Harry Potter: The Mage's Path Chapter 2, a harry potter fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the intellectual property associated with Harry Potter.

Hi all,

The second chapter of my Harry Potter story. The dungeon is going to be split into two chapters, so the boss fight will be in the next chapter.

Shout out to {Anthony Maxwell, Lofton Varner and Steve Miles} for becoming patrons. Cheers.

All Patrons get access to chapters early. Chapters 3 and 4 of Harry Potter: A Mage's Path is already posted on my website.

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Chapter 2

Harry gulped as he felt a change overcome the area. The woods were shrouded in darkness. Looking up, he saw a pale full moon displayed in the night sky. There was still some light illuminating the area, enough to navigate if he was careful.

Crouching down next to the rock, he peered around him cautiously.

It felt like dozens of eyes were now watching him with ill intent. His knees began to shake, and Harry clenched his fists and pounded his legs in determination. Taking a few deep breaths, he composed himself.

New information was entering his brain, and he held onto it like a lifeline. As long as he stayed here, he would be okay. This area was a safe zone, so he could spend a few moments gathering his composure. Harry leaned back against the rock and breathed out slowly.

An Instant Dungeon did not have a set location but could make a copy of a specific area and then add a theme to the landscape. It was filled with monsters, including a Boss, that was more challenging than the rest. Harry didn't dare take it on until he gained some levels. There was also a lot of treasure in the Dungeon, both from monster loot and chests.

Time moved slower in here by a factor of three to one. Three hours in here would be an hour in the real world. Harry estimated that he had about twelve hours in here before his relatives might start caring that he was missing. If only to do more chores.

New Main Quest!

Escape the Instant Dungeon

Description: Harry Potter is trapped in the Wandering Aspen Horrors Instant Dungeon.

Find and defeat the Boss before time runs out.

Current Objective: Locate the Boss.

Time Limit: Twelve hours (Dungeon time).

This quest is Mandatory.

At least he was getting rewarded for his trouble.

Harry opened his Map and looked at the entire area. It was obscured in darkness, and only the safe area was illuminated. Carefully exploring the woods was his only option.

Harry decided to go in the eastern direction first, and he crept forward, keeping an eye on his mini-map. The range was not very far, maybe five metres, based on his {Perception} Attribute.

He stepped out of the safe zone into the maze of twisted trees. The greenery had disappeared, leaving bare ground bathed in a pale luminance. The trees loomed over him, their once vibrant canopies now bare with skeletal branches pointing to the sky. Harry moved forward for about a minute before a sound in front of him made him freeze. On the mini-map, a small red dot appeared.

In front of him, he could see a small humanoid figure with a grey body, stick-like limbs, and roots for hands and feet. Where the face should be, were some crude carvings that depicted its eyes and mouth. It reminded him of a miniature version of the Ents from the Lord of the Rings books.

It opened its mouth and screamed a horrendous screech. Harry winced and resisted the urge to cover his ears.

'{Observation}'

Aspen Horror Sapling | Level 1 |

Not very helpful. The '{Observation}' skill would need to be levelled up as soon as possible. Harry threw the ball of fire, and it impacted the monster.

[Weakness discovered!] Sapling takes 14 damage.

The Sapling screamed and burrowed its root-like fingers into the ground. Harry's eyes widened, dodging backwards as sharp stakes pierced upwards from the ground where he used to stand.

'{Basic Fireball}'

By the time Harry got the next attack off, the Sapling had crossed half the distance. He noted that it wasn't swift.

Sapling takes 16 damage.

Harry kept his distance by running in circles. The monster did not have much mobility. Once he understood that fact, the fight became much more manageable. He fired off another fireball.

Sapling takes 13 damage.

Sapling was defeated.

Monster Data + 10%

10 Experience gained

You have unlocked the Bestiary Function!

Aspen Horror Sapling has been added to the Bestiary.

New Side Quest!

[Continuous] Monster Data

Description: Defeat ten of every normal monster or one higher-ranked monster to gain complete information and receive rewards.

Objective: Complete monster entries.

