Back in his room, Cedric brought up the system panel.
With the Smoked Niffler in his stomach, his Enhancement Points had climbed to 27.
Honestly, if he had eaten it over several meals, that meat could have earned him points at least twice more. But Cedric had chosen not to. Instead, he had handed out the roast.
It was not that he was especially generous. He just wanted to make some money back.
Tom, the bar owner, had refused to partner with him, and Cedric understood his concerns. But Cedric knew how good his cooking was. If Tom would not put up the money for a shot at big returns, Cedric would have to step forward and drum up business himself.
He had every reason to be confident. Once those wizards tasted his food, they would never forget it.
Later, if he got hold of expensive ingredients from Fantastic Beasts or magical plants, he could cook them and sell some of the dishes to recoup his costs. Giving away those two portions of Niffler would not be a loss.
He had his Enhancement Points. What was he supposed to do, save them and wait for them to breed?
He could spend them on any of his abilities, whether basic enhancements or special powers.
He had just extracted two special abilities from the Niffler: [Aura Concealment E] and [Matter Traversal E].
Both fell a little short of the Niffler's original abilities, but now that Cedric had them, he could use Enhancement Points to raise their levels. All told, that was not bad.
The trouble was, the points needed to upgrade them were enough to send anyone running. Raising Aura Concealment from E to D- cost a whopping 50 points. Matter Traversal was even more outrageous, starting at 100.
For now, Cedric could only look at those numbers. Without hesitation, he chose to invest in the two general abilities, [Physical Enhancement] and [Neural Reflex Enhancement].
[Physical Enhancement E-] rose to [Physical Enhancement E].
[Neural Reflex Enhancement E-] rose to [Neural Reflex Enhancement E].
Those two upgrades ate up 20 points, dropping his balance back to a familiar number: 7.
The moment the upgrades finished, Cedric's body felt wrong. It was as if countless earthworms were burrowing beneath his skin. His muscles burned and swelled, while an itch he could not scratch spread through him from head to toe.
He sucked in a sharp breath. The itch went straight to the bone, yet he could not reach it anywhere. As the discomfort surged, his whole body shook as though he had touched a live wire.
Xuanling, perched on his shoulder, let out a startled caw and fluttered onto the table. Eyes wide, Xuanling watched him twitch, at a loss for what to do.
Fortunately, the feeling passed as quickly as it had come. Before long, the itching faded and the burning heat went with it. His body felt filled with inexhaustible strength.
He clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked sharply. His physique and reflexes had both improved a full notch. He had never felt so good.
Even a wizard needed a sturdy body and quick reflexes. After all, none of the magic in this world locked onto its target. Every damn spell was a projectile.
With the upgrades done, Cedric felt so invigorated that his spirits soared. Then his stomach growled. The portion of Niffler he had just eaten had somehow been digested down to the last scrap.
"I'll go downstairs and get something to eat." He patted his belly, planning to grab whatever he could find to fill it.
He put Xuanling in the cage, tossed in a handful of nuts, and headed for the door.
But the instant he opened it, he came face-to-face with a man wearing a strained expression—Quirrell.
Honestly, finding the great villain standing outside his room with that complicated look nearly scared Cedric out of his skin. His hand slipped instinctively to the small knife at the back of his waist.
He had swiped the knife from the kitchen. His E- Transfiguration Spell was too weak to be much use, but small as the knife was, Cedric was confident that with his newly improved physique and reflexes, he could cut Quirrell's throat in 0.2 seconds.
He held back. Killing a person was nothing like killing another living creature, and he could not bear the consequences of murdering a wizard.
He was not confident he could escape a group of Aurors whose average Hunting Level was nearing forty.
"Is there something you need, sir?" Cedric knew Quirrell was a Hogwarts professor, but a child who had not enrolled yet should not know that. So he acted as though he had no idea who the man was.
"N-no... nothing." Quirrell touched his throat for no apparent reason. His neck felt strangely chilly. Perhaps Voldemort's snake body slithering in and out every day had left him with some lasting ailment.
He looked down at Cedric and forced a kindly smile. "I'm staying in the room above yours. If you need any help, you can come to me."
"Huh?" Cedric stared at him, baffled.
Come on, man. This is an inn, not an apartment building. We're both just staying here temporarily. Why are you trying to get friendly?
Quirrell offered no explanation. He gave a stiff twitch of his lips, turned, and left, leaving Cedric standing there utterly bewildered.
Quirrell had barely reached the stairs when Voldemort's furious voice rang through his mind. "Are you an idiot? I told you to get close to that boy, and this is how you do it? Was he not frightened enough for you? Were you trying to scare him to death?"
"S-sorry, Master." Sweat beaded and rolled down Quirrell's forehead. "But I truly don't know how to get close to a child."
"I don't care. That's your problem! You can't even manage something this simple?" Voldemort roared. "I want to eat every dish he makes. Remember that. If you fail, prepare to die!"
"Yes..." Quirrell was so aggrieved he was nearly in tears.
That little brat had killed the Niffler Quirrell needed for his mission, yet now Quirrell had to rack his brains to please him. When would this miserable life ever end?
Before you continue