Sword is equal to Wand, Chapter 15

'Plap plap plap' I ruined the glorious fight by just clapping repeatedly and throwing Rosaria away each until she literally threw her hands up in disgust and surrendered.

"Screw you Jake! You have zero honor for battle!" Rosaria called out as she walked away with both of her middle fingers being waved at me as she stroder away.

"Ah... To be so lonely at the peak of the martial world." I muttered as I left the arena and a couple of my fellow Gyrffindor's snorted at my bullshit.

I came back to see Rosaria was being all huffy as Ron and Ginny prodded at her jokingly with Ginny's pointed joke making Rosaria's face twitch. "He just clapped at you to make you run away. Imagine how much it would hurt if he slapped you haha."

And Rosario just looked at me and said flatly. "Don't even get started Jake. Now anyway what's your guys' classes for tomorrow?" 

I blinked at that and with a moment to recall I said. "Ah, tomorrow? I got Alchemy and Essence Refinement first in the morning. Then I got Herbology and Spirit Herb Cultivation before lunch before I head to Wizards vs. The Supernatural World at the end." 

"A pretty theory and hands-on heavy day for you there Jake. I got the same except herbology is switched around for Beast Bonds instead." Ron said with a slight hum before grimacing and adding quietly. 

"Just... I pray to all the gods in this world a spider spiritual beast doesn't want to bond with me." 

Ginny giggled and gave her brother a gentle push before she teased him. "Aww, what if there was a beautiful Jorogumo, Arachne or another spider based spirit beast? Mom would have your ass if you refused such a spirit beast with how she would love the silk from someone like that."

There was a pause before Ron brushed a hand across his face and said tiredly. "Ginny, my dearest little sister... I love you, but if I get a self-repairing and damn near indestructible Christmas sweater that I would be expected to wear all the time. I will fucking smother you with a pillow." 

"That is a fair threat to make." I nodded sagely. I would also strangle a bitch who forced me to eternally wear a Christmas sweater without a second thought.

Even Rosaria chipped in with a wry smile. "I got like a dozen of your mum's jumpers and I only wear them on Christmas and the few days afterwards, you know?"

Both Ron and Ginny could only nod in weak agreement, as it was obvious that Christmas-themed sweaters had a limited life cycle, obviously.

Either way, I stretched a bit before I said with a sigh. "Anyway, you guys have fun. I am going to turn in early."

All of three of them gave me a wave while I headed up to my dorm room and after lying down in my bed. I began cultivating my 'self-made' cultivation technique made with the Library of Heavens Path.

The Astral Path, which was my cultivation manual,l followed the laws of the stars and built a true minature solar system, then a galaxy within my dantian/magical core. With each 'planet' and 'star' acting as a minature magical core themselves.

"Man, if I get far on this cultivation manual, maybe Ny-" I forcefully paused my muttering with a shiver as I realized I was about to speak the name of a certain primordial Greek goddess of the night/stars.

And this universe did very much have gods and spiritual entities that had the equivalent of a Taboo on their names so they could divine people who spoke their names.

Still... Either way, maybe a big titty primordial stars milf could be in my future? Nah, I think she was still hitched to the Greek 'Pit' or Tartarus.

Either way, I refocused on my cultivation as I worked to refine and convert my magical core into it's primary sun, which would act as the core of the path of my cultivation manual until I reached the Nascent Soul.

Then, once I reached the Nascent Soul stage, I would have to collapse the mega primary star I had built into a black hole that would form the new core of the galaxy of stars I had created.

The process of converting my magical core into a sun was... Almost painfully easy as I had the entire process engraved not only in my mind but also my subconscious and soul so there was no chance of me fucking it up.

Well, if I did fuck it up... Gyrffindor tower would be missing several dorms as I would be violently exploding like a small nuke.

Still! Like twenty minutes later, I exhaled heavily with my eye's opening and across my bed I caught my appearance as my eyes glowed with a golden light, with a black void seemingly swirling around the glowing center of my eye's.

"Oh joy... I got tiny flashlights for eyes. Part of having minature suns in your eyes, I suppose." I muttered with a helpless smile before mentally shrugging and lying flat on my bed so I could go to sleep as I rather mentally exhausted at this point.

'Hopefully Snape isn't a little shitter tomorrow.' I mused to myself before I closed my eyes and began to drift off to sleep.

