New Skills and Birthday

In the evening, Silas was in his own bedroom meditating daily (actually just emptying his mind and letting his magic flow naturally). The System's familiar voice echoed in his mind, with a hint of ease from completing a task:

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! After today's... uh, 'practical application' (referring to electrocuting Fluffy), your Balzaha Lightning proficiency has greatly increased, successfully leveling up to LV2! Keep up the good work. Once it reaches LV5, you can unlock two powerful spells on the next tier—Sekern Red Belt (binding magic) and Borsat's Thunder (more powerful lightning)! Just thinking about it is cool!]

Silas opened his eyes, not showing much surprise, but rather a lack of interest. He scratched his head and asked, "Sekern Red Belt... Borsat's Thunder... sounds good. But System, I'd rather learn Watoom's Wind. That spell that can whip up a huge whirlwind, it seems pretty useful for clearing out enemies or escaping."

The System was silent for a moment, as if retrieving data, then replied, [Watoom's Wind? Oh, that one. To learn it, the prerequisite is to unlock the 'Hogus Ancient Lord' skill first and reach at least LV3 proficiency.]

"Lord of Hogus?" Silas recalled the skill tree icon, "You mean that defensive spell that turns attacks into butterflies and ribbons? I want to ask, what does that have to do with 'wind'? One deals with energy transformation, the other with airflow control, they're completely unrelated!" Why do I need to learn a defensive spell to learn a whirlwind?"

The System's voice carried a hint of the helplessness and frustration a programmer faces when dealing with unreasonable requests:

[Host! Your question is very amateurish! The arrangement of the skill tree emphasizes internal logical connections and the progressive relationship of energy flow! Hogus Ancient Lord cultivates precise control and understanding of the essence of energy, the ultimate embodiment of 'overcoming hardness with softness'! Only by deeply understanding the flow and transformation of energy can you advance further and control the more violent and chaotic energy forms in nature, such as—wind!]

The System became more excited as it spoke, as if defending the dignity of its design:

[Do you think Watoom's Wind is just blowing air? That's advanced energy field manipulation! Precise guidance of atmospheric particle flow and magical tides! Without the foundation of energy micro-manipulation laid by Hogus Ancient Lord, what you unleash won't be 'Watoom's Wind', but 'Kiril's Lung Cough'! A chaotic blast, indistinguishable friend from foe!]

Silas was stunned by the System's string of professional jargon and agitated emotions. He blinked and mumbled softly, "It's that complicated... I thought it was just conjuring a wind ball..."

[Of course it's complicated!] the System stated decisively, [Magic is a rigorous science! The skill tree is even more so, formed through precise calculations and countless... (it seemed to get stuck for a moment)... anyway, it's very precise deduction! Its arrangement 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. He asked suspiciously, "System, tell me honestly... the order of your skill tree arrangement, is it... you don't even know how to arrange it anymore? Is it a bit messy? Or was it just decided on a whim?"

[...] The System fell into a three-second silence, then quickly said in a clearly unconfident tone, attempting to brush it off, [...The skill tree logic is flawless! Please do not question the professionalism of this System! Current mission: diligently improve Balzaha Lightning level! Over!]

After that, the System completely shut down. No matter how Silas called out in his mind, it no longer responded.

Silas looked at the seemingly connected, yet upon closer thought, somewhat far-fetched lines on the skill tree before him, and his mouth twitched.

"Alright," he sighed, "looks like I can't expect a reasonable explanation from this broken system. It's usable once unlocked anyway, I'll just practice it. But... turning into butterflies with Hogus Ancient Lord... it does sound quite interesting."

He closed his eyes again, focusing on condensing the energy of Balzaha Lightning, no longer dwelling on the "Schrödinger's logic" of the skill tree. After all, for Silas Kiril, any usable magic was good magic. As for why they were arranged in this order? That was the System's problem to worry about.

After concluding the "academic discussion" on the logic of the skill tree, Silas didn't immediately start practicing Balzaha Lightning. He lay on his bed, hands behind his head, staring at the simulated starry sky on the ceiling, and another thought popped into his mind. He remembered the perpetually gray branch on the skill tree, representing Dark Magic.

"System," he called out in his mind, "Right, that dark-looking skill tree, the Dark Magic one. Since I can't unlock it yet anyway, let me preview it first? Let me see what the top-tier Dark Magic looks like, give me some motivation."

The System seemed to still be sulking about the "logic questioning" from earlier and replied irritably, [...Host, don't bite off more than you can chew. Vishanti Origin is vast and profound, you haven't fully grasped it yet, and you're already thinking about the Dark Dimension? That stuff is dangerous!]

Silas was relentless, "Oh, just let me see! It won't cost me anything! Show me the most powerful one! Let me broaden my horizons!"

The System was silent for a few seconds, seemingly worn down by his persistence, and compromised, [Fine, fine! I'll let you have one look. After that, you'll obediently go practice lightning! Let you witness one of the ultimate powers of the Dark Dimension—Dormammu's Grasp!]

