Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Diagon Alley

Kai waited with bated breath.

He knew the process, had read about it, but that didn’t lower the intensity of the excitement building up inside him. He saw Mundungus Fletcher tapping the bricks over the dustbin using his wand. Then, as Kai had expected, but even more magical, the bricks shuffled out of their way, forming a brilliant, arching doorless gate.

The sudden incomprehensible cacophony hit Kai in the face.

Uncountable wizards and witches, young and old, and exposed and disguised, were marching in and out of shops. The street in front of him seemed to be a temporary passageway, making the people look like a school of a million fish. This was a legendary place, highlighted by minor and major organizations alike.

The Diagon Alley.

“Come on,” Mundungus growled, pressing them to make haste. “Don’t make eye contact with anyone. Don’t stop to touch anything, look at anything, or smell anything. Stay behind me, or you are your own. OK?”

Kai nodded, pulling the hood down. There are many Contestants here, he thought. It won’t be any good for me to bump into one from higher floors. Not now when I am already at the mercy of an in-world character.

But there was one thing he needed to do. After seeing the last Milestone giving a Title Status Point, Kai’s greed had been kindled. By himself, there was no way to know what could or would be a Milestone. At least, not before knowing any precedent.

A precedent like the name of a famous place.

“Chaos,” Kai said, whispering under his breath. “What are the quickest Milestones a 1st Set’s Contestant can achieve in the Diagon Alley?”

[Price: 100 Mission Credits]

The answer followed the deduction.

[

Following are the quickest Milestones regarding 1st-Set Contestants:

1. Diagon Alley Exploration (30%) - roam through the Diagon Alley, visiting some major and minor shops
2. Buy your first magical creature
3. Buy your first wand (only applicable if the wand chooses the wizard)
4. Open your account in the Gringotts Wizarding Bank
5. Kill someone on the street
6. Steal an item from any shop and survive
7. ...
8. ...

]

And they kept taking a dark, terrifying turn from there on, with occasional exceptions. From rapes to murders, curses to ransoming it listed all that one could do.

One can do, Kai thought, sneering. Not both do and survive, though. Oh, Chaos! Same old tricks?

Kai found himself inadequate to take in all the wondrous things the place offered him. The hood around his face didn’t make it any easier, either. On one side he saw owls screeching, polished and expensive brooms line methodically, tempting Kai’s heartstrings. On the other side, he noticed an apothecary, a clothes shop, and a shop selling second-hand books. Kai's eyes narrow deviously at that.

A tug at his elbow saved him from heading towards that shop. Petyr had been walking close to Kai, his head also moving in all directions. For the first time, Kai noticed a boyish glint in his eyes which assured him that the character indeed was just a boy like himself.

“What?” Kai asked.

“There,” Petyr said, pointing with his chin.

Kai followed Petyr’s gaze and his eyes stumbled onto the small building all Contestants dearly wished to enter. The shop’s display was showing a wand placed over a dusty purple cushion.

“Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC,” Kai muttered, his pace slowing down. The book had been shuddering slightly since he had entered the alley, but now it roared. It wanted the tale of Ollivander, the Wandmaker, Kai could tell, even though he was nowhere near to the man himself. But dare he give this tale to the Book?

Kai wasn’t so sure about the tales he would or wouldn’t feed to the Book anymore. For now, he had an in-world character in his mind whom he was already destined to meet. He didn’t fear death, but even entering the shop could become a disaster.

There are wizards on duty who will Apparate to the shop at a moment’s notice, Arlen had told him. Then there are Contestants. A group of them from both sides monitor the entrance day and night. In case of the slightest doubt that the buyer was a Contestant, they tail him en masse. Never buy or steal something major from the Diagon Alley without a proper backup and power.

Kai had taken the advice to heart. Though, he had to keep reminding himself that he was just a 1st Set’s Contestant. No matter what a monster he was compared to the Contestants from the same floor, no matter if he had a Glitch, some grounds would always need a lighter touch and deeper imprints to cross.

“What the…?” Mundungus cursed, coming back to them with wide strides. “What the hell does a squib need to do with wands? Come on. Others are already noticing us.”

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Kai held back his curiosity, as difficult as it was, and now he couldn’t help but think where the wizard was taking them. They had crossed much of the alley that Kai believed he would only need to visit a few shops, and the first Milestone would be in his bag. Only one majestic building left to gawk at in the Diagon Alley for him.

