Chapter 223: Thunderbird

Allen soon met the owner of the voice.

The voice’s owner was an elderly man, sharp-eyed but slender, his hair entirely white and neatly groomed, no beard, his eyes devoid of the cloudiness typical of age—instead, they sparkled with lively brilliance, like those of a young man.

A niffler was crouched on his shoulder, curiously watching Allen, sniffing the air repeatedly, as if sensing something it liked on Allen’s person.

The owner of the voice offered a gentle smile, radiating warmth that instantly put Allen at ease.

Allen knew this was Newt Scamander, master of the Scamander Manor and renowned magizoologist.

Allen bowed deeply. “Apologies for the intrusion, Mr. Scamander!” he said succinctly, still mindful of the mandrake leaf in his mouth.

“Child, make yourself at home! Tina and I are delighted to have you.” Mr. Scamander gently lifted Allen up.

He studied Allen’s hands curiously—today, Allen had randomly manifested a pair of crab claws.

“Truly, fame falls short of reality—I’ve heard tales of your wonders, but seeing you in person still leaves me awestruck by the magic of it all,” Mr. Scamander said softly.

“Very well, I leave Allen in your care,” Professor McGonagall added from beside them. “I must return to Hogwarts. I’ll come back the night after next.”

“Of course, rest assured—he’s in good hands with me,” Mr. Scamander replied, as if he and McGonagall were well acquainted.

Allen waved goodbye to Professor McGonagall.

A flash of green flame, and she vanished into the fireplace.

At that moment, an elderly woman entered the parlor carrying a fruit tray; Allen’s appearance startled her slightly, but she quickly regained composure.

“This is my wife, Tina. This is Allen Finis, who will be staying with us for a while,” Mr. Scamander beamed.

“Hello,” Allen said briefly.

“You’re the one here for the Animagus ritual? I didn’t expect you to be so… young…” Mrs. Scamander said, surprised. “Make yourself comfortable—we both adore young people.”

Allen nodded quickly; he recognized her American accent.

“Relax,” Mr. Scamander said, placing a light hand on Allen’s shoulder. “Treat this place as your home.”

The faint tension in Allen’s chest had vanished—he knew the Scamanders genuinely cared for him.

Then Mr. Scamander led Allen to his room and told him to rest for a while.

Only now did Allen have a chance to observe his surroundings: a modest second-floor bedroom, plainly decorated but radiating the warmth of daily life.

The walls bore affectionate decorations of magical creatures; on the windowsill, several potted flowers bloomed despite it being winter.

Then Allen sensed something was wrong—he was startled to find the sky outside darkened, though it was only three in the afternoon.

As he puzzled over this, a massive lightning bolt flashed outside, illuminating his room and his face.

He rushed to the window, thrusting his head out—and saw the sky choked with dark clouds, heavy as if pressing down on the earth.

In the next instant, another colossal bolt of lightning tore through the sky—and this time, Allen sharply noticed a beautiful creature darting through the clouds.

Its golden feathers stood out vividly against the gloom; it had three pairs of wings and a long tail, a golden beak and golden eyes, with faint arcs of electricity flickering between its feathers.

It flew through the clouds, leaving behind flashes of lightning and rolling thunder wherever it passed.

Then a single crystal-clear raindrop landed on Allen’s forehead; soon after, a torrential downpour began—he quickly shut the window and drew the curtains.

The rain lasted all night, stopping by morning; the Scamanders had prepared a lavish breakfast for Allen.

Allen was astonished to find a Muggle television in the parlor, broadcasting a news program apologizing for yesterday’s weather forecast error.

“Tina and I hold no prejudice against ordinary humans—we quite admire their inventions,” Mr. Scamander said, setting down his newspaper. “After breakfast, I’ll give you a tour of the manor.”

Allen nodded and sat down; in the Scamanders’ startled gaze, he ate using his special utensils.

