— — — — — —
[World Ultimate Quest: Grand Unification III]
[When minds align, prosperity follows. When wills unite, a new level is born]
[Mission Requirement: Establish Magic Guilds across every corner of the world. Gradually expand influence. Surpass the Ministry of Magic and become the dominant power in every region.]
[Mission Rewards:
➡ At 20% progress: a bundle of Achievement Points.
➡ At 50% progress: one Legendary Gacha + an SSS-tier Teacher.
➡ At 100% progress: a mysterious grand reward + one System Upgrade opportunity.
[...]
Tom read the mission briefing word for word, over and over. He was thrilled, and also felt a headache coming on.
The rewards were unprecedentedly generous. A legendary gacha. A legendary teacher. Either one alone was enough to make his heart race. But Tom knew the system's personality all too well. Rewards always scaled with difficulty.
At the moment, he had three major missions on his plate.
The first was the promotion of {The History of Wizarding World}. Progress was already at 80%. With a bit more time, it would be complete. The rewards were the lightest: a mere 1,573 Achievement Points and one legendary gacha.
The second was "Creator of a New World." He needed to upgrade and popularize The Codex, fundamentally changing how the wizarding world lived and communicated. Promotion was moving fast, but there had been zero progress on upgrades, so overall completion was still under 30%.
And then there was this new mission.
Tom was speechless, but he couldn't deny it suited him perfectly. The only problem was timing. His plans would have to change.
Originally, when he set up the Wizard Guilds, he hadn't intended to openly wrest power from the Ministry of Magic. They were just meant to make completing his missions and trails easier.
But now…
His ambitions soared, but still his body was brutally honest. After running around all day, Tom took a bath and collapsed onto his bed. Remembering the "fun" Grindelwald had mentioned earlier, he decided to enter the study space first and dragged Grindelwald in with him.
"So," Tom asked, "what was that 'fun' you were talking about today?"
Grindelwald had added Dumbledore to his contact list earlier. The two of them had been chatting away nonstop, so much so that Grindelwald had completely forgotten about Robert. Only when Tom brought it up did the old man remember.
"Oh, right. Robert Graves came to defect to me. He had just one condition: that I kill you."
"Huh?" Andros stared, a huge question mark practically popping up on his forehead. "Isn't that just walking straight into a trap?"
"He doesn't know about the relationship between Gellert and Tom," Ariana said. But as soon as she finished speaking, she laughed.
The more you thought about it, the more pitiful Robert seemed.
In this world, only two and a half people even had a chance of avenging him.
Dumbledore was Tom's former headmaster, so he was out. That left Grindelwald, or half of Voldemort.
And setting aside whether Voldemort was even easy to find, hardly anyone in the wizarding world knew, or believed, that he was still alive.
Grindelwald was the only option.
"That's it?"
Tom was thoroughly disappointed. He'd thought Grindelwald might bring him something entertaining.
"Old G," Tom said flatly. "A nobody I don't even care about isn't 'fun.' If you want to use him, use him. If not, squeeze him for everything he knows about North America's schemes, then kill him. Simple."
Grindelwald shook his head seriously. "I plan to put him to work first. Use him to expose the International Confederation of Wizards' dirty secrets, damage their credibility, and make it easier for your Guild to expand."
Ariana jumped in before anyone else could speak. "And once he's outlived his usefulness, have Tom step in and completely crush his mental defenses. Oh, right, doesn't he have a feud with Laos Wilkinson? Start by placing him under Laos."
Grindelwald nodded approvingly. "Very good, Ariana. Your thinking is getting more and more mature. I'm proud of you."
He didn't have a daughter of his own, but watching Ariana grow increasingly… crooked in her own way gave him the odd sense of pride of a father watching his child come of age.
Andros, meanwhile, felt conflicted. Aside from him… there really wasn't a single good person in this room.
He could only hope Tom's next teacher would be someone upright. Otherwise, these people were going to break the world sooner or later.
Tom smiled and rubbed Ariana's head in praise, encouraging her to keep it up. Then he exited the space and burrowed into bed.
He had originally planned to look for Ravenclaw and discuss the finer details of the Wizard Guild, but today he had absolutely no desire to think. Every conversation with Ravenclaw was an endurance test for both intelligence and mental stamina. One wrong move and you'd be labeled "an idiot, hopelessly slow."
