stonecrandall Chapter 73 Castor's former works
Chapter 73 Castor's former works
Chapter 73 Castor's earlier works (3k)
The history of magic classroom was filled with the smell of parchment and ink, and Professor Binns' monotonous voice echoed in the room like a lullaby. Karen sat by the window, with Professor McGonagall's "Alchemy and Magical Intelligence" in front of him the night before.
"—. Under the influence of this incident, the secrecy law has been promoted by all parties." Professor Binns floated on the podium, speaking in his unchanging tone no matter what the content was.
Karen's quill moved quickly across the parchment as he carefully flipped through the book, jotting down information that would be useful to him.
"Rune Matrix," Karen murmured to himself, his fingertips tracing a complex diagram. This was precisely the method used in Wizarding Chess, constructing a distributed intelligent network through basic runes. He turned to the page he had folded up the night before, which detailed the working principle of a simple automatic quill pen.
"Karen," Fabian, sitting next to him, nudged him gently with his elbow, glancing curiously at the thick book, "Is this the book Professor McGonagall lent you? It looks very profound."
"Alchemy and Magical Intelligence," Karen nodded, "I'm studying the intelligent principles of Wizard's Chess, and I'd like to learn more about it."
Fabian thought for a moment: "Is it related to your autonomous defense system?"
"Well, I've discovered that making Wizard's Chess is much more complicated than I imagined," Karen sighed. "It might be necessary to start with more basic alchemical tools."
The bell rang, and the classroom filled with the noisy sounds of students packing their books. Karen carefully stuffed the heavy book into her bag.
"Lunchtime!" Wesley squeezed through the back row and put his arm around Karen and Fabian's shoulders. "I bet there's beef pie in the kitchen today, I can smell it!"
Ernesto followed behind, saying, "Can't you think about things other than eating and drinking?"
"Of course," Wesley grinned, "like football and Quidditch!"
The four followed the crowd toward the hall, but Karen's mind was still on the book. If he could understand how the magical intelligence that controlled Wizard's Chess worked, perhaps he could find a starting point for building an autonomous defense system.
The four long tables in the auditorium were already laden with food. Wesley was right; there was indeed beef pie in today's meal.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of meat and baking bread. Around the Ravenclaw dining table, students gathered in twos and threes, discussing their lessons, Quidditch, and all sorts of campus gossip; indeed, people can't live without gossip.
Karen scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes, but his mind was still absorbed in the book, and Ernesto noticed his distraction.
"Still thinking about that book?" Ernesto cut a piece of pie. "Is there anything about it that particularly appeals to you?"
Just as Karen was about to respond, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"What are you discussing that you're so engrossed in?" Cedric asked, standing behind them with a tray in hand and a friendly smile on his face.
"Alchemy and magical intelligence," Cullen closed the book, "we're discussing which items in Hogwarts have self-awareness."
Cedric sat down next to Cullen: "Do those portraits in the castle count? They seem quite independent."
Karen shook her head: "The portrait contains fragments of the original owner's memories; they are more like a part of the wizard's personality and soul. I'm talking about objects that have no basis in life being endowed with intelligence."
Cedric took a bite of his apple. "That sounds complicated. But speaking of autonomy," he lowered his voice, "I've heard my father mention a room in the Department of Mysteries filled with automatically predictive glass spheres. I wonder if that counts?"
Karen's quill pen hovered in mid-air. An automatically predictive glass sphere? This was yet another entirely new direction for research. His notebook was already filled with various ideas and clues, but the more he researched, the more he realized he needed to learn more systematically.
"I think I need to start with basic alchemy," Karen said, closing her notebook. "These advanced applications are too far off for me."
"Didn't Professor Victor teach you alchemy?" Ernesto asked. "He seems quite knowledgeable about it."
Karen nodded. "Yes, I plan to ask him for advice tonight. However—" he hesitated for a moment, "alchemy requires a long period of study and practice, and I'm not sure I'll see results quickly."
Wesley patted him on the shoulder: "Hey, you're a genius who mastered the Patronus Charm in your first year! Be confident!"
“Wesley is right,” Fabian agreed, a rare occurrence. “If you decide to learn something, you’ll master it quickly.”
Karen smiled, but he knew in his heart that the path of alchemy might be much longer than he imagined.
After dinner, Karen said goodbye to her roommate and went to Professor Victor's office alone. Just as Karen was about to knock on the door...
The door opened almost immediately, and Professor Castor stood in the doorway, a hint of surprise in his gray eyes: "Karen?"
We have no classes scheduled for tonight.
