HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Edward was still taken aback by the sheer number of deformed individuals in Moon City.

Even the children bore tumours or were missing certain organs.

Being so intensely stared at by this crowd sent a faint chill down his spine.

If only I could borrow that Life's Cane from City of Silver for a while...

As usual, he began by giving a brief introduction to the outside world, then moved on to the Q&A portion—patiently addressing the Moon City residents' endless stream of strange and curious questions, helping to resolve their doubts.

That night, most of Moon City barely slept.

The world described by this man from beyond the cursed land sounded so…wondrous, so unimaginable.

A world where they didn't have to constantly fear monster attacks.

Where they didn't have to dread the darkness.

Where old age didn't end in madness.

Where there were no twisted curses, no deformities, no mutations.

Where one woke each day to sunlight, ate normal, untainted food, and saw the red moon rise each evening.

And more importantly:

This outsider—who claimed to spread the brilliance of his deity—had told them that someone would return before long to lead them out…and they would be able to live lives just like those in the outside world.

When Edward finally lay down, parched and exhausted, he noticed that the potion in his body had quietly digested a little more.

By his calculations, once he had finished "teaching" all the residents of Moon City about the outside world, the potion's digestion should reach the halfway mark.

That was a decent pace.

After all, Moon City had a population of just a few thousand, and what Edward was teaching were only basic facts and common knowledge.

As for mystical or Beyonder knowledge—honestly, the Moon City folk probably knew more than he did.

He opened his notebook and jotted down a line summarising his roleplaying insights from that day's "class":

"Only when the knowledge he imparts is truly absorbed, understood, and believed by others can it count as a completed 'transmission'. It's not enough to simply speak the words and have others hear them."

In other words, whether he taught scientific facts or mystical truths, it only counted as successful roleplaying if others genuinely learned and internalised it.

Bloody hell. That's seriously raising the bar.

No wonder all those times he tried teaching Sequence 3 Bernadette Mandarin, his potion barely moved—because she never really learned it!

Still, imparting knowledge to so many people had gained him a fair amount of spirituality from Converging Paths.

Of course, since he was only teaching basic everyday knowledge, the boost from each person was minimal.

But quantity could lead to qualitative change.

If he could go to City of Silver and repeat the process, his Wandering Mentor potion could be digested by two-thirds—or even more.

Too bad...

There's an Amon lurking in that direction.

Way too risky.

———

The next morning.

Edward woke from a deep sleep, staring at the dark grey stone ceiling above in a brief daze.

Lilith was still curled up on his stomach, sleeping soundly.

He sat up quietly, rubbing his aching forehead, then looked out the window at the now bustling Moon City outside.

His mind still felt slightly foggy.

So many things happened yesterday…

Three major Churches gathering.

Angels of the royal family dispatched.

A false reality created by a quill.

Photographs descending from the sky.

The Backlund Great Smog.

Earl Hall nearly getting assassinated by his own son.

Angel of Fate Ouroboros dragging him into the Forsaken Land of the Gods.

Meeting the True Creator.

Arriving in Moon City...

All of that…in just a single day.

Even Elon Musk wouldn't be able to cram this much into his schedule!

But the most pressing issue now was this:

The Fool still hadn't responded.

The next Tarot Club meeting was rapidly approaching—and the Fool had suddenly vanished. The members were probably already on the verge of a collective meltdown.

At that moment, Lilith stirred with a soft murmur, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Edward, you're awake."

"Mm. How did you sleep last night?"

She stretched her back with a yawn. "Not sure. I drifted off half-asleep. I don't like it here. Not a single rat."

"We'll be leaving soon."

Edward gave her a reassuring pat on the head—not just to comfort her, but to reassure himself.

He waved his wand to clean both of them up.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

It was Bernadette.

"Has the being you worship responded to your prayers?"

"Not yet."

Bernadette frowned. "I've heard the Forsaken Land is a place even the Seven Gods can't reach. Could it be that your deity is also unable to respond because of this?"

"No."

With the bonus from Sefirah Castle, the Forsaken Land couldn't block his prayers—otherwise, Little Sun Derrick would never have been able to connect to the Tarot Club.

"Perhaps…"He's" simply occupied with something else."

Edward didn't forget to hype Klein up a little while he was at it.

"He was involved in the Backlund incident—just not in a way we could see."

Bernadette's expression changed slightly. "A divine war?"

Edward neither confirmed nor denied it.

"All I can do now is wait patiently."

Sigh…Klein, please be okay.

Goddess, this cat you raised—could you please take better care of him? If he dies, are you seriously going to count on Amon to become the Lord of the Mysteries and retrieve the River of Eternal Darkness for you?

…Wait.

Hasn't the River of Eternal Darkness already dried up?

Don't tell me the Goddess no longer needs Klein because of that?

No way. That'd be the worst possible outcome.

———

[City of Silver]

Lately, the frequency of lightning had dropped drastically—just one bolt every minute or two.

Most of the time, the entire world, and the City of Silver along with it, remained shrouded in deep, suffocating darkness.

Finally, the exploration team that had been sent out last time was released from quarantine.

The group headed toward their respective homes.

Derrick was soon joined by Duck, who quickened his pace to catch up—crunching loudly on a Dumm fruit as he did, looking as if he were thoroughly enjoying it.

