"Chirp! Chirp chirp!"
The little creature that had just hatched let out an indignant cry at its master's way of addressing it, angrily pecking away and completely ignoring the eggshell it had just broken out of.
It stumbled awkwardly as it crawled out of the shell, pecking at Wayne's finger.
But since it had only just been born, its attack felt more like a gentle tickle.
Wayne scratched his head in confusion, not understanding why it was so angry.
"Wait, that can't be right. There's no way something's evolved to its final form right after birth. I should call you Spearow."
The 'Spearow' froze in the middle of pecking his finger, trembling all over—then started pecking even faster.
Even the system was dumbfounded and, unusually, took the initiative to pop up.
[Host, this is Ho-Oh.]
"Holy sh*t!" Wayne couldn't help blurting out a curse, staring at the little creature in shock.
"This is Ho-Oh?!"
Looking more closely—yes, it did resemble Ho-Oh a bit. Just featherless. Honestly, it looked more like a big-beaked chick.
The little guy proudly raised its head as if to say, Master, you've finally recognized who I am.
Then it turned its back to Wayne and started munching on its eggshell.
Watching Ho-Oh feast, Wayne was overwhelmed with joy.
This was Ho-Oh! The legendary Pokémon, known for its mystical powers—rumored to even have the ability to resurrect the dead.
While its combat strength might not be the most dominant among legendary Pokémon, that was only in comparison to other gods. Against regular or even pseudo-legendary Pokémon, it was absolutely not weak.
Compared to the phoenixes in this world, Ho-Oh was sure to far surpass them.
These two system gift packs were truly generous—an SSS-tier template card had instantly raised Wayne's talent to historic levels.
And now his pet was Ho-Oh itself? His credibility just skyrocketed.
"System, how can I help Ho-Oh level up?" Wayne asked.
[By absorbing energy-rich food. Over time, Ho-Oh will grow naturally. Defeating other magical creatures will also yield battle experience and accelerate its leveling.]
Wayne nodded. That was a simple enough requirement.
Watching the little creature finish off the last bits of eggshell, Wayne smiled.
"I'll keep calling you Ho-Oh then. King of the Phoenixes. When I get to Hogwarts, I'll take you to the Forbidden Forest to train, so you can reach your peak strength as soon as possible."
Hearing its master's words, Ho-Oh let out a proud chirp, patting its little chest with its wings as if making a solemn promise.
In the days that followed, Wayne became a full-time caretaker, looking after Ho-Oh at home every day.
He bought a massive supply of pet food from the Magical Creatures Shop, letting Ho-Oh choose its favorite flavors. He even splurged on a few bottles of Graphorn milk, which Ho-Oh enjoyed a lot.
A week later, Hermione returned the book she had borrowed from Wayne.
When he asked if she wanted to borrow any others, she declined.
She was now starting to review the first-year textbooks—she didn't want to fall behind once school started.
Wayne was speechless. Most people only start cramming the night before school. Who begins studying during summer break?
No wonder she was called the queen of academic overachievers at Hogwarts.
Back home, aside from playing with Ho-Oh, Wayne didn't practice any more spells. Instead, he shifted his focus to Herbology and Potions.
If he wanted to empty the wallets of little wizards, the most effective method was to sell prank products or interesting potions—just like the Weasley twins.
Wayne needed to quickly improve his potion-making skills, develop unique products, open up new avenues, and avoid falling into homogenized competition. He had to take the curve and overtake others.
Thanks to his Memory Palace talent, his learning progress was astonishing. Even when he brewed potions by hand occasionally, he never made any major mistakes.
But Wayne still wasn't satisfied.
Compared to others who were constantly being evaluated with SS or S-level talents, an A-level potions talent felt rather low.
But there was nothing he could do. He was flat broke right now, with only a few dozen points to his name. He couldn't even afford to try his luck in the lottery.
For now, all he could do was wait eagerly for the school term to begin.
Finally, the date arrived—August 31st.
That evening, after getting off work late, Humphrey came straight to Wayne's house. He was staying over for the night so he could take Wayne to King's Cross Station early the next morning.
Looking at his sister's only child, Humphrey couldn't help but nag a little:
"Make sure you stay safe in the wizarding world. From what I've gathered, they only just finished a period of unrest about ten years ago."
"If you run into danger, go directly to the Minister for Magic—or contact me. As long as it's within the British Isles, I'll take care of it."
As he said this, Humphrey couldn't resist straightening his suit jacket, the corners of his mouth twitching upward in pride.
Wayne noticed something and asked tentatively,
"Uncle Humphrey… are you getting a promotion?"
"Not confirmed yet," Humphrey said modestly, waving his hand—but his smile had already given it away.
"Sir Arnold has decided to retire. He says I've done a good job."
Arnold—whom Wayne privately referred to as "the Great Demon King"—was probably the most powerful man in the entire British Isles.
The country's Prime Minister was just a politician propped up on stage. The real power players behind the scenes were the civil servants and secretaries.
"Then let me congratulate you in advance, Uncle." Wayne raised his glass and finished the milk in it. Humphrey also drank the rest of his wine and sighed:
"At last, I can get rid of that third-rate minister, Hacker."
Wayne looked at him meaningfully.
"Personally, I don't think giving Hacker a push is such a bad thing."
"You mean… promote Hacker?" Humphrey looked at him in disbelief.
"You can't be serious, Wayne. He's just a third-rate politician who graduated from the School of Political Economics. No way."
"That's not important. What matters is that you've worked with Uncle Hacker for three years now—you know each other well."
"Rather than switching to a new partner you're unfamiliar with, wouldn't continuing your cooperation be more effective?"
Humphrey fell into deep thought.
Wayne was right—if Hacker became Prime Minister, they wouldn't need much effort to develop a tacit understanding.
Though Hacker's mind revolved mostly around votes and approval ratings, even Humphrey had to admit that Hacker's occasional flashes of killer instinct could catch anyone off guard.
But at his core, Hacker was still a good-natured politician. There wasn't much to worry about.
"I'll think about what you said. Alright, let's not talk about this anymore…"
The next day, 10:30 AM.
Wayne arrived at King's Cross Station right on time.