The first card that had materialized from the Basilisk's corpse was framed in an ominous crimson border.
The illustration depicted a broken fang, roughly the length of a man's forearm, with a droplet of pale purple venom suspended from its jagged tip.
[Ancient Basilisk's Venomous Fang (Red)]
Type: Material Card
Description: The broken fang of a thousand-year-old serpent. It houses a venom so potent it is fatal to the vast majority of magical constructs and living beings.
Note: Do not nick yourself. There is no coming back from this.
Next was a card with a blue border, featuring a large, orange-yellow vertical pupil set into a silver band. Just looking at the illustration induced a faint sense of vertigo.
[The Dizzying Eye (Blue)]
Type: Item Card (Ring)
Effects: Perception +1. Enhances visual acuity and sensitivity to movement.
Active Skill — Dazzle: Consumes a small amount of Mana to induce severe dizziness in targets currently making eye contact with the wearer.
Note: Wearing a ring with an eyeball on it is certainly... eye-catching.
[Basilisk Skin (Blue)]
Type: Spell Card
Effects: Transfigures your skin into that of a Basilisk. Grants high durability and Magic Resistance +2.
Duration: 5 Minutes.
Cooldown: 5 Hours.
Note: A body covered in scales rarely belongs to the good guy.
'Blue border... well, it turns me into a humanoid monster, does it?' Ted mused, shaking his head.
[Infinite Growth (Blue)]
Type: Material Card
Description: A genetic trait derived from a creature with an indeterminate lifespan, allowing for continuous growth in size over centuries.
Finally, the screen flashed with a red border again, displaying a massive numerical value.
[Experience Card (Red)]
Type: Consumable
Effect: Grants 3,000 Experience Points.
Usage: 1/1
'What a shame,' Ted thought, rubbing his chin. 'One of the two Red cards was just experience, and the other was a fang. Hard to use immediately. But that ring isn't bad.'
The Spell Card [Basilisk Skin] was undoubtedly a trump card for crucial moments. Being able to tank magic spells with one's face was a game-changer. As for looking like a villainous lizard-man? In a life-or-death fight, aesthetics were the last thing on his mind.
'And the experience... killing a Basilisk gave me nearly 11,000 XP directly? Add the card, and that's a fortune.'
He did the math quickly. It wasn't quite as efficient as farming the Acromantula colony with fire, but the risk was significantly lower—assuming one didn't look the snake in the eye.
'Where can I find another dungeon to clear a few waves of mobs?'
With the addition of the experience card, Ted's pool now sat at a comfortable total: 11,514 (Base) + 1,000 (Quest) + 3,000 (Card) = 15,514 XP.
Whatever Galleons he'd spent on preparation, he'd made back in power.
'Oh, right. On the way back, I also grabbed that massive bundle of shed snakeskin.'
He wasn't sure how much of the Basilisk's actual corpse he could claim later without drawing Dumbledore's suspicion, but he was determined to keep the shed skin for himself. That alone was worth a vault of gold.
'But that's not all,' Ted reminded himself, his eyes gleaming. 'There's the Halloween special quest reward.'
[Quest: The Chamber of Secrets (Red)]
Status: Completed.
Rewards: 1,500 XP, Reputation Bonus, 1x Red Tier Gacha Draw.
'Current XP: 17,014. And now, the Gacha system.'
"System," Ted murmured internally, "draw the reward card for the quest [The Chamber of Secrets]."
Three cards immediately materialized in his mind's eye. As they flipped over, a crimson light flooded his vision. All three were Red tier!
The first card depicted the Basilisk's head held high, its lethal orange eyes shining with malevolent light.
[Basilisk's Gaze (Red)]
Type: Spell Card
Effect: Inflicts fatal damage on a target looking directly at the user. High probability of Instant Death.
Usage: 1/1
Note: Success depends on the target's Magic Power, Magic Resistance, Constitution, and the number of targets viewing the user simultaneously.
'The Basilisk's strongest talent,' Ted noted. 'Unfortunately, it's a consumable. One use only. It seems it's an AOE (Area of Effect) attack, affecting everyone looking at me, but the lethality dilutes with more targets. A gamble.'
He looked at the second card. It featured a figure in red and blue spandex... wait. Was that Spider-Man?
[Spider-Suit (Red)]
Type: Item Card (Equipment Set)
Effects:
Toxin Resistance: Massive resistance to neurotoxins and poisons.
Reflexes: Agility +6.
Mutate Physique: Constitution +4, Strength +4.
Spider-Sense: Grants a preternatural sixth sense for danger. Divination +2.
Wall-Crawler: Defy gravity to walk on walls and ceilings.
Web Shooter: Generate sticky, high-tensile organic webbing.
Note: This equipment occupies multiple slots: Chest, Legs, Feet, Wrists, Hands, and Head.
'Holy crap! Seriously?' Ted nearly choked. 'An actual Spider-Man suit?'
The stats were insane. Wearing it would instantly turn him into a superhuman capable of brawling with trolls. But there was a glaring issue: it had zero synergy with magic. It occupied all his armor slots, preventing him from wearing robes or enchanted jewelry.
'Am I supposed to squeeze into tight spandex and swing around Diagon Alley? The "Friendly Neighborhood Wizard" doesn't quite have the same ring to it.'
He turned his attention to the third card. The illustration showed a bolt of yellow lightning striking the head of a two-headed wolf.
Ted's gamer instincts flared instantly. He knew this icon.
