Black is Red Too, Seize the Traffic

False alarm, all clear.

Students from every house breathed a sigh of relief, but curiosity lingered.

What exactly had happened in the school?

By eight o'clock, as students trickled out of their common rooms, some passing by the training grounds finally understood.

As a magic school, many didn't understand why Tom pushed himself so hard. Some mocked him, others saw him as an oddball, but the impression he left was undeniable.

Tom had chosen such massive stones specifically for visual impact.

["Innate Divine Strength" +3...+1...+5...

["Diligence" +4...+6...

Goal achieved.

In the Great Hall, Tom and the others ate breakfast while surrounded by chatter about them.

After Filch's commotion triggered the school-wide alarm, he once again became the center of discussion among students and professors.

["Innate Divine Strength" impression level reached Lv.2, Achievement Points +1]

["Diligence" impression level reached Lv.3, Achievement Points +1]

His persona's progress continued to climb.

"I wonder how far I am from Hagrid?" Tom mused.

Hagrid, being half-Giant, had a massive frame that was no joke. Even several Auror-grade Stunning Spells hitting him would only sting—less harmful than motion sickness.

Tom envied that kind of physique.

Wizard magic was immensely powerful, some spells even touching concepts and laws, but most wizards were fragile—pure glass cannons.

Apparition and Shield Charms existed, but they required reacting to an enemy's attack. If caught off guard, one had to rely on raw physical endurance.

As an ordinary human, Tom far surpassed Hagrid in agility. If he could gain a physique comparable to—or even surpassing—that half-Giant bloodline, it would make everything in the magical world much easier.

That was why, despite having magic, he still insisted on training.

Next came day after day of persistence.

As his [Innate Divine Strength] impression deepened through his classmates' gazes, once the holidays came and everyone returned home, tales of his deeds would become dinner table talk, spreading even further.

If some rumors about Tom sprouted from this, they might even add a new persona to his repertoire.

After all, the panel could turn even a negative persona like [Lazy] into a positive effect, so any persona was fine by him.

As the saying goes, black and red are both fame!

At that moment, beside him.

"Second brother Harry, do you guys train like this every day?"

Ron slumped over the table, staring at the feast before him without any appetite, feeling completely drained.

"Normal. I was the same at first. With time, it'll pass." Harry saw his former self in Ron.

"Right now, every muscle in my body feels like it's tearing. I probably can't train for a week."

"No matter." Tom suddenly looked over.

"Harry, take him to the school infirmary later. He should recover quickly."

The magical world might lag behind Muggles in technology, but in medicine, it was centuries ahead.

Fatigue like this could be easily cured with a single potion. Even broken arms or legs could be reattached in minutes with no side effects. So no matter how hard they trained, there was no fear of lasting damage.

"No!!" Ron wailed.

Leaving Ron aside, Tom continued pondering:

"How should I build the 'Genius Wizard' persona?"

He didn't know any top-tier, large-scale magic, so he couldn't easily cement that impression like he did with [Innate Divine Strength] by dragging boulders.

After much thought, besides the annual exams, another way to showcase magical talent was "Spell Duels."

By second year, the school would open a "Dueling Club," where all students would engage in one-on-one combat training.

If he could put on a dazzling performance then, his magical talent might leave a deep impression.

With that in mind, Tom glanced at the older students around him.

While dominating his peers could prove his magical ability, to truly capture everyone's attention, he'd need to defeat upperclassmen who had studied magic for years.

Especially the prefects.

Those chosen as prefects were the cream of the crop among the older students—stars of their houses, future pillars of the wizarding world.

Defeating them would generate the most buzz.

As a youth from the 21st century who had time-traveled, he understood traffic and attention far better than most 20th-century folks.

"So, my goal for the next year is to raise my spellcasting to at least the level of the fifth-year prefects."

On this point, Tom was confident.

[Diligence (Lv.3): Myriad Jun Diligence Wraps the Body—you are the embodiment of hard work; unceasing effort grants you rewards far beyond the ordinary.]

With a series of character setups, this possibility was quite high.

Moreover, though the panel didn't show it, Tom believed he had some talent in offensive spells.

Breakfast time wasn't over yet.

Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared at the doorway and announced loudly to those inside.

"All morning classes are canceled. Everyone is free to move about. If anyone is absent, be sure to inform each other."

With that said, Professor McGonagall hurried off.

The Great Hall fell silent for a moment, then quickly erupted in cheers.

"Yeah!!"

"Awesome!!!"

Ron was among those cheering.

Kids this age had the most playful hearts, and skipping class was naturally thrilling.

However, while this news might be good for ordinary students, for a certain Gryffindor workaholic, it was worse than death.

"How could this..." Hermione's expression was utterly crestfallen.

She had wanted to learn more magic early, but now she had to waste another half day—truly heartbreaking.

"Classes canceled?" Tom murmured to himself.

He seemed to have guessed the reason.

Sure enough.

By noon, after all students learned a new piece of news, the morning's joy and sorrow flipped entirely, and even more people were grieving.

On the notice board in the Entrance Hall and in each common room, the same message appeared simultaneously.

[Broomstick Flying Exam added to mandatory subjects for O.W.L. and N.E.W.T.—Hogwarts, Ministry of Magic]

In the bottom right corner of the message was the joint seal of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic.

Joining the Ministry required specific scores in O.W.L. and N.E.W.T., so if the school changed exam content, the Ministry naturally had to be involved.

This new message had little impact on younger students and Quidditch players, but for fifth- and seventh-years, it was a tragedy.

With exams looming, they had to cram last-minute—tight on time, heavy on pressure.

Among the four houses, Hufflepuff was the most devastated.

Many Hufflepuffs complained, "Targeted! This is blatantly targeted!!"

After all, the Hufflepuff common room was right next to the kitchen, and many little badgers loved sneaking in at night for snacks, so their average stamina was slightly lower than the other houses.

This meant they had to put in more effort than students from other houses just to pass the flying exam.