Harry Potter: The Legend of Nero Ravenclaw-Chapter 129: First Trials & Unforeseen Challenges

For days, Nero meticulously refined the theoretical aspects of his technique.

Every spare moment was spent pouring over his research notes, adjusting formulas, and practicing the individual components that would make up the final spell.

He worked through every layer: stabilizing the barrier framework, reinforcing the Shikigami's magical lattice, and fine-tuning the filtering mechanism that would allow smooth knowledge transfer upon reintegration.

His mind buzzed with calculations and adjustments.

By the time he had perfected the individual components, it was no longer just a theory.

It was time for real testing.

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The dojo, nestled within Mu and Zen's estate, was a place of tranquility, but tonight, it would serve as a laboratory for Nero's greatest experiment yet.

He had prepared everything.

Enchanted parchment, layered barrier inscriptions, and a reinforced space that would act as the sealed domain for his Shikigami.

He knelt at the center of the room, exhaling slowly as he pressed his palm to the ground.

His magic pulsed outward, activating the barrier formation he had meticulously devised and refined again and again over the past few days.

A shimmering dome of invisible force settled around the dojo's interior, his first self-sustaining sealed domain.

"This is it," he murmured.

He took a fresh parchment talisman, tracing careful symbols onto its surface.

With a practiced flick of his fingers, the paper twisted and folded itself into a human form, his Shikigami, an exact replica of himself.

The construct stood motionless before him, awaiting its purpose.

Nero reached forward, pressing two fingers to its forehead.

A thin, translucent thread of magic connected them, a spiritual tether.

"Initiate independent function," he said softly, severing the constant mental connection.

The clone stepped back, blinking once, and started taking independent action.

At first, everything seemed stable.

The barrier held, and the clone functioned as intended, standing within the storage space without abnormality.

But five minutes in, something felt wrong.

A sudden pull on his magic made Nero inhale sharply.

His connection to the barrier fluctuated. The shimmering runes flickered.

The clone staggered, its edges distorting like ink bleeding through wet parchment.

No, no, no!  Nero rushed forward, immediately severing the experiment before the magic collapsed entirely.

The clone dissolved into scraps of parchment, and the barrier fizzled out as if gasping for air.

Nero clenched his fists.

"The magic drain is too much," he muttered.

"Even with the storage function, I'm losing too much energy maintaining the tether."

He hadn't accounted for this. The passive drain on his reserves, even after severing direct control.

The barrier might have been stable in theory, but in practice, it was still demanding too much of his energy to keep the clone intact.

He spent the next two hours recalibrating the barrier, modifying its energy efficiency.

Instead of keeping an active link to his magic, he adjusted the runes to draw from the environment, allowing the barrier to sustain itself independently for longer.

The lattice was reinforced, dispersing energy more evenly to prevent fluctuations.

Once he was satisfied, he prepared for the second attempt.

Again, he created a Shikigami, carefully placed it inside the storage barrier, and let go.

This time, it remained stable.

The clone moved fluidly within the barrier, executing a simple task Nero had assigned it, copying passages from a book onto blank parchment.

It continued working for a full hour before Nero finally retrieved it.

He dissolved the clone and absorbed the returning knowledge.

Nero's eyes fluttered as the memories flooded back to him.

He braced himself, expecting a seamless reintegration.

Instead... there were gaps.

The text the clone had copied was clear in his mind, but some sections felt blurred, almost incomplete.

Certain sentences had altered phrasing, and a few paragraphs were entirely missing.

Nero frowned. "The knowledge transfer is imperfect."

He reviewed his research notes, running through possible causes:

The Shikigami's memory structure might degrade over time.

The knowledge might need more structured reinforcement before reintegration.

There could still be interference in the barrier affecting information clarity.

It was a step forward, he had succeeded in making the barrier function, but he wasn't done.

If even small details were lost, this method was unreliable.

He sighed, staring at the parchment still littering the dojo floor.

'This is going to take longer than I thought. Still this is fun.'

Despite the imperfections, this was a breakthrough.

The clone had functioned for a full hour inside the barrier, and the knowledge transfer, though flawed, had worked.

He had proved the fundamental concept was viable, now he needed to refine it.

He would experiment with longer storage durations.

He would fine-tune the memory structure of the clones.

He would further optimize the energy cost of maintaining the barrier.

Nero sat back, exhaling. He had accomplished a lot in one night, but he wasn't satisfied.

He wasn't looking for something that worked just well enough,he was looking for perfection.

Picking up a fresh talisman, he prepared for another test.

'Small steps.'

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