Recalling the scene when the system granted him the reward for his understanding of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
This guess, which had just sprung up in Char's mind, became more certain.
After all, at that time, he had only fought the eight-eyed giant spider once or twice. The battle was brief. It wasn't nearly enough for him to glean a deep understanding of the Acromantula's behavior.
However, in the illusion created by the system, the movements of so many eight-eyed giant spiders could be simulated with startling realism—it was just like an actual fight.
And on the parchment before him was the record of White Eagle Swordsmanship. Every movement was crystal clear. It was as if a true knight was wielding a sword right on the parchment. This was far more detailed than the movement pattern of the Acromantula.
With the capabilities of the system, it was highly possible that, while instilling the understanding of Defense Against the Dark Arts, it could simulate a real Judgment Knight Guts in the illusion.
In this way, Char could experience true combat with Guts. Then, by correlating that experience with the records of White Eagle Swordsmanship, learning the technique should become much simpler.
At the same time, a sense of curiosity sparked in Char's eyes. He wanted to see how the Inquisition had truly dealt with witches in the past. Could swords really compete with magic wands?
Even the four founders of Hogwarts, who had reached the legendary level three times and were beginning to explore the mythical realm, felt there was no possibility of outright victory in a direct battle. Their only recourse was to build Hogwarts in an attempt to preserve a spark for the wizarding world.
Thousands of years later, the remaining will of Ms. Hufflepuff was still secretive about her former enemy.
Perhaps this experience would allow Char to feel the intensity of the witch hunts from that era.
All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. Char then requested a private room in Malfoy Manor, asking Lucius not to disturb him for the time being.
Then, his gaze fell on the Defense Against the Dark Arts comprehension reward, which was still gleaming with a diamond-level light.
Compared to when he first received this reward, its brilliance and the clarity of the script had dimmed slightly because he had already simulated battles with the eight-eyed giant spider numerous times.
However, it should still be enough to support more than ten or twenty more simulations.
All in all, this amounted to nearly twenty life-and-death battles. Looking across the wizarding world, even those Aurors who hunt dark wizards all day and hover on the brink of life and death probably have very few who can claim so many life-and-death experiences.
If Char could fully digest all these experiences, his actual combat ability would undoubtedly soar significantly. Especially when facing enemies who lack significant combat experience, they could be utterly crushed by Char in actual combat, even if they might seem stronger than him on paper!
Subsequently, the distracting thoughts in Char's mind gradually subsided. These would be his only opportunities like this in the short term. He would have to wait until the next batch of Guardian Tree seeds matured before he could get new rewards for Defense Against the Dark Arts comprehension, and that would take nearly a year. Therefore, every simulation opportunity had to be cherished.
Taking a deep breath, with Occlumency in full effect, Char entered a deep state of flow.
He spoke in his mind: "System, continue to access the Defense Against the Dark Arts comprehension rewards for me. The actual combat target is the knight Guts on the parchment, imitating the White Eagle swordsmanship."
As Char spoke in his mind, the light of comprehension of Defense Against the Dark Arts on the system panel grew brighter.
Then, the same thing happened as when he received this reward before. The world before his eyes suddenly shifted from the magnificent room in Malfoy Manor to an unfamiliar setting.
However, it was different from the Forbidden Forest where he fought the Acromantula before. At this moment, what appeared in front of Char was a burning village.
Broken walls and burning houses were everywhere. The air was thick with scorching heat, the coppery scent of blood, and the sickening, specific smell of burning human flesh. The illusion was so real that it was genuinely disturbing.
Char's pupils shrank slightly. He scanned the crosses visible everywhere, many with corpses hanging from them. The scene before him was like a hell on earth.
What environment is the system simulating? Could this be the scene of a witch hunt in the Middle Ages?
And where is my enemy this time?
A moment later, Char's eyebrows twitched wildly. The spiritual eye in his spiritual world was filled with dread. His sixth sense also conveyed an unprecedented sense of crisis.
This feeling was like the tip of a sharp pen slowly approaching the center of his eyebrows, but magnified more than ten times.
Following the direction of this premonition, Char looked toward the village.
Immediately, a figure dressed entirely in pitch-black armor, standing over two meters tall, walked toward Char among the ruins. In his hand, he held a greatsword as large as Gronir's, blood still dripping from the blade.
And as he saw this figure, the figure also cast his gaze toward Char.
At this moment, the sense of crisis in Char's heart reached its absolute peak. It was as if every cell in his body was screaming a warning.
A palpable murderous aura—as if tangible—enveloped Char. If it weren't for the fact that Char's brain Occlumency had reached a certain level, a wizard with lesser attainments would likely have their hands and feet turn weak under this murderous aura, making it difficult to cast spells.
