26 CH: 26 Wizard's Will

Three days had passed.

Yes, three days had indeed gone by.

Anton stared blankly at the sea as he rode on his broom.

Fiennes floated nearby, feeling quite helpless. "Flying at high speeds for three days, if it were me on that broomstick, I would have traveled back and forth between not just an island, but even France multiple times."

Anton silently observed the waves crashing against the shore, his face filled with melancholy.

"You're hopeless with directions," Fiennes grew increasingly frustrated. "Do you have any idea how challenging it is for me, a ghost, to keep up with your broomstick? Is this how you treat your teacher?"

"Ha ha," Anton sneered. "It's not like you're any better. If you knew the way, you would have told me already!"

Silence ensued, a wordless silence.

Fiennes and Anton, one big and one small, stood there dumbfounded, listening to the sound of the waves, unable to find the right words.

"Shouldn't you, with all your life experience, be able to come up with a solution?" Anton finally broke the silence, addressing the old man.

Fiennes's expression turned bitter. "It seems that I am gradually growing accustomed to the state of being a ghost, and the additional benefits of the 'Soul Magic' that I studied before are slowly fading away."

Anton looked at him in astonishment. "What do you mean?"

"I have lost the ability to think and can only rely on instinctual memory. In other words, even if you were to show me a potion's knowledge that I haven't seen before, no matter how simple it may be, I would not be able to comprehend it," Fiennes sighed.

"Memory is like an endless list without boundaries. If I want to recall something, I have to search through the list bit by bit to find it."

"My apprentice, I feel that my willpower is gradually dissipating, leaving behind only a mass of memories."

Anton gazed at him with a complex expression.

Just the thought of this feeling fills him with despair.

"The first lesson I taught you was not to be too clever," Fiennes said, his eyes filled with intense emotion as he looked at Anton.

"I created the 'Oculus' potion. With it, I was able to see a side of magic that no other wizard in the world could see."

"Based on this, I also developed the 'Soul Magic Spell,' which leaves a trace on the soul. Do you remember the magic mark on your wrist? The runes on it represent 'Happiness,' 'Anger,' and 'Grief.' Emotions and willpower are the manifestations of the soul and the foundation of spellcasting."

Fiennes held his head in one hand and extended the other hand forward, his translucent fingers gently reaching towards the sun in his field of vision.

"I have touched the essence of magic."

"That's why I prepared for death in advance and created a body for myself to serve as a vessel for my soul."

"What a pity..."

"Even if you hadn't destroyed it back then, my will would still have gradually faded away."

"This is a ghost, haha, so this is what it feels like to be a ghost."

Fiennes turned to look at Anton. "A ghost is the lingering residue of life in this world, and my will is merely the dust clinging to that residue. But the winds here are too strong."

"If, at the moment of death, I could have moved forward and entered the realm of the departed souls..."

He chuckled, "If I hadn't tried to be too clever, perhaps I would have truly embarked on a new life."

Anton lowered his broom and stood on the beach.

This topic is too heavy. It feels like watching an old man slowly dying, without any way to prevent it step by step.

It has nothing to do with his disdain for the old man with inexplicable complex emotions, it's solely about death.

He felt very uncomfortable.

"If my will completely dissipates one day, that will be the true ghost, and that ghost will no longer be me," Fiennes whispered in his ear. "Before it completely fades away, I will leave you far behind. Everyone I know is there."

"I used to be a handsome person. I don't want the people I know to look at me with eyes that say, 'He is a coward who is afraid to face death, so he has become what he is now.' I–"

"Enough!" Anton roared angrily.

He stared at the old man coldly. "You are indeed a coward. I am different from you. I have seen fate and I have seen death, but I dare to fight. You, on the other hand, are just passively waiting for death!"

"Do you know what I would do if I were in your position?" Anton's eyes blazed with determination. "I would do everything in my power to survive. If the world wants to erase my will, I will find a way to fight back."

Fiennes simply sighed. "It's pointless."

"Is it really pointless?" Anton's eyes gleamed with intensity. "You relied on that 'Soul Magic' to create an unprecedented body for the ghost, and you can still preserve your own will by relying on it, right?"

Fiennes looked at him blankly. "So what?"

"Teach me, teach me everything without holding back. I will study and use 'Soul Magic' to find a way to help you maintain your will and even give you a new body," Anton said, looking at him earnestly.

