Chapter 116: Cruciatus Curse and New Trait—Pain Propagation
When Dylan returned to the Burrow.
Harry and Ron were playing outside with the twins.
—They had even brought Ginny along.
Dylan entered the Burrow alone, went straight to the twins' room, opened his suitcase, and climbed inside.
Dylan had specifically divided it into two areas.
In one part, he placed the captured cockroaches, spiders, and other small insects. Then he took out a bottle, uncorked it, and liquid flowed out.
"Love potion should work on insects too, right?"
When the droplets of love potion touched the insects in this area, their movements instantly became agitated.
Soon, a group of insects, following their instincts, eagerly drew closer to each other and began a frenzied reproduction process within the small area.
"Not bad, my improved love potion can probably charm an elephant, let alone these insects."
Dylan was satisfied. He ignored the insects in this area, only scattering some scraps of vegetable leaves and minced meat among them.
After mating, they would have energy to consume.
Then, Dylan turned to the second area.
The insects here were clearly much more numerous than in the previous section.
"Let's kill a wave first."
Dylan's wand flicked, and a terrifying bright light burst forth, a chilling coldness spreading that made one's hair stand on end.
The cockroaches died miserably in their struggles and contortions. Dylan even heard some pitiful "hissing" sounds, seemingly the cries of these cockroaches.
"Not nearly enough."
Dylan was in the process of completing a new trait for the Cruciatus Curse.
At this point, he had already mastered two traits of the Torture Curse.
One was Enduring Pain.
It could leave a pain curse on the body of someone he hit with the Cruciatus Curse.
If this person was rescued in time and didn't die from a heart attack caused by the Cruciatus Curse, they would continue to feel heart-wrenching pain continuously and periodically for a very long time.
The other trait—Cruciatus Hell.
Dylan had spent money to unlock it after the exams, originally intending to use it against Quirrell and complete the mastery task along the way.
However, at that time, worried that Dumbledore might be secretly watching, he hesitated for a long time and still didn't dare to directly use the Cruciatus Curse on Quirrell and Voldemort there.
Fortunately, Dylan had completed this trait in Knockturn Alley as soon as the holidays began.
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[Cruciatus Hell]:
When you use the Cruciatus Curse, you will no longer be limited to a single target. Instead, centered on yourself, you can autonomously activate or deactivate a circular energy field with a radius of four meters and a duration of four seconds using this trait.
Within this range, the energy of the Cruciatus Curse will permeate, and all targets will simultaneously be affected by the excruciating pain.
[Note]: I will create a true hell one day!
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This trait was similar to Killing Intent Burning Heaven.
However, the note regarding this trait made Dylan take another look.
He somewhat suspected that after unlocking all the traits of the three Unforgivable Curses, would he truly master a domain-like area?
Of course, even without that, simply activating the traits of the Killing Curse and the Cruciatus Curse was enough to pretend to have a hell domain.
—He didn't even need to pretend.
Whether it was entering the domain and having one's life instantly reaped in three seconds.
Or entering the domain and directly enduring a wave of excruciating pain.
The mere mention of this effect was enough to inspire terror!
Especially since Dylan also discovered that traits could actually combine with each other, presenting a doubled effect!
For example, the Enduring Pain and Cruciatus Hell traits of the Cruciatus Curse.
If he activated the energy field, anyone who endured the excruciating pain within the domain, as long as they didn't die from the pain, would continue to suffer the effects of Enduring Pain afterward.
Dylan was quite satisfied with this.
And Dylan was currently completing the third trait of the Cruciatus Curse.
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[Spell to Master]: Crucio (Cruciatus Curse)
[Spell Trait to Unlock]: Pain Propagation
[Mastery Task Activated]: Step into the ocean of life, let the terrifying shadow of the Cruciatus Curse shroud a full ten thousand living beings!
Please cast the Cruciatus Curse on ten thousand living beings! You will unlock this spell trait and complete the spell mastery.
[Note]: Mastery tasks cannot be completed simultaneously.
——————
This time's Cruciatus Curse mastery task required Dylan to catch ten thousand living beings and cast the Cruciatus Curse on them to unlock it.
If Dylan used it on people, the entire wizarding world would probably change.
Perhaps those people would even think that Voldemort had resurrected and returned for revenge, intending to massacre the entire wizarding world.
So Dylan decided to focus on these small insects to complete the mastery task.
Ten thousand people was a lot, but ten thousand insects was very few.
However, catching insects was also a troublesome task.
Dylan didn't want to waste time on this, so he only caught insects for half a day, killing some and raising others, letting them constantly produce offspring, and then killing them.
This way, he could achieve self-sufficiency in spell mastery.
And this time's mastery task also gave him an additional note, which was that mastery tasks could not be completed simultaneously.
That is to say, if he used the Cruciatus Curse on a living being, he couldn't then use the Killing Curse to kill it and simultaneously complete another mastery task.
This would obviously slow down Dylan's progress in completing mastery tasks, so he didn't activate too many spell masteries at once.
Spell mastery only added another ability to the spell, which would significantly improve combat power.
