Hogwarts' White Lord

Click! Click, click, click!

The vault door creaked as it slowly swung open, revealing a space roughly 40 to 50 square meters in size.

"Lumos."

With a flick of his wand, Ivan illuminated the interior of the vault. However, the golden glow he had expected was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the vault appeared dim, shrouded in an eerie layer of gray mist. Every object inside seemed blurred and indistinct, as though veiled by an enchanted haze.

Clearly, this was a magical precaution against theft.

No matter the size or shape, all items within were magically concealed, forcing any intruder to inspect them individually.

"One layer after another, huh.." Ivan muttered, his tone laced with disdain.

The goblins' meticulous anti-theft measures were impressive, even to someone as skilled as Ivan. "But if I simply pack everything up and take it all, wouldn't that render this entire system useless?"

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Ivan felt a sharp pang of unease.

An inexplicable sense of danger washed over him, as though taking everything in the vault would trigger something disastrous.

"This feeling..."

His finely honed magical intuition immediately sounded the alarm. Ivan wouldn't ignore such a warning. "A curse? The goblins must have placed some sort of powerful curse on these treasures."

If someone were reckless enough to take everything indiscriminately, the consequences would undoubtedly be dire.

Layered with so many curses, the vault was practically a death trap. Unless one possessed an ability like Ivan's—transforming into a magic incarnation immune to all magical effects—it was nearly impossible to escape unscathed.

Even Dumbledore or Voldemort, faced with such a gauntlet of curses, would likely emerge gravely injured, if not worse.

But for Ivan, such precautions posed no challenge.

Activating his Magic Eye, he effortlessly pierced through the magical veils. The true state of every treasure in the vault became crystal clear in his sight.

Almost immediately, Ivan located the object of his mission.

The Soul Coffin was not left in plain sight. Instead, it was hidden inside a box enchanted with a Traceless Extension Charm, placed alongside several other cursed items.

Unfortunately for the goblins, nothing could escape the scrutiny of Ivan's Magic Eye.

Even if there had been a hundred such boxes, they wouldn't have been able to conceal their contents from his magical sight.

"If it wasn't me here, someone else might have hesitated for quite some time..."

For an ordinary intruder, the time spent searching would have been enough for the goblins to rally their forces and lock down all of Gringotts.

"Heh~ Mission accomplished."

Ivan extracted the Soul Coffin from the enchanted box and slipped it into his pocket.

Yet, Ivan didn't leave immediately.

Instead, he leisurely strolled around the vault, examining its contents with a calm, almost casual demeanor.

"The goblins may lack in many areas," Ivan remarked to himself, "but their ability to collect treasures is truly remarkable."

With such an abundance of valuables at hand, Ivan saw no reason to leave in haste. He had one more purpose for being here—to test whether his magical strength after a year of growth was approaching that of Dumbledore.

"The Ministry of Magic's efficiency is truly lacking," he muttered, glancing at his watch. "And the goblins aren't much better. Can't they move any faster?"

Ivan didn't believe for a moment that the goblins had such limited manpower.

Gringotts was a massive institution. If the goblins didn't have sufficient resources and personnel, they wouldn't be able to safeguard their vast wealth.

Before arriving, Ivan had done his research.

He discovered that the goblins had invested heavily in hiring wizards from both domestic and international circles. This included collaborating with several wizarding associations from other countries.

It was especially the latter group that piqued Ivan's interest.

The wizards from Russia and Egypt were nothing like the sheltered "greenhouse flowers" of England.

It wasn't about magical aptitude—after all, England had its share of magical prodigies, including the world-renowned Dumbledore.

But when it came to the middle- and lower-level wizards, many had either perished or been sent to Azkaban during Voldemort's reign of terror.

It was no exaggeration to say that, in the event of an international magical conflict, England's current state would leave it crushed by other countries.

"Since you're taking your time, don't blame me for being unfair," Ivan muttered, glancing at his watch.

With at least ten minutes remaining, Ivan decided he had more than enough time to analyze the contents of the vault.

But why not take these treasures?

Ivan wasn't here to steal.

He had claimed the Soul Coffin because it rightfully belonged to him.

As for the other treasures, they were goblin property. Ivan had no interest in plundering what didn't belong to him, especially not on goblin territory.

"Let's just think of today as an inventory check. When I take over Gringotts in the future, I'll know exactly what's here."

He began inspecting the vault's contents methodically, summoning an automatic quill to record detailed information about the treasures.

The goal was simple: to create a comprehensive list. Should the goblins be defeated in the future, Ivan wanted to ensure they couldn't skimp on any reparations owed.

"Oh, this is nice," Ivan remarked, holding up a ring that seemed to enhance magical power.

"And this—a staff?"

Curious, Ivan unraveled the protective curse surrounding an ornate staff and examined it closely.

"I didn't expect to find something like this. I thought wizards only used wands," he muttered, turning the staff over in his hands.

Comparing the staff to his own Sycamore wand, Ivan noted no fundamental differences in the materials or craftsmanship between the two.

If anything, the staff could be described as an amplified version of a wand.

By sacrificing portability and ease of use, the staff offered a greater boost to magical power and allowed for the casting of more potent spells.

As for the cost-effectiveness of the two...

How to put it?

"If you use the same material, a single staff could produce at least ten wands," Ivan thought.

However, the combined power of those ten wands would only equal about 60% of the staff's capabilities.

In other words, crafting a staff requires nine times the material of a wand, all for a 40% increase in power.

"Overall, that's a 40% improvement," Ivan mused. "But for wands, the amplification is more concentrated in specific aspects."

He glanced at his Sycamore wand. If he were to gather nine times the materials used to create it, he could theoretically craft a Sycamore staff.

Such a staff would boost its power by at least 60%, bringing its effectiveness to 160%.

"But who could accomplish that?"

Turning a wand into a staff would severely compromise its portability—one of the wand's key advantages. Then there's the issue of replicating the materials.

Nine pieces of phoenix wood of the same quality as his current wand? The mere thought was daunting.

"Extracting phoenix tail feathers? Sure, I could get a few from Alia," Ivan muttered, referring to his divine Fenix companion.

But to recreate the phoenix tree, which had been consumed in flames alongside a divine phoenix, and replicate its core material nine times? That was a hellishly difficult task.

And in the end, the mana amplification offered by a staff held little value for Ivan.

His magical reserves were already immense. Even without a staff, he could cast spells at 160% of his current mana with sheer strength alone.

The difference would only be in the time and effort required.

"In short, the staff is a tool that allows ordinary wizards to compete with powerful ones."

At the same time, the staff's drawbacks—its scarcity of materials and exorbitant production costs—made it impractical for most mid- and lower-level wizards.

In the era before wands, when only staffs existed, it was likely that many lower-level wizards couldn't even cast spells at all.

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