"Spare me… please… let me go…"
"Crucio."
"AAAHHHHH!"
Lucas's expression remained completely calm as Rex screamed across the cave floor.
He wasn't showing mercy simply because he didn't personally know the original owner of this body. In fact, even now, he still didn't know the boy's real name. Rex himself had never bothered learning it.
But none of that mattered.
When Lucas first awakened in this world, the first thing he experienced had been unbearable agony from the Cruciatus Curse. This monster had tortured a helpless child for half a year purely for entertainment.
There was no forgiveness for that.
"You enjoy torturing people that much?" Lucas asked quietly, his tone as casual as if he were discussing dinner plans. "Then you should experience it yourself."
Rex stared at the thin boy standing before him, his eyes filled with terror and disbelief.
He simply couldn't understand it.
Only yesterday, this child had still been a broken, mindless wreck trapped inside a cage. Yet now, overnight, he had somehow become powerful enough to crush an adult wizard effortlessly while using the Cruciatus Curse with horrifying precision.
But despite the fear consuming him, Rex still noticed one thing.
Lucas was young.
Just a child.
Children were soft-hearted. Children hesitated. Children could be manipulated.
A desperate glimmer of hope appeared in Rex's eyes.
As long as he could distract the boy for even a moment, he could strike back. Lucas might know magic, but physically he was still only a child. If Rex moved fast enough, the boy wouldn't have time to cast another spell.
So Rex immediately began acting.
"Please!" he cried desperately. "I know I was wrong! Spare me! I'll do anything!"
Lucas watched the performance with faint amusement.
Then he slowly raised his wand again without the slightest change in expression.
"Crucio."
"AAAAAAHHH!"
Rex slammed violently against the ground, his entire body convulsing.
Lucas stared down at him coldly.
"Why would you think someone tortured for half a year would suddenly grow a conscience for you?"
His voice remained calm and steady.
Even if Rex tried attacking physically, Lucas wasn't remotely worried. With his boosted physical stats, he could probably break the werewolf's ribs with a single kick even without magic.
Rex's face twisted in horror as he realized his thoughts had been seen through completely.
Unfortunately for him, Lucas had already lost interest in talking.
"Crucio."
"AAAHHHH!"
"Crucio."
"PLEASE—!"
"Crucio."
The screams echoed endlessly through the cave.
This time, Lucas never stopped again.
...
Nobody knew how much time passed.
Eventually, Rex's screams grew weaker and weaker until only broken gasps remained. Then, deep inside the cave, a blinding green light suddenly illuminated the darkness.
Silence followed immediately afterward.
Complete silence.
A long time later, Lucas slowly walked out of the cave entrance.
It was already morning.
Soft sunlight filtered through the trees, spilling across the Albanian forest. After spending so long trapped underground, the brightness almost hurt his eyes.
This body clearly hadn't seen sunlight in a very long time.
Lucas took a slow breath, and only then did he realize that the violent emotions inside him had gradually begun fading away.
At the same time, something else disappeared as well.
The lingering will of the original owner finally dissolved completely.
The strange swelling pain in Lucas's mind vanished, replaced by a faint feeling of clarity and stability. His soul had fully merged with the body at last.
Fragments of unfamiliar memories also began surfacing more clearly within his mind.
They were still incomplete, blurry and disconnected, but Lucas could already tell that before long, he would fully remember everything the original owner had experienced.
Right now, however, his body felt weak.
Part of it came from prolonged starvation and imprisonment. The rest came from repeatedly using the Cruciatus Curse for such an extended period.
Lucas finally understood why dark magic was considered so dangerous.
The repeated use of Unforgivable Curses left behind a lingering emotional backlash. Violence, cruelty, rage… the emotions clung to the caster like invisible residue.
And his own experience had been particularly intense because all three of his Unforgivable Curses were already maxed out.
Fortunately, thanks to the system, the side effects affecting him were minimal. The violent emotions faded quickly instead of taking root permanently.
Just then, the system notification sounded again.
"Ding! Host has successfully used all three Unforgivable Curses. Congratulations! A new treasure chest has been awarded. Would you like to open it?"
Lucas blinked in surprise.
There were rewards for using Unforgivable Curses too?
"This system gets more suspicious every second..." he muttered under his breath.
Still, rewards were rewards.
"Open the chest."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining Controlled Obscurus Power!"
Lucas's pupils contracted instantly.
Obscurus.
Of course he knew what that was.
When young wizards violently suppressed their magic for long periods of time, their unstable power could eventually transform into a terrifying dark force called an Obscurus. The child hosting it became known as an Obscurial.
And almost every Obscurial died before reaching eleven years old.
"Ding! The host has obtained a controllable Obscurus. There are no side effects. Even while transformed, the host will remain fully conscious."
Lucas immediately opened his status panel.
...
[Spells: Avada Kedavra Level 9 (Max), Crucio Level 9 (Max), Imperio Level 9 (Max), Alohomora Level 2]
[Talent: Obscurial]
[Dark Magic Mastery: 9]
...
Sure enough, a new talent had appeared.
Obscurial.
Lucas slowly closed the panel.
Then, with a single thought, dark mist suddenly exploded from his body.
Black smoke poured outward in massive waves, swallowing his entire figure instantly. In the blink of an eye, his human form disappeared completely, transforming into a mass of floating darkness suspended above the forest floor.
Yet despite the transformation, Lucas's consciousness remained perfectly clear.
The sensation was unbelievable.
In this form, he instinctively understood countless abilities without needing instruction.
He could fly effortlessly.
He could transform into a violent black tornado powerful enough to rip apart stone and trees.
Even more terrifyingly, he sensed that ordinary spells would have difficulty striking him at all while he remained in this state.
No wonder Grindelwald himself had once coveted the power of an Obscurus.
After experimenting briefly, Lucas willed the black mist to gather together again.
His human form reappeared beneath the morning sunlight.
He slowly raised one hand, allowing a small strand of black mist to coil around his fingers. Even releasing only a tiny amount noticeably strengthened both his body and magical power.
Lucas exhaled slowly.
Now, for the first time since arriving in this world, he truly possessed the ability to protect himself.
Even if Obscurus power was classified as dark magic, its strength was undeniable.
Which only made the system seem even more suspicious.
Lucas looked up at the sky with deadpan disbelief.
"A White Wizard Cultivation System?" he muttered. "Yeah... I'm definitely not buying that."