"Can you really make such a leap without any cost..." Helena Ravenclaw's eyes sparkled, and she looked at Ian with a trace of bewilderment.
This is completely different from the divine favored she knew. It's important to know that ritual magic and sacrificial magic were not initially used by ordinary wizards.
"This is the cost! Milady!" Ian showed his hand soaked in sweat. Fortunately, his money bag was brought in, allowing him to take out a bag of salt and a bottle of lemonade to gulp down. With several layers of Enlargement Charms stacked, Ian's money bag had already become unfathomable.
His goal for this semester was to fit the entire Hogwarts inside.
"You can't replenish your body's salt like that..." Helena Ravenclaw couldn't bear to watch, so she took Ian's salt and lemonade, mixing a bottle of saline solution for him.
"The ratio should be fine."
She handed the saline solution to Ian.
Ian immediately gulped it down in one go, displaying his signature move.
"Actually, injecting sterile saline directly into the body is more effective, but I haven't reached a dangerous level of dehydration yet." Ian was simply too lazy to mix it himself.
"Of course, if I stay in this ghastly place any longer, I think I'll be close to suffering a heatstroke lying on the ground." Ian attempted to cast a Freezing Spell with his hands to cool himself.
But he struggled for a long time and still couldn't conjure a complete spell on his hand. Wandless Spellcasting is the most challenging operation for any wizard accustomed to using a wand for guidance.
"What are you doing?"
Helena Ravenclaw watched Ian raise both hands, a bubble forming here and some ice shards appearing there, with a frustrated expression on the little wizard's face.
"I'm thinking that when I get back, perhaps I should cut off all ten of my fingers, make them into magic wands, and then reattach them." Ian ultimately decided to give up.
"..."
Helena Ravenclaw truly didn't know how to respond to Ian. She just felt that the little wizard in front of her being sorted into her current house was definitely a misplacement of talent.
This little guy should have gone to Diagon Alley for further study.
While Tom Riddle made his soul into a Soul Artifact, Ian Prince wants to turn all his fingers into magic wands. It seems the more handsome male wizards are, the harsher they are on themselves — once an infatuated Helena Ravenclaw now began to have a bit of fear towards handsome male wizards.
"We need to get out of this place where not even a dog would want to stay. If I can find a black sea, perhaps I'll know how to return to the isolated island where I first met your mother." Ian pulled out a compass, which was utterly useless, as the needle spun like a crazy top.
Never mind finding south; it was hard enough to stop the needle from spinning.
"So, this is something you agreed upon with my mother, no wonder you've been trying so hard to persuade me these past days." Helena Ravenclaw didn't seem worried at all.
She seemed to have figured out the chain of events.
Even the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw in Hogwarts made her understand everything, which is why she wasn't in a hurry now.
"Hogwarts has too many people, so I could only try to hint to you. Luckily, you didn't make your mother wait too long." Ian began walking towards a place away from the volcano.
Beneath his feet, it was no longer solid ground or soft grass, but an endless path paved with obsidian. Each step echoed with a faint, low-pitched wail.
The surface of these stones was covered with strange patterns, intermittently flashing with dim blue or dark red glows, like the faint pulsation of hellfire beneath the surface.
Really hot to walk on.
"Do you want to get out?"
Helena Ravenclaw followed along. As she hadn't walked on her own feet for quite some time, her cautious and reminiscent demeanor was quite apparent.
"I need to take you to find your mother." Ian not only wanted to leave the stifling volcano behind but was also worried that once he had to leave, Helena Ravenclaw would be left alone here.
Good intentions turning into bad outcomes would be quite unpleasant.
"Thank you, but I think we should just stay here and wait." Helena Ravenclaw didn't sweat a drop. She was undoubtedly a cool lady unaware of a hot man's hardships.
"Perhaps the Ravenclaw ancestor will come to find you, but that's something no one can be certain of. My understanding of this place isn't much better than that of other wizards."
Ian quickened his pace.
The surrounding mountains and land were vast and empty, with nothing but dim stones and no plants or animals. This was truly a barren land that even the souls of the dead wouldn't want to approach, devoid of the smallest insect or the shadow of a plant. No human chatter, no whispered voices of spirits.
Just a space filled with the oppressive sound of magma eruptions.
To prevent the atmosphere from falling into silence, Ian let out a gentle sigh towards Helena Ravenclaw, "To be honest, I have no idea why we're here. According to my teacher's theory, the desire in my heart should guide me to land corresponding to the Misty Illusion Realm."
"This theory seems unreliable now. Why would I yearn to come to such a ghastly place?" Ian said, suddenly recalling something.