The tall, enormous, and twisted mass of white stone and pillars.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

Is he taking us to the Bank for the loan? Kai thought incredulously. Petyr looked at him, and Kai got to know that even the character was feeling skeptical about it. He had thought that the wizard would take them to a potion shop, but they had already left it behind. So what was left now, other than the bank?

Mundungus answered, separating their direction from the bank’s entryway.

“When we reach the Knockturn Alley,” the wizard said, “don’t speak without my permission. They don’t like squibs there. Do you understand me?”

Kai felt a rush of blood up to his head. If what he had read about it was true, then Kai was not going to some alley, but home. A place made for beings like him, where he could do whatever he wanted, however he wanted, and using any means possible.

Kai nodded. But the nod didn’t seem to be enough for old Mundungus. He looked up at Kai, grabbed the sleeve of his hand, and asked again. “Do you understand? Speak.”

“I do,” Kai said, narrowing his eyes. The wizard was playing with fire, though Kai knew it would be him who would get burned if he did something unusual. But… again… a teeny-tiny curious voice within him whispered; Let’s attack him and see what happens.

The wizard took a sharp turn that took them away from the Diagon Alley into a dark, choking lane. Unlike the hubbub, the Knockturn Alley tasted sweet to Kai. The quiet, menacing stares. Whispers that could have been curses or a sign of madness. And power.

Power above all.

That which is Dark always gives bursts of Power, his mother had told him. But that is nothing but an illusion, son. Seek Light, as only there lies the path of redemption.

Sorry, mother, Kai thought, stopping in front of a shop. I can’t do that anymore. Where was this Light when you were dying in my arms?

“Borgin and Burkes,” Petyr called out the name for them. Mundungus glared at Petyr, who had the face of a boy but looked mature enough to be Kai’s father. “It’s an antique shop,” the wizard said, taking off his hood. “You know… of the other kind. You, Potioneer. We will talk to Borgin. The squib will stay out.”

“The squib will go damn where he pleases,” Kai snapped. He had enough of this squib nonsense.

Petyr interjected. “Mr. Fletcher,” the character said, smiling. “The boy has no family left other than me. Let him come. He will stay out of our way, I promise.”

Mundungus’ face looked as if he was struggling with his emotions. “Very well,” he spat. “Touch nothing in the shop. Otherwise, (-he looked at Petyr-) you will rue the day you got yourself involved with him.”

The shop was empty. Yet, Kai’s Perception was screaming bloody murder in his mind. In the Diagon Alley, with so many presences, it had been impossible to know the source of danger. But here, in an empty shop, it shouldn’t have been like this. Kai looked around and saw the strangest and vilest things that could shiver the soul of a man. Sinister warnings, in blurry and worm-like letters, were written under many of them, labeling them dangerous. But then what of the things that didn’t have a label?

Kai gulped. Maybe the wizard is right, he thought. I don’t belong here. Not as I am now. Kai didn’t have a choice, though. For Petyr to be here, his presence was a must.

“Borgin!” Mundungus shouted. “We are here.”

Mr. Borgin, the owner, walked out from behind the shelves, grinning a hideous smile. He looked at Petyr and nodded. Then his eyes found Kai, and he squinted his eyes. “Leave him,” Mundungus said, flicking his wrist at Kai. “Look at this.”

Mundungus urged Petyr to start the negotiations, spitting his own remarks in between. The setting had changed from what Kai and Petyr had planned, but the Herald of Chaos wasn’t a tale to be taken lightly. The character looked as confident as anyone could ever be. Petyr’s hand reached in for the HP capsule but when he took it out, it wasn’t a red one but blue.

A burst of solidified Mana hit the wizards’ faces, widening their eyes, nose, and ears.

Petyr chuckled. “Oh, my bad,” he said, stuffing the MP capsule back in his pocket and taking out the HP one. “I took out the wrong product. It was a capsule that can enhance magical powers, but it’s too expensive for you, gentlemen. Here is the healing capsule. Now, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Borgin, are you interested in my research?”

Kai smiled.

In one sentence, in one simple sentence, Petyr had brought the wizards down to the level of ordinary greedy and gullible merchants.

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