The Echo of Complete Refinement

An autumn breeze carried a leaf through the window, spiraling down to land on Basil's straight nose.

He opened his bright blue eyes.

His focus shifted away from 'Magic Power.'

A thought drifted into his mind along with the autumn wind.

"Is this the Magic Power that can be recharged like sunlight?"

With a flick of his mind, all his Magic Power funneled into the gem slot in the upper right corner.

Clatter!

Gems: 2932.441 (+1)

"That's it? This is just bullying the honest!"

"Forget it! I'll get a wand appearance instead."

He opened the wand menu with his mind, and a row of wands appeared again.

He quickly reached for the Staff of Time.

For a moment, he forgot his earlier frustration.

This was time—the greatest power in the world.

Ding! Crackle! Crackle! Crackle! Wand wood mismatch—not acacia. Spend 2000 gems to manifest?

Basil's face crumpled like a cat's.

"Double! That's my life savings!"

He pulled his hand back in dismay. Gems were hard currency—not to be wasted.

He'd somehow chosen Dragon Knight earlier, probably drawn by the wand wood match.

"I'll just wait until I'm strong enough to rob Ollivanders Wand Shop." Basil rubbed his hands together like a fly.

"Hmm, a secondhand wand shop might suit me better."

"No! The first option has a bigger timeline deviation!"

Days passed, and soon it was August 31st.

School started tomorrow.

His gems had broken through the 4000 mark again as time went on.

Gems: 4624.442 (+0.001/s)

He'd also gotten used to sleeping alone, with no one to warm the bed.

He hadn't been idle during this time.

The Fenrir Wolf echo had been fully refined.

The eight spell bonus slots were: Killing Curse, The Killing Curse, The Cruciatus Curse, Alohomora, Disillusionment Charm, Horn-Growing Hex, Healing Charm, and Silencing Charm.

Basil was disappointed—there was no Death Eater signature Dark Mist Flight.

He'd discovered he could learn the corresponding spells by focusing on the bonus slots.

Just like learning spells from books.

The Silencing Charm and Horn-Growing Hex—two spells not mentioned in movies or games—he'd learned this way.

He now knew the Silencing Charm was a Charm: a spell that alters the target's intrinsic properties.

It could suppress his breathing, scent, body heat, and movement sounds.

The incantation was [Silence and Vanish].

Combined with the Disillusionment Charm, it should work well.

Basil suspected that's why he hadn't smelled Fenrir's disgusting odor at first.

That spell was probably the reason.

The Horn-Growing Hex was a hex—a spell that keeps the target in a negative state, closest to Dark Magic, i.e., a Curse.

It could make the target grow horns.

Cow, sheep, deer, or other horns—no restriction.

It depended on the caster's preference.

The incantation was [Root and Horn Grow].

When he first learned what the spell did, Basil shuddered for a long time.

What kind of freak would be best at a spell like this?

Given Fenrir calling him a little lamb and Fenrir's horrifying crimes, he almost instantly understood the spell's purpose.

Worth noting: learning spells this way or directly from books only cost 100 gems to make the corresponding Spell Card.

Of course, he could still cast the spell without making a Spell Card.

But when casting, he could no longer directly use wandless, silent magic, abandoning the wand, incantation, and wand movements.

He would also have to rely on himself to ensure success.

These past few days, Basil had learned the Disillusionment Charm, Silencing Charm, Alohomora, and Healing Charm through this Echo.

He had also mastered Lumos, Stunning Spell, Expelliarmus, Incendio, Aguamenti, Scourgify, Nebulus, and Immobulus by reading books.

These spells covered everything from housework, combat, defense, concealment, survival, and healing.

However, he had only spent 1,000 gems to make 10 Spell Cards.

Lumos, Scourgify, Nebulus, and Immobulus were excluded.

As for others, like Transfiguration, Professor Cat had said it was the most dangerous spell, and he wasn't planning to self-study it.

