After finishing his harvest, Wade walked out of the greenhouse.

From the outside, the greenhouse didn't look very big, but its interior was surprisingly spacious.

After mastering the Undetectable Extension Charm, Wade had put it to use in every place he possibly could.

As for the Ministry's restrictions?

Heh~

If no one catches you, then you haven't broken the law.

Inside a house protected by the Fidelius Charm, what was there to worry about when using an extension charm?

In the garden, Wade spotted Tomcat napping under a sunshade.

Compared to a month ago, Tomcat now looked even more like Tom the cartoon…

His fur, originally a pale blue, had grown noticeably deeper in color.

And all four of his paws were white, like he was wearing little gloves.

"What a coincidence..."

Just as Wade was musing to himself and getting ready to head back inside, the Tomcat lying under the sunshade suddenly stood up.

Then, a familiar voice echoed in Wade's mind.

"Wade…"

"Senior?!" Wade looked at the Tomcat in surprise.

"It's me."

"Did your research succeed?" Wade asked happily.

Back when she took that goblin alchemy master away, his senior had announced she was going into seclusion for a while to focus on her research.

During that time, Wade hadn't been able to contact her at all.

So he had no idea how far along she had come.

Still, it had been nearly half a year. Even if she hadn't succeeded, there should at least be some progress by now.

Sure enough, he heard his senior say, "It's not a complete success, but the progress is good. I've found the optimal emotional ratio for the 'residue,' and the side effects have nearly vanished. Then I used goblin metal, combined with that goblin's alchemy techniques, to create a regulator… It adjusts the emotional components of the 'residue' in my body, converting them into harmless 'residue.'"

"Oh? Doesn't that mean you no longer need me to absorb the 'residue' for you?" Wade asked joyfully.

Since the side effects were gone, she wouldn't recklessly absorb that kind of power anymore, and naturally, her life wouldn't be in danger.

"No… I have too much 'residue' in my body. Even if my regulator runs at full capacity, it can only convert a small portion of it," she replied.

"Then… can't you just convert some over time? That way, the regulator can recover, and eventually, it'll all be processed."

"I thought the same at first, but it's not that simple. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to find you," she said helplessly. "The newly converted magic power clashes with the original 'residue'… If it's not released after a while, it will be re-assimilated."

"So… what you're planning is…" Wade suddenly understood.

His senior smiled. "Since I can convert part of it into harmless 'residue,' you can absorb it without worry. And because the amount is small, I don't even need to take off my cloak to seep it out. So, I'll convert a portion, and you'll absorb a portion. I believe it won't take long before I completely escape what was once a certain-death scenario."

"Hell yeah! Doesn't that mean you'll be able to come out soon?" Wade asked cheerfully.

"I... won't be coming out for the time being," his senior replied with a bitter smile.

"Why not?"

"Until all the 'residue' in my body is completely converted, even if I leave, I still won't be able to resist the temptation caused by the lingering side effects. I might end up absorbing it again... So, even if I've stabilized the abnormalities inside me, I'll still wait until the full conversion is complete before releasing myself."

"That makes sense… But don't worry. At least now there's a light at the end of the tunnel, right? One day, you'll be able to stand in the sun again."

"That depends on you, Wade… The higher your level in Ancient Magic, the more 'residue' you can absorb… If you can't take in enough, I still won't be able to come out."

Wade nodded helplessly.

In this world right now, it seemed only he and his senior possessed talent in Ancient Magic.

Only those with Ancient Magic aptitude could absorb large amounts of 'residue'; ordinary people couldn't take in much at all.

"Then… is there a way to make another alchemical container similar to your regulator, to store the excess 'residue'? That way, we wouldn't have to wait until I level up my Ancient Magic. Even if I hit my absorption limit, we could still store it in that container first."

"Hmm… that's indeed a solution… But to hold that much, the container might have to be really large… That would be troublesome… Never mind, we don't need to rush. Let's wait until you actually reach your limit first."

"Alright."

Wade was in a great mood. Absorbing harmless "residue" would strengthen his own power!

After that clash with Grindelwald, he had come to truly understand just how vast the gap was between him and top-tier wizards.

Even though he was essentially an adult and possessed the abilities of a typical adult wizard…

Compared to someone like Grindelwald, the power gap between an average wizard and a top-tier one was still utterly terrifying!

And not just Grindelwald—take Tom, for example…

If Wade's magical level hadn't already broken through its limits, it was only a matter of time before Tom the human surpassed him.

Right now, Wade could overpower Tom, but that was purely because he was like a max-level character crushing a newbie. Once Tom leveled up too, Wade wouldn't be able to keep him down.

That's why Wade urgently needed to break through his "level cap"!

And now, absorbing "residue" was a perfect way to do that.

At the very least, this way, he wouldn't have to worry about Tom becoming a threat when he grew up.

His senior asked, "Do you remember the place where we first met?"

Wade nodded.

"Good. Then tonight, go to the same place as last time, and… I'll come find you."

…

Grindelwald had been very busy lately.

In addition to dealing with those who questioned him, he also held regular speeches.

However, unlike before, now after each speech, he would actively spread the content, making sure more people saw it.

Originally, he did this through newspapers. Later, when the Ministries of Magic in various countries began targeting him and forbade newspapers from publishing his speeches —Grindelwald was forced to find another path…

After each speech, people would fly on broomsticks over various wizarding settlements and scatter Grindelwald's propaganda like leaflets.

Technically, the various Ministries' ban on newspaper publication wasn't an official decree—it was all handled through backdoor discussions with the press.

In truth, there weren't many who dared issue formal bans on him now.

Grindelwald had become even more feared by the Ministries of Magic than he had been in the past.

As a result, with the leaflets being scattered, the Ministries had no legitimate grounds to arrest the people distributing them.

Over time, the various Ministries of Magic could only turn a blind eye.

After all, Grindelwald had already cleared his name and wasn't doing anything illegal for the time being—so why take the lead in opposing him?

Eventually, Grindelwald simply established his own newspaper and began circulating it throughout the wizarding communities of different countries, spreading his ideals and philosophies.

At that point, the Ministries had even less ability to stop him.

They couldn't just shut down his paper outright—that would be no different from publicly breaking with him.

Due to Grindelwald's special current status, along with Minister Fawley's weakness, Grindelwald even secured an office of his own within the British Ministry of Magic.

At this moment, Abernathy, acting as Grindelwald's secretary, stepped into the office.

While Vinda was temporarily stationed at Nurmengard, Abernathy had taken over her duties.

"Sir, the public is eager to know—when will your next speech be held?"

Grindelwald, head bent as he scribbled something down, replied without looking up, "There won't be any speeches for now… The promotion of our ideals has reached a temporary saturation point. Any more would have diminishing returns. It's time to start doing some real work."

"Real work?"

"Yes... real work!" Grindelwald lifted his head and smiled. "It's time we turn up the pressure on the British Minister for Magic."

As he spoke, he handed the freshly written piece of parchment to Abernathy.

"I'll be presenting these suggestions to Minister Fawley shortly. At the same time, publish them in our newspaper! Let the public see everything. That way, even if the Minister rejects them, the people will know what we've tried to do. Though… I imagine he'll agree."

Abernathy nodded. "Understood! But… won't Dumbledore try to interfere?"

"Haha~ On what authority? He's just a schoolteacher—what right does he have to interfere with Ministry policy?" Grindelwald suddenly chuckled. "Of course, if he's willing to seize power… heh, I'd be very interested in seeing him join the Ministry!"

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