Volume 4: The Sea and the Ship Heading North Chapter 254 Jon's concerns
Jon has been busy all this time on the ship.
In addition to absorbing all the magic runes in the stone slab that Sir Stoke had given him as promised, he also took a lot of time to study the forbidden books stored in the second gem.
Because of the abundant magic power, almost all the banned books have specific contents that he can read anytime and anywhere.
Jon certainly would not sit idly by and take in such a treasure trove of knowledge.
Except when there were matters on the ship that required his presence, he spent most of his time in the library. In addition to reviewing the banned books, he was also trying to handwrite the books that were missing from the current Hogwarts.
But the reason why a banned book is a banned book is not just because the knowledge it records is taboo. The existence of many books themselves is a rare taboo in the magical world.
This taboo is the prerequisite for carrying forbidden knowledge, so many of Jon's attempts failed, but he did not fall behind in learning new magic.
Compared to the vast amount of strange and bizarre black magic in the banned book, John was not dazzled. He simply chose the three most famous and widely spread unforgivable curses in the wizarding world - the Killing Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Imperius Curse and started trying them.
Unconventional magic may work wonders in some scenarios, but in most cases, the most practical ones are still these three unforgivable curses.
It perfectly encompasses the three effects needed to kill enemies, torture them, and control them, and there is no curse-breaking effect.
But learning the dark arts is not as simple as overcoming its difficulty . When John was preparing to learn the Divine Strike, he had already reported to Dumbledore about his plan to expand in the field of dark magic.
There really is no way around it. Almost all lethal offensive spells are related to black magic, and no wizard can avoid learning it.
Of course, the definition of a dark wizard is not a wizard who has learned the black magic, but a person who has delved deeply into the black magic and casts curses at the slightest disagreement.
Dumbledore approved John's contact with the Dark Arts at that time, but also gave a warning.
Jon always kept his warning in mind. The side effects of subtly changing a person's ideas are completely impossible to guard against.
Black magic is basically based on violence and hurting people, and the emotions required when casting spells are naturally violent and mixed with malice.
It is because of this form of spellcasting that frequent use of black magic can change a person.
Even if you hurt someone for revenge, protection, or some other brighter purpose, it does not change the emotional impact itself, otherwise the black magic would not be able to be used.
Because of this, John was extremely cautious when learning the three unforgivable curses. He let Nick stay with him throughout the process, allowing him to observe whether there would be any special changes when he practiced and tried to cast the spell.
But Nick felt that it was unnecessary to be so cautious with him.
"It's true that we need to be careful about the dark arts, but there's no need to be this cautious, Jon."
After observing Jon practicing the Unforgivable Curses for nearly a week without any significant results, Nick finally couldn't help but speak.
"We can think about it from another angle. Dark magic can affect a person's personality because when using it, the wizard's emotions are extremely negative. So when you use magic like the Patronus Charm, are your emotions extremely positive?"
Jon stopped practicing, listened to Nick's thoughts, and nodded thoughtfully.
Nick continued.
"Whether it's an overly negative or overly positive emotion, it will have a great impact on a wizard's personality. But after you used the Patronus Charm, your personality became that of an optimist. Do you think positively about everything and are full of hope for everything you encounter?"
Jon shook his head.
"Of course not."
"Yes, the Patronus Charm, as the most positive spell, cannot bring such a change to you. The effect of the Unforgivable Curse is also not exaggerated."
Nick said seriously.
"As long as you are a human, you can't be happy all the time. Even if a person behaves like a saint and has never done anything bad, it doesn't mean that he has never thought about doing bad things in his heart. This is his negative emotion. It's just because people can control their instincts and thoughts that some people are more noble. The Patronus Charm allows you to vent the happiness in your heart, while the Unforgivable Curse allows you to express the resentment, malice, and anger in your heart in the form of magic."
"You don't have to hide it, it's one of the most important emotions in human beings. What you need to do is not to deny this emotion, but not to let it become the whole of your emotions. This is a matter of control, but the boundary of the degree is not as easy to reach as you think."
"I have met many people. In history, many Hogwarts students secretly studied various kinds of dark magic in the library. The characteristics of those whose minds were affected by the darkness were very obvious. These people desire power and are addicted to it. The power of dark magic makes them unable to extricate themselves. When they quarrel with others, encounter problems, and break the rules, the first thing they think of is to make themselves malicious and evil and use that powerful power."
"These people are truly dark wizards. Dark magic and the emotions it represents have become everything in their lives. They have no self anymore. It is not they who control the magic, but the magic that controls them."
"But you obviously won't do that, Jon. You have already learned the magic of the invisible sword. When you encounter any problem, the first thing that comes to your mind is to use this magic to solve the problem once and for all?"
"Since you didn't have such thoughts after learning the Shadowless Strike, then why are you worried about the Unforgivable Curse? After you learned the Killing Curse, when you encounter all obstacles, will you immediately think of using the Killing Curse to solve them? It will only be one of your means of solving problems, not the only one."
Nick looked at Jon affirmatively.
"So, have more confidence in yourself and learn boldly. Mobilize your most angry and murderous emotions. This is what the Unforgivable Curse requires. This emotion cannot be everything to you, but it must have existed, right?"
