Professor's Touch Upon My Crown, and I Receive Eternal Life (Not Really)

Aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and supercomputers were all crystallizations of modern human science.

But if someone from another planet wanted a more comprehensive understanding of humanity's level of civilization, they certainly would not look for answers in those things.

Did people know cells existed? Did they understand atoms? How far had human mathematics progressed? Could humanity's methods of observing the microscopic world monitor the quantum realm? How did humans believe the universe had come into being? What proportion of the universe's total mass could humanity observe and utilize...

Those were the better indicators of a civilization's technological development.

Progress in fundamental science determined humanity's understanding of the world, and humanity's understanding in turn advanced every technology within civilization.

The same was true here.

How deeply did wizards understand magic, the source of their power? What was a wizard's worldview? What was the upper limit of the power wizards could wield?

Those were the things Roger was truly curious about.

Whether it was Standard Spells, Grade 1 or A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, they only described the techniques of casting spells. They were not entirely without deeper content, but such matters were generally only touched on in passing.

It was like a first-grade language textbook. Aside from pinyin, it contained only simple words, perhaps with a rough explanation of what those words meant.

It would not discuss the origins of writing, how it had evolved generation after generation, or the respective strengths, weaknesses, and characteristics of cuneiform, pictographs, phonetic writing, and ideographic writing.

The material in a first-year spellbook could not even be called an art, much less a Way. It was merely the technique of casting spells.

...Of course, ordinary Hogwarts first-years already complained bitterly about learning even that much. Something more profound? Spare them.

Those who were truly gifted would seek out more powerful spells in the school library themselves, even previewing second- and third-year material in their first year.

But Roger was different.

His goal was to become an Eternal Life seeker.

Not a magical technician or combat wizard who knew a few spells.

He did not want to learn spells in a muddle.

From the very beginning, he wanted to establish a complete conceptual framework for magic.

It was like the foundation of the Great Way. A tiny error could lead a thousand miles astray. Perhaps there would be ways to remedy it later, but the time and effort it would consume, and the precious resources wasted on detours, would be unimaginable.

Just like in Hunter x Hunter: both practiced Nen, yet Gon Freecss, taught by Shingen-ryu, was worlds apart from certain self-taught fighters in Heaven's Arena. Those who did not understand the essence of Nen might even become more twisted the harder they trained, ultimately able to use only thirty percent of their full potential.

Roger wanted to attain long life before his own lifespan ran out. Naturally, he had to eliminate such distractions as thoroughly and swiftly as possible.

Every day of life was precious. There was still some time before school started, and Roger did not want to waste it.

Roger disliked lies. He frankly told Professor McGonagall roughly what he was thinking.

"So that's how it is." Roger's actions further reinforced Professor McGonagall's preconception.

This Little Seer had definitely foreseen something with his gift of prophecy! Magic was an immensely profound field of study, and for various reasons, magical knowledge was full of technological black boxes and even contradictions.

Constructing one's own understanding of a magical system was generally something scholars who wished to delve deeply into magic did only after learning vast amounts of magical knowledge.

That question absolutely should not have come from the mouth of a young wizard who had never encountered magic before.

"You don't need to look here. If you're interested in these things, I have some books at home that I think are quite well written. I'll mail them to you in a while," Professor McGonagall said.

Professor McGonagall did not think Roger was aiming too high.

One could see it from Hogwarts' house system, as well as the various clubs throughout the school, such as the Transfiguration Club, which were led by professors.

Hogwarts was a place that emphasized teaching according to aptitude.

Happy education and elite education coexisted here.

Young wizards without much talent learned the classroom material, earned a diploma, and went to work at wizarding businesses such as Magical Candy Factory and Magical Creature Farm.

Talented wizards, meanwhile, taught themselves knowledge beyond the curriculum, then joined clubs for extra lessons and exposure to cutting-edge magical knowledge.

In Professor McGonagall's view, the fact that Roger could ask such a question meant he was qualified to read those books.

Yet while Professor McGonagall chose to believe Roger, she had no intention of personally guiding him.

As she had said before, magical knowledge was full of technological black boxes and even contradictions. Every magical researcher's framework for magic was somewhat different, and no one dared claim that their own understanding of the world was absolutely correct.

McGonagall had never taught a seer, but she believed that a seer who could see the future and valued his life would not jump into a pit on his own.

He could know the future. There was a good chance his path would be more "correct" than hers.

All she needed to do was become his support and back him up.

Hearing that Professor McGonagall was willing to share her carefully selected reading list, Roger naturally went along with it and stopped searching Flourish and Blotts aimlessly.

They placed the textbooks into the cart holding the owl, cauldron, and assorted other items, then headed back toward the Leaky Cauldron.

As Gryffindor's Head of House and the professor of Transfiguration, McGonagall was usually rather busy. In these months leading up to the start of term, she was even busier.

There were far more children like Roger, whose parents were not wizards and who needed guidance. Naturally, she could not stay with Roger every day.

After completing the shopping with Roger, Minerva McGonagall immediately rushed off to continue her other work.

Fortunately, she had not forgotten her agreement with Roger.

A few days later, several owls that looked somewhat overburdened dragged stack after stack of books to the ledge outside Roger's window.

When he removed the brown-paper wrapping, dozens of books appeared before Roger!

The History of Spell Evolution: Mutual Interference Between Muggle Thought Trends and Spell Creation was written by a modern American wizard. Roger had no recollection of that name from the films.

Mana: The Power of Mind's Reflection was credited to Abe and written around the year 1000 during the Heian Period.

Zen and Magic: A Research Report on the Differences in Spellcasting Between the Enlightened and Ordinary Wizards was written by a monk from ancient India.

Research on the Relationship Between Faith and Mana, Volume Five: Do Magical Creatures That Receive Incense and Worship Possess Greater Spiritual Intelligence? came from China, though its author was anonymous.

The Connection Between Soul and Brain came from the Department of Mysteries of the British Ministry of Magic.

Besides those, there were titles such as Is Spellcasting Under Extreme Emotions a Mistaken Path?, Ritual Magic is More Than Just Blood Sacrifice, Where to Find the Great Way, The Origin of Consciousness Hypothesis, Is Mana a Form of Energy or a Universal Law?, Dreams, Subconsciousness, and Magic, Which Is the Core of Spellcasting: the Ego, the Id, or the Superego?, The Ultimate Wizard's Brain in a Vat, Bloodline Magic and Transfiguration: Speculations for a Future Era...

Among the towering mountains of books before him, few involved specific spells. They were almost all books on theoretical systems.

In broad terms, these books ranged from the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors all the way to last year, 1990. Their authors came from all over the world. Some contained theories that had been verified to a certain extent, but far more were conjectures about magical theory and research reports filled with data that had yet to yield definitive answers.

After flipping through them briefly, Roger found that some books even held completely opposite, sharply conflicting views.

Looking at the books that nearly filled his room, Roger had only one thought.

"Is Professor McGonagall thinking a little too highly of me?"

"Can I finish all of these before school starts?"