Fiennes fell silent, a bitter smile on his face. "You little rascal, I don't know you yet. You're the biggest trickster, and you want to learn my spell."

Anton sneered, "Do you really need it? When you become a true ghost, there will be plenty of time for tricks. As long as the memories are still intact, won't it be easier for me to learn?"

Only then did Fiennes become serious. He looked at the young man, who was bathed in sunlight, and said emotionally, "You are a remarkable person."

"I wasn't always like this," Anton looked at the horizon in the distance. "I used to be a mediocre social creature."

...

Finally, Fiennes found the answer on the long list of memories.

"Owls, these magical creatures have a unique ability. You just need to give them an address, and they can fly there. Then you can ride a broomstick and follow them."

Anton shook his head. "No, we can't find a place to buy owls now."

"The Knight Bus, raise your wand when you're in trouble, and they will appear in front of you with a bang."

Anton still shook his head. "I didn't consider it, but we've been flying for three days already. Every day we spend flying is another day wasted. I'm not willing to ask for a Knight Bus now!"

"There is another way!"

Fiennes snapped his fingers, though there was no sound.

"Create your own spell." He said.

"???" Anton looked at the old man in astonishment. "You're being too outrageous. Maybe I should call the Knight Bus instead."

"No, no, no. This is a very interesting experiment. I've done it before."

"First, you need a spell in development." Fiennes corrected Anton's spellcasting technique and pronunciation slightly.

This spell is extremely simple, and it took less than a minute for Anton to cast it without even needing any emotion or thought.

Basically, you draw a bright arrow in the air with a magic wand.

"And then?"

"Dismiss it. Release another one, but this time, think about the destination in your heart and command the arrow to guide you there."

Anton's mouth twitched. "God ordered this arrow to move on its own, but I want to command it to transform into a Galleon."

"Why not?"

"???"

"Why can't you command it to become a Galleon?"

"Haha, you won't have any issues with your head once you become a ghost. Do you think you're a god?"

Fiennes's eyes sparkled with wisdom. "Remember, casting magic requires emotions. It's just the appearance. What truly matters is the wizard's will."

"I dare say that even a highly skilled wizard may struggle with it."

"Remember, wizards are like gods."

"As a god, command your magic, command this world. Tell it, tell everything, and make it obey your orders and fulfill your desires."

Anton gave a thumbs up. "A touch of dominance!"

Fiennes smiled. "Give it a try?"

"Just give it a try. There's nothing you can't dare."

So, they stayed at the beach for three more days, and on the second-to-last day, Anton ran out of food.

But he still didn't feel hungry; he just kept waving his wand.

Until a certain moment, the light arrow in mid-air started spinning frantically and then stopped, pointing in the direction of 11 o'clock.

"Wahhahahahaha, I did it!" Anton jumped up and down with excitement.

"Really? Yes!" Fiennes smiled beside him, clearly feeling the process of life dissipating. He watched someone continue his research and carry on his legacy. Suddenly, he felt a sense of incompleteness after his death, as if he hadn't completely vanished from this world. Even though it was a little brat who killed him.

"You're a gem!" Anton's exclamation made him even more elated.

"That's right." Fiennes proudly puffed out his chest, despite being headless. "You, little brat, should call me teacher just for this achievement."

"Remember this rule. Wizards are like gods. It's the foundation of all my research."

Anton didn't fully agree. It seemed as if he was simply pointing a cursor and it automatically followed, but only when he did it himself could he feel that wonderful sense of control.

Based on the Harry Potter fanfics he had read, most wizards in this world were still at the level of casting spells, and there were very few who studied and developed their own theories.

"If you're not a dark wizard, your reputation will be no lower than Snape's."

"Really?" Fiennes murmured, then sneered, "Although I despise my cold-hearted teacher, if it weren't for him leading me down the path of dark magic, I wouldn't have been able to study potions and magic. The ends justify the means."

"You little brat, I know what you think of me, ha!, because I had a terrible teacher like you."

Anton shrugged, "Yes, if you were still alive, I would still find a way to kill you."

"Hehehe." Fiennes laughed, shaking his head in his hands, "That's quite amusing."

"Then you'll soon meet my teacher."

"???" Anton was stunned, "But isn't your teacher dead?"

Fiennes didn't answer, just smiled mysteriously, "Kill me with the potion I created, the 'Flame Elixir.' My teacher can still be so annoying."