ManipulationThe air in the restricted book section was filled with a musty, decaying smell; the ancient books emitted a faint musty odor, as if time had stood still there.
The dim, flickering candlelight cast shifting shadows on the bookshelves, making the entire area appear even more eerie and mysterious.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione carefully moved among the bookshelves, their eyes quickly scanning the spines, searching for any clues related to Nicolas Flamel.
They spoke in hushed tones, as if afraid to disturb the souls slumbering within the books.
"Nico Flamel… Nicolas Flamel…" Hermione murmured, her fingers tracing the spines of the books, her brow furrowed. "Where is he? Have we gone the wrong way?"
Ron clutched a thick magic book tightly, looking somewhat nervous. He lowered his voice and said, "Perhaps we should find some books related to magic first; maybe we can find clues about Nicolas Flamel."
"A spellbook?" Harry frowned. "But we don't even know what it looks like, so how are we supposed to find it?"
"We need to find out who Nicolas Flamel is first." Hermione stopped and said firmly, "He must be connected to what's guarding the restricted area on the third floor."
Moen stood beside a row of bookshelves, his silvery-white eyes appearing particularly sharp in the dim light.
Unlike the others, he didn't focus on finding Nicolas Flamel; instead, he quietly browsed the books on the shelf, his target being materials related to powerful magic.
His fingers gently traced the spines of the thick books: "The Complete Book of Black Magic," "The Power of Curses," "Advanced Transfiguration"... The titles of these books all exuded a dangerous aura, yet at the same time, they radiated an irresistible allure.
"Perhaps there are descriptions of powerful magic here," Moen murmured to himself, eager to understand the limits of magic and find a way to make himself stronger.
He stopped and his gaze settled on a book that looked very old, titled "The Theory of Time Magic".
The book's cover was yellowed, and the text on it was somewhat blurred, but the special aura it exuded made Moen realize that it was no ordinary item.
Just then, a scream shattered the tranquility of the restricted book section.
"Ah!" Ron's voice, filled with terror, echoed throughout the area.
Moen whirled around and saw Ron clutching a book, his face pale, his finger trembling as he pointed at a page. On that page, a ghostly face was staring at him, as if it were about to jump out of the book.
Harry and Hermione were also startled and quickly went over to check, their expressions turning somewhat grim.
"What…what is this?" Harry asked in terror, his voice trembling.
"It's…it's a ghoul with magic." Hermione's voice trembled slightly as she gripped her wand tightly, seemingly ready to cast a spell at any moment.
"Damn it, what the hell!" Ron's voice trembled as he tried to throw the book away, but it stuck to his hand like a magnet.
"Quiet! Are you going to wake all the ghosts?" A sharp voice came from afar, accompanied by the flickering light of an oil lamp.
Filch, the grumpy caretaker, was carrying an oil lamp and stomping angrily toward them.
His eyes gleamed warily in the dim light, and his footsteps sounded particularly jarring in the silent restricted book section.
"Oh no!" Harry exclaimed in a low voice, his face turning deathly pale.
Moen's gaze swept over everyone, his mind quickly calculating a solution. Harry and Ron were too far away, and Ron was still entangled with the ghoul; the situation was extremely urgent.
Hermione was closest to him, and he had just seen that she was carrying a Time-Turner, so perhaps he could make use of it.
"Time!" A thought suddenly flashed through Moen's mind, and his gaze involuntarily fell on the book "Theory of Time Magic," while also thinking of the time-turner around Hermione's neck.
Moen glanced at Hermione out of the corner of his eye; a thin chain hung around her neck, with a small golden hourglass hanging from the end.
That's a time converter!
"System, scan time converter!" Moen whispered to himself.
[Target Name]: Time Converter
[Talent Trait]:
Time manipulation: Able to briefly manipulate time, enabling time to flow backward or accelerate.
Spatiotemporal stability: The wearer is unaffected by changes in time and space.
Temporal Protection: Can resist some attacks from time magic.
"Space-time manipulation!" Moen's heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, he chose to use the white copy talent to copy the "space-time manipulation" property of the Time Converter.
A strange energy surged into Moen's body, and he felt the world around him become blurred, but at the same time, he could clearly feel his magic power being rapidly depleted.
Moen realized that with his current level of magic, he was not yet able to fully control spacetime.
All he can do is briefly pause the flow of time and space on a small scale.
His consciousness became exceptionally clear; he could perceive every minute detail, feel every vibration in the air, and hear Filch's approaching footsteps.
Filch's voices grew closer. He hadn't fully seen them yet, but he could hear them and sense that something was wrong.
Moen concentrated his mind and quickly mobilized the faint magic power within his body. He precisely controlled the power of space and time and whispered to the space about one meter around Filch, "Time stop."
The moment Moen cast the spell, Filch's voice abruptly stopped, his hand holding the oil lamp froze in mid-air, his eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief.
Within a meter of Filch, everything seemed to be paused; all sounds disappeared, except for Moen, who could still move freely and felt his magic power rapidly dwindling.
"Is this the power of time manipulation? It is indeed powerful, but I am not yet able to unleash its full potential." Moen felt the power of time suspension and also felt his magic power rapidly draining away. "It seems I need to increase my magic power as soon as possible."
Moen immediately focused his meager magical energy on the tip of his wand and quickly cast an invisibility spell on Harry, Ron, Hermione, and himself.
He didn't have time to remove the invisibility spell from his body, so he could only use his remaining magic to spread the spell and envelop the four of them.
at the same time,
He quickly took the book of funny faces from Ron's hand and stuffed it into his expandable pocket.
Having done all this, Moen pulled up Hermione, who was closest to him, and they began to evacuate quickly.
After confirming that they had left Filch's area of influence, Moen focused his mind and restored the suspended timeline.
"Time, begin to flow." Moen murmured, his magic power completely depleted, and a strong sense of weakness welled up in his heart.
Filch immediately resumed his normal movements, looking around in confusion to make sure there was no one around.
"Strange? I clearly heard a sound just now, could I have misheard?" Filch scratched his head, somewhat puzzled. He raised the oil lamp and shone it around, but found nothing.
He muttered to himself, "Something's not right. A student must have sneaked into the restricted book section."
Filch's face darkened. He raised his oil lamp and shouted, "Who is it? Show yourself! I know you're here!"
His voice echoed in the quiet restricted book section, carrying a powerful and intimidating tone.
Although he did not see any students, he still did not give up the investigation.
Filch moved cautiously among the bookshelves, his eyes quickly scanning the spines of the books, searching for any suspicious signs.
He even bent down to carefully examine the corner under the bookshelf, afraid of missing any clues.
"Hmph, don't think you can escape my eyes!" Filch's tone was filled with anger and resentment. "Dare to sneak into the forbidden book section, I will definitely catch you!"
He carried an oil lamp and searched the bookshelves row by row. His footsteps echoed in the silent forbidden book section, as if the footsteps of death were gradually approaching.
At this moment, Moen, along with Hermione and the other invisible Harry and Ron, had arrived outside the library.
"Let's leave here first," Moen said in a low voice, glancing around, his face slightly pale. "It's not safe here."
"But, Nicolas Flamel…" Hermione was a little worried; she hadn't found any information about Nicolas Flamel yet.
"Let's get out of here first." Moen's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable firmness.
The four quickly left the library and disappeared into the night, while Filch continued searching the restricted section behind them.
Darkness enveloped them once more, but Moen's heart was filled with a thirst for power and a wariness of Filch.
"I need more magic, and I need to be more careful," he said in a low voice, his tone filled with anticipation for the future. "This time, Filch certainly won't let us off easily."