As the System spoke, a shocking, holographic-like scene suddenly unfolded before Silas's eyes:

In the image, a blurry figure (face unseen, but felt to be extremely powerful) hovered in a dark, void-like space. He slowly raised a hand, and in front of his palm, space began to twist and collapse madly. A miniature black hole, emitting endless suction that not even light could escape, instantly formed! Immediately after, the hand clenched into a fist with a bang!

"BOOM—!!!!!"

The black hole that had just formed was actually crushed by his bare hand! Unimaginable immense energy erupted from the point of collapse, transforming into a wave of destructive dark shockwaves that instantly swept across the entire field of vision! Space shattered, stars dimmed, as if a corner of the universe was completely erased by this single grip!

The scene ended abruptly.

Silas suddenly sat up in bed, his eyes wide, his breathing quickening. The visual impact and the sense of power from the world-destroying scene just witnessed made his heart pound!

"Holy crap!!" he couldn't help but curse, "Crushed a black hole with my bare hands?! This power... this coolness! So awesome! I want to learn it! System! I want to learn this now!"

The System's voice carried a sense of "I knew this would happen" helplessness and mockery, dousing him with a bucket of cold water:

[Learn what! Wake up! Host, look at your skill tree! What color is the Dark Magic branch right now?]

Silas subconsciously brought up the skill tree interface. The branch connecting to the Dark Dimension was still a dormant gray, with all skill icons locked.

[Gray! Unlocked!] the System emphasized, [You haven't even touched the door to Dark Magic, haven't seen the shadow of the Darkhold, and you're already thinking about learning the ultimate forbidden spell 'Dormammu's Grasp'? Do you think this is a game where you can unlock all skills by entering cheat codes?]

Silas looked at the gray branch, then savored the shocking scene again, deflating like a pricked balloon, and slumped back onto the bed.

"Sigh... alright." he lamented, "Looks like the road is still long... Forget it, forget it, I'll go conjure my little lightning bolts."

He resignedly got up and began to condense the energy of Balzaha Lightning, but in his mind, the cool image of crushing a black hole with his bare hands was deeply imprinted, becoming a distant, alluring goal. Although the door to Dark Magic was tightly shut, the sliver of ultimate power shining through the gap had planted a seed in his heart.

On the afternoon of September 19th, sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting dappled shadows among the ancient bookshelves of the Hogwarts library. Hermione Granger was sitting at her usual spot by the window, a stack of thick books before her, her quill gliding rapidly across parchment with a soft rustling sound.

A figure quietly sat down in the empty seat opposite her. Hermione looked up and saw Silas. He had a rare, pure smile on his face, unmixed with sarcasm or laziness.

"Happy birthday, Hermione!" Silas said softly, pushing two beautifully wrapped boxes towards Hermione. One box contained a variety of colorful, popular snacks from Honeydukes, and the other held a whole bundle of self-jotting quills shimmering with magical light.

Hermione was stunned. She put down her quill, her face a mixture of surprise and joy. "Huh? Thank you, Silas!" She truly hadn't expected anyone to remember her birthday, especially less than a month after the start of term. "But... how did you know it was my birthday today?" she asked curiously, as she didn't recall telling him.

Silas smiled mysteriously and waved his hand, "Don't worry about that, I have my own channels." (Internal thought: Should I say I knew from watching movies in my past life?)

Although Hermione was puzzled, the joy of receiving a birthday wish and gifts made her not probe further. She looked at the box of tempting sweets and the bundle of quills that clearly weren't cheap, and a warmth spread through her heart. This was the first birthday gift she had received from a peer since coming to Hogwarts.

She hesitated, considering whether to tell Silas that her parents were dentists and had strictly controlled her sugar intake since childhood, and that she actually enjoyed the process of writing and organizing her own notes more, finding it helped her remember better... But seeing Silas's expectant gaze, she swallowed her words.

She flashed a brilliant smile and said sincerely, "Thank you! I love them!" This wasn't entirely polite; the thought behind it made her very happy.

Seeing her like them, Silas breathed a sigh of relief, his smile becoming even brighter. "That's good! I was afraid you didn't like sweets or thought the quills were too ordinary."

He was clearly completely unaware of the "slight deviation" in his gift choices, happy only that he had chosen correctly. For Silas, expressing goodwill was straightforward—giving what he considered the best.

Hermione looked at his relaxed demeanor and also smiled, carefully putting away the gifts. "Want to share a Chocolate Frog?" she opened the candy box and invited.

"Of course!" Silas unceremoniously picked one up.

This corner of the library was temporarily filled with the sweet aroma of candy and a friendly atmosphere. For Hermione, it was a birthday full of surprises and warmth; for Silas, it was just a small act based on "memories from his past life," but it brought his friend happiness, and that feeling... seemed pretty good too.