Mysterious Journey
Chapter 1294 The Birth of the Magic Net
Hogwarts, 3:47 AM. It had just rained, and the air was filled with misty moisture.
In the brightly lit Great Hall on the first floor of the castle, Elena was waiting for the researchers to complete their final debugging session.
Just a few days ago, she received a project report from an off-campus research institute: the "Magical Terminal Mainframe" was ready to be officially activated. Now, it just needed to be successfully connected to Hogwarts Castle's magical magnetic field to start operating. In short, Hogwarts' local area network was finally up and running, and magical books could now be connected in a tree-like structure.
Nearly Headless Nick was in charge of the ghost patrol, guarding the area to ensure that no sleepwalking students or professors stumbled into the "boot-up" site.
Elena held her wand in her hand, sitting on the "Valkyria Mark 3," ready to equip the Valkyrie armor at any moment.
All components of the "Magical Terminal Mainframe" were forged by wizards' magic craftsmanship, and each electronic component was secondarily shielded by a "magic field."
With Dumbledore temporarily away from the school and Professor McGonagall voluntarily relinquishing her role as "acting headmistress," Elena remained the first-in-line master of all the house-elves.
After nearly half a month of secret modifications, the floor beneath the Great Hall was now covered with all sorts of magical instrument components. Tendril-like magical pathways stretched out from the Great Hall towards the castle, spanning every floor, every corridor, and every classroom, like blood vessels growing within Hogwarts Castle.
Elena originally planned to set up the host in the Room of Requirement, but Luna had issued a danger warning, feeling that the Room of Requirement might pose a risk.
In fact, this was a concern Elena had also considered. Hogwarts Castle possessed magic and a very faint sense of self-awareness.
The electronic shielding around the castle was less of a defensive electromagnetic interference and more of the "castle's will" acting up mischievously.
Hogwarts Castle would constantly scan the magnetic fields within range and send out "interactive waves."
Ordinary electronic components could not respond and would usually burn out as the "castle's will" shouted louder and louder. This was the principle behind Hogwarts' magnetic field interference.
On the other hand, even if Elena and her team created the magical terminal, they couldn't be 100% certain of the "castle's will" attitude before communicating with it.
If anything unpleasant happened during the exchange, the Room of Requirement could very well turn into a terrifying trap.
Grindelwald judged that the Room was essentially the "stomach" or "heart" of Hogwarts Castle.
Aside from the Room of Requirement, Hogwarts Castle theoretically had no other "violent" countermeasures.
At least, from the current situation, whether it was building the magical host under the Great Hall or laying magical pathways throughout the castle, the castle's will had not protested.
Hogwarts Castle was unlikely to have a rejection mechanism, but Elena had prepared for all possibilities in case the castle rejected modernization...
Just as she was thinking, she suddenly heard a whooshing sound in her ear.
"Is this the big thing you were talking about?"
Hearing the voice, Elena instinctively turned her head to look at the space to her right.
Floating there was a semi-transparent, short ghost, Peeves, the most annoying poltergeist at Hogwarts, and also a symbol of student rebellion.
"Yeah, I thought you were lost or too scared to come."
"This great one would never miss such an interesting event!"
Peeves scoffed and turned to wave at the doorway in the distance. A few house-elves quickly ran over.
"I heard there were some suits of armor moving around upstairs, so I had them come to report to you and see if you wanted to throw those iron shells into the lake—"
Magical armor?
Speaking of which... those should be one of the castle's spheres of influence.
Elena nodded thoughtfully, glanced at Peeves, who seemed to be expecting something, and instructed the house-elves.
"In that case... you few, take control of all the suits of armor that approach the Great Hall and sink them directly into the water—"
"Try not to make any noise. The professors and students are tired after a long day of classes. If any suits of armor or statues suddenly cause trouble, throw them in the lake too."
"Cool! You're definitely the second-ranked prankster at Hogwarts! I knew it—"
Peeves grabbed his ankles and spun around excitedly in mid-air.
"..."
Elena glanced at Peeves and didn't have the heart to burst his bubble.
After all, since she arrived at this magical castle, the title of prankster king had already been substantially transferred.
"Equipment debugging complete, can we begin, Miss Kaslana?"
Quirinus Quirrell walked over, meticulously checking off all the required "pre-experiment" items on his clipboard.
After more than half a year of switching back and forth between the research institute and the school, Quirinus Quirrell's original confidence and hope seemed to have gradually returned.
Of course, more importantly...
Quirrell looked up, somewhat nervously, at the dense, seemingly sci-fi magical instruments beneath the floor of the Great Hall.
Hogwarts' "Magical Host" could make the originally disordered magical magnetic field of the castle controllable, receiving and transmitting directional magical waves like a signal base station.
And the first practical test of the controllable magical magnetic field was: for him to try to cast magic again.
"Mm, let's begin—start the host and connect it to Hogwarts' magical magnetic field."
Elena glanced at the clipboard and turned to look at Nicolas Flamel, who was leading dozens of wizards and researchers in front of the equipment.
"Magician, I'll leave the rest to you... I and the 'Tower' will be fully responsible for the surrounding safety and any unexpected situations—"
"Mm, we've simulated it many times in advance, rest assured." Nicolas Flamel nodded.
"You don't need to be so nervous, kid—we could easily flip this castle with our combined strength."
Grindelwald grinned and casually fiddled with the wand in his hand.
Elena might be slightly inferior in terms of absolute magic power, but the "Valkyrie Magic Armor" made up for her shortcomings in this regard.
Magic, alchemy, and technology from the non-magical world combined to create changes he had never imagined.
Elena could tear through stone walls dozens of feet thick in an instant, or fly through the sound barrier without the aid of other magic. And the firepower she carried could easily reverse a battle if placed on the battlefield fifty years ago...
After all, it was a weapon born purely for killing.
Unknowingly, Elena had become a true, world-influencing "demon king-level" witch.
"I'm not nervous about the possible threats from the castle, but I'm worried about accidentally ruining this thousand-year-old castle..."
"Then you can announce the termination of the plan, and everyone can pretend nothing happened—" Grindelwald shrugged and suggested earnestly.
"Impossible, this is the future. I just want to remind you to restrain yourself a bit later."
Elena glared at the old potato, annoyed. "Wait for my instructions and don't act rashly."
However, even as she said that, she actively placed her wand into the Valkyria activation slot below.
Click.
The magical runes on the Valkyrie armor flickered one by one, entering a state of readiness.
"Then, let's begin—"
"Let's witness the arrival of the new world together."
"Record: Magical Era 1001, the magical network, officially launched—"
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caseidontseeyou, goodafternoon, goodevening, and goodnight