-

The next morning, I awoke bright and early. As I wanted to explore Hogwarts and ransack the main library for more books to fill out the Library of Heavens Path.

I was up super early, so I didn't see any of my friends at breakfast, and even most of the teachers weren't there either. Though I did see Dumbledoor at the head of the faculty table who gave me a slight nod of the head at meeting my gaze.

Before getting back to his breakfast of an entire turkey, like a tub of gravy, and I think he was using a pair of thick wool socks as hand oven mitts when he was moving the hot plates around.

'With his cultivation, his hands have to be immune to the heat right? He is just being weird.' I thought with an amused shake of my head before I got up after finishing my own quick breakfast, and I quickly made my way to the main library.

The main Hogwarts library was more of a general library, which although not have a lot of the niche things other libraries had that focused on a certain topic like martial arts, or cultivation manuals themselves.

It still held a lot of valuable information that would be highly useful.

'Hmm? Here is some books on Spirit Beasts and Monsters... I do have my first Spirit Beast and Soul Bonds class tomorrow as well. Might as well add them to the Library of Heaven's Path.' I mused to myself.

As it seemed that for right now at least. Monsters were the biggest threat to me. As Lord Moldyshorts got nuked by an angry redhead who decided to tap into the leylines to shatter his soul with the force of a Major God.

"Jake Bariss, right? Are you looking for a specific book?" A male voice spoke out from my side making me jump slightly, and I looked over to see a Ravenclaw that I vaguely recognized from the sorting ceremony.

"Uhhh yeah, looking for a book on Soul Bonds with Spirit Beasts and to learn more about monsters. What was your name again?" I asked with a welcoming smile.

The young man who had blondish silver hair gave a wane smile in turn before he said calmly. "My name is Aegon Selywn. I am the younger brother of Marianne Selywn."

I snapped my fingers as I remembered now. Marianne Selywn was that pureblood Prefect who Rosaria got a bit stiff with last night. Still, I nodded and asked in turn. "How about you? You looking for a specific book or something?"

He nodded, and after a moment, he said frankly. "Yes, I am looking for a book on serpent bloodline Spirit Beasts. Supposedly, this year, a number of serpents from the Beast King Forest are looking to have their younger generation bonded, and I have the class today." 

I blinked at that before with a moment of thought, I pointed him towards the book [Serpent's Coils.] Which was a book that listed various serpent-based bloodlines, and then I asked. "Well, besides serpents, do you know what other kinds of Spirit Beasts we will come across?"

He gave me a look before his face twitched, and he said bluntly. "You should ask an older year for more details. But after Lady Mavuika talks to us about Spirit Beasts and how to make the Soul Bond, she lets us out into the Beast King Forest to find a spirit beast to bond with."

He shook his head and, with that book I recommended in hand, he said with a wry smile. "It's the most dangerous first-year class after all. As most Spirit Beasts won't easily make a contract after all, without testing the person they may bond with."

With that, he gave me a nod before he walked off, obviously to check out the book. Leaving me to shrug and get back to entering more books into the Library of Heavens Path.

After adding close to a thousand more books into it, I decided to take a break and read a book on common European monsters that I was more likely to run into while I waited for 'potions' to start in a couple of hours.

And I raised an eyebrow at looking at one of the bigger entries in the book close to the start.

[Drakons. Abominations of the dragons' lineage, which are created purely not from a sinful union of man and dragon. But by the forced impregnation of a mighty and pure dragon by a serpent monster or a God who took the form of a serpent.

They are capable of breeding with other serpents, draconic bloodlines, and of course, humans as well. But they have all the pride and lust of a dragon, but twisted in all of the worst ways, without change or are simply hiding their twisted natures. As some can pass their serpent-like draconic forms as the typically wiser and gentler eastern dragon kin.]

"I think there were a couple of Drakon skulls in the common room as well?" I mused to myself before shrugging and taking the next page, which made me flush a bit as I looked upon the topless form of a Lamia whose beautiful form undulated on the enchanted page.

[Lamia- A solely female race of monsters. They are often a degenerated form of a mermaids whose noble bloodline has been tainted by foul magics and is forced and compelled to devour the flesh and brains of other sentient beings. Most notably, going after mermen, mermaids, humans, and serpent bloodline spirit beasts.]

[Is noted as being one of the major breeders of monsters and are known to create entire armies of their kin over the course of but a few months due to their ability to lay large amounts of eggs and have any male creature spread their seed across the large clutches of hundreds if not thousands, of eggs.

