Odin's tone shifted instantly—warm, almost grandfatherly.
"Since you're the Sorcerer Supreme's disciple, you must visit Asgard more often."
"Huh?"
The whiplash left Hermione completely lost.
What the hell are these two playing at?
Still, judging by the vibe, Baldy had successfully talked down the One-Eyed Cannibal.
Whatever they'd discussed, Hermione didn't care. As long as she could get out of here alive, that was all that mattered.
With her current magic reserves, opening a portal from Asgard back to Earth was basically impossible.
So a few days ago, right after leaving the town, she'd gone straight to Kamar-Taj. She'd shamelessly begged the Ancient One to bail her out when things went south.
The old woman had been surprisingly chill. Didn't even ask what Hermione was planning. Just smiled faintly and agreed.
Now, safely back on Earth thanks to the Ancient One's portal, Hermione finally let herself breathe.
"Thanks, Master Ancient One."
She meant it.
They walked through Kamar-Taj's courtyard toward the training grounds.
A figure was there, practicing magic.
The Ancient One gestured toward him. "That's Kaecilius. Like Mordo, he's one of my students."
Hermione studied him.
Ah. So that's him.
Why does this disciple of yours also look like he wants to eat people...?
"His dark circles are pretty bad," Hermione said casually. "You sure your teaching methods aren't too harsh? Careful he doesn't hold a grudge and stab you in the back someday."
A subtle warning.
"He has his fate. I have mine." The Ancient One glanced at her. "Besides, it's about time someone else took on the responsibility of Sorcerer Supreme. You want the Eye of Agamotto, don't you? You should be happy when I die."
Her tone carried a faint edge—and if I can't find anyone, I'm dragging you into the job.
Hermione waved her hands frantically. "Nope. Go find Strange. Don't let me mess up your retirement plan."
She turned back toward Kaecilius and sighed dramatically. "The master leads you through the door, but getting lost is on you. May you find eternal peace in Dormammu's embrace. Amen."
"Get lost."
After mooching a few energy drinks off the Ancient One, Hermione dove straight into Kamar-Taj's library.
Once she confirmed no one was around, she immediately dumped all her Soul Energy into magic power.
After burning through over 30,000 points, her status panel finally updated.
[Hermione Jane Granger]
[Magic Level: Lv4 (1/500,000)]
[Dark Harvest]
[Soul Energy: 77,668]
"Are you kidding me?!"
Five hundred thousand.
Hermione stared at the experience requirement for Level 5 and felt her soul leave her body.
This is absurd!
No wonder most wizards in the Harry Potter world capped out at Level 4. Only a handful ever went beyond.
This isn't something normal people can achieve!
Suddenly, wiping out the entire Frost Giant race didn't seem like that much Soul Energy anymore.
Sure, individual Frost Giants were high-quality souls, but there just weren't that many of them. The whole species only gave her a little over 100,000 energy—and Laufey alone had contributed 5,000. At least the Frost Giant King's bloodline was worth something.
Hermione sighed and turned her attention to the other loot.
A pile of Destroyer debris—Uru metal fragments. And the Casket of Ancient Winters.
[Alchemy]
[Destroyer Debris]
[Forged from Uru metal. Excellent magic conductivity and enchantment properties.]
[Artifact]
[Casket of Ancient Winters (Analyzing...)]
[Frost Giant artifact. Can unleash extreme cold, freezing all things. Only usable by Frost Giant bloodline.]
Seeing that the Casket required Frost Giant blood to activate, Hermione felt a twinge of disappointment.
But then, staring at the notes on both items, an idea sparked.
"Maybe..."
Inspiration struck. Hermione didn't hesitate. She immediately summoned her alchemy platform.
She placed the Philosopher's Stone and the Destroyer debris on the platform and channeled her magic.
The Stone glowed crimson, enveloping the Uru fragments.
The impossibly hard metal began to melt, turning into a pool of dark silver liquid.
Next, she turned her attention to the Casket. She reached out mentally through the Mysterious Magic Book.
"Crack... crack..."
Faint fractures spread across the Casket's surface. Then it shattered completely, breaking into icy blue shards.
At the center of the wreckage floated a crystalline blue core, radiating waves of cold.
[Frost Core]
[Core of the Casket of Ancient Winters. Contains extreme cold. Can be used in alchemy and enchantments.]
"Now for the main event..."
Hermione took a deep breath.
She was going to make a metal wand.
In the Harry Potter world, wands were always made of wood—because there was no magical metal with Uru's level of affinity.
Now that she had Uru, she wanted to see if she could craft something completely unique.
She knew it was risky. If she failed, all these precious materials would be wasted.
But Hermione didn't care. She'd looted them anyway. And the Casket was useless to her in its current form. Might as well repurpose it.
Carefully, she placed her original wand on the alchemy platform.
"Extract!"
With a sharp command, the wand core—dragon heartstring—slowly separated from the wood.
Then she guided the molten Uru, wrapping it around the core.
The moment the Uru touched the heartstring, a low hum resonated through the air.
Two different magical substances began to merge.
Hermione focused completely, not daring to let her concentration slip.
This was a delicate, painstaking process. One mistake could ruin everything.
Time crawled by. The Uru gradually solidified, forming a brand-new wand.
It was sleek, dark silver, and cold to the touch.
"One last step..."
Hermione placed the Frost Core at the tip of the wand.
She channeled her magic again, using the Uru's enchantment properties to fuse the core into the wand.
"Hmmmmm—"
The wand sang softly. The Frost Core melted into the tip and vanished.
The silver shaft now had a faint blue tint at the top. Faint magical runes shimmered along its length.
A wave of freezing cold radiated outward. The air itself seemed to crystallize.
The Mysterious Magic Book chimed.
[Artifact]
[Wand of Destruction]
[Forged from Uru metal and dragon heartstring. Infused with Frost Core.]
[Property 1: Extreme Cold]
[All ice-based spells cast by the wielder gain +1 level in power and effect.]
[Property 2: Smelting]
[Can absorb additional magical properties indefinitely. Requires artifact-grade magical materials.]
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