HP: The Root of Everything - The Magician

Led by his lawyer, Teach met his father, Croton Carr, whom he had never met before.

An awkward silence fell over the scene.

Neither of them knew what to say. The lawyer and the maid wanted to break the silence of the father and son's reunion, but they didn't know how to begin.

After a long while, Croton sighed and beckoned to Teach, saying, "Come with me, I'm going to pass on the most important thing in my legacy to you."

The maid pushed the wheelchair to a large alloy door and then left. Once Croton saw that there were no outsiders, he entered his fingerprint into the lock, and the alloy door, which was a meter thick, opened with a click.

Teach looked on curiously and saw that behind the door was a tunnel leading underground.

"Push me down."

Teach didn't refuse, and after pushing Croton for about a hundred meters, the view suddenly opened up. Before them was a modern laboratory the size of an entire castle.

"Has the entire underground been hollowed out?" This was Teach's first thought upon seeing the laboratory before him.

Then came the sophisticated chemical experimental equipment.

Before Teach could even ask questions, Croton spoke again: "Don't stop, go inside."

Upon arriving at the center of the laboratory, Teach's curiosity instantly turned into surprise: "Is this... a nuclear reactor?"

“It’s not a reactor,” Croton explained, seeing Teach’s expression and guessing his question. “This laboratory has a special name: ‘Magic Workshop’.”

"But this magic workshop is merely a facade; it cannot create anything truly magical."

"Through five generations of exploration and effort by our Karl family, this is the best the workshop can achieve..."

With that, Croton turned his wheelchair around and went to the workshop to turn on the switch.

Instantly, the pipes throughout the underground laboratory glowed with a green light. The green light flowed and converged along the pipes, then, under the shaping influence of the equipment, emitted ten laser beams. The lasers then merged into one, and in less than five seconds, a green gemstone was formed.

Croton picked up the gem and placed it in the wide-eyed Teach's hand, asking, "What can you sense in this green gem?"

Teach gripped the gem tightly, unable to hide his excitement. If he wasn't mistaken, this magic trick wasn't a trick to deceive people, but rather the 'magic' that led to the source of miracles in his previous life's anime.

Despite his thoughts, Teach felt a slight uncertainty about the sensations emanating from the gem in his palm: "I feel a life force, as if possessing this green gem would grant me a long and healthy life."

Croton smiled with satisfaction after hearing this: "Not bad, but that's just an unrealistic feeling. If I could really live to be a hundred, I wouldn't be suffering from a terminal illness; I'd probably die in a few days."

"But the gemstone, which the family has been researching for generations, is not entirely useless. At least some non-fatal and difficult diseases can be cured with this green gemstone."

After speaking, Croton took out a book that exuded a mysterious aura: "This book was something our Karl family ancestor obtained by chance, and this green gem was made based on the knowledge in it."

"This book, which records magic, is the true legacy of our Carl family."

"You are my son, and now... the family research is entrusted to you."

Suppressing his eagerness, Teach took the magic book and hurriedly opened it, only to see the following sentence written at the beginning.

[The beginning of all things, the end of all things, the root of all existence]

Upon seeing this sentence, Teach instantly confirmed his unbelievable guess: [This is the magic to reach the source].

Croton, seeing Teach's excited and obsessed state, did not try to dissuade him. Back when he received this legacy magic book, he was also captivated by its magical contents.

The book's well-reasoned and evidence-based knowledge allows readers to see the path ahead, which is why it captivates readers.

After a long while, when Teach had roughly flipped through the magic book, Croton asked, "Did you understand anything?"

Teach nodded and then shook his head: "I understand a little, but before I answer, I'd like to ask, what materials were used to make this green gem?"

Croton didn't hide anything and said frankly, "It's life."

"Life? Humans?"

"No, it's just the lives of animals. I haven't tried this taboo with humans yet."

"Then you should give it a try, after all, humans are at the top of the food chain."

Teach's words made Croton stare at him for a long time, then he grinned and said, "Yes, using people to create gems, I should give it a try."

“So, my son, are you willing to make the sacrifice for this training suggestion you’ve made?” Croton asked, pointing to the container in front of him.

“No, no, no, my father,” Teach shook his head, “I am the heir of the family. The family’s research in magic depends on me to continue. So, shouldn’t you, old and frail, make a sacrifice for the family’s research?”

"Anyway, you don't have many days left to live."

And so, the old man and the young girl, who were connected by blood but had no kinship, looked at each other.

As he gazed at the scene, Croton suddenly burst into laughter, a loud, boisterous laugh: "Hahahaha... As expected of my son, as expected of the heir to the Karl family!"

"Teach Carr, I ask you, what is victory to a magician?"

With his hands clasped behind his back, Teach replied sternly, "Abolish all preconceived notions and obstacles, and focus solely on achieving the ultimate goal."

"This is the answer I came up with instantly after flipping through the magic book."

This answer pleased Croton: "Good, very good. I wonder if the magic our family has been researching will be realized in this guy's hands."

After thinking it over in his mind, Croton reached out to Teach and said, "Help me up. Hopefully, using me to train will yield different results with the gems."

After Croton was placed in the container, he suddenly asked Teach outside, "Teach, my son, when I abandoned you, did you ever hate me?"

"No, I've never even met you, how could I hate you? Besides, your son was already dead when he was in that trash can."

Teach was telling the truth; Croton abandoned his son in a garbage can, and the boy froze to death shortly afterward.

He Teach was a latecomer.

This truth, however, led Croton to misunderstand that Teach Carr's son was saying these words out of anger.

After watching Croton willingly close his eyes, Teach pressed the training switch.

A dazzling green light suddenly appeared, and a crystal-clear gemstone emerged.

Without a trace of sadness, Teach picked it up and sensed the life energy within. After a few seconds, Teach couldn't help but frown: [This is a failed experiment.]

Although the quality has improved, the energy inside is pitifully small, and the structure of the gemstone itself is not perfect.

It crumbles with the slightest touch.

Teach flipped through his magic book, searching for answers: [Where did the problem lie? Was there a defect in the magic workshop's alchemy equipment? Or were the materials themselves substandard?]

After searching repeatedly, Teach found the answer: [It was a problem with the materials; according to magic theory, energy cannot be created from nothing.]

Gemstone crafting is essentially alchemy, a process of material transformation, and alchemy requires adherence to the principle of 'equivalent exchange'.

"So, to achieve the miracle of magic, I need extraordinary materials to begin the process," Teach Carr said, instantly thinking of Harry Potter.

"This is a world of magic; extraordinary materials are right there."

"By using magical creatures, magic will surely manifest."

"Or... a user of magic, a wizard."