Time Limit: -

Rewards: Monster Essence and a unique piece of equipment added to the loot pool.

Harry paused as new information entered his mind. The Bestiary was a new function that displayed information on all the monsters he defeated. Interestingly, the more he defeated the same monster, the more information was revealed. Technically, he didn't need it; when he levelled his {Observation} skill high enough, he could instantly gain the knowledge. However, the quest gave him the incentive to complete monster entries. Besides, while his {Observation} was low in the early stages, it would help out a lot. The exception was the Boss and some rare monsters, which he only needed to defeat once to gain its complete data, and they always dropped at least one piece of equipment.

Harry touched the monster's body, and a prompt appeared. He confirmed that it asked him if he wanted to loot the Aspen Horror. The body disappeared, leaving behind a jar of amber liquid and a five-pound note.

He smiled when he realised he could earn money by defeating monsters. It was heady for someone who didn't have any money growing up.

He figured the amber liquid was tree sap, but he didn't want to waste his Mana on {Observation}.

Harry continued forward and encountered three more Saplings. After defeating them without any problem, he collected the loot and continued. He gained a level in {Fireball}, which excited him. It was like a drug, seeing his progress. Harry could understand why some people got addicted to games. Despite the low visibility and the creepy atmosphere, his enthusiasm increased.

Ahead of him was a small clearing. Harry approached it cautiously, but he couldn't see any monsters on the radar. Scattered on the ground in groups was an odd-looking mushroom. They had a short stem and a high pointy cap.

'{Observation}'

Witches Cap

Description: A common mushroom found in magically dense areas of woods and forests. Has mana restorative properties.

Harry's eyes lit up with glee. The mushrooms were the best item he could come across in such a situation. His Mana had already fallen below halfway, and he would soon have no way of casting spells. Harry carefully dug under the mushroom and pulled it out.

By repeating a specific action, you have learned a new skill!

Description: An important skill to have under your belt for any budding Potioneer. Determines the player's deftness in harvesting ingredients to ensure the best quality. The higher the skill, the rarer the ingredients that can be harvested. Some harvesting activities may require a specific tool.

+ 11% to Dexterity.

+ 11% chance to increase the quality when harvesting.

Always successful in harvesting common ingredients.

30% success rate when harvesting uncommon ingredients.

All the time spent gardening for his Aunt Petunia had paid off in the end. Harvesting covered a broad range of skills, which included such things as harvesting animal parts. However, he would need an appropriate knife to be able to dissect them.

Harry placed the mushroom in his mouth and chewed slowly. It tasted like an ordinary white button mushroom with a hint of sweetness.

5 Mana restored.

Harry looked around and calculated how many Witches Caps were in the clearing. There must be at least a hundred of them. Considering his success rate, that meant at least ninety mushrooms. Harry quickly got to work harvesting all the ingredients. Ten minutes later, he smiled in triumph at his haul.

Harvesting Skill has levelled up 3 times!

Harvesting has increased to Level 11.

Harry ate enough to restore his Mana and placed the rest in his inventory.

He continued east, and the trees started to thin out but grew in stature. The light from the moon produced shadows that seemed to be watching him with sinister intentions.

Suddenly, he heard a squeal, and Harry froze. It had come from his left, but he couldn't see anything on the radar. A form came rushing at him at an incredible speed. Harry dodged as he was about to be gored by wicked tusks and rolled on the ground a few times.

He climbed to his feet and faced the Boar as it turned around.

Harry had no time to ponder how demonic the Boar looked as it rushed him again. Harry dodged at the last second and had a fireball soon after he got to his feet. The weakness of the Boar was that it took time to turn around after rushing him. He took full advantage of the fact.

Savage Boar has taken 8 damage.

The Boar squealed and charged again. Harry repeated the same action a few times and managed to chip away at its HP.

Savage Boar has gone berserk!

Harry yelped as the Savage Boar suddenly increased speed, and he was clipped in the leg as he tried to dodge away.

Harry Potter takes 23 damage.