But currently, Dylan was more willing to focus on learning more knowledge.
Therefore, he planned to do the mastery tasks one by one, and not spend most of his time on them.
"First, the Cruciatus Curse. The other Unforgivable Curses can wait. The task intensity required by these spells is too high. Instead of completing these first, I might as well consider mastering Sectumsempra or Legilimens first."
Once his proficiency was high enough, the Occlumency mastery task could also be put on the agenda.
Another week or so passed.
Until it was close to the time agreed upon with Hermione to go to Diagon Alley together.
Dylan had a good night's sleep, not getting up early to read as usual, but waking up with Harry and Ron.
—Dylan woke up on his own, Ron and the others were woken up by Mrs. Weasley.
"So much breakfast, you must have worked hard, thank you, Mrs."
Dylan held a glass of milk, several pieces of crispy fried bread spread out in front of him.
Even the butter sauce was already brushed on.
In the middle of the plate was a large pile of fried eggs, and on the plate next to it was cooked bacon.
Both piles were as high as small mountains.
They were at the age of growth, so they could eat a lot at every meal. Therefore, Mrs. Weasley would always prepare a lot, afraid that it wouldn't be enough for them.
"Are you all full?" Mrs. Weasley watched the little guys sandwich bacon and fried eggs with bread, eating several in just a few bites. After everyone's pace slowed down, she finally asked.
"We're full, Mrs., very full," Dylan replied with a smile at Mrs. Weasley.
"Then let's get ready to go?" Mrs. Weasley brought out coats for the children.
Ron and Harry put on their clothes.
Dylan himself took out his wizard robes from his space and put them on.
Mrs. Weasley walked to the fireplace, took down a flowerpot from the mantelpiece, and looked at it in her arms.
"Hmm, enough for us to use, but we still need to stock up beforehand. Let's buy some this time."
Mrs. Weasley turned around, took two steps back, stood by the fireplace, and placed the flowerpot in front of her.
"Alright, who's first?"
Dylan blinked, took a step forward, stood in the fireplace, then pinched a handful of Floo Powder from the flowerpot and threw it down.
"Diagon Alley!"
As his voice fell, green flames enveloped him.
Dylan only felt his body being pulled by a powerful force, and he began to spin in the flames.
—Before his eyes was a blur of green light and shadow, and in his ears was the whooshing sound of wind and a strange buzzing.
After a dizzying sensation, Dylan felt his feet step back onto solid ground.
The green flames gradually subsided, and he stepped out of the fireplace.
"Hmm, no strong feeling of vomiting like Apparition, but there's a slight dizziness."
Dylan brushed the dust off his robes.
This was the first time he had used Floo Powder for transportation.
The first time Professor McGonagall took them to Diagon Alley, they had directly used Apparition. At that time, Dylan had felt quite nauseous because it was his first time experiencing Apparition.
But now, this feeling was much less intense.
"Unlike Apparition, the principle mechanism of Floo Powder is to use the Floo Network, and through the Floo Powder, the flames become channels connecting different fireplaces to achieve spatial transfer. I can study this method of transportation further when I have time."
While Dylan was pondering, George and Fred also appeared one after another from the green flames of the fireplace, followed by Ginny and Ron.
However, after waiting for a while, even Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley had Apparated over, but Harry was still nowhere to be seen.
"Hmm? Wait a minute, where did Harry go?" Ginny looked around.
"Wasn't he before George and Fred?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"No, Mum—"
"He was after us!"
Ron's expression was a bit panicked. "No way, could he have mispronounced the address and teleported somewhere else?"
"What? If that's the case..." Mr. Weasley's brows furrowed instantly.
Mrs. Weasley also thought of something, and her face changed.
They were just about to tell the little ones to stay put when Ron anxiously said to Dylan—
"Hey, Dylan! Quickly use your amazing divination! Harry's lost! He might have teleported to Knockturn Alley, that's not a place for a young wizard!"
Dylan blinked, vaguely recalling that Harry did indeed mispronounce the address once when using Floo Powder to go to Diagon Alley at some point.
So, was it this time?
Dylan wasn't as panicked as Ron and the others about Harry's sudden disappearance.
Firstly, because Harry had ultimately appeared safe and sound after his mis-teleportation.
Secondly, right now, Knockturn Alley was full of Aurors searching back and forth.
When Dylan had used the secret passage to teach those dark wizards who tried to ambush him a lesson, he had learned something from their mouths.
After he used the Unforgivable Curses in Knockturn Alley that day, the Aurors had been taught a lesson by him again, and he had escaped.
This led to the Aurors apparently rounding up all the dark wizards who were watching nearby, trying to get them to reveal his location.
Even Mr. Borgin had been interrogated for a long time, the goal being to find out who Karthus was and where he was currently hiding.
—But this was simply impossible.
There was no one in the world called Karthus the Fool.
There was only a naive and weak little wizard who was still at school and about to enter his second year.
But no matter what, with the Aurors' high-intensity patrols, the dark wizards there who needed to run had all run away.