Especially lately. Ravenclaw had been researching the Horcrux diadem and had grown noticeably irritable, like she was going through menopause. Better to stay out of her way for now.
---
The next day, news of the wizarding world's peace talks with Grindelwald splashed across the front pages of every major paper. The reporters moved faster than hummingbirds and Snitches, digging up most of the details overnight and publishing them at lightning speed.
{Peace For Our Time.}
The headline in the Daily Prophet nearly made Tom spray milk from his mouth. Even Hermione, a Muggle-born witch, wore a thoroughly bewildered expression.
Did the wizarding world really know nothing about Muggle history? How did they dare run a slogan that screamed propaganda like this?
Zabini read aloud from the paper:
"Grindelwald and Dumbledore, together with the Ministries of Magic of multiple nations, have signed a treaty. The ancient magical Blood Pact will restrain the two powerful wizards, preventing them from acting freely against the weak."
"The International Confederation of Wizards and various Ministries recognize Grindelwald's rule over Germany, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, and other regions."
"Both sides will engage in equal and active exchanges. It can be foreseen that within the next decade, the wizarding world will continue to enjoy prosperity and peace."
"Witness to the reconciliation of the century: Tom Riddle. At just thirteen years old, Riddle served as a witness to the Unbreakable Vow and the Blood Pact…"
Zabini couldn't go on. He stared in shock along with the other students at the boy who looked completely unbothered, calmly wiping the corner of Daphne's mouth.
"T-Tom… yesterday you…" Zabini stammered.
They were used to not seeing Tom around for an entire day. What they hadn't expected was for him to quietly go off and take part in something this enormous.
Putting away the handkerchief, Tom nodded at the stunned Zabini. "Yesterday I went to the negotiations with the headmaster. I acted as a witness on the side. Nothing worth making a fuss over."
"That's the Dark Lord," Draco Malfoy said, feeling goosebumps rise on his arms. These days, the title of Dark Lord was gradually shifting away from that nameless, unspeakable figure and settling firmly on Grindelwald.
Lowering his voice, Draco asked, "Tom, what was it like seeing Grindelwald in person? Was he different from ordinary wizards?"
Tom thought for a moment. "He has a stronger presence. His manner seems casual, but it's elegant. He has his own kind of charisma."
That last point mattered. Among the negotiators yesterday, more than a few had been moved by Grindelwald's professed concern for the future of the wizarding world and had already begun contacting him in secret.
The nearby students fell silent, listening to Tom's assessment. Then questions started flying from every direction. Tom couldn't be bothered to answer them all and waved them off.
"You can ask all you want, but it's better to see for yourselves. Durmstrang is also entering the dueling tournament. Grindelwald will personally lead their team."
Boom
That did it. The news exploded and spread like wildfire. Before long, the entire school knew that Grindelwald would soon be visiting Hogwarts.
The last time he'd tried to come, Dumbledore had flatly turned him away. This time, he would be invited in openly.
...
"Albus, have you lost your mind?" McGonagall stormed into Dumbledore's office, furious. "Why would you agree to such an outrageous demand from Grindelwald? Even if he can't lay a hand on the students, a few words from him are enough to twist their minds."
"Minerva, this is the direction things are going," Dumbledore replied, the exhaustion in his voice impossible to hide. He had spoken with Grindelwald late into the night.
"Coexisting with Grindelwald is now inevitable. We cannot completely cut off the spread of his ideas."
"The more we forbid it, the more curious the students will become. Instead of letting them learn about him in secret, it's better to bring the real Grindelwald here openly. We respond as we go, and let them see that he is just an ordinary wizard, and that his ideals are unrealistic."
"An ordinary wizard…" McGonagall was left speechless by Dumbledore's description. She wanted to argue further, but seeing how worn he looked, she couldn't bring herself to press him.
She assumed Dumbledore was exhausting himself thinking of ways to deal with Grindelwald, and sighed quietly.
"Albus, as long as you know what you're doing. We must not let temporary peace make us lower our guard."
"I won't, Minerva."
McGonagall left the office. Through the slatted windows of the corridor, she saw students lounging on the lawn, carefree as they enjoyed their holiday. In her heart, she made a silent vow.
She would not let Grindelwald disturb this peace.
At the same time, Tom left the school once more and returned to Newt's home in Dorset, bringing with him a gift.
.
.
.