— — — — — —
Dumbledore rubbed at the bridge of his nose, clearly troubled.
The sight of those blazing blue flames… there was no mistaking who they reminded him of. Once, that fire had swept across the world, nearly burning everything to the ground.
Another memory surfaced—one he'd long pushed aside. Years ago, Snape had crossed wands with Tom. And in Tom's dueling style, Dumbledore had caught a glimpse of Gellert Grindelwald in his prime: overwhelming force, tyrannical dominance, not just seeking victory, but victory so crushing that the opponent's spirit broke with it.
Coincidence, again and again. Too many times to dismiss.
It left him unsettled.
Unable to make sense of it, Dumbledore could only shake his head with a weary sigh.
"Hagrid," he said at last, "since you've already promised Tom, you shouldn't hesitate. I can guess why he needs so much Acromantula venom, but… that's his private business. I can't tell you more."
"I get it, Professor. And tomorrow I'll head down Knockturn Alley and pick up the items for Professor Sprout while I'm at it."
"Much appreciated." Dumbledore nodded and left the vegetable patch.
On his way back to the castle, his thoughts lingered. So many years had passed… perhaps it was time to visit an old friend again.
"Gellert... sigh~"
---
[Sixth Trial – Part I: King of Serpents✅]
[Objective: Slay the Basilisk outside of its lair to complete this part of the trial.]
[Sixth Trial – Part II: King of Spiders ✅]
[Objective: Slay the King of the Acromantulas outside of its lair to complete this part of the trial.]
[Ding! The Sixth Trial has been completed.]
[Rewards: Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Complete Poison Immunity, Poison Affinity, Extended Lifespan.]
[Note: The Mystic Eyes have been modified.]
...
Inside the Room of Requirement, Tom was tallying up his gains.
No new bloodline this time, but the "Extended Lifespan" had still changed him in ways he couldn't fully describe.
The best metaphor he could think of: like a glass bottle. Once it had only held a hundred milliliters, but now it could contain a hundred and fifty. The material hadn't changed—but the vessel had grown.
Immunity to all poisons plus poison affinity? No need to test it. Trial rewards never lied. He was confident no toxin in this world could affect him now. Even better, the Slytherin's legacy poison spells had clicked into place instantly. Their power? Well… the enchanted oak door Snape had painstakingly reinforced—the one that had made him puff up with pride—had corroded through in seconds.
And then, of course, there were the Mystic Eyes.
Tom had tested them on animals: from squirrels to bulls. One hit, and they dropped dead instantly.
The cost, however, varied—magic drained faster against stronger targets.
Still, against unsuspecting or weaker wizards? A perfect tool for ambushes.
In the study space, he'd tried them on Grindelwald. He pushed himself until his magic was drained and his head was spinning, and only then had the eyes finally activated.
The result? Disappointing. All he managed was to petrify Grindelwald for a moment—after staring at him for over ten seconds. By the end, Grindelwald was grumbling that his eyes had dried out.
"…This is supposed to be normal?"
Tom slammed his hands on the table in frustration. Ariana, ever gentle, brought him a glass of iced water.
"Why," Tom growled, "a basilisk can kill with one glare, but I get saddled with all these restrictions? Bloody scam! I want a refund!"
"The hell kind of Mystic Eyes is that? It's clearly Medusa's Mystic Eyes of Petrification. Where is Death Perception?"
"Scam. I'm getting scammed. Damn it."
"Tom, be grateful you've got new talents," Grindelwald muttered, rubbing his stiff neck as he shook off the lingering petrification. He shot Tom an irritated look. "The basilisk's 'Deadly Gaze' is a curse. The stronger the target, the more power it demands. Swap me out for an ordinary Auror, and they'd be dead the second you looked at them. But me? Who do you think I am?"
He gave a cold snort. "Even if you've mutated into some kind of monster, your magic still has a long way to go before it can reach mine. And don't think a basilisk could kill me with a glance, either. I'm Gellert Grindelwald."
Grindelwald was showing off, but his tone was undeniably sour.
Because even he had to admit—the Mystic Eyes were nastier than wandless, wordless casting. Once Tom grew, anyone who wasn't on guard would be one look away from death.
"Come on, Andros. Let's try again."
Tom wasn't ready to give up. Grindelwald had a point, but Tom wanted to test whether the petrification effect could be triggered faster. Ten seconds of staring? Anyone watching would think they were flirting instead of fighting.
"Gladly." Andros grinned.
Tom activated the eyes. Instantly, Andros transformed into a towering giant of light.
The overwhelming positive energy shredded the curse to dust. Tom's eyes burned with stabbing pain, and he went blind for several seconds.
"…" Tom sat there, speechless.
So what, piloting a damn Gundam makes you special?
He got the picture now. The so-called Mystic Eyes only worked "downward." Against weaker foes, sure—they were gods' gift. Against monsters like Andros? Not a chance. Stare too long and he'd be the one left blind.
And these two old bastards dared to call him the freak? Look who's talking.
He shot the pair a dark glare, then reached over to ruffle Ariana's hair. "At least you're on my side. They just want to see me embarrassed."
"Heehee." The girl beamed at the praise and—after a beat—snuck a little glare at Grindelwald.
