As a tidal wave of reward light balls poured down before him, the calm Char had maintained throughout the hearing finally broke. Inside, a storm of emotion raged. The weakness of his magic power had been a constant source of frustration for too long. For a time, his water-enhancement ability had been a lifeline, but its reliance on preparation made it a flawed solution. A permanent increase in his own magic was what he truly needed—something that would always be there, a foundation upon which all his other abilities could be built.
He let out a long, slow breath. The unease that had settled in his heart after the hearing began to dissipate. Although he had successfully turned the tables on his accusers, forcing Umbridge's political career into ruin and leaving Fudge humiliated, he would have preferred none of it had ever happened. He didn't seek fame or glory; he only wanted to avoid trouble. With the planting system and Professor Sprout's guidance, he knew he could reach the pinnacle of the wizarding world eventually. There was no need to take such risks.
But the matter had involved his aunt. He could not stand by and allow her to be slandered. The consequences, however, would be long-lasting. Umbridge was a vengeful woman who would never forget this humiliation. Fudge, a career politician, was just as dangerous. Char had made powerful enemies.
But now, looking at the dense sea of rewards from the matured Margaret flowers, all those worries faded away. What was done was done. All he could do now was continue to grow stronger, to build himself into a fortress that no storm could shake.
He asked Liz to help the exhausted Professor Sprout to her room to rest. Once they were gone, Char took a deep breath and stepped into the greenhouse. He reached out and touched the nearest bonus light ball.
In an instant, the orbs surged toward him like a great tide.
[You nurtured Margaret to maturity]
[You get a reward: Magic Power Increase (Black Iron Level)]
The system prompts scrolled across his vision like a waterfall. Char's eyes widened. He could almost hear the crash of waves—no, he could hear it. It felt as if a veritable ocean was surging through his blood. If his magic power before had been a mere trickle, weak and easily interrupted, now it was as if a hundred rivers were converging into a mighty sea.
He had never experienced anything so wonderful. It was like a person born frail and sickly had suddenly taken a miracle cure, their blood roaring to life. A feeling of omnipotence, even stronger than when his water-enhancement was active, surged through him.
On his system panel, the [Magic Power Increase] trait, once a dull black iron, exploded with light. It flashed from black iron to bronze, then to a deep, ancient bronze, until finally, a brilliant silver glow appeared.
[Magic Power Enhancement (Silver Level)] Promoted!
And that was with only a fraction of the reward orbs consumed. A steady stream continued to pour into him, the pleasure of breaking through his limits spreading through his entire body. Char's eyes shone with anticipation. At this rate, what level would he reach? Could it be… platinum?
He opened his arms, allowing the light to flow into him. But soon, a look of surprise and doubt crossed his face. The silver luster on his ability was still intensifying, but the speed had slowed dramatically. He knew the effect of lower-level rewards would diminish when promoting a higher-level ability, but this was a slowdown of several, even ten times what he had expected.
A moment later, he understood. He'd encountered this before, with his Magical Perception. His body had a theoretical limit. Just as his perception had hit a wall that could only be broken by the system's rewards at a reduced rate, his magic power had now reached its natural, inborn ceiling.
A bitter smile touched his lips. His dream of reaching the platinum level was gone. It was doubtful he would even reach gold.
And he was right. Even as the remaining reward orbs poured into him, the light on his [Magic Power Increase] changed slower and slower. It wasn't until the very last orb was absorbed that a faint golden light finally appeared, bringing the trait to the very threshold between silver and gold.
He watched quietly, a flicker of disappointment in his heart. Talent. It always comes back to talent. A mountain that is so, so difficult to climb.
But he closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and let the resentment and loss flow out of him. This improvement was still immense. Combined with his water-enhancement, his magic power would reach the gold level. It was more than enough. As for the mountain still ahead of him…
Memories of his past life surfaced. He had never been gifted, just one of the common crowd. His only real strength was his resilience. In high school, when math seemed an insurmountable wall, he had simply studied the textbook, patiently, until he understood every theorem. He had practiced every problem type until it was second nature. He could never solve the final, genius-level questions, but he never lost a single point on the fundamentals. He had overcome that difficulty.
In graduate school, he had been lost, a headless fly, dreading the weekly group meetings where he was often scolded to the point of tears. But he had persevered, staying up late to read literature, shamelessly asking for help, and enduring his mentor's criticism until the scolding became less frequent. The biggest hurdle was when an experiment failed, ruining his work and delaying his graduation. The thought of giving up had haunted him, the feeling of a bleak, futureless life weighing him down. But six months later, he had planted a new experimental field, and the hurdle was behind him.
Every challenge, every failure, every step of that journey came back to him. His expression grew calm. He looked at the [Magic Power Increase] trait, stuck just before gold, and felt neither sad nor happy. You have to climb the mountains and cross the rivers yourself. Sooner or later, as long as you keep trying, you will get there.