They are also noted to be a being both equally a water and land-based monster who with their serpent nature, can live very comfortably in all but the coldest of climates. And due to their degenerated mermaid bloodlines, when they feel hunted they will hide deep underwater, and often bury themselves in the mud of the bottom of a lake or the sea to hide from the senses of cultivators or hunters.]

I kept reading the book while idly wondering if I should become a monster hunter... It was a VERY well-paying job, it came with literal divine favor if I dedicated part of the hunt to gods of justice, hunting, weapons, war... Or damn near any god really.

No god would turn down the sacrifice from the burning of a monster's flesh, as such a sacrifice was worth more faith energy than a thousand worshippers devoutly praying to them for an hour.

Still, such thoughts were something I didn't need to worry about... At least until Hogwarts closed for summer and I needed to find somewhere to stay in the 'muggle' world.

"Well, I might as well head on over to Herbology," I muttered with a yawn as I closed up the book and then went to put it away.

-

The trip to Alchemy and Essence Refinement 'Potions' was a bit harder to find in the dungeons as the dungeons in this form of Hogwarts... Had a thick misty fog that clouded my vision.

'Why the fuck is the dungeons filled with a fog!' I mentally complained before a yelp rang out and I felt someone smash into me as they slipped on the slippery ground.

"Ughh! Thanks for catching me." A female voice rang out and I smiled as I recognized the busty form of Lavender having bounced into me. 

"That wasn't me Lav." Charlotte also said through the mist.

And I then said with a wry smile even though neither could hear it. "It's me, Jake Bariss."

Lavender squeezed my arm and she said quickly. "Jake, do you have any idea where the hell we are going? I can't see anything?"

I sighed before I took hold of my mana and then I pulsed it outwards and then violently retracted the mana I expelled which, according to the distance the mana traveled, I could tell where the walls of the hall we were in at least.

"Yeah, I can tell a bit of where we are going. You are going to Alchem,y right?"

Both Lavender and Charlotte made noises of agreement, and I felt Charlotte fumbling to take my other arm as she slapped my back by accident.

"What is the point of this mist, though?" I asked with my scowl audible through my voice as I brought us to one of the classroom doors and it was oh so helpfully locked.

Still, Charlotte spoke up with clear annoyance in her voice as well. "It's the Slytherin houses' trick to keep students from other houses away from their common room. With it being the new year, most of their new students don't know how to leave their common room through their secret tunnels." 

Either way, I kept the two together even as I felt Lavender's ample chest brushing against my arm repeatedly due to the thick cloying fog that surrounded us.

Then a male voice called out with hushed force. "Guys! Alchemy is over here!"

So I pinged out my mana, and boom, I realized that the magical fog was also cutting down how far noise could travel, as the guy was only like thirty feet away and on the other side of the hall.

I brought over the girls, and as we entered Snape's classroom, filled with dozens of giant pots, cauldrons, and more modern 'alchemical' appliances. The fog instantly left our few and was just a damned wall of vapor that hung outside of the classroom.

Still, seeing Devin Thrasher, who called out to us.

I held out a fist for him to bump with a small head shake as he said in some annoyance. "Yeah, Snape is still busy messing with his house or whatever, so he isn't here yet. Thankfully, the mist is supposed to go away when class is fifteen minutes away."

Seeing as the class didn't start for another full forty-five minutes. That meant that the mist wouldn't go away for another half an hour... "Wait, do the Slytherins have a way to see through the mist then?" I asked curiously.

To which Devin shook his head before shrugging and saying. "No idea man, I was just told by Percy, who I was sitting next to during breakfast, to make my way over here early so I could find the classroom."

Which was fair enough. Still, I was curious, though now. Gryffindor didn't have a password as we welcomed all challengers, Ravenclaw's common room was infamous for it's riddles that challenged both members of their own house as well as anyone who wanted to enter.

Did Hufflepuff have a different mechanism in this world? Which followed their philosophy of teamwork and such?

Either way, I was brought back to the present as Lavender and Charlotte went and sat down with Charlotte patting the table's side and saying with a smile. "So Jake... I was hoping you could give me some advice for the Elemental Harmonization homework we got."

Seeing as I had little better to do and with Lavender also looking at me with utter 'desperation' at the realization that I was one of the few to actually complete MgGonagell's project in class.

I just sat down and started helping her as it wasn't like I had anything better to do.