Dark raised a hand, pointed to his temple, and smiled. "But my proficiency with similar tools has already surpassed that of fifth-years."
That was actually a rather modest claim.
In fact, there was not a single student in the entire academy more skilled than him at using the "Magic Brain Dropper."
Old John scrutinized him carefully, as if observing whether he was lying.
After a while, he said, "Wait here." Then he walked inside.
Before long, Old John emerged carrying a long, narrow box.
They had agreed back then that if the "Fate Iron Hook" had not been sold by the time Dark reached fifth year, he would sell it to him.
But in truth, after that day, Old John had put the "Fate Iron Hook" away.
Not only that, he had attached a label to it, simply waiting for Dark to reach fifth year and buy it.
Old John had done quite a few things like this. In the store's warehouse, an entire row of shelves held merchandise that had already been "reserved."
Most of those items would return to the outer shelves once their reservation period expired.
After all, times changed, and so did students' minds. Naturally, there were relatively few people like Dark who came to collect their goods ahead of time.
He set down the box and carefully opened it.
What appeared before Dark was the same iron hook he had first seen in his first year, its surface covered in rust.
Old John picked up the hook and examined it closely, then revealed a satisfied smile. "Looks like it's been preserved fairly well."
As he spoke, he took out a sheet of Gold Touch Paper and rubbed it over the hook, wiping away the rust that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.
Thus, just like before,