When they officially began practicing.
Professor McGonagall had them turn a match into a needle.
Devero was stunned by his own terrifying talent.
He took Seamus's place.
And officially became Hogwarts' "Explosion Mage."
He desperately tried to use magic to change the match's structure.
But he poured in too much magic all at once.
The match in his hand immediately turned into a fireball.
It darted all around the classroom!
The fireball even singed Ron's hair.
The students cried out one after another.
Professor McGonagall reacted in the blink of an eye.
She flicked her wand.
The fireball turned into a deflated balloon.
It dropped to the floor.
Only then did everyone in the classroom breathe a sigh of relief.
Malfoy even wore a gleeful expression.
He was delighted to have found Devero's weakness.
"So the Frenchman isn't good at everything, after all~"
He deliberately spoke at a volume Devero could hear.
But Professor McGonagall couldn't.
Devero couldn't be bothered with him.
"Mr. Alexander, can you repeat the first and second principles of Transfiguration?"
Professor McGonagall had finished dealing with the mess caused by the fireball.
She walked over to Devero and asked.
There seemed to be a hint of surprise in her eyes that this had happened among her students.
"The first principle is caution. The second is to change the structure, not the nature. Professor."
Devero answered honestly.
"Mm, very good. Now tell me, did you follow the second principle just now?"
Professor McGonagall's question went straight to the core of Devero's mistake.
Devero furrowed his brow slightly and carefully reviewed exactly what he had done.
He had indeed tried to change the match's structure.
But perhaps the magic he had gained through the Zen Meditation Method.
Had already surpassed that of an ordinary young wizard by quite a bit.
So following Professor McGonagall's classroom instructions exactly as given.
Would undoubtedly lead him to pour in too much magic.
And thus change the match's nature.
Of course, he still wasn't capable of completely changing an object's nature.
He could only put the match into an unstable state.
That was why the fireball had raced around the classroom.
"Professor, I think I may have released too much magic, directly changing the object's nature—or putting it into an agitated state—which caused the fireball."
Devero shared his thoughts.
Professor McGonagall nodded slightly.
A note of appreciation showed in her eyes.
He really was a promising student.
His reasoning was quite clear.
"Exactly. Transfiguration is a precise discipline. The first step is learning to precisely control the magic you use. That's the first step toward performing Transfiguration well."
As she spoke, Professor McGonagall handed Devero a new match.
Devero took it.
He placed the match on the desk first.
Then he took a moment to prepare.
He tested how much magic it would take to transform a match of that size.
Just then, Professor McGonagall began offering guidance.
"What I told the class was simply to focus, because students at this stage have very limited magic. Some might not even be able to sustain a complete Levitation Charm. But Devero, you're quite different."
Professor McGonagall remained stern as she spoke.
"This is normally something students don't learn until second year: controlling their own magic. So today, I'll only give you a brief introduction. Pay attention, Alexander. The amount of magic Transfiguration requires depends on the size and structural complexity of both the object you're transforming and the object you want to create. Only by understanding this can you truly grasp the key to using magic in Transfiguration."
Devero was deeply enlightened.
"Thank you, Professor."
After thanking her.
Devero immediately began observing the match and the needle.
He even held them in his hands, feeling and studying them.
But he still couldn't quite get the hang of it.
It was as if he had hit some kind of bottleneck.
He couldn't settle down and understand Transfiguration.
Some of the children nearby were also chattering about Transfiguration.
Just then.
Devero remembered that he still had the Zen Meditation Method to use!
He had used it before, on the train and outside the Great Hall.
It had made his mind feel peaceful.
The noise around him hadn't affected him at all.
Maybe he could try it in class and see if it helped?
Devero immediately began regulating his breathing according to the Zen Meditation Method's instructions.
He half-closed his eyes.
And began entering a meditative state.
With every deep breath.
He felt the clamor around him gradually fade away.
It was as if the whole world had fallen silent.
His thoughts gradually grew clearer.
Magic flowed slowly through his body.
As if resonating with the things around him.
Before long.
Devero had entered the same state he'd experienced outside the Great Hall.
A layer of hazy mist shrouded everything around him.
Only the area within a meter of him remained clear to his senses.
This was the increase in his perceptible range brought about by his increased magic.
But this time.
Devero wasn't trying to disperse the layer of mist.
On the contrary.
He gradually drew in his senses and magic.
Slowly focusing them on the match in his hand.
The mist around him gradually covered his body as well.
In the end.
The only thing Devero could sense was the match in his hand.
But it still wasn't small enough!
Devero continued to narrow the range of his perception.
Gradually.
Even most of the match was swallowed by the mist.
At that moment.
The match's grain and texture appeared clearly in Devero's mind.
But that still wasn't enough!
Devero continued to narrow the range of his perception.
The intricate structures he had just seen.
Now seemed unimaginably vast.
Devero compressed his perception to the extreme.
As if he were trying to merge his consciousness with the match.
Now.
The match in his eyes had stretched infinitely long and wide.
It seemed as vast as a new continent.
But that still wasn't enough!
Devero continued to narrow the range of his perception.
He knew.
This still wasn't the deepest layer of its structure!
It wasn't what he was searching for!
But he knew!
He was close!
So close!
Boom!
A thunderous crash rang out.
Devero felt as if he had suddenly been pulled into some strange space.
He looked around.
There was no mist.
No professor.
No other students.
He didn't even have eyes!
He could only sense things intuitively.
Devero knew.
At last, he had reached the underlying structure of things!
He couldn't see.
But he could sense.
There were strange connections here.
The fundamental links between one existence and another!
Devero eagerly studied these underlying connections.
He memorized their structures.
The more he understood those structures.
The clearer his sense became of how much magic it would take to change them.
He began trying to use magic to alter them.
Soon.
He succeeded in his first experiment.
It seemed he had really changed part of the wood into iron.
This time, there was none of the unstable nature he had encountered before.
Of course.
This was all just a feeling.
He hadn't actually seen anything.
So he couldn't be sure.
Just then.
A formless chill suddenly coiled around Devero's soul like a ghost.
It was a strange sensation beyond description.
As if something had set its eyes on him.
A shiver ran through him, as if he were being watched.
How strange!
How strange!
In this world that had shrunk without end,
how could he feel as though someone were spying on him?
The sensation was growing stronger!
Devero's heart felt as if an invisible hand had clamped around it.
Each beat was more violent than the last,
almost bursting free of the confines of his chest.
In just ten seconds,
his heart pounded without pause.
It seemed his body could barely endure the pressure.
Oh no!
Some unknown force seemed to be invading him!
Devero immediately stopped practicing the Zen Meditation Method.
He put all his strength into escaping this microscopic space!
Boom!
The scene before him suddenly flared bright.
The blinding light nearly left him sightless.
When his vision returned,
he was back in his seat in the Transfiguration Class classroom.
Cold sweat drenched him from head to toe.
His heart still pounding with fear.
[Warning!] [Detected that the host has entered the Microscopic World!]
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