Chapter 183: Spell: The Dimension Gate
The moment Side Quest ③ was completed and the reward claimed, obtaining the 【 Spell Development Module 】, Vaughn naturally mastered its usage.
Opening his slightly closed eyes, Vaughn looked at the Spell Development Module in the system panel, focusing his attention on it.
“Activate!”
Hummm—
The instant the thought was issued, Vaughn felt his brain vibrate intensely, and then, his consciousness plummeted rapidly.
In just a moment, his consciousness traversed through layers of darkness and fell into a hall composed of countless illusory bookshelves.
This was his memory archive, or as it could be called, his mind palace.
For any Legilimens, this was the most important place; compared to it, the body was merely a compound of carbon, calcium, oxygen, hydrogen, and so on, and the soul was blank when it first arrived in this world.
What allows a person to realize “self,” to prove that you are you and not some other existence, is memory.
It is memory that shapes you into an individual distinctly different from others!
It shapes the concept of “me”!
Long before learning Memory Magic, Vaughn had hidden his memories deep within his Mind World, placing them under heavy protection.
Under normal circumstances, apart from the memories being organized and archived, only his own consciousness would exist here; nothing else should be present.
But at this moment, Vaughn, having fallen in, saw something additional in the center of the palace, surrounded by towering illusory bookshelves.
A shape that seemed regular but was constantly changing, a cube!
It had the square structure of a normal cube, but every second, or perhaps every infinitely subdivided moment of a second, six new faces would flip out from its “interior,” forming a new cube.
“Hypercube…”
Vaughn’s expression was solemn.
Although he was somewhat surprised by the hypercube’s appearance, Vaughn was not surprised by its existence, for this “hypercube” was the “Spell Development Module.”
What he cared about was where it appeared: “My mind has always been heavily protected, not just by max-level Legilimency, but also by various defensive measures I set up after learning Memory Magic. Yet, with no anomalies in those defenses, the module has appeared in my memory archive… Indeed, the system is bound to my soul.”
Long ago, Vaughn had been curious about what the system truly was.
A chip implanted in his brain?
Some magic that he didn’t yet understand, relying on his consciousness?
He had entertained such doubts, but he had dismissed them one by one through research and investigation.
Only the soul was a realm that he, and indeed the entire Wizarding World, could not yet touch.
Gazing at the constantly changing hypercube, Vaughn pondered for a moment and reached out to touch it.
Then, his hand passed straight through!
He showed no surprise; in fact, this outcome was exactly as expected:
“The Spell Development Module I’m seeing isn’t actually in my dimension; what exists here is merely a projection…”
The thought that surfaced in his mind suddenly reminded Vaughn of a conversation he had with Dumbledore a few months ago.
At that time, accompanied by Dumbledore, he had just finished his first “Aether” journey. They had discussed the Golden Soul Theory, the core theory of modern Alchemy, which posited that “Aether” was the soul left behind after the great reality had disintegrated into all things. It connected everything, giving spirit to all things, and naturally, the souls of all things were also part of the Aether.
Vaughn disagreed with the Golden Soul viewpoint; he believed Aether might simply be another facet of matter, a chaotic information universe.
As for the soul, it might exist elsewhere.
For instance, in higher dimensional space!
When he proposed this at the time, he had no evidence; it was simply because he didn’t want to be influenced by Dumbledore and have his thinking confined within the Golden Soul Theory.
“But now it seems that the conjecture I made back then, borrowing from Muggle scientific hypotheses, might actually be the truth?”
Admiring the hypercube, Vaughn’s eyes gleamed: “A person in a three-dimensional world places a sphere on paper. A two-dimensional being living on the surface of the paper would see a peculiar sight: a circle would appear out of nowhere in their world, without any warning, because they can only see the shadow cast by the sphere, not the sphere itself… I never expected that this analogy I once used to explain to Old Dumbledore would happen to me today!”
Very interesting!
Setting aside the function of the Spell Development Module for a moment, the module itself was something Vaughn found highly valuable for research.
