For the first time in either of his lives, Avada realized that strengthening something didn't necessarily have a positive effect.
At the same time, it made him respect even more the achievements of the pioneers who had come before him. Through generations of exploration and research, many of the most fundamental things had already been refined to their limits. Every step was the culmination of thousands of years of experience—something he couldn't overturn with his Magic Sense alone.
Of course, that respect had its limits. There were countless examples of progress stagnating because people were constrained by experience. And his "Magic Sense" was quite possibly unprecedented, which practically gave him the authority to question and improve everything by nature.
Still, he needed to be extremely cautious when questioning and improving things. Otherwise, he'd end up with a fiasco like the one just now.
After being reprimanded by Snape, then apologizing frantically to Baron and receiving his forgiveness and comfort, Avada—thoroughly worn out—finally made it to the end of class.
Snape was the first to dismiss the class and leave the room. Most of the students quickly got to their feet and headed for the door after him. The explosions and pungent smells had made them desperate to escape the classroom as soon as possible. The bottle of azure potion was still sitting on Avada and Baron's desk, so quite a few students passed by and saw the potion Snape had so harshly criticized.
Most of them merely glanced at it and moved on. Their own brews were worse, after all, and they had no grounds to mock someone else. The Slytherins who had successfully completed the potion also refrained from making fun of them out of respect for Baron.
Avada, however, paid no attention to the strange looks. After hurriedly saying goodbye to Baron, he grabbed his bag and chased after Snape, catching up with him not far from the classroom.
"Professor, wait a moment!"
"Hm?" Snape turned around, a little surprised. He knew what people thought of him, so he'd never expected a student to dare chase him down with a question—especially not a student he'd just reprimanded.
"Professor, are you familiar with Wit-Sharpening Potion?"
Avada asked, bracing himself. Then he quickly took a deep breath, preparing for a storm of mockery and scolding.
"Oh, Wit-Sharpening Potion."
Snape raised an eyebrow and said unhurriedly, "It seems our little genius, Mr. K, has finally realized that he isn't quite as clever as he thought and wants to use a potion to become smarter?"
"Since you already know that such a potion exists, you must also know that it's a fourth-year potion, and a very difficult one even at that level. Do you think you've already mastered everything from first to fourth year? Or do you think Wit-Sharpening Potion is just like Cure for Boils, something you can brew with a little effort—and perhaps even improve with your so-called genius technique?"
"And the effects of Wit-Sharpening Potion generally last only about a day. Do you plan to drink it like water, enjoy a few months with a genius's mind, and then turn into an idiot forever?"
He gave the dumbstruck Avada a satisfied look, then turned and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Avada hadn't been stunned by the scolding. He just hadn't expected Wit-Sharpening Potion to have a limited duration and side effects.
It seemed all he could do was analyze the structure of mental energy bit by bit and see whether there was a way to forcibly improve his own talent.
After Potions came Herbology with their own Head of House, Professor Sprout. To Avada's surprise, however, Professor Sprout didn't take them to the greenhouses to show them all sorts of magical plants. Instead, she had them read their textbooks and take notes in the classroom, giving them a detailed explanation of the biological classifications of magical plants, several common physiological structures, and a brief history of the development of Herbology.
According to Professor Sprout, they had no knowledge or foundation in Herbology yet, so going to the greenhouses would be pointless. They needed to sit in the classroom and study properly first. Once they had enough knowledge, they could go to the greenhouses and put it into practice, learning more advanced material as they went.
After finishing his classes for the day, Avada still went straight to the library after dinner. He looked through a fourth-year Potions textbook to see whether he could brew Wit-Sharpening Potion on his own, observe how it affected mental energy and improved a person's talent, and then try to develop a spell or potion that could permanently improve talent.
After reading the full brewing process for Wit-Sharpening Potion, he understood what Snape meant by "very difficult even at that level":
He couldn't understand a thing.
The names of the ingredients, the kinds of equipment, the techniques involved, the formulas used in the calculations, and all sorts of symbols and terminology barred Avada from entry, keeping him from learning even the slightest thing about Wit-Sharpening Potion. To make sense of any of it, he'd have to master all the Potions material from first to fourth year—and he hadn't even fully memorized the first-year material yet.
"I was getting ahead of myself."
He sighed inwardly, and found himself respecting the as-yet-unmet Hermione Granger even more. She'd brewed Polyjuice Potion in her second year, a potion usually only covered in advanced classes in sixth year. What kind of monster was she?
"My Magic Sense is only useful for research involving physical objects. When it comes to purely theoretical, purely mathematical subjects like this, I'm no different from an ordinary person." Annoyed, he shook his head and returned the fourth-year textbook to the shelf.
"I'd better go to the Room of Requirement again and see what I can learn from the things there."
Avada left the library, then hurried up the stairs to the landing on the Seventh Floor. A figure suddenly appeared around the corner, nearly making him crash into them.
"Professor Baker?"
After stopping abruptly and recognizing the person, Avada asked in surprise.
"You're... K?"
Although they'd only met once, Professor Baker remembered the student with the absurd name and excellent classroom performance quite well, and recognized him at once.
"What are you doing here, Mr. K?"
I should be asking you that. The Defense Against the Dark Arts office is on the third floor...
"Oh, we have Astronomy tomorrow, so I wanted to take a look at the Astronomy Tower in advance, Professor." Avada gave the excuse he'd prepared earlier.
"Getting familiar with the location ahead of time is a good habit." Professor Baker nodded and headed downstairs.
Avada watched him go, frowning. Professor Baker's mental energy was even stranger than it had been that morning. He couldn't see anything unusual at all through his Magic Sense, but there was still a powerful sense of incongruity.
"Mental energy..."
Avada sighed. He really did go to the Astronomy Tower, just in case the professor secretly returned to spy on him. Then, after going back to the Seventh Floor, he quickly entered the Room of Requirement. First, he took the Diadem from his private room, then returned to the "room for hiding things" and began searching for magical objects suited to his current level of research.
There'll be another update around nine.
Before you continue