Who is Merlin?"
"The most famous Wizard in history, even considered the most powerful Wizard."
"How high is his status?"
"Not to mention Wizards often have him on their lips, saying things like 'Merlin's beard' or 'Merlin's flowery underpants'…
Just mentioning the Order of Merlin is enough. Albus Dumbledore is a First Class Grand Sorcerer of the Order of Merlin."
"Are you sure Merlin is a Druid?"
Karl couldn't say he was a little suspicious; he was completely disbelieving.
"I can't be sure, but it's really similar. Let me ask you a question."
"Ask away."
"If a person can transform into various animals, communicate with animals, and predict the future, do you think he might be a Druid Wizard?"
"Ah, this…"
"That's exactly how Merlin is."
Karl's eyes widened in disbelief. "If you put it that way… then it really is possible."
Druids were an extremely important presence in Celtic culture.
They not only managed sacrifices and recorded history, but were also Wizards, prophets, judges, teachers, doctors, poets…
They held power that rivaled, and even surpassed, royalty, and their status was incredibly noble.
Druids revered the oak tree as sacred wood, could transform themselves and others into animals, and conversed with deities, animals, and plants.
They could also predict the future by observing bird flight patterns, the movement of stars, and changes in celestial phenomena.
Throughout Celtic mythology and history, Druids played an extremely important role.
Nina nodded, her high ponytail swaying playfully. "The most important thing is Merlin's ending."
Karl took the parchment she handed him; the elegant handwriting on it had a beautiful aesthetic that was pleasing to the eye.
This was Nina's record of Merlin's fate in different legends, such as being imprisoned by Vivian in a cage made of air in the forest, being imprisoned by Vivian in an oak tree, or being imprisoned by Vivian in a sealed tomb made of underground megaliths…
Karl: (.﹏.)
"Poor old Merlin! How much hatred did he have with Vivian?"
Caught and locked in a small dark room, crying all day long, mentally collapsing and feeling depressed, sniffling and weeping.
"Look at the main point! Do you think the method Vivianused to imprison Merlin might be the sealing spell you're looking for?"
"Hmm? That sounds reasonable!"
Karl felt that Nina's idea made sense. Imprisoning a powerful Wizard like Merlin wasn't much different from sealing a dangerous entity.
However… why did it feel like the possibility of finding the spell was even lower now?
"So, to learn the sealing spell, I still need to rescue Merlin?"
"But even if these legends are true, he's probably long turned to dust."
"And as the one imprisoned, Merlin probably wouldn't know it either, so should I look for Vivian?"
Karl suddenly remembered something as he spoke and turned to look at Nina.
"The Lady of the Lake lives in Avalon, and Avalon is a place of Druid worship, so you…"
Nina's fair cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she lowered her head shyly.
"I accidentally gained the Druid inheritance; how would I know the location of Avalon?"
Karl: (▔,▔)
"So the clue is broken again?"
"Not at all. Do you remember? Headmaster Dumbledoresaid that sealing spells have been lost for nearly a thousand years."
"That doesn't match Merlin's timeline," Karl's expression was hard to describe. "Did Vivian imprison someone else again?"
This isn't the Lady of the Lake; she's clearly a lake demoness!
"Not that, but I suspect the last time this spell appeared was a thousand years ago at Hogwarts."
Nina's guess left Karl bewildered. "What's the basis?"
"Do you know there's a rumor in Slytherin House that Merlin studied there?"
"I heard Derian Pucey mention it during Astronomy Class, but that rumor is too outlandish."
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded around 990 AD, while Merlin lived around 500 AD.
Could it be that he finally escaped from the small dark room and then, at the age of 500, went to school with a group of Young Wizards?
Nina poked Fire Treasure, who was acting cute, with her finger. "I probably found the source of this rumor."
"In the Ravenclaw common room library, there is a manuscript by Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw."
"It records that at the very beginning of the school's founding, Salazar Slytherin once invited a Wizard who called himself Merlin to help build Hogwarts Castle."
Karl: "Huh?"
The information was a bit overwhelming; he was a little confused.
Considering that Nicolas Flamel lived for over six hundred years, it wasn't impossible for Merlin to still be alive then.
Who knew what insane inventions those old monsters might have?
Did Merlin break the spell Vivian used to imprison him and, having nothing better to do, came to Hogwarts to assist in its construction?
"What did this Merlin do?"
Hearing the name Salazar Slytherin, Karl couldn't help but think of the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk.
Nina frowned, recalling: "The manuscript says he helped the four founders build the core that brought the entire Castle to life."
"However, according to the manuscript, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Godric Gryffindor did not trust this fellow who called himself Merlin."
"If there hadn't been no other way, and with Salazar Slytherin's insistence, they wouldn't have let him join in."
Karl rested his arms on the table, fingers interlocked and pressed against his chin, and began to ponder.
Such a significant event, yet it only appeared in Rowena Ravenclaw's manuscript.
Aside from the rumors in Slytherin House, there was no other record of this person who called himself Merlin; he must have been problematic.
But putting that aside, what did it mean to bring the entire Castle to life?
Karl quickly thought of the one hundred forty-two constantly moving staircases, the various temperamental door knockers and stone carvings, the statues and suits of armor guarding the Castle, the moving stone staircase in the Principal's office, and the numerous protective and guardian spells…
At this moment, besides wanting to find sealing spells, he also began to grow curious about the secrets of Hogwarts Castle.
"You mean…"
Nina mimicked Karl's posture, her expression becoming serious:
"To maintain a magic Castle operating for a thousand years with little change, this core is absolutely extraordinary."
"I have had the good fortune to see the Philosopher's Stone, but even such a miraculous alchemical creation cannot achieve this."
"So I suspect the Castle's core must be a powerful magical creation that can continuously supply magical energy."
"And to control, hide, and safely use such a magical creation, wouldn't it require a sealing spell?"
"What do you think?"
Karl: (⊙ ˍ ⊙)
Meeting Nina's expectant gaze, he gave a hard-to-describe answer:
"How should I put it? It feels both reasonable and absurd, somewhat logical and yet illogical."
"However, apart from the last sentence, I agree with the previous conjectures."
Nina slumped onto the table in frustration. "Well, actually, before I came to the Great Hall, I specifically went to the Owlery in the West Tower to do a divination."
"Classmate! You should have said so earlier! You're a Druid, why are you playing detective instead of doing divination?"
Karl quickly asked, "How was it?"
"It never succeeded before, but this time you must be lucky; the divination result was Hogwarts Castle."
"Combining all the information I could find, and Headmaster Dumbledore's information, the Castle's magical core is highly suspect."
"And rather than looking for Avalon outside, it's more reliable to figure out what's right in front of us, don't you think?"
After a moment of contemplation, Karl looked at Ninasolemnly.
"Regarding finding the Castle's magical core, I have a three-pronged strategy."
"Huh?"