It was a shame, however, that he currently had no time to indulge his curiosity and interest.
After looking for a while longer, remembering his purpose for activating the module, Vaughn beckoned. The memory archive responded to his call, and a document bag floated down from the bookshelf, landing in his hand.
Vaughn opened it, took out the “documents” inside, and flipped through them one by one.
These were fragments akin to magical photographs, depicting scenes from over half a year ago when Vaughn practiced the Apparition Spell near Crouch’s House.
There was also a scene from the Painted World where he infiltrated Voldemort’s Apparition passage.
The last image was from two days ago, in the Suitcase Space, where he created a new Space Spell through mathematical inspiration, through calculation rather than intuition!
These scenes were not only his memories but also his experience and nourishment from first learning Apparition, to mastering it, and then to developing new spells.
Placing these memory fragments back into the document bag, Vaughn walked towards the hypercube that symbolized the “Spell Development Module.”
Based on the usage method he automatically mastered after activating the module.
The Spell Development Module does not operate on a Wish Machine-like mechanism!
Using it is not about making a request and having it “produce” a spell that meets the requirements. If one were to draw an analogy, it’s somewhat like a 3D printer in one’s memory.
It can indeed “print” any spell, but you must first provide it with a blueprint, with the framework of the spell you desire. This requires having a certain research direction and development idea for the spell you want!
“The so-called blueprint, of course, isn’t a literal blueprint. The module’s appearance in the memory archive already indicates that it requires memories, experience.”
Thinking this, Vaughn picked up the “folder” containing the memories and threw it into the amorphous hypercube.
The illusory folder, shimmering with a hazy glow, melted into the erratically moving, bizarre cubic surface the instant it touched the hypercube, like snowflakes falling into a lake.
It vanished without a trace in a blink.
Apart from this, there were no other anomalies; the hypercube continued its regular movement.
Only in the suddenly appearing panel could Vaughn notice the change—
His Reputation Points, accumulated over two months, were decreasing bit by bit!
Even before the Spell Development Module was activated, Vaughn had estimated that its operation might require “energy.”
That was why he had specifically saved his Reputation Points instead of, as before, adding them directly to spells upon monthly settlement.
Glancing at the continuously decreasing Reputation Points, Vaughn paid them little mind, instead focusing more attention on the hypercube before him, whose external appearance had not changed at all.
He was very curious about its operational mechanism.
Some kind of high-dimensional computational tool capable of deducing magic?
Or something else, a concept almost non-existent in the three-dimensional world?
Or was it related to the response mechanism he had observed in the Aether?
If the timing were not unsuitable, Vaughn would probably abandon everything else in reality to study this module!
It wasn’t just a simple interest in the system’s secrets; its existence and mechanism could also reveal the true spacetime concept of this world, not the Golden Soul of Alchemists, nor the various hypotheses of Muggles.
But rather, the tangible “Truth”!
Of course, it wasn’t solely the unsuitable timing; the hypercube structure of the module itself made Vaughn feel at a loss for how to begin. He couldn’t even touch it, so how could he research it?
Lost in thought, the Reputation Points on the system panel finally stopped fluctuating.
【 Reputation Points: 27 】
“It took a whole 15 points…”
Vaughn frowned slightly. For his first attempt with the module’s function, he had deliberately chosen a spell he had already developed but not yet perfected.
“Another money-devouring behemoth!”
Muttering this, he closed his eyes slightly, accepting the information about the new spell transmitted by the system.
A moment later, when he opened his eyes again, his consciousness had left the memory archive and returned to the Suitcase Space, standing on a windswept grassland.
Vaughn looked at his hand, raised it, and made a light gesture.
Whoosh—
A fierce wind swept through instantly, the sound of air being abruptly displaced. A smooth sphere, peculiar in that it looked like a flattened circle from any direction, appeared beside Vaughn.
Air currents howled, space vortexed, and grass was torn up!
The disturbance caused by its formation felt like the sudden arrival of a black hole.