The weather remained clear and cloudless on the third day; in the evening, Professor McGonagall arrived at the Scamander Manor.

They waited in silence for the full moon to rise; the Scamanders joined them.

Soon the moon appeared in the sky, gently bathing the earth in its cool light.

They walked to the cliff overlooking the sea, where a single large tree stood alone.

“Spit it out,” Professor McGonagall said.

Allen carefully expelled the leaf he had held in his mouth for a month, holding it gently in his hand; the moonlight struck the leaf, making it glow more intensely than it had a month prior.

He stared at the glowing leaf, emotions surging—he had paid a heavy price for this day, but it was all worth it.

He recalled the past month’s trials, and for a moment, he nearly wept.

“Excellent. Undamaged. Perfect,” Professor McGonagall said softly, handing Allen a small crystal vial.

Allen filled it with saliva, then placed the mandrake leaf inside…

Soon the moon appeared in the sky, gently casting its cool light upon the earth.

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End of Volume 2 Summary

Allen carefully spat out the leaf he had held in his mouth for a month, holding it lightly in his hand; the moonlight fell upon the leaf, making it glow more brightly than it had a month ago.

He gazed at the glowing leaf in his hand, his heart filled with mixed emotions—he had paid a great price for this day, but it was all worth it.

The summary was written long ago, but I forgot to post it due to work…

Volume 2 has ended, with a total word count roughly equal to Volume 1—around 220,000 words.

Overall, I feel my writing in Volume 2 has improved over Volume 1, but it’s still not good enough.

I’m most satisfied with the opening of Volume 2—I believe it’s the best part I’ve written so far. The first half of this volume is also decent, with reasonable pacing, but after capturing Yodel, it started to fall apart.

Let me break this down by category—exhausted after overtime, I’ll just write whatever comes to mind.

1. Plot design and pacing issues.

As I’ve written this book, I’ve increasingly felt like a cultivation novel—the protagonist’s research into magic and talent is essentially farming. But a novel can’t just be farming—it lacks thrills and climaxes.

So the narrative structure of this volume has been: research → produce results → showcase results.

When the protagonist transformed into dragon scales, he entered a tournament; when he developed the blade panther, he went to kill spiders. Thus, the first half had decent pacing—I enjoyed writing it, and I subtly planted foreshadowing for the final battle.

The turning point came after capturing Yodel. Originally, I intended Volume 1’s ending to be an unprepared encounter, so Volume 2’s climax would be a meticulously planned battle.

To give the protagonist sufficient motivation to duel the basilisk, I spent a full 150,000 words building up to it. I could feel readers’ anticipation rising sharply when he decided to face the basilisk alone—but then the execution fell apart. The preparation scenes became tedious; worse, readers’ anticipation gradually drained because everything was laid bare—no mystery remained.

Actually, I’m most satisfied with the opening of Volume Two; I believe that section is the best part I’ve written so far. The first half of this volume is also good, with decent pacing, but things started to fall apart after subduing Yodel.

I feel I’ve improved in portraying the protagonist—he’s less childish than before—but only slightly. His personality remains unlikable, his archetype lacks standout traits—in short, this area is still mediocre.

Outside the protagonist, all other characters have become paper-thin. The trio are reduced to background props, with no growth resembling their original counterparts.

Interactions with other plot characters beyond the trio are also too sparse.

Moreover, Yodel’s characterization has no memorable moments or highlights.

Overall, this area still needs significant strengthening.

The turning point came after subduing Yodel. My original idea was for the end of Volume One to be an unprepared encounter, so I wanted the end of Volume Two to be a well-prepared battle.

This volume’s plot has been driven primarily by the protagonist’s research into transfiguration and his innate talent—but this approach has encountered problems.

The more I write, the harder I find it to make random transfiguration feel fresh.

It’s easy to fall into clichés: protagonist’s hand becomes an octopus tentacle, crab claw, dragon claw, unicorn hoof—functionally, these are nearly identical; all ultimately serve to grasp things. At best, you can explore minor inconveniences or advantages, but repeating this endlessly becomes predictable and tiresome for readers.

