That evening, Silas carried out his daily "meditation" in his dormitory—really just emptying his mind and letting his magic flow naturally. The system's familiar voice rang out in his head, carrying the relieved tone of someone who had completed a task:
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! After today's... uh, "practical application" (meaning electrocuting Fluffy), your Balzaha Lightning proficiency has risen sharply, successfully leveling up to LV2! Keep it up! Once it reaches LV5, you can unlock two powerful spells on the next tier—Sekern Red Belt (binding magic) and Borsat's Thunder (an even stronger lightning spell)! Just thinking about it looks cool!]
Silas opened his eyes. There was no great delight on his face; instead, he looked somewhat uninterested. Scratching his head, he asked:
"Sekern Red Belt... Borsat's Thunder... they sound pretty good. But, System, I want to learn Watoom's Wind more. The spell that can whip up a huge tornado—it seems useful for clearing the field or making an escape."
The system fell silent for a moment, seemingly retrieving data, before replying:
[Watoom's Wind? Oh, that. To learn it, you first need to unlock Hogus Ancient Lord and raise its proficiency to at least LV3.]
"Lord of Hogus?" Silas recalled the icon on the skill tree. "The dispelling spell that turns attacks into butterflies and ribbons? What does that have to do with 'wind'? One is energy conversion, the other is airflow control. They're completely unrelated! Why do I need to unlock dispelling before I can learn a tornado?"
The system's voice took on the helpless, exasperated tone of a programmer facing an unreasonable demand:
[Host! That is such an amateur question! The arrangement of the skill tree follows an internal logical connection and a progressive relationship in energy circulation! Lord of Hogus cultivates precise control and understanding of energy's essence. It is the ultimate expression of using softness to overcome strength! Only by deeply understanding the flow and transformation of energy can you advance further and command more violent, chaotic forms of natural energy, such as—wind!]
The more it spoke, the more agitated it became, as if defending the dignity of its own design:
[Do you think Watoom's Wind is just blowing a puff of air? It is advanced energy-field manipulation! It is the precise guidance of atmospheric particle currents and magical tides! Without the foundation of fine energy control provided by Lord of Hogus, what you unleash will not be "Watoom's Wind," but "Kiril's Lung Cough"! You'll be blowing wildly in every direction, unable to distinguish friend from foe!]
Silas was stunned by the stream of technical jargon and the system's emotional outburst. He blinked and muttered softly, "Is it really that complicated... I thought I just had to make a little wind ball..."
[Of course it is complicated!] the system said decisively. [Magic is a rigorous science! And the skill tree was formed through precise calculations and countless... (it seemed to freeze up for a moment)... anyway, through extremely precise deductions! Its layout is the most efficient and reasonable path! Host, stop being so picky!]
Listening to the system's somewhat flustered explanation, Silas suddenly caught something unusual. Suspiciously, he asked, "System, tell me honestly... the order of this skill tree, is it because... you don't know how to arrange it either? Is it kind of a mess? Or did you just decide it on a whim?"
[...] The system fell silent for a full three seconds, then hurriedly said in an obviously unconvincing tone, trying to gloss it over, [...the skill tree's logic is perfect! Host, please do not question this system's professionalism! Current task: work hard to increase Balzaha Lightning's level! Over!]
With that, the system completely played dead. No matter how Silas called out to it in his mind, it refused to respond.
Silas stared at the connections on the skill tree. They looked related at first glance, but the more he thought about them, the more forced they seemed. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Fine," he sighed. "Looks like there's no hope of getting a reasonable explanation out of this junk system. Whatever. As long as the skill can be unlocked and used, I'll train it first. Still... Lord of Hogus turning things into butterflies does sound pretty interesting."
He closed his eyes again and focused on gathering the energy of Balzaha Lightning, no longer dwelling on the skill tree's "Schrödinger's logic." After all, to Silas Cyril, any magic that worked was good magic. As for why they were arranged in that order? That was the system's headache.
After their "academic discussion" about the logic of the skill tree, Silas did not immediately start practicing Balzaha Lightning. He lay on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the simulated starry sky on the ceiling as another thought surfaced. He remembered the branch on the skill tree that had remained gray the whole time—the one representing Dark Magic.
"System," he called out in his mind, "oh, right, that pitch-black branch of the skill tree—the Dark Magic one. I can't unlock it anyway, so let me preview it first, will you? Let me see what the strongest Dark Magic looks like. Give me some motivation."
The system still seemed upset over the earlier "questioning of its logic" and answered irritably:
[...Host, don't bite off more than you can chew. Vishanti Origin is vast and profound, yet you have not even mastered it before you are already thinking about the Dark Dimension? That stuff is dangerous!]
Silas refused to let it go. "Come on, just let me look! It won't hurt anyone! Show me the strongest one! Let me broaden my horizons!"
The system fell silent for several seconds, seemingly unable to endure his pestering any longer, before conceding:
[Fine, fine! I'll let you see it once. After that, go practice your lightning properly! Let me show you one of the ultimate powers of the Dark Dimension—Dormammu's Grasp!]