Energy: 77|100

Harry got his feet as the Savage Boar came around for another attack. It was going to be hard to dodge it when it was berserk. He carefully backed into a tree as the Savage Boar rushed over and dived behind the tree; it hit the trunk with a bang. The tree shook from the impact but otherwise remained standing.

Savage Boar is stunned.

Savage Boar has broken out of berserk. It takes 17 damage.

Harry took advantage of the situation and spammed Fireballs at the downed monster.

Savage Boar has been defeated.

Monster Data + 10%

Savage Boar has been added to the Bestiary.

20 experience gained.

Harry checked the new Bestiary entry.

Savage Boar | Level 3 | Normal |

Description: A wild boar that is more aggressive than usual due to the poisoned effect of an unknown essence. Charges and gores the target on its sharp tusks. 40% chance to enter a berserk state at low health.

Harry knelt and looted the body. It was too bad that he didn't have a skinning knife to skin the animal. It had to be a certain quality for it to be considered one.

Three items lay on the grass. One of them was another five-pound note. Now that Harry had Witches Cap to recover his Mana, he could be laxer about using {Observation} and inspecting the other two items.

Boar Tusk

Description: A tusk from a Savage Boar. It is wickedly sharp and may be used as an improvised knife.

Boar Meat

Description: It has a strong, nutty, rich flavour that is even tastier than pork.

Observation Skill has levelled up!

Observation is now Level 2.

Harry swung the tusk around experimentally and decided it was good enough as a crude dagger. Opening his Map, he looked at the path revealed by his movements. It seemed that the further he moved away from the safe area, the harder the monsters became. He couldn't be entirely sure because of only a tiny sample size, but he decided to try something.

Harry retraced his steps close to the safe area and started walking in a circle instead of going straight like he had been doing. Soon, he encountered another Sapling. He killed the Sapling quickly and looted the corpse. To his surprise, there was another item besides the tree sap. It was a small solid ball of swirling darkness.

Shadow Essence | Crafting Material |

Description: A byproduct of a monster that corrupts living organisms and turns them into monsters.

It looked like he was figuring out where the Boss may reside. He had read in a book that aspen trees usually grew close together and were a part of the same root system beneath the soil. It would make sense that whatever the monster was, it lurked underground.

Harry continued moving in an expanding circle and defeated another dozen Saplings. On his third kill, he received a new notification.

You have levelled up!

You are now Level 2.

5 AP gained.

Harry considered putting some more AP into his {Magic}, since it was his primary damage dealer. He decided against it after considering that he still had plenty of Witches Caps left. Could he level Magic naturally? Did he spam spells until it increased? After killing the ninth Sapling, he levelled up his {Basic Fireball} skill again. On his eleventh, he got his answer.

Your Magic has reached a new threshold.

+ 1 MAG

That was two Magic points in a short time. Harry now had a bit more Mana in the tank.

The next kill and he completed the monster entry for Aspen Horror Sapling. He checked the Bestiary.

STR: 4 | END: 8 | AGI: 2 | INT: 3 | MAG: 3 | PER: 4 |

Resistances/Weaknesses

Phy Def: 10 | Mag Def: 5 | Piercing: 50% | Blunt: 50% |

Shadow: 25% | Fire: -50% |

Loot: 5 pounds (100%); Tree Sap (100%); Shadow Essence (25%); Aspen Horror Sapling Essence (10%); Aspen Buckler (3%).

Description: It is a young sapling tree which has gained sentience after being poisoned by an unknown essence. It broke off from the central root system and searched the woods for prey.

There was a lot of detail for one monster. With this, he could identify weaknesses and make the fights easier. The monster had three attributes he didn't have: Strength, Endurance and Agility. Would he have gotten those if he had chosen a different Path? He needed to learn more mobility skills to keep up with enemies with high agility.

Harry paused as he spotted a large stone boulder with a slightly overhanging edge. It formed a shallow cave that provided some shelter. He crept closer until two monsters appeared on his radar. Grunting noises revealed the source, and Harry considered his approach. Two Savage Boars was too much for him unless he somehow used the terrain to his advantage. Should he sneak by these two? Then he spotted a golden marker on the mini-map beside the two monsters. It was a treasure chest.

