That evening, Ted was still visiting Jerry's home, enjoying a remarkably hearty dinner with Jerry's friends and family, when urgent news arrived from the Ministry of Magic.
The Demi-Human Division—and indeed the entire Ministry—was completely short-staffed. They were even recalling the two junior clerks stationed in the village. A catastrophic incident had just occurred near Edinburgh.
A gigantic, otherworldly creature, measuring over five metres in length, had stormed the edge of the city. In a matter of minutes, it had destroyed six houses, killed eight people, and injured a dozen more, completely wrecking a section of the high street.
Rumour had it that the Muggle Prime Minister was absolutely furious and had already threatened to deploy the military. In response, the Ministry of Magic had dispatched almost all of its Aurors, Hit Wizards, and support staff to handle the apocalyptic aftermath—managing communications, appeasing the Muggle authorities, performing mass Memory Charms, and repairing the structural damage.
But magic could not bring the dead back to life. How exactly were they supposed to cover up the sudden, violent deaths of eight people?
Ever since Voldemort's downfall, even the dark wizarding community had adhered to a strict, unspoken rule: Muggles were not to be killed in public in a way that blatantly exposed the wizarding world. If the Statute of Secrecy was breached so violently, it wouldn't just be a problem for the British Ministry. The International Confederation of Wizards would undoubtedly intervene, potentially leading to a massive joint manhunt across multiple nations.
But now, these otherworldly beasts—which seemingly appeared out of nowhere—were materialising right on the edges of major cities and wreaking absolute havoc without a shred of subtlety.
The Ministry's reaction time had been pathetically slow. By the time their combat personnel arrived on the scene, local armed police had already been firing at the unknown behemoth for several minutes.
"Those strange Muggle iron wands aren't very effective against that monster; their projectiles can't even pierce its hide," explained Andrew, one of the junior Ministry clerks stationed at the village office. "Even the first squad of Aurors to arrive struggled. The beast has incredibly high magic resistance; it just kept charging forward while shrugging off multiple spells. It was practically a wingless fire dragon!"
Andrew looked intensely embarrassed as he hastily packed his belongings. "I'm so sorry, but we've been ordered to provide immediate support in Edinburgh. You'll have to hold the fort here yourselves for now..."
'Monsters are actively attacking the village, and the Ministry is just packing up and leaving?' Ted thought incredulously.
The burly, bull-horned warrior, who essentially acted as the unappointed village chief, seemed far more magnanimous about the situation. He offered a surprisingly gentle word of comfort. "Don't worry too much, Andrew. We know it's not your fault. Go and fulfil your orders. Stay safe out there."
It was a remarkably tactful statement. It comforted a junior clerk who clearly still possessed a conscience, while simultaneously securing a minor political favour for the village. The warrior looked incredibly rugged, but his mind was surprisingly sharp.
Ted was intensely curious about the "Monster Siege" up in Edinburgh and wanted to gather more intelligence, but his usual contacts were out of reach. Harley and the Weasleys were both too far away, and even Anzu would need several hours to make the round trip.
'Magical communication is still woefully inconvenient,' Ted thought with a sigh. 'If I had a mobile phone, I could get an update in seconds.'
That night, Ted stayed over at Jerry's home. Out on the perimeter of Deckard Mond, a rotation of adult demi-humans remained wide awake, standing guard atop the repaired wooden barricades.
The night was far from peaceful.
The distant mountains were restless. All sorts of mundane wildlife and minor magical beasts were frantically fleeing the tree line. Some were so terrified they charged blindly toward Deckard Mond, while others skirted the valley entirely, fleeing into the wider countryside. The night watch had to fire more than a dozen warning flares just to drive off the panicked stampedes.
A deep sense of unease settled over the villagers. It was obvious that something massive had shifted deep within the Lost Mountains—something terrifying enough to completely disrupt the natural food chain and drive apex predators out of their territories.
Passively hiding behind wooden walls wasn't a sustainable strategy. However, the village simply couldn't afford to send out a large hunting party; doing so would leave their defences dangerously thin.
The next morning, Ted sat on a stone bench at the edge of the paved central square, listening to the anxious murmurs of the villagers as a familiar notification chimed in his mind.
[Ding~ Mission Triggered: Exploring the Strange Phenomena in the Mountains (Blue)]
The Lost Mountains are vast, teeming with rare magical herbs and wondrous creatures. Now, an unknown anomaly is brewing in the deep peaks, posing a direct threat to the demi-human village. As a wise man once said, one should make as many allies as possible; you certainly cannot ignore this crisis.
Objective: Investigate the unusual phenomena occurring in the Lost Mountains.
Rewards: 550 experience points, 200 Deckard Mond Reputation, and the card [Mountain Peak (Blue)].
