Chapter 71: Heading to the Pacific Ocean

In terms of distance, it is only about two to three thousand kilometers from Taiwan to Xinjiang.
However, the distance from Britain to the Pacific Ocean ranges from 12,000 to 20,000 kilometers.
Even with Dumbledore’s immense capabilities, reaching it could not be done in a brief moment.
Apparition allows for instantaneous travel, but it is not without its limitations.
First, the greater the distance traveled, the higher the risk. If the distance exceeds a wizard's capacity, it results in Splinching, tearing the body apart across space.
Even someone as powerful as Voldemort could not use cross-continental Apparition.
Second, the principles of Apparition are destination, determination, and deliberation. The destination must be a place the caster is extremely familiar with. Places seen only in photographs or simply passed by once without committing the terrain and appearance to memory will not work.
Clearly, there are no landmarks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that would leave a particularly deep impression on a British wizard like Dumbledore. Even if there were, he couldn't get there.
Therefore, upon hearing Roger's request, he pondered for a moment and asked in return, "Could it not be somewhere else?"
"Somewhere else is fine too, as long as there is no trace of human habitation within a radius of a thousand kilometers."
A thousand kilometers... Dumbledore could recall a few uninhabited areas, but uninhabited did not mean entirely devoid of people; there were still observers from various government departments present.
After much deliberation, Dumbledore decided to stick to Roger's original requirement.
In fact, getting to the Pacific wasn't entirely without a quick solution.
The Floo Network.
It was a much more convenient method of spatial travel, more stable than Apparition, consumed less energy, and even children could use the Floo Network for international travel.
However, there were two problems with this.
The Floo Network was regulated by the Ministry of Magic. Normal domestic use was fine, but international use required approval from the Ministry of Magic.
Of course, one could choose to operate illicitly, but that would entail certain legal risks.

Dumbledore was a man who preferred to abide by order and would not engage in rule-breaking behavior under such circumstances.
Moreover, the Muggle international community was currently undergoing astonishing upheavals. Given Dumbledore’s status and strength, wanting to go abroad certainly required notification to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings.
There was no need to worry about the approval process. Fudge had only been in office as Minister for Magic for about a year, and lacking a firm footing, he needed Dumbledore's support everywhere. It was currently their honeymoon period, and any request from Dumbledore would undoubtedly be given a green light without a second thought.

Stepping out of the fireplace and looking at the unfamiliar country before him, Roger’s first reaction was that the Floo Network was far more comfortable than Apparition.
Currently, Roger and Dumbledore were in a small island nation near Australia in the Pacific Ocean.
Because they had given advance notice that they were merely passing through, there was no grand welcoming ceremony for Dumbledore's visit. Instead, two external affairs officers from the local wizarding institution simply came out to greet him.
Speaking of the wizarding institutions here, they were somewhat different from the British Ministry of Magic and other major nations. Britain had a population of over fifty million and produced a fair number of wizards, but these small Pacific island nations had populations that were simply too small. Consequently, instead of each country having its own Ministry of Magic, they had jointly formed the Pacific Wizarding Alliance.
...Yet, even with so many countries combined, they were not even one-tenth as strong as the British Ministry of Magic.
While magic was idealistic, it also relied heavily on heritage. Without the spells developed by predecessors and vast amounts of magical theory, navigating blindly like groping an elephant in the dark, one could easily imagine the strength of wizards in those remote and tiny nations.

"Roger."
The sky and the ocean merged into a single hue. The midday sun was somewhat searing, occasionally accompanied by drifting clouds that echoed the rolling waves, making the surrounding environment a little less desolate. The two of them, possessing zero sailing experience, boarded a rented small boat and sailed toward the depths of the ocean.
Neither of them needed navigational experience anyway; one could use Apparition, and the other could survive without food or water. No matter what kind of shipwreck might occur, it would have no impact on Roger and his companion.

"Hmm? What is it?" Roger glanced back at Dumbledore, steering the helm according to the driver’s operation manual he had obtained from a local before setting sail.
Although using magic to sail would have been more convenient, he wanted to try this kind of unfamiliar experience.

"Nothing, it's just that I’ve had a question on my mind for a while." Since it would take some time to reach the destination, and they had time to spare, Dumbledore suddenly felt like chatting with Roger about a few things.

Looking at the calm, at-ease, and ever-smiling young wizard before him, Dumbledore could not help but recall their very first meeting.
Before the Supreme Council, that young child had said with a solemn tone: 'I want to save myself, I want to save those who believe in me, I want to fulfill my promise to lead everyone to survive, and I have no regrets. Even if you find me guilty and give me a chance to turn back time and return to that battlefield, I would still choose to fight.'

"Roger, you are one of the bravest people I have ever seen in the face of death. Why are you so obsessed with eternal life, and why are you so... anxious?" This was actually a question Dumbledore had never quite understood.
There were many wizards who pursued a long lifespan, which was not surprising, but that was not what Roger was pursuing.
From the research shared with him by Roger, Dumbledore could discern that Roger was not looking for everlasting youth or infinite longevity, but rather immortality in an absolute sense. The difference between the two was vast.
The Three-Dimensional Theory started with magic, but it did not stop at magic.
If this system were pushed to its ultimate extreme, everything would become the self, achieving omniscience and omnipotence. Let alone the disappearance of a little magic, the annihilation of the universe, the collapse of space-time, or the erasure of cause and effect—even far more terrifying things would likely not be able to harm him in the slightest.

Setting aside whether this theory could support Roger in reaching that point, at least in its foundational concept, it was heading in that direction. Normally, even if one were pursuing eternal life, there was no need to go to such exaggerated lengths.
Coupled with Roger's currently displayed innate talent and his prophetic abilities, he could completely afford to take things step-by-step in many matters. Why was Roger always so urgent at every single step, constantly courting danger, as if some unspeakable existence were chasing and hunting him from behind!

Hearing Dumbledore's question, Roger could not help but laugh heartily, and then said, "Headmaster Dumbledore, you are not the first person to ask me this."
A few months ago, when he asked Professor McGonagall for the Undetectable Extension Charm, she had asked something similar.
At that time, Roger had fobbed her off by rambling about complex international situations, the tense relations between Muggles and wizards, and unknown threat theories like the cosmic dark forest theory.
His current level of power was entirely on a different tier compared to back then, and the things he had revealed to Dumbledore were much greater, so that exact same excuse would no longer be applicable.
Roger had to come up with a new narrative.
Tell the truth?
Of all things, this was the one question Roger could not tell the truth about, because it involved his deepest secret!