"Young Master be take care. Eat well, sleep well. Make friend."

Listening to the House Elf, Lizzy, rattle off, I can't help the thought that's become frequent in the past year.

'What are you, my mom?'

Well, at least I know it's concern from a good place, so I give her a nice response. Complete with a smile.

"Alright, you. I know. Don't worry, you know how amazing I am."

More fussing later, Lizzy gave me a polite and teary farewell, and I used the Floo to teleport to the 9¾ platform.

It took a while to get the House Elf Lizzy to open up, so I'm satisfied she feels free enough to voice out her worries.

Swiftly avoiding getting collided with the next Floo teleporter, I exited the Floo hearth I've just appeared in. As I back, there are a row of other Floo hearths, with various magicals, and their children coming and going.

The atmosphere is a bit cloudy, the steam from the train covering the platform with an ethereal fog.

The coming and going magicals, in their thick suits, overcoats and hats gave the ethereal atmosphere a vibe of an Industrial Revolution movie.

I lugged my way to an empty compartment, pointedly ignoring the various things my Senses were picking up.

The various magical signatures of enchanted items, the Emotions rolling off of the magicals' Spirituality, the unheard language of various magical animals — I ignored them all, and before long, I'm sitting in the empty compartment.

'Sigh, I wonder what, now.'

Unknown emotions were bubbling in me, my stomach a battleground of rodents and butterflies.

So I took out my Xylophone and started playing Lord of the Rings - Shire Theme. Singing along to it, just as the Dreams of Knowledge shown me how, a magical melody started playing.

Followed by some Skyrim Themes, Ode to Joy and other classics, the silent compartment soon gained a jolly mood, and my nervous thoughts were replaced by the joy of music.

Just as I started playing Death Metal on a Guitar, a few knocks interrupted my fun.

'Tempus.'

10:55.

I lowered my finger outstretched to cast the cast the spell, then took down the basic silencing charms I put on the compartment to prevent sound leakage.

A swift click and an opened door revealed one Boy Who Lived.

'Fuck. Didn't he have other carriages empty?'

My silent question was answered by an uncomfortable mumbling from the boy.

"Hello. Um, is this carriage empty? I'm looking for an empty—"

"Come in."

Cutting off his words, I went ahead and sat at the seat beside the window.

The boy brought in his luggage and a few minutes later, settled down, all the while stealing nervous glances in my direction.

Perhaps he wanted to talk? 

Sadly for him, I'm the epitome of hikineet-ness. I'm even more socially debilitated than him

My conversation partners for a year and two months, include and are limited to, two House Elves too nervous in my presence and too enthusiastic to serve.

'Sorry, Harry, you'd need to wait for Ron if it is conversation you wish for.'

Before the boy musterd up the courage to speak up, I closed my eyes and entered the Dream World swiftly.

Whatever hapens in the waking world is my concern no more.

「Welcome!」

「Spirituality: 4/25」

「Please configure your Dream.」

The words, familiar over the past year, greeted me.

I've contemplated what I'd like to already.

【Magical Combat, against a similar opponent as me, utilizing my skills to a 144% of a normal Graduate. Time: Until the Train arrives at its destination. Location: Ancient Ruins of Magical Japan's Fire Nation Capital.】

A kaleidoscope of colors appeared before me.

The colors became darker, the Reds became Redder, Blues became Bluer, and so on. Incessant, unintelligible sounds echoed from an impossible place. All sorts of smells assaulted my nose, all at once, and before I knew it, the feeling left as soon as it came.

As I opened my eyes to the familiarity of the Ancient Ruins, I saw another person standing in front of me.

Long waist-length red hair tied in a stylish braid, reddish purple eyes, a knee-length overcoat over a two piece suit. A cut face of otherworldly beauty with an androgynous appearance, capable of appealing to even the most nitpicky of artists.

Just standing there, he emitted a sort of elegance and noble grace, his gait confident and posture straight.

Yes, the eleven years old before him looks just like Ayen Watcher — himself.

Personally enchanted clothes,  hair braided to not interfere in the battle ahead indicating a battle-readiness.

As soon as the two sets of eyes met, a hand outstretched from both sides, a 「Lightning Release: Railgun」aiming precisely at each other's forehead, released from the palm of the outsretched hands.

As they were competing for magical superiority, the other hand is slowly making circles, fingers twitching this way and that in a complex dance.

A complex magical circle appeared, with Younger Futhark Runes covering the inside edges of the circle, complex geometric patterns connecting every Runes at the center.

The circle finished loading in a single second, and both combatants stopped Railgun, curling their hands into a first, emitting Spirituality and Magic into the freshly finished Array Formation.

A must slowly encircled the clearing, clouds overhead raining and lightning striking all around the battlefield of the already Ruined architecture.

We've become but specters of invisibility, sounds muffled nd smells absent.

The only two people in this Ruined architecture disappeared in the mist and fog.

Flashes of light can be seen all around the Ruined City.

Explosions, abrupt geographical changes, raised Golems, spectral animals battling each other, various types of magical plants appearing out of nowhere, ensnaring, poisoning, actively hunting those entering their range...

Ayen quickly ran out of his Talismans to summon golems and spectral animals, but the battlefield was now set.

Runic Circles, Array Formations, magical flora and conjured creatures littered the battlefield, waiting to be triggered like mines in a battlefield, deployed by both combatants.

Elemental Spells, Charms, Transfigurations, Dark Curses flew at one another, each triggering one trap after another, and before long, Ayen found himself facing the fake Ayen in a battle of martial arts, both using Physical Reinforcement, after having used a few Bardic Songs for boosts and debuffs.

Swords, daggers, katanas, knives, spears appeared one after another, conjured by magic, both hurling at one another, controlled telepathically through Spirituality Sense, while the two combatants engaged in a life and death CQC.

Casting Illusions, attacking Mind through Mind Arts, utilizing Spirituality Pressure to extinguish spells, dodge or block exploding Talismans, Runic and Array traps, all the while spending magic conjuring Beasts and Knights of Spectral nature.

Slowly, both parties extinguished their magical and spirituality reserves, exhausted beyond measure, but the fight still hd to go on. Punching each other, kicking, dodging and blocking, the complex and deadly unarmed combat revealed long lost martial arts one after another.

A kick saw Ayen facing a spear thrusting into his eyeballs, and he lost his life, ending the battle.

Darkness appeared again, and Ayen replied, 【Again. Twenty opponents. 70%.】, with no emotion, still high from the high stakes battle he'd just undergone.

Another battle took place, this time far more complex, and he died even faster this time.

Until the Hogwarts Express stopped at its station, Ayen didn't rest even once, exhausting himself again and again.

He knew. When he woke up, he'd feel no emotional or mental burden. That's just how his Dreams work. They send all the data deep into his unconscious brain, and it'll be as if he just entered a Deep Sleep for the duration.