But Derrick knew very well…

Those Dumm fruits might very well be dead men's fingers.

"Derrick, are you really not going to try one?"

Duck's round face was lit up with a simple, honest smile.

"You're the only one in our squad who hasn't tried it yet. Even Elder Lovia really likes it."

Derrick tried to keep his tone calm.

"I'm just really tired right now. I don't want to eat anything—I just want to get some rest.

But if you've got extra Dumm fruit, I wouldn't mind taking some back with me to eat later."

Duck's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled out a small pouch of Dumm fruits and handed it over.

"Here you go!"

"Thanks," Derrick said sincerely. "My place is just up ahead. See you around."

Duck waved cheerfully. "See you later."

Just as Derrick turned to go, a cold, sinister voice sounded behind him, "Derrick…no one likes people who stand out, who act different from everyone else. You know that, don't you?"

He didn't break stride. "Of course I do."

He could feel Duck's gaze fixed firmly on his back, following him all the way home.

Only after he closed the door behind him and leaned against it did Derrick finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Softly, he whispered to himself, "But…you guys are the ones who are different from everyone else."

He sat quietly on his bed for a moment, then turned to lie on his side and began silently reciting the Fool's prayer:

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era…"

He didn't know what to do next.

So he wanted to ask the others in the Tarot Club.

Unfortunately, no response came—not even after a long, anxious wait.

———

Spirit World.

Klein lay silently on the stone bed within the castle.

The wound on his left chest had mostly healed, but his face remained pale and bloodless—without a trace of vitality.

Reinette Tinekerr stood atop the castle, holding one of her heads in hand.

Edward's messenger, Phoenix, had landed beside her.

Her pitch-black eyes were full of worry.

"I can't find him anywhere! Do you know where he is?"

All four of Reinette's heads shook in unison, "No…idea."

"Then where do you think I should go look?"

Again, all four shook:

"No…idea."

Phoenix flapped her wings in frustration. "Then what am I supposed to do?!"

The four heads paused, thinking for a moment, and then said together, "For someone…like him…dying would make…the world…a better place…that's…a good thing."

"???"

Phoenix's tiny eyes were filled with enormous confusion.

Did you hear what you just said?

Do you even realise how absurd that sounds?

"I have to find him!"

With a determined screech, Phoenix flapped her wings and flew off.

Reinette Tinekerr turned her gaze once more to the kaleidoscopic skies of the Spirit World, entering a trance-like state.

After a long while, all four heads suddenly tilted at the same time, turning toward Klein's lifeless body.

His eyelids…twitched ever so slightly again.

———

[Moon City]

By mid-morning, Edward had successfully transported all the wheat and rice into Moon City's warehouse.

He also taught them how to properly store, process, and cook the food.

Alongside that, he passed down some simple mechanical principles and basic production techniques—ones that could feasibly be implemented with Moon City's existing resources.

Whether the locals wanted to study them or not was up to them.

If they found the knowledge useful for improving their lives, they could explore it further. If not, they were under no obligation.

In return, Moon City provided Edward with a chaotic variety of materials and mystical properties—most of them low-sequence.

Edward didn't refuse anything.

He'd be heading to the Harry Potter world eventually, and all of it would come in handy.

He even received a few mid-sequence materials, primarily from the Warrior Pathway, and some Sequence 6 and 5 traits from the Apothecary Pathway—leftovers from the ancient vampires who had once lived here.

As for anything Sequence 4 or higher?

Not a single item.

On this point, High Priest Nim was blunt:

Mid and high-sequence materials and traits were also rare and precious in Moon City.

They were needed to cultivate powerful individuals capable of defending the city from the monsters lurking in the dark.

It was impossible to trade away the future of their elite combat force in exchange for a few sacks of grain and a handful of knowledge.

Edward completely understood.

In terms of value alone, the materials he received were already worth far more than the food he provided.

This was a trade where he came out ahead.

At noon, under Edward's guidance, a few Moon City volunteers bravely stepped forward to taste food from the outside world.

Though both the flour and rice tasted bland, especially without seasoning, compared to the grotesque, mutated monster meat they were used to, it was at least edible.

More importantly—it had no harmful side effects.

No mutations. No deformities.

That fact alone sent waves of excitement rippling through Moon City.

Still, Edward reminded them, "Carbs alone won't meet your body's nutritional needs. You'll still need a little monster meat in your diet."

Though disappointed, the residents understood.

If they could reduce their monster meat intake, they could reduce toxin and corruption exposure.

That would, in turn, decrease the rate of deformities.

Edward had no intention of taking out the Hufflepuff's Cup.

Letting them taste the food enhanced by it would only create a massive psychological contrast later—once they had to return to plain rice and monster meat.

Worse, long-term consumption of that Cup's enhanced meals could cause dependence. And the Cup was still extremely useful to Edward himself.

Only once he broke through to demigod and no longer needed to preserve his spirituality would he consider selling or lending it to Little Sun.

By afternoon, Edward was once again holding an open-air "class" in the city square.

The crowd was even bigger than yesterday—several layers deep.

Many of them were repeat attendees, still eager to hear more about the world beyond.

Bernadette and Lilith didn't join this time.

Instead, accompanied by a few Moon City residents, they wandered through the ancient city—one that had remained isolated from the world for thousands of years—quietly observing.

———

[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.