— — — — — —
"The overall direction is right. Keep researching along these lines and you should be fine."
"But don't get too hung up on certain details. Signals, servers, things like that... you don't need to worry about them. The most important thing is using runes to recreate what you want while avoiding attribute conflicts as much as possible."
Time inside the pocket world flowed in sync with the outside world. Dawn was just beginning to break when Tom handed Hermione a bottle of Invigoration Draught.
Bugs were inevitable, honestly. Even in the magical world, nobody could completely avoid them. The stuff he created had its own fair share too.
Still, there was an old saying: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If the program runs, then there are no bugs—and never casually touch a system that's already working, because you never know what kind of disaster you might unleash.
Hermione had a bit of a perfectionist streak, and what Tom was trying to do now was beat that habit out of her and make her compromise with reality.
After drinking the potion, the little witch visibly perked up.
"Tom, can you give me a few more bottles?"
"Nope." Tom shook his head repeatedly. "Medicine is still poison in the end. Unless it's an emergency, no taking potions. Just sleep and wake up on schedule like a normal person."
Hermione immediately puffed up her cheeks after being rejected. She looked exactly like a hamster.
But then Tom noticed something—her cheeks had puffed out so much it looked like you could hang things off them.
So he experimentally gave it a try. Purely for science, of course—no other intentions whatsoever.
Hm. Miscalculation. Her cheeks were too small. Maybe he should try smaller items instead.
"Tom! I'm going to kill you!"
Shaking the items in front of her face, Hermione lunged at him with bared teeth and claws. Naturally, Tom wasn't about to sit there and wait for death. He kicked aside the panda, who had been sleeping at his feet, and bolted out of the room.
"!!!"
The poor panda had been sleeping soundly when it suddenly suffered this completely unprovoked attack. Its chubby round face wobbled for a moment before it finally let out an aggrieved howl.
This owner of mine... really isn't human!
...
..
"Tom, can we go take another look at Dalaran today?"
The next day at lunch, Draco Malfoy shamelessly sidled over, tactfully presenting a box of premium candy he'd had someone buy in Hogsmeade.
Tom accepted the sweets, split them between Daphne and Astoria, then immediately turned hostile.
"No visitors allowed during construction. Even helmets won't save you."
"Ok, I'm not visiting, I want to buy a house!" Malfoy hurriedly explained. "I just want to understand the city layout before deciding which district to buy in. My father specifically gave me this task, so please, help me out this once."
"Go negotiate with the Dementors. If you can survive security inspection from two hundred Dementors, I'll let you in."
Malfoy instantly chickened out, and the other Slytherins gathered nearby also shrank their necks back.
Using Dementors as construction foremen was seriously vicious.
What they didn't know was that Tom himself had been worrying about the Dementor issue lately.
From the perspective of a boss hiring workers, Dementors were practically god-tier laborers. Tireless, hardworking, capable of self-replication, no maternity leave...
The advantages were endless. Tom had grown incredibly comfortable using them over the past year, and he often regretted crushing more than a hundred Dementors last year just to show off in public.
Of course, Dementors weren't all upside. To enjoy those benefits, you had to keep them "well-fed" and provide enough emotional energy as payment.
Otherwise, you'd end up with the same half-dead, lazy prison guards the Ministry used to have, dragging their feet and barely doing any work.
Same thing was happening right now…
Back when Dalaran Prison was packed with inmates, the Dementors had basically been living in paradise. They worked enthusiastically every single day, putting in overtime nonstop tormenting prisoners.
But after most of the inmates were released last Christmas, the prison no longer held enough prisoners to keep the Dementors fully satisfied.
Thanks to old favors, they were still doing their jobs dutifully for now, but nobody knew how long that would last.
Even the sun has to keep burning to shine.
For today's tournament, Tom had invited quite a few Ministers of Magic and Directors of International Magical Cooperation from various European and northern countries. His goal was simple: talk business and convince them to hand over management of their national prisons to the Astra Abyssum Guild.
In a capitalist world, anything could become a business.
Prisons, especially, were an outrageously profitable industry that nobody paid attention to. It was clear that wizards, compared to Muggle capitalists, were far too naïve. They didn't even know how to properly squeeze value out of wasted resources.
Better to leave that kind of recycling to him.
Of course, prison administration was something the Ministries valued highly. Getting those rights into his own hands wouldn't be easy.
That was where Grindelwald came in.
Any Ministry willing to surrender prison management rights was clearly a fine organization that cared about its people. Naturally, Astra Abyssum would offer them protection.
As for those unwilling...
Well, good luck. May the Dark Lord bless your future.
One played the good cop, the other played the villain. A simple routine, but surprisingly effective.
"Time to go."
After finishing his thick soup, Tom left the school early and headed to the Dream Arena for the final inspections and preparations.
Rather than a trial designed for students, this whole thing was really entertainment he'd created to satisfy himself. If it succeeded, he could gradually promote it worldwide and turn it into a competitive sport even more popular than Quidditch.
At two in the afternoon, under the guidance of Crouch and Bagman, the tournament contestants arrived at the Dream Arena.
The entire route had been sealed off through special passageways, completely blocking any view of the outside.
"To be honest, I don't fully understand the rules myself," Bagman admitted with an awkward smile. "Please wait here for a moment. Mr. Riddle will be here shortly."
After Bagman finished speaking, silence settled over the room.
Aside from the little fox Kamio whispering together with Daphne, almost nobody spoke.
..
Five minutes later, Tom appeared.
"We'll discuss the rules later. You all brought the magic cards you won in the previous round, right?"
The boy cleared his throat, "Take them all out. I'm checking your cards."
.
.
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