"This is the Knight of the Inquisition from the witch hunts thousands of years ago—" Char took a deep breath. His gaze was more solemn and dignified than ever before.
It was indeed the darkest and most turbulent era in the wizarding world. The intensity of the warfare was beyond the imagination of modern wizards.
The life-and-death battles this knight named Guts must have experienced likely numbered in the hundreds. This was a butcher who knew nothing but how to swing his sword and kill. Among all the people Char knew, no one's combat experience could match Guts's. Even Snape would be like a blank page in fighting knowledge compared to him.
And just as Char was on high alert, Guts let out a dull sound.
"Heretic—die!"
The black-armored knight suddenly leaped up. He was clearly wearing such heavy armor and holding a colossal sword, yet his speed was still unimaginable.
Char's pupils suddenly contracted. He was stunned. Is this the strength and speed a normal person can possess? Even a Fantastic Beast would only be this good! Could the Inquisition have used non-magical methods to mass-produce such knights? How is this possible?!
In that split second, Char had no time to think. The edge of the giant sword was already approaching him, the fierce wind seeming to threaten to tear him to pieces. It was too late to chant spells or cast traditional magic.
Char instantly waved his wand. His self-created spell-less magic, the Wizard's Hand, came into being. It was as if an invisible hand suddenly grabbed the black-armored knight, causing the trajectory of his giant sword to deviate.
A deep, bloody scar appeared on Char's chest. It was just a slight touch before the giant sword cut through his flesh and blood, but at least he was not ripped open by the sword just now.
This pain was already familiar to Char.
He didn't miss this opportunity. Char raised his hand and swung his wand like a sword. The Divine Sword Shadowless Curse was used. A sharp edge, covered with shadow magic, rushed toward the black-armored knight.
However, the black-armored knight, who was supposedly only a non-magical Muggle knight, seemed to be able to sense magic. Even this feeling was more acute than Char's.
In a moment, he moved his body to avoid the Divine Edge Shadowless Curse. At the same time, he twisted his body with incredible force from his waist, and the giant sword came toward Char like a circling white eagle at an even faster speed than before.
A strange look flashed across Char's eyes. He had seen this technique on the parchment. So it's called White Eagle Turn?
Then, Char waved his wand again. He used the Wizard's Hand again, attempting to continue twisting the giant sword.
But this time, the giant sword in the hands of the black-armored knight seemed to sense the direction of the Wizard's Hand. Following the force, the black-armored swordsman took off into the air. The giant sword was even faster, falling in an instant.
Char's vision suddenly went dark.
By the time he reacted, he had already exited the illusion created by the system, back to the magnificent room in Malfoy Manor.
But he still subconsciously touched his head. After making sure that there was truly no blood line on his head that would split him in half, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, the scene of the battle just now surfaced in his mind. Countless confusing thoughts flashed through his head.
He could confirm that the Knights of the Inquisition were by no means normal people. No normal person could possibly have such strength and speed, not to mention the keen perception of magic.
So what methods did the Inquisition use thousands of years ago? Were these knights transformed using magic? Or was there some other means?
But a moment later, Char breathed a sigh of relief and his attention shifted. Understanding how the Inquisition trained these knights was of no use to Char today. Not to mention that a thousand years have passed and it's questionable whether the organization still exists. Even if it did, the wizarding world hasn't heard of any witch hunts in all these years. At least its threat to Char is infinitely close to zero.
So, instead of worrying about these things, it would be better to think about what he could gain from the life-and-death struggle just now. This was what mattered.
In Char's mind, he began to carefully recall the scenes from the previous battle.
Why is Guts so fast and so strong?
Logically speaking, even in the illusion, his legendary life and legendary power were suppressed to the diamond level, but he should still be on the same level as Guts in the illusion. However, the way the opponent used his body was completely overwhelming compared to Char.
Especially the moment when Char was killed at the end—it was so swift that Char didn't even have time to react.
Thinking of the last sword, a subconscious lingering fear flashed in Char's eyes. Then there was another burst of heat. Although magic is wondrous and powerful, sometimes, swords are no less useful than magic in battle.
Aside from the historical events where the Knights of the Inquisition were able to hunt down witches, in the original story, Harry killed a Basilisk solo in his second year. If he had relied on his meager magic, he couldn't have even broken the Basilisk's scales. There would have been no possibility of victory. But when Harry was given the Sword of Gryffindor, he was truly able to kill the thousand-year-old Basilisk by himself.
And in the final battle, Neville also relied on Gryffindor's sword to cut off Voldemort's giant snake Nagini, which was protected by many powerful protective spells.