To Tom's surprise, Grindelwald didn't even mind. In fact, he liked Ariana's new spark of attitude. Better that than being soft as dough. One Albus in the family was more than enough.
"So, Tom," Andros asked, "what's your next trial?"
"It's a good one." Tom's irritation faded, replaced by a sly grin. "Once I complete it, magic itself won't have any barriers for me."
...
[Seventh Trial: Harmony]
[Objective: The host must tame a Giant Panda and defeat it in the field it excels at (adult panda required).]
[Reward: Natural Talent — Harmony of Yin and Yang]
[Harmony of Yin and Yang: Everything exists in duality. Only balance leads further.]
[Effect: The host's black and white magic will remain in absolute equilibrium. Mastery of one will temporarily elevate the other.]
...
No boost to bloodline. No boost to soul. No increase to raw magical power. Just one effect: the weakest plank of the barrel would always rise to match the strongest. Balance made absolute.
Up until now, Tom had always kept his black magic studies cautious, afraid of leaning too far and letting the darkness corrupt his grasp of magic itself.
That was the difference between Grindelwald and Voldemort. Grindelwald's white and black magics supported each other, so he never seemed corrupted. Voldemort, on the other hand, had deliberately thrown himself into black magic alone. It wasn't that he was consumed by it—he had chosen to embrace it, scorning the "boring" normal magic.
And that was why Voldemort was stronger in the dark arts. A man with both talent and obsession, pouring everything into one domain, could achieve terrifying heights.
But Tom no longer had to worry. If black magic improved faster, he could still focus on it, and the talent would raise his other magic to match.
When Tom finished explaining, Grindelwald and Andros fell silent.
Grindelwald's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Tom.
"You damned brat… how the hell do you keep getting these absurd talents? Do you know how long I suffered, how hard I fought, to resist the pull of black magic? And you—you just get this handed to you?"
Tom hesitated, then cautiously offered, "So… what you're saying is, you're really good at suffering? Is that your talent?"
BANG!
Grindelwald slammed the table and shot to his feet. "Enough! Let's duel!"
Only a fool would spar with an enraged Grindelwald. Tom wisely pulled himself out of the study space.
He still had work to do. And if it was about magical creatures, there was only one man to ask: Newt.
Tom opened his codex and used spellchat to send a message.
『Tom Riddle』: You there, Grandpa Newt? I need your help!
『Newt Scamander』: !
『Newt Scamander』: What's wrong, Tom?
『Tom Riddle』: You know how it is. Time for me to get stronger again.
Far away in New York, Newt was eating breakfast when the words floated into view. He froze for a second, then immediately guessed what Tom meant.
『Newt Scamander』: Like the Thunderbird incident?
『Tom Riddle』: Exactly.
『Newt Scamander』: But didn't you say… the First Class Order of Merlin—
『Tom Riddle』: That task got stuck. Doesn't matter. I've already completed another one—basilisk.
『Newt Scamander』: …I see. So, what magical creature do you need to know about this time?
Newt was itching to ask what reward Tom had gotten, but chatting over text wasn't safe. He'd save the questions for when they met.
『Tom Riddle』: Giant panda. I need to know what they're best at.
Magical Panda. Of course Tom had heard of them, but beyond knowing they were rare—so rare that in some regions people joked each country barely had one—he didn't know much.
That was Newt's territory.
But Newt's reply left Tom stunned.
Just one word.
『Newt Scamander』: Eating.
『Tom Riddle』: …You're not joking?
『Newt Scamander』: Of course not. That's their best field
With Newt's explanation, Tom finally realized just how absurd this trial was.
The daily life of a Giant panda was basically the dream life of countless people: twenty-four hours split evenly between eating and sleeping. Eat, sleep, repeat. Even Tom felt jealous.
And how much could a Giant panda eat in a day? Ten to twenty percent of its body weight.
A wild Giant panda weighed about eighty kilos on average. Which meant… to beat one in its strongest field, Tom would need to eat twenty to thirty pounds of food in a sitting.
Sure, he had dragon blood now, and could eat far more than a normal person—but he was still human. Who could stomach that much?
『Newt Scamander』: Tom… what exactly is your challenge?
『Tom Riddle』: Tame a Giant panda, then beat it in its strongest field.
『Newt Scamander』: ...…
Newt almost spit out his water. What kind of ridiculous challenge rule was that?
Then his eyes widened.
『Newt Scamander』: Tame a Giant panda?
『Tom Riddle』: Yep. That's the requirement. I'll figure out the rest later. But can you at least help me with this first part?
『Newt Scamander』: Tom, that's illegal.
Giant pandas were rarer on the market than dragons or Runespoors. Native to China, they were considered national treasures, protected tightly.
『Tom Riddle』: Grandpa, that's a bit hypocritical, isn't it? Look at all the little darlings in your suitcase. If we wrote down all those "illegal records," one Codex wouldn't be enough to store them.
『Tom Riddle』: And I'm not asking you to poach one. I just want to give a few wild Giant pandas a warm, loving home.
Across the ocean, Newt could almost see Tom's shy little smile as the words appeared on the screen.
.
.
.