His expression turned serious. "It will only get more difficult from here. If I can't solve the problem of my innate talent, I can only continue to work on Margaret."
He had two options. One was the old, reliable method: traditional selective breeding. By continuously selecting the best plants and breeding them over generations, he could create new, better varieties. It was the slow, steady path.
The other was trickier. As he'd discovered during the hearing, he could use the Levitation Charm to simulate a weightless environment, freeing the plants from the pull of gravity. This could unlock new, better traits, but it was unstable. There was no guarantee of success, and the results might not even be positive.
He decided to use both methods simultaneously—the traditional method as his foundation, supplemented by the experimental levitation cultivation. With luck, he might have better varieties in six months. Even without luck, he was confident he could produce a batch with a 20-30% increase in reward value within two or three years.
With his plan clear, all that was left was to act. "Two days left of the holiday. I have to finish my work in the greenhouse before I go back to school. But before that… there's one person I have to deal with."
A cold light flashed in his eyes. He hadn't forgotten. The entire hearing had been orchestrated by Rita Skeeter's fabricated report. Char wasn't a man to hold grudges, but her actions had delayed his farming and dragged his aunt through the mud. In his heart, she had earned her fate.
He went to the Sprout family's collection room. Generations of his family had gathered rare and powerful plants here, a testament to their ancient heritage. As the heir, he had free access. He remembered a particular specimen: Amber Grass.
Amber Grass had to be stored in a special container, where its life was held in a state of near-frozen suspension. Once removed, it would irreversibly die within a few days. But during that time, it would exude a special magic, an irresistible lure for insects, especially beetles. Any beetle that drew close would be trapped by the plant's dripping sap, sealed forever in a tomb of amber.
He found the Amber Grass, took a deep breath, and opened the container. A strange, sweet magic filled the air. He planted it in a vacant plot outside the house. Now, any insect, especially any beetle, that came near the Sprout home would be irresistibly drawn to it.
"But there are no bugs in this weather," he murmured, a cold glint in his eyes. "Unless… it's a bug with bad intentions. Then they have only themselves to blame."
With the trap set, he returned to the greenhouse. He had to hurry and finish his work with the Margaret. The future of his magic power depended on it.
As Char worked, Rita Skeeter was reading the Daily Prophet's endless coverage of the hearing, her face twisted with anger. Her explosive story about an academic scandal should have been the talk of the town. Now, it was completely overshadowed. No one cared about experimental fields or papers. They were all gossiping about Umbridge and Fudge.
Rita was good at twisting the truth, but she excelled at digging up personal gossip, a skill that depended entirely on her secret: she was an illegal Animagus. She could transform into a beetle and eavesdrop anywhere.
Her face was a mask of reluctance and deep-seated hatred for Char. If it weren't for that little wizard, her report would have been a sensation. A strange look entered her eyes. "No normal child would behave like that. There must be a secret. I heard a rumor he might have half-giant blood. If I can prove that, it would be another huge story."
Her eyes lit up. She immediately rushed toward the Sprout family home. Most pure-blood families had protective wards, but her Animagus form could slip past them. Animagus transformation was a rare skill, requiring not just talent but immense luck. The entire magical world had very few who had mastered it.
With a smug smile, she transformed into a beetle and flew toward the house. "Let's see what secrets this little wizard has…"
The thought had barely formed when a strange, sweet scent washed over her. The beetle she had become had no will of its own. Its only instinct was to pursue that scent. The thought of changing back into a human vanished completely. Her wings vibrated as she flew closer and closer to the Amber Grass.
The moment she landed on the plant, a single, thick drop of sap dripped down, and Rita Skeeter was sealed in a piece of amber. Surrounded by its magic, her beetle form was frozen, her thoughts and will suspended. She would never become human again.
The next day at noon, Char went to check on the Amber Grass. He found the amber, covered in a light dusting of snow, the beetle trapped within. His expression was flat, without a flicker of emotion. To ensure no accidents, he found a deep, intricate cave nearby, dug a hole, and threw the amber inside.
"Wait," he said to the frozen beetle. "In a few hundred or thousand years, maybe a new Amber Grass will grow from you. You'll have an extremely long life. You-Know-Who dreamed of this. It's a good deal for you."
He walked out of the cave, waved his wand, and sealed the entrance with earth and stone, ensuring Rita Skeeter would not be disturbed for centuries.
As he turned to leave, a sense of profound closure washed over him. "In the cultivation novels I read in my past life," he thought, "isn't this what they call achieving clarity?"
The next moment, he froze. On his system panel, the Levitation Spell, which had been just shy of the platinum level, was now completely engulfed in a brilliant platinum light. At the same time, a golden glow burst forth from his Full Body-Bind Curse.
[Levitation Spell (Platinum Level)]!
[Full Body-Bind Curse (Gold Level)]!
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