Power and Discrimination

Would Hermione be satisfied after learning one spell?

The answer was no.

Over the next few days, Hermione came to Brook's house every day.

She drove Brook crazy.

He taught her whatever he knew.

But he only knew a handful of spells in total, while Hermione's learning ability was absurdly strong.

She practically picked him clean.

Hermione, meanwhile, looked utterly satisfied.

Fortunately, Hermione did not dig too deeply into why Brook mastered some spells especially quickly while understanding others even more slowly than she did.

Through these days of study, Hermione gradually grasped some of the principles behind spellcasting.

She discovered that as long as the pronunciation was accurate, there was usually not much risk.

During her exploration, she successfully taught herself the Lighting Charm, the Repairing Charm, and the Unlocking Charm.

Meanwhile, Brook had not wasted that time either.

Over those days, he finished reading History of Magic.

The best way to quickly understand a country or a people was to study their history.

Although foreign history contained plenty of fabrications, it still had some reference value.

History of Magic recorded a wealth of content and events.

From the origins of magic and the formation of magical society to the evolution of wizard-Muggle relations, Goblin rebellions, giant wars, and more.

No matter how Brook looked at it, he saw only two words: "eating people."

When he read it alongside the Wizengamot Charter and Related Laws Dumbledore had given him,

the traits of power and discrimination became particularly obvious.

There was nothing particularly wrong with such power and discrimination when directed at other races.

After all, Great Xia had always been the most discriminatory toward outsiders since ancient times.

He had been a Great Xia man in his previous life, and that mentality had long been carved into his bones. He did not think there was anything wrong with it.

But this power and discrimination were especially obvious even within the wizarding community.

It was somewhat similar to India's caste system.

It simply was not laid out in the open.

That was a little outrageous.

There was less than a month until "8.19." It seemed he needed to prepare early.

"I need to go out in a couple of days."

Brook spoke as he looked at Hermione, who was using the Repairing Charm to mend a wooden block damaged by the Cutting Charm.

"Go out? Where are you going?"

"India."

"India? Do you have relatives there?"

"Something like that."

Brook did indeed have many relatives, though most of them were in Britain.

It was easy enough to understand why Hermione asked.

India had once been a British colony, after all, so having relatives there was nothing strange.

"It isn't safe for you to go alone, is it? How about letting my dad go with you?" Hermione said worriedly.

"No need. Someone will receive me when I get there."

"That's good, but you have to be careful."

"Don't worry."

"I'll have my dad take you to the airport later."

Brook smiled at Hermione's determined expression.

"Alright."

He knew what Hermione was worried about.

Britain was nowhere near as safe as Great Xia.

An eleven-year-old boy taking a taxi alone might end up being driven to that church.

Although he could get there through a Space Gate, the little girl would definitely worry.

Over the next few days, Hermione did not come to bother Brook again.

She probably knew Brook needed to prepare before leaving, so she gave him plenty of time.

After carefully disguising himself, Brook went to Diagon Alley again.

He had to admit, "Asian Sorcery" was truly outrageous.

His originally handsome, childish face instantly became mature and steady after some makeup.

Combined with his height of 1.58 meters, he looked slightly short, but there was no sense of incongruity overall.

In Diagon Alley, Brook smoothly completed five fairly simple tasks.

He obtained five lottery draws.

[Open an exclusive vault at Gringotts.]

[Own a Deed in Diagon Alley.]

[Eat ten different flavors of ice cream in a row at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.]

[Talk to an owl at Hoot Owl Emporium for more than ten minutes.]

[Purchase a Dark Arts book.]

Opening a vault at Gringotts required an initial deposit of one thousand Gold Galleons.

That was nothing to Brook, who possessed a large amount of gold.

The exchange rate was just a little too predatory.

One ounce of gold—just over thirty-one grams—could only be exchanged for three Gold Galleons.

In terms of pure gold weight, the ratio reached an astonishing ten to one.

Fortunately, Brook had enough gold. Otherwise, he really would not have been willing to exchange it like this.

As for the Deed, that was even simpler.

He merely mentioned it to a Goblin, and the Goblin brought out information on more than ten consigned shops.

He chose the cheapest one. As long as it completed the task, that was enough.

He found the Dark Arts book at the Second-hand Shop.

Damaged secondhand books were piled there like mountains.

As for how to pick a Dark Arts book?

As long as it was something he could learn instantly, that would do.

He could bring Hermione here later.

Although the books here were damaged, many contained extensive annotations and notes. Hermione would surely love them.

As for tasks like running the most popular shop in Diagon Alley,

he would not even consider them.

Not only would they take time and effort, but he might end up drawing nothing but a thank-you-for-your-patronage prize.

Completing these few tasks was already good enough.

The system had the nerve to issue tasks like these. Was it trying to push its luck?

Before the draw, Brook followed his usual routine: bathing, changing clothes, and praying to every god and Buddha he could think of.

"System, draw five times."

[Thank you for your patronage.]

[Thank you for your patronage.]

[Thank you for your patronage.]

[Thank you for your patronage.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: Asgardian Power.]

This power granted Asgardians extraordinary physical qualities, powerful combat ability, and a long lifespan.

This power would grow stronger as the Host aged.

Note: When the Host reached five hundred years old, his body could attain its peak state.

Brook stared at the lottery results, his eyes wide as saucers.

Could this be the Asgard from the Avengers, the one Thor came from?

He was instantly thrilled.

If he remembered correctly, Asgardians had an average lifespan of five thousand years, nearly one-third of Great Xia's history.

He quickly activated Occlumency and forced himself to calm down.

He also shut down the roulette wheel in his mind.

After quite a while, Brook finally let out a heavy breath.

A long lifespan was a good thing.

But he was only eleven years old now. No matter how long he lived, that was something for the future.

Living well was what mattered most.

He tried lifting one corner of the coffee table.

It was easy.

His strength now rivaled that of an ordinary adult.

He tested the power of the Door-Door Fruit again.

He could now cast all kinds of doors instantly.

The range of his Space Gate had also increased from three thousand meters to twenty thousand meters.

Only the Moving Door was still difficult. Using it in battle was practically impossible.

Three days later, Brook set off for India.

His first priority was naturally to scout the place out.

This time, Brook had gotten smarter.

He chose the Indian Industrial Credit Investment Bank, a private bank.

Using the identity of an investor and a box of gold bars as his introduction, he thoroughly inspected the bank's vault.

Whether it was the Indians' inexplicable confidence or some other reason,

the bank manager actually told him every protective measure around the vault without holding anything back.

As a result, Brook did not trigger a single alarm during his operation that night.

He effortlessly took most of the wealth in the vault for himself.

It was ridiculously easy.