and magical creatures.
Although some wizards and magical creatures could live for more than a hundred years, one shouldn't forget that some wizards liked to court danger and adventure, while many magical creatures were prone to fighting.
What puzzled Lucien, however, was the loan task.
Witness a memorable birth of life?
The birth of plants? Animals? Humans? Wizards? Or magical creatures?
Did the birth of life mean the birth of offspring?
And it even had to be memorable… But since this was only a monthly loan, the level of difficulty should still be within an acceptable range.
"System, what exactly does 'birth of life' refer to?"
The moment when life fully enters the world, encountering it in the form of a newborn.
"Hmm, so it refers to the birth of offspring? Are there any restrictions on the subject, such as humans or animals?"
It includes the birth of offspring.
There are no restrictions. The key is that it must be memorable for the host.
"Alright, I understand. I want to take out the Circuit Imprint loan."
Loan: Circuit Imprint (Monthly Loan) successfully applied.
Evaluation: This tablet's ambition is to record an era.
The item has been issued to system storage and can be accessed at any time.
Lucien drew his thoughts back, his attention returning to reality.
Daphne had been openly observing him, and when she saw the spark in Lucien's eyes as he flipped through the magic book, a smile could not help but appear on her lips.
Draco's words had been correct. Lucien's pursuit of knowledge surpassed everything else.
It was good to have something you truly wanted. Daphne thought of her family's library.
Fortunately, she had plenty of books.
"So, how much tuition can this book cover for me?" she asked.
Hearing the question, Lucien thought for a moment before replying,
"I haven't examined it closely yet, so I can't say for certain. But it won't be less than a full year. Don't worry—I value my reputation in this sort of matter."
Exchanging knowledge for knowledge was, in itself, an honorable transaction.
Lucien's answer made the corners of Daphne's eyes curve with a smile.
Good. The books at home should be enough to keep him for many years to come.
"Then, Professor Grafton, when do we begin studying?"
Seeing Daphne's smiling, expectant expression, Lucien muttered to himself. Why did this girl seem to be treating tutoring like a game?
This wasn't some extracurricular club. How exactly had Malfoy described it to her?
Had he deliberately left out the daily assignments, weekly quizzes, monthly tests, and the end-of-term exams each semester?
Or did Malfoy genuinely find it a bit easy?
Hmm, Harry and the others had indeed been keeping up with their studies recently.
And Malfoy really did have the best home education; at the very least, his magical foundation was solid.
Alright, then. He would raise the intensity a little.
Hogwarts had yearly exams this term anyway, so this could count as an early start on revision.
...
The Forbidden Forest.
Moonlight spread across the ground.
Two unicorns galloped joyfully through the forest.
Seleneia could feel that labor was drawing near.
The fetus within her was already fully developed; all that remained was the right moment for it to enter the world.
Following unicorn instinct, she ran with the breeze and moonlight, allowing magic to flow freely along her circuits as she gathered strength for the birth.
Asterion stayed close beside Seleneia, sharpening all his senses to guard against any potential danger.
In truth, this vigilance was unnecessary. At the speed unicorns could reach, few creatures were capable of tracking them, let alone hindering or threatening them.
The silver glow of their horns was enough to shatter many barriers and restraints, and when combined with their proud speed, they had few equals.
As they neared their nest, Asterion gradually lowered his guard and prepared to slow down.
But Seleneia ran faster still, letting out a clear, ringing neigh.
Hearing that cry, something like human joy appeared in Asterion's eyes, because he understood the meaning carried within it..
The child was about to be born!
The familiar nest came into view, and Seleneia neighed once more, surging forward into it.
Buzz—!!
Invisible ripples spread from within the nest, instantly enveloping Seleneia, with Asterion caught behind her.
Crack, crack…
Two sharp sounds rang out at the same time near the horns of Seleneia and Asterion.
Illusory fractures, dense as a spider's web, spread outward from their horns into the surrounding air.
From a dark corner of the nest, a low, faint voice emerged, slithering into the unicorns' ears like a cold serpent.
"Ah… you've returned."
________
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