Could he sneak attack the two monsters? Then dismissed the idea as foolish. Ambushing one of the Boars would be easy enough, but then he would alert the other. Harry looked up at a nearby tree and thought of a plan. Finally deciding to give it a go, he crept up to the tree and wrapped his legs around the trunk. Holding the tree loosely with his arms, Harry slowly inched his way up the tree. It was hard work, and he could feel the bark chafing the inside of his thighs through his trousers.

Harry calculated the distance and figured he would be able to hit the Boars with his { Basic Fireball} if he lured them over first. The only thing he had to worry about was the two boars knocking him out of the tree. The simple answer was to kill one of the boars as quickly as possible to lower the risk.

'{Basic Fireball}'

Harry chucked the ball, landing harmlessly in front of the boulder. He prepared another one as squealing erupted; the two Savage Boars rushed the tree. Bracing himself, he felt a shockwave pass through his legs as the first Savage Boar hit the tree. Then the other.

Harry aimed carefully and threw the Fireball down on top of the first Savage Boars head.

[Weakness found!] Savage Boar A has taken 13 damage.

The Boar stumbled, and Harry hit it with another {Basic Fireball} as the other one backed up to ram the tree again. His legs started to hurt when he managed to kill the first Savage Boar. Harry clenched in teeth in agony as he worked to kill the other Savage Boar.

Savage Boar has been defeated x 2

You have gained 40 Experience.

Monster Data + 20%

Harry gasped and released his legs from the tree, groaning in pain. He hung on for a moment before sliding down the tree. The pain quickly faded, and he stood up in relief.

Harry looted the Savage Boars, then rushed to the boulder and spotted the treasure. It was a plain wooden chest. Excited, he lifted the lid to reveal two items. Disappointed at what he perceived as lousy loot, Harry reached out and grabbed the first; a vellum scroll. Suddenly, the scroll vanished.

You have discovered the Wandering Aspen Horror Dungeon Map!

It has been added to your Map.

Reveals all monsters, treasure chests, ingredients and Boss locations.

Now he could explore more efficiently. Quickly, he opened his Map and searched the now-revealed Dungeon. Harry could see where he had already been and the locations he needed to explore. There were still twenty monsters left, including the Boss, which was a much bigger marker at the northwest corner of the Map. There were still three chests to be opened, with one next to the Boss. Also, there were two more groups of mushrooms.

He grabbed the other item and used {Observation}.

Potions Belt | Equipment |

Description: The Potion Belt is convenient storage for all potions that allow quick emergency access. While it's worn, the potions are protected from destruction and weigh nothing.

Harry smiled in satisfaction. A handy piece of equipment. One thing to note was that his inventory was not accessible during combat. So anything he wanted to use, he had to carry himself. Harry opened the belt and spotted five vials inside filled with red liquid.

'{Observation}.'

Basic Energy Potion | Consumable |

Description: A basic energy potion that restores 50 Energy.

Just what he needed. Harry wore the belt by placing it in the equipment slot in his inventory. Rechecking the Map, he planned his route to be as efficient as possible. He would save the Boss for last. First, he would defeat the other monsters and grab the treasure chests. Eating some more Witches Caps, Harry continued forward.

Harry encountered five more Savage Boars, but they were all by themselves. He managed to defeat them without too much effort by climbing a tree. On his third kill, he received another notification.

Basic Fireball has levelled up!

Basic Fireball is Level 4

You have levelled up!

You are now Level 3

5 AP gained

After refilling his Mana, he only had a few Witches Caps left. Fortunately, the next group of mushrooms was close to the next treasure chest. Otherwise, he may have to wait for his Mana to regenerate. That means he would fail the quest and potentially make the Dursleys angry. He didn't know what was worse.

Harry paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him. Did he have to return to his relatives now that he had Gaia? Exploring Dungeons could earn everything he needed to survive by himself on his own. Losing himself in a flight of fancy for a moment, he stood there with a silly grin. He shook his head at his distracted thoughts. It was something he could consider later. There was still a quest that he needed to complete there anyway. However, it gave him a huge motivation boost, and he quickly hurried forward.

