Avalon

Final exams drew nearer, and every young wizard in Hogwarts began preparing nervously.

Hermione's relationship with Edmund had been somewhat unpleasant recently. She thought he did not believe her claim that Snape was the villain.

She insisted she had overheard Snape threatening Quirrell.

That made her absolutely certain that the person after the Philosopher's Stone was Snape.

Edmund did not argue. He only said the truth was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.

Hermione was dissatisfied with his evasiveness. Pouting, she declared that she would ignore him for a while, at least until she caught Snape in the act.

Edmund did not take it to heart.

Hermione had always been stubborn. Only after she uncovered the truth herself would she realize her mistake.

Edmund also wanted to use this matter to teach Hermione to take his words more seriously. A strong personality could be charming, but when it was too strong, even a pretty girl could become difficult to handle.

Under these circumstances, Edmund's first set of final exams arrived.

There was nothing much to say about the exams. He passed every subject smoothly.

The Defence Against the Dark Arts exam was especially amusing.

When Quirrell saw Edmund draw his wand, his entire body trembled.

Speaking of Quirrell, Edmund had to admit Voldemort's methods were impressive. After the state Quirrell had been left in last time, he had nearly been beaten beyond recognition.

Yet after taking only a week of leave, Quirrell returned to Hogwarts. His voice had become extremely weak, and he deliberately avoided Edmund whenever possible.

Edmund did not expose him. After all, he still needed Quirrell to help him obtain the Philosopher's Stone.

And so Edmund's first year at Hogwarts approached its end.

After finishing all of his exams, Edmund returned to his dormitory and prepared for a major card draw to raise his strength.

Since drawing the Nicolas Flamel card, he had saved another twenty thousand coins.

In order to draw a Mythic card, Edmund had forced himself not to spend them.

Tonight, he decided to gamble and see how many good things twenty thousand coins could bring.

At precisely 10:10 p.m., Edmund began.

According to his Divination talent, this was the most unlucky time available. Naturally, he treated it as his golden hour.

With his troll-level Divination talent, choosing the unluckiest hour was the closest thing he had to strategy.

"System, spend all twenty thousand coins. Give me something good."

After saying that, Edmund fell silent and stared hard at the card pool interface.

The system did not waste words. Light began flying from the center of the pool.

Near the end, a rainbow radiance finally covered the glow of the other cards.

Edmund's heart settled slightly.

At least one had appeared.

When the draw ended, five Legendary cards and one Mythic card remained. Edmund fused all the other cards and stored the materials and items in his system inventory.

Suppressing his excitement, he did not look at the Mythic card first. Instead, he examined the five Legendary cards.

Two Minerva McGonagall cards, one Severus Snape card, and one Nicolas Flamel card.

There was no need to hesitate.

For McGonagall, he chose Transfiguration talent. For Snape, Potions talent. For Nicolas Flamel, alchemy.

The final Legendary card surprised him.

[System]

Ancestral Awakening Draught (Legendary)

Effect: awakens a dormant ancient magical inheritance within the user's body. If the inheritance has already awakened, greatly increases its progress.

Was this not the same kind of reward he had received from his Initial Draw?

Edmund knew very well how powerful the Gaunt ancestral magic was.

The earliest wizards had been humans who awakened magic before wizarding society truly existed. They possessed powers ordinary people did not, casting strange and varied spells long before later generations gave those arts proper names.

Later wizards called those ancient predecessors the first magical ancestors.

Edmund had experienced the benefit deeply. His magical reserves grew far faster than an ordinary person's. Even without fusing cards, his magic would already have surpassed that of an average adult wizard.

Without hesitation, Edmund fused the five Legendary cards.

The surge of magic inside his body was enormous. He sank into the sensation of his strength rising rapidly.

Only after quite some time did he barely control the magic within him.

"Looks like I need time to adjust to my own reserves again."

The increase this time was too great. Edmund could no longer control it perfectly.

If he had to take a Charms exam right now, he feared one spell might blow up the classroom.

That made him extremely grateful he had waited until after finals before drawing.

At last, Edmund looked at the Mythic card.

The surface of the card shattered.

A magnificent scabbard formed in front of him and floated in the air.

Its body was deep blue. Gold wrapped both edges and the tip, and intricate patterns were engraved across it. The whole artifact looked grand, elegant, and impossibly beautiful.

Then Edmund saw its description.

[System]

Avalon - The Everdistant Utopia

Alias: Avalon

Rank: Mythic Artifact

Description: A legendary sheath formed from the land of fairies and the undying paradise of myth.

Effect 1: After the holder reaches full physical maturity, preserves youth and grants unaging longevity.

Effect 2: Grants extraordinary healing ability and greatly increases magical recovery.

Effect 3: When the holder faces mortal danger or releases the artifact actively, Avalon forms an absolute spatial refuge. Any attack unable to cross space cannot touch the user.

Edmund's mind went blank.

He had never imagined his first Mythic draw would produce an artifact of this level.

It felt as if the system were pointing at him and saying, go on, be reckless.

This was a legendary defensive artifact. With it, Edmund might even survive the Killing Curse head-on.

The system had also made a considerate adjustment. Edmund did not need to worry about his growth stopping after fusion. He could still reach full maturity before remaining young forever.

Realizing he had come dangerously close to drooling, Edmund wiped the corner of his mouth and fused Avalon into his body.

A warm feeling rose inside him.

His magic became more active as well, almost approaching the state he had when holding his wand.

Edmund sensed carefully and discovered that Avalon was continuously improving his body. Every cell seemed filled with vitality.

If this continued, his body would eventually exceed human limits.

Perhaps he could even develop both magic and physical combat together.

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