Gaining Experience, Steady as a Rock~

"Ding~ You listened carefully to Professor Flitwick's explanation and gained a deeper understanding of the spell 'Lumos.' Lumos gained 25 experience. The Experience Pool gained 25 experience."

Lumos (White), lv1 (38/200).

Ted had already taught himself Lumos before this.

Other than the 25 experience from attending class, the remaining 13 experience had come from practicing the spell himself.

Aside from being affected by the level of skills like "Spells," magic itself also had levels. They represented one's mastery and proficiency with that particular spell.

If someone was especially talented at and fond of a certain spell, they might raise it to a very high level.

The practical portion arrived soon enough, and Professor Flitwick had the students try casting on their own.

Ted had taught himself this spell on the very first day he got his wand, so he cast it immediately.

Professor Flitwick was naturally generous toward his own students. "Very good, Mr. Epiphany has already cast it. What beautiful light! Five points to Ravenclaw!"

Ted: Our Head of House is so generous! Hermione cast Lumos right afterward as well. Though her light was neither as bright nor as steady as Ted's, it was undoubtedly a success.

"Excellent, Granger Miss has succeeded too. Another two points to Ravenclaw!"

Hermione could not help puffing out her cheeks. Why did I only get two points? Ted: Sorry, Hermione. Next year—next year, I'll let you have them all.

The little snakes beside them were naturally unhappy, silently grumbling that Professor Flitwick was desperately handing points to his own House students.

The second afternoon class was Herbology with Hufflepuff, held in the Herb Greenhouse southeast of the castle.

Various magical plants and herbs were cultivated here, managed by Hufflepuff's Head of House and Herbology professor, Professor Sprout.

Professor Sprout was a short, plump Witch. Her pointed hat and robes were both old and dusty. She looked like someone wholly devoted to Herbology and unconcerned with her appearance.

She was exceptionally easygoing and friendly, and she taught wonderfully, explaining everything in a calm, engaging manner. Combined with the living herbs and plants in the greenhouse, the class was extremely vivid.

Ted answered a question that was not mentioned in the textbook and earned five points. Sweet! Points for answering questions—there's hope for that quest!...

After classes ended in the afternoon, they had dinner. Once they were done eating, most of the new students went to the library.

After all, students who did not do their homework on the first day of school were truly rare.

They had attended three classes today, and together those classes had assigned a foot of homework.

To write homework after class, they had to go to the library to look up materials and copy down a little more theory.

But that was no problem for Ted. He did not need to look up information for many things; he could simply write them down. It was very easy to pad the word count.

Filler writing was his specialty~ But Hogwarts' library was somewhere he absolutely had to visit.

A third of Hogwarts' value was in this library! It was the place with the largest and most comprehensive collection of magical books in all of Great Britain's wizarding world.

Beyond its thousand years of accumulated books, it also had donations from outstanding alumni from every field. It could be said that no family or organization possessed more magical books than this place.

While his companions were still battling their homework, Ted finished his in just over ten minutes.

"Ding~ You carefully completed the professors' assigned homework and gained something from it. +15 experience."

Including the experience from class today, he had gained a total of 75 points. A tremendous haul! Then Ted casually picked up a book on Transfiguration theory and began reading.

"Ding~ Quest triggered:

The Ladder of Wizarding Progress (Blue)

In the largest library in Great Britain, you are like a mouse that has fallen into a rice bin. What are you waiting for? Read!

Objective: Read 100 books from the library's collection.

Reward: 400 experience, Body Strengthening Manual card (Blue).

Train your brain before training your body. To be a wizard, you need profound knowledge and a strong physique~"

Woohoo~ Wonderful~ Ted held Gamp's Basic Laws of Transfiguration in his hands, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

If someone else had to do this quest, they would not finish it in two or three years.

But for him, it would be effortless!

He could finish a book in minutes.

