Although Dumbledore had already discussed the matter of representing the school with Lucien, the formal procedures still had to be followed on the surface.
Besides the fact that Dumbledore had promised him emotional energy if he participated in the tournament, Lucien himself was genuinely curious about the other magical schools and wanted to see what they studied on a daily basis.
Malfoy sighed softly.
"Lucien, you're truly modest. It's a pity, though. Just looking at Alchemy gives me a headache. I don't even have a chance to compete..."
Lucien glanced at Malfoy beside him and asked, "What's wrong? Are you curious about Beauxbatons?"
Malfoy shook his head.
"No. I'm actually more curious about Durmstrang because my father originally planned to send me there. As for the reason, you understand..."
Lucien knew what Malfoy meant. The special thing about Durmstrang was its tolerant attitude toward the Dark Arts, and its curriculum included related subjects.
Another point was that the school rejected Muggle-born Wizards and did not allow them to enrol.
It was practically the dream school for most Pure-blood parents.
There, they could openly study the Dark Arts and openly engage in bloodline discrimination.
"Then why didn't you go to Durmstrang in the end?" Lucien asked.
Hearing the question, Malfoy spread his hands helplessly.
"My mother thought it was too far away."
Lucien understood. It was simply a mother's love for her child.
"Um, Lucien, do you know about the Fountain of Beauty at Beauxbatons?"
Lucien turned to look at Daphne, who had spoken, and saw the excitement on the girl's face. Her focus was clearly not on the tournament.
Noticing the confusion in Lucien's eyes, Daphne explained rapidly:
"It's a magical fountain located in the centre of Beauxbatons that has beautifying and anti-ageing effects. If you bathe in its water for a long time, it can even make you younger and more beautiful... It's said that it was built by the legendary Alchemist Nicolas Flamel!"
Hearing his teacher's name, Lucien recalled Nicolas mentioning the fountain before, though not in much detail. He had only said that the spring water was exceptionally pure and highly effective at cleansing impurities. As for beautifying, anti-ageing, and even making people younger and prettier...
Lucien felt that the fountain's effects were probably not quite so exaggerated, but seeing the sparkle in Daphne's eyes, he still asked:
"Would you like me to bring back some spring water for you?"
"Mhm!"
Daphne nodded eagerly, but immediately realised she was being too obvious. She quickly moderated her reaction.
"Thank you, Lucien."
She had complete confidence that Lucien would pass the school's preliminary selection and travel to Beauxbatons for the exchange. Ever since Lucien had slain the Basilisk and received the Order of Merlin, First Class, Daphne had come to believe that there was nothing Lucien couldn't do.
...
Suitcase World.
He was standing in a lush, verdant forest.
Lucien gently twisted the Ring of All Things on his finger. A pale green radiance emerged from the emerald, transforming into a green line that split the silver ring into two.
One half remained on Lucien's left index finger, while the other detached automatically and rapidly transformed into a small sparrow in mid-air.
Driven by Magic, the sparrow spread its wings and flew, nimbly weaving through the trees.
At the same time, the emerald on the Ring of All Things glowed once more, floating before Lucien's left eye and transforming into a translucent emerald monocle.
Lucien's right eye continued to see normally, but the view in his left eye had been replaced by the rapidly shrinking forest below.
He was now sharing the vision of the small sparrow.
This was the special ability of the Ring of All Things: it could separate and transform part of itself. Through the miniature magic circle within the ring, the user could establish a connection with the detached portion and perceive its surroundings.
If flexibility was the goal, transforming it into an animal was naturally the better choice.
It was essentially a magical version of a drone.
However, what interested Lucien more was the magic circle engraved within the ring.
This magic circle could connect two parties separated by distance, transmitting images, sounds, and even information such as scents and temperature. If he could replicate and modify it using Alchemy, he might be able to create a magical long-distance communication device.
He could bring a small revolution to the Magical World with a magical version of a mobile phone.
Then again, besides images and sound, this magic circle could also share information like scents and temperature. Visual and auditory transmission posed no problem, and perhaps smell and touch could be achieved as well. He hadn't tried taste yet. Should he make the sparrow catch a bug and see what it tasted like...?
Lucien chuckled.
Wasn't this just like the joke from his previous life? Whenever people saw food videos online, they'd say, "When I get rich, I'm definitely buying a phone that can transmit taste!"
There was a huge difference between Magic and technology. For Muggles, the technology to transmit images remotely had appeared about a century later than the transmission of sound and text, but magical progress did not necessarily follow a fixed sequence. Various forms of long-distance communication could potentially be achieved simultaneously.
If he could truly create a magical mobile phone, even one capable only of transmitting sound and images, it would be a major technological innovation for the Magical World and would become another best-selling product.
Although telephones and even mobile phones had already been invented in the Muggle world, Wizards often disliked or simply looked down upon Muggle technology.
Take television, for example. Lucien had heard some Half-blood and Pure-blood students complain that their Wizarding parents either refused to buy Muggle devices or didn't understand how to use them, forcing them to visit their neighbours' houses if they wanted to watch television.
But if it were a magical item, Wizards would be far more accepting. And as a method of communication more convenient than Owl post, he believed few would reject it.
After some thought, Lucien decided that the magical mobile phone could also be designed in a style more suitable for Wizards, perhaps as a book or a magical mirror.
"Hmm. The only problem is that the range is a bit short."
The transformed sparrow had not flown very far before Lucien experienced what could only be described as poor reception. The shared vision became blurry and intermittent.
Clearly, the distance supported by the magic circle was limited.
He guided the transformed sparrow back and stroked the Ring of All Things on his finger.
He definitely needed to find a way to increase the connection range of the magic circle. He might have to simplify some of the rune functions. There was also the matter of materials; if the raw materials were too rare, mass production would be impossible.
Lucien took the gleaming Order of Merlin from his pocket and examined it.
Unfortunately, this prestigious medal possessed no magical properties. It was purely ceremonial.
However, the fame brought by receiving the Order of Merlin, First Class, was immeasurable. Lucien had now become a household name throughout the Magical World and had even gained a group of admirers.
Combined with his achievements in Transfiguration, he had also established a reputation within academic circles.
Owls had been delivering letters from all over the world without interruption. Some came from admirers, while others came from scholars. The former were filled with praise and admiration, while the latter focused primarily on discussions of Transfiguration.
After all, scholars valued knowledge above everything else. Their exchanges were far more straightforward.
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