The impressive combat record of the sword in the original novel spoke for itself. Char was not one of those most conservative pure-blood families that firmly believed the wand was above all else and that using anything else, especially something from a non-magical person, was an unforgivable sin. The magic wand could indeed do many convenient things in life, but in battle, any method that could kill the enemy was a good method.
Now that he had seen the power of swordsmanship, and considering he already possessed legendary power, having this trump card was an absolute win-win situation.
Immediately, Char narrowed his eyes. The details of Guts's every move kept replaying in his mind.
Especially at the end, when Guts's sword split him in half, Char watched the process carefully, like a slow-motion, frame-by-frame replay. But this also meant that the sharp edge cutting through flesh and blood, the feeling of being split apart, was also being replayed clearly.
The fear of death began to surge up instinctively. Every cell seemed to resist the experience. But Char took a deep breath.
What flashed through his mind was the scene of the Forbidden Forest Trial. He himself needed an Invisibility Cloak just to kill even the weakest Auror Quintuplets. And after that elite Auror Five-legged Monster chose to capture all the young wizards and force himself to show up, if it weren't for his certain attainments in black magic transfiguration, five-legged monster transformation, and curses, and his idea of using curses to affect the balance of magic in the bodies of those transformed five-legged monsters, there should have been a lot of casualties in Badger Court.
Although in the original book, Voldemort did not reappear for a long time after the first year of school, Char still remembered Quirrell's warning before his death. He didn't know who exactly Quirrell was referring to, but the fact that Quirrell warned him specifically meant it must be something to do with Voldemort. He couldn't take it lightly.
Not to mention that the plot of the Philosopher's Stone was already fractured compared to the original novel. The deeper he delved into the waters of the magical world, the more unfathomable it seemed. Heaven knows what the plot will look like in the next few school years. He couldn't just rely on luck.
Improve yourself. This was the only thing Char could do.
A moment later, Char shook his head. He gritted his teeth. The distracting thoughts were cleared by his brain's Occlumency. The whole person entered a deeper state of flow.
In his mind, all that remained was the scene of the previous battle, replaying over and over again. The pain of being torn in two, the fear of death, assaulted the brain's Occlumency, but it was never shaken.
And while enduring all this, Char was like a thirsty sponge, absorbing all the nutrients beneficial to him. Replaying the scene of himself being killed every time was like Guts, the knight of the Inquisition a thousand years ago, personally teaching him the White Eagle sword technique and how to maximize the use of an extremely strong body.
Gradually, the muscles all over Char's body seemed to tense and relax alternately. On the system panel, the light of legendary power gradually brightened.
At the same time, blurry words flashed on the panel, which were the words "White Eagle Swordsmanship."
After a while, Char suddenly opened his eyes. He used his waist to exert force and rotate his whole body. The Sword of Gronir, hidden in its scabbard, was unsheathed in an instant. A sharp, cold light emanated from around Char's body.
"This White Eagle Turn is quite impressive."
"Although compared to what Guts used, it's still far behind, but combined with my legendary power and the Sword of Gronir, even if several fire dragons were surrounding me, they would all be cut down by this sword."
"This is far more powerful than my previous crude use of legendary power."
Char's eyes brightened. Legendary power was his strongest trump card at the moment. Now there was a way to make this trump card play out more effectively. He couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
After taking a deep breath, Char's expression was firm.
"Come again!"
A moment later, he received another insight into Defense Against the Dark Arts. Once again, he entered the village where the blazing fire was burning, facing the black-armored knight Guts.
And this time, Char simply put down his wand for the time being.
Guts had hunted countless wizards. He was incredibly sensitive to magic, and his combat experience was rich to a degree that Char could not even imagine. It was as if he had been fighting since the day he was born. The battles he experienced during the war years were simply unimaginable in peacetime.
Char doubted that even Snape, who could torture him in various ways, would be able to face Guts. Purely relying on magic, the outcome wouldn't be too optimistic.
Therefore, instead of being tortured with magic, it would be better to rely on his body. At least during this opportunity, he could learn some useful combat skills from Guts.
But facing Char's actions, there was no trace of emotion in Gus's eyes. It seemed that whether Char used the wand or not, the outcome before him was already determined. All he had to do was swing his sword and kill.
This time, Char was wary of Guts's strength, speed, and extremely sharp sword moves. He lasted a few more moves than the first time. In the end, he was cut in half by the giant sword at an incredible angle. He struggled on the ground for nearly half a minute, finally leaving the illusion.
Char wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He couldn't help but curse, "Are you sick? Can't you just give me a quick death? Why must I be beheaded? If it doesn't work, at least give me a finishing blow after you've already cut me in half. I have to review this and suffer this?"
Just a moment later, Char sighed. He gritted his teeth again. There's nothing I can do, I've got to bear with it.