As for whether he understood it or not, he could study it slowly later. The quest did not say he had to learn it, anyway! Seeing the bizarre grin on Ted's face, his companions were all frightened. Ron nudged Jerry with his elbow. "Look, look at Ted!"

Jerry looked at Ted. "He's laughing like crazy~" Neville sucked in a breath, full of admiration. "No wonder Ted is so amazing. Look how much he loves reading!"

Hermione bit her lip. I can work even harder!

Ted began "scanning books." That was right, not reading—scanning! His eyes moved like electronic scanners, while his hands never stopped turning the pages. He shut out the entire world; in his eyes, there was only the book and the words on its pages.

His concentration was palpable. It was as though the person before them was merely an empty shell, his entire mind immersed in the book.

Not only were his companions dumbfounded, even Madam Pince, the librarian approaching them, furrowed her brow.

"This student, that isn't how you read a book~"

Ted was pulled from his Flow State. Smiling faintly, he recited a passage backward for her.

Madam Pince left with an odd expression. Even after returning to her desk, she occasionally craned her neck to look at Ted in the distance.

His companions were even more stunned. Th-this is a genius who can recite anything backward?! They had all come on the same train, so how could the gap in talent be this huge?!

Ron had already given up on comparing himself to anyone. After all, he had never beaten anyone in all these years.

Seeing Ted's Parchment filled to the brim with writing, he was immediately tempted.

"Ted~ Ted~" His voice was unbearably syrupy.

Jerry and Harriett stood nearby with equally "affectionate" expressions.

Ted did not even glance at them. He simply pushed his homework over. Don't disturb me while I'm doing quests!

Ted had memorized the four or five books he had brought over, but he felt it was better not to go too far and to take things slowly.

After all, it still drained quite a bit of mental energy. Reading a hundred books in one go was unrealistic. Spreading it over several weeks would be much more reasonable~ Seeing that his companions were still "referencing" his homework, he stood and began wandering through the library.

Hogwarts' library was enormous. Its two floors covered at least two or three thousand square meters! Countless towering bookshelves stretched from the floor to the five-meter ceiling, and ladders were needed to reach many of the books.

Before he realized it, the aimlessly wandering Ted had reached the depths of the library, where more than a dozen rows of bookshelves were cordoned off by black ropes and warning signs—the Restricted Section!

Ted could sense the chaotic, immense fluctuations of Magic Power here. Many of these books carried magic themselves. This was a treasure vault within a treasure vault!

"Ding~ Quest triggered:

Forbidden Books Are the Essence of the Library (Red)

Hogwarts' Restricted Section contains extremely precious and dangerous magical books, including ancient magic accumulated over hundreds and thousands of years, as well as exceedingly dangerous forbidden knowledge. You can't possibly skip these!

Objective: Read 10 works from the Restricted Section.

Reward: 800 experience, +lv1 Dark Magic, random card.

The Restricted Section? Reading forbidden books by the fire on a snowy night—how wonderful~"

Ted glanced from afar at Madam Pince, then turned and walked away from the Restricted Section.

It was not time yet. It was far from time.

Ted had considered his own situation long before school started.

He was not The Boy Who Lived, the savior of Great Britain's wizarding world. He did not have many chances to make mistakes.

His main task in the first school year was to build a foundation, learn the knowledge allowed by the school, and truly step into the wizarding world.

Not to cause trouble everywhere—sneaking out at night, secretly reading forbidden books, breaking into the Forbidden Forest... That would be courting death!

Even if he had quests, he could not rush to complete them.

His current task was to learn magic. Only after his foundation was secure could he think about other things.

Though the protagonists in the novels he had read in his previous life had all gone wild around school during their first year, he was truly living in this world now.

Did they really think Hogwarts never expelled students?!

Thanks to reader "Wo Ruier Te Cheng" for the 1,500 tip!

Thanks to reader "Sima Xianqing" for the 1,000 tip!

Thank you both~