As the system spoke, a breathtaking scene like a holographic projection suddenly unfolded before Silas's eyes:
In the image, a blurry figure—his face impossible to make out, though he felt unimaginably powerful—floated in a void of darkness. He slowly raised one hand. Before his palm, space began to twist and collapse violently, and a miniature black hole appeared in an instant, radiating endless gravitational pull so powerful that even light could not escape. Then, that hand suddenly clenched into a fist!
BOOM—!!!!!
The newly formed black hole was crushed apart by his bare hand! An unimaginable amount of energy erupted from the point of collapse, becoming a devastating dark shockwave that instantly swept across the entire view! Space shattered inch by inch, the stars dimmed, and it was as though a corner of the universe had been completely erased by that single grasp!
The image ended abruptly.
Silas shot upright in bed, his eyes wide and his breathing quickened. The visual impact and sense of power from that world-ending scene made his heart pound furiously!
"Holy shit!!" he blurted out. "Crushing a black hole with his bare hand?! That power... that sheer style! That's awesome! I want to learn it! System! I want to learn it right now!"
The system's voice carried the helpless mockery of someone who had known this would happen all along, dumping a bucket of cold water over his head:
[Learn what? Wake up! Host, look at your skill tree! What color is the Dark Magic branch right now?]
Silas instinctively brought up the skill tree interface. The branch connected to the Dark Dimension was still dormant gray, and every skill icon on it remained locked.
[Gray! Locked!] the system emphasized. [You have not even touched the gates of Dark Magic, nor have you seen so much as the shadow of the Darkhold, and you are already thinking about learning the ultimate forbidden spell, "Dormammu's Grasp"? Do you think this is a game where you can unlock every skill by entering a cheat code?]
Silas looked at the gray branch, then recalled the staggering scene he had just witnessed. Like a punctured balloon, he wilted and flopped back onto the bed.
"Ah... fine," he lamented. "Looks like I still have a long way to go... Whatever, whatever. I'll go make my little lightning bolts first."
Resigned, he climbed out of bed and began gathering the energy of Balzaha Lightning. Yet the image of crushing a black hole with a bare hand had been deeply imprinted in his mind, becoming a distant but intensely alluring goal. The gates of Dark Magic remained tightly shut, but the faint glimmer of ultimate power shining through their crack had already planted a seed in his heart.
On the afternoon of September 19, sunlight streamed through the tall windows of the Hogwarts library, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow among the ancient bookshelves. Hermione Granger sat in her usual seat by the window, thick books piled before her as her quill raced across parchment with a soft scratching sound.
A figure silently took the empty seat opposite her. Hermione looked up and saw Silas. He wore a rare smile—pure and untainted by sarcasm or laziness.
"Happy birthday, Hermione!" Silas said softly, pushing two beautifully wrapped boxes toward her. One contained an assortment of colorful, popular snacks from Honeydukes, while the other held an entire bundle of shorthand quills gleaming with magical luster.
Hermione froze, setting down her quill. Her face was filled with surprise and joy. "Oh? Thank you, Silas!" She truly had not expected anyone to remember her birthday, especially when the school term had not even been underway for a month. "But... how did you know today was my birthday?" she asked curiously. She did not remember telling him.
Silas gave her a mysterious smile and waved a hand. "Don't worry about that. I have my own sources." Was I supposed to tell her I knew from watching movies in my previous life?
Although Hermione was puzzled, the joy of receiving birthday wishes and gifts kept her from looking into it any further. Looking at the tempting box of candy and the bundle of obviously expensive quills, warmth rose in her heart. This was the first birthday gift she had received from someone her own age since arriving at Hogwarts.
She hesitated, wondering whether she should tell Silas that her parents were dentists and had strictly limited her sugar intake since childhood. Besides, she actually preferred writing and organizing her notes by hand, feeling that it helped her remember things more deeply... But when she saw the expectant look in Silas's eyes, she swallowed those words.
She gave him a brilliant smile and said sincerely, "Thank you! I really like them!" It was not entirely polite pleasantry. The thought behind the gifts alone made her very happy.
Seeing that she liked them, Silas relaxed, and his smile brightened further. "That's great! I was worried you might not like sweets or think the quills were too ordinary."
He was clearly completely unaware of the slight mismatch in his gift choices, only happy that he had picked the right presents. To Silas, expressing kindness was this simple—giving what he believed to be the best things.
Hermione looked at his relaxed expression and smiled as well, carefully putting away the gifts. "Would you like to have a Chocolate Frog?" She opened the candy box and offered.
"Of course!" Silas said, picking one up without hesitation.
For the moment, this corner of the library was enveloped in the sweet fragrance of candy and a friendly atmosphere. For Hermione, it was a birthday filled with surprise and warmth; for Silas, it was merely a casual gesture based on memories from his previous life. Yet being able to trade it for a friend's happiness... that feeling seemed rather nice too.
Before you continue