Fairy-Tale Magic?

Mrs. Eileen glanced around, seemingly choosing a target for her spell.

In the end, Mrs. Eileen looked at the potion ingredients Manus had just sorted out, which still needed some further processing before they could be used, as well as the potion he had just brewed:

"Next, I'll use two Charms. The first is called the Drying Charm. It can dry potion ingredients or clothes that have gotten wet. You can learn it in your first year. The second is called Scarpin's Revelaspell..."

As she spoke, that noble air appeared around Mrs. Eileen once more—the bearing she had never displayed during her former life at Spinner's End:

"This is an extremely advanced Charm that can analyze the ingredients of a potion. Only a very small number of people can master it, but if you want to reach heights in Potions that those mediocrities can never attain, you must master this Charm in the future."

With the preamble over, Mrs. Eileen immediately began demonstrating.

To prevent Manus from secretly trying it himself, Mrs. Eileen switched to a Non-verbal Spell before casting.

With a wave of her wand, the crushed and ground Asphodel Root stems in the dish rapidly lost their remaining moisture, turning into clumped powder.

Boiled together with wormwood, this ingredient could make a simple yet potent sleeping draught—the Draught of Living Death, also known as the Draught of Living Death.

Next, Mrs. Eileen waved her wand at the potion Manus had just brewed. Her movement was light and swift, her eyes filled with certainty.

Manus's eyes tracked every detail of Mrs. Eileen's casting. Comparing it with the Drying Charm from before, he arrived at a conclusion.

Since Mrs. Eileen had not agreed to it, he was not focusing on the Charm she had cast. There was no need to do something that might bring trouble upon himself. Perhaps someday he would encounter something like an allegiance test or a lie-detection ability.

It was only a possibility, but planting a landmine for himself just to learn a spell he could study in a few years? That was far too not worth it.

Manus kept asking to learn magic only to reinforce the impression among those familiar with him that he loved studying magic. That way, his future magical research—even producing magical systems that did not belong to this world—would seem far more natural.

Back in the present, Manus focused on Mrs. Eileen's state while casting, comparing it to the key point she had just mentioned.

If the difference between the two did not lie in the complexity of the Magic Model or in the fine control of magical power, then perhaps their essential difference lay there.

Mental state?

Recalling the surge of magical power catalyzed by Mental Power during his previous Magical Outburst, as well as that unusually powerful Prestidigitation, Manus sank into thought.

Other than Prestidigitation, experiments had confirmed that his other Zero-Ring Magic had also become more effective. Take Mage Hand, for example: a normal zero-ring Mage Hand could not lift his desk.

Since none of the other elements in the casting process had changed, Manus identified magical power as the key variable. Compared with the possibility that his magical power had become unique because of his transmigration, he was more inclined to believe that magic in this world itself possessed traits different from those it had before his transmigration.

Judging from the few magic-related events Manus knew of so far, the rules governing magic in this world seemed exceptionally closely connected to the mind. However, he had not cast any magic beyond Zero-Ring Magic since then, nor did he intend to take any risks over something he would certainly be able to study openly in the future.

"Even magic itself differs between worlds... Of course. This is the true foundation of a magical system. How could I have overlooked that?"

The corners of Manus's mouth rose uncontrollably.

"This is getting more and more interesting. Not only is there a new magical system, but even magic I once knew may reveal entirely new forms under new rules of magic?"

He could hardly wait for the life ahead!

"Well?"

After giving Manus some time to digest it, Mrs. Eileen asked what he had gained. After thinking for a moment, Manus voiced his guess.

The difference lay in Mrs. Eileen's mental state when she cast the Charms.

Hearing Manus's answer, Mrs. Eileen froze for a moment. Her gaze toward him was full of surprise.

"You're right... Confidence, composure, unwavering conviction—these are the keys required for every advanced Charm. And for even more powerful Charms, strong and pure emotions are necessary to cast them."

"Emotions?"

Manus paused.

"Yes. For example... um, the Patronus Charm."

Mrs. Eileen changed course halfway through her sentence.

"This Charm requires powerful positive emotions, such as joy and happiness, in order to be cast successfully."

Manus could tell that the Patronus Charm was definitely not what Mrs. Eileen had first thought of regarding this subject. However, he did not dwell on it and instead latched onto her answer.

"Joy and happiness... Could this Charm possibly dispel magic caused by some kind of negative emotion?"

"Uh, no."

Mrs. Eileen shook her head. The Patronus Charm had no effect on the Unforgivable Curses.

"However, this Charm can drive away or even kill Dementors. They are Magical Creatures that bring negative emotions and feed on happiness."

Dementors? Manus had heard of them.

Although Griffin and Aivina had guarded Charms knowledge closely because of the enthusiasm Manus had shown, over the past year or so, Manus had still been exposed to everything in the Wizarding World like an ordinary five- or six-year-old child.

For instance, the wizard prison called Azkaban. Its guards were Dementors. They fed on happiness, and their kiss could kill.

Manus had originally assumed that this was some sort of figure of speech. After all, the context at the time had largely been meant to scare children, and storybooks like The Tales of Beedle the Bard that he had read were always filled with similar things.

"Feeding on happiness" could simply mean taking pleasure in tormenting prisoners, while "a kiss can kill" could mean that a few words were enough to have a prisoner put to death.

But now, it seemed that the descriptions of Dementors were unexpectedly literal?

Then did that mean their kiss really could kill too...

Setting aside the issue of writing style for the moment, what Manus cared about more was that advanced magic in this world not only had requirements for one's mental state, but also required intense and pure emotions. The power of positive emotions could even restrain negative emotions.

Wasn't that a hallmark of Fairy-Tale Magic?

If it merely required a particular mental state, that would not have been such an obvious trait. Most magic required concentration to cast, and composure and confidence could be understood as psychological preparation for entering a focused state.

But the traits that came afterward were far too obvious. If that was the case...