Andros reached out and tapped his temple.
His tone carried a hint of exasperation. "Knowledge is important to a wizard, but remember this: throughout history, and even after I'm long dead, no wizard has ever become the strongest just by burying himself in books."
He paused, then suddenly asked, "What do you think matters most to a wizard?"
Tom answered without a second thought. "Magic and willpower, obviously. Put them together and use a spell as a catalyst, and you can change reality."
That was basic knowledge. Wasn't it written in every book?
Andros shook his head, sounding a little smug. "You left out the most important thing—emotions."
Tom froze, scratching his head. "Isn't willpower just emotion? I've gone through every book I have, and I've never seen anyone treat them as separate things."
Andros didn't bother explaining. His seldom-used wand suddenly slid into his hand. He raised it overhead and called out in a low voice, "Expecto Patronum!"
A Giant-shaped Patronus appeared with a thunderous roar, radiating an imposing presence.
When Andros spoke, the Giant's voice resonated with his, rumbling through the space. "Powerful magic, unwavering will, and intense emotion."
"Magic is the root, the foundation of your spellcasting. Willpower determines whether a spell succeeds; the stronger your resolve, the more smoothly your magic flows. And emotion determines how much power a spell can unleash."
"Remember this, Tom: magic is, at its core, a matter of the mind. The mind can be limitless, but it needs something to support it. That foundation is emotion."
"Talent matters, but people with strong enough emotions can often kick down their own ceiling and shoot to heights you couldn't even imagine. The trouble those Slytherins are giving you is a trial, one that will help you find the perfect balance between willpower and emotion. Treasure it, kid. Not everyone gets that kind of luck."
Andros's words struck Tom's ears like a bell tolling.
He stood there, stunned, unable to recover for a long while. The words sounded simple, but the more he thought about them, the more they seemed to touch the very heart of magic. He couldn't possibly absorb them all at once.
For the first time, Tom deliberately entered Supernatural Mode. He cleared his mind and focused on imprinting every word in his memory, without wasting a single bit of it.
Ten minutes passed in a flash. The unfocused light in the boy's eyes slowly returned, and an indescribable aura seemed to settle around him. His gaze had grown sharper, too.
He copied Andros, raising his wand high. Gritting his teeth, he cried, "Expecto Patronum!"
Silver-white mist burst out with a soft pop, gradually taking human shape in response to his thoughts.
But compared to Andros's Patronus, whose features were clear and whose size was intimidating, Tom's was barely recognizable as a person. It was only a little larger than Tom himself.
Even so, Andros's eyebrows shot up in shock, and he nearly lost his footing.
In fact, Tom had been able to conjure a corporeal Patronus as early as his third day learning the Patronus Charm, but Andros had personally smacked it apart.
The truth was, once its form was set, changing it into a special version like Andros's would take enough effort to make anyone want to throw up blood.
Andros had practically skinned himself alive to achieve it back in the day, so naturally, he didn't want Tom going through the same needless ordeal.
And that initial shaping was precisely the hardest hurdle.
Andros had only meant to help Tom adjust his mindset and stop him from burying himself in books. He hadn't expected this delightful surprise. His grin was practically stretching from ear to ear.
[Teacher 'Andros' has reached 50% approval of the host. Drawing reward... Complete.]
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained the talent 'Absolute Justice'.]
[Absolute Justice: When the host uses non-Dark Magic attack spells, their power is increased. The degree of enhancement grows with the host's magic.]
[First private teacher has reached 50% approval. Feature 'Physical Practice' unlocked.]
[Physical Practice: The teacher can use the host's body to cast magic, improving teaching efficiency. Limited to 5 minutes. For every 1-point increase in approval, the duration increases by 10 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours. (The host may end the state at any time to regain control of the body.)]
As soon as the reward arrived, Tom's Patronus swelled like a balloon. It shot up to two meters tall, and its outline grew much clearer.
Andros was still in the dark, unaware that Tom could not only benefit from his teaching but also take his talents.
He could only marvel, "Damn, this kid's talent is even crazier than I thought!"
Tom savored the strange sensation of conjuring a human-shaped Patronus, then slowly stopped channeling magic.
Though Supernatural Mode had worn off, a lingering trace of inspiration remained. He grabbed Andros and fired off question after question as they occurred to him.
Even an elite Auror might not know the answers to some of them. Most Aurors only knew how to use "spells"; their theoretical knowledge was nowhere near enough.
But to Andros, they were child's play. He could answer them with his eyes closed.
Back in his day, the system of "spells" hadn't yet taken shape. If you wanted to do anything interesting with magic, you had to work out all the theory yourself, bit by bit.
Despite looking like a berserker and having a fiery temper, Andros was, strictly speaking, a genuine academic heavyweight. He just didn't usually show it.
An hour later, they finally stopped talking. Andros taught Tom two more spells. They weren't anything new, just some "ancient" magic.
Fortunately, they weren't difficult. One could test food for poison, and the other was a trap-triggering spell that automatically raised a shield if someone launched a sneak attack.
Tom memorized the incantations until he knew them by heart, then left the Study Space.
The other three boys in the dormitory were already snoring like thunder, but Tom stared wide-eyed, unable to fall asleep.
He'd now experienced the power of Supernatural Mode firsthand. At certain crucial moments, ten minutes could be worth half a month of grinding practice.
Looking at the more than three hundred study credits in the system, he couldn't help sighing. "When will I ever be well-off? I can't keep living like this..."
With many things, there were only two possibilities: once or countless times. After using Supernatural Mode once, Tom had already started planning when to use it a second and third time.
But reality hit him like a sledgehammer: he couldn't afford it.
For the past month or so, ever since awakening the system, he'd been working himself to the bone every day, and he'd only managed to save up a few hundred study credits.
It wasn't that he wasn't trying hard. The problem was the daily expenses. The Study Space alone took anywhere from three hours to six or seven, and it cost far too much.
These past few days, he'd earned achievement points by learning spells and completing various minor achievements. He was close to a hundred points, but his study credits were accumulating at a snail's pace.
But seeing the number of achievement points got Tom thinking again. Maybe I should recruit another teacher?
A hundred achievement points were enough to summon a wizard in the King Realm as a teacher.
Andros was great in every way, but he wasn't familiar with the modern magic system. Usually, Tom had to learn things first before asking him about them.
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