In his haste, he ignored a seemingly benign six-foot tree until it was almost too late. The rushing wind came from behind him, and Harry instinctively rolled forward but still managed to get hit.

Harry Potter has taken 34 damage.

Energy: 48/100

Harry screamed in agony as a sharp object sliced into his shoulder. Although he didn't receive any physical damage, the pain was excruciating, and he almost passed out from shock. He stood up shakily and faced his opponent, only to evade the sword coming down towards his head. Harry retreated a few metres to gather his composure.

Standing in front of him was a tall humanoid. It looked similar to a Sapling but on steroids. It wielded a two-handed sword in both hands, and Harry shuddered when he considered how much damage he would have taken if he hadn't managed to avoid the entire swing.

'{Observation}'

Aspen Horror Sentinel | Level 4 |

Description: A Aspen Horror that has gained maturity and wields a heavy two-handed great sword. It has excellent physical strength and can remain still for long periods, only to ambush unsuspecting victims.

Harry quickly took an Energy Potion out of his belt and drank it before the Sentinel reached him again. Harry retreated again but was careful not to go too far. He didn't want to be ambushed by a second monster.

The Sentinel didn't even show up on his radar. Were there monsters that could hide their presence? He didn't count the beast in the twenty he had believed remained in the Dungeon.

It was hard to keep up with the Sentinel's speed. Barely did he retreat before it was in his face again. It was troublesome for a Mage as it had both speed and strength. Harry stumbled on a root, and the Sentinel managed to slash his chest.

Harry Potter loses 67 Energy

Energy: 31 | 100

Harry didn't have time to feel pain as he dodged another wild swing. The problem he was having was that he found it hard to cast a spell on the move. He had to be standing still to ensure that it was successfully cast. Harry frantically thought of anything he could do in the situation. It was like a frenzied dance where one more hit would destroy his shield, and the next would slice him in two.

He backed up against a tree as the Sentinel did an overhand swing; Harry evaded the attack by rolling under it and heard the sword impact the tree. Harry turned around and saw the sword embedded in the tree, and the Sentinel was struggling to pull it out. Wasting no time, he cast a {Fireball} at its back.

[Back Attack!] Sentinel has taken 17 damage.

The Sentinel pulled its sword out. Harry released another {Fireball}, and the Sentinel defended itself by holding the sword in front of its body.

Sentinel takes 4 damage.

Harry retreated and decided to try the same trick. If it had low intelligence, then it should work. The deadly dance continued, and Harry managed to whittle down its HP. However, when he thought he had it in the bag, the Sentinel raised the sword in the air. It began to emit dark energy that engulfed the sword. Harry knew he couldn't get hit by that attack. He threw another {Fireball} to try and interrupt it, but it continued to build power.

Harry drew the improvised knife and rushed the Sentinel. The sword started to descend just as he was two metres from the monster. It only occurred to Harry that he had a skill he could use and activated the {Sprint} skill. He managed to dive past the Sentinel with his increased speed, and an explosion erupted behind him, managing to score a hit on him.

Harry Potter has taken 11 damage.

Energy: 17 | 100

Getting up quickly, Harry quickly slashed the back of the Sentry with the knife.

[Back Attack!] Sentinel has taken 6 damage.

The attack seemed to have exhausted the Sentinel as it slowly stood straight. Harry frantically swung his knife, getting a few swipes in against its back.

[Back Attack!] Sentinel has taken 5 damage.

….

Sentinel has been defeated.

Monster Data + 100%

Sentinel has been added to the Bestiary.

You have earned 60 experience.

Congratulations!

You have defeated your first Elite monster!

You have earned the Title: Elite Hunter.

Elite Hunter: Increases your Attributes when facing Elite monsters by 2% for every new Elite monster slain. Current: 2%

You have reached a new threshold.

+ 1 Willpower

By repeating a specific action, you have learned a new skill!

Description: Increases the damage done with daggers. Every level in this skill increases the chance to score a double strike. It also increases the likelihood of landing a critical strike.