As for Dark Magic, whether it was mild Jinxes, moderate Hexes, or the most severe Curses, he wasn't ready to touch them yet.

Eating melons in the game was pretty cool.

But every book made it clear that Dark Magic would warp the user's mind.

He planned to master the only positive magic clearly described in the movies—the Patronus Charm—before getting into that.

Besides, with his Grimoire, as long as he practiced and filled up his proficiency, his cards would level up.

Once Expelliarmus was maxed out, couldn't he use it like the Killing Curse?

"Expel your life" wasn't just a joke.

All in all, he now had 11 cards.

10 Spell Cards and 1 Summoning Card.

His Grimoire had also leveled up accordingly.

Number: 000000001

Grimoire Level: 2 (1000/300)

Name: Ryan Smith / Basil Granger

Race: Wizard

Enrollment Date: 1991/07/27

Health: 10+10 (Echo Bonus: 1000 False Life: 132·231)

Magic: 7+6

Luck: 3~7

Family Traits: Dragon Blood of Red Dragon (unignited), Plant Affinity (awakened), Potions Mastery

Among them, the Disillusionment Charm, Silencing Charm, Alohomora, and Healing Charm were at Level 4 thanks to the Echo.

Using both types of magic at once, they could reach Level 5.

If he used a wand, plus the Wand Appearance bonus, the power would likely be even stronger.

But without data to back it up, Basil wasn't sure what level that would reach.

The rest of the cards were uniformly at Level 1.

As for the Summoning Card, Basil, with his Plant Affinity talent, could enhance the summoned plant, allowing its health to regenerate, increasing damage and attack speed, and shortening attack intervals.

He really should find more Magical Plants to make Summoning Cards.

But Summoning Cards couldn't provide extra magic to increase damage like Spell Cards could.

The magic cost was fixed; doubling the magic would only let him summon one more Magical Creature.

Moreover, making Summoning Cards required observing Magical Creatures, which couldn't be learned from books like spells.

Even something as mediocre as Bubble Bean Pods or Gnomes would cost 500 gems, just like Devil's Snare.

And around his house, that Redwood was too expensive.

The effect of Dittany overlapped with the Healing Charm.

He planned to look for materials in Professor Sprout's greenhouse after school started.

"Professor Sprout's greenhouse—how amazing would that be? How deadly would the Mandrake's lethal scream be if made into a card?"

Basil couldn't help but drift into a daydream.

Until "Ouch!" He kicked a cauldron.

He only then remembered what he still needed to do.

Pack everything into the trunk.

"Pack!" Basil shouted, sweeping his wand broadly across the floor.

Under the power of the Scourgify, books, clothes, a telescope, and scales all floated into the air, flying messily into the trunk.

"Hmm, still not very neat."

"Should I spend 100 Gems to make a card?" Basil bit his finger, hesitating.

His eidetic memory made it easy to find the corresponding book—"Life Magic Tips and Tricks"—and the exact page and line.

Note: If you want things to tidy themselves up, even making socks fold themselves...

After sweeping the wand broadly across the floor, you also need a light, swift flick.

Most importantly, you yourself have to have actually done housework, and done it well.

He flicked his wand hopefully.

A sock wriggled weakly, then flopped back onto the jumble of things in the trunk.

"Ah, forget it," Basil said, slamming the trunk lid shut. "At least everything's inside."

"No wonder Molly Weasley could take down Bellatrix single-handedly."

"Life curses seem simple, but using them well isn't necessarily easier than dueling."

"Always busy with housework, her magic was constantly being honed."

"While Bellatrix had been locked up for so long."

One extra chapter.

Before going on the shelves, I usually update once a day to stockpile drafts.

After all, in a while, I might be transferred to a new department, and things will get busier then.

PS: Thanks to classmate Agonie_Ce, classmate Tai Shi Corn Silk for their monthly tickets, and other classmates for their recommendations.