"I know, Professor," Karen said with a slight bow, "but I have some questions about alchemy that I'd like to ask you. Do you have a moment now?"
Castor sized up Karen for a moment, then stepped aside to make way for her: "Come in."
The office was as simple yet mysterious as ever. The fire in the fireplace burned quietly, and several old maps hanging on the wall appeared and disappeared in the firelight. Karen noticed a new display case in the corner, the items inside somewhat blurry.
"Sit." Castor gestured to the armchair in front of the fireplace, then sat down in the high-backed chair himself. "What's wrong? Are you having trouble with Niven's practice?"
Karen shook her head and took out "Alchemy and Magical Intelligence" from her bag: "Professor McGonagall lent me this book. I'm studying the intelligence principles of Wizard's Chess and want to see if I can apply them to my autonomous defense system concept."
Castor took the book, quickly glanced through a few pages, and smiled slightly. "McGee lent you this? It seems she thinks highly of you." He handed the book back to Karen. "Your ideas are somewhat related, but the creation of Wizard's Chess is quite complex, involving high-level alchemy and runic magic."
“I realize that, Professor.” Karen opened the book and pointed to the description of the automatic quill pen. “So I thought perhaps we should start by learning more basic alchemical items, like this simple automatic writing pen.”
A hint of approval flashed in Castor's eyes. "A wise decision. Alchemy is an art that requires patience; haste makes waste." He stood up and walked towards the newly added display case. "Come and take a look."
Karen followed the professor to the display case. Through the glass, he could see various alchemical items neatly arranged inside: from the simplest automatic stirring rod to some more complex alchemical tools. Next to each item was a small card recording the maker and date.
“These are all my works from my student days. I just brought them here yesterday, and I was preparing them for you to practice with.” Castor’s voice carried a hint of nostalgia. “Start with the simplest and gradually move on to the more complex.” He pointed to a copper pen holder at the bottom. “This is my first alchemy work when I was twelve years old—a smart, self-writing quill pen.”
Karen bent down and examined the pen holder closely. Through his Eye of Truth, he could see the simple runic structure inside, consistent with the principles he had seen in books, but even more concise and practical.
“For beginners,” Castor said, taking a wooden box from the middle shelf of the display case, “I recommend starting with these kinds of basic items.” He opened the box, inside which were neatly arranged several simple alchemical items: a quill pen, a small weather forecaster, and a color-changing coin.
"The automatic writing pen is one of the most basic alchemical items," Castor said, picking up the quill pen. "It only requires three basic runes to achieve a simple automatic writing function." He handed the pen to Karen. "Look at the engravings near the nib; that's where the runes are."
Karen took the quill and, through the Eye of Truth, could see that there were indeed three glowing rune nodes inside the pen shaft, forming a miniature magic circuit.
"The weather forecaster is a bit more complicated," Castor continued, picking up the small glass sphere. "It has five runes inside that can sense changes in air pressure and humidity." Several metal plates were suspended in layers inside the sphere, rotating slightly as Castor moved.
Finally, he pointed to the coin: "A color-changing copper coin with seven runes. It can change color according to temperature changes, making it a good material for learning about the transformation of material properties."
Karen carefully examined the three items and noticed that although the number of runes differed, they all followed similar structural principles: "Their basic principles are the same, only their complexity differs?"
“Exactly.” Castor nodded. “The essence of alchemy lies in understanding the basic principles and then gradually building complex systems.” He put the three items back in the box and pushed it in front of Karen. “Here you go, as your first practice objects. Try to understand how they work first, and then make them yourself.”
Karen took the wooden box: "Thank you, Professor. I will start my studies with the most basic mechanical pencils."
Just then, Karen's gaze was drawn to a small object on the top shelf of the display case. It was a seemingly ordinary silver pocket watch, but his True Eyes saw an unusually complex magical structure flowing within it, far more complex than any other item in the display case.
"Professor, that pocket watch—" Karen couldn't help but ask, "is it also your work?"
Castor's expression suddenly turned serious. He was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "It was an unfinished work." He clearly didn't want to talk about it further and quickly changed the subject, "Remember, start with the most basic three-rune system, and only try more complex structures after you fully understand it."
After leaving the office, Karen walked slowly down the quiet corridor, still pondering the situation with the pocket watch.
As Karen rounded a corner, a voice suddenly jolted him from his reverie. A portrait on the wall showed an old wizard in a nightcap winking at him: "Still wandering around so late, little Ravenclaw? Watch out, Filch might catch you red-handed!"
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Karen nodded at the portrait and then quickened her pace.