Though Moaning Myrtle clearly had no intention of cooperating, Louis wasn't exactly helpless without her.
The shadow beneath his feet began to ripple and boil.
From it, a clump of darkness detached itself and slithered toward the gaps around the sink.
Wherever there were shadows, the Shadow Legion could reach.
But moments later, the dark wisp returned empty-handed, merging back into Louis's shadow.
"Failed?" Louis muttered in surprise.
So it seemed even Myrtle couldn't actually enter that passage.
He stepped closer to the sink, examining it carefully for a while — then suddenly clenched his fist and slammed it down.
Boom!
The entire bathroom shuddered, and the sink cracked apart under his blow, leaving behind a crater laced with fractures like an impact from a meteor.
But the moment he lifted his hand, the damage mended itself instantly, returning to its pristine state as if nothing had happened.
"That quick?" Louis frowned, brushing the dust off his hand.
From inside one of the toilets, Myrtle floated back up, puzzled, peering over to see what he was doing.
Louis circled the sink once, feeling stuck.
Sure, he could act like a pile driver and just keep punching until he broke through, or blast it apart using the power of his talismans —
but those methods were too loud, too crude. It would only alert the serpent.
He needed another way.
Snapping his fingers, Louis invoked the power of the Ram Talisman.
A surge of invisible energy manifested, pushing the snooping Myrtle's head straight back down into the toilet.
Then he summoned Chuan.
The toilet water splashed violently as an enraged Myrtle struggled beneath the surface.
"Master," came a gentle voice — though the speaker didn't appear physically. Instead, a small pool of clear water formed by Louis's feet.
"I sense another presence nearby. I dared not reveal myself fully."
"Another presence?" Louis thought.
So Chuan was cautious enough to be wary even of ghosts now.
"Well done," Louis replied telepathically. "Tell me, Chuan — can you enter the sink's interior?"
"I cannot, Master," Chuan answered. "But I can travel through the other connected pipes and reach the area below from a different path."
"The other pipes, hmm?" Louis mused, rubbing his chin.
Should he go down now and kill the basilisk outright — end things cleanly?
Or… make it interesting and watch the chaos unfold?
Just as he was considering, the system — which had been silent ever since his last success — suddenly reactivated.
> [Challenge Mission Activated: The Qualified Trickster]
> Mission Description: A true trickster doesn't rely solely on brute force. Use deception and external means to eliminate the basilisk threat.
> Mission Requirement: Kill the basilisk without using any direct offensive methods.
> Mission Reward: Prime-Tier Lottery Ticket ×1, Basilisk Fang Weapon Set ×1
"Kill the basilisk without direct attacks?" Louis repeated thoughtfully, reading the prompt.
Now that was interesting.
"This is the first time the system's ever given me a mission like this… Guess it's starting to think I'm too much of a brawler? How rude!"
Louis scratched his head, muttering with mock indignation. "Still, that reward's not bad — a new lottery tier, 'Prime-Tier' huh? Looks like this one needs some serious planning."
With that, he turned on his heel and left the bathroom.
The splashing water inside the toilet suddenly vanished, and an enraged Moaning Myrtle popped out from a nearby stall.
"Hahaha! Didn't expect that, did you? I can come out from this side!" she said triumphantly, ready to take revenge on Louis—only to realize he was already gone.
"Waaah…"
Seeing that her tormentor had run off right after bullying her, Myrtle burst into tears again and dove back into the toilet with a loud splash.
Moments later, the bathroom began to flood once more.
---
That night, inside the Room of Requirement, Peter Pettigrew was diligently conducting his experiments — still working toward his dream of "dying peacefully of old age."
He was carefully testing the differences between the Animagus transformation and Polyjuice Potion transformation.
Taking a sip of Polyjuice Potion containing his own hair, he attempted to transform while simultaneously casting the Animagus spell — forcing the two magics to clash and recording the results.
Meanwhile, Louis sat nearby, studying a pitch-black mask in one hand while spinning the System Lottery with the other.
> …Perfect Tenfold Draw consumed Trick Points: 20,000. Current total: 171,800.
> …Perfect Tenfold Draw consumed Trick Points: 20,000. Current total: 151,800.
> …Perfect Tenfold Draw consumed Trick Points: 20,000. Current total: 131,800.
A total of three tenfold draws, costing 60,000 Trick Points in all.
One by one, items glowing with golden light appeared before Louis — some large, some small: priceless gems, strange books of unknown purpose, and all manner of glittering artifacts.
> Draw Results:
> Miscellaneous: Golden Fertilizer, 5× Curious Pet Eggs, 3× Energy Amethysts, 5× Adaptive Sentinel Golems
> Enhancement: Perfect-Grade Biological Gene Fragment (Avian), 3× Perfect Body Enhancement Permits, 3× Perfect Mana Enhancement Permits, Manual of Primordial Harmony
> Potions: 3× Soul-Gathering Pills, 1× Laugh-and-Drop-Dead Poison, Dragonheart Elixir
> Special: Tara's Magical Codex, Flame Staff, Spring of Drowned Maiden (Magic World Special Edition)
---
When the results appeared, Louis froze mid-motion.
He had been about to sort through his new loot — but something about those items seemed… off.
Cautiously, he rummaged through the pile until he found a suspicious object — a crystal vial filled with shimmering liquid.
Louis looked at it as though it were some catastrophic weapon of mass destruction.
After making sure there was no leakage, he carefully picked it up and read the description.
> [Spring of Drowned Maiden – Magical World Special Edition]
> Effect: Upon consumption, permanently increases magical power equivalent to three adult wizards (effective only when fully consumed).
> Additional Effect: Grants a dual-gender constitution.
> - Contact with hot water → transforms into a male.
> - Contact with cold water → transforms into a female.
> - Male form: Physical strength ×10, magic power ×3.
> - Female form: Magic power ×12, mana control greatly enhanced.
"So powerful?" Louis whistled in amazement at the description.
Just drinking this thing could instantly multiply one's strength tenfold or more!
With something like this, why would Voldemort even bother chasing after greater power? he thought. It's just a gender swap bonus!
Still… it wasn't really useful for him. Using something this absurd just to prank people would be a complete waste — the kind of power boost it gave could reshape the magical world.
"If Dumbledore drank this," Louis muttered, "he'd probably blow a hole through the sky itself. A legendary wizard with ten times the strength… I don't even dare to imagine."
He sealed the dangerously overpowered potion back into his storage space and continued sorting through the rest of his loot.
---