To avoid this, I’ve researched extensively, writing only what I genuinely find novel, hoping to offer readers freshness rather than repetition.

Therefore, I’ll upgrade the protagonist’s random transfiguration ability to ensure continued engagement in this direction.

While random transfiguration is fun, the power it grants is unstable. Readers want to see the protagonist grow, mastering stronger abilities. Thus, using insights from random transfiguration to gradually gain control over his innate talent—a path toward self-mastery—is inevitable. I believe I’ve handled this part reasonably well so far.

The transfigured beasts are poorly developed—none are distinctive or memorable. I’ve overthought the details, overly constrained by realism, afraid to let loose.

Still, the volume’s end hints at future directions for transfigured beasts: the protagonist’s innate talents may eventually be applied to them. I wonder if readers will like this direction.

This volume primarily drives the plot through the protagonist’s research into transfiguration spells and his own talent, but this aspect has encountered problems.

The settings remain too simplistic—the protagonist only moves between a few fixed locations. This works initially, but after 400,000+ words, it’s unsustainable. Even I find it boring—it’s a key area for future improvement.

Because this easily becomes formulaic and uninspired—for example, the protagonist’s hand turning into an octopus tentacle, a crab claw, a dragon’s claw, or a unicorn’s hoof—these forms differ little in function; no matter what shape the hand takes, it ultimately exists to grasp things. One might write about the inconveniences and advantages these forms bring, but writing this repeatedly soon becomes clichéd, and readers will grow bored, finding it stale.

The weak ending of Volume 2 was partly due to lack of backup drafts—I became too busy with work.

Reduced daily writing time has made my prose dry and mechanical—just narration for the sake of narration, even fewer jokes. This is also because I’ve been constantly outputting with little input—I haven’t read any web novels in ages. This is unsustainable. I need to read more, learn from others, and strengthen myself.

My ideal state would be having five or six chapters pre-written—roughly the length of a small arc—so I won’t end up like Chapter 183, discovering logical flaws mid-writing, wanting to revise but lacking drafts, forced to publish out of duty to maintain daily updates.

I’ve tried voice-to-text dictation, but the results were poor. The real bottleneck is never typing speed—it’s the speed of plotting in my mind.

Regarding romance: I’ll minimize or eliminate it in future. I’ve tried reading a few “love-drama” novels to learn, but I can’t get into them.

Finally, about the book’s performance: on February 1st, average subscriptions were 170; now they’re 330. Thank you again to all readers for your support—I’ll keep working hard.

The current setting is still too simple; the protagonist only moves between a few fixed locations. This works at first, but after over 400,000 words, it’s no longer acceptable—I’m even getting bored writing it, and this is an area I’ll strengthen going forward.

5. Other issues.

One reason the second volume’s ending fell flat is that I ran out of stored drafts, because work became busier.

Reduced daily writing time has made my recent prose dry and mechanical—just storytelling for the sake of storytelling, with fewer jokes or flourishes. This is also because I’ve been outputting constantly without enough input. I haven’t read any other webnovels in a long time; too little input is unsustainable. I should read more webnovels and learn from better experiences to improve myself.

My ideal state would be having five or six chapters stored—roughly the amount of a small plot arc—so I wouldn’t end up like Chapter 183, discovering logical flaws while writing, wanting to revise the plot but having no drafts, and forcing out a chapter just to maintain my daily quota.

I recently tried voice-to-text writing, but found the results poor; the real bottleneck is never typing speed, but the speed at which I can think up the plot.

Regarding romantic scenes: I’ll try to write fewer or none in the future. I’ve even picked up a few “dog food” novels to study, but I can’t seem to get into them anymore.

Finally, about this book’s performance: on February 1st, the average subscription was 170; now it’s 330. I thank all my readers for their support—I’ll keep working hard.