Harry appearing there wouldn't encounter any problems at all.
However, facing Ron's request, Dylan naturally couldn't refuse.
He took out his crystal ball, held it tightly in one hand, closed his eyes, concentrated, and began to divine.
A faint mist gradually arose in the crystal ball.
The mist swirled and lingered.
Until a scene became clear.
First, the doors of Gringotts appeared, and then, Harry's figure slowly emerged.
Hermione and Hagrid were also beside him.
After Dylan confirmed where they would meet Harry, he put the crystal ball away again.
"Dylan, what did you see?" Ron asked hurriedly.
"Harry's fine. I think he might have already met Hagrid. Let's go to Gringotts. I saw them and Hermione chatting at the entrance of Gringotts in the crystal ball."
Hearing from Dylan that Harry was okay, Ron finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's great! Let's go quickly, what are we waiting for?"
Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley exchanged a glance.
Although they were a bit nervous after seeing Harry disappear, they weren't overly worried.
After all, Arthur worked for the Ministry.
He naturally knew that a wicked dark wizard had recently appeared, daring to use Unforgivable Curses in broad daylight and easily fooling a small team of Aurors.
Recently, whether it was Diagon Alley or Knockturn Alley, there were many Aurors patrolling.
If Harry had teleported to Knockturn Alley, it actually wouldn't be too dangerous. This was the time when a team of Aurors was patrolling.
But after all, a street was so long, accidents could still happen, so they still needed to ask clearly.
"Wait a minute, Dylan, you can also divine?" Mr. Weasley asked.
Mrs. Weasley also blinked. "You're only in your first year, how can you do divination? And, are you sure about the results of your divination..."
Before Mrs. Weasley could finish speaking, Ron interrupted, "Mum! Dylan's divination skills have even been praised by Headmaster Dumbledore himself!"
Mrs. Weasley was even more bewildered.
"Professor Dumbledore actually acknowledged your divination? I remember he doesn't believe in divination at all!"
Mr. Weasley reacted a bit faster. "If Professor Dumbledore is willing to trust your divination skills, then we naturally have nothing to object to. Let's go, let's go to Gringotts first and see."
Ginny didn't know that Knockturn Alley wasn't that terrifying anymore at this time, and its current safety level was even better than Diagon Alley.
She had only often heard her family say that she must never go to Knockturn Alley.
Therefore, after hearing that Harry might have teleported to Knockturn Alley, she was very anxious.
As soon as she heard everyone choose to follow Dylan's advice, she was the first to anxiously trot out.
Mrs. Weasley had brought her to buy some things before, so she naturally knew the way.
"Hey, sweetheart, slow down!" Mr. Weasley called out.
Ron also grabbed Mrs. Weasley's hand and ran out, and the others followed one after another.
Just like that, Dylan and the Weasley family headed straight for Gringotts. When they arrived at the entrance.
They looked around but couldn't even see a hair of Harry.
Mrs. Weasley and the others all looked at Dylan with questioning eyes.
Dylan wasn't flustered. Instead, he explained leisurely, "What I divined was the result. We came straight to the result. Before that, we should look for Harry everywhere. Only after searching without success would we come here."
Ron scratched his head, not understanding.
Mr. Weasley was the first to react, saying, "You mean, it's still early for Harry to get here?"
"Not too early."
Dylan had already seen Harry's figure in the crowd. He raised his chin, signaling to the others.
"Look, they're here."
Mrs. Weasley and the others quickly looked up and immediately saw the very tall Hagrid.
And Harry was standing beside Hagrid, and the two of them were walking towards them.
"Oh, Harry! Are you alright?"
As soon as Mrs. Weasley saw Harry, she rushed to his side in a few steps, turning Harry's body around, looking him up and down.
"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. I accidentally teleported to the wrong place just now. I'm sorry for making you worry," Harry said apologetically.
"It's alright, it's alright—as long as you're okay," Mrs. Weasley shook her head.
Dylan greeted Hagrid.
Hagrid also nodded, his gaze fixed on Dylan, his rough hands unconsciously rubbing together in front of him, his mouth slightly open.
Afraid that the big man would blurt out the matter of Norbert, Dylan smiled and said, "Everything's been alright recently? I've been living well at Ron's house, everyone's been very hospitable to me—and Harry."
His meaning was to tell Hagrid to keep quiet and not say anything. He and Norbert were fine.
Hagrid also reacted, scratching his head and saying, "Oh, that's good!"
Harry blinked and exchanged a look with Ron.
They naturally knew about the matter between Dylan and Hagrid—they had a dragon together!
But this matter naturally couldn't be known by anyone.
Harry looked at Dylan and added, "Actually, on the way here, I already mentioned you to Hagrid. He knows we're staying at Ron's house."
At this moment, a clear voice rang out.
"Hey~ why are you all gathered here? Were you waiting for me?"
Hermione's figure walked out of the entrance of Gringotts.
She was also carrying a money bag in her hand, obviously having just exchanged money.
Ron rolled his eyes when he saw Hermione. "Why would we be waiting for you here?"
(End of chapter)
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