Night had shuttered most of Diagon Alley, but Gringotts still burned like a gilded furnace. For goblins, the sight of coins flowing into vaults was its own religion. Overtime here wasn't paid—it was fought over.
Larring and his partner loitered by the roster board, nursing the afternoon's frustrations. No overtime tonight. No extra ledgers to fondle. And somewhere in the middle of it all: Theodore Ashbourne.
"Curse that wizard brat," Larring hissed. "Sixty-two fewer Galleons counted because he wasted my time. Also I had a headache—his fault. And now no overtime—also his fault."
Theodore, perched above the white steps on an owlblade the size of a carriage, watched his system pane flicker:
[Enemies: Xiao Sheng & Cao Bao → Status: Red-Eyed.]
He snorted. So easy to offend; impossible to befriend. With goblins, friendship was uphill in chain mail; hatred, a slip on wet stairs.
"Fine," he murmured. "I'm not that magnanimous anyway."
He waited in the dark until a dribble of off-shift goblins spilled from the doors. A few popped away with tidy cracks; others trudged towards dinner. Larring and his colleague were about to do the same when a glint winked from a side lane—one single, perfect Galleon, lying alone and smug.
Goblins did not find unclaimed gold. Gold found them.
They darted into the alley, hands closing over the coin—"Beautiful"—when the air thickened. Feathers blotted the stars. Wings layered over wings, and then a shadow dropped through the lattice.
Two gloved hands shot from a black cloak, palmed both goblin skulls, and drove them down.
The pavement thumped. Silence.
Theodore crouched between their sprawled bodies, mildly surprised. "That easy?"
It was. Years of desk-magic had dulled them. Talented, yes—but talent atrophies when it only ever counts money. They'd wrapped themselves in the pride of older, sharper goblins, and never noticed the edge was gone.
The pane chimed:
[You used dirty methods to beat Xiao Sheng & Cao Bao into unconsciousness.]
[Reward unlocked: Wind & Dew Sustenance (a.k.a. Dining on Wind & Drinking Dew).]
[Beat them two more times (separate occasions) to unlock: Chessmaster's Instinct.]
[Claim reward now?]
"Figures it only counts per incident," Theodore muttered—and, to test it, gave each a couple of perfunctory toe-taps. No new chime. "Right. Cooldown required."
Anger vented and prize secured, he pocketed the bait Galleon—and then, since professional courtesy cut both ways, relieved them of the clinking handful on their persons. "Payment for emotional damages," he said solemnly, and stepped back onto the owlblade.
Feathers surged. The living sword rose and slid away into the night.
An hour later, Gringotts clerks found Larring and company. St Mungo's healers frowned over their wands.
"Looks like a massively amplified Stunner," one concluded. "Our counter-curses aren't biting. We'll… wait it out."
Gringotts tightened security on the spot. If someone was testing the bank, they wouldn't be caught napping.
None of that reached Theodore as he glided into his study, barred the door, and dropped into the chair with bright, greedy eyes fixed on the pane.
"Besides Sun & Moon Essence—whenever I pry that loose—this is the first true cultivation talent I've seen. Time to see if a Honghuang-grade assist works in a wand-and-oak world."
He exhaled.
"Claim Wind & Dew Sustenance."
AUTHOR'S NOTE — BONUS & EARLY ACCESS
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