In the distance, Matthew, guarding the entrance and attracted by the sudden anomaly, couldn’t help but peek. He was then stunned, his eyes widening, by the smooth, mirror-like sphere, seven feet tall, that had abruptly appeared next to Vaughn.
“Is this the new spell Mr. Weasley developed before? Last time he could only create a passage barely large enough for an arm, but now… why has it been perfected so quickly?”
Magic requires practice.
Especially for newly developed spells, the trial and error, calibration of incantations and wand movements, these are processes that even the spell’s developer cannot ignore.
Just as no wizard can cast Avada Kedavra and kill someone instantly, even the Dark Lord experienced situations where a Killing Curse only resulted in an opponent losing a single hair.
Everything before him undoubtedly overturned his understanding, making him doubt his life.
In the center of the grassland, Vaughn, who was testing the new spell, was obviously unaware of Matthew’s internal monologue. He was intently feeling the entire process of testing the new spell.
“…Compared to before, the new spell is stronger in effect, but the increase in magical power consumption is not much… This is because the module has optimized its spatial parameters, making it easier for magic to distort space to form singularities and wormholes, as well as the precise ‘calculation’ of the Momentum Tensor to maintain the passage with reasonable energy, preventing it from collapsing on its own the instant it forms due to changes in volume.”
“The specific magic power consumption… only about 30% higher than Apparition?”
Feeling the feedback of magic power flowing within his body, streams of light flitting across his pupils, Vaughn’s eyes gradually brightened.
After all, Apparition has very significant flaws; limitations on splitting and the number of followers that can be apparated are reasons why it cannot become the primary mode of transportation for wizards.
These shortcomings are completely absent in the new spell.
The new spell constructs a stable passage. Apart from needing to concentrate to determine the target location at the moment of casting the spell, the subsequent traversal process requires no further consideration of these factors. Therefore, there’s naturally no splitting due to distraction.
As for the restriction on apparating with followers, it’s a similar issue. The caster of Apparition must expend equivalent magical power for the followers to travel together.
The magic power required to construct the stable passage of the new spell has already been paid the moment it forms, and until the passage dissipates, no additional magic power is needed regardless of how many people pass through!
Vaughn, who had initially felt the module consumed a bit too much energy, suddenly felt that the 15 Reputation Points were not a wasted expense.
At least, before the module “optimized” this spell, he couldn’t achieve this level!
At that time, simply opening a “small window” for an arm to pass through consumed magic power equivalent to Apparition, as it had evolved from Apparition.
What intrigued Vaughn the most was—
“Can the module optimize other existing spells as well?”
However, he dismissed this question after only a moment’s thought.
Firstly, the consumption of Reputation Points is a significant issue.
Secondly, while many spells might have optimization potential, it’s not substantial. After all, the spells in circulation in the Wizarding World have already undergone the test of time and refinement by generations of wizards, making them quite mature.
Furthermore, most of the spells he has studied are already at LV2-LV3, meaning he is familiar with their incantations and wand movements.
A sudden change, especially one made using a “black box” like the module, rather than by his own hand, would mean that with each optimized spell, he would also have to change his past habits to adapt to new incantations and movements.
This would not only fail to improve him but would also lead to a period of decreased strength!
“However, it’s not that all magic is unusable. For example, ancient magic, which has been phased out by the modern spell system, was eliminated not because it was weak, but because the casting was too cumbersome, requiring various rituals, Potions, and mysticism. Some even required specific celestial phenomena （ for instance, Animagus ）.”
“Correspondingly, these casting requirements themselves are part of the ‘blueprint,’ fitting the module’s requirements.”
Vaughn let his imagination run wild.
However, he couldn’t test ancient magic for now. In his year at school, his main focus had been on learning modern spells, and he had barely touched ancient magic. Aside from researching the living dismemberment ritual created by Werewolves, the only one he had truly studied was the “Soul Steal” he had obtained from Morfin Gaunt’s mind.
