NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 13: Chapter 12 : Arithmancy and Agony
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Third Person POV
Adam trudged back toward the castle, boots squelching through damp grass. Sunlight glared off the stone towers, making him squint as he wiped mud from his cheeks.
Every muscle in his body ached from the forest ordeal. His robes were still streaked with leaf stains and dirt. But as he crossed the Entrance Hall and slipped into a quiet corridor, his eyes were already blazing with stubborn purpose.
---
> No time to rest. If I leave the Intelligence quest for later, my brain'll be mush. Might as well get the mental torture over with while I'm still… marginally alive.
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He pushed open the tall doors to the Hogwarts Library.
Dust motes danced in golden sunbeams slanting through the high windows. The place smelled of old parchment, candle wax, and a faint sharpness of ink.
Bookshelves towered overhead like cathedral pillars. Here and there, students hunched over tables, quills scratching furiously, Madam Pince's eagle eyes flicking between them.
Adam found a quiet corner table beneath a stained-glass window depicting Merlin. He dropped into a wooden chair, dropping his battered satchel on the floor.
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Adam (grumbling):
> "All right, brain. Don't fail me now."
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He pulled up his System screen.
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System Pops Up the Puzzle
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[ System Notification – Intelligence Challenge Initiated ]
→ Solve five advanced Arithmancy puzzles. Each puzzle increases in complexity.
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Puzzle One Appears:
A glowing panel appeared before Adam, filled with numbers and runic symbols swirling in shifting patterns.
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[ Puzzle 1 ]
> "Given the magical sequence 3, 7, 15, 31, find the runic coefficient that predicts the next number."
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Adam blinked, then smirked faintly
First Puzzle (Easy):
He muttered under his breath, tapping the table.
"Double the number, plus one. Next number's 63."
He punched it in. The screen chimed softly in approval.
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[ Puzzle 1 – Complete ]
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Adam rolled his shoulders, relieved.
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> One down. Four to go. Probably downhill from here… in the worst possible way.
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Puzzle Two
[ Puzzle 2 ]
> "Calculate the intersection point of magical lines if their Arithmantic values follow Fibonacci growth and overlap at a 45° angle."
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Adam groaned, rubbing his temples.
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> Brilliant. Geometry and magic. The two worst flavors combined.
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He scribbled calculations on a scrap of parchment. His handwriting grew more frantic as he tried to balance magical coefficients and angles.
His brain screamed for coffee. His eyes burned.
At one point, he muttered:
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Adam (quoting Camus through gritted teeth):
> "To know oneself, one must assert oneself."
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After fifteen minutes, he finally slammed the answer into the System: 55√2.
The panel blinked green.
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[ Puzzle 2 – Complete ]
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Adam blew out a shaky breath.
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> Okay. That nearly killed me. Next.
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Puzzle Three – Harder Still
[ Puzzle 3 ]
> "Predict the magical resonance frequency of a wand core made of Thestral hair, factoring the caster's emotional state as a variable in a runic expression."
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Adam stared at the puzzle. Then he dropped his forehead to the table with a dull thud.
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Adam (muffled):
> "Why does everything in magic involve bloody feelings?!"
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He lifted his head and forced himself to think.
He mentally reviewed wand lore.
Recalled how fear influenced magical resonance.
Graphed runic coefficients versus emotional volatility.
It took him half an hour of furious scribbling and two wrong answers before he arrived at the final formula:
> "Resonance = 84e^(–fear/10)."
He input it, praying.
The panel chimed green.
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[ Puzzle 3 – Complete ]
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Adam slumped backward, eyes half-closed.
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> Merlin's beard…
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Puzzle Four – Nightmarish
[ Puzzle 4 ]
> "A time-loop spell resets every 12 minutes. If the spell is sustained by a runic triangle whose vertices sum to 153, how many loops before the runic matrix collapses?"
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Adam blinked rapidly, trying to focus.
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Adam (hoarsely):
> "All right, time loops, triangles… great. I'm not Doctor bloody Who!"
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He forced his mind to clear.
Calculated sums of triangular numbers.
Considered magical energy drain.
Factored exponential decay of spell strength.
By now his quill was shaking in his fingers. His hair stuck to his forehead with sweat.
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> Okay… total loops before collapse…
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He typed in: 17.
The System paused.
Then chimed green.
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[ Puzzle 4 – Complete ]
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Adam gave a weak laugh.
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Adam:
> "I'm gonna die. One more. Let's go."
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Puzzle Five – The Killer
[ Puzzle 5 ]
> "Solve for X in the following runic equation:
> X = ∑(n=1 to ∞) [ (Magic^n) / (n! × e^Magic) ], where Magic = 11."
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Adam stared at the glowing text.
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Adam:
> "An infinite series… with factorials. Of course. Of bloody course."
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His head pounded. He scribbled partial sums. Recalled expansions of e^x from Muggle math class. Compared it to runic interpretations of exponential magical decay.
Minutes dragged by in silence except for his ragged breathing and the scratch of quill on parchment.
Finally, he whispered:
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Adam (exhausted, muttering):
> "It converges to one. The entire series is the definition of e to the power of Magic divided by e to the power of Magic… bloody one."
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He typed in: 1.
The System paused.
A burst of golden light filled the screen.
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[ Puzzle 5 – COMPLETE! ]
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[ Intelligence Quest Complete! ]
→ +4 Intelligence
→ +40 XP
→ New Spell Unlocked: "Finite Incantatem" (General Counter-Spell)
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Adam dropped his quill and sagged back into the chair, utterly drained. His vision sparkled with black spots. But a grin spread across his face.
