Chapter 16: When You Gaze into the Abyss

Chapter 16: When You Gaze into the Abyss

The Transfer Spell was a required spell for wizards, but very few people could use it well. By a young wizard’s standards, being able to move things around like Helen already counted as impressive. But true masters were those who could transfer objects and even spells.

Some grandmasters, with extremely solid theory and practice of the Transfer Spell, could even casually knock away others’ magic. Or take a spell about to hit them and send it onto their opponent.

Today, Louis experienced the wonder of this spell.

When Louis mentally locked onto Barriff’s affliction, waved his wand, and cast his spell, he felt that the lump could suddenly be transferred by his mind. But when he first tried to move this lump, it was very difficult. Forget about transferring it through the air; it didn’t even budge before the spell directly failed.

Helen frowned slightly. It looked like it failed! Transferring something through the air really wasn’t easy. But it seemed Senior Louis was very confident indeed!

It was true; Louis’s expression was utterly calm, without a trace of the panic from ‘administering the wrong injection.’

However, Helen couldn’t help but cover her own pretty little face with her hands, not daring to look—that must have hurt terribly, right?

Yet she noticed Mr. Barriff not only didn’t show an expression of unbearable pain, but instead looked quite comfortable.

What on earth did Louis just have him drink?

[Barriff Favorability +5]

Ignoring that narration, Louis continued to wave his wand.

This time, Louis felt the lump slowly move a little. After two more attempts, he found he seemed only able to move the lump inside Barriff’s mouth—forget about transferring it through the air to the nearby mouse, even moving it outside the mouth was a struggle.

After about five or six tries, the small cyst could already move up and down inside Barriff’s body like a little mouse.

[Barriff Favorability +5]

[Barriff Favorability +5]

[Barriff Favorability +5]

[Barriff…]

“Louis, are you trying to use that method?” Helen suddenly widened her eyes and asked curiously, “I just thought of it too!”

“Mm, you’re very smart,” Louis said. After a pause, he frowned inwardly: ‘What on earth is Helen thinking?’

The little interlude didn’t affect Louis’s subsequent practice, and both Helen and Barriff in the room, seeing Louis so composed, suddenly became full of confidence.

After Louis cast the spell for the tenth time, his vision suddenly went dark, and he ‘saw’ a nebula.

This nebula seemed to be slightly affected by this casting, causing the originally balanced nebula to begin collapsing, gradually condensing into a star.

At the same time, Louis also saw countless star rivers, like fragments of time and space, rapidly flying past before his eyes. And within these time-space fragments, he suddenly had a flash of understanding.

Immediately after, he simply waved his arm without even finishing the incantation, yet the mouse let out a shriek—the lump had been transferred through the air!

“Success!” Helen clenched her little fist and shouted, looking even more excited than if she had succeeded herself.

Looking at the ‘Transfer Spell Lv3 (1/100)’ before his eyes, Louis fell deep in thought.

For wizards to master a spell, it was often 9 parts hard work and 1 part innate talent or comprehension. And this 1 part talent was a vast chasm. With this 1 part talent, you were Newton; without it, you were just a university physics student.

Louis was just such a ‘university student.’

But the ‘fantasy story narration’ directly gave this Louis, who had already studied ‘gravity,’ the formula and derivation process for the law of universal gravitation. Therefore, he just had to work a bit harder, and he could not only be Newton but also play the role of the Wizard World’s Einstein!

Louis’s hands didn’t stop moving. He reached out, took the mouse from Barriff’s mouth, knocked it unconscious with his wand, and placed it on Barriff’s bottom.

“Don’t move. Hold still properly.”

Barriff, who was originally excited and wanted to stand up, was so scared by this sight that he tensed up down below.

“Sch-scholar. Wh-what is this for?” Barriff’s speech had become very fluent, clearly the wound in his mouth was completely gone.

Louis didn’t even bother to explain—how do you tell a patient you’re just practicing?

But after exchanging a glance, both Barriff and Helen’s expressions turned serious.