After experimenting with the new spell for a while longer, Vaughn finally shifted his attention to the system panel, which had been flashing in his vision.
With a thought, he opened it, and a prompt box popped up:
【 Name the new spell 】
“…”
Looking at the prompt, Vaughn suddenly felt stuck. He was bad at naming things in his past life, and it was no different in this one; even naming the cat he raised required “borrowing” from the fruit teas he loved to drink in his past life.
As he pondered, he happened to glance at the circular face of the smooth sphere beside him, and a thought struck Vaughn. He said:
“Dimensional Gate!”
This name was inspired by a spell from a superhero movie, from a place called Kamar-Taj. Of course, it was just a borrowed name; their actual performances were entirely different.
The borrowing was a form of commemoration, and also a reflection of his hopes for the future!
His hope to one day truly pass through the dimensional gate and see if higher dimensions were as he imagined, the source of souls and magic.
…
Guarding the entrance to the Suitcase Space, Matthew was still thinking about the scene he had witnessed not long ago.
The year he graduated from Hogwarts, during his graduation trip, he was turned into a Werewolf by Greyback. He had spent these years in a daze, naturally having no inclination to ponder the development of spells like other wizards.
However, even though he hadn’t delved into spell development, it didn’t stop him from knowing that the scene he had witnessed was abnormal.
It’s just that…
Matthew shook his head, not wanting to think about it further. He only needed to remember that his new master was a genius, with immense potential… No, he was no longer just potential; Mr. Weasley was already a powerful wizard.
When you are powerful, no one will care about your abnormalities.
Instead of focusing on Mr. Weasley, Matthew wanted to worry about himself.
“Hoo—”
Matthew gasped heavily. He looked up at the sky outside the window; the moon, almost disk-shaped, hung high in the sky.
In two more days, it would be the full moon.
For Muggles and wizards, such a day held no special significance, but for a Werewolf like him, it represented the impending nightmare…
“Still not used to it?”
A sudden voice interrupted Matthew’s thoughts. Startled, he turned around and saw Vaughn, in a velvet robe, emerging from the entrance of the Suitcase Space amidst the scattered moonlight.
“Mr. Weasley, why… why have you come out?”
“What needed to be done is finished, there’s no need to hide anymore.” Vaughn smiled, glancing at his rolled-up sleeve, revealing an arm covered in coarse black hair, and said, “Wolfsbane Potion can keep you rational on a mental level, but the physical excitement and impulsiveness still remain. You need to learn to adapt and control it.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve grown accustomed to the fear brought by the full moon over the past few years. My thoughts haven’t quite caught up yet…”
Matthew stood up and walked to Vaughn’s side, looking at the sky. This time, however, he wasn’t looking at the moon, but at something he couldn’t see at all: “Aren’t you worried about the Dreamcatcher?”
Vaughn shook his head, “There’s nothing to worry about. I just dislike it, but it’s always there. I can’t possibly stay hidden forever just because I dislike it, can I?”
In reality, he didn’t pay much attention to the Dreamcatcher’s surveillance.
The reason he had been hiding in the Suitcase Space before was simply because he needed to complete Side Quest ③, and he was worried about those voyeuristic Yankees noticing his surge in magic power!
Now that the mission was complete and the reward claimed, there was naturally no need to remain hidden.
Moreover, tonight was destined to be a restless one!
The Meilain Sect, the Purifier’s classified documents… These unexpected factors, though Vaughn couldn’t be certain of the reasons behind them yet, could not possibly be good news no matter how he thought about it.
He hadn’t stopped Kingsley, Lupin, and Tonks from approaching the Meilain Sect, from approaching that so-called classified document that might become a trigger.
Because he also wanted to know which faction was behind bringing the Meilain Sect to Boston and revealing the secret of the “Purifiers,” and what their purpose was.
There was no doubt that this would put Kingsley, Lupin, and Tonks in danger.
Vaughn was not someone who would disregard the lives of his subordinates to achieve his goals, so tonight, he had to come out.
