bookbashuk Chapter 35 I held an art exhibition, guess who was invited?
Chapter 35 I held an art exhibition, guess who was invited?
Halloween Eve.
The silvery moonlight spilled onto the windowsill.
Pumpkin lanterns were placed throughout the corridor, occasionally eliciting giggles from passing students.
Ethan stood in the lobby on the first floor, listening to the commotion coming from the auditorium not far away.
The foyer was large enough to fit an entire house, with a ceiling so high it was invisible, and everywhere it was filled with glowing green candlelight, decorative spider webs, and small bats moving around.
The places where armor used to be placed have been transformed into menacing skeletons, and a pale, ghostly shadow occasionally drifts through the air.
At this time, everyone was enjoying the banquet in the auditorium.
This is the perfect time to set up an art exhibition.
Ethan chose a location from the underground staircase entrance to the side corridor.
There aren't many live paintings here, enough to mix in his works.
"Hey child," an elderly woman in a wheelchair in the painting asks kindly, "what are you doing here instead of going to the dinner party?"
"I want to hang up my paintings to add some fun to Halloween."
Ethan answered truthfully, waving his wand and controlling the painting to float up the wall.
"Oh—you can draw too! What an adorable child."
The old woman cupped her face in her hands, her gaze towards Ethan growing increasingly loving, and said earnestly:
"Hang it next to me, so I can properly admire your painting—"
The old woman's voice suddenly stopped.
Her gaze was fixed on the painting that hung next to her, just as she had wished.
—It was an incredibly ferocious and terrifying painting.
It looked like a beast that was neither human nor beast.
It had thick, messy brown sideburns, and skin covered in fat that seemed to grow out of its bones, like a collection of living flesh rather than a single individual.
And those eyes.
Those eyes were filled with madness and chaos, flashing with a furious light.
It was crammed together in the picture frame, which seemed to have become its fragile prison.
The next second, it will tear the canvas apart, destroy the frame, and pounce out to gnaw on the fresh flesh with its yellowish teeth.
In a daze.
The old woman seemed to hear the pounding heartbeat and smell the scorching, putrid breath.
"This is a painting I made of my good friend, called 'Hagrid the Faithful,'" Ethan introduced enthusiastically, admiring the painting with fond memories.
To achieve the desired effect, he also used chicken blood—from outside Hagrid's hut.
The final result was excellent.
Ethan took a deep breath, savoring the overwhelming smell of blood.
It's perfect as the opening painting, capable of fully stirring people's hearts.
For some reason, when he showed the painting to Hagrid, the usually talkative Hagrid fell silent.
The next day, she actually cut her hair short, something she hadn't done in ages.
I've reached the age where I start to care about my appearance.
Ethan thought to himself.
"Aaaaaah!!"
A heart-wrenching scream interrupted Ethan's thoughts.
He looked up.
Then the kind old woman jumped up from her wheelchair and hopped and skipped to another painting, quickly disappearing from sight.
"Very good, very energetic."
Ethan nodded in approval.
Hopefully, the old lady will call me that then, to liven up the atmosphere.
"Hmph hmph hmph~"
Ethan hummed a cheerful tune as he manipulated the paintings, hanging them in the appropriate positions.
The Third Umbilical Cord, The Dim Moonlight Path, The Feeding Ghoul, The Howling Crawler...
Gradually, the corridor became completely silent and deathly still.
The painting was empty; no one knew where the people had gone.
Even the bright moonlight was tinged with blood red.
At last.
At the end of the corridor, Ethan hung up two of his prized works:
Portal and Call of Eris.
【Title: The Call of Eris】
[Type: Concept Art]
[Rank: Tier 1 - Golden Legend]
[Description: "Embrace me, enter me."]
[Effect: It intensely captivates the viewer, immersing them in the most desired illusion as if they were actually there, making it difficult to extricate themselves. If they do not break free in time, they will be forever trapped in this beautiful dream, completely losing themselves.]
[WARNING! This card is dangerous. Please use with caution.]
This painting can be viewed on the wall when you visit the gallery.
[Number of paintings currently in the gallery: 4]
[New Player Gift Pack Unlocking Progress: 4/5]
This is the second gold-tier card that Ethan created by fusing the Eris spell.
The painting is bathed in a golden glow.
From top to bottom, it has no specific form, yet it envelops people like a blinding sun.
Just looking at it makes me feel dizzy and hot.
It was as if there was nothing else in the world but radiance.
"Hmm."
Ethan snapped back to reality, shook his head, and tried to clear his head.
That was close; I almost got myself caught in the trap.
This card is really dangerous, what should I do...?
He just wanted others to appreciate his paintings; he didn't really want to cause an accident.
How could someone as pure and kind as me bear to put others in danger?
This is Hogwarts, after all.
Suddenly.
Ethan came up with a great idea.
—A noble fusion!
His newly learned skills have yet to be put to use.
"A fusion of Portal and Call of Eris."
Ethan commanded, feeling the magic within him flow into the two paintings and then connect them.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
The paint on the two paintings bulged up and then gradually stuck together like tendons.
Ultimately, they merged completely into one.
It turned into a painting.
Ethan's eyes lit up as he looked at the description of the "new work".
This is it!
It can both better lure people into a dream, and at the last moment, deliver a fatal blow, plunging them back into harsh reality—
Cough, how can you call it a fatal blow?
That's clearly a user-friendly "anti-addiction system".
Ethan hung up the last painting with satisfaction.
According to the effect of the fusion card, he also needs to go to the auditorium to set up the exit of the portal.
Here's a little surprise for everyone.
Ethan couldn't help but smile as he thought about what would happen next.
"I wonder who will be lucky enough to be the first person to see the art exhibition..."
Ethan chuckled and murmured, eagerly heading towards the auditorium.
In the moonlight, his figure cast a long, thin shadow.
......
Shortly after Ethan left.
A figure, panting heavily, climbed out of the stairwell leading to the underground.
That was Professor Quirrell, who had just released the troll.
"Heh, heh heh..."
Quirrell couldn't help but laugh out loud, his trembling eyes filled with an air of unwavering determination.
It became.
He successfully placed the troll in the underground classroom.
Now, all that's left is for him to feign panic and rush into the auditorium to report the news to everyone.
Then, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he slipped up to the fourth floor and broke through the trapdoor.
"My master will definitely reward me handsomely after I succeed..."
Quirrell muttered excitedly as he stepped onto the stairs.
Just then.
A strong, chilling cold suddenly rushed towards me from the front!
Like the gates of hell opening, the corridor ahead had somehow transformed into a dark and twisted place.
It was deathly silent, devoid of any life.
Only the cold moonlight shone.
The strong smell of blood swept into his nostrils.
It seemed to transform into countless tentacles, trying to drag him into the abyss.
Quirrell: "...?"
He swallowed hard.
A surge of instinctive fear crept up his back, raising goosebumps.
My heart rate gradually increased, and my pupils contracted due to tension and panic.
What, what's going on?
Who stole his job and slaughtered Hogwarts ahead of schedule?