My Turn, Draw Cards!

Before the enormous floor-to-ceiling window patterned with latticework, the man who had been standing with his back turned finally faced his visitor. His short silver-white hair was wild, his handlebar mustache neatly trimmed. His face was deeply lined, yet merely standing there, he exuded a peculiar charm.

Gellert Grindelwald gave the newcomer a gentle smile. "Vita, even in private, I would prefer you to address me as Headmaster or Professor."

Vinda Rosier gave a respectful slight bow. "Yes, Grindelwald—Professor Grindelwald."

Grindelwald turned away, his voice distant. "It seems you simply cannot change. All right, let's discuss business."

"This year's admissions have been promising. Many Young Wizards from Muggle Families have chosen our Newmontgard."

"Mm. What about England?"

"Compared to other regions, the proportion of young wizards in England choosing Newmontgard has dropped considerably."

Grindelwald's fingers resting on the railing tapped a few times without rhythm. His tone was relaxed. "Only to be expected."

"Professor Grindelwald," Rosier said, folding her arms across her chest, a trace of confusion in her voice, "now that the beginning of glory has arrived, should I send more people to win them over?"

Grindelwald waved a hand. "No need. Absolutely no need."

"I understand." Rosier had never questioned any of Grindelwald's decisions.

Grindelwald braced both hands forcefully against the railing. Gazing into the distance, he wore a joyous, unrestrained expression. It was as though he were speaking to himself, or perhaps conversing with someone else. "A new era is about to begin, Albus. Let us see who is right."

After returning to his room, while his family was still calming down, Sean opened the updated system.

The system, once empty, finally displayed text.

Name: Sean Wallop (Muggle Family, bloodline unknown)

Magical Items: None

Charms Talent: 4 (Study hard, and you still have a chance.)

Transfiguration Talent: 7 (Keep working hard, and you will surely become a Transfiguration Master.)

Potions Talent: 2 (When Brewing Potions, you have only one main goal: stay alive.)

Magical Creature Affinity: 9 (Are you a born Archdruid?!)

Ancient Runes Talent: 0 (Excuse me, has a troll licked your brain?)

...

Dark Arts Talent: 8 (Try harder—Azkaban is waving at you.)

Sean's mouth twitched. His talents looked pretty good, but this Dark Arts Talent...

Was he born to belong in Azkaban?

Continuing downward, he found a long string of question marks, presumably things that had yet to be unlocked.

(For now, you are just a handsome weakling.)

That was the system's evaluation.

Sean curled his lip and opened the Lottery Draw page.

In the upper-right corner were the 3,850 points he had saved up, while in the center of the page sat a box glowing faintly.

After reading the rules, it seemed this system had never taken inspiration from the various mobile game banners of later generations. It only had a simple draw function.

One draw cost ten points. There was neither pity nor any limit; what he got depended entirely on luck.

The prizes were divided into four tiers: white, blue, purple, and gold. Their specific contents were not revealed.

Hesitation meant defeat!

Sean rubbed his hands together and went straight for a ten-pull.

You have obtained a pair of round-framed glasses.

You have obtained a box of Cockroach Cluster.

You have obtained a Lightning Scar Sticker.

Sean's vision went dark. Everywhere he looked was blue sky and white clouds!

"Shit..."

A pile of useless junk filled his inventory, but one card caught Sean's attention.

Mundungus's Call (Blue): After using this card, your chance of successfully stealing will increase slightly for one hour.

Sean: "..."

What the hell was he supposed to do with something meant for petty theft?!

"Again!"

Grawp's Charge (Blue): After using this card, you will gain increased strength for half an hour, while your intelligence drops sharply.

So it was a reckless charge, huh?

"Again!"

Umbridge's Gaze (Blue): After using this card, you will become utterly uncouth for half an hour.

So it was for disgusting people? Toad-face, trash it!

"Draw!"

"Draw!"

After sixty draws, Sean's eyes had gone dark, and he changed his strategy to single pulls...

Only single pulls can change my fate...

Finally, on his ninety-first draw, Sean obtained his second purple-quality prize.

"Shitty system..."

Sean opened his inventory with lifeless eyes, only to discover in surprise that the new purple item formed a set with the previous one.

George Weasley's Trick (Purple): Single-use item. After use, you are guaranteed to escape from the scene of a prank.

Fred Weasley's Trick (Purple): Single-use item. After use, you are guaranteed to learn who the winner will be in a wager.

The two cards looked rather frivolous, but the two instances of "guaranteed" made Sean's eyes light up. Their set effect was also incredibly powerful.

Twin Stars Set Effect: Fuse the cards to randomly copy one spell possessed by the target. The success rate and the level of the acquired spell are inversely proportional to the difference in strength between the two parties.

After reading the effect, Sean immediately thought of Dumbledore. If he could copy that old man's spells...

However, the randomness of the copied spell and the massive difference in strength between them calmed Sean down.

He would consider it later.

Looking at his remaining points, Sean struggled for a while before finally pressing the draw button.

As long as I get gold, I'll stop!

Absolutely!

His hundredth draw was white...

Sean's lips trembled. There really was no pity system...

Fortunately, three draws later, golden light finally flashed!

Overwhelmed enough to cry, Sean immediately checked the details.

Freely Assignable Talent Points ×1 (Gold).

Sean:!

This was the real deal!

Other things could be strengthened through effort, but talent could not be changed.

Glancing at his Attribute Panel, Sean hesitated briefly before assigning the point directly to Transfiguration.

Strengthening his greatest strength first had always been Sean's style. Besides, Transfiguration was actually one of the most versatile branches of magic. Investing in it could never be a loss.

As the number 7 became 8, the description in parentheses changed as well.

Transfiguration Talent: 8 (A once-in-a-century Transfiguration genius!)

Sean looked at his remaining points with some heartache, then turned his gaze back to the draw pool.

How about... one more?

Though the draw page was extremely simple, the faintly glowing box at its center continued to tease at Sean's heart.

It felt like some part of his heart was itching...

After struggling for quite a while, Sean still made the sinful choice.

Draw! One last... no, ten last draws!

As the point total changed, golden light flashed once more.