Boom!
The wall exploded, and a soot-covered figure crawled out from inside.
"How are you still so composed?"
Wade spat out several mouthfuls of dust, then looked resentfully at Slytherin, who was sitting at ease on a large rock outside.
"Because I'm a ghost. Ghosts can pass through walls, so naturally I don't need to blast my way out like you do," Slytherin said with a smile.
"Wait. I thought you couldn't pass through walls while wearing the magical cloak?" Wade questioned.
"I'm not some ignorant fool. You've let me use this magical cloak for so long. How could I not understand how it works by now? As long as I temporarily interrupt its magical circuit, I can regain my ghostly abilities without removing it," Slytherin said cheerfully.
Clearly, seeing the usually calm and composed Wade covered in dust had put him in an excellent mood.
"You could have told me earlier! If you'd said something, I wouldn't have been trapped in that damned maze for so long!" Wade complained.
"Didn't you say your nightmare magic was powerful enough that no maze could trouble you?" Slytherin asked with a smile.
"There's an ancient magic hotspot inside, and it isn't a small one. The nightmare magic may have been disrupted by it," Wade said thoughtfully.
He picked up a broken brick from the ground and examined it carefully.
"Mm... Or perhaps the building materials are responsible."
Wade and Slytherin had been travelling for half a month.
During that time, they had slept outdoors and travelled to many locations marked on the maps his senior had given him.
Places where ancient magic hotspots gathered were inevitably accompanied by strange phenomena, so the two of them had encountered plenty of danger along the way.
The ruins they had just escaped were one such example.
They were actually the tomb of an ancient wizard.
Inside was an enormous maze, and every brick and tile seemed to be covered in strange magic.
Even Wade's nightmare magic had been greatly weakened.
Fortunately, Slytherin was a genuine ancient wizard. With him present, Wade had been able to reach the centre of the maze with the least possible expenditure of time and energy.
There, inside the burial chamber, they found the ancient magic hotspot.
Unfortunately, the grave goods had all been eroded by time.
Otherwise, they might have discovered ancient magical manuscripts or something similar.
After Wade absorbed the hotspot, the magic protecting the maze gradually dissipated.
That was also why he had been able to blast his way out.
He simply had no desire to navigate the maze a second time.
Wade quietly channelled a small amount of ancient magic into the brick in his hand.
The next instant, that strange power reappeared across its surface.
"There are ancient runes here that I've never seen before." Wade handed the brick to Slytherin.
Slytherin glanced at it, then tossed it back.
"This was once a runestone carved for use in constructing the burial chamber. Strictly speaking, it isn't a brick."
"A runestone? I see. As long as one of these is embedded in a wall, every brick in that wall inherits the properties of the runestone. That's useful. Why didn't I think of this before?" Wade said excitedly.
"What now? Are you thinking about how to build that floating castle of yours again? Don't tell me you intend to use burial runestones to construct it. Would that make it a floating castle or a floating tomb?" Slytherin fired off a string of questions.
"No. I only want to study some of the functional runes on it. I'm not actually planning to build the castle with stones from a tomb."
Wade tossed the runestone back onto the ground.
Once the ancient magic within them had dissipated, the runestones lost their effects.
In truth, very few people possessed a talent for ancient magic. That meant the tomb's owner had been quite clever to use this method as protection against grave robbers.
Almost no one could perceive ancient magic. Unless someone with the appropriate talent arrived, the magic within the tomb would never dissipate.
Back then, those with a talent for ancient magic had all been known as Sages.
Clearly, a Sage who understood ancient magic had helped construct this tomb.
Who could have imagined that a thousand years later, the inheritance of the Sages would be lost, and someone with ancient magic talent would come to excavate his grave?
Wade drew the Elder Wand and cast a Repairing Charm.
The wall he had blown apart slowly restored itself.
He had repaired the damage as he went while blasting his way out.
After all, he had only come to absorb the ancient magic hotspot because he had no other choice. Disturbing the dead had never been his intention.
Once Wade had repaired the tomb and concealed it again exactly as it had been before...
Only then did Slytherin say leisurely, "You may seem rather unscrupulous, but surprisingly, you're not completely beyond redemption."
"I've told you I'm a good person. None of you ever believe me."
Wade copied the ancient rune from the runestone into his notebook, then took out a stack of maps and marked one of the locations with a tick.
"All right, we've covered almost every place on this trip. We can go back now," Wade said excitedly.
After travelling for more than half a month, his ancient magic had improved enormously.
Even if they acted now, he was eighty per cent confident that he could free his senior.
If he extracted all the purified remnant magic from his body and stored it inside the Hōgyoku, leaving his body as empty as possible, his chances of success would rise by another ten per cent.
"Then let's go back. But can we avoid riding a broomstick this time? It's terribly uncomfortable."
"All right. I also have a flying carpet that I won from an Arab wizard in a card game the other day. It might be more comfortable, though it will be slower."
As Wade rambled, he pulled a long rolled-up carpet from his pocket.
He had gathered plenty of inspiration during his recent travels. Returning by flying carpet would give him time to study some of it.
A broomstick might be fast, but it was also terribly boring.
Wade unrolled the carpet. The moment it opened, it automatically floated half a metre above the ground.
"Fine. At least this thing gives me somewhere to sit," Slytherin said reluctantly.
"Wait... you float even when you walk. Why would you care whether there's somewhere to sit?" Wade couldn't help asking.
Slytherin sighed. "You wouldn't understand. It's about the ritual of it. This way, I can pretend I'm not dead."
Wade froze for a moment.
"All right. My mistake."
Wade stepped onto the flying carpet, and Slytherin floated up after him.
Just as they prepared to leave...
Crack! Crack! Crack!
More than a dozen dark figures Apparated in front of Wade and Slytherin.
____
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69