After Char had meticulously absorbed the experience of this life-and-death battle, his entire face turned pale. After all, it's a repeated experience of the pain of being cut in half. No matter how used to pain you are, you really can't bear it after such a long time. His spirit was utterly exhausted.
Fortunately, the harvest this time was also considerable. Compared to the first time he used magic to fight Guts, this time, using his body and the Sword of Gronir, every time he collided with Guts, he could more clearly feel the explosive power surging in Guts' body. Compared to the void collision of magic, the feeling was much more profound.
This was also reflected on Char's system panel. The clarity of the handwriting of White Eagle Sword Art suddenly improved a lot. He felt even more strongly that this body, which possessed legendary life and legendary power, was only just beginning to grasp its true potential.
Before this, it was like he owned a supercar but didn't have the skills to drive it. And now, Char began to control his body like a real warrior living in the Middle Ages, immersed in blood and fighting. Even if legendary life and legendary power have not actually made any progress, Char's close combat ability has increased significantly.
Taking a deep breath, he waited until the mental fatigue gradually subsided. Char's eyes were determined.
"The simulation was performed a third time."
In the time that followed, he almost repeated this daily routine. Receive the reward for comprehension of Defense Against the Dark Arts and enter the illusion to fight Guts. Then he used the brain Occlumency technique to control his mind and replayed the entire process of his death over and over again. While enduring the pain, he analyzed Guts's movements and drew from it nourishment that was beneficial to himself.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed just like that.
By the time Char was almost numb and was about to move on to the next simulation, the system gave no response.
After a while, Char came back to his senses. His eyes fell on the system panel. All he saw was the Defense Against the Dark Arts comprehension reward that was sparkling with diamond light three days ago had completely disappeared from the system panel.
"It turns out—in three days, I've already experienced nearly twenty life-and-death battles?"
"Wow, time flies. At first I thought it was quite difficult, but before I knew it, I had used up all the simulations."
In Char's eyes, the numbness gradually faded. Instead, there was an unprecedented sharpness and coldness. At first glance, he actually bore some resemblance to Guts, the opponent he had fought with dozens of times in the illusion. That was the look that only someone who had been through hundreds of battles and experienced life and death could have.
And when Char stood up, he looked like he could launch the most ferocious attack at any time. His posture, the position of his arms, and the direction of his eyes were completely different from before.
He took a deep breath. After experiencing so many fights, he had a very clear judgment of his own strength.
"Purely speaking, in terms of physical combat and cold weapon fighting, of course, I am only as good as Gus right now."
"But compared to my previous self, this is a complete dimensionality reduction attack."
"If you took all my magic away and made me fight purely with legendary life and legendary power, my previous self is so far below my current self, I could be cut into seven pieces in three minutes!"
"As for the Forbidden Forest Trial at the end of the first year, if I were to go back now, using the Sword of Gronir and the legendary life and power—with just one man and a sword, I could kill all those five-legged monsters, even the Auror five-legged monster, with only minor injuries at most!"
"This is the strength of a legendary ability at its normal level. Before, I was the one who was holding this body back."
Certainly, close combat ability would still be Char's most hidden trump card. But this continuous life-and-death struggle was not without benefits for Char's magic combat ability. The pace, the timing of the shot, the judgment of distance, and the window of opportunity in a fight are all universal. The current Char could easily defeat his former self using magic.
At the same time, Char's eyes fell on the system panel. A new line of words also shone brightly there.
\text{[White Eagle Swordsmanship (Gold Level)]}
Although the level was not high, the luster on it was extremely solid, like a substance. It was obvious that Char had a good foundation. After all, it was Guts, the creator of this sword technique, who had "taught" it to Char in repeated life-and-death battles. Even if it could no longer be simulated, with Char's current foundation, he could also gradually improve his attainments in White Eagle Swordsmanship.
Feeling these improvements, even though he had suffered a lot these days, Char still felt a little unsatisfied at this moment.
It's really painful, but it is genuinely useful!
What a pity. He would have to wait until the next batch of Guardian Trees were planted and matured before he could continue to obtain the reward of Defense Against the Dark Arts Comprehension.
A moment later, Char exhaled softly. He reminded himself again.
"It's certainly right to pursue strength, but even the previous battles were only possible because of my planting."
"Planting and herbal medicine—these are my true roots. Everything else is just the fruit of this."
"And now, the plant called the Divine Joy Flower has the potential to significantly increase my herbalism knowledge. That's the most important thing to me right now."
Immediately, Char's eyes showed anticipation.
"It's been three days. Something I redeemed from the Mosa Club should be almost ready."
Then, Char opened the door and walked out.
__________________________
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