[Smite (Red)]
Type: Spell Card (Summoner Spell)
Effect: Deals massive True Damage to non-human targets (monsters/minions/pets).
Passive: Restores a portion of Health, Stamina, and Mana upon use.
Cooldown: 24 Hours.
'Huh? Top laner has no Flash, Jungler gank now!' Ted smirked at the League of Legends reference.
Now, which one to choose?
The [Basilisk Gaze] was a one-hit wonder. Too risky. The [Spider-Suit] was powerful but socially suicidal and magically restrictive. That left...
'I choose you!'
The following morning, the Hospital Wing was bathed in sunlight.
Madam Pomfrey bustled in, a genuine smile replacing her usual stern demeanor. She carried a tray laden with several vials of a bubbling purple potion.
"Good news, children! The Restorative Draught is finally ready," she announced. "Thanks to Professor Sprout's meticulous care of the Mandrakes and Professor Snape's brewing, you'll all be back on your feet in no time!"
This was the cure for the petrified victims.
Although the potent brew could technically accelerate the healing of Ron's physical injuries, Ron had already recovered to about 80% capacity after a good night's sleep. This medicine was incredibly labor-intensive and expensive; it was strictly for those turned to stone.
Ron waved a hand magnanimously from his bed. "You lot drink up. Don't worry about me, I'm sturdy!"
Madam Pomfrey moved to the petrified students. A drop of the purple potion, barely the size of a thumb, was administered to their lips. Almost instantly, the pale, granite-like gray faded, replaced by the flush of living flesh.
After the last victim received the dose, the first student treated—a young girl named Clara—was already shaking her head, blinking drowsily as she woke from her months-long slumber.
All five victims made a full recovery. However, to be absolutely safe, Madam Pomfrey insisted they remain in the Hospital Wing for another twenty-four hours for observation.
She insisted Ron stay as well.
"Mr. Weasley, your... posterior... is still heavily bruised," Madam Pomfrey said, brandishing a jar of thick, pungent ointment. "We need to apply another coat of the Bruise-Healing Balm this afternoon."
Ron's face turned the colour of his hair. He looked frantically at Ted.
'Ted! Help me! Save me! I don't want her smearing goop on my arse again! I'm cured, I tell you!' his eyes screamed.
Ted, however, had suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.
'Go against the Matron of the Hospital Wing? I'd rather fight the Basilisk again,' Ted thought pragmatically. 'If I intervene, she might decide I look peaky and dose me too. I'm out.'
"Rest well, Ron!" Ted called out, retreating tactically.
Ron had no choice but to remain in the hospital and endure the indignity alone.
However, when his friends returned to visit him that afternoon, the atmosphere had shifted dramatically.
"Lavender? Are you all right?" Harley called out, rushing over the moment she entered the ward.
The person Ron was currently chatting with—enthusiastically, loud enough for the whole room to hear—was Harley's roommate, Lavender Brown. She had been one of the final victims of the Chamber.
Hermione, meanwhile, hurried over to check on Clara.
Clara was bouncing on her bed, chattering a mile a minute. She was boasting loudly about how lucky she was to have been wearing the "Dwarf Goggles" Ted had crafted.
"I'm telling you, if I hadn't been wearing them, I'd be dead!" Clara raved. "Those goggles are amazing! Dwarf magic is the best magic in the world!"
Ron, from the next bed over, snorted loudly. "Dwarf magic? Please."
When Clara turned to argue, she paused, then pointed a finger. "Well, Ted's goggles are the best! They blocked the Basilisk's gaze!"
Ted, standing in the back, rubbed his temple. "Please, don't drag me into this..."
But Ron wasn't interested in the goggles. Before the others had arrived, he had spent the entire morning regaling Lavender with the tale of his heroism.
And to be fair, in his retelling, he sounded like the absolute protagonist of a Hollywood action blockbuster.
The script was perfect: Provoking the seniors, shrinking the giant rockslide, and finally, blowing the thousand-year-old Basilisk to smithereens with his broken wand.
The worst part? He wasn't technically lying. He did do all those things.
Lavender Brown, a Gryffindor known for her romantic sensibilities, was completely smitten. She listened with wide, adoration-filled eyes, hanging on his every word as if he were Gilderoy Lockhart reborn.
'Kids these days mature so fast,' Ted noted dryly.
The reason Ron was performing so well in the romance department was thanks to his "Support."
Penelope Clearwater, the Ravenclaw Prefect and another victim of the Chamber, was sitting nearby, occasionally chiming in to verify Ron's bravery.
The older girl was helping Ron for a simple reason: she was the sworn sister of Ron's older sister, Paige Weasley.
'My best friend's little brother is trying to impress a girl,' Penelope likely reasoned. 'I should give him an assist.'
Anyone who has played League of Legends knows that even a mediocre ADC (Attack Damage Carry) can look like a god if they have a Top-Tier Support player setting them up.
And Ron's "opponent"—Lavender's skepticism—was non-existent. It was a decisive victory for House Weasley.
Ron was eloquent, cracking jokes. Lavender was beaming, her face flushed with admiration.
They were in their own little world...
Ted looked at Ron, who was practically glowing with pride, and then at Lavender, whose eyes were shooting virtual hearts.
He frowned, sniffing the air.
'Huh?' Ted thought, wrinkling his nose. 'Where is that weird, sour smell coming from?'
It was the scent of envy, wafting off the single people in the room.
_______________________________
Word count: 1814
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