Final Preparations for Hogwarts

Time passed quickly, as if in the blink of an eye. July slipped away, August followed, and the calendar suddenly flipped to September 1st.

Still in the hotel room, Ezio changed his lodging every so often. During this period, he hadn't encountered any accidents, and his study of magic had been very smooth.

However, the spells for higher grades were much more difficult than those for the lower ones. The difficulty mainly lay in the parts not described in detail in the books, which could only be learned through the guidance of a professor.

Take the Accio spell from the fourth year, for example. It isn't hard to master making an object fly toward you, but making an object fly toward you with precision adds a great deal of challenge.

As the distance increases, the difficulty of summoning items with Accio becomes higher and higher, not to mention the series of "summoning" spells expanded with Accio as the core. The fact that wizards can "conjure" food out of thin air does not rely on Transfiguration, but on high-level summoning spells upgraded and expanded based on Accio.

This involves the precise orientation of spells toward a target. In the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, the records regarding this can be described as difficult to put into words; one simply cannot learn it by following the book. Either you practice and comprehend it slowly on your own, or you must listen to the teacher and practice along with them.

The limit for self-studying spells is probably the fourth year. Magic spells above the fourth year require the guidance of school professors, and moving forward by groping in the dark involves no small amount of difficulty.

During this time, Ezio also tried to self-study Potions. Compared to spells, Potions is something that, if not for the prerequisite that "magic must be involved," even a Muggle could easily master. At least, before getting into high-level potions, there is nothing in the study of Potions that can be called difficult. As long as your hands are steady, you follow the standard steps, concentrate without distraction, and don't play any fancy tricks like "I think it should be done this way," the brewing of potions will not go wrong.

But when the difficulty of potions reaches a high level, the brewing requires the wizard to participate more actively. During the brewing process, the wizard needs to use methods like stirring with a wand to fuse magic power with the potion. This stage tests the wizard's control over magic power, and even the wizard's talent. Some fools will never figure out the situation in their entire lives, while others understand it instantly. Ultimately, this is also a subject where talent determines the ceiling.

In the study of magic, Ezio deeply realized the importance of magical talent to a wizard's future achievements. Without the corresponding talent, even with a hundred times the effort, one cannot reach the level that others can casually tinker together.

Especially Transfiguration. Compared to spells and Potions, the level of abstraction in this subject was very high from the start. Ezio, who had been able to chew through all the spells before the fourth year, hit a wall with Transfiguration. Even though he had already set aside a full four hours every day to study it, after so many days of effort, he had only mastered the entry-level magic of transforming inanimate objects into other inanimate objects.

"Even Peter Pettigrew could learn to turn into a rat in his fifth year; could it be that I'm worse than him?"

Ezio, unable to figure it out, felt a bit depressed. His passion for Transfiguration was no less than his passion for spellcasting. If he could skillfully use Transfiguration, he would be equivalent to Jackie Chan entering a furniture store; anything at hand could become a lethal weapon. He could even develop one or more sets of moves that could scare the predecessors of the assassins to death, truly achieving the act of killing without a trace.

However, what inspired him the most were not these textbooks, but the few magic books he bought from Borgin. Borgin, who insisted that these books were rare copies collected by wizarding families, demanded a high price. Five books, averaging eighty Galleons each—he was definitely a black-hearted shopkeeper.

Apart from some Dark Arts knowledge, the biggest gain Ezio got from these books was learning about some things that had been abandoned by the modern magical world but were very practical for him.

--Spell Materialization.

This was originally a technique used to solidify curses, turning curse magic from a concept into a tangible medium for transmission. Wizards of the past also used it to temporarily enchant weapons or other equipment, which was the initial prototype of magical items.

In the early days, besides carrying a wand, most wizards also carried a self-defense weapon, such as a Wizard Sword. Magic spells at that time were not yet perfect, and many common combat spells used today had not been developed. This means of materializing magic and even curses was a very good supplement.

For wizards today with a full range of methods, this magical technique has been completely eliminated. But as an assassin, Ezio was very interested in this.

If a spell were solidified into a flying knife, then with his hand speed, he could throw two rounds of knife rain in one second—that is, sixteen flying knives—hitting the target with 100% accuracy within a range of thirty meters. It would be equivalent to 16 spells per second, and the flight speed of the flying knives would be much faster than a wand shot directly!

The flight speed of spells shot from a wizard's wand seems fast, but for Ezio, who can tilt his head to dodge crossbow bolts within ten meters, the flight speed of a spell is like an old lady running a hundred-meter dash, as if it's afraid of dying halfway there.

Not to mention that when those wizards raise their hands, Ezio knows exactly where they are aiming just by watching their movements.

Carrying many questions about magic, Ezio began to pack his luggage and prepare to set off. However, before actually heading to Hogwarts for his studies, Ezio habitually performed an inventory. He treated this study as a long-term mission, and since it was a mission, there was no room for slack.

The reason Ezio didn't call his golden finger a system was simple.

This thing had no shop, no lucky draws, and no beginner gift packs. It currently provided only three functions: a Map Module, a Training Space with an independent time flow, and a Mission Release System that triggered after certain conditions were met.

The crude panel couldn't even be called a panel. His body wasn't digitized, and what was recorded on it were only mission data and mission rewards.

★ Mission Completion Count: 9149

★★ Mission Completion Count: 455

★★★ Mission Completion Count: 1

Total time spent in Training Space: 43566 hours, remaining available time: 5763 hours, cumulative kills: 1001135, milestone completion: 10/10

Unlocked Skills:

Leap of Faith (Completed Milestone: First high-altitude fall!): As long as there is a soft buffer under the jump point, you can negate fall damage.

Eagle Vision (Completed Milestone: Partner, I'm here!): Share vision with the contract eagle, mark enemies, or gain the sharp gaze of a hawk.

Narrow Escape (Completed Milestone: The end of death is rebirth.): When dodging an attack at the right moment, your perception will be enhanced for a short time.

Phantom Stealth (Completed Milestone: Ambush!): After entering a stealth posture, you will blend into the surrounding environment.

Silent Assassination (Completed Milestone: The assassin has been here quietly.): You have learned the top-tier assassination technique that ensures the target makes no noise.

Assassin Intuition (Completed Milestone: What? A sneak attack?!): You can easily discover any target that harbors hostility and vigilance toward you.

Weapon Master (Completed Milestone: I can slaughter you with anything!): You can exert greater power than others when using any weapon.

Brutal Grip (Completed Milestone: Human meteor hammer!): You can wield two-handed weapons with one hand.

Berserker Spirit (Completed Milestone: Come and die! You scumbags!): When fighting enemies head-on, you will gain all-around enhancements in strength, agility, and intuition.

Ares War Cry (Completed Milestone: Who is the God of War!!!): Shout a war cry that possesses divine power, causing enemies to fall into fear; for the next thirty seconds, you will be immune to death.