The elders in the square couldn't reach a consensus. Some argued for a deeper expedition into the mountains to find the source, while others insisted on doubling the barricades and fortifying the village. A few suggested setting up a wider perimeter of watchposts, while the most pessimistic residents were already packing their belongings, prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice.
They had lived in this valley for nearly a decade; every cobbled path and hand-built home represented years of gruelling labour. Abandoning it would be utterly heartbreaking, but if a true catastrophe was coming, sacrificing their land to save their lives might be their only option.
Jerry looked thoroughly depressed. His home was facing an existential threat, and he felt entirely powerless to stop it. He turned to his friend. "Ted, what do you reckon we should do?"
Ted glanced at him and lowered his voice. "I'm going to explore the mountains myself. Have you got a map of the area?"
Jerry blinked in surprise, but quickly collected himself. Knowing Ted's capabilities, it really wasn't surprising that he would choose the proactive approach. Nodding, Jerry led Ted back to his room and pulled a hand-drawn leather map from a trunk beneath his bed. It detailed the valley and the surrounding peaks, including the recent, fruitless patrol routes taken by the village search parties.
"Which direction should we head in?" Jerry asked, tracing the parchment.
Ted tapped a specific, unexplored coordinate on the map. "Let's check this ridge out first."
However, their attempt to slip out of the village unnoticed was immediately foiled.
"Jerry, where exactly are you going?"
The rat-eared girl, Sherry, stepped out silently from the shadow of a nearby wall, eyeing them suspiciously.
Both boys jumped slightly.
'Bloody hell,' Ted thought, genuinely impressed. 'She was twelve metres away! That's right on the very edge of my passive perception radius. She completely bypassed my magical senses.'
Jerry rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "You caught me again, Sherry."
As it turned out, while Sherry hadn't possessed the magical core to become a witch, she was a terrifyingly gifted natural stalker. Jerry was widely considered the undisputed king of night-wandering in Gryffindor Tower; even without an Invisibility Cloak or Disillusionment Charms, he had managed to sneak around Hogwarts for two solid years without ever getting caught by Argus Filch. But compared to his childhood sweetheart, his stealth was downright amateurish.
Resigned, Jerry had no choice but to confess their expedition plans. Instantly, Sherry demanded to come along.
Ted hesitated. If they ran into genuine, life-threatening danger, his current magical repertoire was more than enough to ensure he and Jerry could safely Apparate or fight their way out. But adding a non-magical third person to the mix severely complicated the escape math.
It wasn't that Ted lacked confidence. He had already spent his hoarded experience points to level up his core class at the start of the summer holidays. Progressing from a Level 6 to a Level 7 Wizard usually required a staggering 21,000 experience points. Even with the substantial discount provided by his [Academic Prodigy (Purple)] talent, it had still cost him 18,500 points.
Upon levelling up, Ted had allocated his free stat point to his Spirit attribute and invested a skill point directly into his core Magic Power, officially raising it to Level 7. At this threshold, the flat '+1 Magic Power' passive buff from his cedar and phoenix feather wand had finally capped out and expired—he had simply outgrown the physical limitations of the wood. However, the immense '+2 Magic Power' buff radiating from his crafted pseudo-Philosopher's Stone remained active.
With the stone's buff applied, his effective Magic Power was now at Level 9.
In terms of raw magical reserves, Ted was currently operating on par with Severus Snape. At only thirteen years old, he had arguably breached the upper echelons of the British wizarding world. Ted was entirely confident that even a newly graduated Tom Riddle wouldn't have been a match for his current mana pool.
This massive spike in raw power allowed him to cast standard spells with devastatingly amplified effects, entirely bypassing the usual limiters on advanced charms. Furthermore, the increased capacity had finally allowed him to master the bulk of his 3rd-circle Faerûnian spells, which had previously been too taxing to prepare. Combined with the numerous alchemical items he and his friends had crafted over the term, personal defence was the least of his worries.
Noticing Ted's silent hesitation, Sherry's eyes narrowed. With a near-invisible flick of her wrist, a vicious-looking dagger materialised in her grip as if pulled from thin air. "Don't underestimate me, wizard."
Jerry quickly chimed in, holding his hands up defensively. "She's not joking, Ted. Sherry is a brilliant fighter. She's especially good at ambushes... er, I mean, tactical flanking."
'Excuse me?' Ted thought, raising an eyebrow. Discreetly, he cast his System's appraisal skill over the girl.
[Sherry]
Race: Rat-Eared Demi-Human
Class: Level 4 Rogue / Level 1 Dark Assassin
Ted nearly choked. 'She's a Level 5 dual-class rogue?! That's significantly higher than Jerry's Level 3!'