During this spellcasting, Louis felt the Transfer Spell becoming as easy as moving his own arm. It seemed he didn’t need to recite the lengthy incantation or deliberately focus on the wand movement; the spell just came naturally.

After several repetitions, several openings appeared on the mouse’s body. Some openings even appeared from inside the mouse’s head, directly killing it. And in the final casting, Louis moved the mouse quite far away, yet still succeeded. Not only that, but an additional half-a-hole appeared on the mouse’s body.

Looking at the strange appearance of Mr. Barriff’s bottom, Louis’s mouth twitched. He had guessed right. This kind of Transfer Spell couldn’t heal certain wounds, but it could, like twisting a Rubik’s cube, twist a square from one face onto another face.

Therefore, Barriff’s wound now looked like a photoshopped picture—the hole had become smaller.

‘It’s fine. Nobody looks at their own backside in the mirror for no reason.’

Louis put down his wand, picked up a damp towel, and wiped his hands. Seeing Barriff still anxiously lying on the bed, Louis said, “Alright. The root of the problem is gone. But remember, you still can’t sit for too long.”

After thinking for a moment, Louis added, “Also, don’t look behind you in the mirror for no reason—it might look a bit… unattractive maybe.”

“I know, I know,” Barriff said mysteriously. “When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

“…”

After getting up, Barriff thanked Louis profusely for a long time, even took Louis’s hand, and said a bunch of embarrassingly heartfelt, over-the-top words of gratitude.

Louis noticed Barriff’s favorability seemed to have reached Max by now—he didn’t know if it was because of that potion.

But even with such high favorability, this guy still ‘forgot’ to give a tip.

Only after Louis coughed and hinted a bit did the Goblin gentleman reluctantly pull out a few Gold Galleons from his pocket as a thank-you tip.

But it wasn’t eight Gold Galleons; it was seven. According to Mr. Barriff, his gratitude couldn’t be expressed with money, but seven was the most perfect number, representing the blessing of the Patron Deity.

It seemed the narration had underestimated Mr. Barriff’s stinginess.

Still, these 7 Gold Galleons were really quite a lot. Saving up a bit more, and he could buy a new wand to play with.

When leaving, Barriff left his office phone number and Miss Helen’s Crystal Ball magical signature. He said the two newly appointed young gentleman and lady at the Ministry of Magic were very capable, he had some friends who recently encountered some strange happenings, and would ask the two Agents from the office for help then.

It seemed Barriff had taken quite a liking to them and wanted to actively bring them some private business.

But Louis’s heart sank. He thought, don’t come looking for this kind of hemorrhoid-removing work again.

But Barriff seemed not to have listened. He smiled mysteriously, stood at the door, turned back, took off his top hat, gave a slight chest-bow, then closed the door and left.

After that, for the rest of the afternoon, not a single other visitor came.

Louis began to wonder what on earth this ‘Special Magical Events Handling Office’ really was.

Soon, Louis found some things in the room—all kinds of fine tea, newspapers, Playing Cards. An Astrolabe, an astronomical telescope, and all sorts of other playthings.

There were also many expense receipts and various plane tickets—though the destinations were all tourist spots.

From the empty log records and the sparse check-in sheets, Louis discovered absenteeism was common here. Only when there was actual business would the person on duty that day occasionally come by.

As for the Agents, they weren’t even out on missions lately—they were on vacation!

The office director, Mr. Trif, wasn’t handling any big matters either—though it was a big matter for him. This balding, middle-aged man had gone back to his hometown for matchmaking!

The so-called Special Magical Handling Office was completely a place for people to coast until retirement.

Usually, everyone had nothing to do here. They just came to drink tea, read the newspaper. Tinker with the Astrolabe, develop hobbies, and the like.

There was even someone here writing detective novels…

Seeing this, Louis felt his heart turn to ashes.

No wonder Miss Ocris felt safe leaving her two students here—it was completely just to have them clean the place and kill time.