The Road Ahead

"That's not true."

Bell pulled Hermione's slender waist into his arms and held her tightly.

Hermione's parents have already gone upstairs to sleep, and Shanna, along with her two best friends, has gone back to her bedroom to continue recounting the thrilling battle they just witnessed.

In other words, now only Bell and Hermione are left in the living room on the first floor.

"Your performance was fantastic! I can hardly believe this was really your first time participating in a real-world exercise!"

Bell said it with a slightly exaggerated tone.

While Hermione may not have been of much help in a strict sense, the fact that she persevered from beginning to end is already quite remarkable.

It's important to understand that today's battle is nothing like the harmonious one that Shanna faced last year when she fought the evil spirit.

The spray of blood everywhere, the wailing of a severely wounded wizard—these are all things that can be very challenging for human nerves.

Hermione, facing all of this for the first time, only turned slightly pale and didn't vomit, which put her way far ahead of her peers.

"All you do is comfort me."

Hermione gently patted Bell twice.

However, despite saying that, it was clear from Hermione's slightly upturned lips that she was quite pleased with her boyfriend's praise.

"Bell, when do you think I'll be able to become as strong as Shanna?"

With a sigh, Hermione looked at her boyfriend expectantly and asked.

Honestly, when Hermione saw Shanna standing next to Bell, fighting side by side, she thought Shanna looked incredibly cool, and she longed to be like her.

"... About 10 years."

After hesitating for a moment, Bell decided to tell the truth.

He hates deception and would never tell a lie that is destined to be exposed.

So even though he knew it would upset Hermione, he still told her the time he had estimated.

"Does it take that long?"

As expected, Hermione felt as if her heart was being squeezed tightly upon hearing Bell's answer, and she felt extremely uncomfortable.

"It won't be long. You should know that Shanna started learning magic when she was just over 3 years old, almost 8 years earlier than you."

If you can catch up in just two or three years, wouldn't that be too unfair to Shanna?

Bell tightened his grip on Hermione's hand, rested his cheek on the top of Hermione's head, and gently rubbed it, hoping to soothe her disappointment.

What Bell didn't say was that, normally speaking, Hermione would never be able to catch up with Shanna.

As Muggle- born girl, Hermione's talents are exceptional, even surpassing most of her peers. However, compared to most Pure-blood Little Wizard, Hermione's talent still lags behind.

Of course, in Modern Spells systems, this difference in talent is not difficult to overcome through diligent study and training.

However, this only applies to those lazy, Pure-blood Little Wizard. For example, fools like Crabbe and Goyle.

For a Pure-blood Little Wizard like Shanna, who is not only exceptionally talented, far surpassing Hermione, but also consistently sets high standards for herself, it is already incredibly difficult for Hermione to avoid falling further and further behind.

So why did Bell give the answer of "10 years"?

This is certainly not Bell deceiving Hermione.

In fact, after coming into contact with the Philosopher's Stone, Bell had an idea. "Could wizards directly use the magic power within the Philosopher's Stone to cast spells?"

Once the idea was born, it took root firmly in Bell's mind.

It's important to understand that for a wizard, the immense magical power that Philosopher's Stone can generate is practically limitless.

Once a wizard can truly control the magic in the Philosopher's Stone, to what extent will that wizard's power increase?

Bell didn't know.

Perhaps he could break through directly to the realm of the Ultimate Wizard?

But in any case, it's something that's definitely worth trying.

After several years of trial and error, Bell discovered that in order to utilize the magic within the Philosopher's Stone, three major obstacles had to be overcome.

First, exceptional control over magical power.

For wizards, the magic in the Philosopher's Stone is an unfamiliar kind of magic, and it will be instinctively rejected by the magic within their own bodies.

If this repulsion cannot be countered through precise manipulation, let alone casting spells, the wizard will be severely injured the moment the magic power in the Philosopher's Stone enters the body; in severe cases, the wizard might even explode and die.

Second, a powerful physique.

As an external source of magic, the magic within the Philosopher's Stone is not compatible with the wizard's physical body.

Therefore, if a wizard does not have a strong capacity to tolerate and adapt to magic, then the magic in the Philosopher's Stone will inevitably cause damage to the wizard's body after entering the body.

After all, no matter how precise one's control over magic is, it is impossible to completely prevent magic from coming into contact with the body.

Third, unwavering resolve.

Unlike the wizard's own magic, which actively receives the wizard's thoughts, the magic in the Philosopher's Stone, as an external source of magic, doesn't care what the wizard wants to do.

What does that have to do with it?

Therefore, in order to make these magical powers work for them, the wizard must concentrate their will and Earth Spike the solid 'shell' of these magical powers like a needle, forcing them to transform according to their own will.

Is it luck? Or is it simply a case of different paths leading to the same destination?

In short, these three challenges are precisely what Bell has been striving for all along.

Meanwhile, his sister and girlfriend, Shanna and Hermione, are also following the same path as him at Bell's insistence.

Therefore, the 10-year timeframe Bell was not referring to the time it would take for Hermione to catch up with Shanna in terms of magical skill, but rather to the time, in his prediction, for Hermione to be able to begin using the magic within the Philosopher's Stone.

At that time, with the help of the Philosopher's Stone, although Hermione still cannot match Shanna, she can become incredibly powerful, thus gaining the qualification to fight alongside Bell and Shanna.

Of course, even if the above three requirements are met, it doesn't mean that a wizard can wield the Philosopher's Stone and unleash devastating power.

Give a wizard a Unicorn tail hair, and he might not even be able to cast the simplest Lumos.

But if you give this wizard a Wand with a core made of Unicorn Tail Hair, he can unleash all sorts of powerful Curses.

Similarly, in order to successfully utilize the power within the Philosopher's Stone 'Philosopher's Stone, it needs to be further processed.

Bell already had a general plan in mind regarding how to proceed.

However, the time is not yet ripe. All he needs to do is wait patiently and continue to improve himself. The Wand he is currently making can only reach 80% of the power of Ollivander's Wand.