He emerged from the Suitcase Space and walked to the bay window of the bedroom, looking at the city bathed in moonlight outside, and remained silent.
He remained silent. Even with some doubts, Matthew felt embarrassed to ask further. After a long silence, Matthew, standing beside Vaughn and looking out the window, heard the door behind him open.
Turning his head, he saw Ajinbad.
The old wizard was travel-worn, but upon entering and seeing Vaughn outside the suitcase space, he wasn’t surprised. He said, “My men are already outside the city. If you need them, I can order them into Boston at any time.”
As he spoke, he had already walked to Vaughn’s side.
Ajinbad had many flaws, such as a domineering and rough personality, and rather extreme methods, but it had to be said that he was the most trustworthy politician Vaughn had ever met.
Vaughn nodded slightly and said, “Thank you for your trouble.”
“If everything proceeds according to your speculation, a little trouble is nothing,” Ajinbad said, hesitating for a moment. “How confident are you that the Purifiers will also come tonight?”
“Not very confident.”
Admiring the city streetscape in the moonlight outside the window, before Ajinbad’s eyes widened, Vaughn continued, “I’m just speculating based on a possibility, preparing for the worst.”
“Because of that Muggle named William?”
“Yes, if the so-called Purifier classified document truly exists, and as that Muggle said, it is a product of the Elephant Party’s administration, then, considering that the so-called Purifiers are likely the Magical Congress, or some people within the Magical Congress, cooperating with Muggles, the real reason for that Muggle named William appearing in Boston is worth pondering.”
“Some people who are aware of the Magical Congress’s recent activities know that the situation here is very fragile, and they know what can attract us. So, they leaked documents to that Muggle named William, and may have even interfered with his thoughts, causing him to bring something that interests us to us… Guess what their intentions are?”
There was no need to guess.
Ajinbad snorted, “Nothing more than schemes and tricks like instigation and framing!”
“It’s not exactly a scheme; it’s more like an open plot… Would you give up that classified document?”
Ajinbad remained silent.
Vaughn continued, “You wouldn’t, and at the same time, the Magical Congress won’t allow the document to fall into our hands. They will definitely send people to stop us.”
“When two groups with completely opposing objectives encounter each other, what will happen?”
What would happen was only battle!
“The people behind the scenes deliberately created such an opportunity, using a classified document that neither we nor the Magical Congress can afford to give up, to escalate the situation.”
“Only when the situation deteriorates enough, only when conflict occurs, will a situation favorable to them be formed. It’s like when catching fish, you have to muddy the water, deceive the fish’s vision, and create an environment unfavorable to their survival, which makes it easier to catch them… Once a battle erupts, they can begin to implement their true objectives.”
“For example, to kill that Muggle named William!”
“…”
Ajinbad prided himself on his understanding of Muggles, and what Vaughn was saying was not entirely impossible.
But what puzzled him was:
“Why are you so sure that Muggle is the core of everything? Is he that important?”
“Yes, he is very important!”
Vaughn replied casually.
The American lineage was indeed important. In his memories of the future, this person would ascend to the pinnacle of American power next year, proposing the famous Information Superhighway plan and vigorously developing the Internet industry.
All those information industry giants, valued at hundreds of billions and trillions in the future, would start with this plan!
This kind of “intelligence” naturally could not be spoken aloud.
Fortunately, Ajinbad did not probe too deeply into the source of Vaughn’s confidence. After all, no matter what, from the moment William uttered the word “Purifier” in his speech.
The fuse for the conflict had already been lit.
As Vaughn had said, he could not give up that Purifier classified document, and the Magical Congress could not allow him to obtain it.
The only difference was that, according to Vaughn’s speculation, there might be a fourth party involved around that Muggle named William and the classified document, besides WAC, the Federation, and the Magical Congress!
Ajinbad could only sigh, “Last time we discussed the possible reasons for the emergence of artificial wizards, you mentioned that perhaps some people, due to greed and arrogant confidence, chose to cooperate with Muggles. At that time, I wondered when the backlash against such greed and arrogance would come, and I didn’t expect it to materialize so quickly.”
