HP: The Root of Everything - The Magician

In broad daylight.

Teach Carr moved cautiously and slowly through the ancient Forbidden Forest, which was completely dark and devoid of sunlight.

The reason it was considered a forbidden forest was because Teach spotted a small black dot of a castle hundreds of kilometers away while looking along the entire lakeside route through binoculars from the plane.

It's obvious without even thinking that the castle on the shore of the Black Lake must be Hogwarts.

"I really want to go see that so-called magic school," Teach really wanted to see it, truly. But he couldn't. He was a Muggle who had illegally entered the country to hunt down magical creatures; how could he possibly walk into the trap of the entire British wizarding education system?

Along the way, Teach encountered many ordinary animals he had never seen before, and also spotted some strange-looking small magical creatures in the distance. But Teach avoided them all, not intending to approach them until he was ready.

When faced with a goal, all actions driven by curiosity are superfluous.

'Ball-Escape Bird'

This is the first magical animal that Teach wants to hunt.

In the movies of his past life, Teach had a strong liking for birds that could 'teleport'. Now, if he could study and extract the teleportation ability of this ball bird and develop it into a 'magic circuit', then Teach would have an important skill to save his life in this magical world.

The 'Flash' skill, just thinking about it is exciting, isn't it?

According to the information given by Os, the Ball Birds are found throughout the magical world, but their main habitat is in bushes or relatively dry reed beds.

This environment allows them to effectively avoid predators.

So Teach took out an air humidity meter, hoping to pinpoint a water source in the forbidden forest so he could find the reed beds.

After several twists and turns on the road, they finally found a swamp in a flat area. What appeared before Teach was a vast expanse of reeds nearly two meters high, and its area stretched as far as the eye could see.

Having found a spot, Teach began searching the surrounding area for a suitable concealed location to set up camp, then laid down a defensive perimeter of explosives. Finally, donning a ghillie suit, he climbed a giant tree hundreds of meters high, took out a thermal imaging telescope, and began observing the entire reed marshland.

With such a vast swamp, Teach couldn't believe that only the Ball Runner Bird lived there.

In the outside world, swamps are a paradise for crocodiles and anacondas. Who knows what crocodiles look like in the magical world? And how enormous and long can anacondas grow with the help of magic?

Just imagining it made Teach shudder: [Hunting magical creatures is truly a perilous and arduous journey!]

[But as long as I gain the magic circuit that grants me the ability to 'teleport,' I will no longer be timid.]

Teach remained motionless in the tree for a long time, and after mentally planning out a small area in the swamp where he would search for the Ball Bird, he quietly returned to the underground cave base, which was covered by tents, branches, and dead wood.

Having gone two days without sleep and with his nerves on edge, coupled with physical exhaustion, Teach really needed a good night's rest. He was still just an ordinary person; he hadn't yet developed life magic within him.

Teach lay in his sleeping bag, constantly telling himself not to fall into a deep sleep, but exhaustion eventually lulled him into a deep sleep.

A few hours later, the first thing Teach did upon waking was frantically scan the base for any danger. Only after confirming it was safe did he relax: ["I'm afraid I'll die young if I keep jumping around like this."]

Teach sighed and rubbed his cheeks to shake off his sleepiness before starting preparations for today's hunt to scout out the elusive bird.

They put on ghillie suits made of reeds, carried several high-explosive grenades and silenced guns, and then went to the edge of the reed marshes to smear rotten mud on their bodies to cover up their smell.

After making preparations, we picked up our guns and set off.

The reeds were so dense that they disappeared into them in just a few seconds.

Teach had only walked a short distance when he saw the skeleton of an unknown animal, with remnants of rotten, foul-smelling flesh still clinging to it. This sight instantly made Teach want to turn back.

The unknown is always the source of fear.

Teach had no idea what terrifying creatures or dangers lay ahead in the reeds. An atmosphere of death enveloped him, filling him with dread.

Teach stood there for a long time, then exhaled a breath of stale air with a trembling sound, and mustered his courage to continue on his way.

Faced with greed, humanity can always overcome fear.

Teach wants the Bird of Destiny, wants to complete the Magic Circuit, wants to reach the Root and gain immortality: "How can this mere fear stop my desire?"

Once you overcome your fear the first time, the rest of the journey becomes much easier.

Although still a little timid, it no longer affected Teach's nerves. Finally, Teach found a row of footprints in the mud: [Three-pronged animal footprints, is it the ball-escape bird I'm looking for? Or some other kind of bird?]

Without further hesitation, Teach began tracking the trail.

Along the way, they frequently used a thermal imaging camera to probe and keep watch, but they couldn't detect any heat sources. The absence of heat sources doesn't mean there's no danger; cold-blooded animals like anacondas are extremely terrifying.

Teach, having traveled an unknown distance in his rapid pursuit, stopped to ensure his own safety. As he tried to turn back, a vast expanse of reeds, trampled into a pancake, appeared before him.

【This is......?】

[That's it! These are the trampling marks left by the Ball Fowl when they run together to court. I found it, haha~] After confirming this in his mind, Teach found a secluded spot to put down a small camera and then started to return the way he came.

The courtship activities of any animal do not end in just a few days.

So Teach had a day or two to finally determine if they were the ball-escape birds he wanted, and to find their nest based on the route they took when they dispersed, as recorded on the camera footage.

Since this is the magical world, where there is no signal from human technology, Teach can only check the camera the next day.

In the video, Teach saw the magical creatures so clearly for the first time.

The ball bird resembles an ancient moa, but is only about twice the size of a domestic chicken.

Its wings are too short to fly.

Their legs are also very short, which is obviously not conducive to running fast: [So that's why they evolved the magical ability of 'teleporting'?] Teach couldn't help but sigh, even magical creatures have to follow the laws of biological evolution.

Everyone knows that the Ball Birds can teleport, but Teach doesn't know the distance they can teleport. If it's too far, they'll be very difficult to catch.

So Teach took out a large net that he had prepared beforehand, spread it on the trampled ground, covered it with reeds, and then set a trigger-activated net-closing mechanism.

Teach didn't expect to catch the Ball Runners with an ordinary net, because they could 'flash', so the net was only used to measure the distance they could 'flash'.

After putting the camera back down, Teach safely returned to the base and eagerly awaited the arrival of the next day.