Diagon Alley

Time flew by, and before he knew it, three days had passed.

Over those three days, Ryan tried out many techniques for using firearms. Thinking Lv. 2 not only made his mind quicker, but also allowed him to instinctively call upon fleeting memories from his previous life whenever he needed them.

The era Ryan had grown up in during his previous life had been the height of martial arts fiction's popularity. Back then, his home had contained all sorts of "martial arts manuals."

Relying on the "exceptional talent" granted by the panel—the power that ensured that once he succeeded once, he would succeed again, and that wholehearted effort would be rewarded—Ryan combined several spells he had just learned, such as Lumos, Diffindo, Incendio, Aquamenti, and Whirlwind Sweep, to develop new skills.

Race: Wizard

Strength: 9 (the limit for an ordinary person is 10)

Constitution: 26 (the limit for an ordinary person is 10)

Magic Power: 16 (the limit for an ordinary person is 10)

Skills: Thinking Lv. 2 (77%) Body Modification Lv. 3 (32%) Alchemy Lv. 2 (22%) Charmcraft Lv. 1 (45%)

Potion-Making Lv. 1 (55%) Transfiguration Lv. 1 (15%) Gun Kata Lv. 1 (89%) Martial Arts Lv. 1 (66%)

Ordinary people meant Muggles.

Gun Kata was a hybrid skill developed from spells, Transfiguration, Alchemy, Martial Arts, and other skills. Ryan could now draw and fire with both speed and precision.

With Thinking, his core skill, aiding him, he could also use precise movement calculations to launch the most damaging attacks from positions where he himself would suffer the least harm. He could shoot into any blind spot around him, increasing the power of his bullets by twenty percent.

He could even use his own body as the center and geometric diagrams as a planar reference, calculating every attackable position around him. Every possible direction from which he could be attacked would be covered by his fire, serving as both offense and defense.

Combined with Black Knight, Ryan could now easily take down an adult wizard.

It had been nearly three months since Ryan had crossed over. He discovered that, besides being mysterious, his family was also incredibly reclusive. Food, clothing, and drink had all long since been automated. Even if he did nothing at all, he would not starve to death.

Every Smith was devoted to ensuring that a single person or family could survive independently in the wizarding world, and generation after generation had contributed toward that goal.

There were ranches around the castle supplying common meats like pork, lamb, beef, and even rabbit. House-elves and Alchemy Robots produced clothing and fabric, while corresponding estates produced common Alchemy and Potions ingredients.

At the same time, Ryan discovered that his family was not completely cut off from the wizarding world. The Smith Family secretly held investments in nearly every shop in Diagon Alley. Magical Contracts, researched since Ancient Greece and continuously refined, bound everything together. They made other wizards and even Gringotts aware that such dividends existed and should be transferred into the Smith vault, yet caused them to overlook the matter. Endless streams of cash flowed into the Smith Family vault at Gringotts.

Still, it was time to buy some books. For some reason, the house currently had far too few basic books. It was not that there were none; most of them were basic books related to Alchemy. As for books on spells, they were all advanced works like The Invisible Book of Invisibility.

"Jack, come on. We're going to Diagon Alley." Ryan grabbed the House-elf Jack's hand.

"Hold on tight, young master." Ryan suddenly felt as though Jack's arm was slipping free from his grasp, and everything around him turned pitch-black. He was squeezed violently from every direction and could barely breathe. His chest felt as though several iron bands had been cinched tightly around it. His eyeballs were forced back into his head, his eardrums pressed deep into his skull, and then—

He gulped down air and opened his tear-filled eyes. Ryan felt as though he had just been squeezed out of an extremely narrow rubber tube.

A few seconds later, he finally recovered his senses and realized that he was no longer at home. He and Jack were standing in a narrow, crowded little room that nevertheless had everything they needed.

"Young Master Ryan, this is the Leaky Cauldron. The Smith Family has always had a secret little room here. Once we leave through here, we'll reach Diagon Alley."

Ryan followed Jack through the door. A beautiful wooden staircase led downward, straight to the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron.

Along the way, Jack explained that this passage did not go through the bar area and was covered in magic that made wizards overlook it, because the Smith Family did not like crowds.

During this time, Jack took out a hat and placed it on his head. Then the entire little elf swelled and twisted, transforming into a tall, handsome middle-aged man—the very image of George Smith, the original owner of this body's father.

"Young master, although House-elves take pride in staying out of others' sight, some business still needs someone to handle and oversee it. So your grandfather invented this hat, allowing us to spend our time on greater endeavors."

Ryan could not help but think, The Smiths really took being reclusive to another level. No wonder they have so many inventions.

Jack, wearing George Smith's appearance, took out the wand he had prepared and tapped the third brick above the rubbish bin from the left. Then he stepped back and looked at the archway opening in the wall, leading to Diagon Alley.

Before Ryan lay a winding cobblestone street that stretched beyond sight. This was Diagon Alley.

He had finally arrived in the magical world in the true sense of the word, and Ryan could not help smiling.

At the entrance stood Potage's Cauldron Shop, with a gleaming sign outside that read:

Cauldrons

All Sizes

Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver

Self-Stirring

Collapsible

Opposite it was Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, filled with a dazzling assortment of Potions: Dragon Liver, Foxglove Eggs, Fluxweed, Frog Brains, and chopped Ginger Root.

One strange shop after another that he had only ever seen in books and films in his previous life appeared before his eyes: Flourish and Blotts, Magical Menagerie, Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Father, how about we take a lap around Diagon Alley first?" Ryan suggested in the deliberately mature tone of a child pretending to be grown up. As soon as the words left his mouth, he could not help thinking, I was the same in my previous life. No matter where I went, I always had the habit of taking a lap first.

"Very well." Jack, wearing George Smith's appearance, did not notice the change in Ryan's expression and merely nodded slightly.

Ryan then went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and ordered a chocolate ice cream with raspberries and chopped nuts, the same kind Harry Potter had.

He began strolling leisurely through Diagon Alley. There were not many people there at the moment; there was still some time before the new students started school.

But the wizarding world's sense of fashion was truly awful. Aside from a few wizards who were not well-off, most wore bright, gaudy Wizard Robes in colors that, in his previous life or the Muggle world, were mostly worn by women. Ryan grumbled inwardly.

Oh, I wonder whether I'll run into any characters from the original story.