“What do you think the situation is like on the Magical Congress side now?”
Vaughn pondered for a moment and said, “It’s hard to say what the entire Magical Congress is like, but the participants in the artificial wizard project will most likely immediately investigate their ‘partners’… I’m not very optimistic about them. William appeared too abruptly. Those Muggles… it’s like they are intentionally using William and the classified document to expose themselves.”
“Luring the snake out of its hole?”
“It’s possible.”
“Heh, whatever. Let them die however they want,” Ajinbad sneered and stopped caring. He glanced at the sky and asked, “It’s getting late. How are your men prepared?”
“They are ready.”
Looking at the moonlight outside the window, a humanoid silhouette formed by white mist was reflected in Vaughn’s pupils.
…
The moon rose to the middle of the sky.
The scattered radiance made the ground look like it was covered in a layer of chilling frost.
Walking the streets of Boston, Remus waved his wand again, pushing aside a Muggle who was trying to get too close with his hand in his pocket.
Remus rubbed his forehead, “Why is that Muggle politician still slowly wandering around?”
Ahead of them, a car was slowly driving. Kingsley, who had been watching it, glanced at his companion, “Calm down. It’s just a Muggle politician in the car. Tonks can handle it.”
“I know, I just…”
“You’re just worried and flustered. Think about something else, like… the full moon in two days?”
“…”
Remus was speechless. He really knew how to touch a raw nerve!
Another black man, wearing loose clothing and with one hand in his pocket, clutching something unknown, approached.
Remus cast a Confundus Charm. The black man’s body stiffened, then he scratched his head and, looking bewildered, walked past them and left in a daze.
“Muggle public order is truly terrifying. This is a city, and on the street, they dare to rob with guns?”
Remus complained.
Kingsley shook his head, “He just had his hand in his pocket; he didn’t actually point a gun at you. You should have pulled his hand out. Perhaps the bulge in his pocket was just his fingers.”
Remus couldn’t understand.
Boston at night reminded him inexplicably of Knockturn Alley – equally dangerous, making one tread on thin ice. The only difference was that one was Muggle crime, and the other was rife with dark wizards.
He truly didn’t know how the Muggles in this city managed to adapt to such an environment. Perhaps the Yankees were used to it!
The two continued to follow for a while, resolving three more suspected gunmen and two strange women who were overly familiar and flirtatious as they walked.
After walking for a while longer, they arrived at a street block with a completely different style and hygiene. The situation only then disappeared.
The slow-moving Lincoln ahead finally stopped in the distance.
“Next time we do a mission, we should consider equipping our car with a Muggle Repelling Charm,”
Hiding in a shadow with Kingsley, Remus sighed, “I never thought tracking someone could be such a physically demanding job before.”
“Shh—”
Kingsley raised a finger, signaling him to pay attention to the target. “They’ve gotten out of the car. That house should be it.”
Remus looked into the distance. It was a row of detached houses.
They were made of the characteristic red brick of the New England District, with a lawn and garden in front, and an ornate cast-iron fence that looked historically significant.
He saw the car door open, and Tonks, dressed vibrantly, stepped out, smiling and talking to the guy named William who opened the door for her.
“She’s never turned her hair black in front of us before,”
Remus suddenly muttered softly.
“What?”
“She used to change her appearance a lot, but she never changed her brown hair, and today…”
Kingsley sighed, “Remus, you should try to control yourself. I heard that werewolves experience certain impulses when the full moon approaches, a problem that even the Wolfsbane Potion can’t solve… I really should buy a camera to record your resentful expression right now.”
“…”
Immersed in inexplicable emotions, Remus didn’t want to talk to him.
Although they were joking, they didn’t relax their attention on Tonks. They watched as the Muggle William “gentlemanly” took off his coat and draped it over Tonks’s shoulders.
They watched them walk into the small house, talking and laughing, and turn on the lights.
The lights illuminated the small house and garden, making them look opulent.