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Adam (hoarse but triumphant):
> "I hate math… but damn it, I'm brilliant."
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He dragged a shaking hand over his face and checked his System screen.
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Adam's Updated Status
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→ Level: 3
→ Experience: 115/300
Attributes:
Strength: 7
Endurance: 12
Intelligence: 15
Magic: 11
Observation: 8
Unlocked Spells:
Disillusionment Charm
Lumos Maxima
Protego
Finite Incantatem
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Adam exhaled, closing his eyes.
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> Two down… one duel to go. Let's see if I can survive that without ending up hexed into next week…
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Adam leaned forward on the library table, eyes burning with exhaustion but curiosity sparking in his mind. He wiped a sweaty palm across his forehead and called up his System screen again.
A new window flickered open, displaying his recently unlocked spell.
[ System Notification ]
→ Spell Unlocked: Finite Incantatem
Type: Counter-Spell
Effect: Cancels ongoing active magic within target range. Can end jinxes, hexes, minor curses, charms, or magical effects cast recently.
Limits: Less effective against powerful dark magic or ancient enchantments. Effectiveness scales with user's Magic stat.
Incantation: "Finite Incantatem."
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Adam squinted at the description.
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Adam (muttering):
> "So basically… a universal off switch. Handy. Though with my luck, I'll accidentally cancel the castle's bloody plumbing."
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He chuckled softly, rolling his eyes.
But as he reached for his wand to perhaps test the new spell, a voice sliced through the silence like a sharpened blade.
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Hermione (tight and fierce):
> "Give me just one reason not to tell Professor McGonagall… or worse, Snape?"
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Adam froze mid-reach. He turned slowly, and there she stood beside his table: Hermione Granger. Her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her hair a wild halo around her flushed face, brown eyes blazing with suspicion.
She'd clearly been lurking nearby, watching him all this time.
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Adam (with forced calm):
> "Well, I have been studying and reading the whole time. So I decided to test my levels a little bit. And I don't see any damage or breaking of rules here."
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Hermione narrowed her eyes further, unimpressed.
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Hermione:
> "What about the Dark Forest?"
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Adam tilted his head, smirking slightly.
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Adam:
> "It's not good for a girl like you to follow people. You know it's inappropriate. Plus, I was just chilling around."
He shrugged.
> "Like I said—no harm done."
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Hermione glanced down, catching sight of the blue, translucent System screen floating faintly above the tabletop. Runic symbols and stat bars flickered across it, casting ghostly glows on Adam's tired face.
She sucked in a sharp breath.
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Hermione (pointing):
> "What the hell is that?? Since when do you know how to do that?!"
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Adam leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
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Adam:
> "You can call me an idiot or stupid—I don't mind. You're not the first anyway. But why does everyone here think I'm stupid?"
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Hermione threw her hands up.
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Hermione (exasperated):
> "Obviously because you are!"
She ticked points off on her fingers.
> "Since the first year:
You fell asleep during the Sorting Ceremony.
You tried to Summon a sandwich in the middle of History of Magic and hit Professor Binns in the face.
You blew up three cauldrons in one month.
You once called the Whomping Willow a 'fun tree to climb.' And besides… you've never talked to me. You always walk away or avoid even looking at me. But now—"
She stabbed a finger toward him.
> "—it's strange. Things changed since you fell in that bath. Now you're this… stupid, arrogant person!"
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Adam tilted his head, giving a crooked grin.
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Adam:
> "You're telling me I never made eye contact with you? Really? All right. Maybe it is just the fall that changed me."
He spread his hands theatrically.
> "Or maybe… I just finally noticed how loud you are."
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Hermione opened her mouth—then snapped it shut, eyes blazing. Before she could retort, Adam leaned forward abruptly, shifting the subject.
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Adam (quickly):
> "Anyway. Do you want to study with me?"
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Hermione blinked, thrown off-balance.
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Hermione:
> "Me? Studying with you?"
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Adam gave a relaxed shrug.
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Adam:
> "Yeah. There's no harm in it. And if we get caught, it's okay—you can put all the blame on me."
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Hermione stared at him for a long moment, her mouth twitching as though caught between scolding him or bursting into laughter. Finally, she huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes.
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Hermione (muttering):
> "Okay… that actually sounds… excellent."
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Adam flashed her a devilish grin.
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Adam ( To himself) :
> "Great. Now let's see what's next on my to-do list before I end up hexed into next week."
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Adam Checks His Status and Time one last time before turning to Hermione again.
[ System Status – Adam ]
→ Level: 3
→ Experience: 115/300
Attributes:
Strength: 7
Endurance: 12
Intelligence: 15
Magic: 11
Observation: 8
Unlocked Spells:
Disillusionment Charm
Lumos Maxima
Protego
Finite Incantatem
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[ Time Remaining for Duel Quest: 6 hours 14 minutes ]
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Adam eyed the countdown, lips quirking into a half-smile.
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Adam (to himself):
> "Six hours left to survive a magical beatdown. Perfect."
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Hermione folded her arms again.
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Hermione:
> "I still don't trust you."
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Adam just laughed, leaning back in his chair.
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Adam:
> "Good. Life's more fun that way."
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Outside the library windows, storm clouds were gathering over Hogwarts—a fitting omen for the duel yet to come.
[ End Of Chapter].
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