+ 2% damage done with daggers.

+ 2% chance to land a double hit

+ 0.5% chance to land a critical blow.

Harry collapsed on the ground and panted in exhaustion. That had been by far the most brutal fight so far. Looking at the notification, he saw the elite title next to the name. No wonder it was so hard for a level-four monster. Elites were far stronger than their counterparts at the same level. It was just his luck that he first encountered the monster's elite version.

However, he cursed himself for forgetting about the {Sprint} skill. To be fair, he had not been pushed that far in a fight so far, so he got a little flustered. Also, the skill was only helpful in one direction and wasn't useful for dodging sideways or backwards. A lesson learned, but one he won't forget.

Harry drank another Energy Potion, grimacing at the waste of another potion. Two potions were gone, and he still had the Boss to fight.

The loot on the ground caught his eye, which included a necklace. Picking it up, he looked at the piece of equipment.

'{Observation}'

Minor Energy Necklace | Equipment |

Description: A silver necklace with a Minor Energy Augment enchantment etched on the nameplate.

Harry equipped the necklace straight away, and his Energy was increased by twenty. It was a nice piece of equipment for him when he still had a Boss to fight. Next, he picked up the two-handed sword that had dropped.

Oathkeeper | Equipment |

Description: A two-handed sword cleaves its enemies in two to defend its liege. It requires a lot of strength to wield.

How was he supposed to wield this sword? It wasn't usable, so he stuck it in his inventory. He picked up another essence, a fifty-pound note and another tree sap. Harry stood up and rechecked his Map, realising he was close to another treasure chest. More alert now, Harry kept walking.

A few minutes later, he spotted the chest next to another suspicious-looking tree. Harry crouched down and pushed his glasses up as he thought about the best way to tackle the Sentinel. He could launch a {Fireball) before he was noticed, but then he would be in the thick of things. The spell did not do enough damage for his liking.

Harry snapped his fingers. His thinking was too narrow. Even if he learnt spells from a Grimoire, he could also learn skills by himself. But it would be too much work to create a new spell from scratch. What if he tried to cast the {Fireball} in both hands?

Harry retreated a distance and sat down next to a giant tree, knocking on it first just to be sure. He held up his right hand and cast {Fireball}. The ball of fire had increased by twice the size of the original.

Since it didn't disappear until he threw it, he could also try and cast the spell in his left hand. '{Fireball}'

Nothing happened. Harry checked to see if his Mana had decreased from the action, but it remained the same. Focusing back on his left hand, he concentrated. He imagined dual-wielding a fireball in each hand.

Half an hour passed. Harry scowled in frustration. It seemed that he couldn't summon two at a time. Looking at the Fireball in his right hand, he got an idea. What if he tried to separate it into two? Would it explode in his face? Convincing himself it was worth a try, he took a breath and started.

An hour later, Harry made some progress. Instead of imagining splitting the Fireball in one go, he only tried pulling a small piece of flame from the ball at first. Once he accomplished that exercise, he slowly increased the number of flames that swirled around his left hand. It was just a matter of time.

Two hours later, he managed to get the skill he wanted.

Description: Not satisfied with wielding magic in one hand, the player has learned to use his off-hand to deliver twice the punishment. Each spell is weaker than casting one spell initially, but at higher levels, the weakness will be eliminated [Command word: Dual + spell name].

Dual-casted spells are 70% as effective as the original spell.

Cost: 200% * the cost of the chosen spell.

Congratulations!

You have unlocked the Perk: Fire Affinity

Fire Affinity: [1/100%]

Description: You have a relationship with fire that goes deeper than most. You seek to master the explosive element, knowing that fire is both chaotic and erratic. Fire Affinity affects the type of fire spells the player can learn. Level up by absorbing the fire essence from the surroundings.

+1% to fire spells cast speed

-0.5% of all fire-related skill costs.

+0.25% to fire resistance

Harry smiled creepily like a pyromaniac. It was time to burn a tree down.

So what do you think? The next chapter is the boss fight, and Harry meets a new character.

Cheers.